Environmental pollutants, characterizing

The purpose of an exposure and risk assessment is to characterize the magnitude and extent of human or environmental exposure to selected pollutants and to quantify the potential adverse effects of those exposures. The assessment can be used both to provide a baseline estimate of existing health risks attributable to an environmental pollutant and to determine the potential reduction in exposure and risk for various control options. Exposure and risk assessments are playing an increasingly central role in... 

The reaction of metabolically generated polycyclic aromatic diol epoxides with DNA Ua vivo is believed to be an important and critical event in chemical carcinogenesis Cl,2). In recent years, much attention has been devoted to studies of diol epoxide-nucleic acid interactions in aqueous model systems. The most widely studied reactive intermediate is benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BaPDE), which is the ultimate biologically active metabolite of the well known and ubiquitous environmental pollutant benzo(a)pyrene. There are four different stereoisomers of BaPDE (Figure 1) which are characterized by differences in biological activities, and reactivities with DNA (2-4). In this review, emphasis is placed on studies of reaction mechanisms of BPDE and related compounds with DNA, and the structures of the adducts formed. 

Plant water status is affected by environmental pollution and consequently influences plant function at every level of biological organisation. It can be characterized by measurements of the relative water content (RWC), the water deficit, the water potential ( P ) and the osmotic potential ( Fq), along with transpiration rate and stomatal resistance. Since for the latter four parameters, tissue samples are removed from the plant, they are usually determined in the end of an experiment. If several sampling times are needed, then additional plants/replicates must be included. 

Herbes SE, Whitley TA. 1983. Characterization and toxicity of water-soluble photooxidants produced during irradiation of coal liquids by sunlight. Environmental Pollution (Ser B) 6(3) 221-240. 

Lewtas J. 1993. Complex mixtures of air pollutants Characterizing the cancer risk of polycyclic organic matter. Environmental Health Perspectives 100 211-218. 

This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for the Environment, Office of Health and Environmental Research, Pollutant Characterization and Safety Research Division of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC 03-76SF00098 and by the National Science Foundation. 

Until quite recently, chemical monitoring relied exclusively on determining the concentrations of certain chemical compounds (selected as indicators of chemical environmental pollution) in water samples, sediments, or soils using classical analytical methods. From a theoretical point of view, the best use of the appropriate analytical methods would be to provide a full analytical characterization of the environment, that is, to determine the concentrations of all known and unknown pollutants in each of its compartments. However, it is doubtful whether such a task is possible or even relevant, bearing in mind... 

GC-MS is widely used for characterizing mixtures containing environmental pollutants. It is also used to analyze urine and hair samples for the presence of illegal drugs or banned substances thought to improve athletic performance. 

The described methods designed for the utilization of industrial wastes containing some trace elements permit total recovery of those elements and also all other components of these wastes, as products usable in agriculture and the fertilizer industry. The methods are characterized by low labour requirements and simple technology, and are waste-free. The utilization of these wastes completes the trace elements shortage and also reduces of losses resulting from environmental pollution. 

The dependence of E of RF aerogels on water content has to be investigated further. The described investigations are not only a method to characterize the material and the parameters of the inner surface (chemistry, surface morphology, pores etc.) but might also be the first step towards RF aerogels as sensor for humidity or environmental pollution. 

Carre V, Aubriet F, Scheepers PT, Krier G, MuUer JF. Potential of laser ablation and laser desorption mass spectrometry to characterize organic and inorganic environmental pollutants on dust particles. Rapid Com mu n Mass Spectrom 2005 19 871-80 [Epub ahead of print]. 

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