Measurement of arsenic bioavailability in soil using a primate model.
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Several studies have shown limited absorption of arsenic from soils. This has led to increased interest in including measurements of arsenic relative bioavailability from soils in the calculation of risks to human health posed by arsenic-contaminated sites. Most of the information in the literature regarding arsenic bioavailability from soils comes from studies of mining and smelter sites in the western United States. It is unclear whether these observations are relevant to other types of arsenic-contaminated sites. In order to obtain information regarding arsenic bioavailability for other types of sites, relative bioavailability of arsenic from selected soil samples was measured in a primate model. Sodium arsenate was administered to five male Cebus apella monkeys by the intravenous and oral routes, and blood, urine, and feces were collected. Pharmacokinetic behavior of arsenic after intravenous administration and the fractions of dose excreted in urine and feces after both intravenous and oral doses were consistent with previous observations in humans. Soil samples from five waste sites in Florida (one from an electrical substation, one from a wood preservative treatment site, two from pesticide sites, and one from a cattle-dip vat site) were dried and sieved. Soil doses were prepared from these samples and administered orally to the monkeys. Relative bioavailability was assessed based on urinary excretion of arsenic following the soil dose compared with excretion following an oral dose of arsenic in solution. Differences in bioavailability were observed for different sites, with relative bioavailability ranging from 10.7 +/- 4.9% (mean +/- standard deviation) to 24.7 +/- 3.2% for the five soil samples. These observations, coupled with data in the literature, suggest limited oral bioavailability of arsenic in soils from a variety of types of arsenic-contaminated sites. (+info)
Effluents from a pulp and paper mill: a skin and health survey of children living in upstream and downstream villages.
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OBJECTIVES: A health survey of three villages (upstream village Rantau Baru and two downstream villages, Sering and Pelalawan) in the vicinity of a pulp and paper mill along the Kampar river in the province of Riau, Indonesia was conducted to find whether exposure to the effluents from the mill was related to skin conditions and ill health. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was carried out of children living in the three villages. RESULTS: Common skin conditions such as dermatitis, fungal infections, insect bites, and miliaria were found. No significantly increased risk of dermatitis or any illness in general was found with increasing levels of exposure to river water for downstream villages when compared with the upstream village. However, there was an increased risk of diarrhoea in Sering especially with drinking water directly from the river (prevalence rate ratio (PRR) 4.9, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.4 to 63.9). An increased risk was also found within the upstream village Rantau Baru (PRR 2.3, 95% CI 0.9 to 5.8) and downstream village Sering (PRR 1.4, 95% CI 0.4 to 5.2) when children who drank water directly from the river were compared with those who never did. Analysis of the river water also showed physical and chemical variables within the acceptable range except for faecal coliforms (6 MPN/100 ml) found in the sample taken from Sering. CONCLUSIONS: The effluent from the mill is unlikely to be causing skin conditions and ill health. Diarrhoea may be due to faecal coliform contamination of the water because all raw sewerage is deposited in the river. Community health outreach programmes are being implemented based on these findings. (+info)
Aromatase activity in the ovary and brain of the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) exposed to paper mill effluent.
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Studies have shown that female mosquitofish living downstream of a paper mill located on the Fenholloway River, Florida, have masculinized secondary sex characteristics, including altered anal fin development and reproductive behavior. Masculinization can be caused by exposure to androgens in the water or from an alteration in aromatase activity in the fish. We hypothesized that aromatase activity would be inhibited by a component(s) of the paper mill effluent. Aromatase inhibition could masculinize the hormonal profile and, subsequently, secondary sex characteristics of the exposed females. Therefore, we predicted that ovarian and brain aromatase activity would be lower in the female mosquitofish from the Fenholloway River compared with the reference site, the Econfina River. Adult females were collected and standard length, body mass, anal fin length, and segment number were measured. Ovarian and brain aromatase activity were determined using a tritiated water assay. Fenholloway females had masculinized anal fin development as indicated by an increase in the number of segments in the longest anal fin ray (p < 0.0001), yet the length of the ray did not differ between sites (p = 0.95). Fenholloway females exhibited higher ovarian (p = 0.0039) and brain (p = 0.0003) aromatase activity compared with reference site fish. These data do not support aromatase inhibition as the mechanism for masculinization, suggesting that the masculinization of the Fenholloway female mosquitofish is due to androgenic contaminants. Future studies should examine the relationship between aromatase enzyme activity and exposure to environmental androgens. (+info)
Methanobrevibacter acididurans sp. nov., a novel methanogen from a sour anaerobic digester.
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A novel acid-tolerant, hydrogenotrophic methanogen, isolate ATMT, was obtained from an enrichment performed at pH 5.0 using slurry from an acidogenic digester running on alcohol distillery waste. The original pH of the slurry was 5.7 and the volatile fatty acid concentration was 9000 p.p.m. Cells of isolate ATMT were Gram-positive, non-motile and 0.3-0.5 microm in size. They did not form spores. The isolate could grow in the pH range 5.0-7.5, with maximum growth at pH 6.0. The optimum temperature for growth was 35 degrees C. Formate, acetate, methanol, trimethylamine, 2-propanol and 2-butanol were not utilized as growth substrates. Rumen fluid and acetate were required for growth on H2/CO2. Coenzyme M and 2-methylbutyric acid were not required in the presence of rumen fluid. 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the signature sequence of the genus Methanobrevibacter. Morphological and biochemical characteristics of the isolate, together with the 16S rDNA sequence analysis, clearly revealed that the isolate could not be accommodated within any of the existing species of the genus Methanobrevibacter. Therefore, it is proposed that a novel species of the genus Methanobrevibacter should be created for this isolate, Methanobrevibacter acididurans sp. nov., and the type strain is (+info)
Characterization of filamentous Eikelboom type 021N bacteria and description of Thiothrix disciformis sp. nov. and Thiothrix flexilis sp. nov.
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The phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of 15 strains of Eikelboom type 021 N bacteria isolated from wastewater treatment plants were investigated. The strains shared many characters with Thiothrix species. However, the Eikelboom type 021N bacteria had only 88.3-92.0% 16S rDNA sequence similarity to members of the Thiothrix nivea group, including T. nivea, 'Thiothrix ramosa', Thiothrix unzii and Thiothrix fructosivorans, and were differentiated from them in sugar utilization and other properties, suggesting that the Eikelboom type 021N bacteria belong to species distinct from the T. nivea group. The 15 Eikelboom type 021N bacteria that were investigated were divided into three distinct groups (I to III) on the basis of their genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. The creation of two novel species is proposed, Thiothrix disciformis sp. nov. for the group I strains (type strain B3-1T = JCM 11364T = DSM 14473T) and Thiothrix flexilis sp. nov. for the group III strains (type strain EJ2M-BT = JCM 11135T = DSM 14609T). Thiothrix eikelboomii AP3T was included in group II and shared many characters with the other group II strains. The inclusion of all group II strains within the species T. eikelboomii is proposed,together with emendation of the description of T. eikelboomii. (+info)
Male-biased sex ratios of fish embryos near a pulp mill: temporary recovery after a short-term shutdown.
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In a previous study we showed that broods from the viviparous eelpout Zoarces viviparus were significantly male biased in 1998 in the vicinity of a large kraft pulp mill on the Swedish Baltic coast. One suggested hypothesis was that masculinizing compounds in the effluent were affecting gonadal differentiation of the embryos, resulting in skewed sex ratios. In this article, we present further evidence for a causal relationship between the exposure to the effluent and the male-biased sex ratios. Analyses of historical samples showed that the eelpout produced male-biased broods close to the mill in 1997 in addition to 1998. During 1999, the mill was shut down for 17 days, coinciding with the period when the gonads of the eelpout embryos differentiate. Subsequently, in the fall of 1999, the sex ratios were no longer male biased; however, the following year (2000), a significant male bias reappeared. Investigations at 13 sites for up to 4 years showed a relatively stable sex ratio around 50/50, with the exceptions by the mill and with few observations of deviating ratios at other sites. Several reports document endocrine disturbances in fish near pulp and paper mills, including the expression of male secondary sex characters in female fish. The repeatedly identified male bias at the investigated mill, the normalization after mill shutdown, and the reappearance the following year indicate that pulp mill effluents also can affect sex ratios of nearby fish. (+info)
Y-chromosomal DNA markers for discrimination of chemical substance and effluent effects on sexual differentiation in salmon.
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Chinook salmon alevins were exposed during their labile period for sex differentiation to different concentrations of bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME), primary sewage effluent, secondary sewage effluent (SE), 17ss-estradiol, testosterone, and nonylphenol. After exposure for 29 days post hatching (DPH), fish were allowed to grow until 103 and 179 DPH, at which time their genetic sex was determined using Y-chromosomal DNA markers and their gonadal sex was determined by histology. Independent of treatment, all fish identified as genetic females (XX) in these experiments possessed normal female gonads. Only the highest dose of some treatments affected the development of gonads in genetic XY males. At 103 DPH, some genetic males treated with 1 micro g estradiol/L, BKME 100%,and SE 30% developed as physiological females, presenting ovaries identical to genetic females in the control group. The physiological female condition in XY fish was also observed in these treatments groups at 179 DPH, which suggests that the effect is permanent, whereas in other groups the effect changed between sampling periods. Identification of the genetic sex of individual animals using sex-linked DNA markers provides a useful tool for investigating environmental factors influencing sex determination and differentiation. (+info)
Novel sensitive spectrophotometric method for the trace determination of cyanide in industrial effluent.
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The high toxicity of the cyanide ion at low concentration necessitates its analysis in a variety of environmental samples with a very low cyanide content. A new sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the trace determination of cyanide with ninhydrin (NH) in an alkaline medium. Beer's law is obeyed in the range of cyanide concentration 0.04-0.24 microg cm(-3), and the molar absorptivity at 590 nm is 2.20 x 10(5) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1). The Sandell's sensitivity of the product is 0.000118 microg cm(-2). The optimum reaction conditions and other important analytical parameters have been investigated. The results obtained by using the proposed method for environmental samples agree well with those obtained by the Aldridge standard method. (+info)