Formaldehyde: environmental partitioning and vegetation exposed

Formaldehyde: environmental partitioning and vegetation exposed

280 Selected Bibliography Formaldehyde: environmental partitioning and vegetation exposed. Barker J. R., Herstrom A. A. and Tingey D. T. ManTech Env...

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Formaldehyde: environmental partitioning and vegetation exposed. Barker J. R., Herstrom A. A. and Tingey D. T. ManTech Environmental Research Services Corporation, US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA. Water Air Soil Pollut., 1996, 86/14 (71-91). Summ. in Engl. The combustion of methanol fuels and methyl-t-butyl-ether (MTBE) may result in the release of significantly more formaldehyde into the environment than from the use of conventional fuels. The concern is that increased levels of atmospheric formaldehyde may be detrimental to vegetation. Models were used to simulate the environmental partitioning of formaldehyde and to compare changes in its atmospheric concentrations for three vehicle/fuel scenarios within the South Coast Air Quality Management District, California, USA. Scenario 1 assumed that all vehicles were powered with conventional fuels. Scenario 2 assumed that light- and medium-duty vehicles were flexible-fueled and powered with 100% methanol fuel (MlOO). Scenario 3 assumed that light- and medium-duty vehicles were dedicated Ml00 vehicles. The simulations predict that 96.2, 2.2, and 1.6% of ambient formaldehyde partitioned to the air, soil, and water, respectively. Scenario 2 represents the greatest risk to vegetation because atmospheric formaldehyde concentrations could reach 90 ppb. Formaldehyde concentrations in scenario 3 were the lowest and would not exceed 20 ppb. Atmospheric formaldehyde at concentrations that may occur with methanol flexible-fueled vehicles could affect certain plant species according to limited data from the literature.

Assessing biological recovery of acid-sensitive lakes in Ontario, Canada. McNicol D. K., Mallory M. L. and Wedeles C. H. R. Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Nepean, Ontario, KlA 0H3, Canada. Water Air Soil Pollut., 1995, 8512 (457-462). Summ. in Engl.

headwaters. Previous studies in this stream have revealed that cytochrome P450lA activity, liver somatic indices, macrophage aggregates, and parasitic liver lesions are significantly elevated in sunfish with the degree of impact decreasing with distance from the contaminant source. Fish collected from each sampling site were equally divided. One group was sacrificed in the field and the spleen and anterior kidney tissues were removed and placed in buffer on ice. The other group was kept in MS-222 for 2 hours and transported to the laboratory for processing. The spleen and anterior kidney from each fish were then prepared as a single cell suspension and shipped overnight to Mississippi State University. Cells were then evaluated for PMA-stimulated phagocyte oxidative burst and nonspecific cytotoxic cell (NCC) activity against K562 tumor targets. Oxidative burst responses were dramatically suppressed in both groups at sampling sites near the headwaters but returned to reference levels further downstream. There were no differences between processing strategies at each station. NCC activities did not follow gradientresponse patterns observed with phagocyte oxidative burst data and there were inconsistent differences between processing strategies at each site. These data indicate that simple immune function assays, such as phagocyte oxidative burst responses, can be used as a ancillary bioindicator in fish health monitoring and that immune function in these fish can be reliably assessed even if samples are not immediately processed.

What can perch population data tell us about the acidification history of a lake? Nyberg K., Raitaniemi J., Rask M. et al. Department of Limnology, University of Helsinki, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Water Air Soil Pollut., 1995, 8512 (395400). Summ. in Engl.

Information on breeding waterfowl, habitat and food chains, gathered from acid-sensitive lakes in Ontario, was used to develop a model of effects of acid deposition on waterfowl and their response to predicted sulphur dioxide (SOz) emission reductions in eastern North America. The Waterfowl Acidification Response Modelling System (WARMS) is composed of an acidification model linked to fish and waterfowl models. WARMS uses pH, area, dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus, and presence of fish to calculate estimates of preacidification, present and eventual steady-state values for pH, fish presence and waterfowl breeding parameters under proposed SOz emission scenarios. We used WARMS to estimate chemical and biotic responses to scenarios simulated in three regions of Ontario where biomonitoring studies are underway. For pH and fish presence, WARMS predicts the greatest improvements in the highly damaged Sudbury region, slight improvements in Algoma, and that the strongest proposed emission reductions will be required to maintain current conditions in Muskoka. For waterfowl, species-specific differences are evident among regions. We discuss implications of these assessments of biological recovery for watersheds in eastern Canada.

In this study an attempt was made to describe the acidification history of a lake through the changes in the population structure and the growth of perch (PercaJIuviutiZis L.). The lake was generally considered fishless at the beginning of the 1980s. Our catches in 1985 consisted mostly of large, old perch but there was also a younger year-class present, born in 1983. The oldest perch of the catch were 20 years old. The slow growth of old perch suggests that the density of the population was quite high in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We caught only a few perch born in the 1970s suggesting that reproduction was more or less completely unsuccessful then. The few that we did catch showed extremely high growth rates. This was interpreted as due to good feeding conditions, such as no competition for food in a sparse population. We concluded that the acidification-induced decrease in the perch population of Lake Orajarvi took place mainly during the 1970s. This is supported by paleolimnological and modelling studies. In 1992, a higher number of 2 + perch were caught indicating successful reproduction in 1990. Since then, we have sampled the lake annually and recorded 0+ and 1 + fish every year. Perch in these new year-classes are clearly growing slower than those born in the last decade. This suggests that the population density has essentially increased. Successful reproduction in perch in recent years has been possible because of improvements in water quality due to decreased acid deposition and/or exceptional hydrological conditions during the 1990s.

Innate immune function as a bioindicator of pollution stress in fish. Rice C. D, Kergosien D. H. and Adams S. M. College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, PO Box 9825, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA. Ecotoxicol. Environ. SajI, 1996, 33/2 (186192). Summ. in Engl.

Photochemical oxidant effects on vegetation-response in relation to plant strategy. Sellden G. and Pleijel H. Department of Plant Physiology, Botanical Institute, Goteborg University, Carl Skottsbergs Gata 22, S-413 19 Goteborg, Sweden. Water Air Soil Pollut., 1995, 85/l (111-122). Summ. in Engl.

Immunotoxicological studies, based on processing of samples in the field and laboratory, were conducted on fish collected from a stream receiving point-source contaminants near its

Present ambient concentrations of ozone decrease the yield of several important crops. However, plants differ in sensitivity to ozone; for example wheat, Triticum aestivum L., is more