[en] The impact of uranium mining and milling as well as that of traditional mining activities on river sediments and flood plain soils in the catchment area of the river Elbe was investigated over the years 1994 to 1995. Contamination resulting from mining activities has been identified by comparing the median values for the measured radionuclides, and by establishing the ratio between Ra-226 and Ra-228. The transport and deposition of contaminated materials as a result of high water events, and river discharge of waste water from mining and milling facilities, can be considered to be the main paths of sediment and soil contamination. Sediments and flood plain soils located in the vicinity of former uranium mining and milling sites are primarily influenced by discharges of waste water. Long distance transport and deposition at dams, barrages and on flood plains has mainly been caused by high water events. In many cases the radionuclide concentrations were higher in the subsurface layer than in the top layer of flood plain soil. Due to termination of uranium mining and milling activities, no significant contamination of newer or fresh sediments was found. Radiation exposure arising in relation to angling or walking on flood plains is low

[en] Spent bleaching effluents (from chlorination (C) and extraction (E) stages) of a sulfate pulp mill were subjected to bench-scale biological and advanced treatment. Although > 90 % of the influent BOD_5 could be removed in an activated sludge process, the effluent still contained high amounts of resistant substances. The maximum COD removal was about 50 %; the removal rates achieved in the parameters TOC, DOC, AOX, SAK (254 nm) were even lower. The biological treatment led to an increase in color (436 nm) up to 40 %. The biologically pretreated effluent was further treated by ozone or ozone/irradiation. The DOC, COD, color (436 nm), SAK (254 nm) and AOX removal rates amounted to 61 %, 81 %, 98 %, 92 % and 92 %, respectively. These methods led simultaneously to an increase in biological biodegradability as reflected by an increase in BOD_5. A comparison of the results obtained for raw and biologically pretreated wastewaters showed that biodegradable substances should first be removed from the wastewater since otherwise the effectiveness of these methods decreased. The coagulation/flocculation of biologically pretreated effluent showed that FeCl3 was the most effective coagulant and that removal rates > 90 % could be achieved. The treatment with various powder activated carbons showed that a dosage of 10 g/l was required to achieve elimination rates > 90 % in the parameters DOC, COD, color (436 nm) and SAK (254 nm). Adsorption isotherms were developed for every activated carbon and adsorption constants were calculated. (author)

[en] Photoreactivation of microorganisms following UV disinfection is one of the research topics of interest in assessing the performance of UV disinfection, because there is little consensus on how the visible light intensity relates to the photoreactivation rate and the maximum survival in wastewater treatment processes. Apparent photoreactivation by a fluorescent lamp was observed in case of indicator bacteria (heterotrophic bacteria, coliform bacteria, fecal coliforms) in raw sewage, but not E. coli B and E. coli K12 A/λ(F+). Inactivation of fecal coliform was observed simultaneously during photoreactivation process by sunlight. Dose rate at 360 nm wave length as visible light intensity showed that it was a useful indicator for assessing the photoreactivation rate and the maximum survival when photoreactivation took place by both fluorescent lamp and sunlight. The model for photoreactivation was developed. The photoreactivation rate increased with increasing visible light intensity at 360 nm. However, the maximum survival value may not be affected by visible light intensity. (author)

[en] Ultraviolet irradiation is gaining importance as a disinfection procedure for drinking water and in waste water treatment. Since water is one of the main transmission routes of hepatitis A virus the susceptibility of HAV to UV rays is of special interest. MS-2 coliphage resembles HAV in size and structure, is easy to handle, and might tlierefore serve as indicator organism for the assessment of water quality and for evaluating the quality of water treatment processes. Hepatitis A virus and MS-2 coliphage were suspended in 0.9% sodium chloride solution and were irradiated in a 20-ml quarz cuvette at 254 nm. For a reduction rate of four log units a three times lighter UV dose was required with MS-2 than with HAV

[en] Experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of measuring feed consumption and excretion in salmonid fish by radiographic and chemical indicator methods. To do this it was also necessary to measure concurrently the digestibility. Digestibility was determined in 16 diets of different origin comparing nalkanes (C₂₈ and C₃₂) as indigestible indicators with chromium sesquioxide and celite. Research was also conducted comparing the radiographic method for measuring feed intake with that of using C₃₂ alkane as an external indicator to measure faecal output. The results show that n-alkanes can be used as internal and external indicators in measuring faecal output, digestibility and intake in fish. The radiographic method and the n-alkane indicator method are compatible for the measurement of feed consumption, but both methods give high variability, making small differences in feed consumption difficult to detect

[en] In order to fully understand electrochemically active biofilms and the limitations to their scale-up in industrial biofilm reactors, a complete picture of the microenvironments inside the biofilm is needed. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are ideally suited for the study of biofilms and for probing their microenvironments because these techniques allow for non-invasive interrogation and in situ monitoring with high resolution. By combining NMR with simultaneous electrochemical techniques, it is possible to sustain and study live electrochemically active biofilms. Here, we introduce a novel biofilm microreactor system that allows for simultaneous electrochemical and NMR techniques (EC-NMR) at the microscale. Microreactors were designed with custom radiofrequency resonator coils, which allowed for NMR measurements of biofilms growing on polarized gold electrodes. For an example application of this system, we grew Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms. NMR was used to investigate growth media flow velocities, which were compared to simulated laminar flow, and electron donor concentrations inside the biofilms. We use Monte Carlo error analysis to estimate standard deviations of the electron donor concentration measurements within the biofilm. The EC-NMR biofilm microreactor system can ultimately be used to correlate extracellular electron transfer rates with metabolic reactions and explore extracellular electron transfer mechanisms

No abstract available

[en] Reverse Osmosis is the most widely used method for treating municipal solid waste landfill leachates, since it produces a permeate in compliance with reject requirements. However, the efficiency of this process at the industrial scale is limited mainly because of membrane fouling and the high osmotic pressures involved. Although lime precipitation is traditionally used to eliminate the temporary hardness of water by de-carbonation, it has also been shown to be highly efficient in removing humic substances which are known to have strong fouling potential towards membranes. Our objective is to study the lime/leachate physico-chemistry, in order to determine the potential of the lime precipitation as pre-treatment for reverse osmosis. The results show that the lime treatment makes it possible (i) to act efficiently on the inorganic fraction of leachates through a de-carbonation mechanism which entails massive precipitation of the carbonates under the form of CaCO₃, (ii) to eliminate by co-precipitation the high Molecular Weight (MW) organic macromolecules (≥ 50, 000 g.mol^-1) such as humic acids, and (iii) to generate a stable residue that can be easily stored at a landfill. The reverse osmosis step will be facilitated through significant reduction of the osmotic pressures and prevention of membrane fouling. (authors)

[en] This paper presents the initial results of a research project initiated by Conoco Norway, Inc. (CNI) late in 1989. The objective of the project is to develop a screening protocol for determining the potential environmental impacts of five types of chemicals typically used in offshore oil and gas production operations in the North Sea. The protocol includes tests for determination of bioaccumulation potential, oil-water distribution factor, biodegradation potential, and toxicity. When fully developed, the protocol represents one possible approach to implementing the proposed PARCOM standard testing program. Only the results for the bioaccumulation potential and oil-water distribution factor are presented here. For determination of bioaccumulation potential, the High Performance Liquid Chromotography (HPLC) is recommended. The oil-water distribution factor can be determined by surrogate parameters as total organic carbon (TOC), UV-absorption or gas chromatography (GC). (Author)

[en] Volatile liquid hydrocarbons (VLHs) represent some 40% of crude oil and are considered to be the most toxic compounds of petroleum other than the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The distribution of these compounds in Kuwait's coastal waters in the vicinity and at the inlets of power plants was assessed. About 200 samples were collected from selected sampling stations over the four seasons. The VLHs in the samples were concentrated using Grob's closed-loop technique and analysed by GC using FID and confirmed by GC/MS. The results showed that VLHs were ubiquitous in the coastal water of Kuwait. The detected levels (ranged from 307 to 7882 ng/l in Kuwait Bay and from 331 to 5017 ng/l in the south) were comparable to the levels found in other parts of the world and were not alarming. However, the spotty higher levels encountered gave reason for some concern. Benzenoids (originating from petroleum) predominated, representing roughly 70% of the total VLHs. The levels were relatively low at the intake of the power plant located in the Kuwait Bay (annual average 677 ng/l) while higher levels (annual average 3006 ng/l) were encountered at the intake of the plant located at the south of oil the loading terminals and refineries. (author)