Arsenic-contaminated ground- and drinking water is a global environmental problem with about 1-2Prozent of the world's population being affected. The upper drinking water limit for arsenic (10 Micro g/l) recommended by the WHO is often exceeded, even in industrial nations in Europe and the USA. Chronic intake of arsenic causes severe health problems like skin diseases (e.g. blackfoot disease) and cancer. In addition to drinking water, seafood and rice are the main reservoirs for arsenic uptake. Arsenic is oftentimes of geogenic origin and in the environment it is mainly bound to iron(III) minerals. Iron(III)-reducing bacteria are able to dissolve these iron minerals and therefore release the arsenic to the environment. In turn, iron(II)-oxidizing bacteria have the potential to co-precipitate or sorb arsenic during iron(II)- oxidation at neutral pH followed by iron(III) mineral precipitation. This process may reduce arsenic concentrations in the environment drastically, lowering the potential risk for humans dramatically.The main goal of this study therefore is to quantify, identify and isolate anaerobic and aerobic Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms in arsenic-containing paddy soil. The co-precipitation and thus removal of arsenic by iron mineral producing bacteria will be determined in batch and microcosm experiments. Finally the influence of rhizosphere redox status on microbial Fe oxidation and arsenic uptake into rice plants will be evaluated in microcosm experiments. The long-term goal of this research is to better understand arsenic-co-precipitation and thus arsenic-immobilization by iron(II)-oxidizing bacteria in rice paddy soil. Potentially these results can lead to an improvement of living conditions in affected countries, e.g. in China or Bangladesh.
Groundwater contamination by organic compounds represents a widespread environmental problem. The heterogeneity of geological formations and the complexity of physical and biogeochemical subsurface processes, often hamper a quantitative characterization of contaminated aquifers. Compound specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) has emerged as a novel approach to investigate contaminant transformation and to relate contaminant sources to downgradient contamination. This method generally assumes that only (bio)chemical transformations are associated with isotope effects. However, recent studies have revealed isotope fractionation of organic contaminants by physical processes, therefore pointing to the need of further research to determine the influence of both transport and reactive processes on the observed overall isotope fractionation. While the effect of gasphase diffusion on isotope ratios has been studied in detail, possible effects of aqueous phase diffusion and dispersion have received little attention so far.The goals of this study are to quantify carbon (13C/12C) and, for chlorinated compounds, chlorine (37Cl/35Cl) isotope fractionation during diffusive/dispersive transport of organic contaminants in groundwater and to determine its consequences for source allocation and assessment of reactive processes using isotopes. The proposed research is based on the combination of high-resolution experimental studies, both at the laboratory (i.e. zero-, one- and two-dimensional systems) and at the field scales, and solute transport modeling. The project combines the expertise in the field of contaminant transport with the expertise on isotope methods in contaminant hydrogeology.
Objective: Space heating accounts for more than 50Prozent of the energy consumption of public & residential buildings, and reduction of this energy demand is a key strategy in the move to low energy/low carbon buildings. The careful management of air flow within a building forms part of this strategy through the control of inlet fresh air and exhaust air, maximising air re-circulation, and minimising the amount of fresh air which is often drawn in through a heat exchanger. However, there is a high risk that the air quality is reduced. Continued exposure to environments with poor air quality is a major public health concern in developed and developing countries. It is estimated that the pollutants responsible for poor air quality cause nearly 2.5 million premature deaths per year world-wide. Significantly, around 1.5 million of these deaths are due to polluted indoor air, and it is suggested that poor indoor air quality may pose a significant health risk to more than half of the world's population. Perhaps surprisingly, remedial action to improve air quality is often easy to implement. Relatively simple measures such as increased air flow through ventilation systems, or a greater proportion of fresh air to re-circulating air are sufficient to improve air quality. Low-energy air purification and detoxification technologies are available which will reduce the concentration of specific pollutants. Similarly, filtration systems (e.g. electrostatic filters) can be switched in to reduce the level of the particulate matter in the air (the principle pollutant responsible for poor health). The INTASENSE concept is to integrate a number of micro- and nano-sensing technologies onto a common detection platform with shared air-handling and pre-conditioning infrastructure to produce a low-cost miniaturised system that can comprehensively measure air quality, and identify the nature and form of pollutants. INTASENSE is a 3-year project which brings together 8 organisations from 5 countries.
Honey is among the oldest food products of mankind and beekeeping is deeply rooted in every European culture. Numerous European and national regulations control honey quality, which reflects both the high nutritional and societal value of the product. Yet in an environment with increasing chemical pollution and the wide use of agrochemicals, honey runs high risks of becoming chemically polluted. In addition a broad spectrum of chemicals is used to treat honeybee diseases, further contaminating honey with sometimes highly toxic compounds. The BEE SHOP is a network of ten leading European honeybee research groups in honey quality, pathology, genetics and behaviour as well as selected beekeeping industries, which all share a common interest in promoting Europe's high honey quality standards. The prime goal is to reduce potential sources of honey contamination due to both foraging contaminated nectar and chemotherapy of honeybee diseases. The BEE SHOP will therefore deal with the development of biological resistance to pests and pathogens to avoid chemotherapy. Various European honeybee races and populations will be screened for their disease resistance potential to the main pressing pathogens. Differences in foraging patterns among European honeybees and their underlying mechanisms will be studied to identify behavioural traits reducing contamination. Differences in disease susceptibility will be genetically analysed by QTL mapping. Major loci in the genome will be identified with the aid of the published honeybee genome. SNPs will be developed to allow for selection of specific target genes in both drones and queens before insemination. This will greatly accelerate the selection progress in honeybee breeding allowing for the swift establishment of resistant but efficient stock. New tools for testing honey quality and authenticity will be developed to allow inspections of honey according to the current EC directives on honey quality and organic beekeeping.
Mercury (Hg) is a persistent micropollutant presenting a substantial risk to the environment and an important threat to the human health. Past and present Hg contaminations of surface waters are thus of major concern due to the potential of Hg to accumulate in biota and magnify in the food chain. Therefore, the improved understanding of the relationship between Hg dispersion, distribution among sediments, particles, colloids and dissolved fractions, as well as accumulation and impact to biota is a prerequisite to fully assess the Hg threat to the aquatic systems and human health. By applying an integrated approach including a combination of field studies, laboratory analyses and numerical simulations, the present proposal aims to assess the impact of the Hg in the industrially impacted surface water bodies in Romania and to identify the possible threat on these resources The project focuses on River Olt basin, as one of the most impacted surface water body in Romania, altered by the cascade dam construction and under extensive past and present industrial activity. The Rm Valcea region comprises a high number of industrial companies including a large chlor-alkali plant (Oltchim), which is recognized as important point sources of Hg. A large array of hydro(geo)logical, physical, chemical, and ecotoxicological tools will be used to address the following key issues: - Performance of Hg survey and estimation the pollution extent in water and sediments; - Determination of the transport and dispersion of Hg in water column and sediments; - Improvement of the understanding on the behaviour of Hg associated to colloids, inorganic particles and organic matter; - Assessment of the bioaccumulation and effect of Hg to different organisms with emphasis on the primary producers in particular microalgae and macrophytes; - Evaluation of the food chain transfer and possible risks for the human health. The project will largely contribute to the understanding of mercury fate and impact in the contaminated systems and improved knowledge on complex processes governing the transfer and impact of Hg from the contaminated surface waters to humans. The project is also expected to contribute broadly to solving societal problems in Romania and to provide a scientific base for a sound definition of the existing problem and understand the causal chain, as well as it will help to develop efficient and cost-effective measures for protection. Strengthening the capacity, improving integration of scientists in the international network as well as developing 'best practices' for impact assessment of pollutants are other major outcomes of the project. They will be a significant step forward contaminant assessment in the entire Danube - Black Sea - Caspian Sea region, as it is a commonly accepted that historical industrial pollution from former communist times represents a significant threat for public health.
Present concepts of industrial management are based on a linear value chain of products and services. Input materials such as raw materials, water and energy are transformed into products and by-products but cogenerating significant amount of wastes and polluting emissions. Cleaner production approach, focusing on single process efficiency within companies, and industrial symbiosis approach, focusing on systemic spatial resource efficiency among different companies, are both contributing to reduce the environmental impact of the industrial production. In this context, different tools to optimize industrial management have been developed, but none of them include both approaches. The aim of the present project is to combine both approaches in order to increase the overall resource efficiency of industrial processes within a system of different factories. Overall goal of the program Ecomanindustry: Development of a universal reproducible software based tool called CPIS for decision support integrating the existing experiences and methodologies of Cleaner Production (CP) and Industrial Symbiosis (IS). The CPIS-tool will facilitate inter-industrial assessment and communication for waste avoidance and reuse of materials based on the Software as a Service (SaaS) principles. Specific goals of the swiss partners: FHNW: FHNW will be the coordinator of the overall Project and lead field tests and case studies. FHNW will collect customer feedback on existing software and test user friendly and failure free functionality of a beta version of the developed CPIS-tool in a field test, and proof customer acceptance of the CPIS-tool application in two case studies. UNIL: UNIL will gather and valorize previous research and experiences of existing GIS-based decision support tools for the development of eco-industrial parks, design the concept, functionalities and boundaries of the software-based CPIS-tool, and choose the appropriate technologies to be implemented in the CPIS-tool. SOFIES: SOFIES will build a community of users and service provider, ensure the long term development of the CPIS-tool, promote the dissemination to other countries and elaborate adequate user guide and training to facilitate dissemination.
The aim of the project is to determine the potential of phytoremediative measures for clean-up of PAH-contaminated soils by testing different polluted soils, investigating the major mechanisms involved, the role of the root system and the associated microorganisms (bacteria, mycorrhiza), and if the toxicity of the contaminated soils is reduced in the course of the treatment. The phytoremediation experiments will be accomplished at LIMOS (Nancy CNRS), which has the expertise and equipment to apply this technique. The evaluation of bioavailability as well as toxicity will be conducted at the IFA (Tulln, Austria) which has the equipment and competency to carry out the respective tests.
Although the use of genetically modified plants for bioremediation, or the in situ cleaning of contaminated sites, has been known for quite some time, little attention has so far been paid to the production of antibodies in plants and their ex vivo application in selective depletion. Therefore, highly affine and specific antibodies against algal toxins using microcystin as an example will be produced in plants at low cost within this research project. The basis is a monoclonal antibody (Mab 10E7, species: mouse) generated in a former research project. The sequence of the variable domains will be determined, optimized for plants and sub cloned into suitable plant transformation vectors, which already contain constant antibody sequences. In addition, a scFv fragment containing different tag sequences and fusion proteins will be constructed. Leaf-based (tobacco) as well as seed-based (barley) systems will be used.Affinity-purified plant-produced antibodies (plantibodies) will be characterized in detail for their binding properties using microtitre plate-ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The monoclonal mouse antibody will be used as reference. To assure cost-efficiency for future applications, roughly purified fractions (sequential pH and temperature treatment followed by filtration) will be tested for the upscaling. Following immobilization of the plantibody fractions on suitable substrates, for instance membranes, porous polymer monoliths or in porous glasses, their application for depletion will be defined using model water samples spiked fortified with microcystins.
Understanding transport of contaminants is fundamental for the management of groundwater re-sources and the implementation of remedial strategies. In particular, mixing processes in saturated porous media play a pivotal role in determining the fate and transport of chemicals released in the subsurface. In fact, many abiotic and biological reactions in contaminated aquifers are limited by the availability of reaction partners. Under steady-state flow and transport conditions, dissolved reactants come into contact only through transverse mixing. In homogeneous porous media, transverse mixing is determined by diffusion and pore-scale dispersion, while in heterogeneous formations these local mixing processes are enhanced. Recent studies investigated the enhancement of transverse mixing due to the presence of heterogeneities in two-dimensional systems. Here, mixing enhancement can solely be attributed to flow focusing within high-permeability inclusions. In the proposed work, we will investigate mixing processes in three dimensions using high-resolution laboratory bench-scale experiments and advanced modeling techniques. The objective of the proposed research is to quantitatively assess how 3-D heterogeneity and anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity affect mixing processes via (i) flow focusing and de-focusing, (ii) increase of the plume surface, (iii) twisting and intertwining of streamlines and (iv) compound-specific diffusive/dispersive properties of the solute species undergoing transport. The results of the experimental and modeling investigation will allow us to identify effective large-scale parameters useful for a correct description of conservative and reactive mixing at field scales allowing to explain discrepancies between field observations, bench-scale experiments and current stochastic theory.
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