Impacts of Climate Change on indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals from agriculture

Objective: Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens and chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. Future risks of pathogens and chemicals could therefore be very different from those of today. In this review, we assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems in the United Kingdom and discuss the subsequent effects on health impacts. Data sources: In this review, we used expert input and considered literature on climate change ; health effects resulting from exposure to pathogens and chemicals arising from agriculture ; inputs of chemicals and pathogens to agricultural systems ; and human exposure pathways for pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. Data synthesis: We established the current evidence base for health effects of chemicals and pathogens in the agricultural environment ; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical and pathogen inputs in agricultural systems ; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of different contaminant types. We combined these data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. We then developed recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage any adverse increases in risks. Conclusions: Overall, climate change is likely to increase human exposures to agricultural contaminants. The magnitude of the increases will be highly dependent on the contaminant type. Risks from many pathogens and particulate and particle-associated contaminants could increase significantly. These increases in exposure can, however, be managed for the most part through targeted research and policy changes

A review of the meteorological parameters which affect aerial application

The ambient wind field and temperature gradient were found to be the most important parameters. Investigation results indicated that the majority of meteorological parameters affecting dispersion were interdependent and the exact mechanism by which these factors influence the particle dispersion was largely unknown. The types and approximately ranges of instrumented capabilities for a systematic study of the significant meteorological parameters influencing aerial applications were defined. Current mathematical dispersion models were also briefly reviewed. Unfortunately, a rigorous dispersion model which could be applied to aerial application was not available

Understanding the relationship between sedimentation, vegetation and topography in the Tijuana River Estuary, San Diego, CA.

The aim of this study is to identify and characterize key geomorphic properties and relationships within the study site, the Tijuana River Estuary. This is a first step in contributing data to and assisting current and future restoration projects in employing a holistic management approach. The study identifies specific physical parameters, grain size and metal concentrations, within the estuary whose relationship to one another is not mutually exclusive and therefore should be addressed in tandem. This study also tests a remote sensing method for use as a tool for monitoring habitat changes in the estuary

Evaluation of mercury accumulation and biotransportation in wetland plants affected by gold mining and industrial activities

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, 2017Six different plant species that grow in a natural wetland impacted by old gold mining and other industrial activities were randomly selected with surface sediments. These included: Cyperus eragrostis (Nutgrass), Datura stramonium (Jimson weed), Melilotus alba (White sweetclover), Panicum coloratum (Blue panicgrass), Persicaria lapathifolia (Pale smartweed) and Phragmites australis (Common reed). These were used to investigate the levels of mercury in the wet and dry seasons, as well as to evaluate which of the species could be utilized for the remediation of mercury contaminated areas. The results obtained indicated that metal contamination could be determined from sediments and plant tissues. The pH values of the sediment samples were mostly neutral to slightly acidic and the redox potential was high in the wet season. On the other hand the dry season was characterised by very acidic and moderately oxidizing conditions. In summer all six plant species had higher concentration of HgT in sediments, whereas in winter the levels of HgT were elevated in the aerial tissues of the plants. The mercury accumulation patterns differed according to individual plant species and seasonality. Seasonal differences were significant but generally the MeHg concentrations in the wet season were higher in both surface sediments and plant tissues. Mercury methylation differed between species but concentration of MeHg was in general higher in plants with high concentration of mercury in sediments. The conversion of bioavailable HgT seemed more pronounced in tissues of the plants sampled in the wet season unlike those sampled in the dry season. Generally bioaccumulation factors were less than 1 in both the wet and dry seasons for all the plant species indicating that Hg was mainly retained in sediments. The translocation factor values were greater than 1 meaning metals were accumulated fundamentally in aboveground tissues for the plants D. stramonium, P. lapathifolia, P. coloratum and C. eragrostis in both the wet and dry seasons. The small bioaccumulation factors combined with translocation factor values greater than 1 were an indication that mercury present in the sediments was not the only source of mercury for the plant species growing in a contaminated environment. For P. australis the translocation of mercury was heavily influenced by seasonality, however this was not the case with M. alba. All the selected plant species demonstrated the capacity to grow in a heavily contaminated area, where P. australis and M. alba seemed to have developed an exclusion strategy to deal with toxic heavy metals therefore suitable for phytostabilisation. D. stramonium, P. lapathifolia, P. coloratum and C. eragrostis on the other hand exhibited characteristics of plants that can be successfully used for phytoextraction and phytovolatilization.XL201

Quarterly literature review of the remote sensing of natural resources

The Technology Application Center reviewed abstracted literature sources, and selected document data and data gathering techniques which were performed or obtained remotely from space, aircraft or groundbased stations. All of the documentation was related to remote sensing sensors or the remote sensing of the natural resources. Sensors were primarily those operating within the 10 to the minus 8 power to 1 meter wavelength band. Included are NASA Tech Briefs, ARAC Industrial Applications Reports, U.S. Navy Technical Reports, U.S. Patent reports, and other technical articles and reports

SPATIAL VARIATION OF BENO-A-PYRENE, NICKEL AND LEAD CONFINED IN PM10 AS WELL MODELLING AND HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

Exposure to fine particulate matter from ambient air is a leading environmental contributor to disease burden across the world. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the common environmental pollutants. PAHs are persistent organic pollutants and strive carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. Aerosol samples in the particulate phase were collected simultaneously for the first time in Numaligarh at an industrial and a traffic dominated site for two year to investigate the gas–particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and heavy metal. The samples were collected using a high volume sampler on PTFE filter papers. Benzo-a-pyrene was analyzed using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry. The ground level concentration (GLC) of pollutants from stationary sources is computed    using   dispersion model AERMOD, which are mathematical relations between the source strength and concentration   and involves parameters related transport and diffusion. Increases in GLC (Ground Level Concentration) are very minimal. Maximum Predicted Summer Season 24 hour Average increase in GLC is 2.05 μgm-3 and that of winter is 1.58 μgm-3. Although PAH represented a high proportion of risk as carcinogenic whose Cancer Risk (CR) values were calculated (0.03 CR value), and they were very less than the permissible limit (CR 0.25). However, the risk of exposure to mixtures is difficult to estimate, and risk assessment by whole mixture potency evaluations has been done in this study. 

Compost and digestate: sustainability, benefits, impacts for the environment and for plant production

This proceedings volume contains the papers presented at the CODIS 2008 congress held on 27 - 29 February 2008 in Solothurn (Switzerland).The composting and digestion of biogenic waste materials and the subsequent application of compost and digestate to soil contributes to nutrient recycling and renewable energy production. Moreover, compost and digestate can improve soil fertility and suppress plant diseases. On the other hand, compost and digestate may also contain a variety of pollutants hazardous to soil, such as heavy metals and organic contaminants.Compost and digestate have been thoroughly investigated in the framework of two associated projects entitled Organic Pollutants in Compost and Digestate in Switzerland and Effects of Composts and Digestate on the Environment, Soil Fertility and Plant Health. These projects yielded new insights into the properties of compost and digestate, mainly with regard to biological parameters and the occurrence of both classic and emerging organic pollutants.The CODIS 2008 congress was the final event of these two projects