pHstat, ANC and BNC in the long time prediction and release of COPR in Albania

status: publishe

Chromium speciation and existing natural attenuation conditions in lagoonal and pond sediments in the former chemical plant of Porto-Romano (Albania)

Near the outskirts of the Albanian port of Durres on the Adriatic Coast, at a place called Porto Romano, an old chemical complex has been producing chromate salts for a period of ∼20 years (1972–1993). As a result large quantities of chromite ore processing residue (COPR) waste were released mainly as suspended particles and/or dissolved species in effluents, which settled in a decantation pond area, 200 × 250 m in size, east of the industrial plant. Unfortunately, pollutants were spread out with time. Knowing that chromium mobility and toxicity in natural settings is species dependent, the species characterization has been carried out in different sampling media (pond sediments, lagoonal sediments and water samples). Five pond profiles were sampled within the decantation area up to a depth of ∼1 m, till the underlying Quaternary lagoonal silty-clays were reached. Total Cr content is highly variable with values between 1,130 and 24,409 mg/kg which is clearly higher than the defined local background values for lagoonal silty-clays (198 mg/kg of Cr). Leaching of Cr(VI) especially occurs in the pond sediments, which are low in OC, CEC and clay content, under acidic and neutral pH conditions (e.g. up to ∼2,230 mg/kg Cr(VI) leached from a sample containing a total concentration of Cr 12,200 mg/kg). Moreover, leaching of the Cr(III) occurs only under strictly acidic conditions (maximum 1,144 mg/kg leached from a sample containing a total Cr-concentration of 17,608 mg/kg). In this study also a number of natural attenuation conditions (i.e. reaction with lagoonal clays rich in organic matter and iron as well as isomorphous substitution) have been recognized.status: publishe

ANC, BNC and mobilization of Cr from polluted sediments in function of pH changes

During the manufacturing of chromate salts (1972–1992) large quantities of Chromite Ore Processing Residue (COPR) were released into a decantation pond east of the former chemical plant of Porto-Romano (Durres, Albania), giving rise to yellow colored pond sediments. These Cr(VI) bearing sediments were deposited upon Quaternary silty-clay lagoonal sediments rich in iron oxides and organic matter. The pH values in these lagoonal sediments vary around 6.6, while in the pond sediments, it is mainly acidic (due to the presence of the sulfur stock piles in the area and the release of the H2SO4 from the activity of the former chemical plant), varying between 1.4 and 3.8. Continuous leaching of the COPR waste resulted in yellow-colored surface water runoff. The prediction of pH changes in the different types of sediments based upon acid/base neutralizing capacity (ANC/BNC) jointly with the quantitative data on release of heavy metals and especially Cr is considered an important advantage of the pHstat leaching test if compared to conventional leaching procedures. Thus, factors controlling the leaching of Cr(VI), Cr(III), Ca, Al, Fe, Mg from the COPR were investigated by means of pHstat batch leaching tests and mineralogical analysis. Moreover, mathematical and geochemical modeling complemented the study. The COPR in the area contain very high concentrations of chromium 24,409 mg/kg, which mainly occurs as Cr(III) (75–90%) as well as Cr(VI) (25–10%). The leaching of Cr(VI) occurs in all the range (2–10) of the tested pH values, however, it decreases under acidic conditions. Beside some reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), the Cr(VI) content of the leachtes remains relatively high in the acidic environment, while the limning of Cr(VI) pond sediments will increase the release of the latter specie. The leaching of the Cr(III) occurs strictly under acidic conditions, whereby limning of these sediments will give rise to the lower solubility of Cr(III). The key mineral phases responsible for the fast release of the Cr(VI) are: the chromate salts (i.e. sodium chromate and sodium dichromate), while sparingly soluble chromatite (CaCrO4) and hashemite (BaCrO4) release Cr(VI) very slowly. Thus, pH and mineral solubility have been identified as key factors in the retention and the release of the hexavalent CrO4 2− and Cr2O7 − from the COPR-rich pond sediments.status: publishe

The limits of partial life cycle assessment studies in road construction practices: A case study on the use of hydrated lime in Hot Mix Asphalt

Extensive published literature shows that hydrated lime improves Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) durability. Its impact on the environmental impact of HMA has not been investigated. This paper presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the use of HMA without hydrated lime (classical HMA) and with hydrated lime (modified HMA) for the lifetime of a highway. System boundaries cover the life cycle from cradle-to-grave, meaning extraction of raw materials to end of life of the road. The main assumptions were: 1. Lifetime of the road 50 years; 2. Classical HMA with a life span of 10 years, maintenance operations every 10 years; 3. Modified HMA with an increase in the life span by 25%, maintenance operations every 12.5 years. For the lifetime of the road, modified HMA has the lowest environmental footprint compared to classical HMA with the following benefits: 43% less primary total energy consumption resulting in 23% lower emissions of greenhouse gases. Partial LCAs focusing only on the construction and/or maintenance phase should be used with caution since they could lead to wrong decisions if the durability and the maintenance scenarios differ. Sustainable construction technologies should not only consider environmental impact as quantified by LCA, but also economic and social impacts as well. Avoiding maintenance steps means less road works, fewer traffic jams and hence less CO2 emissions

Mortality risk disparities in children receiving chronic renal replacement therapy for the treatment of end-stage renal disease across Europe: an ESPN-ERA/EDTA registry analysis

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: We explored the variation in country mortality rates in the paediatric population receiving renal replacement therapy across Europe, and estimated how much of this variation could be explained by patient-level and country-level factors. METHODS: In this registry analysis, we extracted patient data from the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ESPN/ERA-EDTA) Registry for 32 European countries. We included incident patients younger than 19 years receiving renal replacement therapy. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and the explained variation were modelled for patient-level and country-level factors with multilevel Cox regression. The primary outcome studied was all-cause mortality while on renal replacement therapy. FINDINGS: Between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2013, the overall 5 year renal replacement therapy mortality rate was 15.8 deaths per 1000 patient-years (IQR 6.4-16.4). France had a mortality rate (9.2) of more than 3 SDs better, and Russia (35.2), Poland (39.9), Romania (47.4), and Bulgaria (68.6) had mortality rates more than 3 SDs worse than the European average. Public health expenditure was inversely associated with mortality risk (per SD increase, aHR 0.69, 95% CI 0.52-0.91) and explained 67% of the variation in renal replacement therapy mortality rates between countries. Child mortality rates showed a significant association with renal replacement therapy mortality, albeit mediated by macroeconomics (eg, neonatal mortality reduced from 1.31 [95% CI 1.13-1.53], p=0.0005, to 1.21 [0.97-1.51], p=0.10). After accounting for country distributions of patient age, the variation in renal replacement therapy mortality rates between countries increased by 21%. INTERPRETATION: Substantial international variation exists in paediatric renal replacement therapy mortality rates across Europe, most of which was explained by disparities in public health expenditure, which seems to limit the availability and quality of paediatric renal care. Differences between countries in their ability to accept and treat the youngest patients, who are the most complex and costly to treat, form an important source of disparity within this population. Our findings can be used by policy makers and health-care providers to explore potential strategies to help reduce these health disparities. FUNDING: ERA-EDTA and ESPN