Bioaccumulation Of Zn And Pb In Avicennia Marina (forsk.) Vierh. And Sonneratia apetala Buch. Ham. From Urban Areas Of Mumbai (Bombay), India

Accumulation of heavy metals (Zn, Pb) was studied in two mangrove species Avicennia marina (Forsk.)Vierh. and Sonneratia apetala Buch.Ham. under field conditions. Variation in concentration of metals was found in leaf, root and sediment samples of these two species from different localities. Both the species of mangroves from different locations had high concentration of zinc when compared to lead. Lead showed less mobility towards the leaf tissue. In comparison to Sonneratia apetala, roots of Avicennia marina showed higher accumulation of the metals

Estimation of distribution coefficient of radium around a uranium mining site

The present study provides an estimation of the site-specific distribution coefficient for radium around a uranium mining site. The soil parameters which affect the Kd value of radium were also estimated. For the estimation of the distribution coefficient of radium the equilibration time was optimized. The distribution coefficient of radium was determined using the laboratory batch method. The distribution coefficient of radium varies from 796 ± 9 mL g-1 to 2,285 ± 52 mL g-1. Kd values of radium were observed to be higher for one-meter-depth soil samples compared with top soil samples in all the sampling locations. It was found that the Kd of radium strongly depends on different soil parameters such as pH, organic matter (OM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). With increasing soil pH, OM and CEC, the Kd of radium increases linearly

Bioaccumulation Of Zn And Pb In Avicennia Marina (forsk.) Vierh. And Sonneratia apetala Buch. Ham. From Urban Areas Of Mumbai (Bombay), India

Accumulation of heavy metals (Zn, Pb) was studied in two mangrove species Avicennia marina (Forsk.)Vierh. and Sonneratia apetala Buch.Ham. under field conditions. Variation in concentration of metals was found in leaf, root and sediment samples of these two species from different localities. Both the species of mangroves from different locations had high concentration of zinc when compared to lead. Lead showed less mobility towards the leaf tissue. In comparison to Sonneratia apetala, roots of Avicennia marina showed higher accumulation of the metals

Estimation of distribution coefficient of radium around a uranium mining site

The present study provides an estimation of the site-specific distribution coefficient for radium around a uranium mining site. The soil parameters which affect the Kd value of radium were also estimated. For the estimation of the distribution coefficient of radium the equilibration time was optimized. The distribution coefficient of radium was determined using the laboratory batch method. The distribution coefficient of radium varies from 796 ± 9 mL g-1 to 2,285 ± 52 mL g-1. Kd values of radium were observed to be higher for one-meter-depth soil samples compared with top soil samples in all the sampling locations. It was found that the Kd of radium strongly depends on different soil parameters such as pH, organic matter (OM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). With increasing soil pH, OM and CEC, the Kd of radium increases linearly

Natural radionuclides from coal fired thermal power plants – estimation of atmospheric release and inhalation risk

Coal, bottom ash and fly ash samples were collected from three different coal-fired thermal power plants in India and subjected to gamma spectrometry analysis for natural radioactivity contents. The results of present study show that fly ash and bottom ash contains two to five times more natural radionuclides than feed coal. None of the fly-ash and bottom ash samples had radium equivalent activities and external hazard index values more than 370 Bq kg–1 and unity respectively. However the absorbed dose rate at 1 m above the ash pond was 79.19n Gy h–1 (average of 3 plants) higher than the global average value of 55 nGy h–1. The corresponding annual external effective dose is estimated to be 0.68 mSv y–1, which is also more than that (0.46 mSv y–1) in areas of natural background radiation. The 5th percentile, 95th percentile and mean values for total inhalation risk arising from radionuclides (Ra226, Th228, Pb210 and Nat-U) were found to be 3.83 × 10−9, 6.50 × 10−8 and 2.08 × 10−8 respectively

Quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in size fractionated ambient aerosol and their source identification using wind profile data

Quantitative study of fourteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been determined using reversed phase High performance liquid chromatography ultraviolet detector in size fractionated (>PM10, PM10, PM25) ambient aerosol at Tombay, India. This method is based on liquid-liquid extraction using hexane as a suitable solvent. The meteorological data was monitored using wind monitoring instrument on hourly basis during sample collection. Polar graphs for wind direction were plotted by dividing the whole area into sixteen sectors by giving an interval of 22.5° where 0° refers to North direction. The range of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was found to be 0.08-6.8 ng/m3 in >PMm10 and 4.25-24.34 ng/m3 in PM10 respectively. The estimated results of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in size fractionated samples indicate that the more concentration was associated with smaller particulate. Naphthalene was the predominant compound obtained which was contributing around 60 of the total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. For the study of source identification, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations were correlated with respect to wind direction. The results showed that the Naphthalene concentration was more predominant when the wind direction was from South-South-West and South-West direction, where the refineries, thermal power plant and other petrochemical industries are situated in that direction. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compound Benzo(a) pyrene is a emission source for vehicular exhaust which was predominantly found when the wind direction was from North-North-East and North-East direction, where the Mumbai-Pune highway and Harbor railway is situated. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations were found to be very low when the wind direction was between East to South Direction where the Arabian Sea is situated. © Global Science Publications

Characterization of Atmospheric Particulate Matter using PIXE Technique

Coarse and fine particulate matter were collected at a residential area at Vashi, Navi Mumbai and the filter samples were analysed for trace elements using PIXE technique. The trend of particulate matter showed higher concentrations during winter than the summer and monsoon concentration levels. High concentrations of elements related to soil and sea salt were found in PM10 and PM2.5. Also high levels of zinc and sulphur found in the particulates of both the size fractions. EF analysis showed enrichment of Cu, Cr and Mn only in the fine fraction suggesting their origin from anthropogenic sources. The EF value was observed to be maximum for As, Pb and Zn in the fine particulates. However, crustal derived elements showed very low EF values indicating their origin from soil. The PCA based multivariate studies identified soil, sea salt, combustion and Se sources as common sources for coarse and additionally an industrial source has also been identified for fine particles