DDTs and PCBs in the Adriatic Sea

A review and discussion of analytical developments in the determination of DDTs and PCBs in sea environment are presented, including sample treatment, clean-up, identification and quantitative determination by gas-liquid chromatography. The fates of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the sea are discussed with regard to the pollutant-particle association with surfaces and their dynamics in a Coastal marine environment. Hydrophobic association of pollutants with surfaces and then their biological incorporation, aggregation and cycling are also discussed. The levels and trends of DDTs and PCBs in the Adriatic Sea air, rain, water, sediments, plankton, plants, shellfish, crabs, fishes, and other marine organisms, including seabirds and mammals, are reviewed and compared with the levels of these pollutants in the Mediterranean area. Comparison of data reported for DDTs and PCBs levels in different environmental compartments of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea over the last two decades shows a substantial decline in these compounds. The author also presents discussion about the use of biomarkers for risk estimation of micropollutants in the Adriatic and the risk related to acceptable daily intake of chlorinated hydrocarbons by a critical population on the coast

Ponašanje polikloriranih bifenila (PCB) u zagađenom tlu na podrčju Zadra

This study analysed PCB-contaminated natural soil excavated from an area adjacent to an electrical transformer station in Zadar, Croatia. For one year, PCB concentrations were measured in the soil and leachate water under natural climatic conditions. After 12 months, a negligible quantity of Aroclor 1248 (0.024 % in average) and a total of seven key PCB congeners (IUPAC No: PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, and PCB-180) were leached through the soils into water collected under lysimeters (0.032 % in average). Although the amounts of leached PCBs were relatively small, their range 2 µg L-1 to 15 µg L-1 substantially exceeds the maximal allowed concentration of total PCBs in fishponds which is 1 ng L-1. Soil samples were taken on two occasions from three depths from each lysimeter. The distribution of total PCBs as Aroclor 1248 equivalents and seven individual PCB congeners was determined within soil layers before and after planting seeds. In all soil plots the content of total seven PCBs and some individual PCB congeners in the surface soil layers significantly decreased. The total content of the seven PCB congeners in the surface soil layer of all soil plots decreased between 19.0 % (soil plot 2) and 47.6 % (soil plot 1) and in the middle soil layer between 8.1 % (soil plot 4) and 37.4 % (soil plot 1). PCB-28 and PCB-52 showed the highest percent of removal in all soil plots after 12 months of the experiment. The most important mechanism of removal of “lighter” congeners may be evaporation from the soil surface. Generally, our results showed that the PCBs accumulated in the deepest level of the soil, probably due to vertical transport and decreased evaporation. Some of the PCB content was lost to their degradation in the rhizosphere of the plants growing on the analysed soil plots.U ovom radu korišteno je prirodno tlo zagađeno s PCB-ima. Tlo je iskopano oko uništenog kondenzatora trafostanice Zadar (ETS 110/35 kV). Eksperiment je proveden pod prirodnim klimatskim uvjetima tijekom jedne godine, kako bi se mjerila razina PCB-a u tlu i procjednim vodama. Pokusna površina sastoji se od 4 gredice. Na svakoj gredici postavljena su tri lizimetra. Nakon 12 mjeseci (12 perioda u sakupljanju procjednih voda) relativno male količine Aroclora 1248 (prosječno 0,024 %) i sume 7 ključnih kongenera PCB-a (IUPAC No: PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153 i PCB-180) nađene su u procjednoj vodi (prosječno 0,032 %). Međutim, ukoliko se uzme u obzir da su maksimalno dopuštene razine PCB-a u ribogojilištima 1 ng L-1, razine izmjerene u procjednim vodama u rasponu od 2 µg L-1 do 15 µg L-1 su više nego značajne. Tijekom dva uzorkovanja analizirano je tlo sa svakog lizimetra na tri dubine. Prije i poslije sijanja biljaka istraživana je raspodjela ukupnih PCB-a tj. sadržaj Aroclora 1248 i pojedinačnih sedam ključnih PCB-a unutar analiziranih slojeva. U površinskom sloju tla svih gredica uočeno je značajno smanjenje sume sedam ključnih PCB-a i pojedinih kongenera PCB-a. Nakon 12 mjeseci, najveći postotak smanjenja zagađivala određen je u tlu gredice br. 1. Rezultati ukazuju da se sadržaj sume sedam ključnih PCB-a u površinskom sloju tla svih gredica smanjio i taj gubitak je u rasponu od 19,0 % (gredica br.2) do 47,6 % (gredica br.1). U srednjem sloju tla gubitak sume sedam ključnih PCB-a je u rasponu od 8,1 % (gredica br.4) do 37,4 % (gredica br.1). Tijekom pokusa u tlu svih gredica uočen je najveći gubitak PCB-28 i PCB-52. Jedan od glavnih mehanizama odgovornih za gubitak niže kloriranih kongenera PCB-a iz površinskog sloja tla je hlapljenje. Općenito, rezultati ukazuju na povišene razine PCB-a u dubljim slojevima tla u odnosu na površinski sloj, vjerojatno zbog vertikalnog transporta PCB-a i manjeg hlapljenja. Osim toga, određeni gubitak PCB-a sigurno je i posljedica njihove razgradnje u rizosferi nađenog biljnog pokrova istraživane zemljišne pokusne površine

Detection of gross beta radioactivity in natural waters by a new evaporation method

Razrađen je veoma jednostavan, precizan, osjetljiv i relativno kratak postupak za određivanje ukupne beta radioaktivnosti u prirodnim vodama. Pokusi su rađeni s uzorcima kišnice. riječnih i cisternskih voda umjet· no kontaminiranim sa smjesom Sr-90, Cs-137 i Ce-144 i na normalnim uzorcima prirodnih voda konlaminiranim radioaktivnim padavinama. Postupak se sastoji u tome da se u uzorak vode od 1 litre doda izvjesna količina otopine kalcijeva acetata i vodena otopina 1 N citronske kiseline, odnosno 1 % otopine kompleksona III, u pari do malog volumena na plinskom kuhalu i kvantitativno prenese u planšete promjera 55 mm. Sadržaj planšeta ispari se do suha i mjeri pomoću protočnog GM brojača niskog osnovnog brojenja, Preciznost metode je vrlo dobra. tako da se standardna relativna greška od mjerenja 10 paralelnih uzoraka kreće unutar greške brojenja. Brojenjem uzoraka kišnice i rijeka od 100 min. i osnovnog brojenja mjernog sistema oko 1.5 imp/min. greška iznosi oko 10%, a kod cisternske vode i manje.A very simple, reproducible and relatively short evaporation procedure for detecting gross beta radioactivity of natural waters has been worked out. The experiments were performed on the samples of rain, river and cystern waters artificially contaminated with 4-year-old fission products and on the samples of natural waters contaminated with the fall-out

War Consequences as the Potential Hazard for the Croatian Karstic Ecosystem

Tijekom nedavnog rata krško područje Hrvatske bilo je ugroženo opasnim otpadom pa zahtijeva osobitu pažnju zbog izuzetne ekološke osjetljivosti. Postoje čvrste naznake da su različita organska zagađivala dospjela u okoliš. Također se pretpostavlja da je ulje koje sadržava poliklorirane bifenile (PCB) proliveno na nekoliko lokacija. Nakon prodiranja u okolinu, ovi se spojevi brzo apsorbiraju u tlu, sedimentu ili se bioakumuliraju u organizmima vodenog ekosustava. Uzimajući u obzir lokacije uništenih trafostanica u Zadru, Bilicama i Dubrovniku, postojala su nagađanja o daljnjem prodiranju organohalogeniranih otrovnih tvari i potencijalnoj ugroženosti Vranskog jezera te obalnog mora oko Zadra, Šibenika i dubrovačkog područja. Sedimenti i neki vodeni organizmi skupljeni su sa spomenutih područja i analizirani. Rezultati su pokazali da ne postoji značajna zagađenost, odnosno nisu utvrđene visoke razine ovih zagađivala u područjima Vranskog jezera, grada Šibenika i Dubrovnika (lokacija Petka), dok je u zaljevu Mikulandra blizu Šibenika, Rijeci Dubrovačkoj, Brodanovu i Marini blizu Vruljice u Zadru, opažena značajno viša razina PCB-a. Iz tih razloga tijekom 2002. do 2005. godine vršena su mnogobrojna uzorkovanja i analiza ovih spojeva u zraku, zemljištu, sedimentima i organizmima zadarskog i dubrovačkog područja unutar projekta APOPSBAL koji je financirala Europska komisija. Rezultati ovih istraživanja prikazani su u ovome radu.In the recent war in Croatia, the karstic area of the country was endangered by hazardous waste, which calls for particular attention because of its exceptional ecological sensitivity. There are strong indications that various organic pollutants have entered the environment. It is also assumed that oil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was spilled in a number of locations. After the penetration in the environment, these substances are quickly absorbed in soil, sediment or bioaccumulated in the organisms of the aquatic ecosystem. In view of the locations of damaged electric transformer stations in Zadar, Bilice and Dubrovnik, there was some speculation on potential hazard posed by organohalogenated toxicants to Lake Vransko and the coastal area around Zadar, Šibenik and Dubrovnik. Samples of sediments and aquatic organisms were collected and analysed, and the results showed no significant or high levels of contaminants in the areas of Lake Vransko, Šibenik, and Dubrovnik (Petka location), while in the Mikulandra Bay near Šibenik, in Rijeka Dubrovaèka, Brodanovo location and Marina near the Vruljica Creek in Zadar, significantly higher levels of PCBs were observed and these toxicants were additionally monitored within the APOPSBAL project from 2002 to 2005. The results of these investigations are presented in this paper

A possibility of detecting fresh fission products in the atmosphere by the autoradiographic method

Opisana je mogućnost detekcije svježih fisionih produkata veoma malog intenziteta u atmosferi autoradiografijom sakupljenog aerosola na filtar-papiru. Dati su rezultati autoradiografije i mjerenja opće beta-radioaktivnosti uzoraka zraka iz Zadra te samo opće-beta-radioaktivnosti uzoraka iz Zagreba, Skopja, Gevgelije, Sarajeva, Ljubljane, Ajdovščine i Jezerskog u periodu od 25. VI do 25. VII 1967, tj. u vremenu očekivanog dolaska radioaktivnog oblaka nastalog kao posljedica nuklearne ekspozije u NR Kini 17. VI 1967. godine.Following the June 1967 detonation of a nuclear device over China the autoradiographic technique was used to study the radioactive particulates in surface air samples collected in mass. In the samples collected in the city of Zadar the gross beta-activity per unit volume of air and the number of radioactive parbicles were determined. In the samples collected in the towns of Gevgelija, Sarajevo, Skopje, Ljubljana, Aidovščina, Jezersko and Zagreb only gross beta activity measurements were performed. The sampling was done in the period from June 25 to July 25, 1967