The nearness of the remote: "The Broom of the Cowdenknows" (Child 217) revisited

"The Broom of the Cowdenknows" has been put forward by Robert Chambers as "the best specimen that can be given of that native poetry on which Scotland prides herself so much." 1 "The Brume o' the Cowdenknowes" Chambers had in mind, however, is not the tradi tional ballad, but — as he calls it — a "simple, delightful, and truly pastoral song" 2 that was first published in Allan Ramsay's Tea - Table Miscellany in 1723 and was written by a man — or more likely a woman — with the initials S.R.

Women as the chief preservers of traditional ballad poetry

F. J. Child argued that it is “mainy through women everywhere” that the ballads are preserved and yet to him, as to Percy, Herder, Motherwell or Grundtvig before, women are only the mediators of an older male form of literature (heroic ballads, minstrel song, etc). The essential maternal feminity of orality is part of the German Romantic myth of origin. The ‘Volk’/people had to be (kept) anonymous in order to produce ‘VOLKSballaden’/popular ballads. What has come down to us in writing are very often ballads sung by women, recorded by men and presented as the ‘manly’, powerful, genuine ballads of the people. By arguing for women everywhere being the chief preservers of traditional ballad poetry, F. J. Child paved the way for seeking out these women locally

Cadmium contamination of agricultural soils and crops resulting from sphalerite weathering.

The biogeochemistry and bioavailability of cadmium, released during sphalerite weathering in soils, were investigated under contrasting agricultural scenarios to assess health risks associated with sphalerite dust transport to productive soils from mining. Laboratory experiments (365 d) on temperate and sub-tropical soils amended with sphalerite (<63 μm, 0.92 wt.% Cd) showed continuous, slow dissolution (0.6-1.2% y(-1)). Wheat grown in spiked temperate soil accumulated ≈38% (29 μmol kg(-1)) of the liberated Cd, exceeding food safety limits. In contrast, rice grown in flooded sub-tropical soil accumulated far less Cd (0.60 μmol kg(-1)) due to neutral soil pH and Cd bioavailability was possibly also controlled by secondary sulfide formation. The results demonstrate long-term release of Cd to soil porewaters during sphalerite weathering. Under oxic conditions, Cd may be sufficiently bioavailable to contaminate crops destined for human consumption; however flooded rice production limits the impact of sphalerite contamination

Women as the chief preservers of traditional ballad poetry

F. J. Child argued that it is “mainy through women everywhere” that the ballads are preserved and yet to him, as to Percy, Herder, Motherwell or Grundtvig before, women are only the mediators of an older male form of literature (heroic ballads, minstrel song, etc). The essential maternal feminity of orality is part of the German Romantic myth of origin. The ‘Volk’/people had to be (kept) anonymous in order to produce ‘VOLKSballaden’/popular ballads. What has come down to us in writing are very often ballads sung by women, recorded by men and presented as the ‘manly’, powerful, genuine ballads of the people. By arguing for women everywhere being the chief preservers of traditional ballad poetry, F. J. Child paved the way for seeking out these women locally

Abandoned metal mines and their impact on receiving waters: A case study from Southwest England.

Historic mine sites are a major source of contamination to terrestrial and river environments. To demonstrate the importance of determining the significance of point and diffuse metal contamination and the related bioavailability of the metals present from abandoned mines a case study has been carried out. The study provides a quantitative assessment of a historic mine site, Wheal Betsy, southwest England, and its contribution to non-compliance with Water Framework Directive (WFD) Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. Surface water and sediment samples showed significant negative environmental impacts even taking account of the bioavailability of the metal present, with lead concentration in the stream sediment up to 76 times higher than the Canadian sediment guidelines 'Probable Effect Level'. Benthic invertebrates showed a decline in species richness adjacent to the mine site with lead and cadmium the main cause. The main mine drainage adit was the single most significant source of metal (typically 50% of metal load from the area, but 88% for Ni) but the mine spoil tips north and south of the adit input added together discharged roughly an equivalent loading of metal with the exception of Ni. The bioavailability of metal in the spoil tips exhibited differing spatial patterns owing to varying ambient soil physico-chemistry. The data collected is essential to provide a clear understanding of the contamination present as well as its mobility and bioavailability, in order to direct the decision making process regarding remediation options and their likely effectiveness

Next generation ice core technology reveals true minimum natural levels of lead (Pb) in the atmosphere: insights from the Black Death

Current policies to reduce lead pollution in the air are based on the assumption that pre-industrial levels of lead in the air were negligible, safe or non-existent. This trans-disciplinary article shows that this is not the case, using ‘next-generation’ laser technology in climate science, in combination with detailed historical and archaeological records in as many as 7 languages, from all over Europe. We show that lead levels in the air have been elevated for the past 2000 years, except for a single 4-year period. This 4-year period corresponds with the largest known pandemic ever to ravage western Europe (the Black Death), resulting in a 40-50% reduction in population. This unprecedented historic population collapse was accompanied by dramatic economic collapse that halted lead mining and smelting, and related emissions in the air. This trans-disciplinary study is a collaboration led by Harvard University and the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, and researchers from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and the University of Nottingham (UK). It uses next-generation technology and expertise in history, climate science, archaeology and toxicology, brought to bear in a highly detailed contribution to planetary health, with crucial implications for public health and environmental policy, and the history of human exposure to lead

Seasonality and Children’s Blood Lead Levels: Developing a Predictive Model Using Climatic Variables and Blood Lead Data from Indianapolis, Indiana, Syracuse, New York, and New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

On a community basis, urban soil contains a potentially large reservoir of accumulated lead. This study was undertaken to explore the temporal relationship between pediatric blood lead (BPb), weather, soil moisture, and dust in Indianapolis, Indiana; Syracuse, New York; and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Indianapolis, Syracuse, and New Orleans pediatric BPb data were obtained from databases of 15,969, 14,467, and 2,295 screenings, respectively, collected between December 1999 and November 2002, January 1994 and March 1998, and January 1998 and May 2003, respectively. These average monthly child BPb levels were regressed against several independent variables: average monthly soil moisture, particulate matter < 10 μm in diameter (PM(10)), wind speed, and temperature. Of temporal variation in urban children’s BPb, 87% in Indianapolis (R(2) = 0.87, p = 0.0004), 61% in Syracuse (R(2) = 0.61, p = 0.0012), and 59% in New Orleans (R(2) = 0.59, p = 0.0000078) are explained by these variables. A conceptual model of urban Pb poisoning is suggested: When temperature is high and evapotranspiration maximized, soil moisture decreases and soil dust is deposited. Under these combined weather conditions, Pb-enriched PM(10) dust disperses in the urban environment and causes elevated Pb dust loading. Thus, seasonal variation of children’s Pb exposure is probably caused by inhalation and ingestion of Pb brought about by the effect of weather on soils and the resulting fluctuation in Pb loading

Industrial mining heritage and the legacy of environmental pollution in the Derbyshire Derwent catchment: quantifying contamination at a regional scale and developing integrated strategies for management of the wider historic environment

The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) exemplifies and records the 18th century birth of the factory or mill technology, and for the industrial spinning of cotton. The site is therefore a key global heritage asset. The Derbyshire Derwent catchment also contains another significant cultural asset with a long history – that of mining and, in particular, lead (Pb) mining. In this paper research on mining- and non-mining related Pb contamination of the Derwent catchment is reviewed and used to identify the risks it poses to the DVMWHS. The upper Derwent soils, though not impacted by mining, have high sediment-borne Pb concentrations, and the Pb is sourced from local conurbations (principally Manchester) and carried to the upper Derwent on the wind. River sediments in the middle and lower parts of the Derwent catchment are contaminated with Pb mined mainly between the 18th and 19th centuries and before, possibly as far back to the Bronze Age. The potential for large-scale, acidity-related chemical remobilization of this Pb is low in the Derwent catchment due to the largely alkaline nature of the underlying soils, but the potential for oxidation-reduction-related, and physical (flood-related), remobilization, is higher. Management guidelines for mining heritage assets and the DVMWHS are developed from the reviewed information, with the view that these will provide a framework for future work in, and management of, the DVMWHS that will be applicable to other World Heritage Sites affected by ongoing and past metal-mining. Focused collaborative work between archaeologists, geochemists, geomorphologists and mineralogistsis vital if the risks to the DVMWHS and other similarly-affected World Heritage Sites are to be quantified and, if necessary, mitigated