Dietary acrylamide exposure estimates for the United Kingdom and Ireland: comparison between semiprobabilistic and probabilistic exposure models

Since the discovery of acrylamide in foods, there have been many calculations of dietary exposure. Total diet studies have been commonly used to estimate consumer exposure of acrylamide; however, these often fall short in evaluating true exposure levels because of limitations in small occurrence data sets. Dietary exposure to acrylamide can also be estimated by use of modeling packages. The U.K. Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland have prepared estimates for dietary acrylamide exposure using semiprobabilistic and probabilistic modeling. Occurrence data were obtained from the European Union acrylamide monitoring database, whereas consumption data were obtained from the relevant U.K. and Irish National Diet and Nutrition Surveys. The mean adult U.K. consumer exposure was estimated as 0.61 microg/kg of body weight (bw)/day and high-level adult consumer exposure (P97.5) as 1.29 microg/kg of bw/day. The mean adult Irish consumer exposure was estimated as 0.59 microg/kg of bw/day and the high-level adult consumer exposure (P97.5) as 1.75 microg/kg of bw/day. Owing to the wide range of acrylamide levels in foods, semiprobabilistic modeling does not always provide an accurate picture of dietary exposure levels and patterns. Therefore, a comparison of semiprobabilistic assessments to probabilistic assessments of U.K. and Irish dietary exposure estimates of certain food groups is provided.     

The ecological effectiveness of protected areas: The United Kingdom

Given the importance placed on protected areas, determining their effectiveness in representing and maintaining biodiversity is a core issue in conservation biology. Nonetheless, frameworks identifying the breadth of issues associated with this effectiveness, and case studies of how well these are understood in particular regions, remain lacking. In this paper, we provide such a framework and an overview of the current state of knowledge of the ecological effectiveness of protected areas in the United Kingdom. Arguably, better data are available to address such issues in this region than anywhere else in the world. Nonetheless, studies remain scarce and have focussed foremost on the, rather narrow, issue of the effectiveness of management actions on individual sites in order to deliver fixed conservation objectives and discharge statutory responsibilities. Some attention has also been paid to how well the regional collection or portfolio of protected areas performs, particularly in capturing biodiversity features. Work on the extent to which protected areas in the United Kingdom form effective functional networks is in its infancy, but initiatives are under development. We identify some of the questions about the effectiveness of protected areas to which answers need to be known at the site, portfolio and network levels, and how significant progress might be achieved in addressing these.     

Mapping of critical loads and levels for pollution damage to building materials in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom National Materials Exposure Programme was initiated in 1986 to study the effects of acid deposition on building materials. The output data in the form of empirical dose-response equations (described elsewhere) have been incorporated into a geographical information system (GIS). In addition, data for the stock at risk of building materials has also been used. The dose-response relations indicate a dominance of dry deposition of sulphur dioxide in the decay process. Critical level/load maps have been determined for a number of materials. General pollution and meteorological data sets are also included in the mapping process. Maps give ‘exceedence squares’ on a 20 km square grid basis, indicating the unprotected areas or those still at risk for a given scenario for SO₂ reduction in the context of the UNECE protocol for sulphur. In order to derive maps of areas sensitive to pollutants in the future a model, HARM 7.2, is used for the prediction of distribution of emissions of pollutants in the UK. A series of maps has now been produced for different materials at 70% and 80% scenarios for the reduction of SO₂. Studies of the sensitivity of the exceedence maps to the accuracy or variation of the components in the dose-response equations have been undertaken. Results from the mapping programme and the sensitivity analysis are presented together with discussion of the concept of critical loads of materials.     

Acid inputs from the atmosphere in the United Kingdom

Abstract. Inputs of acidity to the ground arise through two distinct routes: wet deposition which includes all acidity deposited in rain and snow and dry deposition, the direct sorption of SO₂, NO₂ or HNO₃ gases by vegetation or soil surfaces. The acidity from dry deposition of SO₂ and NO₂ is created during the oxidation of deposited SO₂ and NO₂ to SO²₄ and NO₃⁻ respectively. The areas of Britain experiencing the largest wet deposition of acidity are the high rainfall areas of the west and north, in particular the west central highlands of Scotland, Galloway and Cumbria where inputs exceed 1 kp H⁺ ha⁻¹ annually. Wet deposited acidity in the east coast regions of Britain is in the range 0.3–0.6 kg H⁺ ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. Monitoring data for rainfall acidity at rural sites throughout northern Britain show a decline in deposited acidity of about 50% during the last six years. Dry deposition is largest in the industrial midlands and southeast England and in the central lowlands of Scotland, where concentrations of SO₂ are largest. In these regions the dry deposition of SO₂ following oxidation may lead to acid inputs approaching 3 kg H⁺ ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ and greatly exceeding wet deposition.     

A soil carbon and land use database for the United Kingdom

Abstract. The compilation of a database of soil carbon and land use is described, from which models of soil carbon dioxide emissions across the United Kingdom (UK) can be run. The database gives soil organic carbon, sand, silt and clay contents and bulk densities weighted to reference layers from 0 to 30 cm and from 30 to 100 cm depths. The data are interpolated from information on soil types and land use on a 1 km grid across the UK and are used to estimate soil carbon stocks. For 1990, the baseline year for the Kyoto Protocol on carbon emissions, the estimate is 4562 Tg soil organic carbon in the top 1 m of soil across the UK, with an average density of 18 kg m⁻². The data can be reported by layer (e.g. 54% in topsoils) and country (e.g. 48% in Scotland) as well as by soil and land type.     

Wet deposition of non sea-salt sulphate in the United Kingdom: The influence of natural sources

Because of its position to the west of Europe, much of the wet sulphur deposition in the west of the UK is background in the sense that it is not attributable to pollutants emitted within Europe less than four days previously. There are both natural and anthropogenic sources of this sulphur. An important natural source, especially during the summer, is dimethylsulphide (DMS) produced by marine phytoplankton. To identify the contribution of marine biogenic sulphur we have measured stable sulphur isotope ratios in precipitation. We show that biogenic sulphur is significant in summer but contributes little in winter and that around 5–10% of the annual background wet sulphur deposition is due to biogenic sources. During July and December 1993, airflow across the UK was predominantly westerly. The measured biogenic component of precipitation sulphate accounted for around 30 % of background sulphate in July but was negligible in December. Investigation of five day back-trajectories for the period indicated little opportunity for re-circulation of European emissions, suggesting that other (non-DMS) natural sources and non-European anthropogenic emissions were responsible for most of the background sulphur.     

Orographic enhancement of wet deposition in the United Kingdom: Continuous monitoring

Continuous monitoring of cloud and rain samples at three mountain sites in the UK has allowed consideration of the long term impact of the enhancement of the wet deposition of pollutants by orographie effects, specifically the scavenging of cap cloud droplets by rain falling from above (the seeder-feeder effects). The concentration of the major pollutant ions in the cloud water is related to the relative proximity of each site to marine and anthropogenic sources of aerosol. In general, the concentrations of major ions in precipitation at summit sites exceed those in precipitation to low ground nearby by 20% to 50%. Concentrations in orographie cloud exceed those in upwind rain by between a factor of five and ten. The results are consistent with seeder-feeder scavenging of hill cloud by falling precipitation in which the average concentration of ions in scavenged hill cloud exceed those in precipitation upwind by a factor of 1.7 to 2.3 for sulphate and nitrate respectively at Dunslair Heights and 1.5 to 1.8 for sulphate and nitrate at Holme Moss. The results suggest that the parameterisation of this relationship with scavenged feeder cloud water concentrations assumed to exceed those in seeder rain by a factor of two for the production of predictive maps of wet deposition in mountainous regions of the U.K. is satisfactory.     

Trends in wet and dry deposition of sulphur in the United Kingdom

UK data on sulphur deposition trends between the 1960's and 1990's are presented. Long term data sets of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations at two sites have been analysed and dry deposition determined using a resistance model. Wet deposition has been calculated from non-marine sulphate concentration and rainfall fields for 1978–80 and 1989–93. These maps have been interpolated and corrected for seeder feeder enhancement. The wet deposition of sulphur declined by about 43 % between 1979 and 1993 whereas emissions of sulphur declined by about 32 %. An indication of the trends in sulphur dry deposition is provided by data from Eskdalemuir, a site in southern Scotland where wet deposition and SO₂ concentration have been measured since 1979. Dry deposition at Eskdalemuir has decreased by 70 % and wet deposition by 48 %. Hence, while wet deposition has responded approximately linearly with the decline in UK emissions of sulphur dioxide, dry deposition has declined at twice the rate of decline in UK emissions.     

The Swedish liming programme

To mitigate the acidification problem in surface waters the Swedish government is funding a liming programme. Limestone or dolomite powder has been applied to acidified waters since 1976 and on a large scale since 1982. In most projects, limestone is applied directly to the lake, but in several cases supplementary liming is carried out on wetlands and in streams using dosers or other techniques. At present 7,500 Swedish lakes and more than 11,000 kilometers of streams are limed repeatedly with a total of some 200,000 tonne of limestone every year. In 1994 about US$ 25 million was invested by the Swedish government in the liming programme. The biological objective of the liming operations is to detoxify the water so that the natural fauna and flora can survive or recolonize. The chemical aim is to raise the pH above 6.0 and the alkalinity above 0.1 meq/l, which gives an acceptable buffering capacity. In addition, dissolved metals will be deposited after liming, thus reducing their toxicity. Overdosing must be avoided, with natural softwater characteristics being the objective. The chemical and biological effects in water of the liming operations are encouraging. The Swedish liming programme has so far resulted in restoration in 80–90% of the limed surface waters. The fauna often shows an initial dominance by a few species but diversity increases with time, In general, flora and fauna in limed waters show a great resemblance to those in waters not acidified. An undesired effect of liming is significant changes in mosses and lichens after wetland liming.     

Orographic enhancement of wet deposition in the United Kingdom: case studies and modelling

Two field experiments to observe the detailed response of wet deposition to orography in a polluted environment are reported. Rain events were classed as frontal, convective or mixed on the basis of meteorological data. Analysis of the deposition enhancement and cap cloud composition confirmed that for the frontal events the seeder-feeder effect (scavenging of cap cloud by rain drops) dominates. The greater concentration of ions in the water scavenged from the cap cloud than in the rain means that deposition is enhanced for all ions. For marine ions the scavenged water was found to be between five and six times as concentrated as the rain and for anthropogenically produced ions it was about twice as concentrated.A computational model of rainfall incorporating the seeder-feeder effect has been broadly successful in predicting enhancement although some details of the observed pattern remain to be explained.     

Survey of ethyl carbamate in fermented foods sold in the United Kingdom in 2004

Results are presented of a survey of fermented foods and beverages sold in the United Kingdom for levels of ethyl carbamate (urethane) carried out to expand the range of food types sold in the United Kingdom for which data regarding ethyl carbamate are available. Samples were analyzed by in-house validated methods, which included measurement uncertainty estimates. The samples comprised 75 fermented liquids (beers, wines, fortified wines, spirits, liqueurs, soy sauces, and vinegars) and 25 fermented solid foods (cheeses, yogurts, soybean products, sauerkraut, yeast extract, olives, and Christmas pudding). Ethyl carbamate was not detected in the beers or the cider. Wines contained between 11 and 24 microg/kg and sake between 81 and 164 microg/kg. Fortified wines contained ethyl carbamate at levels between 14 and 60 microg/kg. Only two of five liqueurs contained ethyl carbamate. Most soy sauces and vinegars did not contain ethyl carbamate. No ethyl carbamate was detected in cheeses, yogurts, olives, or soybean-based products. Single samples of sauerkraut, yeast extract, and Christmas pudding contained low levels (29, 41, and 20 microg/kg ethyl carbamate, respectively).     

Temporal and spatial variation in carabid assemblages from the United Kingdom Environmental Change Network

This paper presents analyses of the data from the first 7 years of the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) carabid monitoring programme. The 10 ECN terrestrial sites for which results are available represent a wide range of habitats, from lowland arable farmland to upland moorland, and correspondence analysis reveals the strong association between habitat and species composition. At all sites carabid assemblages are dominated by a small proportion of the species found at the site. There are strong year-to-year fluctuations in the proportions of individual species and a large percentage of species are observed only sporadically. This has major implications for the conservation and monitoring of carabids. Simple summary statistics, such as species richness or diversity do not adequately reflect variation in species composition and are unlikely to respond quickly to environmental change. The considerable annual variation makes the detection of relationships with sources of environmental change a difficult task, particularly for the rarer species of primary conservation interest. Analysis should therefore include measures based on the dominant species to provide an early warning system for environmental change.     

The Spatial Distribution of Characterised Fly-Ash Particles and Trace Metals in Lake Sediments and Catchment Mosses in the United Kingdom

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP) and trace metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, V and Zn) were analysed from 75 lake surface sediments across the UK. Trace metals were additionally analysed from catchment mosses (Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi) from 43 of the sites but were absent from the remainder. Spatial distribution of SCP concentration and trace metal concentrations in sediments and mosses showed good agreement with each other and with known emission sources. Particles were allocated to their fuel-type and spatial trends in these data showed good agreement with potential sources. High areas of oil particle deposition were identified in the south-east of England, Merseyside, Galloway / Northern Ireland, the Firth of Forth and eastern Scotland. Oil SCP concentrations showed good agreement with Ni and V concentrations in mosses suggesting an atmospheric source for these metals from the combustion of this fuel. Characterised SCP trends also showed good agreement with predictions from models such as HARM and EMEP. Most high deposition areas of metals and particles were found to coincide with population centres suggesting a possible impact on human health.     

Development of machine smoking parameters for measurement of cigarette tar yield in the United Kingdom

The smoking and analytical methods used by government and tobacco industry laboratories are the result of many years of collaborative work within the industry and through international bodies such as the International Standards Organization. Recently, some publications have criticized the validity and scientific soundness of these procedures. It is shown that such criticisms are totally unfounded by reviewing the work that led to the adoption of the current technique. Tar tables, published by the UK Health Departments are valid in ranking brands in order of their yields, while not necessarily reflecting the absolute tar delivery to the smoker. These tables are intended to and do provide a relevant guide for smokers about the proportional tar yields of UK cigarettes.     

A comparison of bulk and wet-only precipitation collectors at rural sites in the United Kingdom

Co-Located wet-only and bulk precipitation collectors have been used to measure precipitation amount and ionic composition at nine rural sites in the United Kingdom. The wet-only collector collects less rain, particularly at more exposed, windier sites. This is believed to arise primarily from aerodynamic blockage rather than from late opening of the collector at the onset of rain. In general, agreement between the two types of collector for ionic composition is good. However, at two sites which experience low rainfall and elevated concentrations of primary and secondary pollutants in easterly airflow, the bulk collector yields larger concentrations of non-marine sulphate. Measurements of particulate sulphate suggest that dry deposition of particles is sufficient to explain the observed differences. In contrast, larger ammonium concentrations are measured with the wet-only collector. The observations are consistent with loss of ammonium from the bulk collector, particularly at sites of low annual mean acidity. These differences are greater in summer than in winter suggesting a biological loss mechanism.     

Soil acidification and the importance of liming agricultural soils with particular reference to the United Kingdom

Soil acidification is caused by a number of factors including acidic precipitation and the deposition from the atmosphere of acidifying gases or particles, such as sulphur dioxide, ammonia and nitric acid. The most important causes of soil acidification on agricultural land, however, are the application of ammonium‐based fertilizers and urea, elemental S fertilizer and the growth of legumes. Acidification causes the loss of base cations, an increase in aluminium saturation and a decline in crop yields; severe acidification can cause nonreversible clay mineral dissolution and a reduction in cation exchange capacity, accompanied by structural deterioration. Soil acidity is ameliorated by applying lime or other acid‐neutralizing materials. ‘Liming’ also reduces N₂O emissions, but this is more than offset by CO₂ emissions from the lime as it neutralizes acidity. Because crop plants vary in their tolerance to acidity and plant nutrients have different optimal pH ranges, target soil pH values in the UK are set at 6.5 (5.8 in peaty soils) for cropped land and 6.0 (5.3 in peaty soils) for grassland. Agricultural lime products can be sold as ‘EC Fertiliser Liming Materials’ but, although vital for soil quality and agricultural production, liming tends to be strongly influenced by the economics of farming. Consequently, much less lime is being applied in the UK than required, and many arable and grassland soils are below optimum pH.     

Modelling Acidic Deposition in the United Kingdom at a Scale of 5 Km by 5 Km

This paper discusses the use of a long-term Lagrangian receptor-oriented trajectory model for assessing acidic deposition to the United Kingdom at high spatial resolution. Previously, a coarse resolution of 20 km was used. Impact assessments using the critical loads approach now require higher-resolutions of modelled data for future scenarios. In this paper, first results from a higher resolution of 5 km using a revised parameterization of orographic enhancement of the seeder-feeder effect. It was found that country budgets for the two different model resolutions were in good agreement and compared well with observations, except in the far north of Scotland where the straight-line trajectory approach is less valid.     

Nitrogen inputs and outputs in a small agricultural catchment in the eastern part of the United Kingdom

Abstract. Nitrate concentrations measured in an ephemeral stream draining a 170 ha clay catchment in eastern England, with about 23% arable land, were greater than 11.3 mg N 1–¹ on the resumption of flow each autumn but then declined. There was also a spring peak in two years out of seven, 1978–1984, which depend on the length of time soils was at field capacity in the preceding winter. Mean annual load measured in rain was 19 kg N ha^-1 and loss of nitrate in the stream 34 kg N ha^-1. A catchment nitrogen balance suggested that inputs, which averaged 130 kg N ha yr^-1, were generally more than outputs, average 108 kg N ha yr^-1', but gaseous losses were not taken into account.     

A cooperative breeding programme for the Mongolian wild horse Equus przewalskii in the United States

The Mongolian wild horse Equus przewalskii (Poliakov, 1881) has been propagated in captivity for ten generations. Well over a decade has passed since the last confirmed sightings of E. przewalskii in its historic range. Concern over the extent of inbreeding which has occurred during the captive propagation of this endangered species has led to numerous recommendations for management of captive stock as genetic populations rather than isolated collections. In November 1979 a meeting was held of North American Przewalski's horse breeders, at which time a coordinated breeding programme was considered and adopted by all institutions breeding E. przewalskii in the United States. As a result of this agreement, a number of animal movements between zoos have occurred with a projected decrease in the extent of inbreeding of foals of the next generation. The history of propagation of E. przewalskii in the United States and the genetic considerations involved in the management programme are discussed.     

A comparative analysis of decline in the distribution ranges of orchid species in Estonia and the United Kingdom

National databases were interrogated to analyse and compare proportional alterations in the distribution ranges of orchid species between two surveys in the UK (surveys completed in 1969 and 1999) and in Estonia (surveys completed in 1970 and 2004). Nearly every species declined between the surveys in both countries, and two species may have become extinct in the UK. Mean decline in distribution range for 49 species in the UK was 50% (range 14-100%), and 23 species declined by over 50%. The mean decline for 33 orchid species in Estonia was 25% (range 0-62%), and three species declined by over 50%. These results corroborate serious range declines recently reported for orchids in other regions of Europe (the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium). In contrast with these other regions, we found that species associated with calcareous grassland and woodland habitats had suffered greater mean contractions in range than species of wet grassland habitats. Greater decline was recorded for species found on drier soils, and for species characteristic of open habitats. In addition, greater decline was found in species with short inflorescences, and in species that were short-lived, and clonal. Our results suggest that levels of decline shown both by groups of species associated with specific habitat types, and by particular species of orchid, depend strongly on local policies and specific conservation action, and indicate the habitat types on which conservation efforts may need to be concentrated in the future. The results suggest that grazing and mowing of competing vegetation, and avoidance of substrate disturbance, will produce the greatest rewards for the most vulnerable species.