Atmospheric Emission Inventory for Natural and Anthropogenic Sources and Spatial Emission Mapping for the Greater Athens Area

A spatially, temporally and chemically resolved emission inventory for particulate matter and gaseous species from anthropogenic and natural sources was created for the Greater Athens Area (GAA; base year, 2007). Anthropogenic sources considered in this study include combustion (industrial, non-industrial, commercial and residential), industrial production, transportation, agriculture, waste treatment and solvent use. The annual gaseous pollutants (????x, SOx, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), CO and ????₃) and particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM_2.5?C10) emissions were derived from the UNECE/EMEP database for most source sectors (SNAP 1?C9; 50?×?50 km²) and their spatial resolution was increased using surrogate spatial datasets (land cover, population density, location and emissions of large point sources, emission weighting factors for the GAA; 1?×?1 km²). The emissions were then temporally disaggregated in order to provide hourly emissions for atmospheric pollution modelling using monthly, daily and hourly disintegration coefficients, and additionally the chemical speciation of size-segregated particles and NMVOCs emissions was performed. Emissions from agriculture (SNAP 10) and natural emissions of particulate matter from the soil (by wind erosion) and the sea surface and of biogenic gaseous pollutants from vegetation were also estimated. During 2007 the anthropogenic emissions of CO, SOx, NOx, NMVOCs, NH₃, PM_2.5 and PM_2.5?C10 from the GAA were 151,150, 57,086, 68,008, 38,270, 2,219, 9,026 and 3,896 Mg, respectively. It was found that road transport was the major source for CO (73.3%), NMVOCs (31.6%) and NOx (35.3%) emissions in the area. Another important source for NOx emissions was other mobile sources and machinery (23.1%). Combustion for energy production and transformation industries was the major source for SOx (38.5%), industrial combustion for anthropogenic PM_2.5?C10 emissions (59.5%), whereas non-industrial combustion was the major source of PM_2.5 emissions (49.6%). Agriculture was the primary NH₃ source in the area (72.1%). Natural vegetation was found to be an important source of VOCs in the area which accounted for approximately the 5% of total VOCs emitted from GAA on a typical winter day. The contribution of sea-salt particles to the emissions of PM_2.5 was rather small, whereas the emissions of resuspended dust particles exceeded by far the emissions of PM_2.5 and PM_2.5?C10 from all anthropogenic sources.     

Anthropogenic Mercury Deposition to Arctic Lake Sediments

The history of atmosheric mercury inputs to remote arctic regions can be measured in lake sediment cores using lead-210 chronology. In this investigation, total mercury deposition is measured in sediments from Imitavik and Annak Lakes on the Belcher Islands in southeastern Hudson Bay, an area in the southern Canadian Arctic with no history of local industrial or agricultural sources of contamination. Both lakes received background and atmospheric inputs of mercury while Annak also received mercury from raw domestic sewage from the Hamlet of Sanikiluaq, a growing Inuit community of about 550 established in the late 1960's. Results from Imitavik show that anthropogenic mercury inputs, apparently transported through the atmosphere, began to appear in the mid-eighteenth century, and continued to the 1990's. Annak had a similar mercury history until the late 1960's when disposal of domestic sewage led to increased sediment and contaminant accumulation. The high input of mercury to Annak confirms that Sanikiluaq residents are exposed to mercury through native food sources.     

Global Mercury Emissions from Gold and Silver Mining

Mercury has been used in gold and silver mining since Roman times. With the invention of the "patio" process in Spanish colonial America, silver and gold were produced in large scale, mostly in the Americas but also in Australia, Southeast Asia and even in England. Mercury released to the biosphere due to this activity may have reached over 260,000 t from 1550 to 1930, when silver reserves in Spanish colonial America were nearly exhausted and Hg-amalgamation was replaced by the more efficient cyanidation process. Exceptional increases in gold prices and the worsening of social-economic conditions in the third world in the 1970's, resulted in a new gold rush in the southern hemisphere, involving over 10 million people in all continents. Presently, Hg amalgamation is used as a major technique for gold production in the South America especially the Amazon, China, Southeast Asia and in some African countries. Mercury inputs to the environment from this activity may reach up to 460 t.yr- 1. Compared with other anthropogenic Hg sources, gold mining is presently responsible for approximately 10% of the global anthropogenic Hg emissions, but has never been included in global models of Hg cycling in the biosphere. Further, most of the Hg released to the biosphere through gold and silver mining during the last 500 years, roughly 300,000 t, may still participate in the global Hg cycle through remobilization from abandoned tailings and other contaminated areas.     

Global Mercury Pollution and its Expected Decrease after a Mercury Trade Ban

The high toxicity of methyl mercury (MeHg) is well known, as is the existence of transformations between metallic Hg and MeHg. As a consequence the industrialised countries have adopted Hg-free products and processes, because a continued use of Hg would result in diffuse emissions even if used Hg isrecycled. However, Western Europe exports about 100 tons of Hg to Brazil each year, where it is emitted over the Amazon. The export from Europe began during the 1980s, when a gold mining boom spread like wildfire in the Amazon. Mercury agglutinates gold grains by forming an amalgam. Later on the gold is purified from the Hg by heating. The Hg evaporatesinto the air and is subsequently deposited onto land and in surface waters. Another important Hg polluter is China, whichhas increased its burning of coal without appropriate smoke cleaning devices and is also importing considerable amounts of Hg for industrial use and for use in gold mining. RegionalHg emissions contribute to global Hg pollution due to the mobility of Hg. A ban on the Hg trade in Europe and North America would significantly diminish global Hg pollution. A ban would also result in the closing of the state-owned Hg mine (MAYASA) in Almadén, Spain, the world's most important anthropogenic Hg source.     

Mercury from Combustion Sources: A Review of the Chemical Species Emitted and Their Transport in the Atmosphere

Different species of mercury have different physical/chemical properties and thus behave quite differently in air pollution control equipment and in the atmosphere. In general, emissions of mercury from coal combustion sources are approximately 20–50% elemental mercury (Hg°) and 50–80% divalent mercury (Hg(II)), which may be predominantly HgCl₂. Emissions of mercury from waste incinerators are approximately 10–20% Hg° and 75–85% Hg(II). The partitioning of mercury in flue gas between the elemental and divalent forms may be dependent on the concentration of particulate carbon, HCl and other pollutants in the stack emissions. The emission of mercury from combustion facilities depends on the species in the exhaust stream and the type of air pollution control equipment used at the source. Air pollution control equipment for mercury removal at combustion facilities includes activated carbon injection, sodium sulfide infection and wet lime/limestone flue gas desulfurization. While Hg(II) is water-soluble and may be removed from the atmosphere by wet and dry deposition close to combustion sources, the combination of a high vapor pressure and low water-solubility facilitate the long-range transport of Hg° in the atmosphere. Background mercury in the atmosphere is predominantly Hg°. Elemental mercury is eventually removed from the atmosphere by dry deposition onto surfaces and by wet deposition after oxidation to water-soluble, divalent mercury.     

Mineral and Anthropogenic Indicator Inorganics in Urban Stormwater and Snowmelt Runoff: Sources and Mobility Patterns

Inorganic chemicals in urban stormwater and snowmelt runoff originate from catchment geology and anthropogenic activities. The occurrence, partitioning and mobility of six minerals and six trace metal (TM) indicators of anthropogenic activities were studied in stormwater, snowmelt and baseflow in four urban catchments, and the sampling of inorganics was supplemented by measurements of electrical conductivity (EC), pH and total suspended solids (TSSs). Minerals occurred at concentrations several orders of magnitude higher (1–10² mg/L) than those of TMs (10^?2–10² μg/L) and reflected the composition of local groundwater seeping into sewers. Concentrations of Ca, K, Mg and Na were enhanced by baseflow contributions and followed closely the electrical conductivity. Al and Fe minerals occurred in insoluble forms, and their pollutographs were similar to those of TMs, whose concentrations mimicked, to some extent, the flux of TSS. The TMs with the highest and lowest particulate fractions were Cr&Pb and Cu&Zn, respectively. The concentrations of total TMs in snowmelt were two to four times higher than those in stormwater, and both sources likely exceeded some of the stormwater effluent limits (for Cd, Cu and Zn) proposed in Sweden. Where such concentrations depended on water hardness, the risk of toxicity might be reduced by elevated hardness of the monitored snowmelt and stormwater. Recognizing the good ecological status of the study area receiving water, Lake Storsjön, some protection against polluted runoff and snowmelt may be needed and could be achieved by implementing stormwater management measures controlling TSS and TMs.     

Boron Isotopic Compositions of Near-Surface Fluids: A Tracer for Identification of Natural and Anthropogenic Contaminant Sources

Boron (B) is a sensitive stable isotope tracer which allows identification of different anthropogenic contaminant sources, originating from man-made boron products manufactured from non-marine borates (δ¹¹B ≤ +10‰), in near-surface fluids which are characterized by a different natural background signature of predominantly meteoric origin. The data presented show that the boron isotopic composition of uncontaminated groundwater at the study site (δ¹¹B = +12.0‰) is similar to that of local precipitation and significantly different from two distinct anthropogenic contaminant sources, identified as Ca- and/or Na/Ca-borates and Na-borates in `low-δ<sup>11</sup>B' (–6.0‰) and `high-δ¹¹B' (+7.5 to +9.0‰) municipalsolid waste landfill leachates, respectively. The boron isotopic signature of contaminants can remain preserved over several decades, in contrast to aqueous B concentrations which are less diagnostic due to their sensitivity to dilution with low-B meteoric waters.     

Global Mercury Pollution and the Role of Gold Mining: An Overview

As described by Jernelov and Ramel (1995), the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) sponsored an investigation of Hg in ecosystems with special emphasis on tropical regions. In these regions small-scale gold mining activities have occupied about 10 million people worldwide who use Hg for extracting gold.     

不同氮源及秸秆添加对菜地土壤N_2O排放影响

在饱和田间持水量WFPS(water-filled pore space)为75%、温度为25℃的条件下,用室内培养研究设施菜地土壤在不同氮肥种类(硝酸钙CN,碳酸氢铵AB,硫酸铵AS,尿素U,对照CK)和有无秸秆添加情况下N2O的排放特征。培养17天的结果表明,各种肥料类型中,对照和硝态氮肥处理最先出现N2O排放高峰,铵态氮肥处理出现较晚。无论有无秸秆,碳酸氢铵(AB)处理的累积排放量都最高,分别为4.206±0.899和2.159±0.256μg g-1干土,铵态氮肥处理N2O排放量明显高于硝态氮肥。添加秸秆后各处理N2O排放明显增加,比未施秸秆增加1倍多(CN处理除外)。不同处理(CK除外)的N2O累积排放量与时间的关系都可用y=aLn(x)+b表示(P<0.001)。实验还发现,施用氮肥会导致土壤酸化,添加秸秆可改善土壤酸化现象。     

A Computational Approach Based on GIS Technology for the Development of an Anthropogenic Emission Inventory of Gaseous Pollutants in Greece

This paper describes a computational system developed for the compilation of an anthropogenic emission inventory of gaseous pollutants for Greece. The inventory was developed using a geographical information system integrated with SQL programming language to provide high temporal gridded emission fields for CO, NO₂, NO, SO₂, NH₃ and 23 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) species for the reference year 2003. Activity and statistical data from national sources were used for the quantification of emissions from the road transport, the other mobile sources and machinery sectors and from range activities using top-down or bottom-up methodologies. Annual emission data from existing national and European emission databases were also used. The emission data were spatially and temporally disaggregated using source-specific spatiotemporal indicators. On national scale, the road transport sector produces about 60% of the annual CO and NMVOC total emissions, with gasoline vehicles being the main CO and NMVOC emissions source. The road transport is responsible for approximately half of the higher alkanes and for more than half of the ethene and toluene emissions. The maritime sector accounts for about 40% of the annual total NO_x emissions, most of which are emitted by the international shipping subsector, whilst SO₂ is emitted mainly by the energy sector. The evaluation of the emissions inventory suggests that it provides a good representation of the amounts of gaseous pollutants emitted on national scale and a good characterisation of the relative composition of CO and NO_x emission in the large urban centres.     

Mercury concentrations in forest trees from Slovakia

The concentration of mercury has been determined in assimilation organs of forest trees from 10 main industrial regions of Slovakia, four mountain forests and one military area and compared with concentration of mercury from 1356 permanent monitoring plots of Slovakia. The mercury concentration ranges for 2 yr old needles of Picea abies Karst. were (in mg kg^?1): 1.249–4.402 (Rudnany iron ore mines), 0.013–0.749 (nine other industrial regions), 0.021–0.737 (four mountain forests) and 0.053–0.538 (military area). The mercury content in the soil (0–5 cm) from a mercury smelting plant ranged from 9.9 to 130 mg kg^?1, and the moss Pleurozium schreberi contained 3.8–9.1 mg kg^?1. The values obtained were compared with the available literature data.     

Mercury desorption from contaminated sediments

The effects of pH and ionic strength on the release of Hg from contaminated coastal sediments to water were evaluated in a series of laboratory experiments. Data show that the higher the ionic strength and the pH the smaller is the amount of Hg desorbed into solutions. The effect of the ionic strength on the leaching of Hg from contaminated sediments is more evident for values lower than 0.4 mol dm⁻³, while the influence of pH becomes more pronounced for values lower than 7. Based on qualitative concepts from colloid chemistry an attempt is made to provide an explanation of the observed results.     

Anthropogenic mercury emission in Europe

Preliminary estimates of Hg emissions from anthropogenic sources in Europe have been prepared to meet the request of air pollution transport modeling. Major emphasis was placed on four source categories: 1) combustion of fossil fuels, 2) non-ferrous metal production, 3) waste related sources, and 4) chlor-alkali production. Three chemical species: elemental, bivalent and particulate Hg were considered in these estimates. The emission estimates were spatially distributed within the EMEP grid of 150 km × 150 km for the year 1982.     

Toxic Elements in Aquatic Sediments: Distinguishing Natural Variability from Anthropogenic Effects

Regressions of aluminum against potentially toxic elements in the sediments of freshwater aquatic systems in Louisiana were used to distinguish natural variability from anthropogenic pollution when elemental concentrations exceeded screening effects levels. The data were analyzed using geometric mean model II regression methods to minimize, insofar as possible, bias that would have resulted from the use of model I regression. Most cadmium concentrations exceeded the threshold effects level, but there was no evidence of an anthropogenic impact. In Bayou Trepagnier, high concentrations of Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn appeared to reflect anthropogenic pollution from a petrochemical facility. In Capitol Lake, high Pb concentrations were clearly associated with anthropogenic impacts, presumably from street runoff. Concentrations of potentially toxic elements varied naturally by as much as two orders of magnitude; hence it was important to filter out natural variability in order to identify anthropogenic effects. The aluminum content of the sediment accounted for more than 50% of natural variability in most cases. Because model I regression systematically underestimates the magnitude of the slope of the regression line when the independent variable is not under the control of the investigator, use of model II regression methods in this application is necessary to facilitate hypothesis testing and to avoid incorrectly associating naturally high elemental concentrations with human impacts.     

Mercury Pollution from Small Gold Mines in China

Small scale gold mining activity in some mountainous areas of China has caused a series of Hg pollution problems. Preliminary study indicated that impacts of Hg pollution on the surrounding environment, air, water and soil are dramatic, and human contamination requires attention.     

Mercury Values in Urine from Inhabitants of St. Petersburg

The results of 3000 urine analyses are presented. The observational data were obtained for the reference group of school children and adults and for groups of people suffered from indoor mercury pollution. A novel Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometer and cold vapour and piroliz methods were used for determination of total mercury. A background mercury value in urine for St. Petersburg region is determined as 0.5 μg/l. Distributions of mercury concentrations in urine after five accidents are given. There are considerable differences in total mercury distribution for each group, that depend on level of Hg exposure. Peculiar features of the 24-hour rhythm of mercury excretion with urine is used for the treatment of patients, an optimal therapy selection and rehabilitation control.     

Mercury in runoff from drained and undrained peatlands in Sweden

The concentration of Hg was studied in runoff from drained and undrained peatlands in the south and central parts of Sweden, from 1987 to 1989. Mercury was speciated into total Hg, water-soluble Hg (Hg II) including reactive Hg (Hg IIa) and non-reactive Hg (Hg IIb), and methyl Hg. The aim of the study was to investigate if normally low concentrations of different species of Hg in runoff from peatland were elevated at drained mires with peat-harvesting. Five drained mires with different nutrient statuses were studied, and compared with undrained controls. The highest concentration of total Hg (5.3 to 21.3 ng L⁻¹) was found in runoff from an undrained, oligotrophic bog with low pH (3.79 to 4.08). Mires in south Sweden showed in general higher concentrations of all species of Hg in runoff compared to central Sweden. The concentrations of total Hg, Hg IIa and Hg IIb in runoff from peatland showed similar levels as runoff from forested areas. No data showed that the drained peatland leached more total Hg than the undrained areas.     

Mercury levels and discharge in waste water from dental clinics

Data was obtained on the amount of Hg discharged with the waste water from dental clinics. Waste water from 20 Danish dental clinics was collected during one working day and analyzed for the total amount of Hg using the technique of cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry (CVAAS). From clinics without amalgam separator mean value was 270 mg Hg dentist^?1 d^?1 (range 65 to 842), from clinics equipped with amalgam separator mean value was 35 mg Hg dentist^?1 d^?1 (range 12 to 99). It was concluded that Hg is released with the waste water from dental clinics. Several hundred grams of Hg clinic^?1 may be discharged annually with the waste water. Installation of efficient amalgam separators may reduce the Hg outlet markedly.