Search results for: ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
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Biotrickling filtration of n-butanol vapors: process monitoring using electronic nose and artificial neural network
PublicationBiotrickling filtration is one of the techniques used to reduce odorants in the air. It is based on the aerobic degradation of pollutants by microorganisms located in the filter bed. The research presents the possibility of using the electronic nose prototype combined with artificial neural network for biofiltration process monitoring in terms of reduction in n-butanol concentration and odour intensity of treated air. The study...
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Is sequential batch reactor an efficient technology to protect recipient against non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol in treated wastewater?
PublicationThe tested facility was a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Swarzewo, where the wastewater treatment takes place in aeration chambers with activated sludge using sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The concentration of the following pharmaceuticals: ibuprofen, paracetamol, flurbiprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and its metabolites 5OH-diclofenac and 4OH-diclofenac was tested in influents and effluents. Simultaneously, the conventional...
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A review on electrospun membranes for potential air filtration application
PublicationAir pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in most highly populated cities, which is typically caused by particulate (PM2.5 and PM0.1) or gaseous pollutants that can be removed using electrospun membranes. These membranes are characterized by different features in terms of uniform and controllable structure, tuneable porosity, and high surface area, where their separation efficiency strongly depends on their properties....
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Miniaturized solid phase extraction techniques for different kind of pollutants analysis: State of the art and future perspectives – PART 2
PublicationDetermination of pollutants present in environmental samples at a low concentration level very often requires the analytical protocol that includes analytes isolation and/or enrichment prior to the final quantification. Miniaturized SPE offers an interesting alternative to LLE. Nowadays, many types of sorbents are available and can be used as selective materials for extraction of varied analytes in different kinds of samples. The...
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Sources and Fate of PAHs and PCBs in the Marine Environment
PublicationThe assessment of a hazard resulting from the pollution of the environment by chemical compounds is in principle limited to the determination of their concentrations in its various compartments. But for solving many problems in this context, knowledge of the emission sources, transport pathways, and sites of deposition is of great benefit. By far the largest amounts of pollutants, regardless of where they were discharged, end up...
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The use of bioassays in the analysis of environmental samples
PublicationToxicological tests are increasingly used as effective tool to complement the information obtained during the environmental monitoring. Moreover bioassays provide basic knowledge about the health effects of exposure to harmful factors associated with the environment. Toxicity tests might be a source of information about the content of pollutants in the sample, and the possibility of their interactions. They can be considered as...
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Indoor air quality of everyday use spaces dedicated to specific purposes—a review
PublicationAccording to literature data, some of the main factors which significantly affect the quality of the indoor environment in residential households or apartments are human activities such as cooking, smoking, cleaning, and indoor exercising. The paper presents a literature overview related to air quality in everyday use spaces dedicated to specific purposes which are integral parts of residential buildings, such as kitchens, basements,...
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New generation of analytical tests based on the assessment of enzymatic and nuclear receptor activity changes induced by environmental pollutants
PublicationAnalytical methods show great potential in biological tests. The analysis of biological response that results from environmental pollutant exposure allows: (i) prediction of the risk of toxic effects and (ii) provision of the background for the development of markers of the toxicants presence. Bioanalytical tests based on changes in enzymatic activity and nuclear receptor action provide extremely high specificity and sensitivity....
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Treatment of malodorous air in biotrickling filters: A review
PublicationOdour nuisance, resulting mainly from the presence of the compounds containing osmophore group and characterized by low olfactory threshold, is associated with danger and may be the cause of negative psychosomatic symptoms. Among different methods of malodorous air treatment, biological methods are of importance, mainly due to reduced operating costs, high purification efficiency of voluminous gas streams characterized by low concentrations...
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The role of analytical chemistry in the study of the Anthropocene
PublicationThe term “Anthropocene” refers to not yet formalized epoch of geologic time during which geologic processes have been dominated by the human impact. This impact takes on many forms. Biological, physical and chemical changes to the Earth System caused by anthropogenic activity are recorded in natural archives either as new fossil assemblages (neobiota), anthropogenic deposits or a wide variety of pollutants emitted to the environment....
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Air quality policy in the U.S. and the EU – a review
PublicationThe high level of atmospheric pollution is a global problem that has taken on particular significance in recent years and will continue to grow in the near future. Air pollution directly affects the health, living organisms, vegetation, water, soil and buildings. Additionally, it moves easily even over long distances. Certain air pollutants influence the climate, cause negative processes in the protective ozone layer and contribute...
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Diamond protection for reusable ZnO coated fiber-optic measurement head in optoelectrochemical investigation of bisphenol A
PublicationDue to the global problem with plastic contaminating the environment, with bisphenol A (BPA) being one of the highest demand, effective monitoring and purification of the pollutants are required. The electrochemical methods constitute a good solution but, due to polymerization of electrochemical oxidation bisphenol A products and their adsorption to the surfaces, measurement head elements are clogged by the formed film. In this...
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Chemometric Evaluation of WWTPs’ Wastewaters and Receiving Surface Waters in Bulgaria
PublicationWastewater treatment plant (WWTP) installations are designed and operated to reduce the quantity of pollutants emitted to surface waters receiving treated wastewaters. In this work, we used classical instrumental studies (to determine chemicals and parameters under obligations put with Directive 91/271/EEC), ecotoxicological tools (Sinapis alba root growth inhibition (SA-RG) and Heterocypris incongruens mortality (MORT) and growth...
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Removal of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics from wastewater by adsorption on cross-linked β-cyclodextrin
PublicationWe present a method using the material in the form of cross-linked β-cyclodextrin (CD) showing high efficiency in the simultaneous removal of hazardous pollutants from sewage, such as diclofenac (DIC), ibuprofen (IBU), ketoprofen (KETO), naproxen (NAPR), salicylic acid (SALI) and tramadol (TRAM). The material is stable and particularly easy to regenerate. The sorbent probably remembers the shape of the contaminants, which increases...
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Towards an integrated assessment of environmental and human health impact of energy sector in Poland
PublicationReferat prezentuje system zintegrowanej oceny wpływu sektora energetycznego na stan środowiska i zdrowie ludzkie w Polsce. W podejściu wykorzystano kombinację modelu transportu zanieczyszczeń w powietrzu POLAIR 3D z modelem informacyjno-symulacyjnym RAINS. Model oszacowuje emisje i koncentracje zanieczyszczeń powietrza, koszty kontroli emisji zanieczyszczeń i inne koszty związane z różnymi scenariuszami rozwoju sektora energetycznego.The...
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Geographic information system for remote integration of diverse under-water acoustic sensor data
PublicationMaritime and port areas throughout the world are exposed to many different hazards, like pollution, terrorism and natural disasters. Early detection, identification and preparation of appropriateesponse strategies is especially important in the case of semi-enclosed basins like the Baltic Sea, mainly due to the marine ecosystems' continuous absorption of pollutants including oil, heavy metals and chemicals. Many of those agents...
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Novel approach to ecotoxicological risk assessment of sediments cores around the shipwreck by the use of self-organizing maps
PublicationMarine and coastal pollution plays an increasingly important role due to recent severe accidents which drew attention to the consequences of oil spills causing widespread devastation of marine ecosystems. All these problems cannot be solved without conducting environmental studies in the area of possible oil spill and performing chemometric evaluation of the data obtained looking for similar patterns among pollutants and optimize...
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A comprehensive assessment of environmental pollution by means of heavy metal analysis for oysters' reefs at Hab River Delta, Balochistan, Pakistan
PublicationThe heavy metal pollution status of oyster reefs has been assessed with respect to ten metals pollutants in seawater, sediments, and tissues of above two oysters (soft tissues and shells) for assessing the pollution status in a short food chain in Hab River Delta. The results showed that heavy metals accumulated in M. bilineata were higher than those in M. cuttackensis. Simultaneously, the population of M. bilineata species has...
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Characteristics of odors emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plant and methods for their identification and deodorization techniques
PublicationOdors emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plants belong to a group of pollutants, which is the main cause of people complaining about atmospheric air quality. The limitation of emissions of unpleasant odors generated by wastewater treatment plants by using appropriate deodorization methods is omitted on numerous occasions. This can have a negative inflence on public trust and the quality of atmospheric air. The article...
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Water and chemical properties of hydrometeors over central european mountains
PublicationAtmospheric pollutants are transferred to the groundby the contribution of various types of hydrometeors. Because ofthe different techniques of measurement, comparative analysesbetween them are often neglected. Hence, the main goal is tocompare water volume and chemistry of different types ofhydrometeors and their role in both: water balance and pollutantsdeposition. The results of water input and atmospheric depositschemistry...
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Pesticides in the Environment
PublicationApplied all over the world, pesticides are some of the most dangerous pollutants of the environment becauseof their mobility and ability to accumulate in the environment and their consequent long-term adverseeffects on living organisms in general and human health in particular. For these reasons, it is essential tomonitor and analyze pesticide residues in the environment. This entry discusses the classification of pesticidesas...
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Analytical and legislative challenges of sewage sludge processing and management
PublicationThis article presents the most popular methods of sewage sludge management and analytical techniques which could be a powerful tool in designing new sewage sludge management methods. Chemical analysis is also described as a vital point at the subsequent stages of technological processes control and sewage sludge quality assessment. It is also an instrument essential to maintaining control of processed sewage sludge introduced to...
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Efficiency of pollutants removal from landfill leachates using Nb/BDD and Si/BDD anodic oxidation
PublicationLandfill leachates (LLs) is a complex, refectory and difficult to depurate liquid generated from sanitary landfills. It contains excessive levels of biodegradable and in particular non-biodegradable products (e.g. heavy metals, phenols, sulphide, plasticisers). LLs are among the effluents that may pose major environmental concerns, they can be a dangerous source of pollution e.g. due to infiltration into soil and underlying water....
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Tuning the photocatalytic performance through magnetization in Co-Zn ferrite nanoparticles
PublicationIn this work, the link between the photocatalytic performance of Co-Zn ferrite nanoparticles and the net magnetic moment is analyzed. CoxZn1-xFe2O4 nanoparticles (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) were synthesized by co-precipitation method and different physicochemical techniques were employed to characterize the samples (X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), BET surface area, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Photoluminescence spectroscopy,...
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The effect of anthropogenic activity on BTEX, NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations in urban air of the spa city of Sopot and medium-industrialized city of Tczew located in North Poland
PublicationThe major goal of the present study is to compare the air quality of two urban locations situated in Northern Poland – the spa City of Sopot and the medium-industrialized city of Tczew using chemometric methods. As a criterion for the assessment of atmospheric air quality, measurements of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and total xylenes were used (collected from atmospheric air using diffusion-type passive samplers) as well as...
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Design Equation for Stirring Fluid by a Stream Pump in a Circulating Tank
PublicationA circulating tank is a very useful theoretical scheme for many fluid-flow objects in several branches of engineering. The motion of the fluid in such objects can be induced in different ways. A stream pump provides an especially interesting possibility; however, the quantitative description of such devices shows some shortcomings. Such a device is analogous to a jet pump, thus has similar advantages (simplicity of construction,...
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Utilization of rapeseed pellet from fatty acid methyl esters production as an energy source
PublicationRapeseed pellet – crushed seed residue from oil extraction is a by-product of fatty acid methyl esters production process. As other types of biomass, it can either be burned directly in furnaces or processed to increase its energetic value. Biomass is renewable, abundant and has domestic usage; the sources of biomass can help the world reduce its dependence on petroleum products, fossil coal and natural gas. Energetically effective...
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Determination of hormones in water samples using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry
PublicationOver the past few years, many synthetic (ethinylestradiol) and natural (estradiol,estriol, estrone) compounds present in the environment have been affecting the hormonalbalance of humans and animals. Steroid hormones are very often used for medical purposesand have high estrogenic activity what makes them endocrine disrupters. Most hormonalcompounds are released into the water as a result of their incomplete removal in wastewatertreatment...
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Direct-Ultrasonic Assisted Microextraction Coupled with RTL-GC-FID/GC-MS as a Future Standard Procedure for Monitoring 26 potentially Allergenic Fragrances in Water Samples
PublicationThis research topic grew up as a result of awareness of constant anthropogenic and natural input to the environment constituents of personal care products (PCPs) residues. This group of emerging pollutants encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including potentially allergenic fragrance compounds. The aim of the present study was to investigate presence of 26 fragrance allergens in water samples. Simple and rapid methodology based...
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MORPHOLOGY OF BUILDING DEVELOPMENT AS AN ELEMENT OF URBAN VENTIALTION SYSTEM
PublicationProblems related to air quality in large urban agglomerations (e.g., high concentration of pollutants, the urban heat island phenomenon) make it necessary to take comprehensive measures to improve air exchange in urban areas.The article concerns the relationship between wind phenomena observable in cities and the geometrical features of building development. The knowledge on the subject is already well-founded and has been intensively...
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The Issue of Shading Photovoltaic Installation Caused by Dust Accumulation on the Glass Surface
PublicationThe issue of accumulation of dust and other pollutants on the surface of photovoltaic modules was thoroughly analysed over the years. One of the first surveys in this field of knowledge linked pollutant accumulation on the module surface with transmittance loss of its glass covering, which leads to lessened amount of solar radiation reaching solar cells. First stage of this accumulation process is linear transparency loss, and second...
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Detection and removal of priority substances and emerging pollutants from stormwater: case study of the Kołobrzeska collector, Gdańsk, Poland
PublicationProgressive urban development affects environmental balance and disrupts the hydrologic cycle, in which rainfall plays a significant role. Since rainwater is considered a valuable resource of the environment, many technical solutions are implemented that enable effective rainwater management. On the other hand, stormwater runoff from urban areas contains numerous (also toxic) substances, and therefore should be properly treated....
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Environmental risk assessment of Polish wastewater treatment plant activity
PublicationWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an extremely important role in shaping modern society's environmental wellbeing and awareness, however only well operated and supervised systems can be considered as environmentally sustainable. For this reason, an attempt was undertaken to assess the environmental burden posed by WWTPs in major Polish cities by collecting water samples prior to and just after wastewater release points....
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Determination of organophosphorus and organonitrogen pesticides in water samples
PublicationPesticides are among the most dangerous environmental pollutants because of their stability, mobility and long-term effects on living organisms. Their presence in sources of drinking water, essential to life, is a particular danger. In water, these compounds can undergo transformations, leading to the production of substances of even greater toxicity. Legal regulations are in force, stipulating the highest permissible level of...
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Bisphenols (A, S, and F) affect the basic hormonal activity determined for pharmaceuticals – Study of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
PublicationPharmaceuticals and analogs of bisphenol A (BPA) are increasingly threatening environmental pollutants. In this study, mixtures of selected pharmaceuticals (diclofenac sodium salt, chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline hydrochloride, fluoxetine hydrochloride, estrone, ketoprofen, progesterone, gemfibrozil and androstenedione) were prepared with BPA and its two analogs (namely, bisphenols F and S) at such ratios to reflect environmentally...
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Contamination of Runoff Water at Gdańsk Airport (Poland) by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
PublicationAirport runoff can contain high concentrations of various pollutants, in particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the environmental levels of which have to be monitored. Airport runoff water samples, collected at the Gdańsk-Rębiechowo Airport from 2008 to 2009, were analysed for PAHs and PCBs by gas chromatography. The aromatic fractions were separated by liquid-liquid extraction...
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Gentiana asclepiadea exerts antioxidant activity and enhances DNA repair of hydrogen peroxide- and silver nanoparticles-induced DNA damage
PublicationExposure to high levels of different environmental pollutants is known to be associated with induction of DNA damage in humans. Thus DNA repair is of great importance in preventing mutations and contributes crucially to the prevention of cancer. In our study we have focused on quantitative analysis of Gentiana asclepiadea aqueous or methanolic extracts obtained from flower and haulm, their antioxidant potency in ABTS post-column...
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Kinetics of pollutants removal in hybrid treatment wetlands – Case study comparison
PublicationRecent years have seen an increasing interest in hybrid constructed wetland (HCW) systems for domestic sewage treatment. This paper is focused on kinetics of removal of the main pollutants occurring in wastewater i.e. organics expressed as chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen. The purpose of the article is to compare different HCW configurations in terms of mass removal rates (MRR) and removal rate...
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Modeling of the Two-Dimensional Flow Caused by Sea Conditions and Wind Stresses on the Example of Dead Vistula
PublicationThe article presents the results of two-dimensional modeling of flows caused by the sea conditions and wind stresses on the example of Dead Vistula. Based on the available bathymetric data, a numerical model of the river section was created, which was supplemented with data on the position of the water table depending on hydrometeorological conditions. To describe the flow field in steady conditions, a simplified model of two-dimensional...
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Application of the Chimney Cap as a Method of Improving the Effectiveness of Natural Ventilation in Buildings
PublicationAdequately designed natural ventilation is the cheapest and easiest way to effectively remove indoor pollutants and keep the air inside a building fresh. A prediction of the performance and effectiveness of ventilation in order to determine the design of a ventilation system can provide real and long-term cost savings. The worst time in terms of the efficiency of natural ventilation is the spring-autumn transition period [7]. In...
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New procedure for the control of the treatment of industrial effluents to remove volatile organosulfur compounds
PublicationWe present a new procedure for the determination of volatile organosulfur compounds in samples of industrial effluents using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. Initially, the extraction parameters were optimized. These included: type and volume of extraction solvent, volume of disperser solvent, salting out effect, pH, time and speed of centrifugation as well as extraction...
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Treatment innovation using solar/UV In book: The Treatment of Pharmaceutical Wastewater: Innovative Technologies and the Adaptation of Treatment Systems
PublicationSince ancient times, sunlight irradiation has been widely used for water purification. Apart from solar water disinfection techniques, UV irradiation is of particular interest when considering the photodegradation of various classes of emerging pollutants. Pharmaceutically active compounds are one of the largest classes of micropollutants. The main sources of these contaminants in wastewater and aqueous environments are households,...
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Extraction and evaluation of gas-flow-dependent features from dynamic measurements of gas sensors array
PublicationGas analyzers based on gas sensors are the devices which enable recognition of various kinds of volatile compounds. They have continuously been developed and investigated for over three decades, however there are still limitations which slow down the implementation of those devices in many applications. For example, the main drawbacks are the lack of selectivity, sensitivity...
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Silver-modified titania with enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties under UV and visible light irradiation
PublicationCommercial titania photocatalysts were modified with 2 wt% of silver by photodeposition. The properties of the samples were characterized by DRS, XPS, XRD, FE-SEM and STEM. The modified samples exhibited activity under visible light and enhanced activity under UV irradiation for 2-propanol and acetic acid oxidation, respectively. The time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) analysis indicated that enhanced activity (2.5–8-fold...
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Analysis of air mass back trajectories with present and historical volcanic activity and anthropogenic compounds to infer pollution sources in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)
PublicationThis work analyses atmospheric transport of natural and anthropogenic pollution to the South Shetland Islands (SSI), with particular reference to the period September 2015 – August 2017. Based on data from the Global Volcanism Program database and air mass back trajectories calculated using the HySPLIT model, it was found that it is possible that in the analysed period volcanic pollution was supplied via long-range transport from...
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Toxicity and chemical analyses of airport runoff waters in Poland
PublicationThe aim of this study was to assess the ecotoxicological effects of various compounds in complex airport effluents using a chemical and ecotoxicological integrated strategy. The present work deals with the determination of sum of PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, cations, anions, phenols, anionic, cationic, non-ionic detergents, formaldehyde and metals – as well as TOC and conductivity – in runoff water samples collected from 2009 to 2011...
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Model of Nutrient and Pesticide Outflow with Surface Water to Puck Bay (Southern Baltic Sea)
PublicationCoastal basins are particularly exposed to the adverse impact of anthropogenic stress. In many places, despite only the seasonal increase in the number of residents, progressive urbanization and associated changes in the catchment characteristics are noticeable. Puck Bay is part of the Gulf of Gdansk and belongs to the Baltic Sea. Although the area of Puck Bay is covered by the Natura 2000 Network, this has not saved it from eutrophication...
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Sludge Treatment Reed Beds (STRBs) as a Eco-solution of Sludge Utilization for Local Wastewater Treatment Plants
PublicationSewage sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment processes. In Poland, the amout of sewage sludge has been still growing in recent years, due to inhencement of pollutants removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). One of the systems used to transform sewage sludge into fertilizer is a technology called Sludge Treatment Reed Beds (STRBs). Reed systems are periodically irrigated with sewage sludge with a low dry matter...
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Investigating the sustainability, utilisation, consumption and conservation of sea mammals – A systematic review
PublicationAlmost 80 % of the oceans, especially the Arctic and Subarctic are primarily inhabited by marine mammals. Marine species depend mostly on sea ice for food, raising their young ones and safeguarding themselves from predators. Consumption of marine mammals has always been recommended as healthy, but the truth is that it can be detrimental for human health because of sea water pollution from trash and chemicals. This systematic review...
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Mercury concentrations in Antarctic zooplankton with a focus on the krill species, Euphausia superba
PublicationThe Antarctic is the most isolated region in the world; nevertheless, it has not avoided the negative impact of human activity, including the inflow of toxic mercury (Hg). Hg deposited in the Antarctic marine environment can be bioavailable and accumulate in the food web, reaching elevated concentrations in high-trophic-level biota, especially if methylated. Zooplankton, together with