Biologically available phosphorus supports plant growth but can also cause environmental contamination. Sequential extraction methods, such as Hedley fractionation, are the most widely used to assess from solids. However, methods exhibit numerous deficiencies. The USEPA Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) is a tiered system developed evaluate releases of Potentially Toxic Element...

Pollution of Lake Bosomtwe is a major concern in Ghana due to its derived socio-economic benefits such as employment, ecotourism and protein source the people basin. Besides these benefits, lake water used for domestic purposes has since served drinking people. However, use agrochemicals within basin intensified last decade. The problems associated with fertilizer pesticide seem carry it higher...

The environmental characterization of building interiors and other surfaces has generally been performed with wipe-sampling because it is a non-destructive technique. There is no consensus, however, as to the interpretation of the results of wipe-sampling. Specifically, there is not a standardized method to determine if chemicals found at sampled levels pose a threat to human health. A methodol...

We investigated effects of storage temperature and duration on release of antimony (Sb) and bisphenol A (BPA) from 16 brands of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) drinking water bottles in China. After 1-week storage, Sb release increased from 1.88-8.32 ng/L at 4 °C, to 2.10-18.4 ng/L at 25 °C and to 20.3-2604 ng/L at 70 °C. The corresponding releases for BPA were less at 0.26-18.7, 0.62-22.6, an...

Most organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) which are increasingly used in agriculture and industry are not biodegradable and thereby persist in the environment for a very long period of time. They are capable of negatively impacting the health of humans and biota when present in a higher concentration than recommended. This study evaluated the concentrations of 17 OCPs in surface water samples colle...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this investigation was to establish whether monomethyl mercury (MMHg) is present in dental-unit wastewater and if present, to determine the concentration relative to total mercury. METHODS Wastewater samples were collected over an 18-month period from three locations: at the dental chair; at a 30-chair clinic, and at a 107-chair clinic. Total mercury determinations ...

The USEPA has estimated that over 20,000 water bodies within the United States do not meet water quality standards. One of the regulations in the Clean Water Act of 1972 requires states to monitor the total maximum daily load, or the amount of pollution that can be carried by a water body before it is determined to be "polluted," for any watershed in the United States (Copeland, 2005). In respo...