Chromium (Cr) is introduced into the environment by several anthropogenic activities. A striking ex-ample is the area around Kanpur in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where large amounts of Cr-containing wastes have been recently illegally deposited. Hexavalent Cr, a highly toxic and mobile contaminant, is present in significant amounts in these wastes, severely affecting the quality of sur-roundings soils, sediments, and ground waters. The first major goal of this study is to clarify the solid phase speciation of Cr in these wastes and to examine its leaching behavior. X-ray diffraction and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy techniques will be employed for quantitative solid phase speciation of Cr. Its leaching behavior will be studied in column experiments performed at un-saturated moisture conditions with flow interruptions simulating monsoon rain events. Combined with geochemical modeling, the results will allow the evaluation of the leaching potential and release kinetics of Cr from the waste materials. The second major goal is to investigate the spatial distribution, speciation, and solubility of Cr in the rooting zone of chromate-contaminated soils surrounding the landfills, and to study the suitability of biochar as novel soil amendment for mitigating the deleterious effects of chromate pollution. Detailed field samplings and laboratory soil incubation studies will be carried out with two agricultural soils and biochar from the Kanpur region.
Evidence is compelling for a positive correlation between urbanisation and increment of allergic sensitisation and diseases. The reason for this association is not clear to date. Some data point to a pro-allergic effect of anthropogenic factors on susceptible individuals. Data analysing the impact of environmental - natural and anthropogenic - factors on the allergenicity of allergen carriers such as pollen grains are scarce, and if applicable only taken from in vitro experimental designs. This study will analyse one of the most common allergy inducers in northern Europe - the birch pollen. Under natural exposure conditions, birch pollen will be analysed with respect to their allergenicity. Within an interdisciplinary research team this study will evaluate the effect of natural (e.g. soil, climate, genetic background) and anthropogenic (e.g. traffic pollutants) factors on birch pollen in a holistic approach including analysis of allergen bioavailability, release of pollen associated lipid mediators from birch pollen grains, in vitro immunostimulatory activity and in vivo allergenic potential. These data collected in the time course of three years will significantly add to our understanding how urbanisation and climate change influence the allergenicity of birch pollen and will help us in the future to set up primary prevention studies.
Bisherige Ansätze zu Modellierung von Lachgasemissionen haben noch zu keinen zufriedenstellenden Ergebnissen geführt bzw. die Validierung von Modellen steht noch aus, da u.a. die Bestimmung der Gasdiffusion im Oberboden sowie der Gasübergang in Atmosphäre schwierig bestimmbar ist. Wir stellen für diesen Schritt einen empirischen Modellansatz zur Vorhersage von Lachgasemissionen aus oberflächennahen N2O-Gehalten des Bodens vor, der im Rahmen des Projektes zu einer allgemeinen Anwendbarkeit weiterentwickelt werden soll. Hierbei werden über empirische Transferfaktoren, die in Abhängigkeit von Bodenart, Wassergehalt und Temperatur ermittelt werden, die Emissionen aus Gasgehalten im Boden berechnet. Zur einfachen Bestimmung des N2O-Gehaltes im Oberboden steht ein in unserem Hause entwickeltes neuartiges Bodenprobenahmegerät zur Verfügung. Die Einfachheit der Probenahme und gleichzeitige Erfassung von Gas im Boden sowie den steuernden Größen Nmin und DOC, erlaubt zudem ein Monitoring der Spurengasemissionen auf regionaler Ebene sowie die Validierung bestehender Modelle.
So far, there is little knowledge on the fate of nanoparticles and nanoparticle-associated pollutants in soils. From the state of the art we presume nanoparticle aging in soils to change their surface characteristics, their sorption capacity and mobility. However, the processes controlling nanoparticles aging in soils are hardly investigated. We hypothesize that engineered inorganic nanoparticles (EINP) in soil undergo pedogenic processes such as chemical weathering, accumulation of organic matter and aggregation and that these processes govern both, the mobility of EINP and their sorption capacity for contaminants. Thereby we will mainly address the two key hypothesis of INTERNANO that (i) nanoparticle aging involves reversible and irreversible changes and (ii) that nanoparticle mobility and their interactions with pollutants are determined by environmental conditions rather than by original surface characteristics. We will expose nanoparticle to soils and soil suspensions under various, defined conditions. At the end of the respective incubation time we will study the change in surface properties, aggregation state and contaminant sorption onto nanoparticles, using methods, which are suitable for nano-scale analyses (light scattering, HR TEM, XANES). Size effects on aging will be analysed exemplarily for TiO2 EINPs. The derived process knowledge will help to evaluate the environmental significance of nanoparticles in soils and serve as a basis to predict risks associated with nanoparticle leaching from soils.
Sprengstoffe, v.a. TNT und Hexogen (RDX), sind als Kontaminationen in den Boden eingetragen worden und gelangen aufgrund ihrer geringen Wasserlöslichkeit langsam in das Grundwasser. Aufgrund ihrer Umwetlttoxizität ist eine Sanierung kontaminierter Standorte nötig. Bisherige Untersuchungen zum Abbau dieser Xenobiotika haben sich auf die oxidativen Enzyme von Pilzen aus fremden Habitaten (v.a. Weißfäule-Pilzen) konzentriert. Unter Ansatz basiert hingegen auf der Charakterisierung des Abbau-Potentials der nativen Bodenmycota. TNT wird durch Nitratreduktase-Aktivität reduziert und in die Humus-Schicht eingebunden, während das instabile heterozyklische RDX-Moleküle durch Reduktion gespalten und somit mineralisiert wird. TNT-Reduktion und RDX-Abbau werden durch eine große Diversität an bodenbewohnenden Pilzen durchgeführt, v.a. Zygomyceten (Cuninghamella, Absidia) und imperfekte Stadien von Ascomyceten (Penicillium, Trichoderma). Unsere derzeitigen Studien befassen sich mit der Einbringung der RDX-Fragmente in den pilzlichen Sekundärmetabolismus.
The site of the heating power station and former gasworks in Plauen is contaminated over a wide area with pollutants specific to gasworks - above all BTX aromatics, PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), tar oils, phenols and ammonium - down to a depth of six metres. According to expert opinion, a soil volume of some 20000 m3 must urgently be cleaned up. A remediation concept has been prepared at the request of the municipality of Plauen, based on the use-related potential assessment for the site. The assessment concludes that there is an acute environmental hazard for the directly adjoining river 'Weisse Elster'. The approach pursued in this project represents a new solution to the problem of contaminated sites. Instead of using ex-situ methods for carrying out a complete cleanup of the contaminated site, as practised so far, in-situ methods are used. In this way, the acute hazard potential is eliminated, leaving only a tolerable amount of residual pollution. This objective will be achieved through a combination of pneumatic, hydraulic and microbiological in-situ measures. The efficiency will be further increased by specific pollutant mobilization. The technical feasibility has been confirmed by soil air suction tests and pumping tests on sites as well as microbiological laboratory analyses. The in-situ decontamination is superior to the traditional ex-situ methods in terms of economic efficiency, waste prevention and reducing traffic movements. The innovative methods proposed here involve, in particular, hot-steam injections and controlled oxyhydrogen gas explosions that will increase the availability of immobile pollutants attached to the soil grain.
Mit dem geplanten Projekt kann die 'Ökosystemforschung Südwest Bulgarien' fortgeführt und abgerundet werden. Die 1998 an charakteristischen Standorten im nördlichen Pirin und Becken von Razlog vorgenommenen Boden-, Vegetations- und gewässerökologischen Untersuchungen sollen wiederholt und damit abgesichert werden. Das Parameterspektrum der Boden- und Wasseranalytik ist auf umweltrelevante organische Komponenten, deren Anreicherung aufgrund der Nutzungs- und Naturraumstruktur zu erwarten ist, auszuweiten. Ziel ist die abschließende Beurteilung des gegenwärtigen Umweltzustandes im Untersuchungsgebiet. Die Ergebnisse sollen den bulgarischen Entscheidungsträgern vor Ort zur Verfügung gestellt werden.
The general objective of the research is to improve our understanding of organic matter stabilisation in soil. In addition to well established mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilisation such as bonding to minerals or inclusion in aggregates, the applicants recently have disclosed significant and varying antibiotic/antioxidative properties, which could confer inherent chemical stability. However, the molecular fundamentals of these properties are currently unknown. Therefore, specific objectives are: -Quantify antibiotic/antioxidant capacity of soil organic matter in a number of soils from experimental work in the UK and Germany.-Molecular characterisation and quantification of potential antibiotic and/or antioxidant molecules in those soils.-Assess the extent to which the molecules in (2) can account for the measured capacities in (1).-Assess the extent to which the molecules in (2) have been derived from lignin, tannin and/or other plant constituents.-Investigate which enzymatic reactions are affected by the effective molecules identified in (2) to (4).
Fuer das Verhalten organischer Schadstoffe im System Boden-Pflanze-Luft wurde ein auf einem Massenbilanzmodell basierendes Transfermodell entwickelt und fuer verschiedene Chemikalien (PCDD/F, Pestizide u.a.) verifiziert. Das Modell hat Eingang in die europaeische Risikorichtlinie, die multimediale Modellierung und die Expositionsanalyse von Altlasten gefunden. Insbesondere konnten die Beitraege von Wurzelaufnahme und atmosphaerischer Deposition zur Kontamination von Pflanzen als Funktion der Stoffeigenschaften geklaert werden. QSAR-Beziehungen zwischen der chemischen Struktur und der oekotoxischer Wirkung von chemischen Substanzen unterschiedlicher Strukturklassen auf Gefaesspflanzen konnten durch multivariate Methoden, u.a. Fuzzy-Clustering, ermittelt werden.
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