Anna Rabajczyk

Speciation Analysis of Chromium in Environmental Samples

Chromium occurs in all compartments of the environment. Its wide range of natural sources determines the diversity of its forms of occurrence, which affect living organisms in a variety of ways. Chromium(II) has powerful reducing properties and forms colored complexes, chromium(III) is the most stable oxidation state, and chromium(VI) has strong oxidizing properties. Chromium(VI) compounds are considered the most toxic to humans and animals. Environmental contamination by chromium is assessed using analytical methodologies in which the key step is sample preparation, especially the use of appropriate techniques for extracting the various forms of chromium from samples prior to their quantitative determination.

The speciation and physico-chemical forms of metals in surface waters and sediments.

Abstract Surface waters can be contaminated in many ways, e.g., by solutions and suspended matter. Moreover, insoluble substances in colloidal form, in suspension or adsorbed on solid bodies can dissolve in response to changing physical and chemical conditions and become a secondary source of surface water pollution, thereby endangering wildlife. In addition, if we take into account varying rates of flow, contaminants can be transported over considerable distances. Hydrological processes, which determine factors, such as the rate of sedimentation, also influence the quality of surface waters; bottom sediments can contain large quantities of accumulated organic and inorganic compounds, including heavy metals. The physical and chemical properties of aquatic ecosystems are characterized by a number of interdependent parameters. Hence, factors such as temperature, oxygen content and pH of a water body can alter the solubility of the salts present in it, the forms of occurrence of particular species, as well as their bioavailability and toxicity. Thus it is necessary to determine the various species of metals present in the different compartments of the aquatic ecosystem.

The Speciation of Aluminum in Environmental Samples

There are many sources of heavy metals in the environment. They can get there from the atmosphere as a result of intensive rain or snowfall, or they can be eroded out of the bedrock or soil. Larger amounts, often exceeding permitted concentrations, are most frequently due to emissions/discharges from industrial areas. The great variety of sources and physico-chemical conditions means that an element can occur in many different forms. That is why any assessment of the degree of contamination of the environment should be carried out not only from the point of view of the total amount of a metal found in environmental samples; it is also very important to know the contents of stable species of metals, constituting a potential reserve in the biocirculation. Moreover, the forms of occurrence of aluminum determine its toxicity or the synergistic relationships it enters into with other substances, which in turn determine its uptake and absorption by living organisms.

Possibilities for analysis of selected nanometals in solid environmental samples

AbstractNanotechnology is a field which is developing rapidly due to possibilities of applying nanoscale entities in most fields of human activity and everyday life. However, the presence of metal nanoparticles, including nano-oxides, free nanometals, in all fields of human economy and activity causes the volume of nanocompounds emitted to the biosphere to increase regularly. This is the reason for their gradual build-up in individual components of the environment, including soil and bottom sediments. Nanometals, as materials diversified in terms of chemical properties, require availability of analytical procedures which enable acquisition of reliable information on the presence, volume and physicochemical properties of nanometals. Traditional methods of environmental protection, as far as sample collection, processing and the analysis are concerned, must be adapted to the nanometals emitted into the environment. It must be added that, due to the wide range of nanometals, their selective determination con...

Reservoir recultivation versus forms of heavy metals in sediments: the case of the Kielce City Lake

The Kielce Lake is a water reservoir located in the Kielce city zone. Areas around the reservoir are used for recreational, residential and industrial purposes. Additionally, the nearby state road to the city of Łódź, is a source of transportation pollution, including heavy metals. The reservoir is fed by a watercourse which receives municipal wastewater from the town of Masłów near Kielce. The amount and diversity of organic and inorganic compounds which flow into the reservoir causes heavy pollution of the Lake waters. To reduce the degree of reservoir pollution, a pulverizing aerator was installed in the middle of the Kielce Lake in May 2008. Sediment samples were collected at a depth of 0–20 cm between July 2008 and May 2010 at five sites in the littoral zone of the recultivation area. These environmental samples underwent a five-stage sequential extraction procedure, assisted by microwave radiation. The concentrations of trace metals Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Mn, Fe and Cd in various extracts were determined by means of F-AAS and GF-AAS. The results have shown a high concentration of analytes in reservoir sediments.

Influence of land development on heavy metal forms in the Bobrza River ecosystem (Świętokrzyskie Province, Poland)

Metals are perceived as pollutants but they are also natural substances found in the environment. The surface water environment is under the influence of continuing industrial pollution/effluents. Therefore it is necessary to determine various metal forms present in each component of the water ecosystem. The study presents analysis for Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn and Pb content in the Bobrza River bottom deposits and water. The analysis of water and sediment samples from the Bobrza River taken from the littoral zone at three sampling points: the riverhead, i.e. the natural environment; Białogon — the acidic environment; and Sitkówka-Nowiny — the alkaline environment, were analyzed. Sample quality indicators were defined with pH value, conductivity, heavy metal content for water and suspended matter samples. The metal forms in river sediment were also analyzed. The sediment samples were subjected to Tessier’s five-stage sequential extraction procedure assisted by microwave radiation. Analyte concentration in water samples and in the extracts was determined with the use of F-AAS and GF-AAS techniques. The results obtained reveal a relationship between land development, the degree of metal bonding with suspended matter and metal forms found in river sediments.

Possibilities for reduction of selected pollutants in urban area rainfall wastewater with the use of ditches

AbstractWastewater composition depends on a variety of factors, including the type of catchment and the method of catchment development, methods of black ice control, parameters of atmospheric precipitation and the season. The major pollutants of rainfall wastewater are heavy metals, animal waste, mineral hydrocarbons, salts, de-icers, leaves and other plant parts, but the volume of pollution may vary even within one catchment. From the viewpoint of rainfall wastewater pretreatment, in urban areas, ditches are significant facilities since they are inhabited by a variety of flora species, mainly ruderal and reed bed vegetation, which have a capacity for accumulating heavy metals such as chromium, copper, nickel, lead, cadmium and zinc. The focus of the present study is a ditch located in the western part of the city of Kielce, which collects rainfall wastewater from closed stormwater drainage of Skrajna, Malikow and Kolejarzy Streets, then removes it to the pretreatment facility and finally—to the Sufragan...