Marek Ruman

Occurrence of Surface Active Agents in the Environment

Due to the specific structure of surfactants molecules they are applied in different areas of human activity (industry, household). After using and discharging from wastewater treatment plants as effluent stream, surface active agents (SAAs) are emitted to various elements of the environment (atmosphere, waters, and solid phases), where they can undergo numerous physic-chemical processes (e.g., sorption, degradation) and freely migrate. Additionally, SAAs present in the environment can be accumulated in living organisms (bioaccumulation), what can have a negative effect on biotic elements of ecosystems (e.g., toxicity, disturbance of endocrine equilibrium). They also cause increaseing solubility of organic pollutants in aqueous phase, their migration, and accumulation in different environmental compartments. Moreover, surfactants found in aerosols can affect formation and development of clouds, which is associated with cooling effect in the atmosphere and climate changes. The environmental fate of SAAs is still unknown and recognition of this problem will contribute to protection of living organisms as well as preservation of quality and balance of various ecosystems. This work contains basic information about surfactants and overview of pollution of different ecosystems caused by them (their classification and properties, areas of use, their presence, and behavior in the environment).

Organic Pollution in Surface Waters from the Fuglebekken Basin in Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic

The Fuglebekken basin is situated in the southern part of the island of Spitsbergen (Norwegian Arctic), on the Hornsund fjord (Wedel Jarlsberg Land). Surface water was collected from 24 tributaries (B1–B24) and from the main stream water in the Fuglebekken basin (25) between 10 July 2009 and 30 July 2009. The present investigation reveals the results of the analysis of these samples for their PAH and PCB content. Twelve of 16 PAHs and seven PCBs were determined in the surface waters from 24 tributaries and the main stream. Total PAH and PCB concentrations in the surface waters ranged from 4 to 600 ng/L and from 2 to 400 ng/L respectively. The highest concentrations of an individual PCB (138–308 ng/L and 123 ng/L) were found in samples from tributaries B9 and B5. The presence in the basin (thousands of kilometres distant from industrial centres) of PAHs and PCBs is testimony to the fact that these compounds are transported over vast distances with air masses and deposited in regions devoid of any human pressure.

Pollutants present in different components of the Svalbard archipelago environment / Zanieczyszczenia obecne w różnych komponentach środowiska archipelagu Svalbard

Abstract During last years an interest in the processes of transport and fate of pollutants to the polar regions located distantly from industrial centers, has significantly increased. The current analytical techniques enabling conducting studies prove that the Arctic regions (in the past considered as a pollution free area) have become an area of highly intensive anthropopresion. Svalbard archipelago stands out from the other polar regions due to its specific environmental conditions and geographic location, which results in becoming a reservoir of contamination in this area. Systematic environmental monitoring of arctic regions is extremely important due to an unique opportunity of observing a direct impact of pollution on the ongoing processes in the area of interest. In this way measurement data obtained are a valuable source of information, not only on changes occurring in the Arctic ecosystem, but also on estimated global impact of certain xenobiotics present in the environment. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative studies on particular chemicals deposited in different regions of the Arctic ecosystem may constitute the basis for undertaking actions aimed at preventing negative effects caused by these pollutants. Abstrakt Na przestrzeni ostatnich lat znacząco wzrosło zainteresowanie procesami transportu i losem trwałych zanieczyszczeń w miejscach odległych od centrów przemysłowych, takich jak obszary polarne. Nowoczesne techniki analityczne pozwoliły na przeprowadzenie badań, które dowiodły, że również Arktyka, która w przeszłości była uważana za teren pozbawiony zanieczyszczeń, stała się obszarem o dużej intensywności antropopresji. Archipelag Svalbard wyróżnia się na tle innych rejonów polarnych ze względu na specyficzne warunki środowiskowe oraz położenie geograficzne, które czynią ten obszar rezerwuarem zanieczyszczeń. Monitorowanie stanu środowiska rejonów arktycznych jest niezwykle ważne ze względu na unikatową możliwość obserwacji bezpośredniego wpływu zanieczyszczeń na procesy zachodzące w badanym obszarze. Uzyskane w ten sposób dane pomiarowe stanowią cenne źródło informacji nie tylko o zmianach zachodzących w ekosystemie Arktyki, ale również pozwalają na oszacowanie wpływu określonych ksenobiotyków na środowisko w skali globalnej. Ponadto badania rodzaju i ilości substancji chemicznych zdeponowanych w różnych elementach ekosystemu stanowią podstawę do podejmowania działań, które mają na celu zapobieganie negatywnym oddziaływaniom zanieczyszczeń.

Determination of Surfactants in Environmental Samples. Part III. Non-Ionic Compounds

Abstract Non-ionic surface active agents are a diverse group of chemicals which have an uncharged polar head and a non-polar tail. They have different properties due to amphiphilic structure of their molecules. Commercial available non-ionic surfactants consist of the broadest spectrum of compounds in comparison with other types of such agents. Typically, non-ionic compounds found applications in households and industry during formulation of cleaning products, cosmetics, paints, preservative coatings, resins, textiles, pulp and paper, petroleum products or pesticides. Their are one of the most common use class of surfactants which can be potential pollution sources of the different compartment of environment (because of they widely application or discharging treated wastewaters to surface water and sludge in agricultural). It is important to investigate the behavior, environmental fate of non-ionic surfactants and their impact on living organisms (they are toxic and/or can disrupt endocrine functions). To solve such problems should be applied appropriated analytical tools. Sample preparation step is one of the most critical part of analytical procedures in determination of different compounds in environmental matrices. Traditional extraction techniques (LLE - for liquid samples; SLE - for solid samples) are time and solvent-consuming. Developments in this field result in improving isolation efficiency and decreasing solvent consumption (eg SPE and SPME - liquid samples or PLE, SFE and MAE - solid samples). At final determination step can be applied spectrophotometric technique, potentiometric titrametration or tensammetry (determination total concentration of non-ionic surfactants) or chromatographic techniques coupled with appropriated detection techniques (individual analytes). The literature data concerning the concentrations of non-ionic surfactants in the different compartments of the environment can give general view that various ecosystems are polluted by those compounds. Abstrakt Niejonowe surfaktanty stanowią zróżnicowaną grupę związków chemicznych, które w swojej budowie zawierają pozbawioną ładunku polarną „głowę” i niepolarny „ogon”. Tego typu związki powierzchniowo czynne ze względu na amfifilową strukturę posiadają różnorodne właściwości. Komercyjnie dostępne produkty zawsze zawierają szerokie spektrum związków o niejonowym charakterze. Niejonowe związki znalazły zastosowanie głównie w gospodarstwach domowych oraz w przemyśle przy wytwarzaniu produktów czyszczących, włókienniczych, celulozowych i papierniczych, kosmetyków, farb, powłok konserwujących, żywic, produktów naftowych i pestycydów. Jest to jedna z najczęściej wykorzystywanych klas surfaktantów, które mogą stanowić potencjalne źródło zanieczyszczenia różnych elementów środowiska (ze względu na ich szerokie zastosowanie lub kierowanie oczyszczonych ścieków do wód powierzchniowych i stosowania osadów czynnych w rolnictwie). Istotne staje się badanie losu środowiskowego substancji powierzchniowo czynnych oraz ich wpływu względem organizmów żywych (ze względu na działanie toksyczne i zdolność do wpływu na funkcje endokrynologiczne). Te zagadnienia mogą być rozwiązywane przez stosowanie odpowiednich narzędzi analitycznych. Etap przygotowania próbek do analizy jest jednym z najważniejszych etapów procedur analitycznych. Tradycyjne techniki ekstrakcji (LLE - dla próbek ciekłych; SLE - dla próbek stałych) cechują się czasochłonnością oraz używaniem dużych ilości rozpuszczalników. Rozwój w tym zakresie doprowadził do poprawy efektywności izolacji analitów oraz zmniejszenia wymaganych objętości rozpuszczalników (np. SPE i SPME - próbki ciekłe lub PLE, SFE i MAE - próbki stałe). Na etapie oznaczania końcowego mogą być wykorzystane: technika spektrofotometryczna, technika miareczkowania potencjometrycznego lub tensammetria (do określania sumarycznego stężenie niejonowych związków powierzchniowoczynnych) oraz techniki chromatograficzne (do określania poziomów stężenie pojedynczych analitów). Analiza danych literaturowych dotyczących stężeń surfaktantów w różnych elementach środowiska pozwala na stwierdzenie, że różne ekosystemy są zanieczyszczone przez związki o charakterze niejonowym.

The Late Vistulian and Holocene evolution of Jezioro Lake: a record of environmental change in southern Poland found in deposits and landforms

Jezioro Lake is the only natural lake in southern Poland outside mountainous areas to have existed continuously since the Pleistocene. The record of environmental change in the Late Vistulian (Weichselian) and Holocene is preserved in the deposits and landforms around the lake. This paper presents the results of paleogeographical and paleoecological research that emabled us to reconstruct the history of the Jezioro Lake. At the end of the Vistulian period, the outlet of the lake was blocked by a parabolic dune moving in from the west. Limnic sedimentation was evident in the sediment core at all levels from the Holocene, with remains of Cladocera, Chironomidae larvae, and aquatic plants. The lake did not disappear at that time, although its area decreased by a factor of 12 by the end of the period. Paleobotanical research permitted the reconstruction of sequences of plant communities and changes in nutrient status and water level. An initial oligotrophic lake, as indicated by the presence of Isoëtes lacustris L., changed to a eutrophic lake, as indicated by the presence of Potamogeton natans L. and Nuphar sp., then the lake progressed to the present-day dystrophic lake that is surrounded by a swamp. The profile of organic deposits contains a record of environmental change at least since the Younger Dryas in southern Poland.

Assessment of the water quality of Kłodnica River catchment using self-organizing maps

Risk assessment of industrial areas heavily polluted due to anthropogenic actions is of increasing concern worldwide. So is the case of Polish Silesia region where mostly heavy industry like smelters, mining, chemical industries as well as heat and electricity production facilities are being located. Such situation raises numerous questions about environmental state of local water bodies with special attention paid to the Kłodnica Catchment which is receiving waste waters from numerous industrial plants. The efforts have been undertaken to describe the situation (spatial and temporal distribution of pollution) in the area of interest with the help of self-organizing maps - modern non-parametric data mining method - yet still rarely applied in environmental studies where numerous input parameters have to be considered. As a result of studies clear distinction into 3 pollution groups could be obtained as well as the seasonal variation of pollution could be distinguished.

The role of atmospheric precipitation in introducing contaminants to the surface waters of the Fuglebekken catchment, Spitsbergen

Although the Svalbard Archipelago is located at a high latitude, far from potential contaminant sources, it is not free from anthropogenic impact. Towards the Fuglebekken catchment, in the southern part of Spitsbergen, north of Hornsund fjord, contaminants can be transported from mainland pollution sources. In the precipitation and surface water collected in the catchment, the following elements were detected and quantified: Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn. Additionally, pH, electrical conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined in those samples. The acidic reaction of precipitation waters was identified as an important factor intensifying the metal migration in this Arctic tundra environment. The air mass trajectory, surprisingly, explained the variability of only a small fraction of trace elements in precipitation water. The air mass origin area was correlated only with the concentrations of As, V and Cr. Wind directions were helpful in explaining the variability of Mn, U and Ba concentrations (east–north-easterly wind) and the contents of B, As, Rb, Se, Sr and Li in precipitation (south-westerly wind), which may indicate the local geological source of those. Atmospheric deposition was found to play a key role in the transport of contaminants into the Fuglebekken catchment; however, the surface water composition was modified by its pH and TOC content.

Bacterial Community Structures in Freshwater Polar Environments of Svalbard

Two thirds of Svalbard archipelago islands in the High Arctic are permanently covered with glacial ice and snow. Polar bacterial communities in the southern part of Svalbard were characterized using an amplicon sequencing approach. A total of 52,928 pyrosequencing reads were analyzed in order to reveal bacterial community structures in stream and lake surface water samples from the Fuglebekken and Revvatnet basins of southern Svalbard. Depending on the samples examined, bacterial communities at a higher taxonomic level mainly consisted either of Bacteroidetes, Betaproteobacteria, and Microgenomates (OP11) or Planctomycetes, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes members, whereas a population of Microgenomates was prominent in 2 samples. At the lower taxonomic level, bacterial communities mostly comprised Microgenomates, Comamonadaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Legionellales, SM2F11, Parcubacteria (OD1), and TM7 members at different proportions in each sample. The abundance of OTUs shared in common among samples was greater than 70%, with the exception of samples in which the proliferation of Planctomycetaceae, Phycisphaeraceae, and Candidatus Methylacidiphilum spp. lowered their relative abundance. A multi-variable analysis indicated that As, Pb, and Sb were the main environmental factors influencing bacterial profiles. We concluded that the bacterial communities in the polar aquatic ecosystems examined mainly consisted of freshwater and marine microorganisms involved in detritus mineralization, with a high proportion of zooplankton-associated taxa also being identified.

Determination of Surfactants in Environmental Samples. Part I. Cationic Compounds / Oznaczanie Surfaktantów W Próbkach Środowiskowych. Część I. Związki Kationowe

Abstract Compounds from the group of cationic surfactants are widely applied in household, industrial, cleaning, disinfectant, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products as their specific properties (antimicrobial, emulsifying, anticorrosion, softening). After use, cationic surfactants are disposed to wastewater-treatment plants and finally with effluent water to surface waters due to their incomplete degradation. Moreover, they can freely circulate in different environmental compartments including living organisms. It becomes indispensable to recognize in more detail behavior, fate and biological effects of cationic surfactants. This analytical problem can be solved with use sensitive and reliable analytical techniques at sample preparation step and final determination step. In recent years, during isolation analytes from environmental samples mainly were used liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) - liquid matrices or solid-liquid extraction (SLE) - solid matrices. This technique involves application of toxic solvents (chloroform), is time-consuming and interferences are co-extracted. Nowadays, in scientific centers are carried out research to replace this traditional technique. So far, the following techniques were applied: solid-phase extraction (SPE) or it modification (HF-LPME) - liquid samples; accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) - solid samples. During the determination of total content of cationic surface active agents in environmental samples were used a traditional spectrophotometry technique and potentiometric titration technique. But those techniques are susceptible of interferences on analysis results (anionic and non-ionic compounds). The chromatographic technique (liquid chromatography) applied at the final determination step gives possibility to determine individual cationic surfactants in solvent extracts of environmental samples. The LC systems coupled with mass spectrometers are most powerful tools during such analysis. Abstrakt Związki z grupy kationowych surfaktantów ze względu na swoje właściwości (bakteriobójcze, grzybobójcze, emulgujące, antykorozyjne, zmiękczające) są szeroko wykorzystywane w gospodarstwach domowych oraz przemyśle jako środki myjące, dezynfekujące i produkty farmaceutyczne. Po zastosowaniu w różnych dziedzinach działalności człowieka kationowe surfaktanty są kierowane do oczyszczalni ścieków, a następnie do wód powierzchniowych wraz z oczyszczoną wodą (ze względu na ich niecałkowitą degradacją). Ponadto, mogą one swobodnie migrować pomiędzy różnymi elementami środowiska, w tym w żywych organizmach. Zatem istotne staje się poznawanie w sposób bardziej szczegółowy zachowania, losu oraz efektów względem organizmów żywych związków z grupy kationowych surfaktantów. To zagadnienie analityczne może być rozwiązane z użycie czułych i selektywnych technik analitycznych na etapie przygotowania próbek do analizy oraz na etapie oznaczania końcowego. W ciągu ostatnich lat na etapie izolacji analitów z próbek środowiskowych wykorzystywane były głównie techniki ekstrakcji w układzie ciecz-ciecz (LLE) - ciekłe próbki lub ciało stałe-ciecz (SLE) - stałe próbki. Ta technika obejmuje zastosowanie toksycznych rozpuszczalników (chloroformu), jest czasochłonna oraz substancje przeszkadzające są współekstrahowane. Obecnie w wielu ośrodkach naukowych są prowadzone badania mające na celu zastąpienie tych tradycyjnych technik. Jak dotąd wykorzystywano następujące techniki analityczne: ekstrakcja do fazy stałej (SPE) bądź jej modyfikacja (HF-LPME) - ciekłe próbki; przyspieszona ekstrakcja za pomocą rozpuszczalnika (ASE) lub ekstrakcja za pomocą rozpuszczalnika w stanie nadkrytycznym (SFE) - stałe próbki. W celu oznaczenia sumarycznej zawartości surfaktantów w próbkach środowiskowych były najczęściej wykorzystywane tradycyjne techniki: spektrofotometrii oraz miareczkowania potencjometrycznego. Jednak stosowanie tych technik wiąże się z ich podatnością na obecność substancji przeszkadzających (anionowych i niejonowych związków). Zastosowanie na etapie oznaczania końcowego techniki chromatograficznej (chromatografii cieczowej) umożliwia oznaczanie pojedynczych kationowych środków powierzchniowo czynnych w ekstraktach rozpuszczalnikowych przygotowanych z próbek środowiskowych. Chromatografia cieczowa w połączeniu ze spektrometrią mas jest obecnie jednym z najbardziej uniwersalnych narzędzi analitycznych wykorzystywanych podczas tego typu analiz.

Reducing monitoring costs in industrially contaminated rivers: cluster and regression analysis approach.

Monitoring contamination in river water is an expensive procedure, particularly for developing countries where pollution is a significant problem. This study was conducted to provide a pollution monitoring strategy that reduces the cost of laboratory analysis. The new monitoring strategy was designed as a result of cluster and regression analysis on field data collected from an industrially influenced river. Pollution sources in the study site were coal mining, metallurgy, chemical industry, and metropolitan sewage. This river resembles those in other areas of the world, including developing countries where environmental monitoring is financially constrained. Data were collected on variability of contaminant concentrations during four seasons at the same points on tributaries of the river. The variables described in the study are pH, electrical conductivity, inorganic ions, trace elements, and selected organic pollutants. These variables were divided into groups using cluster analysis. These groups were then tested using regression models to identify how the behavior of one variable changes in relation to another. It was found that up to 86.8% of variability of one parameter could be determined by another in the dataset. We adopted 60, 65, and 70% determination levels () for accepting a regression model. As a result, monitoring could be reduced by 15 (60% level) and 10 variables (65 and 70%) out of 43, which comprises 35 and 23% of the monitored variable total. Cost reduction would be most effective if trace elements or organic pollutants were excluded from monitoring because these are the constituents most expensive to analyze.