 |
|
Arsenic discharged from landfills, says Dartmouth research
December 05, 2005A group of researchers at Dartmouth have studied the concentrations of toxic metals at the former Coakley Landfill in North Hampton, N.H. They've found that while the level of iron and some other contaminants decreased, the level of arsenic slightly increased.
The researchers detail their calculations regarding the geochemical processes at this site over the last ten years in a paper published online on Nov. 23, 2005, by Environmental Science and Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
This research could shed light on how arsenic pollutes ground water near landfills, especially in areas where the landfill's organic material mixes with naturally occurring iron oxides. This process also may explain the high level of arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh and other areas of Southeast Asia.
"Unfortunately, arsenic appears to come from the interaction of microbes with iron oxides carrying arsenic in the underlying rocks," says Benjamin Bostick, a coauthor on the paper and an assistant professor of earth sciences at Dartmouth. "In the Coakley Landfill, it appears that these microbes increase arsenic concentrations by consuming organic wastes and creating a 'reducing condition' where the oxygen concentration is very low, which is conducive to arsenic release. We think that arsenic contamination caused by the natural degradation of other toxic organic material might be widespread."
The Coakley Landfill was listed in 1986 as an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site because of hazardous waste content. The area was capped in 1998, a procedure common in the rehabilitation of landfills. With data collected since 1994, the researchers were able to tie changes in arsenic levels over time to the degradation of benzene and other organic wastes.
Dartmouth College
"Unfortunately, arsenic appears to come from the interaction of microbes with iron oxides carrying arsenic in the underlying rocks," says Benjamin Bostick, a coauthor on the paper and an assistant professor of earth sciences at Dartmouth. "In the Coakley Landfill, it appears that these microbes increase arsenic concentrations by consuming organic wastes and creating a 'reducing condition' where the oxygen concentration is very low, which is conducive to arsenic release. We think that arsenic contamination caused by the natural degradation of other toxic organic material might be widespread."
The Coakley Landfill was listed in 1986 as an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site because of hazardous waste content. The area was capped in 1998, a procedure common in the rehabilitation of landfills. With data collected since 1994, the researchers were able to tie changes in arsenic levels over time to the degradation of benzene and other organic wastes.
Dartmouth College
Arsenic Current Events and Arsenic News RSSMIT scientists pinpoint origin of dissolved arsenic in Bangladesh drinking water
Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists, world health agencies and the Bangladeshi government for nearly 30 years.
Answering that age-old lament: Where does all this dust come from?
Where does it come from? Scientists in Arizona are reporting a surprising answer to that question, which has puzzled and perplexed generations of men and women confronted with layers of dust on furniture and floors.
Geologists studying groundwater arsenic levels in India empower Bengali women, children
A Kansas State University geologist and graduate student are finding that the most important tools in their fieldwork on groundwater arsenic pollution are women and children armed with pamphlets and testing kits.
New X-ray technique illuminates reactivity of environmental contaminants
A chemical reaction can occur in the blink of an eye.
Water quality in orbit
Space is not a fun place to get a stomach bug. To ensure drinking water is adequately disinfected, University of Utah chemists developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months of tests aboard the International Space Station.
People vary widely in ability to eliminate arsenic from the body
Large variations exist in peoples' ability to eliminate arsenic from the body, according to a new study that questions existing standards for evaluating the human health risks from the potentially toxic substance.
Finding key to cancer drug Gleevec's limitations
University of Michigan researchers have developed an animal model that provides strong evidence why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends.
Silicon with afterburners: Process developed at Rice could be boon to electronics manufacturer
Scientists at Rice University and North Carolina State University have found a method of attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers reach beyond the current limits of Moore's Law as they make microprocessors both smaller and more powerful.
Superconductivity: Which one of these is not like the other?
Superconductivity appears to rely on very different mechanisms in two varieties of iron-based superconductors.
Prairie dogs: influencing the accumulation of metals in plants?
Prairie dogs may seem like harmless little creatures, but they can inflict serious injury on plants simply by snacking on them. Plants cannot flee from their furry predators, so how do they avoid becoming a prairie dog's lunch?
More Arsenic Current Events and Arsenic News Articles
 |
Arsenic: Environmental Chemistry, Health Threats and Waste Treatment by Kevin Henke (Author) This book presents an overview of the chemistry, geology, toxicology and environmental impacts of arsenic, presenting information on relatively common arsenic minerals and their key properties. In addition, it includes discussions on the environmental impacts of the release of arsenic from mining and coal combustion. Although the environmental regulations of different nations vary and change over time, prominent International, North American, and European guidelines and regulations on arsenic will be reviewed. Includes information on recent environmental catastrophes (e.g. Bangladesh and China) A thorough discussion of the arsenic cycle, including the cosmological origin of arsenic Includes Appendices providing extensive glossary and measurement... |
 |
Environmental Chemistry of Arsenic (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment) by William T. Frankenberger Jr (Editor) Details the latest advances in the prevention and control of arsenic and arsenic compounds in the air, soil, and water and offers the most recent and analytical methods for the detection and study of arsenic in the environment and human body. |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Sol Polito (Cinematographer), Frank Capra (Producer), Daniel Mandell (Editor), Jack L. Warner (Producer), Joseph Kesselring (Writer), Julius J. Epstein (Writer), Philip G. Epstein (Writer) You'll die laughing! Frank Capra directs Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre and stellar cast in the hit Broadway farce about a nutcase family with well-intentioned homicidal tendencies. |
 |
Arsenic (The Elements) by Chris Cooper (Author) |
|
Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring (Author) | |
 |
Boiron - Natrum Arsenic.30c, 75 pellets by Boiron |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace: A Play in Three Acts (Dramatists Play Service) by Joseph Kesselring (Author) Arsenic and Old Lace: A Play in Three Acts (Dramatists Play Service) |
 |
Venomous Earth: How Arsenic Caused The World's Worst Mass Poisoning by Andrew Meharg (Author) The worst chemical disaster ever could be happening right now. In India and Bangladesh between forty and eighty million people are at risk of consuming too much arsenic from well water that might have already caused one hundred thousand cancer cases and thousands of deaths. Many millions elsewhere in South-East Asia and South America may soon suffer a similar fate. Venomous Earth is the story of this tragedy: the geology, the biology, the politics and the history. It starts in Ancient Greece, touches down in today's North America and takes in William Morris, alchemy, farming, medicine, mining and a cosmetic that killed two popes. |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace Starring: Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Frank Capra (Producer), Jack L. Warner (Producer) |
![Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5184MX4WBML._SL160_.jpg) |
Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS] Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Sol Polito (Cinematographer), Frank Capra (Producer), Daniel Mandell (Editor), Jack L. Warner (Producer), Joseph Kesselring (Writer), Julius J. Epstein (Writer), Philip G. Epstein (Writer) Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |