Effects of Environmental Water Contamination in the Reproductive System of Mice

This study investigated the effects on the reproductive system of balb-c mice exposed to water collected from different sources near to a deactivated fertilizer waste depositary. Eighty male mice were separated in four groups: Group A (mineral water);Group B (water from the water treatment station);Group C (water from Cubatao city);Group D (water from the waste depositary region). They were exposed to water since they were weaned until they reached sexual maturity, then they were coupled with females in reproductive age and after this mating time they were sacrificed. The evaluated parameters were testicle weight, sperm analysis, pregnancy rate, sex ratio of the offspring and Sertoli cell count. The analysis of the water did not show presence of pollutants in the Group “A” and Group “C” water. Group “B” showed low level of cadmium, 3.58 ± 0.50 μg/L. Group “D” showed the presence of PAH’s and high levels of lead (221 ± 16 μg/L), cadmiun (12.6 ± 1.2 μg/L) and mercury (5.3 ± 1.1 μg/L). The tests of Levene and Kolmogorov-Smirnov were employed to verify the homogeneity of the variances and the tack to the normal curve, respectively. ANOVA was used for parametric tests and Kruskall-Wallis was used for non-parametric tests, while Turkey tests were employed for multiple comparisons. There were no differences between groups in testicle weight, sperm analysis, pregnancy rate and Sertoli cell count. There was a significant reduction in sex-ratio of the offspring in Group B. This alteration cannot be explained by the cadmium levels in Group B water. In the present study we cannot associate the exposition to contaminated water from the waste depositary and reproductive alterations.

Changes in rainfall partitioning caused by the replacement of native dry forests of Lithraea molleoides by exotic plantations of Pinus elliottii in the dry Chaco mountain forests, central Argentina

The replacement of native dry forests by commercial(exotic)tree plantations could generate changes in rainfall partitioning,which further affects the water cycle.In this study,we determined(i)the rainfall partitioning into interception,throughfall and stemflow,(ii)the role of rainfall event size on rainfall partitioning,(iii)the pH of water channelized as throughfall and stemflow,and(iv)the runoff in Lithraea molleoides(a native species)and Pinus elliottii(an exotic species)stands in the dry Chaco mountain forests,central Argentina.On average,interception,throughfall and stemflow accounted for 19.3%,79.5%and 1.2%of the gross rainfall in L.molleoides stand,and 32.6%,66.7%and 0.7%of the gross rainfall in P.elliottii stand,respectively.Amounts of interception,throughfall and stemflow presented positive linear relationships with the increment of rainfall event size for both tree species(P<0.01 in all cases).Percentages of interception,throughfall and stemflow were all related to the increment of rainfall event size,showing different patterns.With increasing rainfall event size,interception exponentially decreased,throughfall asymptotically increased and stemflow linearly increased.Both P.elliottii and L.molleoides stands presented significant differences in the pH values of water channelized as throughfall(6.3 vs.6.7,respectively;P<0.01)and stemflow(4.5 vs.5.8,respectively;P<0.01).Runoff occupied only 0.3%of the gross rainfall in P.elliottii stand and was zero in L.molleoides stand.Our results showed that the native species L.molleoides presented 13.6%more water reaching the topsoil(i.e.,net rainfall;net rainfall=gross rainfall-interception-runoff)than the exotic species P.elliottii.This study improves our understanding of the effects of native vegetation replacement on the local water balance in the dry forest ecosystems.

Inventory of primary emissions of selected persistent organic pollutants to the atmosphere in the area of Great Mendoza

The setting up of a country or region-based inventory is considered a crucial step toward the elimination of worldwide persistent organic pollutants(POPs)contamination.Moreover,the need of comparable emission inventories at city or region level is widely recognized to develop evidence-based policies accounting for the relation between emissions and institutional,socio-economic and demographic characteristics at small scale level.Due to the low spatial and temporal resolution of the available measurements,highly variable air concentrations of several POPs have been observed in Latin American and Caribbean countries.This paper presents a high resolution spatially disaggregated atmospheric emission inventory for selected POPs in order to assess the environmental fate of some of these compounds in a finer resolution.As study case we estimated releases to air of POPs in a typical mid-size urban conglomeration in Argentina.Inventoried compounds were total polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs),total polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(DDT)on a sum basis,hexachlorobenzene(HCB)and dioxins and furans(PCDD/Fs),for which emissions were estimated in 0.92 kg/year,1.65 kg/year,4.2E-02 kg/year(total sum of congeners),0.86 kg/year and 4.4E-02 kg/year respectively,values that are in accordance with the geographic and economic context.Although emitting sources are quite varied,there are very clear trends,particularly in relation to open burning of municipal solid waste and agrochemical use as major contributors.Overall,the inventory provides valuable data for the analysis of the heterogeneity of POP emissions and the necessary inputs for air quality modeling.