Josh Morton (far right) with fellow researcher Kosta Seaford
(left) and Kentucky State Representative Ed Whitfield
|
|
Josh Morton (far right) with fellow researcher Kosta Seaford (left) and Kentucky State Representative Ed Whitfield |
|
|
JOSH D. MORTON
MSU Chemical Services Laboratory
Mentors: David A. Owen & B. Loganathan.
Title of Presentation: Evaluation of Bamboo Leaves as a Monitor of Atmospheric Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Pollutants in Westernmost Kentucky
Presented at: 1999 Undergraduate Research Poster Session on Capitol Hill. Council on Undergraduate Research, Washington, D.C. Wednesday, April 14, 1999.
84th Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Science, Jefferson Community College, SW. Louisville, Kentucky. Nov. 12-14, 1998
The research was supported by: Committee on Institutional Studies and Research (CISR) Murray State University.
The westernmost Kentucky (Purchase Area) is endowed with variety of industries and state-of-the- art agricultural operations. In 1996, a Public Advisory Committee Report [1] identified diminished air quality due to high levels of release of toxic pollutants by industries in this region. Over 9.68 million lb. of TRI (toxic release inventory) chemicals (SARA Title 3) were reported in Marshall County, Kentucky [2]. Toxic air pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides are of particular concern because they are known or suspected of causing cancer or other health effects. Plant foliage have the ability to absorb airborne lipophillic pollutants from the passing air, allowing leaves to be used as best passive, diffusive sampler [3]. Earlier studies conducted in this laboratory have demonstrated pine needles as a fixed site, regenerative annual monitoring matrix for the evaluation of local and regional distribution of lipophillic air pollutants[4]. The results emphasized the need for further investigation of atmospheric contamination of this region and identification of alternative bioindicator for regions where pine needles are unavailable. In this study, we have used the local evergreen bamboo (Arundenaria gigantea) leaves as a similar monitoring matrix and examined its feasibility as a passive diffusive sampler for lipophillic air pollutants. Leaves of the local evergreen bamboo, Arundenaria gigantea and needles from three common species of pine were collected from Calloway, Livingston and Marshall Counties in westernmost Kentucky. Samples were taken from residential, undeveloped as well as 'upwind' and 'downwind' locations of Calvert City Industrial Complex (CICC). The samples were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. The standard analytical protocol including Soxhlet extraction, silica gel column chromatography, sulfuric acid clean-up and quantitation using gas chromatographic separation with electron capture detection (GC-ECD). Appropriate quality control sample analysis, including procedural blank, surrogate spike recovery, instrument calibration with NIST standard reference materials, with r2 value of 0.99 were also performed to ensure the quality of the data produced. Among the various analytes measured, PCB congeners, hexachlorobenzene and 4,4'-DDE were most frequently encountered. Among the various sampling sites, bamboo leaves from the vicinity of Calvert City Industrial Complex (CCIC) and sites downwind from CCIC showed higher concentrations of total PCBs (>20 ng g-1 wet wt) indicating a potential for regional atmospheric contamination from this area. Pine needles collected from Murray residential area contained total PCB concentrations <10 ng g-1 wet wt. Comparison of organochlorine concentrations in second year class (one year old) bamboo leaves and pine needles revealed that the compounds tend to accumulate more in pine needles than in bamboo leaves. Nevertheless, the relative composition of the contaminants in bamboo leaves revealed as a characteristic "fingerprint" for the area "downwind" of CCIC, quite similar to the pattern shown by pine needles. These data suggested that bamboo leaves can be used as auxiliary biomonitor for atmospheric organochlorine pollutants in the field stream margin 'downwind' of industrial complexes. An important goal for my future research is to evaluate atmospheric contamination of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides in various states throughout the USA. This data should indicate differences between the airborne PCBs and chlorinated pesticides associated with suspended particulates in urban areas, and rural areas of north America, where it is believed to be more than 99 percent of atmosphere PCBs are in the vapor phase [5]. REFERENCES 1. Kentucky Outlook 2000. A strategy for Kentucky's Third Century- Executive Summary. The Kentucky Environmental Protection Cabinet. 1997, pp 105. 2. Kentucky Environmental Protection, 1995. Report on Air Risk Assessment: Calvert City Industrial Complex. 44 pp. 3. Buckley, E.H. 1982. Accumulation of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls in foliage. Science 216: 520-522. 4. Loganathan, B.G., Baust, J., Neale, J., White, S. and Owen, D.A. 1998. Chlorinated hydrocarbons in pine needles: An atmospheric evaluation of westernmost Kentucky, U. S. A. Organohalogen Compounds 39, 303-306. 5. Franich, R.A., Jacobsosn, E., Jensen, S., Kroese, H.W. and Kylin, H. 1993. Development of non- destructive methods for the determination of airborne pollutants in pine needles: identification of trace constituents in radiata pine epicuticular wax. Fresenius J AnaL Chem. 347, 337-343. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors are grateful to Dr. John Meteja, Dr. Jeffrey Anderson and Dr. David S. White for their support and encouragement. The assistance provided by Mr. Alan Tucker and Mr. Carl Woods (MSU Science Resource Center) for sampling and analysis and preparation of this manuscript are gratefully acknowledged. MSU-CSL is a participant in the NIST/NOAA/NS&T/EPA-EMAP QA Program, This research was supported by Committee on Institutional Studies and Research (CISR) of Murray State University.
| College Home Page | Date Modified June, 1999
|
