Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research

This newsletter is a regular publication of the Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, keeping industry, government and other researchers informed of our latest research outputs.

CECR expands CECR was established in 2004 as a focus for CSIRO research on contaminants in the environment.

Contaminants are a major concern for industries, regulators and the community, and it is perhaps not surprising that contaminants research is also being undertaken in many parts of CSIRO that are not yet associated with CECR. The research on contaminants in indoor air and urban water of CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology has recently been included in CECR, and an article on the former is included in this issue of Research

News.

CECR Ecological risk assessment meetingCECR is organising a mini-symposium on “Contaminants and Ecological Risk Assessment” on Friday September 30 at CSIRO Land and Water laboratories in Adelaide, SA. Speakers will be Dr Steve Sheppard (Ecomatters, Canada), Dr Chris Hickey (NIWA, NZ), Prof. Allen Burton (Ohio State Univ., USA) and Dr Graeme Batley (CECR). Topics covered will be international and Australian approaches to ecological risk assessment in waters, soils and sediments.

More details are available on the CECR website – www.clw.csiro.au/cecr/events.html

Contact: Mike McLaughlinPh: (08) 8303 8433Email: mike.mclaughlin@csiro.au

Research News

This issue...• Contaminated

groundwater meets coastal waters

• indoor air contaminants

• Vehicle emissions

• Platinum in roadside dust

• Acid groundwaters under WA wheat

• Training on agrochemicals

No.2September 2005

Dissolved hydrocarbon concentra-tions in contaminated groundwaters were found to decrease as they met saline coastal waters.

Vertical profiling of hydrocarbon compounds and spear probing of the river and marine sediments mapped the distribution of fresh groundwater and dissolved hydrocarbons in the hyporheic zone, as affected by tidal and seasonal forcing. Mass fluxes of hydrocarbons across control planes towards the estuary showed preferential degradation

of hydrocarbon compounds.

At the estuarine site, benzene and naphthalene were relatively persistent and were observed at concentrations up to 500 μg/L and 300 μg/L respectively, 25 cm below the river bed. Inorganic chemistry indicated an abundance of electron acceptors on the fringes of the plume, but depleted in zones within the plume. In contrast at the marine site, benzene and the majority of the chemicals of potential concern were observed to attenuate, prior to discharge close to the beach.

Further research is underway to determine the reasons for the different attenuation characteristics at the two sites, and to build a more comprehensive model of geochemical reactive transport of contaminants in the presence of water phase density contrasts and periodic boundary forcing due to tides, waves, storm and seasonal effects.

Contact: Greg DavisPh: (08) 9333 6386Email: greg.davis@csiro.au

Fresh Recharge Seepage FaceSaline River

( Vertical Exageration 1.4)

Fixed Head

Salinity (mg L-1)0

4 375

8 750

13 130

17 500

21 880

26 250

30 630

35 000

180 m

11m

1

Contaminated groundwater meets coastal waters

CECR Research News

No. 2 September 2005

Contaminants in fertilisersIn 2002, a series of articles in Australian newspapers raised the issue of whether industrial waste was deliberately being added to some fertilisers.

The Federal government established a Fertilizer Working Group, comprised of representatives of the fertiliser industry and state regulatory authorities, who developed a project to address the issue of contaminants in fertilisers. A list was drawn up of chemicals that should not be present in fertilisers and with maximum guideline concentrations for other contaminants whose presence is acceptable.

A team of CECR scientists recently completed the first phase of the project with a report entitled “Background and scope for establishing a list of prohibited substances and guideline limits for levels of contaminants in fertilisers” for the Product Integrity Standing Committee of the Federal Government. The CECR report reviewed the existing knowledge and methodologies and in consultation with regulators and industry, developed an overall approach for the subsequent phases of the project.

Copies of the report can be obtained from http://www.clw.csiro.au/cecr/publications.html

Contact: Michael WarnePh: (08) 8303 8533 Email: michael.warne@csiro.au

Indoor air contaminants You would be surprised which chemicals pervade your indoor environment. CECR research has identified some of the culprits.Using sophisticated chambers (pictured), contaminants emitted from manufactured products such as unflued gas heaters, office equipment (including photocopiers), paints, floor coverings, wood-based panels and furniture were detected.

Approximately 163 ‘indoor air’ volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected at above 5 μg/m3 in buildings and building product emissions. New car interior emissions were also investigated.

The major contaminants were aliphatic and cyclic alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, terpenes and alcohols, together with ketones, esters, glycols, ethers, siloxanes and halocarbons. Of these, ethylbenzene (office equipment, new car interiors, paint), styrene (office equipment, new cars, carpet) and 4-vinylcyclohexene (carpet) are classified as potential carcinogens. A list of 36 ‘dominant’ indoor air VOCs for use in pollution assessments was derived by selecting only those found above 50–250 μg/m3.

Contact: Steve BrownPh: (03) 9252 6027Email: steve.brown@csiro.au

CECR training on agrochemicals in the Philippines Off-site migration of pesticides from agricultural farms into water bodies is a major concern, especially in the developing world where land use is intensive and pesticide information may not be easily accessible. CECR with the University of The Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to extend the risk-based approach for minimising off-site impact of pesticides in the Philippines. The project is focused on the agricultural catchments draining to the second largest freshwater lake in the South East Asia (Laguna de Bay), which supports significant aquaculture.

In May, CECR scientists Ray Correll, Anu Kumar and Danni Oliver ran a training workshop for representatives of key Philippines environmental agencies as a part of the ACIAR project.

Topics covered included environmental risk, pesticide chemistry and migration, and ecotoxicology, together with a demonstration of CSIRO’s Pesticide Impact Risk Rating software (PIRI). More information on PIRI and other products is available at http://www.clw.csiro.au/products/. With the package now available in the Philippines’ language Tagalog, feedback was provided for future enhancements. It promoted discussions on how to obtain local monitoring and ecotoxicology data and assess their reliability.

Contact: Rai KookanaPh: (08) 8303 8450Email: rai.kookana@csiro.au

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CECR Research News

No. 2 September 2005

Monitoring vehicle emissionsMotor vehicle emissions represent a significant source of contaminants to urban atmospheric environments.In Australia, motor vehicle emissions are regulated by Australian Design Rules (ADR). With the phasing out of leaded petrol in 1986, the emission standards have progressively tightened. To meet the new standards, vehicles are subjected to dynamometer test cycles that simulate driving intervals, such as cold start, acceleration phases, highway driving etc.

The principal purpose of the ADRs is to ensure that emissions from new vehicles are consistent with the need to achieve current air quality standards. However, they do not provide information regarding the actual exhaust emissions from vehicles whilst in normal use. Real world factors that affect emissions include driver behaviour, exceptional power demands, traffic density, catalyst efficiency and fuel composition.

CECR scientists have developed a measurement system that allows engine control unit parameters, catalyst temperature

and exhaust composition to be logged whilst a vehicle is in use. More recently, with NSW RTA assistance, the system is being enhanced to allow GPS, road gradient and vehicle acceleration data to be recorded.

Michael Patterson, a PhD student from Macquarie University, who is undertaking this research, has found that during a normal suburban road journey, fuel enrichment events (e.g. sudden acceleration), that occur for only short times during a trip, are responsible for the largest proportion of total exhaust emissions. For example, in one Sydney journey form Mona Vale to North Ryde, enrichment events taking place on 5% of the journey produced 80% of all CO emissions. In addition, journeys over the same path have produced significant differences in total emissions primarily as a result of different driver behaviour.

Ideally such ‘field’ data can be used to improve the reliability of emissions inventory data. They could also contribute to better road design that minimises undesirable enrichment events.

Contact: Dennys AngovePh: (02) 9710 6853Email: dennys.angove@csiro.au

Acid groundwaters under WA wheatAcid groundwater has been widely encountered in drains built to counter salinity in the WA wheat belt.A recent survey of more than 20 drains, in an area between Dalwallinu and Newdegate in WA, was undertaken by CECR in conjunction with the CRC for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration and the WA Departments of Agriculture, and Environment. It revealed that almost half were strongly acidic (average pH 3), in addition to being highly saline.

Acid groundwaters are a natural phenomenon that existed in agricultural areas well before any drains were installed.

The high acidity enhances the mobilisation of iron, aluminium, cobalt, copper, zinc, lead, uranium and a range of other trace elements and rare earth elements, whose concentrations can be 10 to 100 times higher than in regional surface waters.

Studies are now assessing the impact of the acidic and trace metal-rich drain discharges on receiving environments (lake/river systems, evaporation basins), to determine appropriate management actions to minimise these impacts.

Contact: Steve Rogers Ph: (08) 8303 8407Email: steve.rogers@csiro.au

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Platinum in roadside dustStudies of roadside dust in Sydney have revealed elevated concentrations of platinum metals.Low concentrations of platinum, palladium, rhodium and cerium are present in the exhaust emissions of motor vehicles, and are components of catalytic converters that were first installed in motor vehicles in Australia in 1986.

The highest concentrations were found in two samples taken from the girders of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At this site, the roadside dust contains as much as 0.72 mg Pt/kg, 0.93 mg Pd/kg and 0.43 mg Rh/kg. Concentrations decreased with distance from the roadways and were related both to traffic density and traffic flow.

These numbers are not dissimilar to those found in major cities overseas. The concentrations in the exhaust emissions are some 100 times below the recommended safe levels for human exposure.

Contact: Ken RileyPh: (02) 9710 6915Email: ken.riley@csiro.au

For information on other CSIRO activities:

Phone 1300 363 400

Email enquiries@csiro.au

Web www.csiro.au

For further information on CECR visit our website www.clw.csiro.au/cecr or contact us directly:

Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research

Lucas Heights, NSW

Dr Graeme Batley

Director

Phone 02 9710 6830

Fax 02 9710 6837

Email graeme.batley@csiro.au

Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research

Urrbrae, SA

Dr Mike McLaughlin

Director

Phone 08 8303 8433

Fax 08 8303 8565

Email mike.mclaughlin@csiro.au

CECR Research News

No. 2 September 2005

Mine-derived lead and silver have been used as tracers of overbank sediment deposition on river floodplains in Papua New Guinea.The Strickland River carries a naturally high sediment load from the highlands to the Fly River delta on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. How much of this sediment is deposited on the lowland floodplains was unknown, but is an important question in terms of understanding the past and future geomorphology of the region. In a study with the University of California, Berkeley, CECR scientists have been using lead and silver signatures in sediments entering the river from the Porgera gold mine, to trace the extent of overbank deposition.

While the contribution of mine-derived sediments to the overall sediment load of the

river is small, these metals tracers enable recent sediment transport and deposition to be assessed from analyses of sediment cores at distances from the river channel.

It was hypothesised that historically the high load on the Strickland had lead to rapid infilling of the floodplains and that current rates of deposition would be low.

Presentation of the data to the Papua New Guinea Government and local stakeholders has led to improved confidence in the mine’s activities and its ability to manage difficult environmental issues.

Contact: Simon AptePh: (02) 9710 6838Email: simon.apte@csiro.au

Sediment assessment handbook

The Handbook for Sediment Quality Assessment referred to in our previous issue can now be downloaded from the CECR web pages:

http://www.clw.csiro.au/cecr/documents/handbook_sediment_quality_assessment.pdf

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Mine signature aids sedimentation study

Distance from river bank, m

-1000 -500 0 500 1000

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

silv

er, m

g/k

g

Recent: 1 cm deep

Historical: 30 cm deep Mine-derived silver concentrations

in sediments deposited on the Strickland River floodplain.