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Environmental problems - Chemical approaches
Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Chemistry

Volume 12 Number 3 2015

RESEARCH FRONT: Fracking: Environmental Challenges and Solutions for Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

ENv12n3_FOForeword to ‘Fracking: Environmental Challenges and Solutions for Unconventional Oil and Gas Development' Research Front

Jason Unrine, Kelvin Gregory and Graeme Batley
pp. i-i

Environmental context. There is growing worldwide interest in the production of oil and gas from deep, shale formations following advances in the technical expertise to exploit these resources such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The potential widespread application of hydraulic fracturing has raised concerns over deleterious environmental impacts on fragile water resources. We discuss the environmental management challenges faced by the oil and gas industry, and the opportunities for innovation in the industry.

EN14054Chemical and bioanalytical assessment of coal seam gas associated water

Janet Y. M. Tang, Mauricio Taulis, Jacinta Edebeli, Frederic D. L. Leusch, Paul Jagals, Gregory P. Jackson and Beate I. Escher
pp. 267-285

Environmental context. Water associated with coal seam gas is generally of poor quality and thus its management and potential further usage is a subject of concern. In a comprehensive study involving chemical and bioanalytical assessments of coal seam gas associated water, we found that less than 5 % of the biological effects could be explained by chemical analysis. The use of bioanalytical tools to complement chemical analysis is recommended for monitoring the quality of water associated with coal seam gas.

EN14010In vitro cytotoxicity assessment of a hydraulic fracturing fluid

Madeleine E. Payne, Heather F. Chapman, Janet Cumming and Frederic D. L. Leusch
pp. 286-292

Environmental context. Hydraulic fracturing fluids, used in large volumes by the coal seam gas mining industry, are potentially present in the environment either in underground formations or in mine wastewater (produced water). Previous studies of the human health and environmental effects of this practice have been limited because they use only desktop methods and have not considered combined mixture toxicity. We use a novel in vitro method for toxicity assessment, and describe the toxicity of a hydraulic fracturing fluid on a human gastrointestinal cell line.

EN13243Microbial fuel cells under extreme salinity: performance and microbial analysis

Oihane Monzon, Yu Yang, Cong Yu, Qilin Li and Pedro J. J. Alvarez
pp. 293-299

Environmental context. The treatment of extremely saline, high-strength wastewaters while producing electricity represents a great opportunity to mitigate environmental effects and recover resources associated with wastes from shale oil and gas production. This paper demonstrates that extreme halophilic microbes can produce electricity at salinity up to 3- to 7-fold higher than sea water.


Environmental context. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are routinely found in waters discharged from treatment plants and in surrounding aquatic ecosystems. Despite the widespread occurrence of these biologically active agents, there is limited understanding of their potential effects on key ecosystem processes such as primary production, ecosystem respiration and algal growth. This paper examines the effects of five common pharmaceuticals on the rates of these fundamental processes.


Environmental context. Atmospheric quinones present a potential toxic risk to human health because of their involvement in the generation of reactive oxygen species. Gas phase reactions of naphthalene and phenanthrene with the OH radical are investigated in a laboratory reaction chamber to provide a preliminary assessment of the importance of the atmospheric formation of quinones.

EN14154Exploring the seasonal NMHC distribution in an urban area of the Middle East during ECOCEM campaigns: very high loadings dominated by local emissions and dynamics

Thérèse Salameh, Stéphane Sauvage, Charbel Afif, Agnès Borbon, Thierry Léonardis, Jérôme Brioude, Antoine Waked and Nadine Locoge
pp. 316-328

Environmental context. Non-methane hydrocarbons play an important role in the formation of photochemical oxidants such as ozone. We investigate factors controlling the distribution of non-methane hydrocarbons in an urban area of the Middle East. The study highlights the importance of local emissions and atmospheric dynamics, and the limited effect of photochemistry at the measurement site.

EN14184Free Zn2+ determination in natural freshwaters of the Pyrenees: towards on-site measurements with AGNES

Corinne Parat, Laurent Authier, Alain Castetbon, David Aguilar, Encarna Companys, Jaume Puy, Josep Galceran and Martine Potin-Gautier
pp. 329-337

Environmental context. Knowledge of the speciation of metals, especially of the free metal ion concentration, is essential to understand the fate of these elements in rivers and their effects on living organisms. On-site analyses are preferred for these measurements as they allow problems associated with sample transportation and preservation to be avoided. In this context, an on-site methodology based on an electrochemical method and screen-printed sensors has been developed in the laboratory and validated on site.

EN14186Characteristics, seasonality and sources of inorganic ions and trace metals in North-east Asian aerosols

Chandra Mouli Pavuluri, Kimitaka Kawamura, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos and Pingqing Fu
pp. 338-349

Environmental context. Atmospheric aerosols affect the Earth’s climate system and can cause adverse effects on human health depending on their loading and chemical composition. This study presents the chemical characteristics and seasonality of inorganic ions and trace metals in atmospheric aerosols from Sapporo, northern Japan, and explores their possible sources. The work is relevant for our understanding of atmospheric composition and climate change.

EN14194Hydrocarbons in a coral reef ecosystem subjected to anthropogenic pressures (La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean)

Catherine Guigue, Lionel Bigot, Jean Turquet, Marc Tedetti, Nicolas Ferretto, Madeleine Goutx and Pascale Cuet
pp. 350-365

Environmental context. Hydrocarbons are among the most widespread and harmful pollutants found in the aquatic media. Although they have been investigated in various temperate coastal environments, their dynamics in coral reef tropical ecosystems, which are under increasing human pressure, remain poorly understood. It was found that hydrocarbons had moderate to high concentrations, multiple origins (biogenic and anthropogenic) and could be used to track inland intrusions in fore reef waters of the eutrophicated La Saline reef ecosystem (La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean).


Environmental context. Methoxylated and hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers are of increasing concern owing to their global distribution and potential ecological risks. We investigated the spatial distribution and sources of these brominated compounds in surface sediments from the southern Yellow Sea, China. The results suggest that marine phytoplankton may be the potential producers of these compounds, thereby providing new insights into their occurrence and provenance in marine environments.

EN14181TlI and TlIII presence in suspended particulate matter: speciation analysis of thallium in wastewater

Natalia Ospina-Alvarez, Pawel Burakiewicz, Monika Sadowska and Beata Krasnodebska-Ostrega
pp. 374-379

Environmental context. Thallium occurs in the environment in two oxidation states, with TlIII being 1000-fold more toxic than TlI. We present a fractionation and speciation study of thallium in suspended particulate matter from highly polluted wastewater samples, and elucidate the dominant forms of thallium.

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