Application of a weight of evidence approach to evaluating risks associated with subsistence caribou consumption near a lead/zinc mine.

Overland transport of ore concentrate from the Red Dog lead/zinc mine in northwest Alaska to its seaport has historically raised concerns among local subsistence users regarding the potential impacts of fugitive dust from the operation, including the potential uptake of metals into caribou meat. Caribou are an integral part of life for northern Alaska Natives for both subsistence and cultural reasons. The Western Arctic caribou herd, whose range includes the Red Dog mine, transportation corridor, and port site, sometimes overwinter in the vicinity of mine operations.

Environmental fate of pyrethroids in urban and suburban stream sediments and the appropriateness of Hyalella azteca model in determining ecological risk.

According to several recent studies using standard acute Hyalella azteca sediment bioassays, increased pyrethroid use in urban and suburban regions in California has resulted in the accumulation of toxic concentrations of pyrethroids in sediments of area streams and estuaries. However, a critical review of the literature indicates that this is likely an overestimation of environmental risk. Hyalella azteca is consistently the most susceptible organism to both aqueous and sediment-associated pyrethroid exposures when compared to a suite of other aquatic taxa.

Stochastic probability modeling to predict the environmental stability of nanoparticles in aqueous suspension.

The term "nanomaterial" describes a preparation in which the particle size is on the order of 10 to 100 nm in diameter. Such particles have the ability to form suspensions in fluid media such as air and water that can dramatically increase the environmental transport potential in comparision with like materials of larger particle sizes. Quantifying such transport requires an ability to predict the stability of such suspensions as to their tendency to aggregate or interact with other environmental constituents.