Optimization and Comparison of Microwave-Assisted Extraction, Supercritical Fluid Extraction, and Eucalyptus Oil-Assisted Extraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Soil and Sediment.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic compounds of major concern that mainly accumulate in soils and sediments, and their extraction from environmental matrices remains a crucial step when determining the extent of contamination in soils and sediments. The objective of the present study was to compare the extraction of PAHs (phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene) from spiked soil and sediment using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with ethanol as the modifier, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and eucalyptus oil-assisted extraction (EuAE). Recoveries of PAHs were comparable between the three methods, and >80% of applied pyrene, chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene were recovered.

Eucalyptus saponin- and sophorolipid-mediated desorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil and sediment.

The potential for biosurfactant-mediated desorption of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated using PAH-spiked soil and sediment. PAH desorption behaviors and toxicity of novel saponin biosurfactant extracted from Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves and sophoro-lipid biosurfactant were investigated. Their PAH desorption efficiencies were compared with rhamnolipid biosurfactant and the industrial-chemical surfactant, Tween 20.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in soils and sediments: Sustainable approaches for extraction and remediation.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic environmental pollutants that are extremely hydrophobic in nature and resistant to biological degradation. Extraction of PAHs from environmental matrices is the first and most crucial step in PAH quantification. Extraction followed by quantification is essential to understand the extent of contamination prior to the application of remediation approaches.

Bioaccessibility of Drug Residues on Common Police Station Work Surfaces.

The fraction of any surface-adsorbed contaminant available for absorption is considered the bioaccessible fraction. Applied previously to contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals on surfaces such as soil, food and cosmetics, the term may also be used to describe the fraction of drug residue bound to work surfaces which may be mobilized via contact transfer with human skin. Police station work surfaces have been shown to commonly contain low levels of drug residues as thin films; however, no information is available on how readily these residues may be transferred to human skin during direct or glancing contact.

Air Quality Inside Police Drug Safes and Drug Storage Areas.

Storage of drug-based evidence inside sealed safes may allow chemical vapors to accumulate, creating concerns of drug exposure by inhalation, or the possibility of cross-contamination of drug evidence. Air samples were taken from inside eight drug safes and one small storage room at nine city and country police stations, as well as a large centralized drug evidence storage vault, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Sorbent tubes containing charcoal were used to determine whether any drug residues could be detected in the air, and to identify the types of chemicals present.

Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows: Using Irrigation Infrastructure to Deliver Environmental Benefits During a Large Hypoxic Blackwater Event in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.

Widespread flooding in south-eastern Australia in 2010 resulted in a hypoxic (low dissolved oxygen, DO) blackwater (high dissolved carbon) event affecting 1800 kilometres of the Murray-Darling Basin. There was concern that prolonged low DO would result in death of aquatic biota. Australian federal and state governments and local stakeholders collaborated to create refuge areas by releasing water with higher DO from irrigation canals via regulating structures (known as 'irrigation canal escapes') into rivers in the Edward-Wakool system.

The presence of licit and illicit drugs in police stations and their implications for workplace drug testing.

The presence of licit and illicit drug residues on surfaces was studied in 10 police stations and a central drug evidence store in New South Wales, Australia, with the results compared to similar surfaces in four public buildings (to establish a community baseline). The results of almost 850 workplace surface swabs were also compared to the outcome of drug analysis in urine and hair samples volunteered by police officers. Surfaces were swabbed with alcohol and the swabs were extracted and analysed by LC-MS/MS.

Work place drug testing of police officers after THC exposure during large volume cannabis seizures.

Police officers responsible for the seizure and removal of illegally grown cannabis plants from indoor and outdoor growing operations face the prospect of THC exposure while performing their work duties. As a result, a study investigating the amount of THC on hands and uniforms of officers during raids on cannabis growing houses (CGHs) and forest cannabis plantations (FCPs) and in the air at these sites was conducted. Swabs of gloves/hands, chests, and heads/necks were collected and analysed for THC.

A rapid method for the simultaneous quantification of the major tocopherols, carotenoids, free and esterified sterols in canola (Brassica napus) oil using normal phase liquid chromatography.

A normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to simultaneously quantify several prominent bioactive compounds in canola oil vis. α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, β-carotene, lutein, β-sitosterol, campesterol and brassicasterol. The use of sequential diode array detection (DAD) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allowed direct injection of oils, diluted in hexane without derivatisation or saponification, greatly reducing sample preparation time, and permitting the quantification of both free sterols and intact sterol esters.

Pore Mn²⁺ dynamics of the rhizosphere of flooded and non-flooded rice during a long wet and drying phase in two rice growing soils.

Flooded rice soils produce elevated concentrations of soluble manganous manganese (Mn(2+)) that could be potentially toxic to subsequent crops. To provide insight into how soil pore Mn(2+) changes its concentration in a rice and post rice drying soil, we used an artificial microcosm system to follow Mn(2+) concentrations in two different soil types (red sodosol and grey vertosol) and under two irrigation regimes (flooded and saturated). Soil pore water was collected from four different depths of soil (2.

Urban stormwater inputs to an adapted coastal wetland: role in water treatment and impacts on wetland biota.

The Lake Pertobe wetland system is a semi-natural wetland that has been modified primarily for recreational use. However, this lake system receives stormwater from much of the central business district of Warrnambool City (Victoria, Australia) and serves as a buffer zone between the stormwater system and the Merri River and Merri Marine Sanctuary. This work considers the impact of stormwater inputs on Lake Pertobe and the effectiveness of the lake in protecting the associated marine sanctuary.