Assessment of water pollution and suitability to fish life in six Italian rivers.

This paper reports the results of a monitoring programme of six rivers (Serchio, Cecina, Cascina, ERa, Elsa and Pavone) that drain north-west Tuscany (Italy). In this area, agricultural, industrial and urbanization pressures affect water quality, also in terms of suitability for the survival of aquatic organisms. The river waters were monitored for several physico-chemical parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, total ammonia, nitrites, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) in order to assess the anthropogenic impact on the environmental conditions of these watercourses and their suitability for fish life.

Ozone measurements in the urban and extra-urban areas of Pisa during the summer of 1995.

During the Summer of 1995, atmospheric ozone concentrations were measured in five areas with different geographical and environmental characteristics. The five areas included: 1. Pisan coastline.

Placental transfer of drugs administered to the mother.

Drugs administered to mothers have the potential to cross the placenta and reach the fetus. Under particular circumstances, the comparison of the drug concentration in the maternal and fetal plasma may give an idea of the exposure of the fetus to the maternally administered drugs. In this review drugs are classified according to their type of transfer across the placenta.

[Analytical method to identify and quantitate residues of aromatic polychlorinated hydrocarbons (author's transl)].

A analytical method to identify and quantitate residues of polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated terphenyls, polychorinated naphtalenes and some chlorinated pesticides is described. These contaminants can be recovered from foods or other materials: a silicic acid coloumn chromatografic method previously developed is used to separate PCB's, PCT's, PCN's from organochlorinated pesticide residues. The PCB's, PCT's, PCN's residues identification and their subsequent quantitation can be achieved by conversion into well defined single perchloro-derivatives, viz decachlorobiphenyl, o.