Cleaning Events Research Articles

New analytical application for metal determination in antifouling paints

Despite the ban of applying TBT coatings on leisure boats in the late 80s, recent studies show an ongoing spread of TBT from leisure boats, particularly during hull cleaning events. Therefore, countries in EU have adopted expensive measures to clean this wash water. A more cost-efficient measure is to focus directly on the source, i.e. identify leisure boats with high concentrations of TBT and prescribe boat owners to remove the paint. We have developed a new antifouling paint application for a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer to be used for identifying boats with high area concentrations (µg/cm2) of Sn (indication that the hull contains TBT paint residues). Copper and zinc are also included in the application since these metals are used in the vast majority of today's paints. A blind test with up to four layers of TBT-, copper- and zinc-based paints showed good correlation between XRF-measured area concentrations and chemically analyzed concentrations. Future usage of the applications involves identification of boat hulls in particular with high Sn concentrations and also with high Cu and Zn concentrations. This method has the potential to become a useful tool in regulatory management of existence and use of toxic elements on boat hulls.

Design and operating experiences of full-scale municipal membrane bioreactors in Japan

In Japan, membrane bioreactor (MBRs) have been installed in 17 small-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the past 8 years, together with two recently installed MBRs for larger-scale WWTPs. In this study, design and operating data were collected from 17 of them as part of a follow-up survey, and aspects including system design, biological treatment, membrane operation, problems and costs were overviewed. Because most of the MBRs were designed according to standardized guidance, system configuration of the plants was similar; pre-denitrification using the Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process with membrane units submerged in aerobic tanks, following a fine screen and flow equalization tank. This led to effluent quality with biochemical oxygen demand and T-N of less than 3.5 and 7.4 mg/L, respectively, for nine plants on an annual average basis. It was a common practice in extremely under-loaded plants to operate the membrane systems intermittently. Frequency of recovery cleaning events was plant-specific, mostly ranging from 1 to 5 times/year. Cost evaluation revealed that specific construction costs for the small-scale MBRs were no more than for oxidation ditch plants. Although specific energy consumption values tended to be high in the under-loaded plants, the demonstration MBR, where several energy reducing measures had been incorporated, attained specific energy consumption of 0.39 kWh/m(3) under full-capacity operation.

Life cycle contributions of copper from vessel painting and maintenance activities

Copper-based epoxy and ablative antifouling painted panels were exposed in natural seawater to evaluate environmental loading parameters. In situ loading factors including initial exposure, passive leaching, and surface refreshment were measured utilizing two protocols developed by the US Navy: the dome method and the in-water hull cleaning sampling method. Cleaning techniques investigated included a soft-pile carpet and a medium duty 3M™ pad for fouling removal. Results show that the passive leach rates of copper peaked three days after both initial deployment and cleaning events (CEs), followed by a rapid decrease over about 15 days and a slow approach to asymptotic levels on approximately day 30. Additionally, copper was more bioavailable during a CE in comparison to the passive leaching that immediately followed. A paint life cycle model quantifying annual copper loading estimates for each paint and cleaning method based on a three-year cycle of painting, episodic cleaning, and passive leaching is presented.

Pancam and Microscopic Imager observations of dust on the Spirit Rover: Cleaning events, spectral properties, and aggregates

Pancam and Microscopic Imager observations of dust on the Spirit Rover: Cleaning events, spectral properties, and aggregates

Impact of mechanical street cleaning and rainfall events on the quantity and heavy metals load of street sediments

The paper presents and analyses the results of a street sediments monitoring campaign carried out during dry weather in order to quantify the impact of mechanical street cleaning and rainfall events on the quantity and heavy metals load of street sediments. The study has been carried out in an experimental catchment in a medium traffic street of a residential/commercial area in the city of Reggio Calabria (Italy). Thanks to acquired data, it was possible to assess the amount and the degree of pollution of street sediments, the efficiency of mechanical street cleaning in terms of sediments and pollutants removal, the wash‐off of street sediments during rainfall events and the related potential impact on receiving water bodies. The results obtained confirm that street sweeping is generally scarcely effective as a practice for urban storm run‐off quality control and that run‐off is, on the contrary, quite effective in street sediments removal especially for smaller particles. Moreover, chemical analyses indicate that, although the concentration of heavy metals is higher in sediments particles having a diameter lower than 0.075 mm, the greatest part of the pollutants load is associated to larger particles.

Indoor secondary pollutants from cleaning product and air freshener use in the presence of ozone

This study investigated the formation of secondary pollutants resulting from household product use in the presence of ozone. Experiments were conducted in a 50-m 3 chamber simulating a residential room. The chamber was operated at conditions relevant to US residences in polluted areas during warm-weather seasons: an air exchange rate of 1.0 h −1 and an inlet ozone concentration of approximately 120 ppb, when included. Three products were used in separate experiments. An orange oil-based degreaser and a pine oil-based general-purpose cleaner were used for surface cleaning applications. A plug-in scented-oil air freshener (AFR) was operated for several days. Cleaning products were applied realistically with quantities scaled to simulate residential use rates. Concentrations of organic gases and secondary organic aerosol from the terpene-containing consumer products were measured with and without ozone introduction. In the absence of reactive chemicals, the chamber ozone level was approximately 60 ppb. Ozone was substantially consumed following cleaning product use, mainly by homogeneous reaction. For the AFR, ozone consumption was weaker and heterogeneous reaction with sorbed AFR-constituent VOCs was of similar magnitude to homogeneous reaction with continuously emitted constituents. Formaldehyde generation resulted from product use with ozone present, increasing indoor levels by the order of 10 ppb. Cleaning product use in the presence of ozone generated substantial fine particle concentrations (more than 100 μg m −3) in some experiments. Ozone consumption and elevated hydroxyl radical concentrations persisted for 10–12 h following brief cleaning events, indicating that secondary pollutant production can persist for extended periods.

Sex differences in cleaning behaviour and diet of a Caribbean cleaning goby

Male and female sharknose cleaning gobies Elacatinus evelynae (Gobiidae) occupying cleaning stations in monogamous pairs differed significantly in cleaning behaviour and diet. Females spent five times longer cleaning, took more bites from clients, engaged in more cleaning events on more client species, and cleaned at a higher rate than males. These behavioural differences tended to be reflected in the diet, with more females ingesting more client-gleaned items than males. These results are consistent with greater energetic requirements for reproduction for females. Male cleaning gobies were frequently absent from cleaning stations, presumably guarding eggs, and their presence at cleaning stations gave rise to foraging conflicts and interactions with females. The cleaning rate of females was significantly lowered by the presence of males, whether cleaning or not, whereas males cleaned for longer and took more bites when females were present. When cleaning the same client, males and females showed priority of first inspection, with females cleaning longer and taking more bites in cleaning events they initiated while males gained similar advantages in client- and male-initiated interactions. Furthermore, females initiated cleaning on larger clients, which may give them a foraging priority on a higher-quality resource since larger clients tend to have more ectoparasites. Finally, from a client's perspective, the cleaning service provided appears better in terms of length of inspection and bites taken when both males and females are at a cleaning station than when a single cleaner is present. However, the foraging differences and interactions between male and female cleaning gobies are of little consequence to clients since the cleaning service provided is simply reapportioned between males and females rather than changed by the interactions between gobies.

Daily Cleaning Activity and Diversity of Clients of the Barber Goby, Elacatinus figaro, on Rocky Reefs in Southeastern Brazil

Gobies of the genus Elacatinus are regarded as the most specialised cleaner fishes in the western tropical Atlantic, yet there are no studies on these cleaners in the southern portion of West Atlantic. We studied the diversity of clients and the daily cleaning activity of the barber goby, Elacatinus figaro, on rocky reefs in southeastern Brazil (23–24°S). A total of 34 fish client species in 16 families were recorded over 484 cleaning events. The most frequent clients were damselfishes, Pomacentridae (37.9% of cleaning events) and grunts, Haemulidae (16.9%). Planktivores were the most frequently attended trophic category, and two species in that category accounted for about a half (44%) of the total cleaning events. Size of clients ranged 4.5–55 cm and most individuals were medium-sized (12–30 cm); as the barber goby ranged 2–4.5 cm, clients were 1.5 to 15 times larger than the cleaner was. Cleaning activity started at dawn and ended shortly before nightfall, the highest frequency of interactions occurring at early morning (nocturnal clients) and mid-afternoon (diurnal clients). By midday the frequency of cleaning events decreased and their duration increased. A total of 109±3 cleaning events and 30±1 min of cleaning activity were estimated per cleaning station per day, both figures low when compared to those recorded for cleaner fishes in tropical areas of the western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Evidence for spatial structure and directional gene flow in a population of an aquatic plant, Potamogeton coloratus

Six hundred and forty-seven samples of Potamogeton coloratus from 60 ditches in the Gordano Valley, Somerset were analysed for variation at two polymorphic PGM isozyme loci using starch gel electrophoresis. A total of eight genotypes was detected, and a high level of partitioning of genetic variability between ditches was observed with FST=0.575. Genetic variability was shown to increase with distance from the head of the valley. The genetic subdivision of the population and pattern of increasing diversity downstream and downwind were attributed to genetic bottlenecks, associated with ditch cleaning events, and subsequent directional gene flow mediated by the prevailing wind and water currents.

Evidence for spatial structure and directional gene flow in a population of an aquatic plant, Potamogeton coloratus

Six hundred and forty-seven samples of Potamogeton coloratus from 60 ditches in the Gordano Valley, Somerset were analysed for variation at two polymorphic PGM isozyme loci using starch gel electrophoresis. A total of eight genotypes was detected, and a high level of partitioning of genetic variability between ditches was observed with FST=0.575. Genetic variability was shown to increase with distance from the head of the valley. The genetic subdivision of the population and pattern of increasing diversity downstream and downwind were attributed to genetic bottlenecks, associated with ditch cleaning events, and subsequent directional gene flow mediated by the prevailing wind and water currents.