Phosphate Detergent Research Articles

Efficacy of point source legislation quantified for a 64-year river water quality trajectory of phosphorus loading

Changes in river water quality often follow typical trajectories characterized by sequential phases of degradation and recovery induced by management measures, typically achieved with combinations of legislative and technological interventions. However, the key question about the effectiveness of the different types of legal interventions – source control, use-related, and end-of-pipe – remains poorly understood. With the case of phosphorus (P), which is a valuable indicator of surface water quality and a widespread target of legislation at various governance levels in order to control eutrophication of water bodies, we quantified the relation between point source loading of P and resulting river water quality for a multidecadal trajectory of the river Ruhr (Germany). In particular, we analysed P-related legislation targeting point source pollution enforced at EU, national, state, and local level and linked their development with measured total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the river Ruhr (Germany). To this end, we combined archival data with information in the literature and conducted interviews with contemporary witnesses to describe and quantify the efficacy of each legislative approach. Although not specifically targeted at P reduction, end-of-pipe measures (sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP)) reduced TP inputs to surface waters already in the 1960s and 1970s, curbing TP inputs to the Ruhr by 38% in 1980. The first targeted source control legislation – the banning of phosphates in textile detergents in 1981 – effectively reduced TP concentrations in WWTP influents by 36% since 1990. In combination with stronger end-of-pipe legislation focusing on P elimination in WWTP since the 1990s, TP concentrations in WWTP effluents were reduced by 86% at the end of the 1990s and by 92% in 2021. Complete and successful source control for textile detergents made use-related legislation redundant. Our study demonstrates that source control measures should be prioritized, because they are the fastest way to curb emissions. These findings provide insights that can inform efficient decision-making regarding water quality in a trajectory perspective of hierarchical governance and technological needs, as well as effective policy-making and management for other pollutants requiring control from point sources.

Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Eutrophication of Anambra River in Anambra State, Nigeria

Eutrophication of Anambra River in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria was carried out. Water samples were collected from five different sampling points in the river designated as A, B, C, D and E. Sample point A was upstream, Sample point B was downstream, while Sample points C, D and E were points of waste discharge. The water quality parameters assessed were colour, turbidity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total solids, potassium, dissolved oxygen, iron, phosphate and nitrate. The result of analysis revealed the degree of eutrophication of the river. There were variations in the level of the parameters measured across the sampling points. The parameters varied between 1.04 – 3.26 units, 1.21 – 4.64NTU, 12.31 – 32.48 mg/l, 1.27 – 8.10 mg/l ,1.43 – 3.86 mg/l, 2.70 -11.96 mg/l, 3.00 -16.84 mg/l, 1.00 – 3.01 mg/l, 1.21 – 3.74 mg/l, 0.02 – 0.30 mg/l, and 0.02– 0.08 mg/l. for colour, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total solids, potassium, dissolved oxygen, iron, phosphate, nitrate, faecal coliform and total coliform respectively. All the parameters met the WHO standard for drinking water. However, nitrate and phosphate values exceeded the critical concentrations of 0.3 mg/l and 0.01 mg/l respectively, said to trigger eutrophication if exceeded. The result further revealed that sampling point E (Point of Waste discharge) recorded the highest concentrations of the parameters while sampling point A (Upstream) recorded the least. Statistical analysis revealed significant correlation between some of the parameters. Since detergents constitute a major source of phosphate in rivers, legislation against the use of phosphate in detergents was recommended.

АНАЛІЗ ЗАГРОЗ ЕВТРОФІКАЦІЇ ВОДИ СЕРЕДИННОЇ ДІЛЯНКИ БАСЕЙНУ РІЧКИ ПІВДЕННИЙ БУГ

This paper analyzes the problem of eutrophication of water bodies in the middle part of the Southern Bug basin, which is becoming more and more relevant in recent years. An increase in the level and concentration of photosynthesizing organisms in water bodies has been established. In the middle part of the South Bug River basin, which is mainly located within the Vinnytsia region, this problem is particularly relevant due to a number of factors, which include regulation, chemical anthropogenic load, chemical agriculture, use of phosphate detergents, high natural content of nutrients in soils of Podillia,etc.

АНАЛІЗ ЗАГРОЗ ЕВТРОФІКАЦІЇ ВОДИ СЕРЕДИННОЇ ДІЛЯНКИ БАСЕЙНУ РІЧКИ ПІВДЕННИЙ БУГ

This paper analyzes the problem of eutrophication of water bodies in the middle part of the Southern Bug basin, which is becoming more and more relevant in recent years. An increase in the level and concentration of photosynthesizing organisms in water bodies has been established. In the middle part of the South Bug River basin, which is mainly located within the Vinnytsia region, this problem is particularly relevant due to a number of factors, which include regulation, chemical anthropogenic load, chemical agriculture, use of phosphate detergents, high natural content of nutrients in soils of Podillia, etc

Spectrophotometric Determination of Phosphates in Detergent Samples Available in Tansen, Palpa

Phosphate is primarily used as a builder in detergents, which helps soften hard water, thereby increasing the cleansing power of detergents. Extensive discharge of phosphate from detergents leads to eutrophication of surface water bodies. This work aims to assess the amount of phosphate present in detergent samples available in Tansen, Palpa, and compare its concentration between local and foreign detergents. Phosphate in detergent samples can be determined by the molybdenum blue phosphorus method using a spectrophotometer. The experimental process relies on forming a phosphomolybdate blue complex with ammonium molybdate and the subsequent reduction of the complex by hydrazine hydrate in an aqueous sulphuric acid medium. The system obeys Beer-Lambert’s law at 830 nm in the concentration range of 2-16 ppm. In this study, the phosphate concentration in local detergents (Dhoni, Light, V-Series, Nirma, Upahar, Patanjali, Rin Shakti and Dr Jhatka) varied from 15.54-33.03 ppm, and that of foreign detergents (Wheel, Super Check, Surf Excel, Tide and Ariel) ranged from 23.81- 32.65 ppm. The amount of phosphate was compared between local and foreign detergent samples using the student's t-test, which revealed no significant difference between them. The results obtained from the study disclosed that the detergents under investigation are within the permissible limits of phosphate. However, non- phosphate-based builders can be used to discourage the use of phosphate in detergents.

ABOUT MEASURES TO REDUCE THE RISK OF CYANOTOXINS EXPOSURE TO THE HEALTH OF POPULATION BY REGULATING PHOSPHATES IN SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS

Currently, the environmental problem of the eutrophication of water bodies caused by anthropogenic factors and to the greatest extent pollution by synthetic detergents with a high phosphorus content is becoming increasingly acute. The amount of phosphorus entering the water bodies from synthetic detergents is 95% of its total amount. The rapid development of algae and the «blooming of water» lead to an increase in the population of cyanobacteria capable of releasing toxins that are dangerous to humans, including hepato-, neuro- and cytotoxins. In order to minimize phosphate pollution of water bodies, the world community is actively replacing phosphoruscontaining compounds in synthetic detergents with phosphate-free ones. This was reflected in the proposals of Rospotrebnadzor in terms of toughening the requirements to the content of phosphates in detergents in draft EAEU TR «On the safety of synthetic detergents and household chemical goods», setting them at 0.5%. Manufacturers and regulators in four EAEU States, with the exception of the Republic of Kazakhstan, supported the proposed value. In addition, in order to regulate the cyanotoxin’s content the Russian Register of Potentially Hazardous Chemical and Biological Substances of Rospotrebnadzor recommended setting the microcystin-LR MAC in the water for domestic, drinking and cultural purposes and drinking water at a level of 0.001 mg/L, a limiting indicator of harmfulness - sanitary-toxicological, hazard class 1.

Reconstruction of trophic state shifts over the past 90 years in a eutrophicated lake in western Switzerland, inferred from the sedimentary record of photosynthetic pigments

Anthropogenic eutrophication can initiate vast and persistent ecosystem state changes in lakes. Such changes may be characterized by increased phytoplankton taxa variability, which can affect the effectiveness and time of lake recovery mechanisms. Lake Morat in Switzerland has undergone intense eutrophication in the twentieth century (phosphorous concentrations up to 150 μg L−1) caused by excessive nutrient loadings from agricultural intensification and urbanization. Phosphorous reduction measures since 1986, such as the ban of phosphates in detergents and decreased use of fertilizers in agriculture, have resulted in total phosphorous concentrations up to 20 μg L−1 today. Despite this drastic reduction of total phosphorous, total biomass production stays high. We investigate historical changes in the phytoplankton community during the eutrophication and re-oligotrophication periods by comparing historical limnological data with sediment pigment concentrations measured by HPLC and other geochemical proxies in a radiodated sediment core. For the last 90 years, we identified four major trophic state changes in Lake Morat. The first period (AD 1924–1937) is characterized by low pigment concentrations and nutrient inputs, with good oxygen conditions. This section represents trophic conditions before the intensive eutrophication phase. The second period (AD 1937–1970) revealed an abrupt increase in pigment concentrations with higher primary production, cyanobacteria dominance and reduced oxygen levels. Oscillaxanthin indicated a Planktothrix rubescens dominance (AD 1954–1970) with concentrations up to 800 nmol g−1 OM. Their decline after AD 1970 suggests the initiation of an intense eutrophication phase (AD 1970–1983) associated with the dominance of other cyanobacteria species, higher total phosphorous inputs, and intense anoxia. In the restoration period (AD 1983–2014), there was a shift in the phototrophic community from cyanobacteria to green algae dominance, yet some cyanobacteria species remain present. Rapid phytoplankton community changes were identified in the studied period, yet overall primary production response was low. Limnological data revealed a delay of phosphorous reduction due to phosphorous recycling from the sediments. The observation of complex lake ecosystem reactions to prolonged eutrophication and subsequent re-oligotrophication, as shown by the paleolimnological and limnological data in this study, emphasize the importance of careful lake management to revert eutrophication back to historical reference biomass values.

Formulation of critical micellar concentration of non- phosphate detergents by surface tension measurement

Non-phosphate builders which are environmentally friendly are required for use in detergent formulation to replace the sodium tri-poly phosphate (STPP). Phosphates are excellent fertilizer for algae, bacteria, and other flora and fauna in rivers, lakes and oceans, making them bloom at very rapid rates. This exhausts the oxygen supply both in the surface and in the bottom layers of water bodies, and leading the death of fishes. Sodium metasilicate a non-phosphate builder from Lokoja Quartzite was used to formulate a non-phosphate biodegradable synthetic detergent using 25%, 50% and 75% sodium hydroxide concentrations. The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of a non-phosphate detergent was determined via measurement of surface tension. This method is rapid, reliable and cheap compared to the fluorescence polarization method which required a sophiscated materials such as 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as fluorescence probe. The detergents formulated with 75% and 50% sodium hydroxide concentrations have CMC values of 8.6685 mM and 6.9348 mM respectively. From this study, a non phosphate builder synthesized from Lokoja Quartzite has potential of protecting aquatic animals when compared with the conventional STPP currently used in our detergent formulation. Also, the simple and economical approach for determination of detergent’s CMC has demonstrated it’s potentials. These values agree well with the literature value ranges between 7 to 10 mM. Keywords : Detergent; CMC; Surfactants; Non-phosphate; 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene

Genetic Algorithm Based Wavelengths Selection Coupled with Partial Least Squares for Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Phosphate and Silicate in Detergent Products

Background: Phosphate and silicate are very important in a variety of compounds such as mineral resources, underground water, detergents and cleaners. Phosphate and silicate in water positively influence the metabolism of plants and animals. They have led to an environmental problem. This problem can have serious consequences because phosphate and silicate are widely utilized in water softening, surfactants and a large number of other applications. Methods: Genetic algorithm (GA) is an appropriate method for selecting wavelengths for PLS (partial least squares) calibration of mixtures which have almost identical spectra without losing prediction capacity using spectrophotometric method. In this paper, we have described a simple, sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method for the simultaneous determination of phosphate and silicate based on the formation of phospho- and silicomolybdenum blue complexes in the presence of ascorbic acid. Results: The complexes of phosphate and silicate with a reagent in the presence of ascorbic acid have been simultaneously determined by genetic algorithm- partial least squares (GA-PLS) although they showed a spectral overlap. The calibration curve was linear over a concentration range of 0.01-2.00 and 0.01-3.80 µgmL-1 for phosphate and silicate, respectively. The root mean square error (RMSE) for phosphate and silicate was 0.372 and 0.301, respectively. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the GA can be a good method for feature selection in spectral data sets. Results show that GA-PLS is an excellent calibration method for the determination of phosphate and silicate. In the end the proposed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of phosphate and silicate in synthetic detergents. Keywords: Phosphate, silicate, spectrophotometry, GA-PLS, detergent products, surfactants.

Rennovia licenses glucaric acid to ADM

Rennovia, a California-based start-up that develops catalytic routes to biobased chemicals, and catalyst specialist Johnson Matthey are licensing their glucaric acid technology to the agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland for commercialization. ADM made a $25 million investment in Rennovia in 2014. Glucaric acid is used to make sodium glucarate, an alternative to phosphates in dishwasher detergents. Another start-up, Rivertop Renewables, has been making sodium glucarate commercially since 2015. Rennovia and Matthey have operated a small-scale plant at Matthey’s Stockton, England, R&D center since 2015.

Combating cyanobacterial proliferation by avoiding or treating inflows with high P load—experiences from eight case studies

Increased external nutrient loads of anthropogenic origin, especially those of phosphorus (P), were one of the major causes of eutrophication during the first half of the twentieth century in Europe. They led to deterioration of lake ecosystems, particularly including noxious blooms of (potentially toxic) cyanobacteria. From the 1970–1980s, strategies to decrease the phosphorus loads from sewage were increasingly implemented, among them are the ban of phosphates in detergents, the expansion of sewer systems and improvement in wastewater treatment to remove nutrients. Case studies of eight lakes, whose response to point source reduction of phosphorus was observed over decades, show that a pronounced reduction of the phosphorus load from point sources can be achieved either by the diversion of inflows carrying high loads, by upgraded sewage treatment, or by phosphorus precipitation in the major tributary directly before its inflow into the water body. Outcomes demonstrate that in order to effectively control cyanobacterial blooms, the measures taken need to reduce in-lake concentrations of total phosphorus below 20–50 µg L−1, with this threshold varying somewhat between lakes depending in particular on hydromorphological and biological conditions. Whether and when load reduction succeeds in controlling cyanobacteria depends primarily on the load remaining after remediation and on the water residence time.

An Assessment of the Levels of Phosphate in Local and Foreign Detergents in Kano Metropolis, Kano, Nigeria

Concentration of phosphate in some commercial detergents commonly used in homes, laundry services, schools and offices in Kano Metropolis have been determined. The analyses were carried out on both local and foreign detergents using a spectrophotometric method. The analysis was based on the formation of phosphomolybdate with added molybdate ion followed by its reduction with sodium sulphide in aqueous tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid medium. The system obeys Lambert-Beer’s law at 715 nm in the concentration range 0.30-12.24 mgdm -3 and the data were computed using percentage and t-test. The values obtained for local detergent samples were Bn (0.041%), Om (0.066%), Gn (0.013%), Bb (0.046%), Br (0.046%), Kl (0.035%), Bp (0.053%), Ep (0.010%), Zp (0.025%), Jb(0.014%), and Ar (0.042%) while those of the foreign detergents were Ps (0.005%), Td (0.042 %) ,Lk (0.027%), Ta (0.022%), Dm (0.007%), Bg (0.005%), Bs (0.026%), Kn (0.031%), and Lb (0.006%). The accepted level of phosphate in detergents is 0.5% (MSA, 2010). Thus, the concentration of these detergent samples fall within the set limit. This study has revealed that continuous use of these products could result in an increase in the phosphate levels in laundry discharges into soil, ponds, lakes and rivers. Excessive amount of phosphate has long been implicated in the eutrophication of surface water bodies, as such, to promote lake/river recovery and improve trophic status, it is imperative that phosphate loads in surface waters are reduced. Keywords: Chelated, Eutrophication, Phosphate, Phosphomolybdate, Synthetic detergent

Phosphorus Paradox Scarcityand Overabundance of a Key Nutrient

In between shepherding the United States through the Great Depression and bracing the country for war in Europe, then-President Franklin Roosevelt took a moment in 1938 to tell Congress about phosphorus.1 More specifically, he spoke about phosphates, the most commonly commercially exploited form of phosphorus. Roosevelt’s was not a scientific presentation but a cautious alert about the critical role this element plays in agricultural production. Private interests were exporting increasing amounts of the country’s phosphates to markets abroad, he warned. Given the prospect that this vital constituent of fertilizer could come into short supply domestically, Roosevelt recommended framing a formal policy to deal with a strategic issue. “The disposition of our phosphate deposits should be regarded as a national concern,” he said. “The situation appears to offer an opportunity for this nation to exercise foresight in the use of a great national resource heretofore almost unknown in our plans for the development of the nation.”1 In spite of Roosevelt’s call, no phosphate policy was forthcoming. More than seven decades on, the phrase “heretofore almost unknown” still echoes in many discussions about phosphorus. Meanwhile, the significance of phosphates is even more profound today than it was in the 1930s. Phosphate rock has emerged as a globally traded commodity linked to a diverse set of politically charged debates, ranging from environmental degradation and threats to human health to food security and agricultural sovereignty.

Vallentyne legacy

Jack Vallentyne may be remembered best, especially by citizens and school children in the Burlington area, for carrying the whole weight of the global world on his back. He was a passionate defender of environmental values. But for me, the most vivid memory of Jack is in connection with the great detergent phosphate debates and hearings of the early 1970s.Jack Vallentyne assisted in drafting the phosphorus controls section of the ‘International Joint Commission (IJC) Study Boards’ reports in 1969 on pollution of Lakes Erie and Ontario (IJC, 1969). These rather quickly set the stage for action in Canada and became the phosphorus control Annex of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972.A draft of the phosphorus control recommendations was written one evening in 1969 on our dining room table, by Dr. Vallentyne and me. It was the first of the 4-part recommendation, subsequently agreed to by the IJC Boards, which was to provoke a major controversy. It recommended in the Board's version that: “phosphates in detergents be immediately reduced to minimum practical levels, with total replacement by environmentally less harmful compounds by 1972.”Subsequently Canada acted to obtain legal authority to control detergent phosphate levels through a specific section incorporated in the Canada Water Act of 1970, then going through Parliament. Upon receipt of the Boards’ reports on pollution of the lower Great Lakes, the IJC held a series of public hearings. At these, representatives of detergent manufacturers testified vigorously that: Other nutrients were more important than phosphorus (e.g. nitrogen, carbon and micro-nutrients such as iron),Without phosphates, detergents would be useless and epidemics would break out in hospitals,There was no safe substitute for the water softening and chelating properties of the phosphates (actually sodium triphosphate—STP),Most of the phosphorus entering the lakes came from human and animal wastes.This controversy has had disturbing echoes over the years in its similarity to other industry-inspired arguments over the sciences of acid rain and of global warming.Jack Vallentyne led the scientific defence of the detergent phosphate control recommendation in the series of IJC Public hearings in 1971 on both sides of the border. He was armed with photos of a telling laboratory demonstration which proved that adding phosphorus, but not other nutrients, to water from the Lakes promoted algal blooms. This was subsequently demonstrated on a lake-wide scale by David Schindler's studies in the Experimental Lakes Area of Northwestern Ontario. Jack was also able to point out that about one half of the phosphorus entering sewage treatment plants was from detergents, and removal of this burden would substantially reduce the ongoing costs of chemical precipitation of phosphorus and removal of sludge from these plants. Other more complex limnological allegations were similarly refuted by Jack. In sum, he demonstrated to the Commissioners’ satisfaction that phosphorus was by far the most controllable of nutrients which affect algal growth and eutrophication.By this time, work commissioned from Canada Centre for Inland Waters had demonstrated a large range of STP concentrations in commercially available detergents in Canada. One, which had found widespread acceptance by the public, had just 20% phosphate (P2 O5) or 8.7% as phosphorus, although others being widely sold had double or more this concentration.Later in 1970, the Canadian government (Minister Joe Green) adopted this already publicly accepted 20% level as the first step in regulation. Several letters from abroad asked for the limnological scientific basis for this original regulation level–but we had to confess that it was set for quite practical reasons. This regulated level was further reduced by Canada at the end of 1972 to 5% P2 O5 or 2.2% as P by Mr. Jack Davis, then Environment Minister, after the IJC Commissioners had accepted the recommendations of the Study Boards. New York and some other States enacted similar regulations, but the U.S. federal government, under much industry pressure, did not, but rather chose other more expensive methods to reduce phosphorus discharge to the lakes. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement based on the IJC Report, was signed by President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa, 1972.Of course, the national regulation of detergent phosphates, effectively defended by Jack, has had far reaching positive effects in slowing eutrophication of Canadian lakes throughout the country. The issues involved are discussed in more detail in Dr. Vallentyne's excellent publication The Algal Bowl (1974). This volume was brought up to date in 2008, through the collaboration of Dr. Schindler (Vallentyne and Schindler, 2008). These volumes are a valuable legacy of Jack Vallentyne's work, but the more lasting and important legacy is the large number of still healthy Canadian lakes, spared the impact of detergent phosphates.

Dr. Richard Vollenweider and the Great Lakes

It was in 1968 when Swiss-born Richard Vollenweider, with support from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), published his landmark study on eutrophication of lakes (Vollenweider, 1968). He had investigated nutrient loadings and basic physical characteristics of a number of lakes, particularly in Europe and North America. The fundamental relationship he then developed was the comparison of trophic state with total phosphorus loading in gm m−2 yr−1, where m2 is the lake surface area, plotted against the lake mean depth. He was then able to show in a graph, a band of values that separated oligotrophic lakes, with less loading, from eutrophic lakes with greater phosphorus loading. The lower oligotrophic side of the band was labelled “admissible limits” and the upper side “dangerous limits.” Vollenweider had also developed a similar graph for nitrogen loadings.At the same time, under the aegis of the International Joint Commission (IJC), a major bilateral study was underway of pollution of the lower Great Lakes, Ontario and Erie. Erie, especially the western and central basins, was already eutrophic, and Ontario was beginning to show disturbing trends in that direction. Scientists working out of the newly formed Canada Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW) from several federal government departments were making the major contributions to these IJC studies. They soon ran into the problem of quantifying the nutrient loading that would restore or protect the lakes. This led to recognition of the potential power of Vollenweider's insights and his now famous graph, as a means of guiding pollution control measures to restore these lakes to reasonable health.Through the efforts of Dr. Wally Johnson (Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg) and the author of this piece, Vollenweider was persuaded to leave the beautiful shores of Lago Maggiore (Limnological Institute) to join the scientists at CCIW. With his assistance, phosphorus loading targets were then established for the two lakes. On Vollenweider's graph, Lake Ontario was seen to be on the “dangerous limit” line in 1967 and would move strongly into eutrophic conditions by 1986, unless vigorous phosphorus controls were put in place. Lake Erie was well in the eutrophic zone in 1967, but could be moved to the dangerous limit line (mesotropic) with recommended phosphorus controls. The 1969 reports to the IJC from the lower Great Lakes Study Boards thus featured versions of Vollenweider's graphs, tailored to the recently acquired knowledge of existing phosphorus loadings (IJC, 1969). A set of proposed control measures to reduce phosphorus in detergents, in sewage treatment plant effluents, and from agricultural and other diffuse sources, was developed to achieve reduced target loadings. Of course, the pollution study also addressed other forms of pollution: toxic chemicals, bacteriological, oil spills, etc.After a series of public hearings, in which Jack Vallentyne played an important role, the governments agreed that a Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement should be signed between Canada and U.S.A. Recommendations from the IJC Study Boards became the foundation for the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement which was signed by President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa in 1972. The pollution control efforts went into full swing under the Canada Water Act of 1970, which permitted federal regulation of detergent phosphates, and under the U.S. Clean Water Act of 1972. An estimated $5 billion in pollution control activities was undertaken in the following decade. Ontario Water Resources Commission was a strong partner. As a result the trophic state of the lakes had greatly improved by the early 1980s. The “dead” and “dying” lakes had been saved from gross eutrophication. Vollenweider-based targets had carried the day.As an unfortunate post script, the coastal areas of all the Great Lakes, except Superior, were showing significant signs of backsliding by the end of the first decade of the 21st century. This has been attributed to diffuse sources of phosphorus and other contaminants from agricultural and urban areas. Changing agricultural practices, especially intensive animal feed lots, and frequent overflow of storm sewers into urban sanitary systems have been identified as key sources. Their effects have been amplified by increased frequency of high intensity rains, especially in springtime, less winter ice and warming waters in the changing climate. Another round of costly interventions will be needed to restore phosphorus loadings to “acceptable” levels, which continue to be assessed through Richard Vollenweider's seminal work.Lake Winnipeg faces similar eutrophication problems today to those experienced in Lake Erie in the 1960s. In addition to evidence of renewed eutrophication, the Great Lakes now face many aquatic ecosystem problems. These include depredation by invasive species from ship ballast waters, extensive deposition of mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants, pharmaceuticals, and other gender modifying chemicals. Would that Dr. Vollenweider was still with us to provide sound advice to address these new and renewed problems.

The Delaware River Revival: Four Centuries of Historic Water Quality Change From Henry Hudson to Benjamin Franklin to JFK

The Delaware River Revival:Four Centuries of Historic Water Quality Change From Henry Hudson to Benjamin Franklin to JFK Gerald J. Kauffman Jr. (bio) Since Henry Hudson sailed to the bay 400 years ago in August 1609, water quality in the Delaware River has changed from pristine, to polluted, to partly recovered. Water pollution was so noticeable by 1769 that a visiting Englishman named Isaac Weld was moved to comment on the "mess" in the Delaware River at Philadelphia. Due to pollution in the river after the American Revolution, Ben Franklin left money in his will to build a drinking water supply system in America's largest city. In 1940 the Interstate Commission on the Delaware River called the tidal river at Philadelphia "one of the most grossly polluted areas in the United States." During the Second World War, water pollution was so bad that a newly painted ship faded to the colors of the rainbow as it sailed onto the river and Navy pilots were instructed to ignore the stench of the river as they flew a mile overhead.1 After the war, the urban Delaware River was one of most polluted in the world with zero oxygen levels during the summer. [End Page 432] During the 1950s, American shad were unable to migrate through the anoxic barrier at Philadelphia and a prominent ichthyologist lamented "a near extirpation of the species with genetic origins in the basin." In 1973, three years after Richard M. Nixon created the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, a pessimistic USEPA official concluded that the Delaware Estuary would never achieve fishable uses.2 The watershed came when environmental laws led to a Delaware River revival. In 1961, Pennsylvania Governor David Lawrence convinced a reluctant JFK to sign the law forming the Delaware River Basin Commission between Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, the first ever Federal-state watershed compact. In 1968, the DRBC was the first agency to impose load allocations on river dischargers, holding them to standards more stringent than USEPA issued years later. In 1972, Congress led by George McGovern overrode Nixon's veto and passed the Clean Water Act, a law that invested $1.5 billion in new wastewater plants along the Delaware River. Phosphate detergent bans by New York in 1973 and Pennsylvania in 1990, along with a 1994 halt on manufacture prompted phosphorus declines by over 25% in many rivers.3 River historian Richard C. Albert wrote in 1988 that "the cleanup of the Delaware Estuary represents one of the premier water pollution control success stories in the United States." By 2005, dissolved oxygen at Philadelphia exceeded 4 parts per million, the fishable water quality standard, and migratory shad and striped bass returned to the river in numbers not recorded since the late nineteenth century. Bald eagles, protected species that rely on a fish-laden diet, returned to the cleaner waters of the Delaware River in growing numbers, even nesting in South Philadelphia at the Navy Yard in March 2007. Historic water quality recovery occurred in the Delaware River during an environmental era that coincided with the return of migratory fish populations.4 The Delaware River Basin The Delaware River is governed by two regional watershed organizations, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE). The DRBC oversees water resources management in portions of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The DRBC is led by five commissioners representing the Governors and a Federal [End Page 433] designee, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1968, the DRBC was noted as one of the first actors in the environmental movement when Stewart Udall, JFK's Secretary of the U. S. Department of the Interior stated: "Only the Delaware among the nation's river basins is moving into high gear in its program to combat water pollution." The Delaware Estuary reached national prominence when USEPA and Congress designated it as one of twenty eight members in the National Estuary Program under the Federal Water Quality Act of 1987 to protect estuarine systems of national significance. The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary formed in 1996 and is managed by an executive director and staff...

Robustness of solvent/detergent treatment of plasma derivatives: a data collection from Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association member companies.

BACKGROUND: Solvent/detergent (S/D) treatment is an established virus inactivation technology that has been applied in the manufacture of medicinal products derived from human plasma for more than 20 years. Data on the inactivation of enveloped viruses by S/D treatment collected from seven Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association member companies demonstrate the robustness, reliability, and efficacy of this virus inactivation method. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The results from 308 studies reflecting production conditions as well as technical variables significantly beyond the product release specification were evaluated for virus inactivation, comprising different combinations of solvent and detergent (tri(n‐butyl) phosphate [TNBP]/Tween 80, TNBP/Triton X‐100, TNBP/Na‐cholate) and different products (Factor [F]VIII, F IX, and intravenous and intramuscular immunoglobulins). RESULTS: Neither product class, process temperature, protein concentration, nor pH value has a significant impact on virus inactivation. A variable that did appear to be critical was the concentration of solvent and detergent. CONCLUSION: The data presented here demonstrate the robustness of virus inactivation by S/D treatment for a broad spectrum of enveloped test viruses and process variables. Our data substantiate the fact that no transmission of viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, or of other enveloped viruses was reported for licensed plasma derivatives since the introduction of S/D treatment.

Sustainable Phosphorus Loadings from Effective and Cost-Effective Phosphorus Management Around the Baltic Sea

Nutrient over-enrichment of the Baltic Sea, accompanied by intensified algal blooms and decreasing water clarity, has aroused widespread concern in the surrounding countries during the last four decades. This work has used a well-tested dynamic mass-balance model to investigate which decrease in total phosphorus loading would be required to meet the environmental goal to restore the trophic state in the Baltic Sea to pre-1960s levels. Furthermore, the extent to which various abatement options may decrease the phosphorus loading in a cost-effective manner has been studied. Upgrading urban sewage treatment in the catchment could, alone or in combination with banning phosphates in detergents, be sufficient to meet the set environmental goal, at an estimated annual basin-wide cost of 0.21–0.43 billion euro. Such a plan would potentially decrease the total phosphorus loading to the Baltic Sea with 6,650–10,200 tonnes per year.

Simultaneous Kinetic Determination of Phosphate and Silicate by Spectrophotometric H‐Point Standard Addition Method

AbstractThe H‐point standard addition method (HPSAM), based on spectrophotometric measurements for simultaneous determination of phosphate and silicate, has been established. The method is based on the difference between their reactions rates with molybdenum in the presence of ascorbic acid. The results revealed that phosphate and silicate could be determined simultaneously with the concentration ratios of phosphate to silicate varying from 1:10 to 12:1 in the binary mixtures. The effects of chelating agent nature, time, interferents and experimental variables are also investigated. Under working conditions, the proposed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of phosphate and silicate in synthetic detergents.

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Phosphate and Silicate by Using Principal Component Artificial Neural Network

A very sensitive, simple and selective spectrophotometric method for simultaneous determination of phosphate and silicate based on formation of phospho- and silicomolybdenum blue complexes in the presence of ascorbic acid is described. Although the complexes of phosphate and silicate with reagent in the presence of ascorbic acid show a spectral overlap, they have been simultaneously determined by principal component artificial neural network (PC-ANN). The PC-ANN architectures were different for phosphate and silicate. The output of phosphate PC-ANN architecture was used as an input for silicate PC-ANN architecture. This modification improves the capability of silicate PC-ANN model for prediction of silicate concentrations. The linear range was 0.01-3.00 microg mL(-1) for phosphate and 0.01-5.00 microg mL(-1) for silicate. Interference effects of common anions and cations were studied and the proposed method was also applied satisfactorily to the determination of phosphate and silicate in detergents.