Chemical changes and heavy metal partitioning in an oxisol cultivated with maize (Zea mays, L.) after 5 years disposal of a domestic and an industrial sewage sludge.

The need for solutions to minimize the negative environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities Fhas increased. Sewage sludge is composed of predominantly organic matter and can be used to improve soil characteristics, such as fertility. Therefore, its application in agriculture is an adequate alternative for its final disposal. However, there is a lack of information on its long-term effects on soil changes in tropical areas. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine (i) the effect of sewage sludge application on heavy metal build-up in soil and maize grains and leaves, and (ii) the effects of soil amendment with sewage sludge on the chemical properties of a Brazilian oxisol. Besides the increasing levels of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cr, amending soil with sewage sludge also alters the distribution of these metals by increasing the mobile Phases, which correlated significantly with the increase in metal extraction with two single extractants, Mehlich 1 and DTPA (Diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid). The levels of Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu in maize grains and leaves increased with the type and rate of sewage sludge application. Nevertheless, metal build-up in soil and plants was within the allowed limits. Significant differences were also found in soil characteristics like humic fractionation with the applied sewage doses. The data obtained does not indicate any expressive drawbacks in the use of sewage sludge as a soil amendment, as the heavy metal concentrations observed are unlikely to cause any environmental or health problems, even overestimated loadings, and are in accordance with the Brazilian regulations on farming land biosolid disposal.

A survey on the composition of wines made with grapes produced by an organic system.

Summary There is concern about the health problems caused by pesticides in humans, which has led some grape producers to adopt organic procedures in their vineyards, and a certain amount of these grapes are directed to winemaking. Despite the approval awarded to this organic grape production by the certified organizations, there has been a demand to carry out a survey to determine the physicochemical composition of the wine derived from these products. Some of these wines were made from a single grape variety and others from more than one. For this survey, the samples consisted of five bottles of each type of wine, acquired from wineries and supermarkets in the Serra Gaúcha region, RS, Brazil. The analyses were carried out by physicochemical methods: volatile compounds by gas chromatography; minerals and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; and pesticide residues by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that in general the physicochemical composition of these wines was within the limits established by Brazilian legislation. The mineral and trace element concentrations were very low and pesticide residues were not detected (MRL = 10 μg.kg?1) in any of the wines. Resumo: Há preocupação em relação a problemas causados por pesticidas no ser humano, o que levou uma parcela de viticultores a adotar procedimentos de agricultura orgânica em seus vinhedos. Assim, devido a essa preocupação, eles estão produzindo uva pelo sistema orgânico, sendo que uma parte dessa produção é direcionada à elaboração de vinho. Apesar de essas uvas terem sido aprovadas por entidades certificadoras, houve demanda para a realização de um levantamento para determinar a composição dos vinhos delas derivados. Portanto, cinco garrafas de cada tipo de vinho foram coletadas em vinícolas e supermercados da Serra Gaúcha, Rio Grande do Sul, sendo uma parte de vinhos varietais e outra, de cortes de diferentes variedades. As análises foram feitas por métodos físico-químicos: compostos voláteis, por cromatografia gasosa; minerais e elementos-traço, por espectrometria de emissão ótica com plasma acoplado indutivamente, e resíduos de pesticidas, por cromatografia líquida-espectrometria de massa. Os resultados mostram que a composição físico-química desses vinhos e dos minerais situou-se, em geral, dentro dos limites da legislação brasileira. As concentrações de minerais e de elementos-traço foram muito baixas, e não foram detectados resíduos de pesticidas (LMR = 10 μg.kg?1) em nenhum vinho.

Assessing the risk of groundwater contamination from organic substances in sewage sludge.

In this work, the risk of groundwater contamination from organic substances in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment stations was evaluated in its worst case. The sewage sludge was applied as fertilizer in corn culture, prioritizing the substances for monitoring. The assessing risk took place in a Typic Distrophic Red Latossol (TDRL) area, in the county district of Jaguariúna, SP. The simulators CMLS-94 and WGEN were used to evaluate the risk of twenty-eight organic substances in sewage sludge to leach to groundwater. The risk of groundwater contamination was accomplished for a single sludge dose application in a thousand independent and equally probable years, simulated to esteem the substances leaching in one year after the application date of the sludge. It is presented the substances that should be priorly monitored in groundwater.