Particulate and dissolved organic carbon in cloud water in southern Scotland.

Total particulate carbon (TPC), which includes both elemental carbon and particulate organic carbon, total suspended particulate matter (TSP) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured in 53 cloud water samples collected using a passive 'Harp-wire' cloud collector at weekly intervals at a hill-top site in southern Scotland (Dunslair Heights, 602 m above sea level) between December 1990 and April 1992. The concentrations of TPC, TSP and DOC were in the range 0.03-6.9 mg 1(-1) (median 1.05 mg l(-1)), 2.6-51.6 mg l(-1) (median 13.6 mg l(-1)) and 0.-14 mg l(-1) (median 3.6 mg l(-1)), respectively. The concentrations of TPC, TSP and DOC were greatest in winter (December-February), up to 6.9, 42 and 4.6 mg l(-1) respectively in 1990-1991 and up to 6.0, 51 and 14 mg l(-1), respectively, in 1991-1992. Particulate carbon in cloud water samples comprised 1-47% of the TSP. Concentrations of major anions (Cl(-), NO(-)(3), SO(2-)(4)) and pH were measured on the same water samples. Estimates of cloud liquid water content from January to April 1992 were derived from measured wind speeds and volumes of water collected. These estimates suggested that the air contained up to 1.2 microg TPC m(-3), 16 microg TSP m(-3) and 2.3 microg DOC m(-3), which are typical of concentrations to be expected in rural air. There was no correlation between concentrations of DOC in cloud water and either TPC or TSP, indicating that the sources and partitioning of DOC and TPC in the atmosphere are different. The largest concentrations of TPC coincided with the largest concentrations of non-marine sulphate, and although there was a significant linear correlation between the two sets of data, the log-transformed data were not correlated. Concentrations of TPC were significantly correlated with concentrations of other particulate matter (TSP-TPC), suggesting that similar sources and/or partitioning processes were involved in determining concentrations in cloud. Concentrations of DOC in cloud were significantly correlated (p < 0.02) with concentrations of nitrate, suggesting that sources of DOC were related to the emission and chemistry of nitrogen oxides. The very large concentrations of particulate carbon, especially in winter, indicate that carbon-catalysed oxidation of sulphur dioxide by molecular oxygen in cloud water may be a significant pathway when concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are small.

Cadmium and zinc concentrations in drinking water supplies of Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

The cadmium concentration in different drinking water supplies of Dhaka City is reported. In this study, cadmium was extracted from water into chloroform after chelation with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate and then back extracted into water for determination by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentration of cadmium in source water is below the detection limit (51 micrograms l-1) and that in supply water (tap water) and tube-well water ranges from 1.03 to 1.58 and 1.71 to 2.24 ppb, respectively. The corresponding zinc content ranges from 0.013 to 0.30, 0.018 to 3.8 and 0.042 to 0.37 ppm. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Multielement proton-induced X-ray emission analysis of Bangladeshi tobacco.

The concentration of 12 different elements in cigarette tobacco of different brands, commercially made in Bangladesh, was determined using the proton particle-induced x-ray emission (proton PIXE) method. In all the present experiments, proton beams of 2.0 MeV (on the target in air) and about 30 nA current were used for characteristic x-ray excitation. The concentration of the elements (K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb and Sr) was determined by comparison with a calibration obtained from the NBS orchard leaf standard, SRM 1571. The results have been compared with available data on some foreign brands of tobacco and the probable reasons for the difference in the contents of some of the elements found in the Bangladeshi brands are discussed.