Comparison of mercury and zinc profiles in peat and lake sediment archives with historical changes in emissions from the Flin Flon metal smelter, Manitoba, Canada.

The copper-zinc smelter at Flin Flon, Manitoba, was historically the largest single Hg point-source in Canada, as well as a major source of Zn. Although emissions were reported by industry to have declined significantly since the late 1980s, these reductions have never been independently verified. Here, the histories of Hg and Zn deposition over the past century or more were determined at five lake sediment and three peat study sites in the surrounding region. At sites spanning the range from heavy to minor pollution, lake sediment Hg and Zn concentration and flux profiles increased significantly in the early 1930s after the smelter opened. Two of the three peat archives were wholly or partially compromised by either physical disturbances or biogeochemical transitions which reduced their effectiveness as atmospheric metal deposition recorders. But the remaining peat records, including a detailed recent 20 yr record at a moderately polluted site, appeared to show that substantive reductions in metal levels had occurred after the late 1980s, coincident with the reported emission reductions. However, the lake sediment results, taken at face value, contradicted the peat results in that no major declines in metal concentrations or fluxes occurred over recent decades. Mercury and Zn fluxes have in fact increased substantially since 1988 in most lakes. We suggest that this discrepancy may be explained by catchment soil saturation by historically deposited metals which are now mobilizing and leaching into lakes, as has been reported from other smelter polluted systems in Canada, whereas the upper sections of the peat cores reflected recent declines in atmospheric deposition. However, further research including instrumented wet and dry deposition measurements and catchment/lake mass balance studies is recommended to test this hypothesis, and to provide definitive data on current atmospheric metal deposition rates in the area.

Notes on newspaper accounts of male elder abuse.

Law enforcement press releases and other print-media miscellany detailing accounts of male elder abuse involving insurance fraud, false allegations by perpetrators, and abuse inflicted by caregivers, spawned interest in a more systematic review. That review was accomplished principally by accessing two search engines, with news articles from 1986 to the present. A review of these media accounts transformed the initial "insurance fraud" category into a broader one classified as "economic exploitation." That same review also resulted in three distinctive categories of caregiver abuse. This article provides abbreviated case accounts within each category, and concludes with brief notes on several themes derived from the reported accounts.

Splenic artery aneurysm rupture in pregnancy with maternal and fetal survival. A case report.

A splenic artery aneurysm occurred at 30 weeks, 3 days' gestation. Both the mother and fetus survived.

Occupation, gender, and work satisfaction in a comprehensive human services department.

Workers employed in a comprehensive human services department were surveyed to determine factors predictive of work satisfaction by occupational classification and gender. Various patterns emerged for the different groups. Specific recommendations, based upon the results of the study, are provided for departmental executives wishing to improve employee morale.

Guide to journals which review media productions in the health sciences.

A survey o 469 journals in the health sciences identified 45 journals which review audiovisual materials. The response from 150 journals indicated that they did not review such materials. For the positive respondents, the authors have identified such factors as: type of media reviewed, who does the review, how much time is taken in the review process and other key information of interest to producers, librarians, and educators in the health sciences.

Reaching children at risk: a model for training child welfare specialists.

An innovative model for the training of social welfare students in the special skills essential in child welfare work is predicated upon a classification system of children at risk and a continuum of services.