Wastewater treatment plants are a source of odour and bioaerosol emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the concentration of selected groups of bacteria and fungi around four small municipal wastewater treatment plants located near Wroc & lstrok;aw (SW Poland). The wastewater was treated using the activated sludge method. Bioaerosol samples were collected in triplicate using the aspirometric method onto Petri dishes with appropriate microbiological media. Bioaerosol concentrations around the studied plants and in the vicinity of individual devices were relatively low; in some cases, fecal bacteria and human pathogenic microorganisms were detected in the bioaerosol. The obtained results justify the need for further research on bioaerosols emitted by wastewater treatment plants and systematic monitoring of bioaerosol concentrations in their vicinity.

The aim of the study was to determine differences in mutagenicity of organic pollutants adsorbedon suspended particulate matter in the city centre and its outskirts. Particulate matter was collectedusing a high-performance sampler in different parts of Wrocław in summer and winter. Organiccompounds adsorbed on the particulate matter were extracted for 8 hours in Soxhlet apparatuses.The concentration of PAHs was determined using GC-MS. Mutagenicity of samples was testedusing the Ames test. The concentrations of particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere rangedfrom 23 to 144 μg/m3, and PAHs from the EPA list adsorbed on it ranged from 8.3 to 1211.6 ng/m3.Particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere collected in different places in Wrocław insummer and winter showed mutagenic activity. This effect was greater in winter than in summer.In winter, it was greater in the city centre than on its outskirts. Activation with the S9 mix fractioncaused a decrease in the mutagenic activity of most of the tested particulate matter samples againstthe TA 98 strain. This indicates the presence of mainly direct mutagens in them. The volumesof polluted air causing a mutagenic effect on the TA 98 strain without activation by the S9 mixfraction ranged from 0.25 to 35 m3. The high sensitivity of the YG 1021 and YG 1024 strains tothe mutagenic effect of pollutants adsorbed on the tested particulate matter indicates a significantshare of nitroarenes in their mutagenic activity. The differentiation of this share depended mainlyon local and momentary conditions. The exposure of residents to the genotoxic effect of pollutantsadsorbed on particulate matter increases in winter, especially in the city centre. Supplementing thecurrently used physicochemical monitoring of air pollution with a study of the mutagenic activityof pollutants adsorbed on particulate matter would allow for the assessment of this activity and theshare of certain groups of pollutants, such as nitroarenes.

Herein, structural and biological studies of a complex biopolymer (polyphenolic glycoconjugate) isolated from the flowering parts of Agrimonia eupatoria L. (AE) are presented. Spectroscopic analyses (UV–Vis and 1H NMR) of the aglycone component of AE confirmed that it consists mainly of aromatic and aliphatic structures characteristic of polyphenols. AE showed significant free radical elimination activity, i.e., ABTS+ and DPPH·, and was an effective copper reducing agent in the CUPRAC test, eventually proving that AE is a powerful antioxidant. AE was nontoxic to human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) and mouse fibroblasts (L929) and was nongenotoxic to S. typhimurium bacterial strains TA98 and TA100. Moreover, AE did not induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) by human pulmonary vein (HPVE-26) endothelial cells or human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). These findings correlated with the low activation of the transcription factor NF-κB in these cells, which plays an important role in the regulation of the expression of genes responsible for inflammatory mediator synthesis. The AE properties described here suggest that it may be useful for protecting cells from the adverse consequences of oxidative stress and could be valuable as a biomaterial for surface functionalization.

The paper analyses the variability of the methodology of collecting samples of endotoxins from the air in the premises and the vicinity of objects of waste management and wastewater treatment infrastructure, methods of their preparation, determination of endotoxin content, and results of research to date. The high sensitivity of analytical methods enables the analysis of the concentration of endotoxins in air samples with a small volume. After freezing, they can be stored for a long time. The effectiveness of extraction of endotoxins from bioaerosol samples can be improved by adding Tween 20 or Tween 80 to water. So far, factors determining the variability of concentrations of endotoxins in the air in the premises and the vicinity of objects of waste management infrastructure were determined. Further research in the scope is necessary. This will allow the determination of acceptable levels of endotoxin in the future. The impact of endotoxins on human health and the specificity of sewage and waste management must also be taken into account.

Wastewater treatment plants are the source of odour and microorganism emissions to the atmospheric air. Bioaerosol emitted by treatment plants may contain pathogenic microorganisms, antibiotic resistant microorganisms and cause allergies. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the newly created municipal wastewater treatment plant using the activated sludge method (approx. 20,000 PE, average daily flow of 2,300 m(3)) on the sanitary state of atmospheric air. Numerous field obstacles (e.g. trees) and natural sources of microorganism emissions to the atmospheric air (e.g. drainage channels) were located in the vicinity of the wastewater treatment plant. Bioaerosol samples (3 replicates) were taken in a wind trail at 10 test stands on the leeward side of the treatment plant and two control stands on the windward side of the treatment plant. Samples were taken by sedimentation on Petri dishes with microbiological mediums. Media was incubated at a temperature appropriate for the type of microorganisms (psychrophilic bacteria, mesophilic bacteria, actinomycetes, mold fungi), and then colonies growing on media were counted. The number of microorganisms per unit volume of air was determined according to the Omelian formula in the Gogoberidze modification. Four series of tests were carried out during the transition months (spring and autumn). The concentration of microorganisms on the leeward side of the treatment plant in the following ranges amouted: psychrophilic bacteria: 156 +/- 85 - 6578 +/- 1286 cfu/m(3), mesophilic bacteria: 87 +/- 24 - 6309 +/- 1349 cfu/m(3), actinomycetes: 0 +/- 0 - 719 +/- 12 cfu/m(3), mold fungi: 52 +/- 42 - 4645 +/- 425 cfu/m(3). These values were similar to those found in the area and in the vicinity of wastewater treatment plants examined by other authors. The concentration of microorganisms in the vicinity of the tested wastewater treatment plant did not show a downward trend as a function of distance from the wastewater treatment plant. This could be due to the presence of other sources of bioaerosol emissions to atmospheric air in the vicinity of the treatment plant (e.g. drainage canals, uncovered soil in plowed fields) and field obstacles that could have affected the movement of air masses (e.g. in-field woodland, forest, embankment Railway). The obtained research results indicate that the emission of bioaerosol from a small wastewater treatment plant, may cause changes in the concentration of microorganisms in the atmospheric air at a level close to natural sources. However, the threats to human health caused by bioaerosol emitted from municipal wastewater may be higher. Therefore, it is justified to monitor the sanitary state of the air and the atmosphere at the wastewater treatment plant and in its vicinity, and conduct research to develop an optimal set of indicator microorganisms of this state.

Air pollution is one of the most urgent problems of modern world, eventually causing the premature death of millions people every year. One of the burdens due to exposure to air pollutants is a lung cancer. It is necessary to develop new effective methods of carcinogen monitoring. The aim of the study was to evaluate if spider webs are suitable for the assessment of air mutagenicity by Ames MPF™ test. It is the first time spider webs had been incorporated into Ames MPF™ procedure. Webs of two spider species Araneus diadematus and Agelena labyrinthica have been collected at four sites exposed to high pollutants emission. Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain without metabolic fraction have been used for the assay. All samples exhibited mutagenic activity most likely due to the road traffic. Webs of A. labyrinthica have shown higher mutagenicity effects at the tested sites in comparison to A. diadematus , plausibly because of the longer exposition time. The results are most promising and indicate high potential of combining spider webs and MPF™ procedure for assessing the mutagenic properties of urban air pollution.

Rooks show a growing tendency to winter in cities. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of meteorological factors on the selection of feeding habitats and to discuss the diversity of feeding strategies in urban environments of different sizes and housing densities. The study was carried out in two cities in south-western Poland, Wroclaw and Brzeg (populations of 636,000 and 39,000, respectively), in the years 2004-2008. Nineteen research areas differing in housing density were controlled once a week. In multiple regression, the number of rooks feeding in urban environments showed a correlation with air temperature and the thickness of snow cover. The densities of feeding rooks were higher in urban environments than in agrocenoses. They were also higher in Wroclaw than in Brzeg, and in built-up areas than in undeveloped ones. Feeding groups were smaller in Brzeg than in Wroclaw. They were also smaller in built-up areas in Brzeg than in undeveloped ones. More rooks fed individually in Brzeg than in Wroclaw. The diversity in the frequency of individually feeding rooks in built-up and undeveloped environments was specific to each city. Rooks feeding in Brzeg were more active in searching for food than those in Wroclaw, and birds feeding on optimum, undeveloped feeding grounds were more active than those in built-up areas. In both cities, rooks were fed by humans, mainly in built-up areas.

The Ames test is universally used for examining the mutagenic activity of contaminated soil samples. Soil pollution is mostly extracted with the use of an ultrasonic bath or Soxhlet's apparatus. Dichloromethane and methanol are commonly applied solvents for the extraction of soil pollutants. Methanol was the most effective solvent. A mixture or the sequence of solvents was also applied for the extraction. Less effective was the extraction of soil pollutants in the form of water leakage. There is no sufficient literature data for determining optimal conditions of the extraction. Variants of the biotest technique applied by different authors demonstrated the significant diversity The organisms tested the most often were strains of Salmonella Typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100. Its different sensitivity on extracts genotoxicity suggests the predominance of soil pollutants causing the mutation of the reading phase, which could be detected only by Salmonella Typhimurium TA 98, whereas mutations of the substitution of base pairs, are detected with the use of Salmonella Typhimurium TA 100. For activating promutagens a microsomal fraction S-9, obtained from the liver of rat, has most often been applied in different concentrations, which is activated by Aroclor 1254. Some authors applied a preincubation when performing Ames test for the genotoxicity evaluation of soil pollutants. Papers concerning the influence of the preincubation on the mutagenic effect in Ames test are rarely found. Collected literature data show the significant usefulness of the Ames test for the evaluation of mutagenic activity of soil pollutants. The comparison of the results obtained by different authors prevents the diversification of extraction techniques, solvents application and some aspects of biotest: test strains, the concentration and the preparation of the microsomal faction S-9, the possibility of applying the preincubation. Unification of the extraction technique and the biotest, taking into consideration soil diversity and pollutants types would facilitate the comparison of the results.

The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of extraction of genotoxic pollutants from soils performed by means of several solvents. Soil pollutants were extracted in the Soxhlet apparatus. Extract genotoxicity was assessed using the Ames Test All the examined soils (12) contained genotoxic pollutants. Extraction with hexane allowed detection of pollution genotoxicity in 11 soils, whereas with methanol and dichloromethane in 10 soils each. The other solvents allowed detection of genotoxicity in fewer soil samples. Methanol extract had the highest genotoxicity in the majority of soils (7 out of 12). Results obtained in the present study and literature data allow recommendation of methanol for extraction of genotoxic pollutants from soils. Methanol is more versatile, efficient, common, and less harmful for laboratory workers than dichloromethane and hexane.

Air in the vicinity of a municipal sewage treatment plant was assessed for microbial quality. Measurements were carried out in the time span of 2011 and 2012, taking into account seasonal patterns of change. Classification of the extent of microbial contamination was based on the number of mesophilic bacteria, actinomycetes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, alpha- and beta-hemolyzing staphylococci, and fungal spores. It was demonstrated that the number of airborne microorganisms in the vicinity of the sewage treatment plant followed a seasonal pattern and differed from one measuring point to another, in many instances exceeding the characteristic values measured in unpolluted air. The highest number of microorganisms were determined in summer and fall, and the lowest in winter, when low air temperature limited microbial viability. Simultaneously, a noticeable increase in microbial numbers was observed on the lee side. The results obtained in this study, as well as the available literature data, substantiate the need for hermetizing the objects of the sewage treatment plant and subjecting them to periodical air quality monitoring.

A forest decline in the large area of the Western Sudeten in the late 70's and early 80's brought about severe changes within the abiotic environment leading to deep transformation of forest ecosystems. All environmental and system communities researched were considerably distorted. A decrease in the number of speciemen and in species diversity of communities as well as a change of dominant species were noted. Soil contamination, no habitat for arboreal species, microclimate changes and an increased insolation of undergrowth were the essential causes of these changes. Some disturbances to environmental conditions triggered changes within the composition of organism communities leading to further cascade disturbances within the composition of other organism communities. Deforestation of large areas was beneficial to photophilic and nitrophilous plants as well as to the birds and mammals of open areas and detritivores.