Attenuation of Pb and Sb in shooting range soils by Fe amendments.

Lead (Pb) and antimony (Sb) contamination pose a major environmental risk at firing ranges and threaten land sustainability. Methods for the stabilization of metal (loid) contaminants are necessary to prevent off-site migration of metals in surface and ground water or from soil erosion. In the present study, two remediation treatments (ferric chloride/calcium carbonate and nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)) were applied to flow-through soil columns containing four types of soils (sand, sandy loam, loamy sand, and silty loam) to study Pb and Sb behavior. Water runoff was continuously monitored for three months prior to amendment addition and for the following ten months. Soils were characterized before and after reaction. We found Sb was more mobile than Pb in all soil systems and was primarily present in the dissolved fraction whereas Pb was associated with both soil organic matter (SOM) and Fe colloids. Dominant Pb solid phase species were comprised of Pb0, PbO, PbCO3, and Pb sorbed to Fe(III) oxides while Sb was present as fully oxidized Sb(V) in soil and soil solution. The nZVI addition had minimal impact on Pb and Sb immobilization compared to control soil. The FeCl2 and CaCO3 amendment decreased pore water Sb concentrations by >80% for all soil types and >96% reduction in the fine- and coarse-grained soil types (silt loam and sand). Lead was initially mobilized coinciding with a decrease in pH from the hydrolysis of Fe(II) in solution. Additional soil treatments have the potential to be effective for system-wide immobilization with adequate additions of CaCO3 buffer. Though this study focused on bullet fragment weathering as a source of Pb and Sb the results have application to environmental monitoring and remediation efforts at mining or industrial runoff sites.

Hexabothriidae and Monocotylidae (Monogenoidea) from the gills of neonate hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae) Sphyrna gilberti, Sphyrna lewini and their hybrids from the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Neonates of hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae), Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834), the sympatric cryptic species, Sphyrna gilberti Quattro et al., 2013, and their hybrids were captured in the western North Atlantic, along the coast of South Carolina, USA, between 2018 and 2019 and examined for gill monogenoids. Parasites were identified and redescribed from the gills of 79 neonates, and DNA sequences from partial fragments of the nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA (rDNA) and cytochrome c oxidase I mitochondrial DNA (COI) genes were generated to confirm species identifications. Three species of monogenoids from Hexabothriidae Price, 1942 and Monocotylidae Taschenberg, 1879 were determined and redescribed. Two species of Hexabothriidae, Erpocotyle microstoma (Brooks, 1934) and Erpocotyle sphyrnae (MacCallum, 1931), infecting both species of Sphyrna and hybrids; and 1 species of Monocotylidae, Loimosina wilsoni Manter, 1944, infecting only S. lewini and hybrids. Loimosina wilsoni 28S rDNA sequences matched those of Loimosina sp. from the southern coast of Brazil. Based on limited morphological analysis, Loimosina parawilsoni is likely a junior synonym of L. wilsoni. This is the first taxonomic study of monogenoids infecting S. gilberti and hybrids of S. gilberti and S. lewini.

Environmental impact of metals resulting from military training activities: A review.

The deposition of metals into the environment as a result of military training activities remains a long-term concern for Defense organizations across the globe. Of particular concern for deposition and potential mobilization are antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and tungsten (W), which are the focus of this review article. The fate, transport, and mobilization of these metals are complicated and depend on a variety of environmental factors that are often convoluted, heterogeneous, and site-dependent. While there have been many studies investigating contaminant mobilization on military training lands there exists a lack of cohesiveness surrounding the current state of knowledge for these five metals. The focus of this review article is to compile the current knowledge of the fate, transport, and ultimate risks presented by metals associated with different military training activities particularly as a result of small arms training activities, artillery/mortar ranges, battleruns, rocket ranges, and grenade courts. From there, we discuss emerging research results and finish with suggestions of where future research efforts and training range designs could be focused toward further reducing the deposition, limiting the migration, and decreasing risks presented by metals in the environment. Additionally, information presented here may offer insights into Sb, As, Cu, Pb, and W in other environmental settings.

First record of Piscicapillaria bursata (Nematoda: Capillariidae), a parasite of hammerhead sharks Sphyrna spp., in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Examination of 32 spiral valves from neonate specimens of hammerhead shark Sphyrna spp. (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae) captured between June and August 2018 off the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, USA, revealed the presence of the capillariid nematode Piscicapillaria bursata (Capillariidae) in the Carolina hammerhead S. gilberti, the scalloped hammerhead S. lewini, and their hybrids. This is the second find of this parasite originally described from hammerhead sharks off Australia, its first record from the western Atlantic Ocean, and its first record in a new host species and in hybrids.

Hybridization between sympatric hammerhead sharks in the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Hybridization between closely related species has been documented across a wide range of taxa but has not been well studied in elasmobranchs. Hammerhead sharks have drawn global conservation concern because they experience some of the highest mortality rates among sharks when interacting with fisheries. Here we report on the detection of hybrids between the globally distributed scalloped hammerhead ( Sphyrna lewini) and recently described Carolina hammerhead ( S. gilberti) which are only known from the western Atlantic Ocean. Using a genomics approach, 10 first-generation hybrids and 15-17 backcrosses were detected from 554 individuals. The identification of backcrosses demonstrates hybrids are viable, and all backcrosses but one involved a scalloped hammerhead. All hybrids but one possessed Carolina hammerhead mtDNA, indicating sex-biased gene flow between species. Repeated hybridization and backcrossing with scalloped hammerheads could lead to the loss of endemic Carolina hammerheads.

Lead and antimony from bullet weathering in newly constructed target berms: Chemical speciation, mobilization, and remediation strategies.

Understanding lead (Pb) and antimony (Sb) speciation associated with the weathering of bullets at shooting ranges is essential for identifying species migration potential to local watersheds and for assessing the overall toxicity of shooting range soils. In the present study, we fired 2000 5.56 mm bullets into newly constructed and instrumented target berms composed of well-characterized test soils (sand, sandy loam, loamy sand, silt loam) and collected berm pore water runoff and soil samples over five summers (2011 to 2015). We tracked the chemical transformations of Pb and Sb released during bullet weathering as a function of time and soil properties. During 2014 summer, an amendment of ferrous chloride (FeCl2) with a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) buffer was added to a subset of the berms of each soil type to test this remediation strategy. Bulk speciation analysis coupled with micro-scale spectroscopic methods show that both Sb(III) and Sb(V) species are present in soil solution depending on the soil matrix type, but Sb(III) was not observed after 9 months of weathering. In general, Sb was found to be more mobile than Pb, attributable to the relatively low solubility of the dominant Pb phases present in the crust forming around bullet fragments and within soil. The oxidation of Pb(0) resulted in a mixture of lead oxide, lead carbonate, and lead sorbed onto iron(III) oxides. We found a higher degree of metal(loid) mobilization (higher dissolved metal concentrations) in the berms made from the sandy soils. In contrast, silt loam soil was found to be more effective at immobilizing metal(loid)s. Furthermore, we observed that an iron-oxide type amendment may be effective at further reducing Pb and Sb runoff. Results from this study provide insight into the fate and transport of metal(loid)s within small arms target ranges and address a potential method for metal(loid) immobilization.

MRI analysis of the lumbar spine: can it predict response to diagnostic and therapeutic facet procedures?

OBJECTIVES: To determine the correlation between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pathology and the response to diagnostic facet medial branch block (MBB) and L5 dorsal ramus medial branch block and radiofrequency (RF) denervation of lumbar facet joints. METHODS: The medical records of 127 consecutive patients who underwent MBB for suspected zygapophysial joint pain were reviewed. The lumbar spine MRI of these patients was systematically graded by 2 musculoskeletal radiologists for loss of disc height, spinal stenosis, facet joint degeneration, and other forms of spinal pathology. RESULTS: Patients with central or foraminal spinal stenosis had statistically significant correlation with positive outcome of RF (P=0.02), but not with MBB (P=0.08). The presence of facet joint degeneration or hypertrophy was positively correlated with response to MBB (71% vs. 51%; P=0.04), but not RF. Loss of disc height did not correlate with outcome of MBB (P=0.08) and RF (P=0.29). For other spinal pathology, no significant differences were noted for either the response to diagnostic blocks or the RF denervation. Younger patients were more likely to fail MBB (P<0.01) but not RF denervation (P=0.38). DISCUSSION: Whereas some relationships were noted between MRI findings and the response to lumbar facet joint interventions, many of these correlations tended to be weak. However, this study does suggest the possibility that patients with spinal stenosis, often considered an exclusion criterion for facet interventions, may respond to RF denervation of facet joints. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these observations.