Historical record of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the continental shelf of the Korea Strait.

The vertical distribution of PCBs was measured in a dated core from the continental shelf of the Korea Strait. The historical trend of deposition and fluxes of individual and total PCB agreed well with the dynamics of historical tendencies of PCBs consumption in South Korea up to mid-1980 and a peak of total PCBs of 810 ng kg-1 was recorded at the turn of the 1960s. A second period of deposition, when concentrations of total PCB up to 1007 ng kg-1 were reached, was evidenced between 1989 and 2010 after the ban of PCBs. Sediments deposited in 1990s-2010, and sediments deposited in the period of maximum PCBs use (1956-1983) are both enriched in the less chlorinated homologue groups (tri- and tetrachlorobyphenyls) and congener PCB 118. However, the ratio of dioxin-like PCBs, and dichloro- and hexachloro homologue groups disclosed compositional variations between the two time periods. Source analysis suggested that PCBs in the sediment record mainly originated from Kanechlor 300, Kanechlor 400 and Aroclor 1242 technical mixtures overlapped by secondary/unintentional combustion sources from regional steel making processes in the last decades (1990s-2010).

A note on liquid iron in medieval Europe.

Iron-arsenic alloys are described in many medieval chemical recipes as a means to "liquefy" iron. In fact, while such alloys have relatively low melting points, they are not the only examples of iron being known as a liquid metal. There is evidence from the analysis of swords, as well as from written references, that crucible steel, probably imported from the Middle East, was known in Western Europe from the Early Middle Ages. In addition, the "blast furnace", which produced liquid pig iron, is now known from archaeological evidence to have been operated from at least the thirteenth century in Scandinavia. The descriptions of iron-smelting and iron-working given in the accounts written by scholastic alchemists are in fact closely related to the contemporary practices of craftsmen operating iron furnaces.

Spread of 60Co contaminated steel and its legal consequences in Taiwan.

Since 1992, over 200 civilian residential and school buildings in Taiwan have been identified to have contained 60Co contaminated steel rebar emitting excessive gamma-radioactivity in living environments. These buildings were mostly constructed in early 1983 and 1984 by employing steels from one steel mill, which had recycled unknown 60Co orphan sources in northern Taiwan. In 1994, a group of residents who once stayed for a protracted period up to 10 y in the contaminated Ming-Sheng Villa filed a civil action against Taiwan's nuclear regulatory office, the Atomic Energy Council, for state tort compensation of 3.4 M U.S. dollars in equivalent. After three years of court processes, the Taipei District Court handed down a decision in partial favor of the exposed residents. Both parties soon appealed against this judgment to the Taiwan Appellate Court. This article analyzes the main legal issues involved, including government's obligations to prevent and eliminate contamination, to take preventive measures, and to take necessary remedial measures; and plaintiffs' assertion on any legal right against governmental offices. Moreover, discussion issues contain the scope of damage and compensation, causation analysis, absence of effective and efficient regulation over radioactive contamination, limit of tort compensation law and compensation amount, weight of medical evidence as well as role of expert witnesses, and related comparative legal studies.

[Formulas for the steel balls used for healing wounds]. / Les formules des boules d'acier vulnéraires.

The author presents and compares the formulas for steel balls or Mars balls (Globuli Martiales) as they are produced in Nancy, Molsheim and in the monastery of Grande-Chartreuse (Isère).