Decontamination, i.e. cleaning by removal of chemicals or germs, is a term commonly used for the process of treating devices, instruments and surfaces in order to ensure their safe operation. It is of exceptional importance in healthcare, food and pharmaceutical industry as well as in the areas of army and public defense. The decontamination process covers several steps like simple washing with...

We used a 93-year-old mine waste contamination gradient in alluvial soil to explore the relationship between ecosystem level functioning and community structure in a chronically stressed ecosystem. The sensitivity of broad functional parameters (in situ soil respiration, microbial biomass, above and below ground plant biomass) and microbial diversity [phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) abundance an...

Developments in continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry have made possible the rapid analysis of delta13C in CO2 of small-volume gas samples with precisions of < or = 0.1 per thousand. Prior research has validated the integrity of septum-capped vials for collection and short-term storage of gas samples. However, there has been little investigation into the sources of contamination durin...

Corrosion behavior of mild steel in chloride contaminated alkaline solution has been studied for the period up to 100days. Saturated Calcium hydroxide solution was used as alkaline solution and 0.5M NaCl solution was used to accelerate mild steel corrosion. The Charge transfer resistance Rct, Current density Icorr and inhibition efficiency values were obtained from tafel polarization and electr...

The 1986 Chernobyl fallout had dramatic consequences for traditional reindeer husbandry in central and southern Norway, and also for many farmers in these areas. In end July 1986 the Government therefore passed a principal resolution stating that every producer should be economically compensated for all losses due to measures introduced by the authorities because of the Chernobyl deposition. By...

Trace element concentrations in blood plasma or serum have been assayed by numerous investigators using a variety of analytical techniques. For several elements, figures obtained in different centers are widely disparate. Impressive evidence has accumulated that a great deal of the inconsistencies should be ascribed to unsuspected contamination of the samples with exogenous material during thei...