Volume 2 - 2000

The paper presents some interesting results of metal speciation studies employing Anodic Stripping
Voltammetry (ASV) applied in a dynamic natural system such as the brakish – marine interface formed
between the polluted waters discharged by the Koumoundouros lake and the marine ones of the Gulf
of Elefsis.
The distributions and behaviour of various forms of Pb, Cd and Zn have been followed seasonally. Four
categories of dissolved species were identified (very labile, moderately labile, slowly labile and inert),
as well as particulate species. It was found that their relative contribution and patterns are determined
by three main factors: salinity, pH, and the presence of dissolved organic carbon. Increasing salinity
stimulates formation of very labile chloro-complexes, while increasing pH stimulates the formation of
inert species and particulates. A considerable part of slowly labile species seems to be metal complexes
with organic ligands.

This work illustrates the use and some related results of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for data
quality control of environmental time series and for reconstruction of missing data. ANNs are applied
to the following problems: i) short and medium-term predicting of air pollutant concentrations in urban
areas, ii) interpolating and extrapolating daily maximum temperature, iii) replacing time distribution
with spatial distributed information (pollutant concentrations at different measuring sites). Observed
versus predicted data are compared to test the efficacy of ANNs in simulating environmental processes.
Results confirm ANNs as an improvement of classical models and show the utility of ANNs for
restoration of time series..

The present work argues that sustainable tourism is essential to the long-term survival of the tourism
industry in Europe. Sustainable tourism may be regarded as a means of redressing economic imbalances
between European regions and nations without producing adverse environmental, social and cultural
effects on host communities. Conflicts between the development of a local economy and the interests
of ‘outside’ investors from elsewhere among EU member nations must be resolved in the best
interests of the local people and the environment. The degree to which profits are expropriated from a
local area or region is a particular concern. The transnational character of tourism businesses makes
necessary a European-wide policy, where the quality of life and nature’s conservation will obtain a premortial
place.

A main problem related to coal ash disposal is the heavy metal content of the residue. In this regard,
experimental results of numerous studies have indicated that toxic trace metals may leach when fly ash
and bottom ash contacts with water.
In this study, fly ash and bottom ash samples obtained from Kemerköy thermal power plant, located on
the south-western coast of Turkey, were subjected to toxicity tests such as the extraction procedures
(EP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (U.S. EPA), the so-called Method A extraction procedure of the American Society of Testing
and Material (ASTM). When Pb and Cd concentrations, analysed according to EP and TCLP, were
considered, Kemerköy fly and bottom ash can be classified as a hazardous waste under the principles
of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Based on the geochemical analyses carried out, it was also determined that several toxic trace elements,
such as Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu and Co were enriched at the fly and bottom ash of Kemerköy thermal power plant.