Duplicate analysis is one of the means of quality control for environmental analysis to ensure a reliability of analysis data. In this paper acceptance criteria (less than 30 % for a difference of two analysis data with respects to their means) of the duplicate analysis for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) is discussed by comparing to within-laboratory-reproducibility limit (R_w) .
R_w is proportional to an analysis precision but relative R_w (%) for a mean concentration at quantification limit (QL) is, in principle, 28 %. Since the largest relative variance for duplicate analysis is less than 70 % of the relative R_w (%) for analysis of HAPs, 43 % as the relative R_w (%) for analysis of HAPs corresponds to almost 30 % (acceptance criteria) of the relative variance (%) for duplicate analysis. It can be attaind by 15 % for relative standard deviation (RSD), which is not so difficult above QL with care.
The relative variance of duplicate analysis is ca. 10 % for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and less than 30 % for aldehydes though there are some higher values due to a higher blank value.Therefore, it is relatively easy to attain the acceptance criteria (<30 %) for duplicate analysis of HAPs so long as the blank value is lowered. Judging from the these results, acceptance criteria of 30 % may be reasonable for HAPs.
However there is a room for discussion on acceptance criteria for analysis of parameters in lower concentration or with more difficult procedure, such as dioxins, and judgement method for compounds composing of many isomers like dioxins.

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Two different analytical procedures for the determination of ethylene oxide (ETO) in ambient air were examined to ensure their accuracy and reliability. The first method employed a stainless steel canister (6l), and the second method, presented by the Japan Environment Agency (JEA), used an adsorbent tube impregnated with hydrobromic acid, which converts ETO to 2-bromoethanol. The recovery, relative standard deviation and quantification limit of ETO by canister method were 102 %, 7.8 % (n = 5) and 0.02μg/m³, respectively. While there isn't any unique ion for selected ion monitoring (SIM) by the canister method, and 2-bromoethanol derived from ETO couldn't be separated from the original one by the JEA method. Both results were in fair agreement when applying these two methods to real field measurements. This indicates that both methods can be practically applied to ETO monitoring in ambient air, and the canister method can be used for ETO monitoring simultaneously with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene.

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Boron content and leachability of 159 waste samples were measured to identify which waste category is responsible to the elevated boron concentration in leachates from landfill sites found in a national leachate survey. Boron content and leachability, as measured by using pure water as extractant according to the guideline of the Environment Agency of Japan (Notification No.46), varied between waste categories as well as within each category. Boron contents of cinders (median: 110 mg/kg), dust (98) and slag (119) were statistically higher than those of sludge (31), waste plastics (<6) and construction waste (21) . Median boron concentration in extract varied from <0.05 to 0.55 mg/l depending on the category and only the boron concentration in the extract from waste plastics was statistically lower than those of other waste categories. Correlation analyses indicated that the pH of the extractant had a great effect on the leachability of boron from incineration ash (cinder and dust) samples. At the pH normally found in the leachates from landfill sites (-7), regression analysis indicated that incineration ash would emit more boron than it did in the leachability test. Taking the content and pH dependence of leachability into consideration, it was concluded that incineration ash and slag were assumed to be the source of boron in leachate from controlled landfill sites.Although boron contents of waste plastics were generally low, fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) contained elevated amount of boron (24O0-39O0 mg/kg) and it, as well as waste glass & ceramics, may be a candidate waste that elevates boron concentration in the leachate from least-controlled landfill sites

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Concentration of 13 phthalate esters (PAEs) in drinking water, river water as a source of water supply, mineral water, and leachate from recycled paper were analysed according to the tentative manual of the Environmental Agency for the analysis of endcrin disruptors.
In TE river water, a source of water supply, only di-n-butyl phthalate (D-n-BP) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were detected in 1 and 3 of 18 samples respectively, The maximum concentration was 0.3 μg/l for D -n-BP and 0.4 μg/l for DEHP. In tap water, D-n-BP was detected in 5 out of 15 samples and DEHP in 1, while the other PAE were not detected in any samples. The maximum concentrations were 0.7 μg/l for D-n-BP and 0.3μg/l for DEHP.
In mineral water, D-n-BP and DEHP were detected in 2 and 1, respectively, of 15 samples, but the other PAEs were not detected in any samples. The maximum concentrations were 1.5 μg/l for D-n-BP and 13.2 μg/l for DEHP. Evaluation of mineral water contaminated with D-n-BP and DEHP showed that the PAEs were not leached from the container itself. D-n-BP and DEHP were leached from the plug itself in polyethylene bottles and the film attached to the inner side of the container plug in glass bottles.
Nine recycled papers (5 cm × 5 cm each) were soaked in distilled water (500 ml) at 20 °C for 16 hours. As a result, DMP, DEP, D-iso-BP D-n-BP BBP and DHP were detected. The maximum concentrations were 0.8, μg/l for DMP, 2.0 μg/l for DEP, 4.0 μg/l for D-iso-BP, 59.6 μg/l for D-n-BP 0.6 μg/l for BBP and 13.2 μg/l for DHP. The other PAEs were not detected. Types of PAEs that were not detected from tap water, river water, or mineral waters were detected from water in which recycled paper was soaked.

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Samples of water-soluble ionic species in size-separated aerosol particles, acidic gases and ammonia were collected at Murododaira (2450 m a.s.l.) and Daikanbou (2320 m a.s.l.) near Mt. Tateyama, Japan, during the winter to spring season. The field observations consist of 2 to 14 days in November through April of 1995 to 2000. Median concentrations of the water-soluble ions in the aerosol particles and gases in the spring were about 2 to 8 times higher than those in the winter. The concentrations of NH⁺₄, nssK⁺, C₂O^2-₄ and nssF^- in fine (<2. 1 μm) particles showed good correlations with nssSO^2-₄, suggesting that nssSO^2-₄ observed at Mt. Tateyama originated from anthropogenic sources. The molar ratios of NH⁺₄ /nssSO^2-₄ for the fine particles at Mt. Tateyama changed from about 1 in the winter to about 2 in the spring, suggesting that atmospheric sulfate aerosols were present as ammonium bisulfate in the winter and as ammonium sulfate in the spring.

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The efficient degradation of lignin in kraft pulp wastewater by ozonolysis and microbial degradation was presented. The effects of operational conditions such as pH and temperature on the degradation of lignin aromatic ring by ozone were experimentally clarified. The lignin aromatic ring was degraded by the ozonolysis into various low-molecular weight organic acids such as muconic acid, malefic acid, and oxalic acid. In the microbial degradation of ozonolyzed wastewater using an oxalic acid degrading microorganism, strain A28, cells grew in a typical diauxic growth, i.e. the oxalic acid was degraded only after the exhaustion of acetic acid. As a result, it was found that after ozonolysis of kraft pulp wastewater microbial degradation by strain A28 was effective method for the complete degradation of lignin in it.

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An automated long term monitoring system for trace amounts of volatile organic hazardous air pollutants has been developed using capillary column GC/MS. Air sample was continuously compressed into stainless steel canister to determine average concentrations for every 2 hours-1 day. Two canisters were used alternately to keep continuity of sample collection. The performances of the automated monitoring system have been evaluated for every 1-day sampling condition, which is suitable to evaluate yearly average concentrations for risk assessment.

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We developed an antagonist assay system for estrogen receptor using the yeast two-hybrid system with which the yeast toxicity test is incorporated. The principle of the yeast antagonist test for estrogen receptor is measuring the inhibition of expression of β-galactosidase by the competition reaction between test chemical substance and β-estradiol when added in the medium at 300pM as a ligand for receptor. The yeast toxicity test, which measures the residual activity of β-galactosidase using a test chemical alone, is designed to indicate the toxicity of a test chemical to yeast. Thus, we can distinguish general toxicity and antagonist activity for estrogen receptor by comparing both results. The yeast antagonist test for estrogen receptor was applied to examine the antagonist activities for estrogen receptor of triphenyltin chloride (TPT) and tributyltin chloride (TBT) . The results showed that EC50 value was 32nM with the -S9 test of TPT, and 250nM with the + S9 test. TBT showed antagonist activities for estrogen receptor with the - S9 test only, and EC50 value was 560nM. TPT and TBT showed no toxic effect over the tested concentration range in this study. An estrogen receptor binding test (ER-ELISA) also showed that TPT and TBT are positive. These results suggested that the imposex promotion in the rock shell might be induced by antagonist action for estrogen receptor of organotin compounds.

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