Two diseases of livestock, "alkali disease"and"blind staggers, "are known to occur to in parts of the high localized seleniferous areas, but in Japan, selenium toxicosis is not a problem in the field of environmental health. However, it is important to know selenium poisoning in view of environmental pollution. This review primarily discusses oral toxicity of selenium from many references which were selected in order to establish a standard limit for water quality for public water supply in Japan. The environmental toxicity of selenium is evaluated from hygienic-chemical point of view. This review also includes history of selenium toxicosis, acute, subacute, and chronic toxicity, carcinogenesis, cytogenetic toxicity, absorption, distribution and excretion, relation of selenium to metabolism of protein, metabolism in liver, especially mechanism of methylation of selenium, and a notable relationship between selenium and murcury.

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Serum lipid level was investigated in mice by the intraperitoneal injection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. At a sublethal dose (0.3 mg wet cells) a considerable increase in triglyceride content was observed in mouse serum at 1 day postinjection. In total cholesterol levels no appreciable difference was shown between the control and injected groups. However, serum triglyceride level in mice injected with nonpathogenic strain also increased in serum at 4 hr postinjection similarly to that injected with pathogenic strain. Serum triglyceride level in mice changed effectively with increasing doses (0.2-0.8 mg) of the microorganism, and a marked increase of the level at 6 hr postinjection was seen in the injected animals with an increase in doses, but total cholesterol levels did not change in both the control and injected groups. The heatstable hemolysin from pathogenic strain could not cause an appreciable change in triglyceride level in mouse serum. When Vibrio parahaemolyticus was administered into mice and after ten minutes the endotoxin antiserum was injected, the triglyceride content in serum was not different from that of the control mice. Judging from the hypertriglyceridemia of mouse by the endotoxin in the previous report and the results in the present study, it is presumed that the endotoxin is responsible for the increase in serum triglyceride level in mice injected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus pathogenic strain.

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In order to know the amount of 2-(2-amino-2-carboxyethylthio)-3-methylbutyrylurea (BC) excreted into rabbit urine as a metabolite of bromvalerylurea, a simplified method was studied by using the Ninhydrin color developing method that has already been established. This method is based on the principle that the amount of BC is calculated from increase in its value after the administration of bromvalerylurea by continuous measurement of daily excreted urine. After removal of the main Ninhydrin-positive compounds in urine (i.e., ammonium, urea, and a part of amino acids) with ion-exchange resin and silica gel column, the values in control urine was decreased enough to visualize increase in the value measured after the administration. Administration of 1 g of bromvalerylurea to a rabbit showed that approximately 110 mg of BC had been excreted into the first 24-hr urine and almost all of the excreted BC was found in this fraction.

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A gas chromatographic method is described for determining morphamquat (I) in aqueous herbicide preparation. The compound was analyzed by means of a gas chromatography of its reduction products obtained by treatment with sodium borohydride-nickel chloride system or with sodium borohydride alone. The reduction products were analyzed by a gas chromatography equipped with a hydrogen flame ionization detector and a 2 m×3 mm i.d. glass column packed with 1% SE-30 on Gas-chrom Z at 290° with a flow of 30 ml/min of N₂. The reduction system of NaBH₄ and NiCl₂ is well suited for the assay of 40-300 μg/ml concentration of I (internal standard : dimethyl-POPOP). The main product in NaBH₄·NiCl₂ reduction of I was presumed on the basis of the results of elemental analysis, and from infrared and mass spectra to be N, N'-bis (3, 5-dimethylmorpholinecarbonylmethyl)-γ, γ'-bipiperidine (IV).

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Five kinds of wool fabrics treated with dieldrin emulsion in the laboratory under reflux or at 40° and those on the market were used for the experiments. The amount of dieldrin dissolved in perspiration or saliva increased with increasing total dieldrin concentration (A) in fabrics, and also with the mild treating condition, at 40°. Ease of dissolution of dieldrin into both body fluids varied with the kind of fabrics and decreased in the order of carpet, blanket, flannel, and doeskin. This also indicates the order of harmfulness by dermal and oral exposure. Volatilization of dieldrin obeyed the first-order kinetics under the adopted condition, at 40°, 50% relative humidity. Through the kinetic treatment, the total volatilizable dieldrin (a) in fabrics, volatilization rate constant (k) and half-life of a (t_1/2a), were obtained. The ratio of a/A decreased with the kind of fabrics in the order of blanket, carpet, flannel, doeskin and tuxedo cloth, while t_1/2a decreased in the order of blanket, carpet, doeskin, tuxedo cloth, flannel. Harmfulness by respiratory exposure to dieldrin volatilized from fabrics should be evaluated with two factors, volatilized amount and prolonging time which are represented by ka/A and t_1/2a, respectively. The order evaluated in this manner was as follows : carpet=blanket»flannel>doeskin=tuxedo cloth. From these results, care should be taken in using carpets and blankets moth-proofed with dieldrin, compared with others, because they are treated in a mild condition with dieldrin to effect its easy dissolution and volatilization, and in addition these large products containing a large amount of dieldrin are used daily.

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A simple method is described for separation of interference by co-existing methyl chloride and acetaldehyde in gas chromatographic quantitation of low levels of chloroethylene in air. Methyl chloride and acetaldehyde were successfully separated from chloroethylene by FID-gas chromatography using a column of 5.5% Ucon oil LB 550 X and Porapak QS. Relative deviation of peak area was found less than 5% on reproducibility of quantitative analysis, and the limit of detection was 1-4 ppb of chloroethylene.

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Methods for the determination of six preservatives used in solid, semi-solid, and liquid foods were examined. Extraction procedures were divided into four steps : Step 1 : Extraction of preservatives from food with organic solvent. Step 2 : Separation of the preservatives from fatty substances by transfer of the former into an alkaline solution. Step 3 : Acidification of the alkaline layer with an acid followed by re-extraction of the acidic layer with an organic solvent. Step 4 : Concentration of organic solvent in vacuo and injection of an aliquot of the concentrate into an FID gas chromatograph. In Step 1, the homogenization and organic solvent extraction were carried out simultaneously in a Waring blender, since it had been confirmed that removal of protein and fat by use of suitable precipitant did affect the recovery of the preservatives. Ether was found to be suitable for the organic solvent of extraction. In Step 2, it became clear that the normality of the alkaline solution used must not be lower than 0.2. In order to avoid hydrolysis of p-hydroxybenzoates, 0.4 N potassium hydroxide solution in 50% methanol was finally chosen. In Step 3, the final pH of the solution must be brought to lower than 2 so that the preservatives may be successfully re-extracted with ether. In Step 4, the conditions for gas chromatography were as follows : Glass tube, 2 m in length, packed with 5% DEGS+1% H₃PO₄/Chromosorb W 60-80 mesh, column temp., 144° ; injection temp., 190° for sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid, benzoic acid and salicylic acid ; glass tube, 1.5 m in length, packed with 3% SE-30/Chromosorb W 60-80 mesh, column temp., 180° ; injection temp. 230°for ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate and buthyl p-hydroxybenzoate. Recoveries were measured on Samsoe cheese, cream cheese, blue cheese, butter, wines, pickles, Korean ginseng extract, and honey, spiked at either 200 or 20 ppm of each preservative excluding SA. The recoveries at 200 ppm level ranged from 86.4 to 99.4%, while at 20 ppm level the recoveries were 84.0-95.1%. The minimum detection level of the 5 preservatives was 2 ppm.

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The excess of thiothenoyltrifluoroacetone (STTA) which reduces the sensitivity of the spectrophotometric determination of copper (II) with STTA can be removed by washing with alkaline solution without any decomposition of Cu (II)-STTA complex. The phenomenon was applied to improve the sensitivity of the determination of copper (II) with STTA. Copper (II) is quantitatively extracted from an aqueous solution by shaking with STTA solution in xylene at pH 3.7-8.5. After removal of the excess of STTA with borax-NaOH buffer solution (pH 11.5), absorbance of the organic phase is measured at 400 nm against the reagent blank. The calibration curve follows Beer's law over the range of 0-15 μg of copper (II) in 10 ml of the organic phase. The molar absorptivity at 400 nm is 4.3×10⁴, and the sensitivity is 0.0015 μg Cu/cm² for the absorbance of 0.001. The coefficient of variation of the absorbance for 1, 10, and 15 μg of copper (II) is 0.6, 0.5, and 0.4%, respectively. The molar ratio of Cu (II) and STTA in the extracted species is estimated to be 1 : 2 by the continuous variation method. Many kinds of diverse ions do not interfere with this determination. However, mercury and sulfide interfere even when their amount is 1/5 times that of copper (II). The method proposed is sensitive and selective, and the sensitivity is better than that reported by Shinde, et al. and Deguchi, et al. using STTA. Good results were obtained for the recovery tests of copper (II) in artificial sea water and well water.

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Examinations were made on biota and water quality in the rivers of Kyoto city and on a correlation between the ranks of saprobity by biota and values obtained by chemical analysis. For biological evaluation, in every point, colonies of chlorophyta and bacteria on the stones in the bottom of the river, which a man could see with his naked eyes were collected. After they were observed under a microscope, name of biota was identified and then relative frequency of occurrence of various aquatic biota was represented in five ranks of saprobity. From these results, a map of water pollution was drawn. At the same time, electric conductance, pH, transparency, volume of water (ton/sec), disolved oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) were measured. Concerning the relation between BOD and the rank of saprobity, if the rank of saprobity is polysaprobity, BOD value was nearly 10 ppm or over. In the relation of DO to the rank of saprobity, if the rank of saprobity is below β-mesosaprobity, DO value will be more than 5 ppm and, if the rank of saprobity became worse to α-polysaprobity, DO value was below 2 ppm.

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In view of public demand for cleaner sludge discharged from factories for environmental protection, examinations were made on the pulp sludge dumped in K point of Fuji city, where there are many paper manufacturing factories, four times during June, 1973, to June, 1974. A large quantity of cyanide compounds was found in part of the sludge, and the D factory, which had dumped the said sludge, was examined in July, 1974. It was thereby found that the pulp material made from old newspapers and magazines, for manufacture of cardboard, contained a large amount of cyanide compounds which had been used for taking the ink off the paper. These cyanide compounds became concentrated in the pulp sludge through the process of de-inking, aggregation, and sedimentation.

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