On this Thursday, Oct 19, we will have a special seminar featuring Dr. Meththika Vithanage from the Universities of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and of Southern Queensland, Australia.  She will discuss the “Status of Atmospheric Pollution in an Urban City in Sri Lanka.”  Dr. Vithanage’s research is focused on environmental monitoring and restoration of contaminated lands and wastewater treatment.  Her work has important applications in the fields of agriculture, solid waste management, and environmental pollution.  Students and faculty interested in meeting with Dr. Vithanage during her visit should contact Dr. Josh Kearns (jpkearns@ncsu.edu).  An abstract and bio are included below.  Please join us in Mann 301 on Thursday, Oct 19, from 4:30-5:30pm.

Abstract: Atmospheric pollution has gained appreciable interest since it has led to various human and ecosystem health impacts. However, the studies on human and eco system risk assessments based on atmospheric deposition of heavy Metals (HMs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and microorganisms are still lacking in Sri Lankan context. The presence of HMs, PAHs and microbial population in atmospheric deposition were investigated in Kandy, which is a typical city in the developing world with significant traffic congestion. The atmospheric deposition was collected as passive collection and analyzed for Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb which are HMs common to urban environments. Regarding PAHs, the priority 16 pollutants were considered. Bacterial and fungal populations were investigated for microbial quantification. Human and ecological health risk was assessed using risk index, and life time daily cancer risk. Al and Fe were found in high concentrations due to the presence of natural sources, but may also be re-suspended by vehicular traffic. Relatively high concentrations of Cr and Pb were found. High Zn loads can be attributed to vehicular emissions and Zn coated roofing materials. Only five PAHs were found in deposition loads. Consequently, the traffic exerts high influence on HM and PAH loadings. The health risk assessment showed that the influence of the exposure pathways were in the order of ingestion > dermal contact > inhalation. The risk values on children were higher than that for adults, indicating children may be subjected to potentially higher health risk. Regarding PAHs cancer risk values are above the acceptable levels. The ecological risk levels on HMs also higher while Cd participating significantly. Culturable microorganisms were higher at the sites with rich vegetation cover. Total microorganisms counts were high in areas that have higher traffic congestion. Most of the bacteria and fungi associated with the deposition were opportunistic pathogens. Most dominant bacterial genus was Bacillus. Probability of infecting E. coli is less than 0.26 and P. aeruginosa is less than 0.32. It is suggested that the vegetation, anthropogenic activities and the high traffic congestion could be the sources that affect the microbial concentrations in Kandy.

Bio: Meththika’s research is focused on environmental monitoring and restoration of contaminated lands and wastewater treatment. Her work has important applications in the fields of agriculture, solid waste management, and environmental pollution. She has received The World Academy of Science Award, the National  Science Foundation Award for Young Scientists, a Graduate Research Award from the American Geophysical Union, as well as Presidential Awards for publications, science popularization, and graduate supervision by the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. She is a Young Affiliate of The World Academy of Sciences and has co-authored more than 80 journal articles and! 20 book chapters.