In order to work out a procedure of diminishing the amount of heavy metals, barium and strontium in wastes, laboratory wastes were collected and investigated. The analysis revealed that mercury and silver are present only in the precipitate, as well as about 213 amount of lead, bismuth and cobalt. Other elements occur mainly in solution. It was also found that there was no justification for the separate segregation of particular analytical groups of elements, especially in the cases where it is difficult to enforce requirement of collecting wastes in proper containers. Solid wastes were divided into two groups: I - containing mercury and 2 - without mercury content. Metals were eliminated in the form of sulphides and hydroxides by their precipitation with sodium sulphide, flocculation, sedimentation and dehydration. Solutions left after metals separation meet requirements for wastes, which can be disposed of the sewage system.

A procedure has been proposed for proceeding with homogeneous chemicals being technical products or reagents stored in unlabelled packages, in order to classify these substances to particular categories of wastes. A series of simple tests belonging to a classical analysis of chemical compounds, complemented with instrumental methods in needed cases has been proposed. The requirements have been established for equipment and necessary qualification of personnel in a laboratory in which identification is to be carried out. Attention has been drawn to risk accompanying this procedure and necessary precautions, which should be undertaken, especially due to possible explosive, inflammable and toxic properties of these substances. The worked out procedure was verified in tests and applied during cleaning the central chemical storage rooms.

Results of the study presented in this article and earlier have been the first ones since the Gliwice Canal was put into service in 1939. Until now there have been no investigations concernig (the Canal state in the area of hydro-chemical study), sanitary state or level of sediment contamination. The aim of this study was therefore to obtain information about the current pollution. The level of aquatic environment in some reaches of Gliwice Channel. This article presents the results of investigations carried out in order to assess of water quality in the Canal relating to nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. The following nutrients were determined in water samples ammonia, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen as well as organic dissolved and organic suspended nitrogen. In addition concentrations of orthophosphates, polyphosphates and organic phosphorus were analyzed. The analyses were carried out in water samples taken in six samplings from January till June 2000. Water samples were drawn at 7 sampling points. Samples of bottom sediments were taken at 21 sample points. Basing on the results of analyses the water quality of Gliwice Canal has been determined. A classification of chemical parameters was carried out under the provision in force. Basing on this classification we can state that water in the Canal is does not quality for any class system. We can also affirm that the water quality on the whole length of Gliwice Canal has improved only slightly even though waters of lower pollution levels supply the Canal.

The pathogenetic bacteria are in flowed to the Dzierżno Duże dam-reservoir by highly polluted Kłodnica River. Their considerable number decreases along with distance within the reservoir. From the Kłodnica River estuary and in the distance 700 m, the water quality is classless (coefficient of Coli - fecal type was 0.002 - 0.008). In the 1500 m distance water quality was III and II class purification. Near the Kłodnica River estuary the number of streptococci fecal-type, rod-shaped bacteria (Clostridium) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was big (MPN 2400). The FC/FS index (fecal coliform/fecal enterococci) was 4. It is indicative of human-fecal pollution. No diversification in the number of staphylococci depending on sample point localization was recorded. The research by traditional and the latest methods did not confirm the presence of Salmonella in the water of reservoir. The investigations of staphylococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa seem to confirm the role of zooplankton as an important element (consumption of biocenosis feeding on bacteria pressure) in the selfpurification processes. The patho-rnicrobiological pollution of the reservoir is a factor, due to recreational function of its east part of.

A trial to determine the atmospheric precipitants and their role as the element of pollutants budget in transport of pollutants into water ecosystems has been presented. Total dawnfall method were used with sedimentary funnels of 0.28 m2 . The pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, organic nitrogen, phosphates, organic carbon, chlorides, sulphates, calcium, magnesium and heavy metals (iron, zinc, lead and cadmium) were determined. The analysis results are similar to the results obtained at other sample points of Upper Silesia. The range of pollutant concentration changes indicate the objective factors for the analysis results dispersion. With the method apllied, only average values of concentration can be used for the evaluation of the chemical status of downfall waters and atmospheric air. The atmospheric precipitants thought underestimated are siginificant source for pollutants (nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals) introduced directly to the trophogenical zone of water ecosystem. In the case of the Kłodnica hydro-junction reservoirs, the loads of nitrogen and phosphorus from atmospheric precipitations are determined as "dangerous surface loading". The presence of considerable loads of magnesium in the precipitations indicates the possibility of chemical precipitation of polyphosphates from epilimnion zone, and are consequence the quicker transportation of phosphorus to the bottom sediments. It can activate the intra-reservoir enrichment process.

The goal of the presented research works was to prove the following thesis: Does the process of contaminants reduction and effluent application for arable land fertilization justify the treatment method of waste water from yeast production facility in soil and plant environment? In order to achieve the above mentioned goal, basically the dynamics of physical and chemical properties change observed for waters, soils and plants irrigated with wastewater from yeast factory has been studied for many years. Part II presents the problems connected with the impact of irrigation with wastewater from yeast factory on soil physical and chemical properties and on the quantity and quality of arable plants yield. Soils irrigated with process effluent from yeast factory show overfertilization with potassium. Also reduction of the organic carbon ratio to nitrogen is observed due to redundancy of potassium and deficit of organic carbon. Activities aimed at preventing reduction of organic substance consist in: straw, beet leaves and other solid organic waste ploughing. In industrial - grain crops rotation applied in the fields used for agricultural utilization of wastewater carried out in the research years of 1993-1997, an increase of yields (average for grain - by 13% and for root beet by 0.5-10.7%) was recorded. It was higher than in the case of yields produced on yeast production facility fields not irrigated with effluent and yields obtained by individual farmers from fields intensively treated only with mineral fertilizers. In comparison to the literature data the impact of irrigation with yeast effluent, the grain yields of winter wheat, spring barley and winter rape show slightly increased percentage contents of proteins, nitrogen, and potassium, whereas the contents of calcium and magnesium were smaller.

Evaluations of odour intensity of the air polluted with cyclohexane (A), cyclohexanone (B) and cyclohexane with admixtures of cyclohexanone (mixtures MI, M2 and M3; x8 = 0.14; 0.05 and 0.02 respectively) were made. Empirical parameters of psychophysical equations (Weber-Fechner' and Stevens') were determined. Total concentrations of the mixtures were within the range C = 1500-3500 ppm. The interaction constant av= 115-132° was estimated for the mixtures. Verification of known models of odour interaction led to the conclusion that possible application of the models for prediction of odour intensity of the air polluted with mixtures of cyclohexane and hexane is limited.

The sedimentation devices are commonly used in the clarifying of industrial suspensions and in the civil engineering. The sedimentation efficiency plays very important role in the environmental protection. The aim of the research was to investigate the possibilities of applying neural networks in computing the efficiency of sedimentation processes. Input data were the results of computer stimulation performed according to the mathematical model taking into account the overflow rate in the sedimentation facilities and physical parameters of the suspension, such as probability density function of solid particle size. Two probability density functions of solid particle size were compared: log-normal distribution and gamma distribution. Feed-forward neural networks (with no feedback and with one- stream flow of information) were applied in research work. Teacher-supervised teaching, according to back-propagation method with the use of Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, was chosen. When neural networks were taught with the use of sets including less than 400 data elements, the errors were more than I%. Neural networks taught by means of series including more than 500 data sets would yield acceptable results and the error was less than I%. Accordingly, one can presume that the smallest teaching set is the one composed of 500 data elements. The best results were obtained when the number of data sets was about 5000- the differences in computed sedimentation efficiency were then less than 0.5%. A further increase in the number of data elements - above 5000 - would lead to lower accuracy of calculations.