In the spring 2002 a qualitative and quantitative study of phitomicrobenthos organisms of the Kłodzka Valley rivers: the Nysa Kłodzka, the Biała Lądecka, and the Ścinawka was done. The species composition of algae and the number of specimen were determined on cach of 9 research stands. On the basis of the species presence the saprobie area was determined in the examined part of the river. On the basis of the species number, the evaluation of self-purification capacity was carried out. The determined saprobie area allowed evaluating water cleanliness and the usefulness of the rivers as a habitat for salmon fishes.

In Agricultural and Industrial Works FARMUTIL HS at Śmiłów were "cleaner production" program has been pul in practice, elimination of odors occurring during production of the meal and bone meal is of vital importance. Conccnlrations and emissions of lola! dust, organic substances in form of gas and vapors (as total organic carbon), hydrogen chloride, fluorine chloride, sulphur and nitrogen dioxides, carbon monoxide, heavy metals, polychlorinatcd dibcnzodioxins and dibcnzofurans were measured al emitters of the piani for thermal disposal of odors from the production of the meat and bone meal. The results of measurements and analyses of the composition of the flue gas emitted lo the atmosphere revealed that the concentration of harmful chemical compounds was low, lower than the permissible values defined in the standards.

The Exodus method is applied to solve Fourier-Kirchoff's equation in heat transfer problems for flat plate solar collectors. Probabilistic models have been presented for the steady and non-steady conditions. The mathematical description of these models has been derived on the basis of the analogy between the conduction difference equation and the equation describing walking particle movement. The results of computations performed by the Exodus method have been compared to the results obtained by the Equivalent Thermal Network and the Finite Difference methods. The Exodus procedure allows the influence of changeable weather and operating conditions to be considered in calculations.

The paper presents microbiological characteristics of sewage sludge derived from the mechanicalbiological sewage treatment plant and farmyard manure as well as composts manufactured from them. In the performed experiment, four types of composts were analyzed. The first of them comprised the sewage sludge alone, the second one - was made up only of farmyard manure, while the remaining composts were prepared by mixing the above-mentioned bio-wastcs in the following proportions: 75% sewage sludge+ 25% farmyard manure and 50% sewage sludge + 50% farmyard manure. The next stage of experiments involved analyses of the composts incubated with soil. The following assays were carried out in the experimental composts and mixtures of soil and composts: counts of Salmonella sp., E. coli, Clostridium perfringens, total counts of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes on selective media employing the plate method. The performed investigations revealed that the composting process resulted in complete riddance of the Salmonella sp. and reduction in the numbers of the remaining groups of microorganisms. Therefore, it can be said that the composted sewage sludge was suitable for the utilization for agricultural purposes in accordance with the Directive of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of October 2004. Moreover, it was found that, as early as 60 days after the introduction of composts into the soil, counts of the majority of the analyzed groups of microorganisms (with the exception of actinornycctcs and E. coli), including pathogenic bacteria from the C. perfringens genus, were found reduced. The obtained research results proved that the introduction of bi o-wastes into the soil may decrease survivability in the natural environment of certain pathogens; hence it is a good method of utilization of this organic material.

Ultratrace analysis requires the use of extremely clean reagents, including water. Quality of water used in laboratories is crucial element of obtained reliable results. In chemical and biological laboratories, as well as industry, distilled, re-distilled and deionized waters arc used. Important factor of waler quality is the content of inorganic ions. One ofthe most competitive analytical techniques for trace analysis of inorganic anions and cations is ion chromatography. In the work ion chromatographic method for the determination of common inorganic anions (fluoride, chloride, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate) and cations (lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) in distilled, re-distilled and deionized water has been developed and validated.

Polychlorinatcd dibenzodioxins and dibcnzofurans (PCDD/Fs) arc present in the air either adsorbed on particulate matter or as vapor (minor part). They arc known to be effective carcinogenic and mutagenie agents. In this study dust samples from Lublin were collected for twelve months and analyzed for PCDD/Fs content. For the analysis of these samples classical extraction with a Soxhlet apparatus, double step clean-up based on SEC and charge-transfer interactions chromatography, and final analysis with GC-MS were applied.