Environmental Monitoring Of Remedial Dredging At The New Bedford Harbor, Ma, Superfund Site

New Bedford Harbor (NBH), MA, is a Superfund site because of high polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in the sediment. From April 1994 to September 1995, a remedial dredging operation (termed the “Hot Spot”) removed the most contaminated sediments (PCB concentrations greater than 4000μg/g) from the upper harbor. During remediation, a monitoring program assessed the potential environmental impacts to NBH and adjacent Buzzards Bay. The monitoring program was developed with input from federal, state, and local authorities. Site-specific decision criteria were established to assess net PCB transport, water column toxicity, and PCB bioaccumulation in blue and ribbed mussels (Mytilus edulis and Geukensia demissa, respectively). The remediation was completed without exceeding PCB net transport or acute toxicity effects specified in the decision criteria. In addition, PCB bioaccumulation in mussels during this time period was not significantly greater than pre- or post-operational measurements. The results indicated that approximately 14000 cubic yards of highly PCB contaminated sediment were permanently removed with minimal environmental effects. The lessons learned during this operation, as well as previous pilot studies at the site, will be used to make full-scale remedial efforts in NBH more efficient and environmentally protective.     

基于特定场地污染概念模型的健康风险评估案例研究

对某有机化工厂地下水下游方向拟建设的地铁站所在区域土壤及地下水开展污染调查,结果表明,拟建地铁站区域深层土壤及地下水均被1,2-二氯乙烷污染,其中,土壤样品最高浓度104.08 mg·kg-1,位于地表以下8.6 m深处;地下水样品最高浓度18 500μg·L-1.污染主要由位于上游的有机化工厂生产排污所致.本研究依据调查结果并结合地铁站的特殊结构设计构建了该场地特定的污染概念模型,推导了相应的风险计算公式用于计算站内人员的健康风险,并与基于通用污染概念模型建立的风险计算公式的评价结果进行比较.两种模型计算结果均表明该区域土壤及地下水中污染对未来地铁站工作人员造成的致癌风险将远高于目前普遍接受的风险水平(1×10-6),但前者计算的土壤和地下水对未来地铁工作人员造成的致癌风险要比后者分别高2倍和1.5倍.由此可见,对于具体的场地评价项目,应考虑场地的污染特性及未来建筑的结构特性对现有评估模型进行修正后进行健康风险评估,以避免因直接套用现有导则中的计算模型使最终评估结果偏离客观实际.     

EFFECTS OF SUSPENDED SOLIDS ON THE ACUTE TOXICITY OF ZINC TO DAPHNIA MAGNA AND PIMEPHALES PROMELAS1

ABSTRACT: Current procedures for setting site-specific water quality criteria consider abiotic and biotic factors. Suspended solids were shown to be important in reducing zinc toxicity to water column organisms. At zinc concentrations of ～ 1 mg/L in solutions with < 100 mg/L of all suspended solids tested, zinc toxicity to D. magna was reduced. Sorption of zinc to suspended solids and/or changes in water chemistry due to the addition of suspended solids appear to have been the factors causing reductions in zinc toxicity to D. magna. Only suspended solids levels of 483–734 mg/L of a type that increased total alkalinity, total hardness, and total dissolved carbon clearly reduced the toxicity of ～ 20 mg/L zinc to P. promelas. The toxic form of zinc to these organisms appears to reside in the aqueous phase. Characteristics of suspended solids did not influence the partition coefficient of zinc in sorption experiments of 96 h. The slopes of dose-response curves proved to be useful for assessing the potential of an organism to respond to changes in aqueous phase zinc concentrations, and may be a useful biological parameter when considering site-specific water quality criteria for chemicals.     

太湖流域稻田不同氮肥管理模式下的氮素平衡特征及环境效应评价

研究了不同氮肥管理模式下的稻田氮素平衡特征和环境效应.在太湖主要入湖河流直湖港下游开展了农户常规施肥处理、缓控释肥处理、有机无机肥配施处理、按需施肥处理以及化肥减量优化处理5种氮肥管理模式的田间小区试验,实测了稻季的径流和淋洗氮损失,估算了氨挥发和N₂O等气体损失,分析了不同氮肥处理下的环境排放量和氮素平衡特征.与农户常规施肥处理相比,其他处理在减少氮肥总投入量20%～40%的情况下产量与农户对照基本持平,氮肥利用率提高了14.5%～44%.不同氮肥管理模式下,缓控释肥处理和按需施肥处理的氮环境排放量最低,比农户施肥处理分别降低了52.8%和45.4%.在等氮量投入下,有机无机配施处理比纯化肥处理减少了环境氮排放量.农户施肥处理存在着明显的氮盈余,增加了麦季氮流失的风险,按需施肥处理略微出现氮亏缺,在一定程度上减少了麦季氮流失风险.新型缓控释肥处理和按需施肥处理能在不降低产量和效益的情况下,提高氮肥利用率,减少环境排放量,是值得在太湖流域推广的经济环保氮肥管理模式.     

定位施肥紫色菜园土壤钾素效应研究

基于紫色菜园土壤3年12季连续蔬菜(莴笋-白菜轮作)定位施肥试验,研究不同施肥条件对土壤钾素形态和供钾水平的影响。采用田间试验和室内化学分析结合的方法测定不同施肥处理土壤钾素形态的变化和蔬菜产量的关系。结果表明:紫色菜园土壤钾素主要以矿物钾为主,占全钾的95.11%~97.33%,土壤缓效钾和速效钾分别占土壤全钾的2.22%~3.38%和0.44%~1.52%。连续施用钾肥显著提高土壤速效钾和缓效钾含量,以增钾处理作用最优。定位施肥显著提高土壤水溶性钾、非特殊吸附钾、特殊吸附钾含量,以有机无机肥料配施作用优于单施化学肥料。土壤水溶性钾、非交换性钾与土壤有效磷含量呈显著或极显著正相关,莴笋和白菜产量与紫色菜园土壤速效钾、缓效钾含量呈显著正相关。定位施肥协调紫色菜园土壤钾形态,改善土壤供钾能力,以有机无机肥料配施作用为优。     

Ethics,ecology and development: Styles of ethics and styles of agriculture

This paper proposes to test the ethical acceptability of four styles of agricultural resource management: (1) contemporary industrial integrated systems agriculture, (2) modern industrial input dependent agriculture, (3) continuous traditional agriculture and (4) non-continuous (or swidden) traditional agriculture. The test of ethical acceptability is whether or not these styles of agricultural resource management embrace or are even compatible with that pattern of practical reasoning and interaction among ethical agents which we have independent theoretic grounds for preferring. The preferred sorts of practical reasoning and interaction are those which we find operating in ethical theories which are strongly committed to letting the discretion of ethical agents construct what is right for them to do. Thus the discussion distinguishes several different strengths of constructivist ethics relating them to the work of John Rawls, Immanuel Kant and Onora O'Neill. Then it argues for the theoretic preferability of one particular strength of constructivist ethic. The paper winds up by arguing that only traditional continuous agriculture embodies the preferred sort of practical reasoning and interaction among ethical agents. Further, I argue that this is the only style of agriculture which can embody such reasoning and patterns of interaction. Thus, as we consider the role of agriculture in our plans of international development, we have one reason to try to favor traditional continuous agriculture. To do otherwise would ignore the ethical superiority of the practical reasoning and patterns of interaction of traditional agriculturalists.