Rapid economic growth in Asia and the increasing transboundary movement of secondary resources will increasingly require both
3R endeavors (reduce, reuse, recycle) in each country and appropriate control of international material cycles. Recently,
managing electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) has become an important target for domestic and international material
cycles from the viewpoints of environmental preservation and resource utilization efficiency. To understand the current status
of E-waste issues in the context of international material cycles and to discuss the future tasks related to achieving 3R
in the region, we organized the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) E-waste Workshop in December 2004. This
article reviews past studies on E-waste and briefly describes the topics presented and discussions held at the workshop. The
topics at the workshop included E-waste generation, recycling systems, international trade, and environmental impacts. In
addition, we discussed various issues such as terminology, current environmental concerns, and possible solutions. Transboundary
shipments of E-waste should be conducted taking into consideration the concept of sustainable development. The direction of
future research and possible collaborations are also discussed. 相似文献
The performance of a wetland system in treating lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) mine drainage was evaluated by using the polyurethane
foam unit (PFU) microbial community (method), which has been adopted by China as a standardized procedure for monitoring water
quality. The wetland system consisted of four cells with three dominant plants: Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Paspalum distichum. Physicochemical characteristics [pH, EC, content of total suspended solid (TSS) and metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu)] and PFU
microbial community in water samples had been investigated from seven sampling sites. The results indicated that the concentrations
of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and TSS in the mine drainage were gradually reduced from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system
and 99%, 98%, 75%, 83%, and 68% of these metals and TSS respectively, had been reduced in concentration after the drainage
passed through the wetland system. A total of 105 protozoan species were identified, the number of protozoa species and the
diversity index (DI) gradually increased, while the heterotrophic index (HI) gradually decreased from the inlet to the outlet
of the wetland system. The results indicated that DI, HI, and total number species of protozoa could be used as biological
indicators indicating the improvement of water quality. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water conservation and soil retention are two essential regulating services that are closely related, and their relationship might produce synergies... 相似文献
Environmental restoration projects are commonly touted for their ecological positives, but such projects can also provide significant socioeconomic and cultural benefits to local communities. We assessed the social dimensions of a large-scale coral reef restoration project in Maunalua Bay, O‘ahu, where >1.32 million kg of invasive marine macroalgae was removed from 11 hectares (90,000 m2; 23 acres) of impacted coral reef in an urbanized setting. We interviewed 131 community stakeholders and analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data to assess human uses of the environment, assess perceptions of environmental health, and characterize social dimensions (+/?) associated with the invasive algae removal effort. Results indicate substantial direct economic benefits, including the creation of more than 60+ jobs, benefiting more than 250 individuals and 81 households. The project helped develop a skilled workforce in a local business dedicated to environmental restoration and increased the capacity of community organizations to address other threats to reefs and watersheds. Other major benefits include revitalization of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and traditions and the successful use of harvested invasive algae as compost by local farmers. Our results show the project heightened community awareness and a broader sense of stewardship in the area, creating enabling conditions for collective community action. Our findings show that restoration projects that explicitly incorporate efforts to build community awareness, involvement, and a shared responsibility for a site may ultimately create the long-term capacity for sustainable stewardship programs. We conclude by discussing lessons learned for engaging productively with communities in environmental restoration and stewardship, which remains a central focus in conservation worldwide. 相似文献
Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has inflicted huge threats to the health of mankind. Metal pollution could be a potential risk factor of PTC occurrence, but existing relevant epidemiological researches are limited. The current case-control study was designed to evaluate the relationships between exposure to multiple metals and the risk of PTC. A total of 262 histologically confirmed PTC cases were recruited. Age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled at the same time. Urine samples were used as biomarkers to reflect the levels of environmental exposure to 13 metals. Conditional logistic regression models were adopted to assess the potential association. Single-metal and multi-metal models were separately conducted to evaluate the impacts of single and co-exposure to 13 metals. The increased concentration of urinary Cd, Cu, Fe, and Pb quartiles was found significant correlated with PTC risk. We also found the decreased trends of urinary Se, Zn, and Mn quartiles with the ORs for PTC. These dose-response associations between Pb and PTC were observed in the single-metal model and remained significant in the multi-metal model (OR25-50th=1.39, OR50-75th=3.32, OR>75th=7.62, p for trend <0.001). Our study suggested that PTC was positively associated with urinary levels of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and inversely associated with Se, Zn, and Mn. Targeted public health policies should be made to improve the environment and the recognition of potential risk factors. These findings need additional studies to confirm in other population.