Degradation of PCDD, PCDF, PAH, PCB and chlorinated phenols during the destruction-treatment of landfill seepage water in laboratory model reactor (UV, Ozone, and UV/Ozone)

Seepage water of toxic waste landfills is polluted with high concentrations of toxic organic compounds. The concentrations in the seepage water we applied for chlorinated phenols are between 2 μg/1 and 1 mg/l, for PCB between 800 pg/l and 250 ng/l, for PAH between 200 ng/l and 12 μg/l and for PCDD and PCDF between 20 pg/l and 1 ng/l. Usual purification methods produce highly contaminated residues, which have to be treated by pyrolysis or are deposited again at a landfill. A better way is to destruct these contaminants by UV/ozone treatment. The treatment of seepage water by UV-irradiation, ozone and UV/ozone is compared. Results show no significant effect during all treatments for PCB and PCDD/PCDF. The chlorinated phenols and PAH were mostly destroyed by UV/ozone treatment more than 90 %. The pH value has no influence on the UV/ozone treatment of seepage water.     

Multivariate Bayesian analysis of atmosphere–ocean general circulation models

Numerical experiments based on atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) are one of the primary tools in deriving projections for future climate change. Although each AOGCM has the same underlying partial differential equations modeling large scale effects, they have different small scale parameterizations and different discretizations to solve the equations, resulting in different climate projections. This motivates climate projections synthesized from results of several AOGCMs’ output. We combine present day observations, present day and future climate projections in a single highdimensional hierarchical Bayes model. The challenging aspect is the modeling of the spatial processes on the sphere, the number of parameters and the amount of data involved. We pursue a Bayesian hierarchical model that separates the spatial response into a large scale climate change signal and an isotropic process representing small scale variability among AOGCMs. Samples from the posterior distributions are obtained with computer-intensive MCMC simulations. The novelty of our approach is that we use gridded, high resolution data covering the entire sphere within a spatial hierarchical framework. The primary data source is provided by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) and consists of 9 AOGCMs on a 2.8 by 2.8 degree grid under several different emission scenarios. In this article we consider mean seasonal surface temperature and precipitation as climate variables. Extensions to our model are also discussed.     

The organic geochemistry of a sanitary landfill leachate plume

Leachate from the North Bay municipal landfill has contaminated an unconfined, sandy aquifer throughout the 700 m flow system from the site to a discharge zone at a creek. The major organic contaminants identified are aromatic hydrocarbons, especially substituted benzenes. The high groundwater velocity of about 75 m yr⁻¹ and the low organic sorption properties of the sand have permitted non-transformed contaminants to spread throughout the total flow system. There is considerable temporal and spatial variability in groundwater chemistry.Most of the aqueous organic carbon has a nominal molecular weight of <2000 and the general decrease in the mass of this fraction relative to Cl indicates it is being mineralized significantly during transport. IR spectra indicate a general trend of increased aromaticity and decreased OH content of organic matter along the flow system. The aqueous organic matter has a significant apparent complexing capacity and so it is somewhat surprising that toxic metal concentrations in leachate-impacted groundwaters are low. In the leachate plume, this complexing capacity is taken up by major cations and H⁺ and to a far lesser extent by toxic metals such as Pb, Cd or Zn.Dispersion is clearly responsible for considerable decrease in contaminant concentration along the flow system. Biotransformation under strictly anaerobic conditions has probably caused 1,1,1-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene to be restricted to the immediate vicinity of the landfill. A simple method of comparing the concentrations of pairs of organics at points along the flow system provides relative transformation rates for pairs of organics even with variable inputs from the landfill and dispersive dilution. Relative to ethylbenzene, o-xylene is rapidly lost from this system. O-xylene may be less persistent than m- or p-xylene; a result unexpected from previous studies of these dimethylbenzenes. In the initial, strictly anarobic segment of the flow system 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene are equally persistent, but in the final, less anaerobic segment, the former appears to be degraded more rapidly than the latter.Contaminant distributions in aquifers reflect the results of a number of processes integrated in a complex manner and so are difficult to interpret in terms of specific processes. However, they do provide evidence for what processes are most significant in real groundwater systems and they will also provide critical tests of how well laboratory-derived information relates to real groundwater contamination situations.     

垂直流人工湿地系统中水流规律的研究

对一种新型的垂直流人工湿地系统的水流特性进行了研究。考察了系统的运行状况及介质中滞留区的分布范围，并且运用化学工程中反应器理论，采用示踪剂试验的方法得到了垂直流人工湿地系统的停留时间分布与污水的实际停留时间。根据水流停留时间分布函数对系统实际液流流态进行了数学模拟，提出二级串联的理想完全混合反应器（CSTR）模型能够较好地模拟垂直流人工湿地系统中水流的流动形态。     

1,2-Dichlorobenzene Marine Risk Assessment with Special Reference to the Osparcom Region: North Sea

This risk assessment on 1,2-dichlorobenzene was carried out for the marine environment, following methodology given in the EU risk assessment Regulation (1488/94) and Guidance Document of the EU New and Existing Substances Regulation (TGD, 1996). Data from analytical monitoring programmes in large rivers and estuaries in the North Sea area were collected and evaluated on effects and environmental concentrations. Risk is indicated by the ratio of predicted environmental concentration (PEC) to predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) for the marine aquatic environment. In total, 26 data for fish, 24 data for invertebrates and 17 data for algae were evaluated. Acute and chronic toxicity studies were taken into account and appropriate assessment factors used to define a final PNEC value of 37 microg/l. All available monitoring data indicate that 1,2-dichlorobenzene levels in estuaries are below 0.1 microg/l. Worst case concentrations in rivers are below 0.45 microg/l. With this value, calculated PEC/PNEC ratios give safety margins of 100 to 300, taking no account of dilution in the sea. 1,2-dichlorobenzene is not a 'toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate' substance sensu the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution (OSPAR-DYNAMEC) criteria. Environmental fate and effects data indicate that current use of 1,2-dichlorobenzene poses no risk to the aquatic environment.     

Terrestrial snails as quantitative indicators of environmental metal pollution

Concentrations of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc were measured in individuals of Arianta arbustorum from different urban sampling sites. In comparison to snails from a reference site, the animals collected in the city showed higher concentrations of cadmium, lead, and copper, indicating elevated levels of metal pollution. The most pronounced difference in tissue concentrations between control animals and contaminated snails was observed for lead. Within the city, metal levels in snails differed significantly, even between adjacent populations. Arianta arbustorum is a suitable species for biomonitoring, because it is widespread, resident and easy to collect; it has a high capacity for metal accumulation and shows different concentrations depending on metal contamination of the sampling area. An interspecific comparison of metal concentrations in terrestrial gastropods was conducted to define background levels and classes of burden. Three pollution levels are distinguished on the basis of the snails' metal burden: no pollution (class 1: reference sites), moderate (class 2: traffic and other human activities in urban areas), and high pollution (class 3: mining and heavy industry).     

Climate change adaptation at different levels of government: Characteristics and conditions of policy change

Climate change adaptation strategies that aim to minimize harm and maximize benefits related to climate change impacts have mushroomed at all levels of government in recent years. While many studies have explored barriers that stand in the way of their implementation, the factors determining their potential to mainstream adaptation into various sectors are less clear. In the present paper, we aim to address this gap for two international, six national, and six local adaptation strategies. Based on document analyses and 35 semi‐structured interviews, the 14 case studies also explore in how far the factors facilitating climate change adaptation are similar across levels of government or level‐specific. Although located at three different levels of government, we find that the 14 adaptation strategies analyzed here represent “one‐size‐fits‐all governance arrangements” that are characterized by voluntariness and a lack institutionalization. Since adaptation strategies are relatively weak coordination hubs that are unable to force adaptation onto sectoral policy agendas, they rely mainly on sectoral self‐interest in adapting to climate change, largely determined by problem pressure. We conclude that one‐size‐fits‐all governance arrangements are rarely adequate responses to complex challenges, such as climate change. Although climate change adaptation depends more on framework conditions such as problem pressure than on administrative or governance features, the findings presented here can help to understand under what circumstances adaptation is likely to make progress.