Characteristics and management of domestic waste in a rural area of the Tibetan Plateau

In the rural area of the Tibetan Plateau (RATP), the characteristics of domestic waste, people’s environmental awareness, people’s willingness to pay and their influence factors were firstly studied by questionnaires, field samplings and laboratory tests. The results showed that, in the RATP, the generation of domestic waste was 85 g?d-1 per capita and it was mainly composed of plastics, inert waste, kitchen waste, glass and paper. The waste bulk density, moisture content, ash, combustible and low calorific value were 65 kg?m-3, 19.25%, 44.90%, 35.85% and 10,520 kJ?kg-1 respectively. These characteristics are influenced by income sources and geographical position to some extent. Classified collection should be promoted widely on the household and the village basis. Compost, fermentation, landfill, bioreactor landfill and semi-aerobic landfill have been approved as effective techniques to treat domestic waste, except incineration. The distance of 50–800 m between each collection facility and the disposal fee of around $0.8 per month per household are suggested. For suburbs or large population villages, it’s better to treat domestic waste by the centralized way. But for the remote rural areas, a decentralized way is proposed. Significantly, the educational and economic influence should be considered into an effective domestic waste management program.

Implications:?The current situatio n of the environment in the rural areas of the Tibetan Plateau (RATP) was surveyed. There, the generation of organics and moisture of domestic waste were low but ash, recyclables, and combustibles were high. People’s knowledge of domestic waste was absent but their participation in management was strong. Based on the current situation, compost, fermentation, and landfill were effective but incineration was inappropriate. Also, a localized mini landfill for a cluster of villages and or settlements was the best method there.     

H(+)/phenanthrene symporter and aquaglyceroporin are implicated in phenanthrene uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants that are toxic to human and nonhuman organisms. Dietary intake of PAHs is a dominant route of exposure for the general population because food crops are a major source of dietary PAHs. The mechanism for crop root uptake of PAHs remains unclear. Here we reveal that wheat root uptake of PAHs involves active and passive processes. The passive uptake is mercury and glycerol dependent. Mercury and glycerol inhibit uptake, indicating that aquaglyceroporins sensitive to mercury contribute to passive uptake. Active uptake is mediated by a phenanthrene/H symporter. The electrical response of wheat roots triggered by phenanthrene consists of two sequential phases: depolarization followed by repolarization. The depolarization is phenanthrene concentration dependent, with saturation kinetics that have an apparent of K(m) 10.8 μmol L(-1). As uptake proceeds, external solution pH increase is noticed. Lower pH favors the uptake. Vanadate and 2,4-dinitrophenol suppress the electrical response to phenanthrene and phenanthrene uptake, suggesting that plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase is involved in the establishment of an electrochemical proton gradient acting as a driving force for active uptake. Therefore, it is suggested that aquaglyceroporin and phenanthrene/H symporter are implicated in phenanthrene uptake. Our results provide insight into PAH uptake mechanism in wheat roots that is relevant to strategies for reducing PAH accumulation in wheat for food safety, improving phytoremediation of PAH-contaminated soils or water by agronomic practices and genetic modification to target remedial plants for higher PAH uptake capacity.     

充分利用环保倒逼机制促进产业结构调整升级

淄博市污染聚集,环境质量易受外来因素影响,产业结构不合理,污染物排放量大,排放强度高。但其充分发挥环保的倒逼作用,通过建立健全环保政策法规体系,严格执行高于省及国家标准的地方环保标准,大力发展高新技术和现代服务业,加快改造传统产业,极大地促进了产业结构升级和经济发展方式的转变。     

Historical change of mercury pollution in remote Yongle archipelago, South China Sea

We collected three ornithogenic coral sand sedimentary profiles from Jinyin Island, Jinqing Island and Guangjin Island of Yongle archipelago, South China Sea and reconstructed the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg over the past 700 years in the study area. On the whole, the anthropogenic Hg flux is relatively low; it remained at a low level before the Industrial Revolution with a small peak at about 1450-1550 AD, which may record the enhanced metallurgy activity in Ming Dynasty of China. During the 20th century, the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg increased rapidly, but two troughs occurred during the periods around 1940s and 1970s, corresponding to the economic depression caused by World War II, Civil War in China (1945-1949), and the Culture Revolution (1966-1976) in China. Since the 1970s the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg has been persistently increasing, apparently the result of fast economic development in East and Southeast Asia countries around South China Sea.     

Effect of humic acids on physicochemical property and Cd(II) sorption of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Zinc pyrithione is used as an antifouling agent. However, the environmental impacts of zinc pyrithione have recently been of concern. Zinc induces diverse actions during oxidative stress; therefore, we examined the effect of zinc pyrithione on rat thymocytes suffering from oxidative stress using appropriate fluorescent probes. The cytotoxicity of zinc pyrithione was not observed when the cells were incubated with 3 μM zinc pyrithione for 3 h. However, zinc pyrithione at nanomolar concentrations (10 nM or more) significantly increased the lethality of cells suffering from oxidative stress induced by 3 mM H₂O₂. The application of zinc pyrithione alone at nanomolar concentrations increased intracellular Zn²⁺ level and the cellular content of superoxide anions, and decreased the cellular content of nonprotein thiols. The simultaneous application of nanomolar zinc pyrithione and micromolar H₂O₂ synergistically increased the intracellular Zn²⁺ level. Therefore, zinc pyrithione at nanomolar concentrations may exert severe cytotoxic action on cells simultaneously exposed to chemicals that induce oxidative stress. If so, zinc pyrithione leaked from antifouling materials into surrounding environments would be a risk factor for aquatic ecosystems. Alternatively, zinc pyrithione under conditions of oxidative stress may become more potent antifouling ingredient.     

Ozonation as an advanced oxidant in treatment of bamboo industry wastewater

The present study employed ozonation process to treat the bamboo industry wastewater (BIWW). The impact of ozone dosage and initial organic concentration on color, COD and TOC removal rates were studied along with characterization of the major organics in raw and treated wastewater. The results suggested the ozone dosage of 3.15 g h⁻¹ (concentration 52.5 mg L⁻¹) was suitable for the treatment. After 25 min ozonation of 1 L raw wastewater, the color, COD and TOC removal efficiencies were 95%, 56% and 40%, respectively, with an influent COD concentration of 835 mg L⁻¹. The ratio of kg O₃ kg⁻¹ COD at 3.15 g h⁻¹ was 2.8 (<3), revealing that ozonation was a cost effective process for tertiary treatment of BIWW. Longer oxidization time was required to achieve similar results for raw wastewater with higher COD concentration. The chromatogram from gel permeation chromatography revealed that ozonation resulted in the breakdown of high molecular weight compounds into lower molecular weight components but could not completely mineralize the organic matter. The majority of these compounds were identified in both raw and ozonated samples via GC-MS analysis. In addition to ester derivatives as the main intermediates of ozonation, 1-chloroctadecane, methyl stearate, benzophenone and α-cyperone were identified as the by-products of ozonation.     

Can body-size patterns of ciliated zooplankton be used for assessing marine water quality? A case study on bioassessment in Jiaozhou Bay, northern Yellow Sea

Introduction

In order to reveal the potential relationships between body-size patterns of microzooplankton and environmental status, the spatial patterns in body-size spectra of ciliated zooplanktons were studied based on an annual dataset in a bay of the Yellow Sea, northern China.

Materials and methods

A total of 120 samples were collected at a depth of 1?m from each of five sampling sites with a spatial gradient of environmental stress from June 2007 to May 2008. A range of physico-chemical variables were measured synchronously for comparison with biotic parameters.

Results

The spatial body-size patterns of ciliated zooplankton represented significant differences among the five sites, and were significantly correlated with the changes of physico-chemical parameters, especially salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients. Two paired indices, the average body-size distinctness (AvBSD) and the variation in body-size distinctness (VarBSD), were proposed based on the trait resemblances among ciliate species in body-size pattern. The paired measures showed a clear decreasing trend of departure from the expected body-size spectra in response to water quality status.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the body-size pattern of ciliated zooplankton might be used as a potential indicator of marine water quality.     

Biofilm formation and microbial community analysis of the simulated river bioreactor for contaminated source water remediation

Background, aim, and scope

The start-up pattern of biofilm remediation system affects the biofilm characteristics and operating performances. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of the contaminated source water remediation systems with different start-up patterns in view of the pollutants removal performances and microbial community succession.

Methods

The operating performances of four lab-scale simulated river biofilm reactors were examined which employed different start-up methods (natural enrichment and artificial enhancement viadischarging sediment with influent velocity gradient increase) and different bio-fillers (Elastic filler and AquaMats? ecobase). At the same time, the microbial communities of the bioreactors in different phases were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing.

Results and discussion

The pollutants removal performances became stable in the four reactors after 2 months?? operation, with ammonia nitrogen and permanganate index (COD_Mn) removal efficiencies of 84.41?C94.21% and 69.66?C76.60%, respectively. The biomass of mature biofilm was higher in the bioreactors by artificial enhancement than that by natural enrichment. Microbial community analysis indicated that elastic filler could enrich mature biofilm faster than AquaMats?. The heterotrophic bacteria diversity of biofilm decreased by artificial enhancement, which favored the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) developing on the bio-fillers. Furthermore, Nitrosomonas- and Nitrosospira-like AOB coexisted in the biofilm, and Pseudomonas sp., Sphaerotilus sp., Janthinobacterium sp., Corynebacterium aurimucosum were dominant in the oligotrophic niche.

Conclusion

Artificial enhancement via the combination of sediment discharging and influent velocity gradient increasing could enhance the biofilm formation and autotrophic AOB enrichment in oligotrophic niche.     

Environmental lead pollution threatens the children living in the Pearl River Delta region, China

Introduction and purpose

The objective of this study is to determine children??s blood lead levels and identify sources of lead exposure. Childhood lead exposure constitutes a major pediatric health problem today in China. A blood lead screening survey program for children in the age group of 2?C12?years residing in Pearl River Delta region, south of China, was carried out from Dec 2007 to Jan 2008.

Methods

Blood lead levels and lead isotope ratios of a total of 761 participants were assessed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Measurements of urban environmental samples for source identification of children lead exposure were also performed.

Results and conclusions

The geometric mean value of the children??s blood lead levels was 57.05???g/L, and 9.6% of them were higher than 100???g/L. The blood lead levels were still much higher than those in developed countries. Based on the data of environmental lead source inventories, lead isotopic tracing revealed that there is about 6.7% past used gasoline Pb embedded in Shenzhen residential dust and about 15.6% in Guangzhou dust, respectively.     

不同粒径零价铁（ZVI）对污水污泥H_2S和CH_4释放速率的影响

考察了不同粒径零价铁（ZVI）,包括200目普通铁粉（200m-ZVI）、800目超细铁粉（800m-ZVI）和纳米铁粉（nZVI,粒径=20 nm）,对污水污泥的硫化氢和甲烷释放速率的影响。研究发现：（1）在22 d内,添加0.1%的200m-ZVI使污泥的硫化氢释放速率提高48.0%,而添加0.1%的800-ZVI和nZVI,则使污泥的硫化氢释放速率分别降低33.1%和77.1%;（2）不同粒径ZVI均可以提高污泥沼气中的甲烷浓度,且依次为nZVI〉800m-ZVI〉200m-ZVI;（3）在23 d内,添加0.1%的200m-ZVI和nZVI使污泥的甲烷累计产生量分别提高了15.5%和40.6%,而添加0.1%800m-ZVI则使甲烷产生量降低了12.5%。nZVI可以有效控制污泥的硫化氢释放,并显著提升污泥在厌氧发酵过程的产甲烷速率。