Persistence of culturable Escherichia coli fecal contaminants in dairy alpine grassland soils

Our knowledge of Escherichia coli (E. coli) ecology in the field is very limited in the case of dairy alpine grassland soils. Here, our objective was to monitor field survival of E. coli in cow pats and underlying soils in four different alpine pasture units, and to determine whether the soil could constitute an environmental reservoir. E. coli was enumerated by MPN using a selective medium. E. coli survived well in cow pats (10(7) to 10(8) cells g(-1) dry pat), but cow pats disappeared within about 2 mo. In each pasture unit, constant levels of E. coli (10(3) to 10(4) cells g(-1) dry soil) were recovered from all topsoil (0-5 cm) samples regardless of the sampling date, that is, under the snow cover, immediately after snow melting, or during the pasture season (during and after the decomposition of pats). In deeper soil layers below the root zone (5-25 cm), E. coli persistence varied according to soil type, with higher numbers recovered in poorly-drained soils (10(3) to 10(4) cells g(-1) dry soil) than in well-drained soils (< 10(2) cells g(-1) dry soil). A preliminary analysis of 38 partial uidA sequences of E. coli from pat and soils highlighted a cluster containing sequences only found in this work. Overall, this study raises the possibility that fecal E. coli could have formed a naturalized (sub)population, which is now part of the indigenous soil community of alpine pasture grasslands, the soil thus representing an environmental reservoir of E. coli.     

Occurrence of organic contaminants in sewage sludges from eleven wastewater treatment plants, China

This study presents the occurrence of 43 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) listed as priority pollutants by both China and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in sewage sludges collected from eleven wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of mainland and Hong Kong, China. Thirty-six SVOCs were detected by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and at least 14 in each sample. The most abundant compounds were phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with total concentrations ranging from 10 to 114mgkg(-1) dry weight (d.w.) (with a mean of 30mgkg(-1) d.w.) and from 1.4 to 33mgkg(-1)d.w. (with a mean of 16mgkg(-1) d.w.), respectively, followed by chlorobenzenes, nitroaromatics, haloethers and halogenated hydrocarbons which occurred generally at concentrations lower than 10mgkg(-1) d.w. Large variations were observed between the concentrations of individual compounds as well as their total concentrations in sludge samples from different WWTPs. The highest values of sum concentration of 16 PAHs and of 6 PAEs were found in sewage sludge from Beijing. The mean total concentration of each class of SVOCs in sewage sludge from mainland was remarkably higher than that from Hong Kong. The concentrations of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in 91% sludge samples met the limit (100mgkg(-1)d.w.) proposed by the Europe Union for land application, whereas the PAH concentrations of 64% sludge samples exceeded the maximum permissible concentration (6.0mgkg(-1)d.w.). The occurrence of SVOCs in this study are compared with other studies and their sources are discussed.     

Characteristics of photocatalytic oxidation of toluene, benzene, and their mixture

The investigation of the photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of multicomponent volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is very important to the application of PCO technology, because there is seldom a single VOC component in indoor air. In this paper, the characteristics of binary indoor VOCs, toluene and benzene, were experimentally studied using a mass transfer based method that we developed. The concentration ranges for toluene and benzene were 4.48-27.4 mg/m3 and 1.82-4.08 mg/m3, respectively. We found the following: (1) the PCO of each individual contaminant studied obeys the unimolecular form of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) rate form; (2) the PCO of the binary contaminants follow the competitive adsorption L-H rate form; (3) the reaction-coefficient for PCO of individual contaminants differs from that in the competitive adsorption L-H rate form; and (4) the component impact factor of A to B, put forward in this paper, is a useful parameter describing the influence of A on the reaction coefficient of B, and it was found that the impact factor of toluene (a chemically active component) on benzene (a chemically stable component) is high, and the impact factor of benzene on toluene is low.     

Conducting in-depth accident studies

In 1983 the Accident Research Unit at the Institute for Consumer Ergonomics began a major study, sponsored by the UK Department of Transport and three motor companies, to investigate the causes of injury to occupants in car accidents. This study has been under way for nearly ten years and the database of information is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. This information plays a key role in establishing the priorities for safety research in the UK, based on real life accident data. This paper is concerned with the practical aspects of the collection and analysis of real life accident data. Issues include the establishment and maintenance of collaboration with police forces, hospital consultants and coroners; recruitment and training of staff; accident sampling; data quality control and large scale project management. The case is also made for the need to establish a coordinated European database of accident information to facilitate the development of appropriate safety requirements and to set priorities for safety research in Europe.     

我国电子废弃物收集体系构想

解决中国电子废弃物问题，一是控制电子废弃物进入非正式循环利用者手中；二是把非正式循环利用系统纳入良好的电子废弃物管理系统，使之成为更有效和对环境友好的系统。因此，如何把千家万户废弃的电子废弃物有效收集起来，是关系到电子废弃物管理和循环利用的重要环节。在我国建立良好的电子废弃物收集体系，应以市场经济和目前我国“城乡二元经济”为基础，建立具有收集主体多元化、收集方式多样化，收集途径多渠道等特点的电子废弃物收集体系。     

重金属离子(Hg2+,Cu2+,Ag+)对鲮鱼咳嗽反应的影响

研究了重金属离子(Hg~(2+)、Cu~(2+)、Ag~+)对鲮鱼(Cirrhinus molitorella)咳嗽反应(cough response)的影响,并探讨利用这种反应作为生物监测水质重金属污染的可能性。实验结果表明,鲮鱼咳嗽反应的频率明显地随溶液中重金属离子浓度的增加而急剧增加。鲮鱼经受含三种重金属离子的混合溶液处理时,其反应比用含单一离子的溶液处理时强烈,提示重金属离子对鱼类呼吸运动机能的影响可能有协同作用。     

广州感潮河段西航道水源水体富营养化限制因素的研究

随着城区的不断扩大，广州市饮用水源地水质日益变差，部分潮汐水体曾经出现富营养化的现象，控制污染，保护水源的饮用水安全已经越来越迫切。文章通过现场水体水样的氮、磷实验，找出水体富营养化的限制因素，为控制水污染提供有效的科学依据。     

酸雨判别基准值探讨

根据大气中实际存在的一些痕量气体(如SO_2,,H_2S,NH_3,HCl,HNO_3和HNO_2)的背景浓度的新近资料,利用化学平衡模式进行了计算。结果表明,这些本底痕量气体和降雨强度均影响降水的酸度,使其pH值在3.93—4.46范围内。此外,气溶胶的酸碱性和浓度也强烈影响降水的酸度。同时考虑大气中痕量气体背景浓度和碳酸钙后,降水的pH值在4.0—5.4之间。对降水酸度随降雨强度变化的规律,用Lowry-Bronsted的酸碱质子理论作了解释。     

灭幼脲Ⅲ号在土壤中的吸附与淋溶

用批量平衡法研究了昆虫生长调节剂灭幼脲Ⅲ号在四种不同类型土壤中的吸附行为,测定其吸附常数,给出吸附等温线;并研究了它在上述四种土壤中的淋溶行为.结果表明,Freun-dlich经验公式能较好地描述灭幼脲Ⅲ号在土壤中的吸附状况.试验表明,该农药在土壤中的迁移能力较差。