Dermal exposure to pesticides in greenhouses workers: discrimination and selection of variables for the design of monitoring programs

Dermal exposure to pesticides is one of the main sanitaryproblems which greenhouses workers face. With the dual aimsof establishing both the body part that receives the greatestexposure and the variable that has greatest influence on this exposure level, 22 pesticide application trials were performed. Trials were carried out in different greenhouse vegetable crops,using different pesticides and different spray diameters from the spray gun. In order to determine dermal exposure, the wholebody method was used. Pieces of the applicator suit were subject to an extraction procedure and their pesticide contentdetermined using GC-NPD analysis. Multivariate analysis were applied to the data obtained. Principal component analysis showed that all trials produced a high exposure level on lowerleft leg and lower right leg. Cluster analysis distinguished between three sample groups. The most and the least affectedparts were clearly distinguished. Discriminant analysis indicated that the thin drop size of the spray gun is responsible for both the differences between groups and the minimum or maximum exposure level measured on the applicatorsuit. Therefore, selecting the variables, lower legs and thindrop size, is considered fundamental in designing programs formonitoring pesticide exposure.     

The determination of carbonyl compounds in air using a robotic sampling preparation system integrated to a gas chromatograph with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector

A totally automated solid phase extraction gas chromatography procedure was developed for the sampling and analysis of carbonyl compounds in air. In this system, two PrepStation modules were used, one for the preparation and elution of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine silica cartridges, and the other for air sampling. The sample collected by the sampling module was eluted to an autosampler vial in the PrepStation module and then transferred to the gas chromatograph for analysis via a robotic arm. The sampling module was modified to enable air sampling via an external pump. A typical run by this technique required 142 min, 100 min for air sampling and 42 min for the other operations, including a GC analysis time of 25 min. Recoveries of at least 85% were obtained for all compounds studied. The detection limits for formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone were 2.2, 2.7 and 2.2 ppbv, respectively. All operations, including the conditioning of the cartridges, were performed without any intervention from the analyst.     

Evaluation of a novel structural model to describe the endogenous release of lead from bone

The aim of this paper was to assess the endogenous release of lead from bone to blood, in 204 exposed subjects. resuming their duties after a 10-month strike in a primary lead smelter in 1991. In vivo 109Cd K X-ray Fluorescence (109Cd K XRF) was used to measure the bone lead concentration in tibia and calcaneus in the smelter, in 1994 and five years later. The 1994 data were used to derive the post-strike bone lead concentrations retrospectively from the significant association between bone lead and the cumulative blood lead index (CBLI). When a linear model was used to predict the current blood lead upon the level of lead in bone, structural analysis of the data produced slopes for tibia (2.0, 95% CI 1.66-2.54) and calcaneus (0.19, 95% CI 0.16-0.23) that were significantly higher than those predicted by the commonly used simple linear regression method, for tibia (0.73, 95%, CI 0.58-0.88) and calcaneus (0.08, 95% CI 0.06-0.09). This suggests that more lead than previously predicted by regression is released from bone to blood. Furthermore, the structural analysis of the data produced an estimation of the contribution of the bone lead stores to the bloodstream that was more consistent with the 1999 epidemiological data than did the regression estimation. Moreover, a non-linear relationship between tibia lead and blood lead was suggested from the assumption checking procedures for regression. When a non-linear regression model was fit to the data, the method produced estimates of important parameters in human lead kinetics, namely the blood lead saturation constant, showing a good agreement with current knowledge of lead metabolism. Finally, the likelihood of a non-linear bone lead release seems to be supported by the recently described dependence of the half-life of lead in bone on age and intensity of occupational exposure.     

膜生物反应器在汽爆稻草秸秆酶解中应用研究

以汽爆稻草秸秆为原料,通过将几个酶解罐串联来提高最终还原糖浓度.考察了酶浓度,酶解单元组成以及稀释率对汽爆稻草秸秆酶解的影响.结果表明,最佳条件为:20FPU/g,酶解单元由4个酶解罐组成,稀释率为0.075/h.在此条件下,酶解时间为24h时,与传统批次酶解相比,汽爆稻草秸秆总转化率从18%～21%提高到39.5%.与只有1个酶解罐的膜反应器相比,每g底物还原糖产量从0.25g提高到0.4g,最终所得还原糖的平均浓度从4.56g/L提高到27.23g/L.     

Utilization of pulverized fuel ash in Malta

In Malta all of the waste produced is mixed and deposited at various sites around the island. None of these sites were purpose built, and all of the waste is above groundwater level. The landfills are not engineered and do not contain any measures to collect leachate and gases emanating from the disposal sites. Another waste, which is disposed of in landfills, is pulverized fuel ash (PFA), which is a by-product of coal combustion by the power station. This has been disposed of in landfill, because its use has been precluded due to the radioactivity of the ashes. The aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition of the pulverized fuel ash and to attempt to utilize it as a cement replacement in normal concrete mixes in the construction industry. The levels of radiation emitted from the ashes were measured by gamma spectrometry. The results of this study revealed that although at early ages cement replacement by PFA resulted in a reduction in compressive strength (P=0), when compared to the reference concrete at later ages the strengths measured on concrete cores were comparable to the reference concrete (P>0.05). The utilization of PFA up to 20% cement replacement in concrete did not raise the radioactivity of the concrete. In conclusion, utilization of PFA in the construction industry would be a better way of disposing of the ashes rather than controlling the leachate and any radioactivity emitted by the landfilled ashes.     

复杂污染源下采煤沉陷区土壤重金属分布及行为特征

采用数理统计学、克里金插值等方法研究安徽淮北采煤沉陷区土壤中Cu、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni、Pb、As和Hg等元素空间分布及其行为特征.结果表明:土壤中Zn平均值是农用地土壤污染风险筛选值的1.1倍,其他元素未超过筛选值.Cu富集在工业园区南部,Zn、As富集在两河交汇处、工业园区南部,Cd、Pb和Hg富集在沉陷区西部,Cr、Ni富集在沉陷区东部、西部;土壤剖面上Cu最大值出现在80 cm处,Ni最大值在40 cm处,其他元素最大值均在20 cm处.土壤中元素迁移程度为Cu最高,Zn、Cr、Hg和As最低;土壤中Cd活化率较高,达到27.1％,易被植物吸收富集.     

Reservoir sedimentation and environmental degradation: assessing trends in sediment-associated trace elements in Grenada Lake, Mississippi

Sediments impounded within flood control reservoirs are potentially important archives of environmental and geomorphic processes occurring within drainage basins. The concentrations of select sediment-associated trace elements were assessed within the impoundment of Grenada Lake, a relatively large flood control reservoir in Mississippi with a history of contaminant bioaccumulation in fish. The post-construction sediments (after 1954) are discriminated from the pre-construction sediments (before 1954) based on depth variations in sediment texture and 137Cs emissions. The concentrations of select trace elements of the post-1954 sediments all are statistically greater than the pre-1954 sediments, and these same sediments also are enriched in clay. Once these concentrations are normalized by clay content, all trace elements in the post-1954 sediments are lower in concentration than the pre-1954 normalized sediments. Moreover, the trace elements when normalized by clay or Al content show virtually no change vertically (over time) within the reservoir impoundment. This suggests that the sources of these sediment-associated trace elements within Grenada Lake, whether natural or anthropogenic, have not changed appreciably over the lifespan of the reservoir and that the degradation of sedimentologic and ecologic indices within the lake are due to the sequestration of clay or clay-sized materials.     

做个节水的"水龙王"

这段时间,齐鲁股份公司烯烃厂动力车间技术主任郭希柱的脸上,总是洋溢着春风般的笑容:动力装置两个大的节水改造项目,在3月份相继成功投用,每月节水量接近2万吨!这样的结果给一年多来为节水减排殚精竭虑的郭希柱带来怎样的满足和成就感!     

储层物性参数对CO_2长期封存能力的影响研究

为系统研究储层物性参数对CO_2捕集机制的影响,根据鄂尔多斯盆地神华10万t/a CCS示范工程实际注入层的地质条件,运用TOUGHREACT软件建立了二维径向模型,探讨了温度、孔隙度、储层厚度、储层渗透率、残余水饱和度、压力、残余气饱和度、初始盐度、毛细压力和储层非均质性等储层物性参数对CO_2长期封存能力的影响。结果表明:温度、孔隙度、储层厚度、储层渗透率是影响CO_2矿物捕集量的主要控制因素;高毛细压力较低毛细压力使CO_2羽的分布更为均匀,有利于CO_2的矿物捕集。通过计算CO_2矿物捕集量对储层各物性参数的平均敏感度,评估了实际储层的CO_2矿物捕集能力,可为CCS实际工程的适宜性评价和选址提供科学依据。