US Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans health study: preliminary results

The long-term health consequences of exposure to phenoxyherbicides used in Vietnam has been a great concern to the veterans. In addition to the Air Force Ranch Hand personnel, Army Chemical Corps personnel who served in Vietnam are thought to have had some of the highest herbicide exposures. The Department of Veterans Affairs commenced a study of veterans who served in Vietnam as members of the Army Chemical Corps and a comparison cohort of Army Chemical Corps personnel who served elsewhere. A total of 2872 Vietnam veterans and 2737 non-Vietnam veterans who served in the Army Chemical Corps were identified for inclusion in a telephone health interview survey with a random 20% sample of veterans receiving serum dioxin and other congeners assessments. In a feasibility study which included 284 Vietnam veterans and 281 non-Vietnam veterans, 100 serum assessments were conducted of which 95 were included in the analysis. Vietnam veterans with a history of spraying herbicides were found to have a statistically significant elevation in their current serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations compared to non-Vietnam veterans without a spray history (P = 0.05). Other 2,3,7,8-substituted dioxins levels were comparable to the levels found in the non-Vietnam veterans. This feasibility study demonstrated that serum dioxin concentrations from a sample of the study participants can be used to identify exposure variables in the health survey that can serve as a surrogate measure of phenoxyherbicide exposure.     

Chemical composition of post-harvest biomass burning aerosols in Gwangju, Korea

The main objective of this study was to investigate the chemical characteristics of post-harvest biomass burning aerosols from field burning of barley straw in late spring and rice straw in late fall in rural areas of Korea. A 12-hr integrated intensive sampling of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 microm (PM10) and PM with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 microm (PM2.5) biomass burning aerosols had been conducted continuously in Gwangju, Korea, during two biomass burning periods: June 4--15, 2001, and October 8--November 14, 2002. The fine and coarse particles of biomass burning aerosols were analyzed for mass and ionic, elemental, and carbonaceous species. The average fine and coarse mass concentrations of biomass burning aerosols were, respectively, 129.6 and 24.2 microg/m3 in June 2001 and 47.1 and 33.2 microg/m3 in October--November 2002. An exceptionally high PM2.5 concentration of 157.8 microg/m3 was observed during biomass burning events under stagnant atmospheric conditions. In the fine mode, chlorine and potassium were unusually rich because of the high content of semi-arid vegetation. Both organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon increased during the biomass burning periods, with the former exhibiting a higher abundance. PM from the open field burning of agricultural waste has an adverse impact on local air quality and regional climate.     

城市污水处理厂二沉池出水曝气混合絮凝的研究

在污水处理厂实验室，对二沉池出口污水进行了曝气和机械2种方式的混合絮凝对比试验。研究结果表明，对于同一水质，在相同的投药量下，曝气混凝沉淀后的水质明显优于机械混凝沉淀后的水质，各项水质指标的去除率分别提高：BOD₅ 6%～9%，COD 4%～6%，NH₃-N 6%～9%，TP 15%～24%，SS 8%～18%。     

超重力技术治理火炸药行业氮氧化物的初步研究

火炸药行业排放氮氧化物(NOX)具有浓度高、排放点不集中和间歇排放的特点,采用超重力技术对尾气中高浓度的NOX进行湿法吸收.以清水为吸收剂,研究了进气量、液气比和超重力因子等因素对NOX吸收率的影响.结果表明,单级NOX吸收率可达64.69%(β＝90).超重力旋转填料床具有占地面积小、投资低和操作方便等优点,适宜于火炸药行业吸收NOX.     

Long-term impact of PM2.5 mass and sulfur reductions on ultrafine particle trends in Boston,MA from 1999 to 2018

ABSTRACT

Ultrafine particles (UFPs) pose a human health risk as they can penetrate deep into the respiratory system. The Harvard supersite in Boston, MA provides one of the longest time series of UFP concentrations. This study examined the hypothesis that long-term reductions in PM_2.5 mass and sulfur have influenced UFP trends by limiting the ability of UFPs to coagulate onto the accumulation mode via polydisperse coagulation with larger particles. The study used Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to assess whether changes in PM_2.5 mass and sulfur concentrations resulted in smaller than expected (assuming no change in PM_2.5 mass or sulfur) decreases in daily UFP trends over the 20-year period from 1999 to 2018. The impact of PM_2.5 mass and sulfur changes were represented as UFP penalties. Bootstrapping was applied to calculate standard errors for the different trend and penalty estimates. Results showed that PM_2.5 mass and sulfur concentrations declined significantly over the study period. The analysis found an estimated 7.3% (95% CI: 3.5, 11.1%) UFP penalty due to long-term PM_2.5 mass trends, and a 9.9% (95% CI: 6.2, 13.7%) UFP penalty due to long-term sulfur trends. Findings from this study suggest that future UFP control efforts should account for the role of PM_2.5 mass and sulfur changes.     

Chlorinated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in riverine and estuarine sediments from Pearl River Delta, China

Spatial distribution of chlorinated hydrocarbons [chlorinated pesticides (CPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)] and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was measured in riverine and estuarine sediment samples from Pearl River Delta, China, collected in 1997. Concentrations of CPs of the riverine sediment samples range from 12 to 158 ng/g, dry weight, while those of PCBs range from 11 to 486 ng/g. The CPs concentrations of the estuarine sediment samples are in the range 6-1658 ng/g, while concentrations of PCBs are in the range 10-339 ng/g. Total PAH concentration ranges from 1168 to 21,329 ng/g in the riverine sediment samples, whereas the PAH concentration ranges from 323 to 14,812 ng/g in the sediment samples of the Estuary. Sediment samples of the Zhujiang River and Macao harbor around the Estuary show the highest concentrations of CPs, PCBs, and PAHs. Possible factors affecting the distribution patterns are also discussed based on the usage history of the chemicals, hydrologic condition, and land erosion due to urbanization processes. The composition of PAHs is investigated and used to assess petrogenic, combustion and naturally derived PAHs of the sediment samples of the Pearl River Delta. In addition, the concentrations of a number of organic compounds of the Pearl River Delta samples indicate that sediments of the Zhujiang river and Macao harbor are most likely to pose biological impairment.     

The styrene purification performance of biotrickling filter with toluene-styrene acclimatization under acidic conditions

The obvious disadvantages of biotrickling filters (BTFs) are the long start-up time and low removal efficiency (RE) when treating refractory hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which limits its industrial application. It is worthwhile to investigate how to reduce the start-up period of the BTF for treating hydrophobic VOCs. Here, we present the first study to evaluate the strategy of toluene induction combined with toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization during start-up in a laboratory-scale BTF inoculated with activated sludge for styrene removal, as well as the effects of styrene inlet concentration (0.279 to 2.659 g·m^?3), empty bed residence time (EBRT) (i.e., 136, 90, 68, 45, 34 sec), humidity (7.7% to 88.9%), and pH (i.e., 4, 3, 2.5, 2) on the performance of the BTF system. The experiments were carried out under acidic conditions (pH 4.5) to make fungi dominant in the BTF. The start-up period for styrene in the BTF was shortened to about 28 days. A maximum elimination capacity (EC_max) of 126 g·m^?3·hr^?1 with an RE of 80% was attained when styrene inlet loading rate (ILR) was below 180 g·m^?3·hr^?1. The highest styrene RE(s) [of BTF] that could be achieved were 95% and 93.4%, respectively, for humidity of 7.7% and at pH 2. A single dominant fungal strain was isolated and identified as Candida palmioleophila strain MA-M11 based on the 26S ribosomal RNA gene. Overall, the styrene induction with the toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization could markedly reduce the start-up period and enhance the RE of styrene. The BTF dominated by fungi exhibited good performance under low pH and humidity and great potential in treating styrene with higher inlet concentrations.

Implications: The application of the toluene induction combined with toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization demonstrated to be a promising approach for the highly efficient removal of styrene. The toluene induction can accelerate biofilm formation, and the adaptability of microorganisms to styrene can be improved rapidly by the toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization. The integrated application of two technologies can shorten the start-up period of biotrickling filters markedly and promote its industrial application.     

Performance and fouling mechanism of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) treating fermentation wastewater with high organic concentrations

In this study,direct contact membrane distillation(DCMD)was used for treating fermentation wastewater with high organic concentrations.DCMD performance characteristics including permeate flux,permeate water quality as well as membrane fouling were investigated systematically.Experimental results showed that,after 12 hr DCMD,the feed wastewater was concentrated by about a factor of 3.7 on a volumetric basis,with the permeate flux decreasing from the initial 8.7 L/m~2/hr to the final 4.3 L/m~2/hr due to membrane fouling;the protein concentration in the feed wastewater was increased by about 3.5 times and achieved a value of 6178 mg/L,which is suitable for reutilization.Although COD and TOC in permeate water increased continuously due to the transfer of volatile components from wastewater,organic rejection of over 95%was achieved in wastewater.GC–MS results suggested that the fermentation wastewater contained 128kinds of organics,in which 14 organics dominated.After 12 hr DCMD,not only volatile organics including trimethyl pyrazine,2-acetyl pyrrole,phenethyl alcohol and phenylacetic acid,but also non-volatile dibutyl phthalate was detected in permeate water due to membrane wetting.FT-IR and SEM–EDS results indicated that the deposits formed on the membrane inner surface mainly consisted of Ca,Mg,and amine,carboxylic acid and aromatic groups.The fouled membrane could be recovered,as most of the deposits could be removed using a HCl/Na OH chemical cleaning method.     

改性无烟煤去除水中内分泌干扰物的性能探究

以KOH为改性剂对无烟煤改性,研究了改性前后无烟煤对3种内分泌干扰物EDCs(17α-乙炔基雌二醇EE2、双酚A BPA、磺胺甲噁唑SMZ)的吸附性能。结果表明,KOH改性对无烟煤的孔结构和表面性质产生影响,提高了无烟煤对3种EDCs的吸附量,其中对EE2的吸附量提高了近2倍。3种EDCs在改性前后2种无烟煤上的吸附过程均可用伪二级动力学描述,吸附等温线更符合Langmuir吸附等温方程,表现为化学吸附。改性前后2种无烟煤对EE2均表现出最高吸附能力,平衡吸附量(qe)分别为0.214 7μg/mg与0.622 9μg/mg;其次是BPA;最差是SMZ,qe仅为0.095 9μg/mg与0.124 2μg/mg。进一步研究表明,目标物的吸附情况与其憎水性质和分子结构有关,无烟煤吸附目标物的能力与其正辛醇/水分配系数正相关。     

复合药剂对不同类型重金属污染土壤的固化修复

为了考察复合药剂对Pb、Hg、Cr、Cd、Zn、Cu和Ni污染土样的固化修复效果,以重污染企业用地、冶炼厂河道底泥和自配土壤为污染土样进行试验,试验中的普适复合药剂主要为含磷酸盐沉淀剂、黏土和水泥,视情况辅以无机还原助剂和有机络合助剂。在普适药剂(相对原土样的质量分数15%)、还原剂(5%)和有机助剂(2%)的组配下,处理后的重金属浸出质量浓度低于GB 18598—2001标准值。普适药剂对Pb、Cd、Zn、Cu、Ni的固化有效,磷酸盐是促成Pb固化的关键成分,黏土和水泥分别起到吸附固定和物理包封的作用。无机助剂中的还原/络合性成分和硫化物分别对Cr(VI)和Hg的固化有明显的促进作用。对于Pb、Cd、Zn、Cu复合污染土壤的修复,分析了重金属浸出质量浓度随普适药剂投加量变化的特征曲线,结果表明,Pb比Cu的曲线斜率更大,表明Pb的固化效率更高;Cd和Zn具有相似的曲线形状,推测二者具有类似的固化机理。