Incompatible Land Uses and the Topology of Cumulative Risk

The extensive literature on environmental justice has, by now, well defined the essential ingredients of cumulative risk, namely, incompatible land uses and vulnerability. Most problematic is the case when risk is produced by a large aggregation of small sources of air toxics. In this article, we test these notions in an area of Southern California, Southeast Los Angeles (SELA), which has come to be known as Asthmatown. Developing a rapid risk mapping protocol, we scan the neighborhood for small potential sources of air toxics and find, literally, hundreds of small point sources within a 2-mile radius, interspersed with residences. We also map the estimated cancer risks and noncancer hazard indices across the landscape. We find that, indeed, such large aggregations of even small, nondominant sources of air toxics can produce markedly elevated levels of risk. In this study, the risk profiles show additional cancer risks of up to 800 in a million and noncancer hazard indices of up to 200 in SELA due to the agglomeration of small point sources. This is significant (for example, estimates of the average regional point-source-related cancer risk range from 125 to 200 in a million). Most importantly, if we were to talk about the risk contour as if they were geological structures, we would observe not only a handful of distinct peaks, but a general “mountain range” running all throughout the study area, which underscores the ubiquity of risk in SELA. Just as cumulative risk has deeply embedded itself into the fabric of the place, so, too, must intervention seek to embed strategies into the institutions and practices of SELA. This has implications for advocacy, as seen in a recently initiated participatory action research project aimed at building health research capacities into the community in keeping with an ethic of care.     

Inoculation of environmental fungal isolates improve the methane biochemical potential of rice hulls in anaerobic digestion processes

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Hulls are considered residues from rice production, and due to its low commercial value, there is little interest in developing biotechnological...     

Effect of different tannery sludge compost amendment rates on growth,biomass accumulation and yield responses of Capsicum plants

Composting has been recognized as one of the most cost effective and environmentally sound alternatives for organic wastes recycling from long and composted wastes have a potential to substitute inorganic fertilizers. We investigated the potential of composted tannery sludge for ornamental purposes and to examine the effects of two different composts and concentrations on ornamental Capsicum growth. The two composts were produced with tannery sludge and the composition of each compost was: compost₁ of tannery sludge (C₁TS) – tannery sludge + sugarcane straw and cattle manure mixed in the ratio 1:3:1 (v:v:v); compost₂ of tannery sludge (C₂TS) – tannery sludge + “carnauba” straw and cattle manure in the ratio 1:3:1 (v:v:v). Each compost was amended with soil at rates (% v:v) of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% (designation hereafter as T₁–T₅, respectively). The number of leaves and fruits were counted, and the stem length was also measured. Chlorophyll content was recorded on three leaves of each harvested plant prior to harvest. Number of leaves and fruits, stem length, dry weight of shoot and roots did not vary significantly between the plants grown in two tannery composts. All the treatments with composted tannery sludge application (T₂–T₅) significantly increased the number of leaves and fruits, stem length and chlorophyll content compared with the control (T₁). The chlorophyll content was higher in plants growing in the C₁TS compared to C₂TS. The results of the present study further suggest that Capsicum may be a good option to be grown on composted tannery amended soil.     

Complex co‐substrate addition increases initial petroleum degradation rates during land treatment by altering bacterial community physiology

A pilot‐scale land treatment unit (LTU) was constructed at the former Guadalupe oil production field with the purpose of investigating the effect of co‐substrate addition on the bacterial community and the resulting rate and extent of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation. The TPH was a weathered mid‐cut distillate (C10‐C32) excavated from the subsurface and stockpiled before treatment. A control cell (Cell 1) in the LTU was amended with nitrogen and phosphorus while the experimental cell (Cell 2) was amended with additional complex co‐substrate—corn steep liquor. During the pilot LTU operation, measurements were taken of TPH, nutrients, moisture, aerobic heterotrophic bacteria (AHB), and diesel oxidizing bacteria (DOB). The bacterial community was also assayed using community‐level physiology profiles (CLPP) and 16S rDNA terminal restriction fragment (TRF) analysis. TPH degradation in both cells was characterized by a rapid phase of degradation that lasted for the first three weeks, followed by a slower degradation phase that continued through the remainder of the project. The initial rate of TPH‐degradation in Cell 1 (?0.021 day^?1) was slower than in Cell 2 (?0.035 day^?1). During the slower phase, degradation rates in both cells were similar (?0.0026 and ?0.0024 respectively). AHB and DOB counts were similar in both cells during the fast degradation phase. A second addition of co‐substrate to Cell 2 at the beginning of the slow degradation phase resulted in an increased AHB population that lasted for the remainder of the project but did not affect TPH degradation rates. CLPP data showed that co‐substrate addition altered the functional capacity of the bacterial community during both phases of the project. However, TRF data indicated that the phylogenetic composition of the community was not different in the two cells during the fast degradation phase. The bacterial phylogenetic structure in Cell 2 differed from Cell 1 after the second application of co‐substrate, during the slow degradation phase. Thus, co‐substrate addition appeared to enhance the functional capacity of the bacterial community during the fast degradation phase when the majority of TPH was bioavailable, resulting in increased degradation rates, but did not affect rates during the slow degradation phase when the remaining TPH may not have been bioavailable. These data show that co‐substrate addition might prove most useful for applications such as land farming where TPH is regularly applied to the same soil and initial degradation rates are more important to the project goals. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Injuries and risk-taking behaviours in Portuguese adolescents: Highlights from the health behaviour in school-aged children survey

Aim

Injuries in adolescence are an important public health problem and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in this age group. This study aimed to determine the behaviour profile associated to risk of injury and the differences between genders, region and ethnic origin.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design of a nationally representative sample of 1581 adolescents of the Portuguese Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study.

Results

An occurrence of one injury-related event in the previous year was reported by 21.4% of the respondents and 5.9% referred having more than one injury-related event. Boys reported higher frequency of those events when compared to girls, and non-Portuguese subjects referred higher frequency of events. Scoring higher in violence-related behaviour and psychosomatic complaints was associated to higher chances of referring more than one injury-related event.

Conclusion

Gender, social background and behaviour profile are factors that seem to influence the risk of injuries. This information should guide those involved in the planning of injuries prevention programs in youth.     

Results from a reference laboratory for prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell disorders in Cuba

A nationwide programme for the prevention of sickle cell (SS and SC) disorders was initiated in Cuba in 1983. Couples at risk were identified by screening pregnant women and the partners of those who carry an abnormal haemoglobin, followed by genetic counselling and the offer of prenatal diagnosis. Prenatal diagnosis was performed in one laboratory, which had carried out 1068 prenatal tests for Hb SS and SC disorders by the end of 1992. The centralization of the service has permitted rapid identification and resolution of problems.