Trace elements and organochlorines in surf scoters from San Francisco Bay, 1985

Surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) were collected from 6 locations in San Francisco Bay during January and March 1985. Overall, mean concentrations of cadmium and zinc were higher in livers of scoters from the southern region of the Bay, whereas mean iron and lead were higher in those from the northern Bay region. Mean concentrations of arsenic, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum (January only) and iron (January) also differed among individual locations. Mean concentrations of copper and zinc increased, arsenic decreased, and cadmium remained the same between January and March. Selenium and mercury concentrations in scoter livers were not significantly correlated (P>0.05), but cadmium concentrations in livers and kidneys were positively correlated (P<0.0001), and body weight was negatively related to mercury concentration in the liver (P<0.05). Body weight differed among locations but not between January and March. Body weight was correlated with lipid content (P<0.0001). DDE and PCBs were each detected in 34 of 36 scoter carcasses. DDE increased significantly between January and March at Richmond Harbor, but BCBs did not differ between January and March at the 3 locations that could be tested.     

Evaluation of soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts from the palmerton zinc site

The Palmerton Zinc Site is a Superfund site in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Its former mineral processing operations have contaminated nearby wells and soils with zinc and cadmium. Preliminary analysis of soil and dust sampling conducted in May 1991 has revealed that the dust poses a potential threat to human health. Based on the results of a previous study, which showed a high percentage of silt and clay in soils from Palmerton residential properties, it was concluded that soil washing is not likely to be a viable method to treat the soil and dust contamination in Palmerton. However, since the completion of this study, a soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts has been developed. A residential soil sample from Palmerton, which had low concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead, and a somewhat high concentration of zinc, was washed in a bench-scale version of this process. The results showed that the new soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts may be a viable method to treat the soil and dust contamination in Palmerton, depending on the soil quality criteria concentrations selected for site cleanup.     

AN ANALYSIS OF RISING IRRIGATION COSTS IN THE GREAT PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: Irrigation costs are rising rapidly on the 32 million acres irrigated with ground water. Ground water levels are declining under about 15 million of those acres adding to increased costs. However, from 1975 to 1982, 75 to 80 percent of increased ground water irrigation costs were due to higher nominal energy prices and interest rates. In real dollars, adjusted for inflation, these costs have risen faster than other irrigation costs and the real rise in commodity prices has been very small. A continuation of rapidly rising costs and slowly rising prices will shorten the economic life of those aquifers experiencing declining water levels. That same condition of prices and costs place all ground water irrigators in a disadvantaged position compared to nonirrigators and could cause a decline in ground water irrigation.     

Marine Protected Area Design and the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Cetaceans in a Submarine Canyon

Abstract: The Gully, the largest submarine canyon off the coast of eastern Canada, is currently under consideration as a marine conservation area, primarily because of the increasing interest in oil and gas production on the Scotian Shelf. Cetaceans, as a guild of abundant, large organisms that are relatively sensitive to such threats, provide a reliable means to determine the boundaries for a conservation area in this region. We compared the abundance of cetaceans between the Gully and other parts of the Scotian Shelf and Slope and found that abundance was higher in the Gully. We also assessed cetacean distribution and relative abundance within the Gully relative to search effort for several spatial and temporal parameters: depth, slope, sea surface temperature, and month. Distribution within the Gully was most strongly correlated with depth, but was also significantly correlated with sea surface temperature and month. Five of the 11 cetacean species commonly found in the Gully, and all those for which the Gully formed significant habitat on the Scotian Shelf, were concentrated in the deep (200–2000 m) mouth of the canyon. We suggest that a year-round marine protected area is necessary for the Gully. A core protection zone should be defined in the Gully based on depth and bounded by the 200-m isobath. A buffer zone around the core zone should be defined to provide protection from activities with further-reaching effects, such as noise, dredging, and chemical pollution.     

Deciding on equity or parity: a test of situational,cultural, and individual factors

Previous cross-cultural research in distributive justice has neglected the situational and individual determinants of allocation preferences. This study incorporated the cultural value of Individualism–Collectivism (I–C), situational demands of task interdependence and system goals, and individual achievement motivation to examine their effects on the allocation decisions made by U.S. Americans and Hong Kong Chinese. It was found that the Americans and the Chinese in the study responded to situational demands in a similar fashion, i.e. equity was preferred under circumstances of low interdependence and the productivity goal whereas parity was preferred under circumstances of high interdependence and the solidarity goal. It was also found that in the U.S., I–C had no significant relation with the allocation differential (between the bonus amounts for the highest and the lowest performer), and the achievement motivation interacts with levels of interdependence and with goal priorities; in Hong Kong, both I–C and the achievement motivation related negatively to the allocation differential. Research and managerial implications for international management were discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of cleaning and disinfection protocols for commercial farm equipment following a foreign animal disease outbreak

This study evaluated the microbiocidal efficacy of a cleaning and disinfection (C&D) treatment using stainless-steel coupons applied to three common types of animal mortality transport vehicles when exposed to agricultural conditions. Metal test coupons, inoculated with bacteriophage MS2, were affixed to the undercarriage of three types of animal mortality transport vehicles at various locations. Coupons were grimed by maneuvering the test vehicles down a series of wet dirt roads. Coupons were attached and extracted at various points to evaluate C&D performance with and without grime. C&D efficacy using a water-supplied pressure washing system and a dilute sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution was determined by comparing the difference in recovered viable virus between positive control coupons and test coupons. The results demonstrated a relatively high surface decontamination efficacy, with all but one location showing >5 log reduction of MS2. Coupons located on the roll-off truck's inside-back bumper contained the highest level of grime and resulted in a 4 log reduction of MS2. There was no significant difference in C&D efficacy across vehicle types, but locations impacted by grime and lack of accessibility achieved lower efficacies on average. These findings suggest that common C&D protocols, when applied to farm mortality transport vehicles, are effective. Hard-to-access locations containing high levels of grime may be candidates for additional targeted treatment.