Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea

The abundance of plastics in stomachs of northern fulmars from the North Sea is used in the OSPAR Ecological Quality Objective (EcoQO) for marine litter. The preliminary EcoQO defines acceptable ecological quality as the situation where no more than 10% of fulmars exceed a critical level of 0.1 g of plastic in the stomach. During 2003-2007, 95% of 1295 fulmars sampled in the North Sea had plastic in the stomach (on average 35 pieces weighing 0.31 g) and the critical level of 0.1 g of plastic was exceeded by 58% of birds, with regional variations ranging from 48 to 78%. Long term data for the Netherlands since the 1980s show a decrease of industrial, but an increase of user plastics, with shipping and fisheries as the main sources. The EcoQO is now also used as an indicator for Good Environmental Status in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.     

Place-based management at different spatial scales

Place-based management is any management action having implications for a specified area. Place-based management is seen as a key component to practical implementation of ecosystem approach to management, with marine spatial planning (MSP) being the currently most promoted approach. In the present paper we address the challenges of place-based management at local, regional and global (oceanic) spatial scales using case studies from the Northeast Atlantic with examples from Norway. Both ecological, governance and management complexity increases with increasing geographic scale, with associated increases in uncertainty and thus increasing need for managing under the precautionary approach. A process where (ecologically) valuable and vulnerable areas are defined early on is essential to successful place-based management under the ecosystem approach. Integrating across sectors and achieving necessary cooperation between involved institutions and stakeholders is also necessary.     

Organophosphates in aircraft cabin and cockpit air--method development and measurements of contaminants

Methods for measurements and the potential for occupational exposure to organophosphates (OPs) originating from turbine and hydraulic oils among flying personnel in the aviation industry are described. Different sampling methods were applied, including active within-day methods for OPs and VOCs, newly developed passive long-term sample methods (deposition of OPs to wipe surface areas and to activated charcoal cloths), and measurements of OPs in high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) recirculation filters (n = 6). In total, 95 and 72 within-day OP and VOC samples, respectively, have been collected during 47 flights in six different models of turbine jet engine, propeller and helicopter aircrafts (n = 40). In general, the OP air levels from the within-day samples were low. The most relevant OP in this regard originating from turbine and engine oils, tricresyl phosphate (TCP), was detected in only 4% of the samples (min-max 相似文献   

Editorial: special issue Environmental monitoring and assessment

Environmental and Ecological Statistics -     

Survey design for lakes and reservoirs in the United States to assess contaminants in fish tissue

The National Lake Fish Tissue Study (NLFTS) was the first survey of fish contamination in lakes and reservoirs in the 48 conterminous states based on a probability survey design. This study included the largest set (268) of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals ever studied in predator and bottom-dwelling fish species. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) implemented the study in cooperation with states, tribal nations, and other federal agencies, with field collection occurring at 500 lakes and reservoirs over a four-year period (2000–2003). The sampled lakes and reservoirs were selected using a spatially balanced unequal probability survey design from 270,761 lake objects in USEPA’s River Reach File Version 3 (RF3). The survey design selected 900 lake objects, with a reserve sample of 900, equally distributed across six lake area categories. A total of 1,001 lake objects were evaluated to identify 500 lake objects that met the study’s definition of a lake and could be accessed for sampling. Based on the 1,001 evaluated lakes, it was estimated that a target population of 147,343 (±7% with 95% confidence) lakes and reservoirs met the NLFTS definition of a lake. Of the estimated 147,343 target lakes, 47% were estimated not to be sampleable either due to landowner access denial (35%) or due to physical barriers (12%). It was estimated that a sampled population of 78,664 (±12% with 95% confidence) lakes met the NLFTS lake definition, had either predator or bottom-dwelling fish present, and could be sampled.     

Radon risk assessment: The effect of voluntary sampling distributions and bias

This paper examines the problem of estimating indoor radon concentrations for radon-induced lung cancer risk assessment. Previous authors have identified various problems and possible corrections for the use of generally available radon screening measurements. Bias evident in data collected from volunteers is described; regional databases developed from voluntary data generally exhibit higher mean values than those obtained from random samples. Tools are developed to better characterize the differences in voluntary and random concentration distributions. Application is demonstrated using voluntary and random radon survey data for the state of North Dakota.     

Determination of the dialdehyde glyoxal in workroom air-development of personal sampling methodology

The dialdehyde glyoxal (ethanedial) is an increasingly used industrial chemical with potential occupational health risks. This study describes the development of a personal sampling methodology for the determination of glyoxal in workroom air. Among the compounds evaluated as derivatizing agents; N-methyl-4-hydrazino-7-nitrobenzofurazan (MNBDH), 1,2-phenylenediamine (OPDA), 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonylhydrazine (dansylhydrazine, DNSH) and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), DNPH was the only reagent that was suitable. Several different samplers were evaluated for sampling efficiency of glyoxal in workroom air using DNPH as derivatizing agent; in-house DNPH coated silica particles packed in two different types of glass tubes, impingers containing acidified DNPH solution, filter cassettes containing glass fibre filters coated with DNPH, a commercially available solid phase cartridge sampler originally developed for formaldehyde sampling (Waters Sep-Pak DNPH-silica cartridge), and the commercially available SKC UMEx 100 passive sampler originally developed for formaldehyde sampling. Aldehyde atmospheres for sampler evaluation were generated with an in-house made vapour atmosphere generator coupled to a sampling unit, with the possibility of parallel sampling. The resulting glyoxal-DNPH derivative was determined using both LC-UV and LC-APCI-MS with negative ionization. By far, the highest recovery of glyoxal was obtained employing one of the in-house DNPH coated silica samplers (93%, RSD = 3.6%, n = 12).     

Transport modes and pathways of the strongly sorbing pesticides glyphosate and pendimethalin through structured drained soils

Leaching of the strongly sorbing pesticides glyphosate and pendimethalin was evaluated in an 8-month field study focussing on preferential flow and particle-facilitated transport, both of which may enhance the leaching of such pesticides in structured soils. Glyphosate mainly sorbs to mineral sorption sites, while pendimethalin mainly sorbs to organic sorption sites. The two pesticides were applied in equal dosage to a structured, tile-drained soil, and the concentration of the pesticides was then measured in drainage water sampled flow-proportionally.The leaching pattern of glyphosate resembled that of pendimethalin, suggesting that the leaching potential of pesticides sorbed to either the inorganic or organic soil fractions is high in structured soils. Both glyphosate and pendimethalin leached from the root zone, with the average concentration in the drainage water being 3.5 and 2.7 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Particle-facilitated transport (particles >0.24 μm) accounted for only a small proportion of the observed leaching (13-16% for glyphosate and 16-31% for pendimethalin). Drain-connected macropores located above or in the vicinity of the drains facilitated very rapid transport of pesticide to the drains. That the concentration of glyphosate and pendimethalin in the drainage water remained high (>0.1 μg L⁻¹) for up to 7 d after a precipitation event indicates that macropores between the drains connected to underlying fractures were able to transport strongly sorbing pesticides in the dissolved phase. Lateral transport of dissolved pesticide via such discontinuities implies that strongly sorbing pesticides such as glyphosate and pendimethalin could potentially be present in high concentrations (>0.1 μg L⁻¹) in both water originating from the drainage system and the shallow groundwater located at the depth of the drainage system.     

Responses of future air quality to emission controls over North Carolina,Part II: Analyses of future-year predictions and their policy implications

The MM5/CMAQ system evaluated in Part I paper is applied to study the impact of emission control on future air quality over North Carolina (NC). Simulations are conducted at a 4-km horizontal grid resolution for four one-month periods, i.e., January, June, July, and August 2009 and 2018. Simulated PM_2.5 in 2009 and 2018 show distribution patterns similar to those in 2002. PM_2.5 concentrations over the whole domain in January and July reduced by 5.8% and 23.3% in 2009 and 12.0% and 35.6% in 2018, respectively, indicating that the planned emission control strategy has noticeable effects on PM_2.5 reduction in this region, particularly in summer. More than 10% and 20% of 1-h and 8-h O₃ mixing ratios are reduced in July 2009 and 2018, respectively, demonstrating the effectiveness of emission control for O₃ reduction in summer. However, O₃ mixing ratios in January 2009 and 2018 increase by more than 5% because O₃ chemistry is VOC-limited in winter and the effect of NO_x reduction dominates over that of VOC reduction under such a condition. The projected emission control simulated at 4-km will reduce the number of sites in non-attainment for max 8-h O₃ from 49 to 23 in 2009 and to 1 in 2018 and for 24-h average PM_2.5 from 1 to 0 in 2009 and 2018 based on the latest 2008 O₃ and 2006 PM_2.5 standards. The variability in model predictions at different grid resolutions contributes to 1–3.8 ppb and 1–7.9 μg m^?3 differences in the projected future-year design values for max 8-h O₃ and 24-h average PM_2.5, respectively.     

Understanding organizational diversity management programs: A theoretical framework and directions for future research

With the changing demographic composition of the workforce, managing diversity in organizations is an important organizational function. Organizations have employed varying approaches to diversity management (DM), resulting in varying organizational outcomes. Meanwhile, researchers have called for more theoretical development within the DM area. We present a framework rooted in social and cross‐cultural psychological research, to foster theory development and empirical testing in the area of DM. We also derive several propositions to guide future research on DM and note some boundary conditions that suggest research opportunities of their own. Our framework contributes a theoretical conceptualization that enhances our understanding of organizations' DM efforts, integrates current typologies, and suggests new directions of inquiry for management scholars as well as guidelines for practitioners in the area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.