Calibration and testing of a dynamic flow-through chamber for field determination of methyl bromide volatilization flux

Accurate emission measurement of highly volatile chemicals such as methyl bromide (MeBr) is a crucial step in assessing their potential for environmental contamination. Use of flux chambers is a simple method for measuring emission rate under field conditions. To validate the applicability of a dynamic flow-through chamber for measuring MeBr emission, we provide a complete presentation of calibration and testing of the chamber. The calibration was made under a controlled system subject to ambient temperature changes. Two field experiments were conducted to test the chamber for measuring MeBr flux under conditions similar to commercial soil fumigation practices. In both the calibration and the two field experiments, the chamber provided accurate emission estimates. The maximum mass balance error was < 10% which is comparable to the micrometerological method. Because of its simplicity, we believe this dynamic flux chamber can be used reliably in quantifying the emission dynamics of highly volatile chemicals such as MeBr.     

微波促进含Cr(VI)-H2O2体系降解甲基橙溶液的研究

研究了微波辐射下Cr(VI)－H₂O₂催化降解甲基橙溶液的行为，探索了微波功率、微波辐射时间、pH值、H₂O₂浓度、Cr(VI)等对甲基橙溶液脱色率和COD去除率的影响。研究结果表明，Cr(VI)-H₂O₂能形成类Fenton体系；微波辐射可提高H₂O₂产生羟基自由基(·OH)的效率。1000 mg/L的甲基橙溶液，在Cr(VI)浓度为10.0 mmol/L、pH值为2.5、H₂O₂浓度为20.0 mmol/L、微波功率为700W下加热2 min，甲基橙溶液的脱色率为99.2%，COD去除率为82.8%。     

氰化尾渣制备微电解填料及降解甲基橙研究

以氰化尾渣为原料,采用煤基直接还原工艺制备铁碳微电解填料,并将填料用于处理甲基橙等模拟废水.研究了焙烧温度、焙烧时间、煤用量等制备条件对填料降解甲基橙的影响.结果表明,在焙烧温度为1250℃,焙烧时间为60min,煤用量为30%的条件下制备的微电解填料对甲基橙废水的脱色效果最好.提高填料用量和降低溶液初始pH值有利于去除甲基橙.用于处理400mL浓度为100mg/L的甲基橙溶液,在填料用量为2g,溶液初始pH值在3~6的范围内,当降解时间为30min时,甲基橙脱色率均接近100%.XRD分析表明,最佳条件下制备的填料中主要结晶物相为零价铁.SEM显示填料中的零价铁颗粒粒度均在50μm以下,零价铁与残碳构成微电解填料.     

贵州草海底栖动物汞分布及其对沉积物汞的响应特征

以国家自然保护区贵州草海湿地为研究对象,系统采集草海湖中深水区和湖边浅水区生长的底栖动物,测定其总汞和甲基汞,探讨底栖动物汞和甲基汞分布特征及其对沉积物汞的响应特征,并评估了其面临的汞污染风险.结果表明,底栖动物总汞含量范围为0.51~46.55 ng·g~(-1)(均值7.82 ng·g~(-1)),甲基汞含量范围为0.04~27.71 ng·g~(-1)(均值4.31 ng·g~(-1)),低于其他自然保护区报道的底栖动物的汞含量.对比发现,夏季底栖动物总汞和甲基汞含量均高于其他季节;湖边点底栖动物总汞和甲基汞含量均高于湖中点同种类底栖动物汞含量,这与沉积物中甲基汞含量的空间分布特征一致,却与沉积物总汞含量空间分布特征相反,且中华圆田螺甲基汞含量与沉积物甲基汞含量呈显著相关(r=0.52,P0.05),表明湖边浅水区沉积物汞的甲基化程度、生物可利用性都明显高于湖中深水区.湖中湖边沉积物有机质的含量差异以及湖边沉积物存在干湿交替可能导致了这种明显的差异.底栖动物对水体或沉积物总汞和甲基汞的富集系数均较高,这些高富集系数足以引起对草海湿地水生食物链中汞污染风险的重视.     

Using alcohol intoxication goggles (Fatal Vision® goggles) to detect alcohol related impairment in simulated driving

Objective: Fatal vision goggles (FVGs) are image-distorting equipment used within driver education programs to simulate alcohol-related impairment. However, there is no empirical evidence comparing the behavioral effects associated with wearing FVGs to alcohol intoxication. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of FVGs in producing alcohol-related impairment in simulated driving.

Methods: Twenty-two healthy males (age: 23 ± 3 years, mean ± SD) participated in a placebo-controlled crossover design study involving 4 experimental trials. In each trial, participants completed a baseline level simulated driving task followed by an experimental driving task, involving one of 4 treatments: (1) a dose of alcohol designed to elicit 0.080% breath alcohol concentration (BrAC; AB), (2) an alcohol placebo beverage (PB), (3) FVG (estimated % blood alcohol concentration [BAC] 0.070–0.100+), and (4) placebo goggles (PGs). The driving tasks included 3 separate scenarios lasting ～5 min each; these were a simple driving scenario, a complex driving scenario, and a hazard perception driving scenario. Selected lateral control parameters (standard deviation of lane position [SDLP]; total number of lane crossings [LCs]) and longitudinal control parameters (average speed; standard deviation of speed [SDSP]; distance headway; minimum distance headway) were monitored during the simple and complex driving scenarios. Latency to 2 different stimuli (choice reaction time [CRT]) was tested in the hazard perception driving scenario. Subjective ratings of mood and attitudes toward driving were also provided during each of the trials.

Results: Neither placebo treatment influenced simulated driving performance. Mean BrAC was 0.060 ± 0.010% at the time of driving on the AB trial. Lateral control: In the simple driving scenario, SDLP and LC were not affected under any of the experimental treatments. However, in the complex driving scenario, significantly greater SDLP was observed on both the FVG and AB trials compared to their respective baseline drives. LC increased significantly from baseline on the AB trial only. Longitudinal control: Speed was not affected by any of the experimental treatments; however, SDSP increased significantly from baseline on the FVG trial. A significant reduction in distance headway and minimum distance headway was detected on the FVG trial compared to baseline. Hazard perception: Neither AB nor FVG trials were influential on CRT. Subjective mood ratings were significantly altered on the AB and FVG trials compared to baseline and placebo conditions. Participants reported reduced willingness and ability to drive under the active treatments (AB and FVG) than the placebo treatments (PB and PG).

Conclusions: FVGs may have some utility in replicating alcohol-related impairment on specific driving performance measurements. Hence, the equipment may offer an alternative approach to researching the impact of alcohol intoxication on simulated driving performance among populations where the provision of alcohol would otherwise be unethical (e.g., prelicensed drivers).     

Are you okay to drive? Commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentrations among restaurant diners

Objective: Drink driving is widely recognized as a major road safety problem. In Australia, health promotion messages encourage monitoring the number of standard drinks consumed prior to driving. This pilot research aimed to investigate commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of diners, including intended drivers, at Sunshine Coast restaurants.

Methods: Five hundred and forty-four diners (n = 260 males) consented to participate in a brief interview and to use a breathalyzer device to measure their BAC.

Results: Forty percent of participants advised they don't drink and drive (34% of males, 45% of females; 67.25% of <17–20 years, 30.5% of 50–59 years), and of the remaining participants, 75% advised they count the number of their drinks (69% of males, 84% of females; 32% of <17–20 years, 82% of 50–59 years), while 10% of participants monitored their BAC by how they were feeling (12% of males, 6% of females). Thirty-seven percent of participants said it was easy/very easy to estimate their BAC (41% of males; 33% of females; 21% of <17–20 years, 43% of 50–59 years). The actual BAC was less than expected for 56% of participants, with one-third underestimating BAC and some intended drivers having an actual BAC in excess of the 0.05 limit.

Conclusions: Given the proportion of diners who reported they count the number of drinks, or use feelings as a way to gauge BAC, coupled with the considerable proportion who underestimated their BAC, a safer public health message is to avoid driving if you intend to drink. In addition, targeted intervention for experienced drivers (and, arguably, drinkers) appears warranted, as every participant aged less than 21 years who stated he or she would drive home indeed had a zero BAC. Interestingly every female driver who stated she would be driving home also had a legal BAC, suggesting gender-specific intervention.     

Roadside survey on alcohol and drug use among drivers in the Arctic county of Finnmark (Norway)

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of alcohol and potentially impairing drugs among the general driving population in Finnmark and to compare the prevalence among Norwegian, Russian, and other foreign drivers by analyzing samples of oral fluid.

Methods: In collaboration with local police, drivers were selected for a voluntary and anonymous study using a multistage cluster sampling procedure (selection of roads, time intervals, and drivers within each interval) from September 2014 to October 2015. Age, gender, citizenship, time, and geographical site were recorded. Samples of oral fluid were collected using the Quantisal device. The samples were analyzed for alcohol with an enzymatic method and for 12 illicit drugs and 16 medicinal drugs and some metabolites using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection.

Results: A total of 3,228 drivers were asked to participate in the study. The refusal rate was 6.2%. Of the 3,027 participants in the study, 111 (3.7%) were Russian and 204 (6.7%) had citizenship other than Norwegian or Russian. The total prevalence of psychoactive substances was 4.3%. Alcohol was detected in 0.3%, psychoactive medicinal drugs in 2.5%, and illicit drugs in 1.6% of the samples. The most commonly found substances were the sleeping agent zopiclone (1.1%), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; 1.1%), and the analgesic agent codeine (0.6%). Illicit drugs were detected significantly more often in samples from drivers of citizenship other than Norwegian or Russian. The prevalence of alcohol was somewhat higher among Russian drivers but not statistically significant. There were large differences between age groups and genders concerning illicit drugs and psychoactive medicinal drugs; illicit drugs were more frequently in samples from young male drivers, whereas psychoactive medicinal drugs were more frequently in samples from elderly female drivers.

Conclusion: The total prevalence of alcohol and drugs among the general driving population in Finnmark was low and similar to previous Norwegian roadside surveys. Illicit drugs were detected significantly more often in samples from drivers with citizenship other than Russian and Norwegian and among young male drivers.     

Sensitivity of green and blue-green algae to methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) during a fifteen-day test

The test was designed to assess the toxicity of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) to Chlorella ellipsoidea and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae during 15 d with concentrations of MTBE from high (2.00×104 mg/L) to low (2 mg/L). The results showed that the toxicity was low when the concentration of MTBE was 1.00×104-2.00×104 mg/L (the greatest inhibition of growth-rate was 70%-71%, occurring on day 1-5). Low concentrations (2-500 mg/L) stimulated algal growth up to the greatest effect of 85%-200% when the concentration of MTBE was 50-100 mg/L on day 3-5. The low concentrations may lead to an algal bloom owing to overabundance, which represents an aquatic ecological risk. However, the stimulatory effect occurred only during the day 1-5 and disappeared gradually during the day 13-15. The toxicity of MTBE (72-120 h EC50) is 6.65×103-9.58×103 mg/L for C. ellipsoidea and that is 1.14×104-2.00×104 mg/L for A. spiroides. We found that the toxicity and ecological risk of MTBE for the algal community structure were low. The toxicity was influenced by the duration of the test. We suggest that the duration of the test should not be shorter than half a life-cycle.     

胞外聚合物对MBR中改性无纺布过滤性能的影响

采用统计分析方法研究了胞外聚合物(extra-cellular polymeric sub6tances, EPS)对浸渍式膜生物反应器(submerged membrane bioreactor, SMBR)中聚乙烯醇改性聚丙烯无纺布过滤性能的影响.结果表明,无纺布膜组件表面污泥的溶解性EPS(soluble EPS, EPSs)、EPSs,组成(protein/carbohydrate, P/C)以及相对疏水性(relative hydrophobicity, RH)对膜的过滤性能有显著影响,与膜污染阻力的皮尔逊相关系数(rp)分别为:0.868、0.840、0.890;改性无纺布膜组件能有效抑制EPSs,的吸附、降低EPSs组分中P/C的比率、减少活性污泥的沉积.表明聚丙烯无纺布通过亲水改性后,过滤性能得到明显改善,表现出一定的耐污染性.     

交联壳聚糖-CdS颗粒可见光催化脱色甲基橙研究

利用壳聚糖对金属离子的配位络合作用和吸附性能,模拟生物矿化仿生制备交联壳聚糖/CdS复合粒子。以甲基橙为处理对象,氙灯模拟可见光,研究了该复合材料对甲基橙的降解脱色性能。用Langmuir-Hinshelwood方程从动力学的角度,考察了不同催化剂浓度、甲基橙的初始浓度、反应体系的pH值、外加无机阴离子等对甲基橙降解脱色的影响。结果表明,该复合材料的吸附性能和光催化活性产生的协同作用能较有效促进甲基橙染料的脱色,在低质量浓度条件下可见光催化过程为假一级反应。光催化剂的最佳用量为1.5g/L,甲基橙降解的最佳pH为4.0。Cl-和Br-均对MO的光催化脱色起抑制作用,而NO3-的添加明显促进MO的光催化速率。