Is “No-Threshold” a “Non-Concept”?

A controversy prominent in scientific literature that has carried over to newspapers, magazines, and popular books is having serious social and political expressions today: “Is there, or is there not, a threshold below which exposure to a carcinogen will not induce cancer?” The distinction between establishing the existence of this threshold (which is a theoretical question) and its value (which is an experimental one) gets lost in the scientific arguments. Establishing the existence of this threshold has now become a philosophical question (and an emotional one). In this paper I qualitatively outline theoretical reasons why a threshold must exist, discuss experiments which measure thresholds on two chemicals, and describe and apply a statistical method for estimating the threshold value from exposure-response data.     

Environmental Water-Quality Zones for Streams: A Regional Classification Scheme

Various approaches have been used to classify large geographical areas into smaller regions of similar water quality or extrapolate water-quality data from a few streams to other unmonitored streams. A combination of some of the strengths of existing techniques is used to develop a new approach for these purposes. In this new approach, referred to here as SPARTA (SPAtial Regression-Tree Analysis), environmental characteristics for each monitored stream are first quantified using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and then regression-tree analysis is used to determine which characteristics are most statistically important in describing the distribution of a specific water-quality constituent. GIS coverages of only the most statistically significant environmental characteristics are then used to subdivide the area of interest into relatively homogeneous environmental water-quality zones. Results from the regression-tree analysis not only define the most important environmental characteristics, but also describe how to subdivide the coverage of the specific characteristic (for example, areas with <26% or ≥26% soil clay content). The resulting regionalization scheme is customized for each water-quality constituent based on the environmental characteristics most statistically related to that constituent. SPARTA was used to delineate areas of similar phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment concentrations (by including land-use characteristics) and areas of similar potential water quality (by excluding land-use characteristics). The SPARTA approach reduced the variability in water-quality concentrations (phosphorus, total nitrogen, Kjeldahl nitrogen, and suspended sediment) within similarly classified zones from that obtained using the US Environmental Protection Agency's nutrient ecoregions.     

SBR处理铁路洗涤废水试验研究

铁路洗涤废水中含有的主要污染物直链烷基苯磺酸钠(LAS)是我国环境标准中第2类污染物质.目前,铁路洗涤废水的处理以物理和化学法为主,存在效果不稳定、成本较高和工艺复杂等问题,急需寻求一种适合铁路洗涤废水特点的处理工艺.用SBR小试装置进行铁路洗涤废水处理实验研究,并且投加LAS降解菌于SBR中,进行了工艺参数的确定,处理效果考察和投菌前后对比等方面的初步研究.     

Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in South and Southeast Asian mussels

A comprehensive monitoring survey for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) utilizing mussels as sentinel organisms was conducted in South and Southeast Asia as a part of the Asian Mussel Watch project. Green mussel (Perna viridis) samples collected from a total of 48 locations in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines during 1994–1999 were analyzed for PAHs, EDCs including nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and bisphenol A (BPA), and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) as molecular markers for sewage. Concentrations of NP ranged from 18 to 643 ng/g-dry tissue. The highest levels of NP in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia were comparable to those observed in Tokyo Bay. Elevated concentrations of EDCs were not observed in Vietnam and Cambodia, probably due to the lower extent of industrialization in these regions. No consistent relationship between concentrations of phenolic EDCs and LABs were found, suggesting that sewage is not a major source of EDCs. Concentrations of PAHs ranged from 11 to 1,133 ng/g-dry, which were categorized as “low to moderate” levels of pollution. The ratio of methylphenanthrenes to phenanthrene (MP/P ratio) was >1.0 in 20 out of 25 locations, indicating extensive input of petrogenic PAHs. This study provides a bench-mark for data on the distribution of anthropogenic contaminants in this region, which is essential in evaluating temporal and spatial variation and effect of future regulatory measures.     

Determination of Nitrobenzene in Wastewater Using a Hanging Mercury Drop Electrode

The determination of trace amount nitrobenzene in wastewater on a hanging mercury drop electrode was studied. The determination conditions of pH, supporting electrolyte, accumulation potential, accumulation time, and voltammetric response were optimized. The sharp peak of the nitrobenzene was appeared at 0.05 V. The peak electric current was proportional to the concentration of nitrobenzene in the range of 1.47 × 10⁻⁵ ∼ 1.0 × 10⁻³ mol/l with relative standard deviations of 3.99 ∼ 8.94%. The detection limit of the nitrobenzene in water was 5 × 10⁻⁶ mol/l. The proposed method offered low limit of determination, easy operation, the use of simple instrumentation, high sensitivity and good reproducibility. It was applied to the determination of nitrobenzene in wastewater with an average recovery of 94.0% ∼ 105%. The proposed method provided fast, sensitive and sometimes real time detection of nitrobenzene.     

Oil spill cleanup cost estimation—Developing a mathematical model for marine environment

The field of oil spill cost modelling is not as well explored as desirable. Generally speaking, the existing models have either low accuracy, in that their predictions are far from the real cost, or low applicability, in that they are only valid under very specific conditions; such as in one particular country. This work strives to construct a model that is functional in a global scope and still possess a high level of accuracy. The resulting attempt is in many ways superior to the publicly available competitors, not only because of its predictive capacity but also because the model is quick to use, and its input variables should be readily available to any informed user. The model is more accurate comparing with similar available models. However, further study is needed to modify it to obtain more realistic results.     

河流线型对河流自净能力的影响

为研究河流线型对河流自净能力的影响,选取5条具有不同河流线型的河涌进行研究,以弯曲度和分形维数表征河流线型,以TP、NH 3-N、NO 2-N、NO 3-N、COD Cr、TOC、DOC、叶绿素(Chlorophyll)和蓝绿藻藻蓝蛋白(BGA-PC)等9项水质指标沿程削减率表征河流自净能力,并分析各研究河段的悬浮微生物生物量和生物活性,探讨河流线型影响河流自净能力的作用机制。结果表明:多项水质指标沿程削减率随河流线型蜿蜒程度的增加而提升。在直立式浆砌石挡墙河段,河流线型通过提高悬浮微生物生物活性,进而增强河流自净能力,使TP、NH 3-N、NO 3-N、DOC、Chlorophyll和BGA-PC的沿程削减率显著提升;而在格宾石笼挡墙河段,河流线型通过增加悬浮生物生物量和提高生物活性,进而增强河流自净能力,使NO 2-N、COD Cr、TOC和DOC的沿程削减率显著提高。     

一元回归分析在污水处理厂中的应用

以沈阳某污水处理厂的进水水质为例,用SPSS软件对COD和BOD进行回归分析。结果表明,COD和BOD之间具有线性关系,其一元线性回归方程为COD=35.76+2.26*BOD。利用该回归方程测算BOD,对预测值和实际值进行t检验,发现两者之间不存在显著性差异,从而表明利用回归方程测算BOD方便快速,有助于生产运行管理。     

Modeling potential herbicide loss to surface waters on the Swiss plateau

Lack of sufficiently detailed data often limits the applicability of complex transport-reaction models for estimating potential herbicide loss to surface waters. Therefore, there is also a need for simple models that are easy to apply but still capture the main features of the underlying processes.In this study, a simple regression model was developed to assess the vulnerability of catchments in the Swiss Plateau to diffuse herbicide loss to surface waters. The model is designed as a screening tool to rank the catchments in a relative sense and not to calculate Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PEC) of pesticides. The main goal is to capture two dominating factors controlling diffuse herbicide transport into streams and rivers. These factors are herbicide application and fast flow processes that are mainly responsible for herbicide transport. In a first step vulnerability of sites to herbicide loss is estimated based on site-specific conditions irrespective of actual herbicide application. In the second step, this vulnerability assessment is combined with actual herbicide application data to estimate the potential herbicide loss.The fast flow index (FFI), derived from discharge data using a base flow separation method, was applied as a proxy for the amount of fast flow occurring. The influence of catchment attributes (including topographic, climatic and soil data) on the FFI was analyzed using a multiple regression approach based on data from 57 catchments of the Swiss Plateau. By combining regression analysis with mechanistic knowledge, a two factor non-linear model based on river density and soil permeability as dominant input factors was selected as the best model for FFI prediction given the available data. Higher dimensional models had to be excluded because the strong correlation between the potential input factors led to unrealistic dependences while only minimally improving the quality of the fit.The spatial pattern of the predicted FFI as a measure for the vulnerability to diffuse herbicide losses shows a clearly increasing trend from the western to the eastern part of the Swiss Plateau and towards the pre-alpine/alpine regions in the south.In general the pattern of herbicide use corresponds to site conditions typical of a low FFI. However, the spatial analysis revealed exceptions, namely areas in which high actual herbicide use coincides with a high FFI.Despite the uncertainties in the model, this simple approach seems to be useful for supporting site-adapted agricultural practice whenever the higher accuracy of more detailed models is not required or too expensive to achieve. In addition, in combination with data on actual herbicide application, it can support the design of monitoring strategies by identifying critical areas of actual herbicide loss.     

Optimal Selection of Priority Development Areas Considering Tradeoffs Between Hydrology and Development Configuration

Mixed-integer linear programs are proposed for siting development and conservation areas in watersheds, addressing economic objectives (development perimeter and proximity) and ecological objectives. Links between watershed hydrology and ecology need not be well defined. Parameters for the linear programs are obtained from linearization of the SWAT hydrologic model.