石化企业苯类物质非密闭操作过程的职业暴露分析

采用职业卫生学调查和职业暴露风险评估方法,对选定的苯类物质非密闭操作过程较集中的芳烃装置进行职业暴露分析和评估,为石化企业苯类物质的健康风险控制提供依据。     

不同条件下皂苷对污染塿土中Cu、Pb的淋洗修复

为了探讨环境友好型生物表面活性剂皂苷(saponin)对污染塿土中重金属Cu、Pb的淋洗修复效果,采用批次试验方法,研究了皂苷在不同的淋洗时间、质量浓度、p H、淋洗次数及背景电解质强度下对Cu、Pb单一污染塿土和复合污染塿土中Cu、Pb的淋洗效果.结果表明,当皂苷质量浓度为50 g·L-1、p H值为5.0、淋洗时间为240 min、无背景电解质离子共存时,重金属离子通过与皂苷胶团络合,对污染塿土中Cu、Pb的淋洗去除效果达到最大;在单一污染塿土和复合污染塿土中,50g·L-1的皂苷在最佳淋洗条件下对Cu的单次淋洗百分率分别为29.02%和25.09%,对Pb的单次淋洗百分率分别为31.56%和28.03%,同时也显示皂苷对Pb的去除效果比Cu更显著.经过4次淋洗后,在单一污染塿土和复合污染塿土中皂苷对Cu的累积淋洗百分率分别为58.92%和53.11%,对Pb的累积淋洗百分率分别为77.69%和65.32%.单次淋洗前后污染塿土中重金属形态分级结果表明:污染塿土中吸附态、交换态Cu、Pb的质量分数有所增加;碳酸盐结合态、有机结合态和硫化物残渣态的Cu、Pb可得到有效去除.     

长期暴露下纳米二氧化钛对典型淡水藻体砷累积与生物转化的影响

以铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)和斜生栅藻(Scenedesmus obliquus)为研究对象,通过室内培养实验,研究了长期暴露下纳米二氧化钛(nano-TiO_2)对五价砷[As(Ⅴ)]在典型淡水藻体中累积与生物转化的影响.结果表明不同藻类对无机砷的吸收和转化能力差异很大.长期暴露下斜生栅藻累积的砷(As,以DW计,下同)高达(819.66±11.25)μg·g-1,比铜绿微囊藻累积的As[(355.95±8.31)μg·g-1]高2倍多.Nano-TiO_2可增加藻体对As的吸收累积,降低了培养基中As的含量.同时,nano-TiO_2可增加藻体对As(Ⅴ)的生化转化;其中,铜绿微囊藻中有机砷以二甲基砷(DMA)为主,而斜生栅藻中有机砷以一甲基砷(MMA)为主.另外,长期暴露下nano-TiO_2处理的铜绿微囊藻和斜生栅藻向培养基释放的甲基砷小于对照组,表明长期暴露中的nano-TiO_2不能促进藻体内甲基砷的释放.研究结果可促进nano-TiO_2与As相互作用时生态风险的理解.     

两种木材生物炭对铜离子的吸附特性及其机制

为探索高效利用废弃生物质资源制备生物炭去除水体和土壤中Cu~(2+)污染的可行性,本文以常见的农林废弃物苹果树枝和梧桐木锯末为原料,采用450℃限氧热裂解法制备生物炭,通过两种生物炭对Cu~(2+)的批量吸附试验,利用4种等温吸附模型(Langmuir、Freundlich模型、Temkim、D-R模型)和4种吸附动力学模型(准一级动力学、准二级动力学、Elovich模型、颗粒内扩散模型)研究了苹果枝和锯末生物炭对Cu~(2+)的吸附行为.同时,使用FTIR红外、SEM和BET比表面积及孔径分析等技术表征了生物炭的理化性质,研究了两种生物炭对Cu~(2+)吸附机制,分析了两种生物炭之间的吸附特性差异及其影响因素.结果表明:(1)苹果枝生物炭在3 h达到吸附平衡,理论最大吸附量为15.85 mg·g~(-1),锯末生物炭在6h达到吸附平衡,理论最大吸附量为17.44 mg·g~(-1),与其他研究相比,这两种生物炭体现了较高的Cu~(2+)吸附性能;(2)两种生物炭对Cu~(2+)的热力学吸附均较好地符合Langmuir模型,表明吸附过程主要是近似单分子层的有益吸附;动力学吸附均符合准二级吸附动力学模型,表明其对Cu~(2+)的吸附包括表面吸附、颗粒内扩散和液膜扩散等多种过程;(3)吸附机制主要包括静电吸附,配体(酚羟基)/离子(H+)交换和阳离子—π键作用.     

掺杂聚乙烯醇的壳聚糖小球对铜离子-腐殖酸的单一和连续吸附行为

以三聚磷酸钠作为离子交联剂,合成了一种掺杂聚乙烯醇的壳聚糖小球,采用SEM和FTIR表征了小球的表面性能及官能团分布情况,进一步研究了这种小球对腐殖酸和铜离子的单独吸附行为、连续吸附行为及两者共存状态下的吸附行为,并通过XPS能谱分析了吸附过程的机理.结果表明:在单独吸附过程中,壳聚糖小球与腐殖酸和铜的作用方式主要是通过静电引力和络合作用;在连续吸附过程中,先吸附了腐殖酸的小球,后续对铜离子的吸附效果变弱;而先吸附了铜离子的小球,后续对腐殖酸的吸附能力变强,说明这种小球在吸附过程中可以被连续使用.而在腐殖酸和铜离子共存的吸附实验中发现,壳聚糖小球除了会吸附溶液中的铜离子和腐殖酸外,还导致它们的聚集沉降.     

玉米光谱小波奇异熵的铜污染监测研究

不同浓度铜离子(Cu2+)胁迫梯度下的玉米叶片光谱存在细微差异,但传统的光谱相似性测度方法难以区分健康的与受污染的玉米叶片光谱间的变异信息.为此,本文结合小波变换和奇异熵理论,构建小波奇异熵(Wavelet Singular Entropy,WSE)方法用于Cu2+胁迫下的玉米污染程度分析与污染监测.通过设置不同浓度Cu2+胁迫梯度下的玉米盆栽实验,依据玉米叶片的光谱测量数据和所测定的叶片中Cu2+含量,并与绿峰高度(Green-peak Height,GH)和红谷吸收深度(Red-valley Depth,RD)光谱特征参数法污染监测应用结果进行对比分析,研究WSE方法的Cu2+污染监测效果.结果表明,WSE值与Cu2+胁迫梯度、玉米叶片中Cu2+含量呈显著正相关,WSE值大小能够较好地表征叶片光谱的污染信息奇异性及其污染程度.     

Copper marketing with forward and futures contracts: state-owned and private Chilean firms during the 1990s

The use of futures in copper marketing became common during the 1990s, but little attention has been put on the reasons for it and its relationship with other elements of marketing such as forward sales and premiums. This study focuses on these issues and the benefit of futures relative to annual forward contracts. It argues futures complement annual forward contracts to secure the average market price rather than to maximize revenue. The paper analyzes empirical evidence for the six largest Chilean copper producers. This sample reflects well the entire Chilean industry during the 1990s. The analysis shows that forward sales became more volatile and futures seem to be the instrument to avoid income fluctuation at the end of the marketing process. However, the benefits of futures compared to forward sales are very modest. In the last section we suggest a better marketing instrument to maximize revenue may be premiums.     

Limitations in the determination of maximum residue limits and highest residues of pesticides: Part I

The pesticide usages are controlled by comparing residue concentrations in treated commodities to legally permitted maximum levels (MRLs) determined based on supervised trials designed to reflect likely maximum residues occurring in practice following authorised use. The number of trials available may significantly affect the accuracy of estimated maximum residues. We conducted a study with synthetic lognormal distributions with mean of 1 and standard deviations of 0.8 and 1.0, which reflect the residue distributions observed in practice. The likely residues in samples were modelled by drawing random samples of size 3, 5, 10 and 25 from the synthetic populations. The results indicate that the estimations of highest residues (HR), used for calculation of short-term intake, and the MRLs, serving as legal limits, are very uncertain based on 3–5 trials indicated by the calculated HR_0.975/HR_0.025 and MRL_0.975/MRL_0.025 ratios of 12 and 9, and 13 and 10, respectively, which question the suitability of such trials for the intended purpose. As the 95% range of HR and MRL rapidly decreases with number of trials, ideally ≥15 but minimum 6–8 trials should be used for estimation of HR and MRL according to the current typical practice of Codex Alimentarius.     

Exposure to inhaled THM: Comparison of continuous and event-specific exposure assessment for epidemiologic purposes

Trihalomethanes (THMs) (chloroform, bromoform, dibromochloromethane, and bromodichloromethane) are the most abundant by-products of chlorination. People are exposed to THMs through ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation. The objective of this study was to compare two methods for assessing THM inhalation: a direct method with personal monitors assessing continuous exposure and an indirect one with microenvironmental sampling and collection of time–activity data during the main event exposures: bathing, showering and swimming. This comparison was conducted to help plan a future epidemiologic study of the effects of THMs on the upper airways of children. 30 children aged from 4 to 10 years were included. They wore a 3M^™ 3520 organic vapor monitor for 7 days. We sampled air in their bathrooms (during baths or showers) and in the indoor swimming pools they visited and recorded their time–activity patterns. We used stainless steel tubes full of Tenax^® to collect air samples. All analyses were performed with Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Chloroform was the THM with the highest concentrations in the air of both bathrooms and indoor swimming pools. Its continuous and event exposure measurements were significantly correlated (r_s = 0.69 p < 0.001). Continuous exposures were higher than event exposures, suggesting that the event exposure method does not take into account some influential microenvironments. In an epidemiologic study, this might lead to random exposure misclassification, thus underestimation of the risk, and reduced statistical power. The continuous exposure method was difficult to implement because of its poor acceptability and the fragility of the personal monitors. These two points may also reduce the statistical power of an epidemiologic study. It would be useful to test the advantages and disadvantages of a second sample in the home or of modeling the baseline concentration of THM in the home to improve the event exposure method.     

EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT OF POPULATIONS USING ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING,DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS,AND GIS1

ABSTRACT: Simulation of ground-water flow and fate of contaminants in the subsurface environment constitutes a major phase of most environmental assessment and site remediation studies. These simulation studies yield information on spatial and temporal distributions of contaminants in the subsurface media. An important use of this information is to conduct exposure assessment studies. Spatial and temporal distributions of both chemical concentrations and exposed populations render this integrated exposure analysis task rather difficult. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), on the other hand, provide a platform in which layered, spatially distributed databases can be manipulated with ease, thereby simplifying exposure analysis tasks significantly. In this paper, we describe procedures that combine the simulation models and demographic databases under a GIS platform to automate the exposure assessment phase of a typical health assessment study. Procedures developed herein significantly simplify the post-processing phase of the analysis, and render the overall task more ‘user friendly.’ A site-specific application is included as a demonstration of the proposed process.