WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR FLOOD RISK REDUCTION AND ITS DETERMINANTS IN JAPAN1

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to clarify public preferences for flood control measures in Japan, willingness to pay (WTP), and the main factors involved in WTP by applying the contingent valuation method. Findings showed that most residents surveyed expected some flood control measures, and revealed a diversity of interest in river management. WTP levels for different measures ranged from a mean of ¥2,887 to ¥4,861 and from a median of ¥1,000 to ¥2,000. However, WTP for additional flood risk reduction beyond initial levels was found to be zero. This was considered to be because WTP for flood risk reduction must be determined within a multi‐risk context. WTP for flood control measures may increase with per capita income, individual preparedness, and/or experience with flooding, but may decrease with distance from a river, acceptability of flood risk, and provision of environmental information. Furthermore, perception of flood risk may increase WTP, while perception of other risks may decrease it. Methods of dealing with environmental risk that were proposed in the survey may have affected WTP levels.     

Transfer of metals from soil to vegetables in an area near a smelter in Nanning, China

A field survey was conducted to investigate the metal contamination in soils and vegetables, and to evaluate the possible health risks to local population through foodchain transfer near a smelter in Nanning, southern China. Contamination levels in soils and vegetables with cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were measured, and transfer factors (TF) from soils to vegetable plants and its health risk (risk index, RI) were calculated accordingly. Results showed that both soils and vegetables from villages 1 and 2 (V1 and V2, 1500 m and 500 m from the smelter) were heavily contaminated, compared to a village 50 km from the smelter. Geometric mean of Cd and Pb concentrations in vegetables for V1 and V2, respectively, were 0.15 and 0.24 mg Cd kg(-1) and 0.45 and 0.38 mg Pb kg(-1) (on fresh weight basis). Oral intake of Cd and Pb through vegetables poses high health risk to local residents. Risk indices for V1 and V2, respectively, were 3.87 and 7.42 for Cd, and 1.44 and 13.5 for Pb. The complexity of metal contamination and their health risks are also discussed.     

复合生物反应器工艺对化纤废水的处理研究

在普通活性污泥系统的曝气池中投加一定量的填料构成复合生物反应器 ,可以增加曝气池中的生物体量至 6g/L左右 ,在HRT为 8h ,泥龄为 5d时 ,CODCr、氨氮的去除率分别提高了 2 0 %和9.6% ,容积负荷对复合生物反应器的脱氮能力影响较小。该工艺对污泥膨胀有较好的控制     

Experimental study on the control of black smoke pollution from the ceramic kilns based on the mechanism of the surfactant and coagulant

Aiming at the characteristics of carbon black, a new method of controlling the black smoke from the industrial coal-burning ceramic kilns by wetting was brought forward. The carbon black in the flue of coal-burning ceramic kiln was collected for the experiments, and its physical and chemical properties were studied in detail. In order to change the sedimentation and wettability state of the carbon black, the complex solution of the coagulant and surfactant was applied. After a series of orthogonal experiments, the complex solutions with better effects were chosen. Then, the sedimentation percentage of carbon black treated by the selected complex solutions was measured. The optimized complex solutions included Na₂SO₄ (100 mmol/L), sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS) (1.2 mmol/L) and polyacrylamide (PAM) (40 mg/L). After carbon black was absorbed, the complex solutions were clear and colorless. The complex solutions can be recycled, and the sedimentation percentage of carbon black is 94%.     

微生物降解前后COD差值法快速测定BOD

采用活性污泥曝气法降解前后COD差值的方法,进行了BOD快速检测的研究。条件实验结果表明,其适宜检测条件为:降解时间180 min;污泥量5 mL/100 mL;pH值7.0;温度25℃。模拟废水检测结果表明,该测定方法具有较高的重复性,5次测定的相对偏差小于6.5%,在BOD浓度为0~500 mg/L范围内,微生物降解前后COD差值与BOD5有良好的相关性,其相关系数达到0.98。因此,可以通过测定微生物降解前后COD值,实现快速BOD检测的目的,同时,也可实现COD和BOD一体化检测,这将是今后COD和BOD检测研究的发展方向之一。     

多轴差分吸收光谱仪对大气污染物SO2、NO2、O3的立体监测

多轴差分吸收光谱仪（MAX—DOAS）是用来监测大气中痕量气体成分的专用仪器,它能同时自动监测SO2、NO2和03三种污染气体,得到的垂直柱浓度对研究污染物的时空分布特点具有重要意义。分析了2011年5月下旬至2012年4月中旬期间MAX—DOAS在重庆市的测量数据,结果表明：夏季SO2的柱浓度高于其它季节,并在每个季节都出现了峰值：SO2与NO2之间浓度变化趋势相同,且最大小时浓度值都集中在上午;O3垂直柱浓度受气象条件和臭氧前体物的影响呈夏季高、秋冬低的季节性变化;通过多元回归建立了O3柱浓度与气象因素、前体物的关系式。     

Interactions of fluoroquinolone antibiotics with sodium hypochlorite in bromide-containing synthetic water: Reaction kinetics and transformation pathways

Seven popular fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) in synthetic marine aquaculture water were subject to sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) disinfection scenario to investigate their reaction kinetics and transformation during chlorination. Reactivity of each FQ to NaClO was following the order of ofloxacin (OFL) > enrofloxacin (ENR) > lomefloxacin (LOM) > ciprofloxacin (CIP) ~ norfloxacin (NOR) >> pipemedic acid (PIP), while flumequine did not exhibit reactivity. The coexisting chlorine ions and sulfate ions in the water slightly facilitated the oxidation of FQs by NaClO, while humic acid was inhibitable to their degradation. The bromide ions promoted degradation of CIP and LOM, but restrained oxidation of OFL and ENR. By analysis of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), eight kinds of emerging brominated disinfection byproducts (Br-DBPs) caused by FQ_S were primarily identified in the chlorinated synthetic marine culture water. Through density functional theory calculation, the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) characteristic as well as the charge distribution of the FQs were obtained to clarify transformation mechanisms. Their formation involved decarboxylation, ring-opening/closure, dealkylation and halogenation. Chlorine substitution occurred on the ortho-position of FQs's N4 and bromine substitution occurred on C8 position. The piperazine ring containing tertiary amine was comparatively stable, while this moiety with a secondary amine structure would break down during chlorination. Additionally, logK_ow and logBAF of transformation products were calculated by EPI-Suite^TM to analyze their bioaccumulation. The values indicated that Br-DBPs are easier to accumulate in the aquatic organism relative to their chloro-analogues and parent compounds.     

Ten-year emission characteristics of atmospheric pollutants from incineration of sacrificial offerings in China

The incineration of sacrificial offerings is a significant widely practiced custom that is also a kind of neglected air pollution source in China. Our results showed that the emission factors of particulate matter, SO₂, CO, NO_x, and VOCs emitted from the incineration of sacrificial offerings with purification systems were reduced by 95%, 19%, 9%, 82%, and 42%, respectively, compared with those without a purification system, revealing a significant effect of the flue gas purification system on reducing particulate matter and gaseous pollutants. The emission level of air pollutants from the incineration of sacrificial offerings remained stable before 2013 and then showed a remarkable decrease after the implementation of China´s Air Pollution Prevention Action Plan in 2013. The emissions of TSP (total suspended particulate), PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and NO_x in 2009 were 8222, 6106, 5656 and 15,878 ton, respectively, obviously higher than 3434, 2551, 2305 and 8579 ton in 2019. Such trend was affected by both the quantity of incineration and the installation rate of purification systems after the Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Crematory (GB 13801-2015) issued in China. Distinct spatial distribution of atmospheric pollutants from incineration of sacrificial offerings was found with higher in the east and south of China than the west and north of China, which is proportional to the regional economy and population. The maximum ground-level concentration typically occurred at 0.12-0.2 km from the pollution source, posing potential health risks to people entering and exiting funeral and burial sites and nearby residents.     

Association of emergency room visits for respiratory diseases with sources of ambient PM2.5

Previous studies have reported associations of short-term exposure to different sources of ambient fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5)) and increased mortality or hospitalizations for respiratory diseases. Few studies, however, have focused on the short-term effects of source-specific PM_(2.5) on emergency room visits(ERVs) of respiratory diseases. Source apportionment for PM_(2.5) was performed with Positive Matrix Factorization(PMF) and generalized additive model was applied to estimate associations between source-specific PM_(2.5) and respiratory disease ERVs. The association of PM_(2.5) and total respiratory ERVs was found on lag4(RR = 1.011, 95%CI: 1.002, 1.020) per interquartile range(76 μg/m~3) increase.We found PM_(2.5) to be significantly associated with asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) ERVs, with the strongest effects on lag5(RR = 1.072,95%CI: 1.024, 1.119), lag4(RR = 1.104, 95%CI: 1.032, 1.176) and lag3(RR = 1.091, 95%CI: 1.047,1.135), respectively. The estimated effects of PM_(2.5) changed little after adjusting for different air pollutants. Six primary PM_(2.5) sources were identified using PMF analysis, including dust/soil(6.7%), industry emission(4.5%), secondary aerosols(30.3%), metal processing(3.2%),coal combustion(37.5%) and traffic-related source(17.8%). Some of the sources were identified to have effects on ERVs of total respiratory diseases(dust/soil, secondary aerosols, metal processing, coal combustion and traffic-related source), bronchitis ERVs(dust/soil) and COPD ERVs(traffic-related source, industry emission and secondary aerosols). Different sources of PM_(2.5) contribute to increased risk of respiratory ERVs to different extents, which may provide potential implications for the decision making of air quality related policies, rational emission control and public health welfare.     

Quantitative assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants in Qingdao, China

In this study, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in sewage sludge samples from four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Qingdao, China. These WWTPs differ in the type of treatment used and in the origin of the wastewater. The total amounts of PAHs in digested sludges ranged from 1.9645 to 6.5752 mg/kg, which did not exceed the projected European Union cut-off limits (6 mg/kg) for sludge found in farmland, except for the Haibohe WWTP. Significant differences were observed in overall PAH values between WWTPs receiving domestic effluents and those receiving industrial effluents. The total amounts of PAHs in digested sludge from the Licunhe and Haibohe WWTPs, which mainly received industrial effluents, were markedly higher than those of the Tuandao and Huangdao WWTPs, which received only domestic effluents. The distribution of PAH compounds in digested sludges were analysed. At the Tuandao, Huangdao and Licunhe WWTPs, 2-, 3-, 4-benzene rings were predominant, accounting for 100%, 99.8% and 99.0% of the sum concentration of 16 PAHs (∑PAHs), respectively. At the Haibohe WWTP, a large number of high molecular weight PAHs (5-, 6-benzene rings) were observed, accounting for 30% of the ∑PAHs. The sum of seven carcinogenic PAHs (∑PAHs-c) ranged from 0.8694 to 3.0389 mg/kg in four WWTPs. The highest value was found in the Haibohe WWTP. Moreover, the PAH concentrations in sludges from the different treatment processes in the Licunhe and Tuandao WWTPs are discussed.