Assessing field vulnerability to phosphorus loss in Beijing agricultural area using Revised Field Phosphorus Ranking Scheme

Guanting Reservoir,one of the drinking water supply sources of Beijing,suffers from water eutrophication.It is mainly supplied by Guishui River.Thus,to investigate the reasons of phosphorus(P)loss and improve the P management strategies in Guishui River watershed are important for the safety of drinking water in this region.In this study,a Revised Field P Ranking Scheme(PRS)was developed to reflect the field vulnerability of P loss at the field scale based on the Field PRS.In this new scheme,six factors are included, and each one was assigned a relative weight and a determination method.The affecting factors were classified into transport factors and source factors,and,the standards of environmental quality on surface water and soil erosion classification and degradation of the China were used in this scheme.By the new scheme,thirty-four fields in the Guishui River were categorized as"low","medium"or"high"potential for P loss into the runoff.The results showed that the P loss risks of orchard and vegetable fields were higher than that of corn and soybean fields.The source factors were the main factors to affect P loss from the study area.In the study area,controlling P input and improving P usage efficiency are critical to decrease P loss.Based on the results,it was suggested that more attention should be paid on the fields of vegetable and orchard since they have extremely high usage rate of P and high soil test of E Compared with P surplus by field measurements,the Revised Field PRS was more suitable for reflecting the characteristics of fields,and had higher potential capacity to identify critical source areas of P loss than PRS.     

Treatment of 2-phenylamino-3-methyl-6-di-n-butylaminofluoran production effluent by combination of biological treatments and Fenton＇s oxidation

High strength refractory organic stream is produced during the production of 2-phenylamino-3-methyl-6-di-n-butylaminofluoran （One Dye Black 2, abbr. ODB 2）, a novel heat-sensitive material with a promising market. In this study, a combination of acidificationprecipitation, primary biological treatment, Fenton＇s oxidation and another biological treatment was successfully used for the removal of COD from 18000-25000 mg/L to below 200 mg/L from the ODB 2 production wastewater in a pilot experiment. A COD removal of 70%-80% was achieved by acidification-precipitation under a pH of 2.5-3.0. The first step biodegradafion permitted an average COD removal of 70% under an hydraulic residence time （HRT） of 30 h. By batch tests, the optimum conditions of Fenton＇s oxidation were acquired as： Fe^2＋ dose 6.0 mmol/L; H2O2 dose 3000 mg/L; and reaction time 6 h. The second step biological treatment could ensure an effluent COD below 200 mg/L under an HRT of 10 h following the Fenton＇s treatment.     

Modeling of air quality with a modified two-dimensional Eulerian model： A case study in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region of China

A modified two-dimensional Eulerian air quality model was used to simulate both the gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations during October 21-24, 2004 in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region, China. The most significant improvement to the model is the added capability to predict the secondary organic aerosols （SOA） concentrations because of the inclusion of the SOA formation chemistry. The meteorological input data were prepared using the CALMET meteorological model. The concentrations of aerosol-bound species such as NO3^-, NH4^＋, SO4^2-, and SOA were calculated in the fine particle size range （〈2.5 μm）. The results of the two-dimensional model were compared to the measurements at the ground level during the PRD Intensive Monitoring Campaign （IMC）. Overall, there were good agreements between the measured and modeled concentrations of inorganic aerosol components and O3. Both the measured and the modeled results indicated that the maximum hourly O3 concentrations exceeded the China National Air Quality Standard. The predicted 24-h average SOA concentrations were in reasonable agreement with those predicted by the method of minimum OC/EC ratio.     

A method for determining the analytical form of a radionuclide depth distribution using multiple gamma spectrometry measurements

When characterizing environmental radioactivity, whether in the soil or within concrete building structures undergoing remediation or decommissioning, it is highly desirable to know the radionuclide depth distribution. This is typically modeled using continuous analytical expressions, whose forms are believed to best represent the true source distributions. In situ gamma ray spectroscopic measurements are combined with these models to fully describe the source. Currently, the choice of analytical expressions is based upon prior experimental core sampling results at similar locations, any known site history, or radionuclide transport models. This paper presents a method, employing multiple in situ measurements at a single site, for determining the analytical form that best represents the true depth distribution present. The measurements can be made using a variety of geometries, each of which has a different sensitivity variation with source spatial distribution. Using non-linear least squares numerical optimization methods, the results can be fit to a collection of analytical models and the parameters of each model determined. The analytical expression that results in the fit with the lowest residual is selected as the most accurate representation. A cursory examination is made of the effects of measurement errors on the method.     

利用磁信息研究潮滩重金属污染的探讨

本文以长江口潮滩沉积物的系统磁性测量为基础,对照化学分析和粒度分析等数据,初步探讨了潮滩沉积物的磁性特征与重金属元素含量的相关联系及其机理,建立了重金属元素含量与磁参数的定量关系模型,并揭示了长江口潮滩重金属污染的空间特征及其与沉积环境的联系。本项工作成功地探索了利用磁信息研究潮滩重金属污染的技术路线和应用前景,指出了在一定区域内,利用适量样品的磁性测量与重金属元素分析数据,建立其定量回归模型的可行性。从而可以在区域污染调查中,通过广泛的磁数据测量,由经验公式定量地估算不同滩地部分的重金属元素含量,以全面了解潮滩重金属污染的空间分布,分析其规律和机理。由于磁测方法具有快速、简便、经济、易行等特点,它为大范围的潮滩重金属污染研究提供了一项实用有效的辅助手段。     

Concentrations and trends of benzene in ambient air over New York State during 1990–2003

Since 1990s, a systematic program to measure air toxics has been active in New York State with monitors located both in urban and rural areas. In this study we examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of benzene, a known human carcinogen that is emitted by many source categories. The analysis indicates that ambient concentration levels of benzene have decreased by as much as 60% over this period not only in the ozone non-attainment area of New York City that had the reformulated gas (RFG) requirements, but also over the rest of the state as well. Although the rate of decrease appears to have flattened out in recent years, the annual average concentration levels are found to be above the health risk threshold even at the remote location, Whiteface Mountain, suggesting the need for further reductions in benzene emissions.     

Long-range transport and re-circulation of pollutants in the western Mediterranean during the project Regional Cycles of Air Pollution in the West-Central Mediterranean Area

During the warm season (March–September), high ozone concentrations have been reported at the coastal and mountain monitoring stations of the eastern Iberia coast (Millán et al., J. Geophys. Res. 102 (D7) 8811, J. Appl. Meteorol. 4 (2000) 487). The vegetation protection threshold of current Directive 92/72/EEC and the World Health Organisation guideline for the protection of crops and semi-natural vegetation are systematically exceeded during the whole period. The main objective of the present study is to search for the origin of these chronic pollution levels: to search for the reason(s) for such high O₃ concentrations during such a long period. A mesoscale model is used to reproduce the diurnal cycle of winds and stability/layering over the Western Mediterranean Basin (WMB), at a sufficient space/temporal resolution, under a typical recursive synoptic condition during the warm season: data from the flight tracks of the European Project—Regional Cycles of Air Pollution in the West-Central Mediterranean Area—are used to substantiate the model results. Times of residence and the final distribution of pollutants entering the WMB are estimated using single-particle Lagrangian trajectories and a multiple-particle dispersion model. Our results show that the marine boundary layer and the lower troposphere in the region between the Balearic Islands and eastern Iberia are subject to a flow regime that tends to accumulate pollutants within large circulations, covering the entire western basin. We have also shown a diurnal pulsation of the Tramontana/Mistral wind regime, which can transport new pollutants into the area (background concentrations of 50–65 ppb of O₃ of continental European origin) that are added to local emissions and re-circulated within the coastal breezes at eastern Iberia for periods of more than five days. Local emissions and wind configuration contribute to increase the O₃ concentrations up to 100 ppb and even more.     

Co-Creating community gardens on untapped terrain – lessons from a transdisciplinary planning and participation process in the context of municipal housing in Vienna

ABSTRACT

Urban gardening in Vienna, Austria, has gained a new significance over the last ten years. However, although demand is constantly rising and urban gardening is being marketed in many ways, a vast majority of the urban population still has no access to gardening and its various benefits. While community gardening projects in Europe are usually viewed as temporary, self-organised bottom-up initiatives on public or abandoned private land, this case study of the Roda-Roda pilot project shows that community gardening can develop and persist even when favourable conditions for grassroots community gardens are lacking. The vast green spaces separating residential blocks (Abstandsgrün) commonly found in Vienna’s municipal housing (Wiener Gemeindebau) have a huge spatial potential for gardening, along with a forgotten tradition of self-organisation. Using an action research approach, this paper describes two principles for a successful implementation strategy under difficult conditions. Starting with a top-down approach, an interdisciplinary project team implemented a spatial and socio-economic framework that offered a stable basis for participatory community-building. As they “climbed” the ladder of participation stepwise – from exclusion to decision-making and true self-organisation – gardeners gained knowledge, skills and the self-confidence required to run a garden and create a well-working local community. At a more general level, the paper brings a co-creative planning perspective to the scientific discussion on community gardening in Europe and offers a practical approach to making local gardening opportunities available to suitable target groups by tapping into unused spatial potential.     

Risk Factors to Musculoskeletal Disorders and Anthropometric Measurements of Filipino Manufacturing Workers

This study looked into the risk factors to musculoskeletal disorders and established anthropometric measurements of Filipino workers in 29 manufacturing industries. Anthropometric measurements of 1,805 workers were taken, and 495 workers were surveyed. Limitation of motion was found in 0.8% of the respondents, affectation in activities of daily living was seen in 1.6% and 3.2% felt discomfort in the head and neck. Upper trunk and low back pain was experienced by 23.8%. Odds ratio results (p = .05) showed that it is 29 times likely for workers to develop low back pain when they stand for 2-8 hrs a day than when they sit all the time. Anthropometry can be used for the design ofworkstations and work furniture.     

Simulation of Reflected and Scattered Laser Radiation for Designing Laser Shields

This paper presents a computer simulation of reflected and scattered laser radiation for calculating the angle of laser shields performed with the Laser Shield Solver computer program. The authors describe a method of calculating the shield angle for laser shields which protect workers against reflected and scattered laser radiation and which are made from different materials. The main assumptions of the program, which calculates and simulates reflected laser radiation from any material and which can be used for designing shield angles, are presented. Calculations are compared with measurements of reflected laser radiation. The results for one type of laser and different materials which interacted with a laser beam showed that the Laser Shield Solver was an appropriate tool for designing laser shields and its simulations of reflected laser radiation distribution have practical use.