Modeling of power plant impacts on fish populations

A simulation model was developed for assessing the effects of power plant impacts on fish populations. The model was based on biomass changes in a fish population that divided into 4 life stages: eggs, larvae, juveniles, and adults. Metabolism of fish was included in the model as assimilation and respiration with the effects of temperature push-pull regulation. A cohort technique was used for life stage transfers in the young stages. Compensation was included in terms of density-dependent mortality of the young fish. Power plant impacts on a fish population included entrainment (eggs and larvae) and impingement (juveniles and adults).The model was applied to the gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) population in Pool 14 of the Mississippi River in Illinois and lowa. The nearby nuclear power plant, the Quad-Cities Station, is located on the Illinois side. The simulation of the model with the 1976 field data estimates of the power plant entrainment and impingement predicted a 10 percent potential reduction of the population over 30 years. The simulated reduction of the population with the effects of different river flows showed that the result with the 1976 river flow data gave 1.5 times higher reduction than the results with data of other plant operation years, 1972 through 1975. Because the 1976 data recorded low river flow, the 10 percent reduction quoted above may be high.     

IMPACT OF FLOOD HAZARD ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY VALUES IN GALT (CAMBRIDGE), ONTARIO1

ABSTRACT: This study is an examination of the relationship between flooding and property values for an urban community in southwestern Ontario which has a lengthy history of flooding. As well, peoples’perceptions of the effect of flooding on property values is discussed. Analysis of sales prices and assessment data demonstrated no statistically significant differences in values of property for residences located in high- and low-risk areas either before or after a major flood in 1974. With both the high- and low-risk areas, sales prices after the 1974 flood were significantly higher than sales prices before the flood. The perceived property values followed a similar pattern. We concluded that differences in flood risk and flood experience did not adversely affect actual or perceived long-term property values.     

EROSIONAL POTENTIAL OF STREAMS IN URBANIZING AREAS1

ABSTRACT: In urbanizing areas, the usual increase in flood flows also increases erosional capability of streams. In order to evaluate such tendencies quantitatively, 25 stream reaches were studied, and were classified as to whether erosion of the channel and banks was light, medium, or heavy. Analysis of characteristics indicated that (1) densely developed areas are correlated with greater erosion, (2) wide stream buffers of natural vegetation are correlated with lesser erosion, and (3) there is no definite correlation of erosion to slope or characteristics of soil. Erosional stream instability can be avoided by retention of storm water runoff, creating additional channel roughness or reducing channel slope during floods by drop structures, such as culverts, which restrict flow. Channel straightening and general bank protection should be minimized in such streams. Design of culverts should take such effects into consideration.     

A Spatial equilibrium perspective for planning the production of electrical energy

A spatial and temporal equilibrium model of production, consumption, prices, and transmission is constructed to determine the efficient pricing and allocation of electrical energy in the United States. Regional coordination is technically feasible and economically attractive. It also maximizes environmental efficiencies. The duplication of electrical generation and transmission facilities yields a misallocation of resources.The utilities put forth specific arguments against coordinated operations. Yet in a fully integrated power system, each region would be expected to maximize the benefits of time diversity by purchasing from outside the region in lieu of the expansion of regional capacity. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has not yet made a serious move to encourage regional coordination and planning, but the Commission has the authority to promote such operations if it chooses to do so.The author is an economist with the Department of Energy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Energy or the views of other staff members.     

Estimates of health benefits due to reductions in ambient NO2 levels

A method is presented here by which the actual numbers of individuals in the U.S. population who would be expected to suffer respiratory illness as a result of exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentrations in excess of the Federally-designated ambient air quality standard can be estimated. At the same time we have attempted to quantify how these adverse health effects would be alleviated by various degrees of reductions in current ambient concentrations. In addition, the health benefit expected to be derived by various NO_x emission control strategies will be examined utilizing the health benefit estimation method presented.It is estimated that there were approximately 33.2×10⁶ excess cases of respiratory illnesses in the U.S. in 1973 associated with ambient NO₂ concentrations in excess of the national ambient standard. A reduction of approximately 50 to 60 percent below 1973 NO₂ levels is needed to essentially eliminate excess respiratory illness associated with ambient NO₂ concentration.     

Entrainment mortality of Ichthyoplankton: Detectability and precision of estimates

The ability to detect and to develop a precise and accurate estimate of the entrainment mortality fraction is an important step in projecting power plant impacts on future fish population levels. Recent work indicates that these mortailities may be considerably less than 100% for some fish species in the early life stages. Point estimates of the entrainment mortality fraction have been developed based on probabilistic arguments, but the precision of these estimates has not been studied beyond the simple statistical test of the null hypothesis that no entrainment mortaility exists.The ability to detect entrainment mortality is explored as a function of the sample sizes (numbers of organisms collected) at the intake and discharge sampling stations of a power plant and of the proportion of organisms found alive in the intake samples (intake survival). Minimum detectable entrainment mortality, confidence interval width, and type II error (probability of accepting the null hypothesis of no entrainment mortality when there is mortality) are considered. Increasing sample size and/or decreasing sampling mortality will decrease the minimum detectable entrainment mortality, confidence interval width, and type II error for a given level of type I error.The results of this study are considered in the context of designing useful monitoring programs for determining the entrainment mortality fraction. Preliminary estimates of intake survival and the entrainment mortality fraction can be used to obtain estimates of the sample size needed for a specified level of confidence interval width or type II error. Final estimates of the intake survival and the entrainment mortality fraction can be used to determine the minimum detectable entrainment mortality and the type II error.     

Air quality assessment along Dhanbad - Jharia road

Road ambient air pollution status along Dhanbad – Jharia road isstudied and presented in this article. The selection of this areais made considering the importance of the road in Dhanbad district and the nature of activities taking place along the road, which reflect that the portion of road upto Dhansar can be considered as having commercial areas on both sides and that from Dhansar to Jharia as having industrial areas on both sides.For the assessment of the ambient air quality along the road monitoring is done at the following five locations: Indian Schoolof Mines (ISM), main gate; Bankmore; Dhansar police check post; Dhansar opencast project agent office and a residential house beside the Rajapur opencast project. The location of ISM, maingate is specially chosen as this represents a commercial shoppingcomplexes and the situation can be compared with that at Bankmore. Monitoring of ambient air quality is done following thestandard procedure prescribed in IS: 5182. In addition the concentration of lead, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium metals in SPM is also monitored. The ambient air quality is monitored in the months of September and November 1999, respectively, to represent monsoon and winter seasons. The SPM concentration observed at all the five locations in the winterseason is more than the permissible limits for commercial andindustrial areas. However, in the monsoon season, the SPM concentration is higher than the permissible limit at the twocommercial locations, i.e., ISM gate and Bankmore, while it isless than the prescribed limit for industrial areas at the remaining three locations. At the ISM gate and Bankmore the SPM generation is mainly by vehicular traffic while at other three locations it was in addition due to mining and other activities.     

皮革铬鞣废水回收利用中铬渣的铬量测定

本文研究了皮革铬鞣废水中铬的定性特征曲线。利用吸光度加合定律对大量实测数据进行统计处理。建立测定铬的实验室校准直线方程，相关系数γ＝０．９９６０．以此作为测定铬鞣废水及回收铬渣中铬量的实验室回归直线方程。并对本法的可靠性进行研究，结果令人满意。本法不仅大大简化了铬量测定的步骤．而且在提高分析效率的同时获得同等的检测结果。     

Fate of Mutagenicity Produced During Anaerobic Biodegradation of the Herbicide Chlornitrofen (CNP)

The mutagenicity of chlornitrofen (CNP)-containing solutions has been reported to increase during anaerobic biodegradation. In the present study, the fate of this increased mutagenicity under subsequent aerobic and anaerobic incubation conditions was investigated using two Salmonella tester strains, YG1024 (a frameshift-detecting strain) and YG1029 (a base-pair-substitution-detecting strain). Mutagenicity for both YG1024 and YG1029 strains increased during nine-day anaerobic biodegradation. During subsequent anaerobic incubation, the increased mutagenicity decreased gradually for YG1029 but did not change significantly for YG1024. By contrast, the increased mutagenicity decreased rapidly after the conversion to aerobic incubation for both YG1024 and YG1029 strains. The rapid decrease in mutagenicity during aerobic incubation was due to decreases, not only in an identified mutagenic metabolite (CNP-amino) but also in unidentified mutagenic metabolites.     

Molecular docking: A potential tool to aid ecotoxicity testing in environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals

A cocktail of human pharmaceuticals pollute aquatic environments and there is considerable scientific uncertainty about the effects that this may have on aquatic organisms. Human drug target proteins can be highly conserved in non target species suggesting that similar modes of action (MoA) may occur. The aim of this work was to explore whether molecular docking offers a potential tool to predict the effects of pharmaceutical compounds on non target organisms. Three highly prescribed drugs, diclofenac, ibuprofen and levonorgestrel which regularly pollute freshwater environments were used as examples. Their primary drug targets are cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and progesterone receptor (PR). Molecular docking experiments were performed using these drugs and their primary drug target homologues for Danio rerio, Salmo salar, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Xenopus tropicalis, Xenopus laevis and Daphnia pulex. The results show that fish and frog COX2 enzymes are likely to bind diclofenac and ibuprofen in the same way as humans but that D. pulex would not. Binding will probably lead to inhibition of COX function and reduced prostaglandin production. Levonorgestrel was found to bind in the same binding pocket of the progesterone receptor in frogs and fish as the human form. This suggests implications for the fecundity of fish and frogs which are exposed to levonorgestrel. Chronic ecotoxicological effects of these drugs reported in the literature support these findings. Molecular docking may provide a valuable tool for ecotoxicity tests by guiding selection of test species and incorporating the MoA of drugs for relevant chronic test end points in environmental risk assessments.