How does eliminating mercury from artisanal and small-scale gold mining lead to achieving sustainable development goals?

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the principal anthropogenic activity that globally contributes to overloading our environment with mercury. Although the Minamata Convention, led by the United Nations, is a crucial instrument to eliminate its use progressively, novel approaches to accelerate this difficult transition are welcome. This article proposes a framework for policy-making or improvement, fostering the enforcement of mercury elimination through the lens of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the excluded artisanal and small-scale gold miners and their dependents. We move forward with a literature review of the Artisanal and Small Mining topic, taking each SDG as a unit of analysis. Understanding the problem as a puzzle of four sets of pieces, namely: (1) social, (2) environmental, (3) economic, and (4) institutional, the paper offers potential opportunities for the decision-makers and practitioners to accelerate the substitution of this heavy metal and develop sustainable futures for the ASGM communities. We conclude by proposing a pragmatic framework that synthesizes the means, actions, and ends to accelerate a sustainable transition.     

郑州市土壤与绿色植物中汞的分布特征

汞污染具有生物积累性,因而得到社会广泛关注。研究监测和评估了郑州市城区土壤和绿色植物叶片中汞浓度、分布、污染水平等。研究发现郑州市主城区土壤总汞浓度为0. 150～0. 958 mg/kg,平均浓度为0. 448 mg/kg;郑州市主城区绿色植物叶片总汞浓度为0. 017～0. 249 mg/kg,平均浓度为0. 107 mg/kg;土壤和叶片中汞浓度按功能区排序为交通枢纽区工业区商业区行政区高教区住宅区。采用地累积指数法对郑州市80个土壤样品的汞污染水平进行评估,结果显示60%受到轻度污染,35%受到偏中度污染,5%受到中度污染。研究较为全面地分析了土壤汞污染的现状及浓度,为郑州市土壤汞污染防治提供参考。     

A new prediction method of industrial atmospheric pollutant emission intensity based on pollutant emission standard quantification

● Established a quantification method of pollutant emission standard. ● Predicted the SO₂ emission intensity of single coking enterprises in China. ● Evaluated the influence of pollutant discharge standard on prediction accuracy. ● Analyzed the SO₂ emissions of Chinese provincial and municipal coking enterprises. Industrial emissions are the main source of atmospheric pollutants in China. Accurate and reasonable prediction of the emission of atmospheric pollutants from single enterprise can determine the exact source of atmospheric pollutants and control atmospheric pollution precisely. Based on China’s coking enterprises in 2020, we proposed a quantitative method for pollutant emission standards and introduced the quantification results of pollutant emission standards (QRPES) into the construction of support vector regression (SVR) and random forest regression (RFR) prediction methods for SO₂ emission of coking enterprises in China. The results show that, affected by the types of coke ovens and regions, China’s current coking enterprises have implemented a total of 21 emission standards, with marked differences. After adding QRPES, it was found that the root mean squared error (RMSE) of SVR and RFR decreased from 0.055 kt/a and 0.059 kt/a to 0.045 kt/a and 0.039 kt/a, and theR² increased from 0.890 and 0.881 to 0.926 and 0.945, respectively. This shows that the QRPES can greatly improve the prediction accuracy, and the SO₂ emissions of each enterprise are highly correlated with the strictness of standards. The predicted result shows that 45% of SO₂ emissions from Chinese coking enterprises are concentrated in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei provinces in central China. The method created in this paper fills in the blank of forecasting method of air pollutant emission intensity of single enterprise and is of great help to the accurate control of air pollutants.     

燃煤电厂大气污染物排放考核时间间隔的建议

新的《火电厂大气污染物排放标准》和新《环境保护法》实施后，燃煤火电企业的依法治企自觉性不断提高，但由于不同的环保管理文件对超标处罚依据和处罚手段不同，造成政府对企业处罚的自由裁量权加大，对企业造成一定的压力与困惑。结合企业实际运行情况对燃煤电厂大气污染物排放考核时间间隔提出建议。     

Total and methyl mercury in small marine biota caught off the Coast of Chennai,India

Abstract

This study reports the concentrations of total mercury and methyl mercury in sixteen families of marine biota caught off the coast of Kasimedu in Chennai, India, an important but understudied fish landing region. These included the commonly caught croakers, carangids, rays, goat fish, anchovies, crabs, and prawns. There was no correlation between total mercury or methyl mercury with fish length or mass. All concentrations were lower than the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India limits (total mercury = 500?μg/kg; methyl mercury = 250?μg/kg). Some values were above screening levels (total mercury >40?μg/kg wet weight) when considering possible adverse effects in predatory fish that consume the analyzed biota.

Abbreviations: dw: dry weight; MeHg: methyl mercury; THg: total mercury; ww: wet weight     

新疆大气颗粒物的时空分布特征

基于2015年新疆12个城市的PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)地面监测数据,并结合同期气象观测数据,分析了新疆PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)质量浓度的时空分布特征及其与气象要素的关联性。结果表明:新疆大气颗粒物年均质量浓度呈现南高北低特征,南疆各城市的年均PM_(10)质量浓度为150～262μg/m~3,年均PM_(2.5)质量浓度为50～118μg/m~3。北疆各城市的质量浓度相对较低,年均PM_(10)质量浓度为28～139μg/m~3,年均PM_(2.5)质量浓度为13～74μg/m~3。从时间变化来看,在春季和夏季,新疆以粗颗粒物污染为主,冬季以细颗粒物污染为主。此外,在南疆各城市3月PM_(10)质量浓度突然大幅升高与相对湿度明显下降、风速增大直接相关,沙尘天气是导致该区域春季高PM_(10)质量浓度的重要原因。     

交通限行对大气颗粒物及PM2.5中二NFDA1英的影响

为了研究北京大气颗粒物和二NFDA1英(PCDD/Fs)的污染状况以及评估交通限行对大气颗粒物和PCDD/Fs的影响。利用同位素稀释高分辨率气相色谱/高分辨率质谱(HRGC/HRMS)联用法和USEPA 1613B 标准方法,以中国地质大学(北京)东门为采样点,采集大气PM_2.5、PM₁₀、TSP样品,对北京市交通限行期间以及交通限行前后等不同交通状况下颗粒物浓度及大气PM_2.5中17种2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs污染特征进行了监测。结果表明,PM_2.5、PM₁₀、TSP的日均质量浓度在交通限行前分别为126、202、304 μg/m³,限行期间分别为39、78、93 μg/m³,限行结束后分别为79、126 μg/m³。PM_2.5中17种PCDD/Fs的质量浓度(毒性浓度)3个时段分别为1 804 fg/m³(70 fg I-TEQ/m³)、252 fg/m³ (9 fg I-TEQ/m³)和1 196 fg/m³ (48 fg I-TEQ/m³)。北京市交通限行期间颗粒物浓度和二 NFDA1 英浓度显著低于交通限行前后,交通源减排措施的实施是大气颗粒物和二 NFDA1英污染水平降低的主要原因,从减排效果看,交通源减排措施对大气细颗粒物(PM_2.5)的控制效果明显好于大气粗颗粒物。     

长三角和珠三角土壤中汞的化学形态、转化和吸附特性

为了解长江三角洲和珠江三角洲农业土壤中汞的积累可能产生的环境影响,选择10个代表性农业土壤样品,研究了土壤中汞的化学形态、积累过程中形态的转化及吸附-解吸行为.研究表明,当无外源汞加入时,长江三角洲和珠江三角洲农业土壤中,汞主要以稳定的残余态形式存在.但随着汞加入量的增加,土壤中可交换态汞显著增加,增加程度与土壤性质有关.土壤pH是影响土壤汞有效性最重要的因素,其对土壤汞的吸附、解吸、形态转化和存在形态均有很大影响.土壤酸化可促进土壤汞的释放,加剧对环境的危害,防治土壤酸化也可有效降低土壤中汞对环境的危害.     

大气14CO2的时空分异特征及其在化石源CO2示踪中的应用

大气CO₂中放射性碳同位素(¹⁴C)的水平可以反映化石源CO₂的影响程度,这对于评估我国目前化石源CO₂的排放状况和制定节能减排政策具有重要的指导意义。本文在概述大气¹⁴CO₂采样和分析方法的基础上,简要介绍了大气¹⁴CO₂观测的起源和主要的源汇过程,重点论述了大气¹⁴CO₂的时空分异特征及其驱动因素;阐述了化石源CO₂浓度的估算方法及¹⁴CO₂在国内外化石源CO₂示踪中的应用现状,并对大气¹⁴CO₂观测在我国化石源CO₂示踪中的应用前景进行了展望;旨在为我国正确地开展大气¹⁴CO₂的观测研究,深刻地理解特定区域大气¹⁴CO₂的时空分异特征和化石源CO₂的分布状况提供参考。     

江苏省300MW以上燃煤电厂汞排放现状分析

基于2012年江苏省10家典型燃煤电厂相关数据,分析了影响烟气中汞(Hg)排放浓度的因素。其中电厂负荷、烟气净化设施、燃烧炉类型等会直接影响烟气中Hg的排放浓度,而原煤中Hg的含量与烟气中Hg的浓度没有直接的关系。通过模型对江苏省现有300 MW以上燃煤电厂Hg排放量进行了估算,2012年Hg排放总量约为7.307 t。通过反距权重插值进行分析,发现在区域分布上江苏省整体呈现出南部高于北部的趋势。