Development and evaluation of RAMP I – a practitioner’s tool for screening of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manual handling

RAMP I is a screening tool developed to support practitioners in screening for work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors related to manual handling. RAMP I, which is part of the RAMP tool, is based on research-based studies combined with expert group judgments. More than 80 practitioners participated in the development of RAMP I. The tool consists of dichotomous assessment items grouped into seven categories. Acceptable reliability was found for a majority of the assessment items for 15 practitioners who were given 1?h of training. The usability evaluation points to RAMP I being usable for screening for musculoskeletal disorder risk factors, i.e., usable for assessing risks, being usable as a decision base, having clear results and that the time needed for an assessment is acceptable. It is concluded that RAMP I is a usable tool for practitioners.     

Life cycle of PCBs and contamination of the environment and of food products from animal origin

This report gives a summary of the historic use, former management and current release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Germany and assesses the impact of the life cycle of PCBs on the contamination of the environment and of food products of animal origin. In Germany 60,000 t of PCBs were used in transformers, capacitors or as hydraulic oils. The use of PCB oils in these “closed applications”, has been banned in Germany in 2000. Thirty to 50% of these PCBs were not appropriately managed. In West Germany, 24,000 t of PCBs were used in open applications, mainly as additive (plasticiser, flame retardant) in sealants and paints in buildings and other construction. The continued use in open applications has not been banned, and in 2013, an estimated more than 12,000 t of PCBs were still present in buildings and other constructions. These open PCB applications continuously emit PCBs into the environment with an estimated release of 7–12 t per year. This amount is in agreement with deposition measurements (estimated to 18 t) and emission estimates for Switzerland. The atmospheric PCB releases still have an relevant impact on vegetation and livestock feed. In addition, PCBs in open applications on farms are still a sources of contamination for farmed animals. Furthermore, the historic production, use, recycling and disposal of PCBs have contaminated soils along the lifecycle. This legacy of contaminated soils and contaminated feed, individually or collectively, can lead to exceedance of maximum levels in food products from animals. In beef and chicken, soil levels of 5 ng PCB-TEQ/kg and for chicken with high soil exposure even 2 ng PCB-TEQ/kg can lead to exceedance of EU limits in meat and eggs. Areas at and around industries having produced or used or managed PCBs, or facilities and areas where PCBs were disposed need to be assessed in respect to potential contamination of food-producing animals. For a large share of impacted land, management measures applicable on farm level might be sufficient to continue with food production. Open PCB applications need to be inventoried and better managed. Other persistent and toxic chemicals used as alternatives to PCBs, e.g. short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), should be assessed in the life cycle for exposure of food-producing animals and humans.     

Characteristic and mechanism of sorption and desorption of benzene on humic acid

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The sorption/desorption behaviors of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) on soil organic matter (SOM) have a significant influence on...     

基于压力响应关系法的湖泊营养物基准制定

湖泊富营养化与氮、磷及有机物含量过高密切相关,建立数字型营养物基准能够防止富营养化对水体指定用途造成影响.太湖流域是我国华东地区经济腹地,近年来流域内湖泊水质每况愈下,对其基准研究可为湖泊治理提供依据.详细介绍了压力响应关系法制定湖泊营养物基准的步骤,并将此方法运用到太湖流域营养物基准制定研究中.为满足大多数水体指定用途,研究中将该流域湖泊基本功能确定为娱乐、永生生物栖息地及饮用水,以此构建流域概念模型.选择压力变量为总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和有机物,响应变量为叶绿素a(chl-a).用非参数分析法和线性回归法分别建立压力-响应模型,通过2种方法相互验证得到TN、TP和CODMn基准分别为0.593、0.067和4.092 mg/L.     

The ageing effect on the bioaccessibility and fractionation of arsenic in soils from China

Ingestion of contaminated soil has been recognized as an important exposure pathway of arsenic for humans, especially for children through outdoor hand-to-mouth activities. An improved sequential extraction procedure was employed in an attempt to reveal the relationship between bioaccessibility and fractionation of As in five soils from China. Arsenic bioaccessibility in acidic ( approximately pH 4.5) soils reached approximately stable levels after a sharp decline within one week of ageing. In contrast, As bioaccessibility in higher pH (>6.0) soils was found to be significantly higher and took two weeks of ageing to reach stable levels. The artificially added As was more labile than indigenous As. The main proportions of added As were found in the specifically sorbed and amorphous and poorly-crystalline hydrous Fe/Al oxide-bound fractions. Correlation analysis shows that the non-specifically and specifically sorbed As are likely to constitute the main proportion of bioaccessible soil As. The soil content of amorphous and crystalline Fe/Al oxides and soil pH appear to be the key factors controlling, not only the time needed to reach a steady state, but also the magnitude of the bioaccessibility of As added to the soils.