An assessment of indoor air quality in recent Mexican immigrant housing in Commerce City, Colorado

An indoor air quality assessment was conducted on 100 homes of recent Mexican immigrants in Commerce City, Colorado, an urban industrial community north of Denver. Head of households were administered a family health survey, filled out an activity diary, and participated in a home inspection. Carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) were measured for 24 h inside the main living area and outside of the homes. Harvard Impactors were used to collect 24-h samples of PM_2.5 at the same locations for gravimetric analysis. Dust samples were collected by vacuuming carpeting and flooring at four locations within the home and analyzed by ELISA for seven allergens. Mean indoor and outdoor PM_2.5 levels were 27.2 and 8.5 μg m⁻³, respectively. Indoor PM_2.5 and CO₂ were elevated in homes for which the number of hours with door/window open was zero compared to homes in which the number of hours was high (>15 h). Indoor PM_2.5 levels did not correlate with outdoor levels and tended to increase with number of inhabitants, and results indicate that the source of indoor particles were occupants and their activities, excluding smoking and cooking. Mean indoor CO₂ and CO levels were 1170 and 2.4 ppm, respectively. Carbon monoxide was higher than the 24-h National Ambient Air Quality Standard in 3 of the homes. The predominant allergens were cat (Fel d 1) and mouse (Mus m 1) allergens, found in 20 and 34 homes, respectively.     

中国21世纪城市供水新概念--分质供水

结合我国城市一直使用的统一给水方式已与当前水资源紧缺，用水多样化，人们饮用水质质化的状况极不适应的情况，提出对传统的给水方式进行改革的最适宜方式是分质供水。     

沈阳工业区夏季VOCs组成特征及其对二次污染形成的贡献

利用2019年和2020年夏季沈阳市工业区大气挥发性有机物(VOCs)的观测数据,研究沈阳市夏季工业区大气VOCs的组成特征并初步判断其来源,并利用最大增量反应活性(MIR)和气溶胶生成系数(FAC)法分别估算该地大气VOCs的臭氧生成潜势(OFP)及二次有机气溶胶生成潜势(AFP).结果表明,观测期间沈阳市工业区ρ(总VOCs)平均值为41.66μg·m^-3,烷烃、烯烃、芳香烃和乙炔分别占总VOCs浓度的48.50%、 14.08%、 15.37%和22.05%.浓度排名前10的物种累计占总VOCs浓度的69.25%,其中大部分为C2～C5的烷烃,还包括乙炔、乙烯和部分芳香烃.总VOCs整体上呈现出早晚浓度高、中午浓度低的日变化特征,峰值分别出现在06:00和22:00,11:00～16:00处于较低水平.由甲苯/苯(T/B)和异戊烷/正戊烷的比值判断工业区主要受机动车尾气排放、溶剂使用、燃烧源和LPG/NG的影响.工业区大气VOCs的总AFP为41.43×10^-2μg·m^-3,其中芳香烃的贡献最大;总OFP贡献值为1...     

Effect of thallium on phototactic behaviour in Daphnia magna

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Thallium (Tl) is a trace metal enriched in wastewaters associated with mining and smelting of base metals. The toxicity of Tl to aquatic biota is...     

Partitioning of polar and non-polar neutral organic chemicals into human and cow milk

The aim of this work was to develop a predictive model for milk/water partition coefficients of neutral organic compounds. Batch experiments were performed for 119 diverse organic chemicals in human milk and raw and processed cow milk at 37°C. No differences (<0.3 log units) in the partition coefficients of these types of milk were observed. The polyparameter linear free energy relationship model fit the calibration data well (SD=0.22 log units). An experimental validation data set including hormones and hormone active compounds was predicted satisfactorily by the model. An alternative modelling approach based on log K(ow) revealed a poorer performance. The model presented here provides a significant improvement in predicting enrichment of potentially hazardous chemicals in milk. In combination with physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling this improvement in the estimation of milk/water partitioning coefficients may allow a better risk assessment for a wide range of neutral organic chemicals.     

Development of a risk-based index for source water protection planning, which supports the reduction of pathogens from agricultural activity entering water resources

Source water protection planning (SWPP) is an approach to prevent contamination of ground and surface water in watersheds where these resources may be abstracted for drinking or used for recreation. For SWPP the hazards within a watershed that could contribute to water contamination are identified together with the pathways that link them to the water resource. In rural areas, farms are significant potential sources of pathogens. A risk-based index can be used to support the assessment of the potential for contamination following guidelines on safety and operational efficacy of processes and practices developed as beneficial approaches to agricultural land management. Evaluation of the health risk for a target population requires knowledge of the strength of the hazard with respect to the pathogen load (massxconcentration). Manure handling and on-site wastewater treatment systems form the most important hazards, and both can comprise confined and unconfined source elements. There is also a need to understand the modification of pathogen numbers (attenuation) together with characteristics of the established pathways (surface or subsurface), which allow the movement of the contaminant species from a source to a receptor (water source). Many practices for manure management have not been fully evaluated for their impact on pathogen survival and transport in the environment. A key component is the identification of potential pathways of contaminant transport. This requires the development of a suitable digital elevation model of the watershed for surface movement and information on local groundwater aquifer systems for subsurface flows. Both require detailed soils and geological information. The pathways to surface and groundwater resources can then be identified. Details of land management, farm management practices (including animal and manure management) and agronomic practices have to be obtained, possibly from questionnaires completed by each producer within the watershed. To confirm that potential pathways are active requires some microbial source tracking. One possibility is to identify the molecular types of Escherichia coli present in each hazard on a farm. An essential part of any such index is the identification of mitigation strategies and practices that can reduce the magnitude of the hazard or block open pathways.     

Adsorption of organic vapors on polar surfaces- Recent advances

This paper summarizes recent research on the adsorption of organic vapors on surfaces. Since the low gas phase concentration range is typical for environmental situations, this review is restricted to these adsorption coefficients. Two environmental parameters have a strong influence on the adsorption of organic vapors on polar surfaces:temperature andrelative humidity (which is the most suitable parameter for describing the influence of ambient moisture). An exponential relationship was found for the adsorption coefficientversus relative humidity and the reciprocal temperature, respectively. Comparing the heats of adsorption, two different groups of substances emerged: polar chemicals exhibited heats of sorption which were higher than their corresponding heats of condensation due to their ability to form hydrogen bonds, while for the nonpolar compounds the opposite was true. Sorption takes place on the surface of an adsorbed water film when the relative humidity exceeds the value which is necessary to form a monomolecular layer of water on the surface of the adsorbent (≥ 30 % relative humidity). Therefore, at temperature below 0 °C, a change in the adsorption behavior might be expected due to a change of properties of the adsorbed water film. However, no alterations were observed at temperatures from -12 °C to + 4 °C (adsorption on quartz sand). The results were comparable to those at much higher temperatures (50 – 80 °C). A statistical approach for the prediction of the adsorption coefficients from physico-chemical parameters of the substances (vapor pressure, polarizability, and electron-donating capability) was developed and good agreement was found with experimental results and independent data from the literature. Finally, two special cases, the adsorption on bulk water and ice, are discussed.     

MESIP∗: Modelling environmental scenarios in ponds

MESIP is a fugacity model which can predict the fate of organic hydrophobic chemicals in aquatic ecosystems. In this paper a short introduction to the mathematical model is presented together with a more detailed listing of the required input data. Comparison of the calculated and measured fate of a fluorescent whitening compound in an artificial outdoor pond is shown