Overview of Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea

For hundreds of years, the seas have been used as a place to dispose of wastes from human activities. Although no high level radioactive waste has been disposed of into the sea, variable amounts of packaged low level radioactive wastes have been dumped at 47 sites in the northern part of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. in 1946 the first sea dumping operation took place at a site in the North-East Pacific Ocean. the last dumping operation was in 1982, at a site off the European continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. Between these two dates, an estimated 46 PBq (1.24 MCi) of radioactive waste coming from research, medical, military and industrial activities have been disposed of at sea. the present trend, through the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter and other Regional Conventions, points towards the prohibition of the dumping of any radioactive waste into the marine environment.     

南太平洋社会群岛塔希提岛(TAHITI)火山岩——一种典型的大洋岛屿玄武岩

塔希提岛火山岩属典型的大洋岛屿玄武岩(OIB)。该岛是法属波利尼西亚群岛中社会群岛链之一部分,火山活动可分三期:早期(1.7—1.3Ma),中期(1.3—0.6Ma)和晚期(0.6—0.3Ma)。早期火山岩兼有碱性和拉斑系列岩石,包括苦橄玄武岩、碱性玄武岩、拉斑玄武岩及少量玄武安山岩;中期火山岩主要有粗面玄武岩—粗面岩、碱性玄武岩和少量碧玄岩;晚期则以碧玄岩为主,并有部分碱玄岩出现。火山岩的这种岩性变化表明其岩浆由早到晚从富镁、硅弱不饱和向富碱和硅强烈不饱和演化。 社会群岛火山链的火山活动以平均11cm/a的速率从西北向东南迁移,与MORB相比,所有塔希提的岩石皆富大离子亲石元素并有较高的~(87)Sr/~(66)Sr比值,这一特征可能与其特殊的源区成分有关,即富集的地幔热柱或大洋岩石圈。早期岩石是地幔热柱和少量洋壳的部分熔融产物的混合体,故既有拉斑系列又有碱性系列。随着火山活动远离存在热柱的热点区域,洋壳部分熔融的程度逐渐降低,因而其产生的熔融体也越来越富碱,~(87)Sr/~(66)Sr比值也相应有所降低。     

石油污染对牡蛎超显微结构毒性效应的研究

采用电子显微镜观察石油污染对牡蛎生殖腺和肝胰腺组织细胞的毒性作用。结果显示,石油污染对牡蛎具有明显的慢性毒害作用,50 mg／L浓度组,实验10 d的牡蛎,其组织细胞受石油污染不明显;当实验时间为30 d时,出现明显的毒性效应,细胞核核膜肿胀,染色质聚集并边际化,细胞核崩解,细胞坏死,组织萎缩,线粒体的变化较其他细胞器对石油污染较敏感,受损坏的程度较重。     

Climate Convention Implementation: An Opportunity for the Pacific Island Nations to Move Toward Sustainable Energy Systems

This article does not focus on adaptation or mitigation policy directly but on an allied opportunity that exists for the Pacific Islands via the auspices of the Climate Convention, because the existing very costly energy systems used in the Pacific Island region are fossil-fuel dependent. It is argued here that efforts can be made towards the development of energy systems that are ecologically sustainable because Pacific Island nations are eligible to receive assistance to introduce renewable energy technology and pursue energy conservation via implementation mechanisms of the Climate Convention and, in particular, through transfer of technology and via joint implementation. It is contended that assistance in the form of finance, technology, and human resource development from developed countries and international organizations would provide sustainable benefits in improving the local Pacific Island environments. It is also emphasized that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is not the responsibility of the Pacific Islands as they contribute very little on a per capita global scale and a tiny proportion of total global greenhouse gas emissions.     

Risk estimation to human health caused by the mercury content of Sushi and Sashimi sold in Japanese restaurants in Brazil

Although fish is a healthy alternative for meat, it can be a vehicle for mercury (Hg), including in its most toxic organic form, methylmercury (MeHg). The objective of the present study was to estimate the risk to human health caused by the consumption of sushi and sashimi as commercialized by Japanese food restaurants in the city of Campinas (SP, Brazil). The total Hg content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry with thermal decomposition and amalgamation, and the MeHg content calculated considering that 90% of the total Hg is in the organic form. The health risk was estimated from the values for the provisional tolerable weekly ingestion (PTWI) by both adults and children. The mean concentrations for total Hg were: 147.99, 6.13, and 3.42 µg kg^?1 in the tuna, kani, and salmon sushi samples, respectively, and 589.09, 85.09, and 11.38 µg kg^?1 in the tuna, octopus and salmon sashimi samples, respectively. The tuna samples showed the highest Hg concentrations. One portion of tuna sashimi exceeded the PTWI value for MeHg established for children and adults. The estimate of risk for human health indicated that the level of toxicity depended on the type of fish and size of the portion consumed.     

Combustion-derived substances in deep basins of Puget Sound: historical inputs from fossil fuel and biomass combustion

Reconstructions of 250 years historical inputs of two distinct types of black carbon (soot/graphitic black carbon (GBC) and char-BC) were conducted on sediment cores from two basins of the Puget Sound, WA. Signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also used to support the historical reconstructions of BC to this system. Down-core maxima in GBC and combustion-derived PAHs occurred in the 1940s in the cores from the Puget Sound Main Basin, whereas in Hood Canal such peak was observed in the 1970s, showing basin-specific differences in inputs of combustion byproducts. This system showed relatively higher inputs from softwood combustion than the northeastern U.S. The historical variations in char-BC concentrations were consistent with shifts in climate indices, suggesting an influence of climate oscillations on wildfire events. Environmental loading of combustion byproducts thus appears as a complex function of urbanization, fuel usage, combustion technology, environmental policies, and climate conditions.     

Interacting Effects of Translocation,Artificial Propagation,and Environmental Conditions on the Marine Survival of Chinook Salmon from the Columbia River,Washington, U.S.A.

Abstract: Captive rearing and translocation are often used concurrently for species conservation, yet the effects of these practices can interact and lead to unintended outcomes that may undermine species’ recovery efforts. Controls in translocation or artificial‐propagation programs are uncommon; thus, there have been few studies on the interacting effects of these actions and environmental conditions on survival. The Columbia River basin, which drains 668,000 km² of the western United States and Canada, has an extensive network of hydroelectric and other dams, which impede and slow migration of anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and can increase mortality rates. To mitigate for hydrosystem‐induced mortality during juvenile downriver migration, tens of millions of hatchery fish are released each year and a subset of wild‐ and hatchery‐origin juveniles are translocated downstream beyond the hydropower system. We considered how the results of these practices interact with marine environmental conditions to affect the marine survival of Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha). We analyzed data from more than 1 million individually tagged fish from 1998 through 2006 to evaluate the probability of an individual fish returning as an adult relative to its rearing (hatchery vs. wild) and translocation histories (translocated vs. in‐river migrating fish that traveled downriver through the hydropower system) and a suite of environmental variables. Except during select periods of very low river flow, marine survival of wild translocated fish was approximately two‐thirds less than survival of wild in‐river migrating fish. For hatchery fish, however, survival was roughly two times higher for translocated fish than for in‐river migrants. Competition and predator aggregation negatively affected marine survival, and the magnitude of survival depended on rearing and translocation histories and biological and physical conditions encountered during their first few weeks of residence in the ocean. Our results highlight the importance of considering the interacting effects of translocation, artificial propagation, and environmental variables on the long‐term viability of species.     

Farming salmon ethically

Salmon farming is a rapidly expanding industry. In order for it to develop in an ethical manner, many ethical issues must be confronted. Among these are questions regarding the quality of life of salmon on farms. To develop reasonable answers to these questions considerable thought must be devoted to developing appropriate standards of care for salmon. If these questions are not addressed the results could be bad both for salmon and for salmon farmers.