Traditional water bodies and ecosystem services: Empirical evidence from West Bengal,India

Traditional water harvesting systems are multi-functional in nature and provide a variety of ecosystem services that contribute to the overall wellbeing of local people. This study aims to identify and analyze the factors influencing the variations in the level of awareness across households residing around three selected traditional water bodies in the Indian state of West Bengal. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models have been used to identify and analyze the determinants of household perception on ecosystem services from tank water bodies. Results show that while a majority of households have strong perceptions on the provisioning and cultural ecosystem services of the tanks, the household perceptions on regulating and supporting services of the tank is found to be relatively weak. Households belonging to lower caste and poor are likely to be more dependent on ecosystem services from tanks than upper caste and rich households, and hence they have better perceptions of provisioning ecosystem services. Households’ awareness about provisioning ecosystem services is negatively related to their level of education and wealth. It is observed that household awareness about regulating and supporting ecosystem services is positively associated with the level of education of the households, ownership of tube well and private tanks. While it is essential to consider household perception on all the ecosystem services for sustainable use and management of traditional water harvesting systems, incorporating the local norms, customs and preferences in policy design are critical for achieving effective conservation outcomes.     

Why does the United States lack a global warming policy? The corporate inner circle versus public interest sector elites

Why has the United States not adopted global warming policies? Because the inner circle of the corporate elite has opposed these policies despite some corporate support for cap-and-trade and other policies. Pro- and anti-positions taken by think tanks that have led the policy debate in the post-Kyoto period are analyzed in order to demonstrate this. The corporate and upper class social ties of the directors of these pro- and anti-think tanks are examined, revealing a corporate elite split between the inner circle opposing these policies, and a ‘public interest sector’ of corporate law and media corporations along with top executives from higher education and other nonprofits that is supportive of policies addressing global warming. To enable adoption of major global warming policies, the corporate inner circle will need to become supportive and forge a class-wide corporate consensus on the need to address global warming.     

Information Management System for Site Remediation Efforts

/ Environmental regulatory agencies are responsible for protecting human health and the environment in their constituencies. Their responsibilities include the identification, evaluation, and cleanup of contaminated sites. Leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) constitute a major source of subsurface and groundwater contamination. A significant portion of a regulatory body's efforts may be directed toward the management of UST-contaminated sites. In order to manage remedial sites effectively, vast quantities of information must be maintained, including analytical dataon chemical contaminants, remedial design features, and performance details. Currently, most regulatory agencies maintain such information manually. This makes it difficult to manage the data effectively. Some agencies have introduced automated record-keeping systems. However, the ad hoc approach in these endeavors makes it difficult to efficiently analyze, disseminate, and utilize the data. This paper identifies the information requirements for UST-contaminated site management at the Waste Cleanup Section of the Department of Environmental Resources Management in Dade County, Florida. It presents a viable design for an information management system to meet these requirements. The proposed solution is based on a back-end relational database management system with relevant tools for sophisticated data analysis and data mining. The database is designed with all tables in the third normal form to ensure data integrity, flexible access, and efficient query processing. In addition to all standard reports required by the agency, the system provides answers to ad hoc queries that are typically difficult to answer under the existing system. The database also serves as a repository of information for a decision support system to aid engineering design and risk analysis. The system may be integrated with a geographic information system for effective presentation and dissemination of spatial data.     

热真空设备中与温度相关的试验技术探讨

以RZHM-1400-AB型热真空试验箱为实例,简述设备主要工作原理。强调其温度传递方式及航天产品在热真空试验中温度参数的重要性。以无数试验数据为依据,着重论证何种类型测温传感器与实际设备相匹配,同时论证选取何种外形的测温传感器为最佳温度测量工具。同时,进一步介绍几种在热真空试验中使用这些测温传感器的方法,以减少不必要的人为测量误差。     

贮罐类重大危险源三维风险分级模型研究

为了实现重大危险源分级监管,基于风险管理理论,建立贮罐类重大危险源定性三维分级模型和风险定量分级模型。提出风险评价敏感性因素,选取可能性影响因素、严重性影响因素、敏感性影响因素3类风险评价指标。使用层次分析法(AHP)计算贮罐风险分级指标权重。根据风险可接受准则,将贮罐类重大危险源风险等级划分为4级,实现基于三维风险模型的贮罐类重大危险源快速分级。结果表明:用贮罐类重大危险源三维风险分级模型,通过简单数学模型计算贮罐风险值,能为企业提供风险分级标准,有助于实现政府对贮罐类重大危险源分级监管。     

Pilot-scale experiments on multilevel contact oxidation treatment of poultry farm wastewater using saran lock carriers under different operation model

A pilot-scale multilevel contact oxidation reactors system, coupled with saran lock carriers,was applied for the treatment of poultry farm wastewater. The removal efficiencies of CODcr, ammonia, and the total nitrogen as well as the elimination performance of CODcr and total nitrogen along the three-level contact oxidation tanks under six designed operational models were investigated. Based on the performance of the nitrogen removal of the saran lock carriers and the distribution of anoxic–aerobic interspace under the suitable operation model, the mechanism of nitrogen removal of the system was also explored. The results revealed that the intermittent aeration under parallel model is the most suitable operation model, while the removal efficiencies of CODcr, ammonia, and the total nitrogen were 86.86%, 84.04%, and 80.96%, respectively. The effluent concentration of CODcr,ammonia, and the total nitrogen were 55.6 mg/L, 8.3 mg/L, and 12.0 mg/L, which satisfy both the discharge standard of pollutants for livestock and poultry breeding industry(GB18596–2001) and the first grade of the integrated wastewater discharge standard(GB 8978–1996). Moreover, the mechanism for the nitrogen removal should be attributed to the plenty of anoxic–aerobic interspaces of the biofilm and the three-dimensional spiral structure of the saran lock carriers, where the oxygen-deficient distribution was suitable for the happening of the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process. Therefore, the multilevel contact oxidation tanks system is an effective pathway for the treatment of the poultry farm wastewater on the strength of a suitable operation model and novel carriers.     

Integrated Risk Framework for Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems

Onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) are becoming increasingly important for the treatment and dispersal of effluent in new urbanised developments that are not serviced by centralised wastewater collection and treatment systems. However, the current standards and guidelines adopted by many local authorities for assessing suitable site and soil conditions for OWTS are increasingly coming under scrutiny due to the public health and environmental impacts caused by poorly performing systems, in particular septic tank-soil adsorption systems. In order to achieve sustainable onsite wastewater treatment with minimal impacts on the environment and public health, more appropriate means of assessment are required. This paper highlights an integrated risk based approach for assessing the inherent hazards associated with OWTS in order to manage and mitigate the environmental and public health risks inherent with onsite wastewater treatment. In developing a sound and cohesive integrated risk framework for OWTS, several key issues must be recognised. These include the inclusion of relevant stakeholders throughout framework development, the integration of scientific knowledge, data and analysis with risk assessment and management ideals, and identification of the appropriate performance goals for successful management and mitigation of associated risks. These issues were addressed in the development of the risk framework to provide a generic approach to assessing risk from OWTS. The utilisation of the developed risk framework for achieving more appropriate assessment and management techniques for OWTS is presented in a case study for the Gold Coast region, Queensland State, Australia.     

液化天然气储罐9％镍钢焊缝相控阵AUT工艺

9％镍钢液化天然气储罐制造安装过程中,焊缝检验通常用常规射线照相（RT）进行。本文研讨用相控阵半自动超声检测（AUT）取代射线照相的工艺制定及验证方法。要领分四步：首先带缺陷专用焊接试样的制备;然后相控阵AUT工艺的编制;其次在有已知缺陷的焊接试样上,对AUTT艺作“开放性”验证试验;最后在现场对整个数据采集系统作“封闭性”操作演示和验证评定试验。验证结果表明相控阵AUT取代RT可行可靠,能凸显AUT种种优势。     

扫线污油罐的危险分析及控制

针对轻质油品罐区的两个扫线污油旧罐在使用中存在的隐患,对照油罐的现行相关设计规范进行了危险性分析,提出了扫线污油罐的安全措施。     

大型原油储罐设计中主要安全问题及对策

大型原油储罐储量很大,潜在危险性高,一旦发生事故,损失将十分惨重。为此,在分析了大型原油储罐工程危险性的基础上,重点论述了大型原油储罐设计中的主要安全问题及其对策,包括储罐地基和基础、浮顶储罐密封装置、信号报警联锁系统、排水设计、防腐蚀措施等,特别针对大型原油储罐的特点,详细讨论了浮盘沉底事故原因并介绍了预防浮盘沉底的设计要求,为工程设计提供了有价值的参考依据。