CO2 dispersion around two PWR nuclear power plants in Brazil

Atmospheric air samples were taken within 3 km from power plants encompassing five different distances and wind directions. Samples were taken between 2002 and 2005 aiming to evaluate the environmental ¹⁴C enrichment due to the operation of Brazilian nuclear power plants. The sampling system consisted of a pump connected to a trapping column filled with a 3 M NaOH solution. The trapped CO₂ was analyzed for ¹⁴C by using a single stage accelerator mass spectrometry (SSAMS).     

Living near nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

There has been public concern regarding the safety of residing near nuclear power plants, and the extent of risk for thyroid cancer among adults living near nuclear power plants has not been fully explored. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies was conducted to investigate the association between living near nuclear power plants and the risk of thyroid cancer. A comprehensive literature search was performed on studies published up to March 2015 on the association between nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk. The summary standardized incidence ratio (SIR), standardized mortality ratio (SMR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effect model of meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses were performed by study quality. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, covering 36 nuclear power stations in 10 countries. Overall, summary estimates showed no significant increased thyroid cancer incidence or mortality among residents living near nuclear power plants (summary SIR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.87–1.11, summary SMR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.62–1.04). The pooled estimates did not reveal different patterns of risk by gender, exposure definition, or reference population. However, sensitivity analysis by exposure definition showed that living less than 20 km from nuclear power plants was associated with a significant increase in the risk of thyroid cancer in well-designed studies (summary OR = 1.75; 95% CI 1.17–2.64). Our study does not support an association between living near nuclear power plants and risk of thyroid cancer but does support a need for well-designed future studies.     

Plant uptake of 134Cs in relation to soil properties and time

134Cs uptake by sunflower and soybean plants grown on seven different soils and its relation to soil properties were studied in a greenhouse pot experiment. Soil in each pot was contaminated by dripping the 134Cs in layers, and sunflower and soybean plants were grown for three and two successive periods, respectively. 134Cs plant uptake was expressed as the transfer factor (TF) (Bq kg(-1) plant/Bq kg(-1) soil) and as the daily plant uptake (flux) (Bq pot(-1) day(-1)) taking into account biomass production and growth time. For the studied soils and for both plants, no consistent trend of TFs with time was observed. The use of fluxes, in general, provided less variable results than TFs and stronger functional relationships. A negative power functional relationship between exchangeable potassium plus ammonium cations expressed as a percentage of cation exchange capacity of each soil and 134Cs fluxes was found for the sunflower plants. A similar but weaker relationship was observed for soybean plants. The significant correlation between sunflower and soybean TFs and fluxes, as well as the almost identical highest/lowest 134Cs flux ratios, in the studied soils, indicated a similar effect of soil characteristics on 134Cs uptake by both plants. In all the studied soils, sunflower 134Cs TFs and fluxes were significantly higher than the respective soybean values, while no significant difference was observed in potassium content and daily potassium plant uptake (flux) of the two plants.     

Edward Burtynsky's Manufactured Landscapes: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Creating Moving Still Images and Stilling Moving Images of Ecological Disasters

This paper analyzes the complex relationship between photography and film in the documentary “Manufactured Landscapes,” a film about the work of Edward Burtynsky: beautiful, painterly, large format photos of scarred landscapes, dumps and industrial worksites. Combining the format of an artist portrait, showing the photographer at work, with that of a social documentary about the impact of mass industrialization and globalization worldwide, the film has the power to make us look beyond the beauty of his images and see the big picture of the issues at stake: the impact of mass production and mass consumption in which we all take part. The film also forces us to think about the role of the artist in society as either aesthete or truth teller.     

Effect of external potassium (K) supply on the uptake of 137Cs by spring wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Tonic): a large-scale hydroponic study.

A large-scale hydroponic experiment was carried out in a non-controlled greenhouse. Spring wheat plants were grown to maturity at four levels of external K concentration (2, 4, 20 and 40 mgl(-1)) and one concentration of radiocaesium (8 Bqml(-1)). Concentrations of K and radiocaesium in the growth solution were closely monitored, and replenishments were made upon depletion. K effectively competed with radiocaesium in terms of root uptake. Activity concentrations of radiocaesium in plants differed significantly between the four K treatments; the activity concentration at the lowest external K concentration being 100 times higher than that at the highest K level. The relationship between radiocaesium uptake and external K level could be described by a negative power function; this showed that when the K level reached around 12 mgl(-1), further increases in the external K level resulted only in slight changes in its inhibitory effect. As a result of this inhibitory effect of potassium supply, concentrations of radiocaesium in plant tissues, grains in particular, were greatly reduced at high external K concentration. Mechanisms involved in Cs-K interaction in root uptake are also discussed.     

Modeling thermoelectric power generation in view of climate change: a comment

Numerous power plants in Europe had to be throttled in summer months of the years 2003 and 2006 due to water shortages and high water temperatures caused by a hot and dry summer. Therefore, the effects of higher temperatures on power plants have received much attention in the last years. One article published in Regional Environmental Change presents a study about ‘Modeling thermoelectric power generation in view of climate change’. In this article, the statement is given that other studies do not include aspects as environmental legislation or cots of water shortages. This comment will show that in at least one article cited these aspects are considered.     

Enhancement of population doses due to production of electricity from brown coal in Poland

Changes in natural radioactivity as a result of the operations of three Polish brown-coal-fired power plants have been assessed via calculations based on the results of radio-spectrometric measurements of coal and fly ash, information on local climatic conditions and data on atmospheric releases from the plants. Calculations were performed using a computer code derived from solution of the Pasquille equation. Transfer coefficients and conversion factors of absorbed radioactivity to effective dose equivalent (EDE) were selected using literature data. Values for EDE due to inhalation, ingestion and external gamma radiation from radionuclides deposited on the ground were calculated for the population inhabiting the most polllated area and also for the whole population. The individual maximum EDE for the most ‘radioactive’ power plant was estimated at 10·4 μSv y⁻¹. This EDE is less than 1% of the total natural radiation burden of 2 mSv y⁻¹. EDE estimates for the vicinities of the other two power plants are 0·5 and 4·2 μSv y⁻¹. The collective EDE resulting from the production of electrical energy from brown coal was calculated to be 104 man-Sv y⁻¹, i.e. 14 man-Sv per GW-year. It is concluded that some of the brown-coal-fired power plants in Poland should improve their fly ash control and that the manner in which existing transfer coefficients are reported in the literature does not lead to unequivocal results when applied to EDE calculations.     

A probabilistic approach to obtaining limiting estimates of radionuclide concentration in biota

The US Department of Energy has developed a graded approach for evaluating radiation doses to biota. Limiting concentrations of radionuclides in water, soil, and sediment were derived for twenty-three radionuclides. Four organism types (aquatic animals, riparian animals, terrestrial animals, and terrestrial plants) were selected as the basis for method development. While environmental transfer data needed for deriving biota tissue concentrations are available for aquatic animals and terrestrial plants, less information is available for terrestrial and riparian organisms. Two methods were applied and examined for their ability to provide estimates of organism:soil or organism:water concentration factors in lieu of measured data. The kinetic/allometric approach combined with a parameter uncertainty analysis provides a needed method to estimate concentration factors across multiple species with limited input data.     

Indoor radon concentration in geothermal areas of central Italy

The indoor radon (²²²Rn) activity concentration was measured between January and June in the schools of two geothermal areas in Tuscany, central Italy. One of these areas (the Larderello area) is characterized by a large number of geothermal power plants, covering about 9% of the world’s geothermal power production. In contrast, the other area, Monte Pisano, has not any such facilities. About 250 measurements were made using track etch detectors. Only a slight difference in the concentrations between the two major sampling areas (98 Bq m⁻³ for Larderello area and 43 Bq m⁻³ for Monte Pisano area) was found, and this was related to different geological characteristics of the ground and not the presence of the geothermal plants. The measured radon concentrations were always well below the intervention levels in both areas, and health risks for students and personnel in the examined schools were excluded.     

Stability of Isolated Populations of Terrestrial Mammals Inhabiting the Islands of the Peter the Great Bay,Sea of Japan

A comparative analysis of the dynamics of insular populations of terrestrial animals was performed. The stability of insular populations and the relationship between their viability and the type of dynamics are discussed.     

岷江上游山地生态系统退化机理研究的核心——关键种群的作用

岷江上游地区在我国长江上游同山峡谷区代表性，由于近几十年来人为活动加剧，该区生态系统严重退化。简要介绍了岷上游山地生态系统的概况，讨论了关键种群在退化生态系统研究中的作用和意义。在此基础上进一步认为，岷江上游山地系统退化机理研究应以典型的干旱河谷灌丛，亚高山森林和亚高山草甸等主要生态为对象，以关键种群为核心和切入点，重点研究了干旱河谷批示植物种群动态有其与环境退化的关系、主要动植物种群在变化在草地生态系统退化过程中的作用、亚高山关键种苗木定居及对退化产生理生态适应机制、土壤微生物区系变化有其对系统中氮素归还的影响等，进而有助于在理论上阐述关键种群的生态功能，探讨关键种群变化导致生态系统退化的作用机理；在实践上为目前国家实施西部大开发生态环境建设的重大需求提供理论依据，推动恢复生态学的发展和该区域的生态建设。     

江苏省秸秆类农业生物质能源分布及其利用的效益

分析了江苏省秸秆类农业生物质能源在不同作物及地区间的分布状况,并选择3个典型的秸秆发电项目作为案例,采用成本 收益分析、货币价值折算及CDM（清洁发展机制）项目分析等方法,重点研究了江苏省生物质能源利用的经济、资源和环境效益。研究结果表明：江苏省秸秆资源以粮食作物为主,约占918%,全省秸秆资源呈由北向南逐渐递减的阶梯式分布;目前的秸秆发电企业处于亏损状态,最主要的制约因素是秸秆发电等生物质能源产业的资源环境外部性得不到应有的补偿;与燃煤发电相比,秸秆发电节省原煤的同时减少了大量的污染排放,如果其资源环境效益的货币价值得以实现,不仅可以补偿企业的经济亏损,还可为企业带来可观收益;另外,CDM项目为生物质能源产业实现其资源环境价值提供了有效的途径     

Uptake of 40K and 137Cs in native plants of the Marshall Islands

Uptake of 137Cs and 40K was studied in seven native plant species of the Marshall Islands. Plant and soil samples were obtained across a broad range of soil 137Cs concentrations (0.08-3900 Bq/kg) and a narrower range of 40K soil concentrations (2.3-55 Bq/kg), but with no systematic variation of 40K relative to 137Cs. Potassium-40 concentrations in plants varied little within the range of 40K soil concentrations observed. Unlike the case for 40K, 137Cs concentrations increased in plants with increasing 137Cs soil concentrations though not precisely in a proportionate manner. The best-fit relationship between soil and plant concentrations was P = aSb where a and b are regression coefficients and P and S are plant and soil concentrations, respectively. The exponent b for 40K was zero, implying plant concentrations were a single value, while b for 137Cs varied between 0.51 and 0.82, depending on the species. For both 40K and 137Cs, we observed a decreasing concentration ratio (where concentration ratio=plant concentration/soil concentration) with increasing soil concentrations. For the CR values, the best-fit relationship was of the form CR = aSb/S = aSb(-1). For the 40K CR functions, the exponent b - 1 was close to - 1 for all species. For the 137Cs CR functions, the exponent b - 1 varied from -0.19 to -0.48. The findings presented here, aswell as those by other investigators, collectively argue against the usefulness of simplistic ratio models to accurately predict uptake of either 40K or 137Cs in plants over wide ranges of soil concentration.     

Simulation and analysis of a combined cycle heat and power plant process

The regulations of process efficiency and stricter environmental policies require analysis of large-scale thermal energy systems to produce highly efficient, cost effective and low environmental impact energy. For analysis, it is beneficial to simulate an energy system. In this paper, simulation models are developed for the analysis of a combined cycle heat and power plant located in Göteborg, Sweden. With the help of simulation models, characteristics between district heating (DH) water temperature and key parameters such as overall district heat duty, electrical power and electrical efficiency has been developed. The characteristics are useful to estimate and maximize the key parameters during varying DH water temperature. According to a comparison between the full-load simulation models of 2006 and 2013 for the selected power plant, a loss of 2 MW is noticed for gas turbine and a loss of 2.18 MW of heat flow occurs for heat recovery steam generator in the year 2013. The feasibility analysis of modifying the connection between DH economizer and main DH line provides good performance indicators in a winter scenario. The conclusions in this paper are good references to plan and improve the performance of existing large-scale thermal power plants.     

Using stated preference methods to assess environmental impacts of forest biomass power plants in Portugal

As a renewable energy source, the use of forest biomass for electricity generation is advantageous in comparison with fossil fuels; however, the activity of forest biomass power plants causes adverse impacts, affecting particularly neighbouring communities. The main objective of this study is to estimate the effects of the activity of forest biomass power plants on the welfare of two groups of stakeholders, namely local residents and the general population. To this end, we apply two stated preference methods: contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments, respectively. The former method was applied to estimate the minimum compensation residents of neighbouring communities of two forest biomass power plants in Portugal would be willing to accept. The latter method was applied among the general population to estimate their willingness to pay to avoid specific environmental impacts. The results show that the presence of the selected facilities affects individuals’ well-being. On the other hand, in the discrete choice experiments conducted among the general population all impacts considered were valued, in particular odour and fauna and flora impacts. The results of this study stress the importance of performing an equity analysis of the welfare effects on different groups of stakeholders from the installation of forest biomass power plants, as their effects on welfare are location and impact specific. Policy makers should take into account the views of all stakeholders either directly or indirectly involved when deciding crucial issues regarding the sitting of new forest biomass power plants, in order to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome.     

Simulation of biological uptake of uranium and radium in an industrially polluted area

Distribution of ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra in soils and plants of an industrially polluted area are considered. The dependence between the biological uptake coefficients (BUCs) for the plant species studied and the radionuclide concentrations in soil can be approximated by a decreasing power function. Species differences in radionuclide uptake are demonstrated.     

从对抗走向和谐:论人与自然关系的重构--从生态哲学看和谐社会的建构

人与自然的对抗主要表现为四个方面：人类征服、改造甚至掠夺自然；自然又加倍报复人类；人类与动物争夺生存环境；人类与动物相互伤害。要实现人与自然从对抗走向和谐。必须树立人与自然和谐相处的自然观。改变传统的经济发展观。以及树立科学文明的消费观等等。     

14C content in vegetation in the vicinities of Brazilian nuclear power reactors

(14)C specific activities were measured in grass samples collected around Brazilian nuclear power reactors. The specific activity values varied between 227 and 299 Bq/kg C. Except for two samples which showed (14)C specific activities 22% above background values, half of the samples showed background specific activities, and the other half had a (14)C excess of 1-18%. The highest specific activities were found close to the nuclear power plants and along the main wind directions (NE and NNE). The activity values were found to decrease with increasing distance from the reactors. The unexpectedly high (14)C excess values found in two samples were related to the local topography, which favors (14)C accumulation and limits the dispersion of the plume. The results indicate a clear (14)C anthropogenic signal within 5 km around the nuclear power plants which is most prominent along northeastwards, the prevailing wind direction.     

Derivation of a screening methodology for evaluating radiation dose to aquatic and terrestrial biota

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) currently has in place a radiation dose standard for the protection of aquatic animals, and is considering additional dose standards for terrestrial biota. These standards are: 10 mGy/d for aquatic animals, 10 mGy/d for terrestrial plants, and, 1 mGy/d for terrestrial animals. Guidance on suitable approaches to the implementation of these standards is needed. A screening methodology, developed through DOE's Biota Dose Assessment Committee (BDAC), serves as the principal element of DOE's graded approach for evaluating radiation doses to aquatic and terrestrial biota. Limiting concentrations of radionuclides in water, soil, and sediment were derived for 23 radionuclides. Four organism types (aquatic animals; riparian animals; terrestrial animals; and terrestrial plants) were selected as the basis for development of the screening method. Internal doses for each organism type were calculated as the product of contaminant concentration, bioaccumulation factor(s) and dose conversion factors. External doses were calculated based on the assumption of immersion of the organism in soil, sediment, or water. The assumptions and default parameters used provide for conservative screening values. The screening methodology within DOE's graded approach should prove useful in demonstrating compliance with biota dose limits and for conducting screening assessments of radioecological impact. It provides a needed evaluation tool that can be employed within a framework for protection of the environment.