鄱阳湖沉积物重金属空间分布及潜在生态风险评价

通过分析鄱阳湖沉积物重金属空间分布特征,评价其潜在生态风险,并探讨了主要重金属污染来源。结果表明:鄱阳湖沉积物7种重金属元素Cd、Hg、As、Cu、Pb、Cr、Zn含量平均值分别为0.67、0.078、17、51、72、42.9、117 mg/kg,除Cd外,其余6种元素均明显高于相应的背景值。从空间分布来看,Cd、Cr含量总体呈现东南、西北部偏高的现象,而Hg、Cu、Pb含量总体呈现东南部偏高的现象,As、Zn的含量分布相对平均。Hg、Cu、Pb、Zn 4种金属元素之间存在极显著相关性,表明这些元素污染具有同源性。潜在生态风险评价结果显示,单个重金属潜在生态风险顺序为CuHgPbCdAsCrZn;从综合潜在生态风险分析来看,整个湖区的RI值为46.4~476.3,平均值为165.4,属于中等潜在生态危害,其中湖区东南部综合潜在生态风险最高。Cu、Hg、Pb等重金属主要来自乐安河流域工业排放。     

湘江干流沉积物中铅和镉的污染特征与评价

2007—2011年连续5 a采集了湘江干流水体沉积物,测定了沉积物样品中铅、镉的含量,同时对霞湾港沉积物中铅、镉的形态进行了分析,并利用地积累指数法、次生相与原生相比值法分别对沉积物中铅、镉的污染状况及生态风险进行了评价。结果表明:湘江水体沉积物中铅、镉的含量较高,其中松柏断面水体沉积物中的铅和镉最高;湘江霞湾港水体沉积物中镉以有机质和硫化物结合态为主;湘江松柏断面的地积累指数在时间上呈上升趋势,霞湾断面、马家河断面和昭山断面的地积累指数在时间上呈弱下降趋势,但松柏断面和霞湾断面沉积物中铅和镉的地积累指数较高,达到6级以上极强污染水平;生态风险评价结果显示,在湘江霞湾港沉积物中镉具有相对较高的生态风险指数,其潜在的生态风险应该引起重视。     

湖库污染底泥环保疏浚工程环评要点探讨

以滇池草海污染底泥疏挖及处置工程为例,分析了湖库底泥疏挖项目环境影响评价因素识别与评价重点,探讨了施工期对水域水质及周围景观影响、施工期恶臭、噪声等的环境影响评价要点,底泥堆放对地下水与土壤环境影响、堆放恶臭对环境影响的评价要点,及疏挖工程的环境效益与运营期对周围生态环境影响分析的要点。针对该类工程在疏挖、余水处理和污染底泥堆存过程中的二次污染问题,提出了切实可行的二次污染防治对策。     

秦皇岛石河口海域沉积物重金属污染及生态风险评价

为了研究石河口海域的沉积物环境,于2009年9月对石河口海域表层沉积物的Cu、Pd、Zn、Cd、Hg、As含量进行了测定,探讨了重金属含量的分布特征和相关关系,采用地累积指数法和潜在生态风险指数法对重金属的富集程度和潜在生态风险进行了评价。结果表明:Cu和Pd、Cu和Cd、Pd和Cd之间存在显著正相关性。重金属富集程度排序为CdHgCuZnPdAs。石河口海域多种重金属潜在生态风险指数属于轻微风险状态。重金属潜在生态风险指数排序为CdHgPdCuAsZn,Cd的生态风险指数属中度风险状态,研究区域在一定程度上受到了Cd的污染。     

东营市地下水碘化物的空间分布特征及影响分析

为研究东营市地下水碘化物的空间分布特征以及对环境和饮用水安全的影响,对域内的山前平原区和黄泛平原区分别布设了48个和47个调查点位。结果表明:东营市地下水碘化物质量浓度均值达到(0.247±0.263) mg/L,其环境质量呈现由南向北逐步恶化的变化趋势,超过90%的国土面积处于地下水环境质量标准Ⅳ类。山前平原区南部是东营市唯一具备可饮用地下水的区域,域内以适碘地区为主,缺碘地区和高碘地区分别位于区域东南部和第二次海侵古海岸线附近。总体上,可饮用地下水处于中等缺碘水平,海(咸)水入侵已成为影响可饮用地下水适碘地区范围的关键因素,需引起高度关注。地下水所处的环境地质概况、海(咸)水入侵和大气降水是影响碘化物空间分布的重要因素。     

花溪水库表层沉积物重金属污染及潜在生态风险评价

以现代工业化前正常颗粒沉积物中重金属含量的最高背景值为参比值,结合潜在生态风险指数法对花溪沉积物中重金属的生态危害进行了评价。结果表明,花溪水库沉积物中重金属的富集顺序为Cu>Zn>Pb>Cr>As>Cd>Hg,污染水平顺序为Hg>Cd>Cu>As>Pb>Cr>Zn;重金属的潜在生态风险系数(Eir)表明,除个别样点外,大多属于轻微生态危害范畴;多种重金属的生态系统的潜在生态风险指数(IR)表明,花溪水库沉积物重金属污染属于轻微生态危害。     

Distribution and Statistical Analysis of Leachable and Total Heavy Metals in the Sediments of the Suez Gulf

The concentrations of nine heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pd and Zn) in the labile and total fractions of muddy and sandy sediment samples collected from twelve sites in Suez Gulf during April 1999 were studied to evaluate the pollution status of the Suez Gulf. The enrichment factors (EF) for each element were calculated. There are extremely high concentrations of Cd, Ni, Pb and slightly concentration of Cr and Cu in both muddy and sandy sediments. The concentration of Zn was moderately high and can be considered as seriously contaminate Metal pollution index (MPI) shows high values ranged between 46 to 156 and 40 to 232 for both sandy and muddy sediments, respectively. Concentrations of heavy metals were normalized against iron for total fraction in both of sandy and muddy sediments. Principal component analysis (PCA) was studied on the data matrix obtained and represented three-factor model explaining 92.22% for labile and 88.82% for total fractions of muddy sediment. The main source of contamination is the offshore oil fields and industrial wastes. This is largely a result of ineffective and inefficient operation equipment, illegal discharge of dirty ballast water from tankers and lack of supervision and prosecution of offenders.     

南宁城市内河沉积物中SVOCs的分布与风险评价

采用加速溶剂萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用技术对南宁市7条城市内河表层沉积物中的64种半挥发性有机物(SVOCs)进行了分析测定,定量检出12种SVOCs,包括7种多环芳烃类(PAHs)、1种酚类和4种酯类,其中属于我国优先控制污染物的有8种,属于美国优先控制污染物的有11种。南宁市城市内河沉积物中的SVOCs总量范围为6.75~34.45 μg/g(以干质量计),均值为15.85 μg/g(以干质量计),以竹排冲的含量最高,污染程度与工业污染源的关系十分密切。特征污染物为酞酸酯,在各测点的比重均占检出总含量的83%以上。除相思湖外的6条城市内河的沉积物均检出PAHs,区域内的工业生产活动对城市内河沉积物的PAHs有重要贡献。应用效应区间低值(ERL)和效应区间中值(ERM)指标对沉积物进行的生态风险评价表明,南宁市城市内河沉积物的生态风险较小。     

深圳滨海大道工程的生态影响与生态补偿

通过运用景观生态学原理对滨海大道工程中生态环境的损失及生态补偿的阐述,指出了道路工程的实施必须充分考虑生态环境损失及相应的生态建设,以利于区域内生态环境良好发展.     

An Integrated Approach for Impact Assessment of Water Harvesting Techniques in Dry Areas: The Case of Oued Oum Zessar Watershed (Tunisia)

In the arid regions of Tunisia, considerable investments are being made to maintain the old water harvesting techniques and introduce new ones to capture the scarce amount of rainwater (100 mm to 230 mm annually) for agricultural and domestic purposes. However, no detailed assessment of the multiple effects and the costs and benefits of these techniques have been made so far. This paper summarizes the results of an in depth investigation of the multiple impacts (runoff mobilization, ground water recharge, agro-socio-economic impacts) of the water harvesting works undertaken in the watershed of oued Oum Zessar (southeastern Tunisia). The importance of interdisciplinary and integrated approaches was revealed through this detailed impact assessment and economic evaluation. In fact, the profitability of the water harvesting works depends largely on the criteria chosen. However, further refinements are needed to better include all possible impacts (positive and negative) that occur as a result of the installation of the water harvesting structures.     

涪江绵阳段表层沉积物重金属污染特征及风险评价

为准确掌握涪江绵阳段表层沉积物重金属的污染特征,分析了7个监测断面表层沉积物中Cd、Se、Mn等19种重金属质量浓度,采用地累积指数法、潜在生态风险评价法和污染负荷指数法评估了沉积物重金属的污染程度及潜在风险。结果表明:涪江绵阳段表层沉积物中Se、Cd、Ba和Hg等元素含量显著超过其土壤背景值,重金属的污染程度依次为Se＞Cd＞Ba＞Hg＞Mo＞Mn;潜在生态风险评价和污染负荷指数评价结果均显示,断面的污染程度排序为楼房沟＞李家渡＞福田坝＞丰谷＞涪江铁路桥＞百顷＞平武水文站断面。楼房沟断面沉积物微观形貌主要为片状或块状,物相主要为石英及少量白云母、方解石和菱锰矿等,与铅锌矿、电解锰渣等主要矿物组成相似,重金属主要来源为尾矿渣在河床的沉积及金属矿开采等外源输入。     

Study of Geochemical Association of Some Trace Metals in the Sediments of Chilika Lake: A Multivariate Statistical Approach

In order to establish the natural processes and geochemical factors responsible for enrichment of trace metal ions (Cu, Co, Ni, Zn and Cr) with respect to textural parameters (sand, silt and clay weight percentages) along with depth, multivariate statistical approach has been carried out for sediments in different water zones of Chilika lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia. The rotated varimax factor results reveal that Cobalt enrichment is controlled by both textural parameters as well as adsorption mechanism. In fresh and saline water region, textural parameters and in mixed water, adsorption phenomenon predominates. Zn in fresh water is related to clay, whereas it is in adsorbed state in mixed water. Cu in fresh water sediments is in absorbed state and in mixed water it is related to depth and Co concentration. Cr does not show any specific association in fresh water, but in both mixed and saline water it is associated with clay minerals. Although both textural parameters and adsorption mechanism play an important role for the enrichment of trace metal ions in these lagoonal sediments, their relative importance varies with specific metal ions as well as the water quality. Sequential extraction technique was used to characterize the various forms of metals in the < 63μ size sediments of Chilika lake. The concentrations determined indicated selective accumulation of the various metals in the different phases with spatial variability in different water zones. Slightly higher availability of Co and Zn near Balugaon township in exchangeable phase may be related to anthropogenic activities. Among the non-lithogenous (NL) phases, reducible phase associated with higher concentration of Ni, Cu and Cr. Organic bound Zn and Co contributed highest percentages among NL fractions. Residual fraction contributed more than 50% in most of the cases, reflected the predominance of physical weathering, high erosion rate along the drainage basin.     

First Step for an Ecological Risk Assessment to Evaluate the Impact of Diffuse Pollution in Lake Vela (Portugal)

Lake Vela, located in the Portuguese littoral-centre, is a temperate shallow lake exhibiting a high trophic status. This aquatic ecosystem has been potentially exposed to contamination generated by agricultural and livestock activities held in their drainage basin, which seriously compromise their health. This work summarizes some background information and presents the problem formulation step of the ERA. Therefore, it evaluates the characteristics of the stressor(s), describes the ecological system and receptors and suggests a conceptual model, which predicts the potential exposure pathways, relating suspected sources to the defined endpoints. This introductory step also described an analysis plan on the entire study, which includes a delineation of the assessment design, data needs, measures, and methods for conducting the analysis phase of the risk assessment process.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Structure Change in a Rural Region of China

As the embodiment of human activities, the change of regional industrial structure is an essential driving factor of global environmental change. Consequently, the research on the change of regional industrial structure and associated effects on the environment is one of the key issues of researches on sustainable development, human–environment relationship, and regional response to global environment change. However, compared to the flourish of researches on environmental impact assessment of industrial departments, few studies have been conducted to assess the environmental impact of regional industrial structure. In this study, based on a synthetic analysis of environmental disturbances of different industrial departments, the environmental impact coefficient of industrial department associated with the index of environmental impact of industrial structure was constructed, so as to make a quantitative assessment of environmental impact of the change of regional industrial structure. And the results of the case study in Lijiang City, a rural region of China, have showed that there are two obvious changes of industrial structure in the study area from 1992 to 2003, associated with a continuous decreasing of the index of environmental impact of industrial structure, which indicated a positive environmental effects of the change of regional industrial structure.     

Derivation and Use of Sediment Quality Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment of Metals and Radionuclides Released to the Environment from Uranium Mining and Milling Activities in Canada

The Screening Level Concentration (SLC) approach was used to derive Lowest Effect Level (LEL) and Severe Effect Level (SEL) concentrations for nine metals (As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mo, Ni, Se, U and V) and three radionuclides (²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb, and ²¹⁰Po) released to the aquatic environment during the mining and milling of uranium ore. This method was chosen because it allowed for the best use of the considerable historical and current data collected for diverse purposes in the uranium mining and milling regions of Canada (20,606 data points used in the analysis). Except for Cr, all the LELs derived in this study using the weighted method and published sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) were highly reliable (> 85%) in predicting sites unimpacted by uranium mining/milling defined as sites where reductions in the abundance and species richness of benthic invertebrate communities were < 20%. The derived SEL values and corresponding published SQGs (with the exception of Ni) were not reliable predictors (≤60%) of severe impacts on benthic invertebrate communities when severe impacts are defined as a reduction in abundance and species richness ≥40%. Most of the severely impacted sites had sediment contaminant concentrations well below the SEL values. It is concluded that LELs derived using the weighted method can reliably be used in ecological risk assessments as concentrations below which adverse effects on benthic invertebrate communities are not expected. In contrast, it is recommended that SELs not be used in assessments of uranium mining/milling activities as concentrations above which adverse effects are anticipated.     

Artificial Neural Networks for Risk Decision Support in Natural Hazards: A Case Study of Assessing the Probability of House Survival from Bushfires

Risk decision-making in natural hazards encompasses a plethora of environmental, socio-economic and management-related factors, and benefits greatly from exploring possible patterns and relations among these multivariate factors. Artificial neural networks, capable of general pattern classifications, are potentially well suited for risk decision support in natural hazards. This paper reports an example that assesses the risk patterns or probabilities of house survival from bushfires using artificial neural networks, with a simulation data set based on the empirical study by Wilson and Ferguson (Predicting the probability of house survival during bushfires, Journal of Environmental Management 23 (1986) 259–270). The aim of this study was to re-model and predict the relationship between risk patterns of house survival and a series of independent variables. Various configurations for input and output variables were tested using neural networks. An approach for converting linguistic terms into crisp numbers was used to incorporate linguistic variables into the quantitative neural network analysis. After a series of tests, results show that neural networks are capable of predicting risk patterns under all tested configurations of input and output variables, with a great deal of flexibility. Risk-based mathematical functions, be they linear or non-linear, can be re-modelled using neural networks. Finally, the paper concludes that the artificial neural networks serve as a promising risk decision support tool in natural hazards.     

Assessing the Impact of Leather Industry to Water Quality in the Aojing Watershed in Zhejiang Province, China

The development of the leather industry in the Aojiang watershed of Zhejiang province increased the release of waste water. In the waste water, ammonium nitrogen (NH⁺ ₄-N) and germanium (Ge) are the main pollutants. In recent years, literature has documented that the intake of high concentrations of NH⁺ ₄-N and Ge harms human health and biological species. This paper focuses on assessing the trends of NH⁺ ₄-N and Ge concentrations in the released waste water in Aojiang watershed and on understanding their relationships with the released waste water using regression and correlation statistics. The paper also utilizes the integrated pollution index to evaluate the water quality in the watershed. Preliminary results show that, from 1992 to 1998, the concentrations of NH⁺ ₄-N and total Ge increased 13 and 14 times, respectively, and they decreased somewhat after 1998. The concentrations of NH⁺ ₄-N and total Ge are positively correlated to the amount of released waste water. These concentrations of NH⁺ ₄-N and Ge, respectively, exceed 12 and 3 times, of the water standards. The water quality in the watershed degraded from Type III in 1992 to over Type V in 2003 when they were compared with the national water quality standards. It appeared that the pollution had positive correlation with leather industry production. The degraded water has no doubt affected human health and the ecosystem health. These results can provide scientific information for the local government to reasonably adjust the industry structure and reduce the pollution to protect the environment.     

Indices of Benthic Community Tolerance in Contaminated Great Lakes Sediments: Relations with Sediment Contaminant Concentrations, Sediment Toxicity, and the Sediment Quality Triad

We evaluated the toxic-units model developed by Wildhaber and Schmitt (1996) as a predictor of indices of mean tolerance to pollution (i.e., Lenat, 1993; Hilsenhoff, 1987) and other benthic community indices from Great Lakes sediments containing complex mixtures of environmental contaminants (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls – PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs, pesticides, chlorinated dioxins, and metals). Sediment toxic units were defined as the ratio of the estimated pore-water concentration of a contaminant to its chronic toxicity as estimated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ambient Water Quality Criteria (AWQC) or other applicable standard. The total hazard of a sediment to aquatic life was assessed by summing toxic units for all contaminants quantified. Among the benthic community metrics evaluated, total toxic units were most closely correlated with Lenat's (1993) and Hilsenhoff's (1987) indices of community tolerance (T _L and T _H , respectively); toxic units accounted for 42% T _L and 53% T _H of variability in community tolerance as measured by Ponar grabs. In contrast, taxonomic richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity were not correlated (P > 0.05) with toxic units. Substitution of order- or family-level identifications for lowest possible (mostly genus- or species-) level identifications in the calculation of T _L and T _H indices weakened the relationships with toxic units. Tolerance values based on order- and family-level identifications of benthos for artificial substrate samples were more strongly correlated with toxic units than tolerance values for benthos from Ponar grabs. The ability of the toxic-units model to predict the other two components (i.e., laboratory-measured sediment toxicity and benthic community composition) of the Sediment Quality Triad (SQT) may obviate the need for the SQT in some situations.     

Ecotoxicological Assessment of the Impact of Residual Heavy Metals on Soil Nematodes in the Guadiamar River Basin (Southern Spain)

On 25 April 1998, as a consequence of the breaking of a dam containing the tailings of a pyrite mine, a land strip of approximately 43 km in length was covered with a layer of black sludge, containing high levels of heavy metals, along the Guadiamar River Basin (southern Spain). In this investigation we carried out an ecotoxicological assessment (field and laboratory studies) of the impact of residual heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni) on soil nematodes in the impacted riparian zone, two years after the huge mine spillage. Concentrations of residual heavy metals were significantly (P<0.05) higher at the impacted sampling sectors (S-2, S-3, S-4, S-5) than at the unpolluted (reference) sampling sector (S-1). Nickel however exhibited the lowest increases at the impacted sectors. As a consequence, correlation coefficients between concentrations of heavy metals and values of ecological indices were not significant for Ni. In contrast, copper, lead and zinc exhibited significant (P<0.05) negative correlation coefficients with ecological indices, particularly with diversity indices (including the~number of taxa). In addition, the toxicity of Cu and Pb to nematode test species (Aphelenchus avenae and Cephalobus persegnis) during short-term toxicity bioassays was much higher than the toxicity of Zn and Ni. We conclude that residual heavy metals were still influencing adversely the community of soil nematodes in the impacted riparian zone of the Guadiamar River Basin. Cu, Pb and, to a lesser extent, Zn would be major responsible for the observed impact.     

A Rapid Method for Assessing the Environmental Performance of Commercial Farms in the Pampas of Argentina

The generation of reliable updated information is critical to support the harmonization of socio-economic and environmental issues in a context of sustainable development. The agro-environmental assessment and management of agricultural systems often relies on indicators that are necessary to make sound decisions. This work aims to provide an approach to (a) assess the environmental performance of commercial farms in the Pampas of Argentina, and (b) propose a methodological framework to calculate environmental indicators that can rapidly be applied to practical farming. 120 commercial farms scattered across the Pampas were analyzed in this study during 2002 and 2003. Eleven basic indicators were identified and calculation methods described. Such indicators were fossil energy (FE) use, FE use efficiency, nitrogen (N) balance, phosphorus (P) balance, N contamination risk, P contamination risk, pesticide contamination risk, soil erosion risk, habitat intervention, changes in soil carbon stock, and balance of greenhouse gases. A model named Agro-Eco-Index was developed on a Microsoft-Excel support to incorporate on-farm collected data and facilitate the calculation of indicators by users. Different procedures were applied to validate the model and present the results to the users. Regression models (based on linear and non-linear models) were used to validate the comparative performance of the study farms across the Pampas. An environmental dashboard was provided to represent in a graphical way the behavior of farms. The method provides a tool to discriminate environmentally friendly farms from those that do not pay enough attention to environmental issues. Our procedure might be useful for implementing an ecological certification system to reward a good environmental behavior in society (e.g., through tax benefits) and generate a commercial advantage (e.g., through the allocation of green labels) for committed farmers.