Decision support methods for the environmental assessment of contamination at mining sites

Polluting mine accidents and widespread environmental contamination associated with historic mining in Europe and elsewhere has triggered the improvement of related environmental legislation and of the environmental assessment and management methods for the mining industry. Mining has some unique features such as natural background pollution associated with natural mineral deposits, industrial activities and contamination located in the three-dimensional sub-surface space, the problem of long-term remediation after mine closure, problem of secondary contaminated areas around mine sites and abandoned mines in historic regions like Europe. These mining-specific problems require special tools to address the complexity of the environmental problems of mining-related contamination. The objective of this paper is to review and evaluate some of the decision support methods that have been developed and applied to mining contamination. In this paper, only those methods that are both efficient decision support tools and provide a ‘holistic’ approach to the complex problem as well are considered. These tools are (1) landscape ecology, (2) industrial ecology, (3) landscape geochemistry, (4) geo-environmental models, (5) environmental impact assessment, (6) environmental risk assessment, (7) material flow analysis and (8) life cycle assessment. This unique inter-disciplinary study should enable both the researcher and the practitioner to obtain broad view on the state-of-the-art of decision support methods for the environmental assessment of contamination at mine sites. Documented examples and abundant references are also provided.     

关于工业园区突发环境事件应急管理体系的思考

工业园区内企业集聚,导致环境风险隐患增加,加强对工业园区突发环境事件的应急管理尤为重要。在综合分析国内外环境应急管理体系现状的基础上,结合实际工作中发现的问题,从工业园区内风险物质的识别、环境应急资源共享、环境应急监测、环境应急管理体系的闭环管理模式、环境应急联动系统建设等5个方面,提出了一些关于建立和完善工业园区突发环境事件应急管理体系的建议。     

环境统计与排污许可衔接的工业源排放核算研究

环境统计面临依据排污许可数据估算工业污染排放总量的挑战.以某市4个行业6类污染物的排放数据为案例,讨论了在非重点源污染排放量估算问题上衔接排污许可和环境统计的可行性和存在的问题.研究结果表明:排污许可重点管理单位与环境统计重点调查单位存在显著差异,不能采用比率估算方法估算工业非重点源排污量;排污许可简化和登记管理单位排...     

化工园区安全与环境一体化智慧监测管理

中国化工园区入驻企业日趋复杂,已有园区面临转型升级,新建园区不断涌现,园区之间竞争激烈,安全与环境隐患较大。为进一步提升化工园区的安全与环境管理水平,笔者研究工业园区安全与环境监测的技术需求、主要监测内容与信息化实现手段,提出了智慧管理的一体化解决方案。主要包括安全与环境监测、一园一档、安全生产及园区封闭化管理4个模块,概括为感知层、网络层、应用层3个层次。智慧管理方案充分利用物联网、云计算、大数据、三维倾斜GIS、数据孪生等先进信息化手段,建立智慧化的环境监督和安全生产监督体系及平台系统,可提高园区安全、环境监测预警及应对突发事件的能力。在园区新型工业化发展过程中,环安一体化、信息化建设有助于园区争夺高端产业,加快科技自主创新,促进产业转型升级,完善民生保障体系,推动园区产业高质量发展。     

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.     

生物监测技术在工业废水监测领域的应用研究

生物监测可以系统反映污染物对生物生长的影响及其在生物体内的转化和迁移,在水环境监测与生态健康管理中的重要性日益突出.伴随着工业化的快速发展,中国水环境污染问题依然严峻,工业废水治理和排放问题仍旧突出.为进一步保障工业废水出水及受纳水体水质安全,迫切需要在工业废水监测中引入生物监测技术.对传统微生物群落监测法、水生生物毒...     

Public participation in China's EIA process and the regulation of environmental disputes

This article reconsiders the role that public participation in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process plays in China. Whilst some commentators have found that public participation has largely failed to make an impact in China, this article argues that it has been an important focal point during environmental disputes over siting decisions. The principles of transparency and public participation embodied in EIA legislation have been prominent frames used to legitimize public action against locally-unwanted-land-uses when decisions are taken unilaterally without sufficient public input or notification. In this sense, the EIA becomes a lightning rod for citizen claims-making in relation to siting disputes. At the same time, these principles help depoliticize contention by channeling it within state-approved discourses, enabling officials to buy time and defuse tension. Here, EIA serves as a shock absorber, helping contribute to social stability when disputes break out. By showing how public participation regulations are closely intertwined with contentious politics, this article highlights the paradoxical and contradictory nature of public participation in China.     

工业污染源产排污系数存在问题分析及修订建议

通过对基层环境统计部门工业源产排污系数实际应用调研,结合当前环境保护重点工作和相关资料查阅等,分析了工业污染源产排污系数存在的主要问题:部分工业源产排污系数缺失,部分工业源产排污系数与实际偏差较大等。针对存在的主要问题提出了有优先顺序的修订建议,以期对第二次全国污染源普查工作提供有益参考。     

可伸缩延长气体采样装置在应急监测中的应用

提出了一种可伸缩延长气体采样装置,并将其与现场气体监测仪器配套使用。初步考察了延长采样装置中Teflon采样管长度对现场监测结果可能产生的影响,并对监测站实验室楼顶废气排出筒气体进行了实际样品监测。结果表明,该装置可有效提高现场应急监测的安全防护保障效果,增加可监测区域范围,使现场应急监测工作能够为突发性环境污染事件的处置提供更多技术支持。     

The impact of government preferences and environmental regulations on green development of China's marine economy

Green development is the fundamental way for high-quality development of marine economy. Achievement of green development goals of marine economy depends on the local government's decision-making preferences and reasonable marine-related environmental regulatory instruments. Based on 2007–2016 panel data of China's coastal provinces, this paper adopts the differential GMM(Gaussian Mixture Model) model to empirically analyze the impact of government preferences and environmental regulations on green development of marine economy. The results indicate that: lag exists in the promotion of environmental regulation on green development of marine economy.The impact of government preferences varies, in which, industrial preferences have a negative effect on green development of marine economy,while environmental preferences have a positive effect.The joint action of industrial preference and environmental preference inhibits green development of marine economy, while that of environmental preference and environmental regulation plays a promotion role. Different government preferences indicate different impacts in different regions. Environmental preference promotes the green development of marine economy in the Bohai Bay region, while industrial preference suppresses it. Both industrial preference and environmental preference in the Yangtze River Delta region have promotion effect, while only environmental preference in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region does so. Therefore, the government should establish a more complete official examination system, improve the marine environmental regulation system, and formulate differentiated green development policies for marine economy.     

Mitigation vs. Adaptation: Analytic Models for Policy Assessment

We suggest analytic economic-environmental models that aim to investigate the multi-faced interplay between economic production, industrial pollution, and environmental protection. The considered static and dynamic optimization problems assess a country’s sustainable environmental policy that involves the optimal combination of adaptation and mitigation strategies. A qualitative analysis of obtained solutions leads to relevant conclusions about the ranges of economic-environmental parameters, in which the adaptation and mitigation are viable policy options.     

Application of data envelopment analysis in environmental impact assessment of a coal washing plant: A new sustainable approach

The main problem of traditional methods of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is that in most of the existing algorithms and methods, such as Leopold, Folchi and RIAM, the main attention is to the destructive effects of the proposed plan, and the advantages of the industrial project are less noticeable. This has led to a permanent challenge between environmental organizations and industrial stakeholders. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a new approach of assessing the industrial units. Besides, it considers the positive economic and social impacts of the project and provides a comprehensive assessment of the industrial unit. With this approach, the environmental impacts of an industrial unit have been considered as “inputs” and its positive economic and social impacts considered as the “outputs” of the DEA models. Therefore, the problem of impact assessment changes into a DEA model. In the present study, the Alborz Sharghi Coal washing plant in northern Iran has been considered as a case study for implementing the DEA-EIA approach, and 19 plant activities and 11 environmental components have been used to evaluate the environmental effects of the plant. To solve the EIA problem, two commonly used DEA approaches, called CRS (constant returns to scale) and VRS (variable returns to scale), have been used. The DEA results identified the critical environmental components of the plant that should be considered seriously. Also, drawing the “potential improvement” diagram in the DEA method is an effective tool for determining the high risk activities of the factory and applying them in development plans. Besides, using the VRS model with maximize-output approach showed that some of the plant activities had the most differences with optimal mode and these components should be considered in future development plans. Finally, it can be concluded that, assessing the environmental impacts of the mineral industries with VRS maximize-output approach, is closer to the concept of sustainable development and cost-benefit analysis.     

将调整产业结构和清洁生产作为山西工业可持续发展的切入点

高耗低效、重污染的工业粗放型发展模式造成的环境污染、生态环境恶化已成为制约山西经济发展的主要因素 ,而传统的工业污染防治策略 ,已不能从根本上解决问题。调整产业和产品结构 ,推行清洁生产才是山西实施可持续发展战略的切入点和重要措施     

武汉市降尘污染特征及影响因素

以武汉市2006—2013年降尘数据为例,采用SPSS19.0软件统计分析了中部地区内陆城市的降尘污染特征及其影响因素。结果表明,月均降尘污染呈5月峰、11月谷三次曲线型,季节降尘污染呈春季夏季冬(秋)季,年均降尘量呈显著下降趋势。各功能区降尘量差异显著,从多到少顺序依次为工业区交通稠密区居商工混区清洁区。根据主成分分析结果,对于武汉这类经济发展中的中部内陆城市来说,气象因素是影响降尘的重要外在因素。社会因素是主要内在影响因素,其中经济发展因子的影响高于环境建设因子。     

河南省“十三五”期间生态环境质量变化趋势

以2016-2020年河南省主要生态环境要素监测结果为研究对象,分析评价了河南省"十三五"期间生态环境质量状况、变化趋势和存在的主要问题等。结果表明:"十三五"期间,全省主要污染物排放总量大幅下降,生态环境质量稳中向好。与2016年相比,2020年全省环境空气优良天数比例上升6.2百分点;地表水环境质量逐渐由轻度污染变为良好状态,Ⅰ~Ⅲ类水质断面比例持续上升,比2016年上升22.7百分点,劣V类水质断面比例进一步下降,比2016年下降18.4百分点;降水、辐射环境质量等基本保持稳定;城市集中式饮用水源地、声环境、生态、农村环境等其他环境要素质量均有不同程度好转。但与此同时,河南省仍为全国大气污染较重的省份之一,空气质量改善幅度明显收窄;仍有部分河流污染较重或不能稳定达标,从全国范围看,Ⅰ~Ⅲ类断面比例属中下水平,水环境保护形势依然严峻。总体来看,河南省工业结构偏重、能源结构偏煤、运输结构不优等问题还未从根本上改变,区域性污染问题依然突出,生态环境质量改善还远未达到质变的效果,深入打好污染防治攻坚战仍需持续努力。     

国内外尾矿管理制度比较研究和展望

2020年,《中华人民共和国固体废物污染环境防治法》修订完成,对固体废物的污染防治提出了新的要求。尾矿作为一般工业固体废物中产生量和贮存量最大的种类,存在突出的生态环境问题,已成为当前固体废物管理领域不可忽视的治理短板。通过梳理近年来尾矿产生和处置现状以及尾矿环境风险的特点,对比了国内外尾矿管理制度,并针对完善环境管理法规体系,落实尾矿减量化、资源化以及管控尾矿环境风险提出了对策建议。     

Urban Development and Air Quality in San Luis City, Argentina

Some factors such as the high population growth, along with insufficient housing, health and sanitary services, obsolete industrial technology and the lack of environmental management programs, give rise to contamination in Latin-American cities. Owing to the urban characteristics of San Luis, a detailed analysis of air quality was planned as part of a more comprehensive study, in order to make an environmental diagnosis of the city after the demographical and economic upgrowth over the last 15 years. It has been concluded that air pollution levels in San Luis are higher than those expected for a medium-size city. The reported high levels were attributed to important industrial activity, responsible not only for the direct of polluting gases to the atmosphere but also as the principal cause of the urban expansion. The levels of CO and SO₂ (ppm) found in the city can be considered as high. Some weeks during the sampling measure values were appreciably higher than the maximum tolerance levels established. The urban area under study was separated into five defined areas, which allowed to make comparisons in order to identify specific contamination problems. The slopes corresponding to the plot polluting substances concentration vs. wind speed were lower than the expected values. Because of the urban area characteristics, different micrometeorological effects facilitating a low air exchange can be generated, and consequently increasing the contamination levels. Thus, it is correct to conclude that the degradation processes are not occurring in a single environmental plane. Accordingly, air contamination rate in San Luis city could be considered as evidence of other upper-scale regional environmental degradation processes.     

Geographical location and key sensitivity issues of post-industrial regions in Europe

Primary objectives of our work were to spatially delineate post industrial areas of the EU-27 and indicate key environmental, social and economic sensitivity issues for these regions. The density of industrial sites within NUTS-x regions for EU-27 countries was assessed by using CORINE 2000 land cover layer. A development of postindustrial society in Europe represents a strong geographic diversity. There are distinct historical and current differences between regions which form major groups, comprising similar internal characteristics and definable trends in environmental and socioeconomic sense. Regions grouped into postindustrial clusters are fundamentally different from the European average, and are facing specific problems related to global market and political changes. Eastern postindustrial regions can be characterized as socially and economically weak, exhibiting high unemployment rate, low GDP, negative population growth and a strong environmental pressure, represented by a high density of dump sites. Most of the western EU postindustrial areas have been successfully recovered and moved into new economy as shown by most of the indicators. In urban postindustrial zones, however, emission sources of pollutants seem to continually be a major problem--not necessarily in terms of exceeding thresholds, but through a remarkable difference in the amount of pollutants produced relative to other regions.     

The role of Raman spectroscopy in the analytical chemistry of potable water

Advances in instrumentation are making Raman spectroscopy the tool of choice for an increasing number of chemical applications. For example, many recalcitrant industrial process monitoring problems have been solved in recent years with in-line Raman spectrometers. Raman is attractive for these applications for many reasons, including remote non-invasive sampling, minimal sample preparation and tolerance of water. To a lesser extent, Raman spectroscopy is beginning to play a significant role in environmental analysis for the same reasons. At present, the environmental applications typically apply only to the most contaminated situations due to the still relatively high limits of detection. However, some emerging sampling technologies hold out the promise that Raman may soon be more widely applicable to the analytical chemistry of potable water. Herein we discuss these recent advances, summarize some examples of environmental applications to aqueous systems and suggest avenues of future developments that we expect to be most useful for potable water analysis. Also, a simplified, but detailed, theory of normal Raman scattering is presented. While resonance-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and non-linear Raman techniques are briefly discussed, their theories and instrumental configurations are not addressed. Also, this article deals primarily with the modern dispersive Raman experiment (as opposed to the Fourier transform Raman experiment), because it seems most suited for potable water analysis. The goal of this article is to give the environmental scientist with no specialized knowledge of the topic just enough theory and background to evaluate the utility of this rapidly developing analytical tool.     

中国固体废物的环境管理与环境监测技术现状

为加强中国固体废物的环境管理和环境监测技术,回顾了中国自１９８５年以来制定的固体放心物环境管理法规制度以及１９８４年至１９９８年颁布的２０多年家或行业的固体废物处置标准体系等固体废物的环境管理状况,着重论述了中国固体废物环境监测技术的发展历史与现状。指出经过２０多年的努力,在固体废物环境监测技术与方法上初步形成了该领域框架体系,有固体废物的采样与制样技术;危险废物的有害特性试验鉴别方法,固体废物具