Development and implementation of surface water quality standards for protection of human health in Korea

Current water quality standards for the protection of human health in Korea include 17 substances found in rivers and streams. Due to increasing concern over the release of hazardous chemicals into the aquatic environment, there has been a demand for additional water quality standards. Therefore, the Korean Ministry of the Environment plans to gradually increase the number of water quality standards to 30 substances, including 22 substances for protection of human health and 8 substances for protection of aquatic ecosystems by 2015. In this study, new water quality standards for protection of human health were established for 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, and hexachlorobenzene. We selected candidate hazardous chemicals, conducted a human health risk assessment to determine priority chemicals, established water quality standards based on technical analyses and comparison with domestic and developed countries’ water quality standards, and conducted an expert review. Water quality standards for protection of aquatic ecosystems will be derived in the near future. This study describes how the water quality standards for protection of human health were developed and implemented. Current status, recent expansion, and future plans for water quality standards in Korea are also covered.     

一种新的水质评价方法

每种水质评价方法的运用都离不开水质标准的正确选用。本文提出的一种新的水质评价方法,旨在使评价结果与国内现行的水质标准相吻合,同时,又能反映出被评价的水质所属其类别的程度。     

万家寨引黄北干线桑干河道输水水质模拟与控制

主要对采用河道输水方案的山西万家寨引黄北干线桑干河道水质进行模拟与控制研究,依据各水体特性建立河流水质数值模型和水库数值模型,运用系统分解方法将整个研究河道分解为若干个河段,并采用情景分析方法生成3个水质模拟情景,分析模拟结果表明,在山阴取水口和怀仁取水口水质达地表水Ⅲ类标准条件下,册田水库的入水水质不达标。应用反演思想生成2个水质控制情景和3个子情景,在水库出水口水质达标的情况下,分析确定沿河各排污口的污染物排放控制量,给出了保证册田水库水质安全的控制方法。     

环境监测实验室内质量控制体系的设想

环境监测实验室质量控制足环境监测质量保汪的蘑要组成部分。山于实验室内质量控制工作量大，质控工作往往流于形式。因此，有必要建立一套完整又便捷的实验室内质量控制体系，在质控质量上发挥重要作用。对体系建立前提条件和体系建立的，思路进行了阐述。对体系设计基础——计算机网络技术的运用。实验室内质量评价高效、便捷的数字化应用平台的建口进行了设想。     

Interpreting drinking water quality in the distribution system using Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence

Interpreting water quality data routinely generated for control and monitoring purposes in water distribution systems is a complicated task for utility managers. In fact, data for diverse water quality indicators (physico-chemical and microbiological) are generated at different times and at different locations in the distribution system. To simplify and improve the understanding and the interpretation of water quality, methodologies for aggregation and fusion of data must be developed. In this paper, the Dempster-Shafer theory also called theory of evidence is introduced as a potential methodology for interpreting water quality data. The conceptual basis of this methodology and the process for its implementation are presented by two applications. The first application deals with the interpretation of spatial water quality data fusion, while the second application deals with the development of water quality index based on key monitored indicators. Based on the obtained results, the authors discuss the potential contribution of theory of evidence as a decision-making tool for water quality management.     

关于水质采样中的质量控制措施

水质采样在水环境保护工作中发挥着非常重要的作用,对水质监测结果有着非常直接的影响。文中将探讨水质监测当中经常存在的问题,并提出一些有效的质量控制措施,进一步保证水质采样的结果。为此,笔者在文中对水质采样中的质量控制措施进行探讨,希望对促进中国水环境保护事业的发展,可以起到有利的作用。     

膜生物反应器工艺污水处理厂设计进水水质的确定

城市污水处理厂进水水质是工程设计的基本参数,进水水质的测定分析对污水处理厂的设计具有重要意义。对无锡市城北污水处理厂的现状进水水质进行了调查和分析,提出按照水质指标浓度出现的频率确定污水处理厂设计进水水质的方法,并针对采用的膜生物反应器(MBR)工艺的特点,提出:(1)根据实测数据按照一定的保证概率可以用来确定城市污水处理厂设计进水水质;(2)为了使水质的确定更加符合设计工程的实际情况,根据实测数据分析确定设计进水水质指标时,一般还需要进行趋势性调整和季节性调整;(3)确定合理的指标浓度与流量,以此为依据进行反应池的工艺设计,同时要校核夏季温度高、浓度低、流量大和冬季温度低、浓度高、流量小的工况是否满足处理要求,然后取冬、夏季校核值以及未作季节性调整设计值中最不利情况作为设计值,才能充分保证出水达到处理要求。     

Development of risk-based air quality management strategies under impacts of climate change

Climate change is forecast to adversely affect air quality through perturbations in meteorological conditions, photochemical reactions, and precursor emissions. To protect the environment and human health from air pollution, there is an increasing recognition of the necessity of developing effective air quality management strategies under the impacts of climate change. This paper presents a framework for developing risk-based air quality management strategies that can help policy makers improve their decision-making processes in response to current and future climate change about 30-50 years from now. Development of air quality management strategies under the impacts of climate change is fundamentally a risk assessment and risk management process involving four steps: (1) assessment of the impacts of climate change and associated uncertainties; (2) determination of air quality targets; (3) selections of potential air quality management options; and (4) identification of preferred air quality management strategies that minimize control costs, maximize benefits, or limit the adverse effects of climate change on air quality when considering the scarcity of resources. The main challenge relates to the level of uncertainties associated with climate change forecasts and advancements in future control measures, since they will significantly affect the risk assessment results and development of effective air quality management plans. The concept presented in this paper can help decision makers make appropriate responses to climate change, since it provides an integrated approach for climate risk assessment and management when developing air quality management strategies. Implications: Development of climate-responsive air quality management strategies is fundamentally a risk assessment and risk management process. The risk assessment process includes quantification of climate change impacts on air quality and associated uncertainties. Risk management for air quality under the impacts of climate change includes determination of air quality targets, selections of potential management options, and identification of effective air quality management strategies through decision-making models. The risk-based decision-making framework can also be applied to develop climate-responsive management strategies for the other environmental dimensions and assess costs and benefits of future environmental management policies.     

A comparison of air quality indices for a port and harbour region in India

The present paper discusses and compares four different air quality indices, viz. arithmetic, multiplicative, unweighted arithmetic, and unweighted multiplicative, which were considered for characterising the coastal air quality at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai, India. Suspended particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and sulphur dioxide were used as the parameters of air quality indices. Value function graphs for above-mentioned variables were developed using Indian ambient air quality standards for different areas. Product moment correlation coefficients for various air quality indices were determined using the SPSS software package to evaluate correlation among various indices.     

Air quality mapping using GIS and economic evaluation of health impact for Mumbai City,India

Mumbai, a highly populated city in India, has been selected for air quality mapping and assessment of health impact using monitored air quality data. Air quality monitoring networks in Mumbai are operated by National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). A monitoring station represents air quality at a particular location, while we need spatial variation for air quality management. Here, air quality monitored data of NEERI and BMC were spatially interpolated using various inbuilt interpolation techniques of ArcGIS. Inverse distance weighting (IDW), Kriging (spherical and Gaussian), and spline techniques have been applied for spatial interpolation for this study. The interpolated results of air pollutants sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) were compared with air quality data of MPCB in the same region. Comparison of results showed good agreement for predicted values using IDW and Kriging with observed data. Subsequently, health impact assessment of a ward was carried out based on total population of the ward and air quality monitored data within the ward. Finally, health cost within a ward was estimated on the basis of exposed population. This study helps to estimate the valuation of health damage due to air pollution.

Implications: Operating more air quality monitoring stations for measurement of air quality is highly resource intensive in terms of time and cost. The appropriate spatial interpolation techniques can be used to estimate concentration where air quality monitoring stations are not available. Further, health impact assessment for the population of the city and estimation of economic cost of health damage due to ambient air quality can help to make rational control strategies for environmental management. The total health cost for Mumbai city for the year 2012, with a population of 12.4 million, was estimated as USD8000 million.     

Spatial interpretation of ambient air quality for the territory of the Czech Republic

A method for spatial interpretation and visualisation of measured air quality data is presented that may serve as a tool for ambient air quality characterisation using the least possible number of factors. This method enables comparison of different areas in relative terms and has practical consequences in decision making and public information. The 1996 data for the Czech Republic was used as a database. According to my results, not a single universal indicator can fully describe the ambient air quality albeit the three factors identified as "ambient air pollution", "ground-level ozone" and "wet atmospheric deposition" which are recommended. These selected factors represent three different aspects of ambient air quality and its impact on receptors. For the above factors black and white charts are presented classifying the Czech Republic territory into five categories as to relative ambient air quality. The air quality picture differs for the respective factors considerably.     

An Index and Model of Human Response to Air Quality

This study undertook an empirical Investigation of human response to air quality. Home interviews of 475 respondents living in 22 neighborhoods of Los Angeles County had elicited information on respondent socioeconomic characteristics, behavioral patterns, and measures of human response to air quality. This data base was then augmented with nine measures of actual air quality for six time frames for each neighborhood.

An observer-based air quality index (OBAQI) was constructed based upon which combination of air quality variables correlated best with the percentage of neighborhood respondents who perceived “smoggy air.” The best combination (OBAQI 3) consisted of prevailing visibility, O₃, and SO₂, each measured as the annual number of days that a selected standard had been equalled or exceeded. Subsequently, multiple regression models were constructed using this index as a predictor of aggregated perception of air quality. In addition to a general model for all neighborhoods, separate models were constructed for clusters of neighborhoods of similar micrometeorology as approximated by uniform elevations and/or coastal distances. Zones of homogeneous air quality and micrometeorology were then defined. Within these zones variation in four measures of human response to air quality was associated with respondent socioeconomic characteristics and behavioral patterns. Both the index and model could prove useful in gauging public response to proposed actions of air quality management districts.     

National crop loss assessment network: quality assurance program

A quality assurance program was incorporated into the National Crop Loss Assessment Network (NCLAN) program, designed to assess the economic impacts of gaseous air pollutants on major agricultural crops in the United States. To satisfy US EPA requirements that all environmental data collected be of known and documented quality, adequate for the intended use, the quality assurance program developed standardized research and monitoring protocols among sites, and included a range of audit and review procedures. The goal of the quality assurance program was to quantitatively describe the overall quality of data collected in terms of precision, accuracy, completeness, representativeness, and comparability. From this program, it can be concluded that (1) project data quality objectives were valuable for determining the acceptability of data from diverse sites, (2) standardized protocols ensured data comparability among research sites, (3) independent on-site audits served to evaluate protocol adherence, and (4) precision and accuracy measurements provided a way to assess data quality, determine data acceptability, and indicate the need for instrument adjustment or repair.     

基于聚类分析和水质标识指数的水质评价方法

为探讨一种适用于大尺度、多断面和长时间的水质评价方法,用层次聚类分析将2006~2008年海河5个监测断面的165个水质样本分为20组,并用方差分析验证了结果的可靠性。用综合水质标识指数表示水质样本的综合特征,与单因子评价法相比,该方法充分考虑了最差水质因子的影响,避免了单因子评价法以偏概全的缺陷,且分辨率高。将评价结果分解到各断面,结果表明:密云水库、官厅水库和于桥水库的水质处于II~III类水之间,可满足作为饮用水水源水的要求,三岔口断面大部分时间为IV~V类水,张家口八号桥断面全年有6个月以上水质属于劣V类。     

美国水质交易政策及其对上海的启示

介绍了美国水质交易政策的概念和实施状况,分析了水质交易必备的要素及取得的经济、环境和社会效益.上海在排污交易方面有多年的积累,可以借鉴美国在水质交易方面的经验,研究点源和非点源间的交易,基于市场的经济刺激政策,解决城市和农田径流产生的排放控制问题.     

Association between air quality and quality of life

Air quality—or its converse, air pollution—is a significant risk factor for human health. Recent studies have reported association between air pollution and human health. There are numerous diseases that may be caused by air pollution such as respiratory infection, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma. In this study, the relationship between air quality and quality of life was examined by using canonical correlation analysis. Data of this study was collected from 27 countries. WHO statistics were used as the main source of quality of life data set (Y variables set). European Environment Agency statistics and (for outdoor air-PM10) WHO statistics were used as the main source of air quality data set (X variables set). It is found that there are significant positive correlation between air quality and quality of life.     

Selected International Receptor-Based Air Quality Standards

Abstract

The ambient air quality standards (AAQS) of twenty-one nations for eight commonly regulated substances are presented. Many countries are adding a receptor-based component to their air quality management, which traditionally have been emission oriented. Automation of air quality monitoring stations has meant that local air quality evaluation can now be more easily achieved. However, a majority of countries have no active air quality standards (emission or receptor-based) or ambient air quality monitoring. One possible monitoring procedure is outlined and the variation in international standards is discussed.     

Conjunctive use of models to design cost-effective ozone control strategies

The management of tropospheric ozone (O3) is particularly difficult. The formulation of emission control strategies requires considerable information including: (1) emission inventories, (2) available control technologies, (3) meteorological data for critical design episodes, and (4) computer models that simulate atmospheric transport and chemistry. The simultaneous consideration of this information during control strategy design can be exceedingly difficult for a decision-maker. Traditional management approaches do not explicitly address cost minimization. This study presents a new approach for designing air quality management strategies; a simple air quality model is used conjunctively with a complex air quality model to obtain low-cost management strategies. A simple air quality model is used to identify potentially good solutions, and two heuristic methods are used to identify cost-effective control strategies using only a small number of simple air quality model simulations. Subsequently, the resulting strategies are verified and refined using a complex air quality model. The use of this approach may greatly reduce the number of complex air quality model runs that are required. An important component of this heuristic design framework is the use of the simple air quality model as a screening and exploratory tool. To achieve similar results with the simple and complex air     

An early warning and control system for urban, drinking water quality protection: China’s experience

An event-driven, urban, drinking water quality early warning and control system (DEWS) is proposed to cope with China’s urgent need for protecting its urban drinking water. The DEWS has a web service structure and provides users with water quality monitoring functions, water quality early warning functions, and water quality accident decision-making functions. The DEWS functionality is guided by the principles of control theory and risk assessment as applied to the feedback control of urban water supply systems. The DEWS has been deployed in several large Chinese cities and found to perform well insofar as water quality early warning and emergency decision-making is concerned. This paper describes a DEWS for urban water quality protection that has been developed in China.     

北京城区雨水径流水质及其主要影响因素

掌握城区雨水径流水质及其主要的影响因素是有效地利用城区雨水资源和控制城市非点源污染的基础。根据北京 1998— 2 0 0 0年大量的降雨径流水质数据 ,本文分析了城区屋面和道路雨水径流的水质变化规律及其主要影响因素城市雨水径流的水质很差 ,初期径流的污染程度甚至超过城市污水。除了空气质量的影响外 ,最重要的影响因素是屋面材料、道路类型及路面污染状况、气温、降雨强度、降雨量和降雨间隔时间等