Water quality trends in New Zealand rivers: 1989–2009

Recent assessments of water quality in New Zealand have indicated declining trends, particularly in the 40 % of the country’s area under pasture. The most comprehensive long-term and consistent water quality dataset is the National Rivers Water Quality Network (NRWQN). Since 1989, monthly samples have been collected at 77 NRWQN sites on 35 major river systems that, together, drain about 50 % of New Zealand’s land area. Trend analysis of the NRWQN data shows increasing nutrient concentrations, particularly nitrogen (total nitrogen and nitrate), over 21 years (1989–2009). Total nitrogen and nitrate concentrations were increasing significantly over the first 11 years (1989–2000), but for the more recent 10-year period, only nitrate concentrations continued to increase sharply. Also, the increasing phosphorus trends over the first 11 years (1989–2000) levelled off over the later 10-year period (2000–2009). Conductivity has also increased over the 21 years (1989–2009). Visual clarity has increased over the full time period which may be the positive result of soil conservation measures and riparian fencing. NRWQN data shows that concentrations of nutrients increase, and visual clarity decreases (i.e. water quality declines), with increasing proportions of pastoral land in catchments. As such, the increasing nutrient trends may reflect increasing intensification of pastoral agriculture.     

Regional status assessment of stony corals in the US Virgin Islands

States may protect coral reefs using biological water quality standards outlined by the Clean Water Act. This requires biological assessments with indicators sensitive to human disturbance and regional, probability-based survey designs. Stony coral condition was characterized on a regional scale for the first time in the nearshore waters of the US Virgin Islands (USVI). Coral composition, abundance, size, and health were assessed at 66 stations in the St. Croix region in fall 2007 and at 63 stations in the St. Thomas and St. John region in winter 2009. Indicators were chosen for their sensitivity to human disturbance. Both surveys were probability-based (random) designs with station locations preselected from areas covered by hardbottom and coral reef substrate. Taxa richness was as high as 21 species but more than half the area of both regions exhibited taxa richness of <10 species in the 25 m² transect area. Coral density was as high as 5 colonies m^?2 but more than half the area of both regions had <2 colonies m^?2. Both regions showed similar dominant species based on frequency of occurrence and relative abundance. Because of large colony sizes, Montastrea annularis provided more total surface area and live surface area than more abundant species. The surveys establish baseline regional conditions and provide a foundation for long-term regional monitoring envisioned by the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources. The probabilistic sampling design assures the data can be used in Clean Water Act reporting.     

The general utilization of scrapped PC board

The traditional burning process is used to recover copper from scrapped PC board (printed circuit board) but it causes serious environmental problems. In this research a new process was developed which not only prevents pollution problems, but also maximizes the utility of all the materials on the waste board. First, the scrapped PC board was crushed and grounded, then placed in the NH₃/NH₅CO₃ solution with aeration in order to dissolve copper. After distilling the copper NH₃/NH₅CO₃ solution and then heating the distilled residue of copper carbonate, pure copper oxide was obtained with particle size of about 0.2 μm and the shape elliptical. The remaining solid residue after copper removal was then leached with 6 N hydrochloric acid to remove tin and lead. The last residue was used as a filler in PVC plastics. The PVC plastics with PC board powder as filling material was found to have the same tensile strength as unfilled plastics, but had higher elastic modulus, higher abrasion resistance, and was cheaper.     

Estimating carbon in savanna ecosystems: rational distribution of effort

Minimising the cost of repeatedly estimating C (C) stocks is crucial to the financial viability of projects that seek to sell C credits. Depending on the price of C, this may imply less or more sampling effort than would be applied for science objectives. In systems with heterogeneous C pools, such as savannas, this translates into a variable-effort sampling strategy that maximises the marginal additional C that can be claimed per incremental unit of effort expended. Analysis of a savanna in north-eastern South Africa indicates relatively modest returns per hectare due to the small C quantities and low sequestration rates. Under these conditions, areas in excess of 1,000 ha and infrequent sampling frequencies of 5–10 years are required to make such projects financially viable. For such projects the sample variance, number of samples, cost per sample and establishment costs have negligible impacts on financial viability. It was also found that the soil-C pool contributes up to three times the net returns of the aboveground C pool and provides a strong argument to monitor soil C for certification and market trading. The financial viability estimates, however, do not include the management or opportunity costs incurred in changing the land use. The economies of scale identified in this study combined with the massive area covered by savannas indicate that these additional costs can be covered. Further research is recommended to quantify these costs and interrogate the feasibility of large scale (in excess of 10,000 ha) C-sink projects in savanna systems.     

Legal and technical defensibility of data and the Triad approach

The Triad approach was developed primarily to limit decision uncertainty during cleanups at hazardous waste sites. The fundamental principles of the Triad approach include development of a site characterization model and use of emerging technologies, which can provide data at a higher density than could be affordably collected using traditional data collection methodologies, to refine the model in essentially real time. New data formats are used collaboratively with data in traditional formats to iteratively pin down the relative concentration, nature, and extent of contaminants, thus minimizing decision uncertainties. This article examines the potential admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings of data collected by technologies designed to improve the density of information that are commonly used during the course of Triad‐type projects. The article explains that such criteria may vary depending on the purpose for which the evidence is to be used (e.g., as direct evidence to prove site conditions or as support for the testimony of an expert witness) and the court in which the legal proceeding would take place (e.g., federal court or state court). Admissibility in federal courts of data both as direct evidence and as support for expert witness testimony is covered. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

EPA’s LIMB Development and Demonstration Program

This paper describes and discusses key design features of the retrofit of EPA’s Limestone Injection Multistage Burner (LIMB) system to an operating, wall-fired utility boiler at Ohio Edison’s Edgewater Station, based on the preliminary engineering design. It further describes results of pertinent projects in EPA's LIMB program and shows how these results were used as the basis for the design of the system. The full-scale demonstration is expected to prove the effectiveness and cost of the LIMB concept for use on large-scale utility boilers. To date, a preliminary engineering design for the Edgewater unit has been prepared incorporating the technology developed in smaller-scale studies. The schedule calls for system start-up by March 1987. EPA is engaged in a multiyear program to develop an improved control technology for emission of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from the combustion of fossil fuels. The technology involves staged-flow coal burners and injection of a reactive sorbeht into the furnace to reduce emissions. The program includes fundamental studies of reaction chemistry and kinetics, bench and pilot scale experimental studies, a full-scale demonstration, and economic and applicability studies. It is structured to establish a basis for future public sector commercialization, as well as help in understanding the technology’s controlling factors.     

Treatment Technologies for Hazardous Wastes: Part 1 Treatment Alternatives for Dioxin Wastes

The 1984 Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), called the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments, (HSWA) direct the EPA to determine if dioxin bearing wastes should be prohibited from landfills. This determination is to made by November 1986. Barring a determination by the Agency that the land disposal of dioxin wastes does not represent a threat to the environment, ot that appropriate alternative treatment technology is not available, a land disposal prohibition would go into effect at that time.¹ The purpose of this paper is to discuss the state of the art for several treatment processes for dioxin wastes that have been proposed to be used instead of land disposal for disposing of solid and liquid wastes containing dioxins.