The uptake of particulates by an urban woodland: site description and particulate composition

Woodlands may improve local air quality by increasing the uptake rates of gaseous, particulate and aerosol pollutants from the atmosphere and can also act as relatively permanent sinks for some pollutants. Rough Wood, Walsall was selected for a study of the material which accumulates on tree foliage because of its location in a densely populated urban area, and its proximity to a motorway with high traffic flow (the M6) and to other pollutant sources. Methods were developed for leaf washing to allow determination of the quantity of dust and the identification of the dust particles present on oak leaves. Elemental analysis of particles was also undertaken using scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron probe microanalysis. A large proportion of particles were organic in origin. Of the inorganic particles, the majority contained silicon and aluminium in varying proportions suggesting that they were soil derived. Some particles were clearly identified as the products of combustion, and sea or road salt was present on leaf surfaces. Some particles contained copper, tin and titanium which may reflect the proximity of Rough Wood to local metal workings. The number of particles counted on leaf surfaces decreased as distance from the motorway increased.     

Mute swans, Cygnus olor, killed from collision with electrical wires, a study of two situations in Sweden

Different studies indicate that 19-38% of the Swedish ringed Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) are killed by collision with electrical wires. The relative frequency of killed swans is not related to the density or type of electrical wires in the landscape, but to where in the landscape the wires are constructed, and to the time when mass movements of swans occur. Experience (age), bodyweight ("too heavy to raise"), breast muscle weakening ("engine problems") and heavy metal (lead) loads strongly affect the chances of birds avoiding collision; but, swans not belonging to these risk-groups are also killed. Different skeletal injuries were found in dead birds after collision but many of them were not lethal. It was proved, however, that most collision-birds ultimately died from liver damage, probably caused by their heavy bodies hitting the ground.     

Effects of population density and cadmium toxicity on growth and survival of blowflies

The blowfly Lucilia sericata has been reared on artificial diets containing from 0 to 200 mg Cd kg(-1) at population densities ranging from 8 larvae per 4-g diet to 8 larvae per 32-g diet. Peak larval weight, development period, pupal weight, adult-emergence weight, and fecundity were measured. Larvae of blowflies respond to food deprivation by a reduction in larval weight and subsequent pupal and adult size. Contaminating the food supply with cadmium produced similar additive effects, reduced the growth rate, and increased the age of pupation. The results are of importance in determining the effects of environmental pollutants on population dynamics.     

Susceptibility of different yeast species to environmental toxic metals

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the relative resistance of yeast species to various metallic and metalloid ions, with a view to gaining more knowledge on this subject, as resistant species may become dominant in habitats contaminated with the relevant metals. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis were grown in media containing different concentrations of mercury (as HgCl(2)), cadmium (as CdCl(2)), lead (as Pb(CH(3)COO)(2)), arsenic (as Na(2)HAsO(4)) and selenium (as Na(2)SeO(3)) for various intervals. Invariably, the two Candida species turned out to be more resistant to all the metals studied than S. cerevisiae. The metal showing the highest toxicity for these species was mercury, with cadmium being the second, lead, the third and arsenic and selenium being the least toxic elements. Strains showing resistance to mercury were isolated, even in the case of S. cerevisiae.     

城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统的研究和开发

对城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统的需求进行分析;提出了网络化信息管理系统的设计架构和功能设置;并设计开发了城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统,将先进的网络通讯技术、数据实时采集技术、组态技术、安全监控与预警技术和基于W eb的信息管理软件开发技术进行集成设计;实现了基于烟花爆竹仓库现场实时数据监测结果的多媒体联动、多用途智能报警监视硬件设备和配套的业务管理软件的信息融合。     

液化石油气罐区火灾爆炸危险性评价

液化石油气罐区属于重大危险源,一旦发生火灾爆炸事故,后果非常严重.评价其安全性,控制其危险,是重大事故预防的思想,也是国家安全生产法律、法规的强制要求.笔者根据安全工程学的相关原理,综合运用重大危险源评价法和灰色聚类法分别对罐区的固有危险性和现实危险性进行了评价,克服了重大危险性评价法未考虑环境因素这一缺陷,最后得出了其火灾爆炸危险性等级,为政府监管和企业对危险源的监控管理提供了可行的科学依据.     

重大危险源事故风险排序研究

本文将风险管理领域中风险排序的概念引入重大危险源安全管理中，提出了基于事故情景发生概率和造成死亡人数的风险评估和排序模型，并给出了基于统计分析的事故发生概率、基于死亡半径的死亡人数的确定方法。对某开发区的20个重大危险源进行了风险评估和排序，结果表明提出的方法对重大危险源的事故风险产生了明显的细分作用。研究成果对有关政府部门或企业确定重大危险源重点监察和管理的优先序，优化资源配置，提高管理效率具有一定的指导意义。     

工业设施受恐怖袭击风险评价方法研究进展

鉴于全球范围恐怖活动日益猖獗的形势,无论从学术研究还是维护社会安全稳定的角度,恐怖袭击都应作为一个重要的风险因素加以深入研究.恐怖袭击事故是由恐怖分子策划和实施的,其风险机理不同于系统失效或人为失误造成的事故机理.科学地分析、预测和预防恐怖袭击的风险成为当前安全科学领域面临的新课题.本文对国内外相关研究的进展做了较详细的评述,提出了对重要工业设施和公共设施在加强传统安全管理的同时要加强脆弱性评价和保安管理体系建设等建议.     

重大危险源辨识与监控是企业建立事故应急体系的基础

本文简要介绍了重大工业事故预防控制体系要素和国家法律、法规与政策对企业重大危险源监控与应急体系建设的要求,论述了重大危险源辨识、监控是企业建立事故应急体系和重大事故预防控制体系的基础和前提,对企业重大危险源监控和应急预案编制要求提出了建议.     

Socio-economic Comparison Between Traditional and Improved Cultivation Methods in Agroforestry Systems, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

The East Usambara Mountains, recognized as one of the 25 most important biodiversity hot spots in the world, have a high degree of species diversity and endemism that is threatened by increasing human pressure on resources. Traditional slash and burn cultivation in the area is no longer sustainable. However, it is possible to maintain land productivity, decrease land degradation, and improve rural people’s livelihood by ameliorating cultivation methods. Improved agroforestry seems to be a very convincing and suitable method for buffer zones of conservation areas. Farmers could receive a reasonable net income from their farm with little investment in terms of time, capital, and labor. By increasing the diversity and production of already existing cultivations, the pressure on natural forests can be diminished. The present study shows a significant gap between traditional cultivation methods and improved agroforestry systems in socio-economic terms. Improved agroforestry systems provide approximately double income per capita in comparison to traditional methods. More intensified cash crop cultivation in the highlands of the East Usambara also results in double income compared to that in the lowlands. However, people are sensitive to risks of changing farming practices. Encouraging farmers to apply better land management and practice sustainable cultivation of cash crops in combination with multipurpose trees would be relevant in improving their economic situation in the relatively short term. The markets of most cash crops are already available. Improved agroforestry methods could ameliorate the living conditions of the local population and protect the natural reserves from human disturbance.