Wasting women: The environmental justice of including women in municipal waste management

This paper explores the opportunities for and the benefits of considering gender in municipal waste management (MWM) policy. Two case studies in Ireland and the UK are presented. These show that the structural mechanisms for achieving a more consistent and coherent approach to ensuring that MWM policy is sensitive to gender differences and inequalities are still weak. They also show that political structures and champions for gender equality and equal opportunities make a difference to the way in which women are involved and considered in MWM policy making. The research is set within the broader context of environmental justice which, to date, has been more concerned with race, ethnicity and wealth inequalities than with gender inequalities.     

Perchlorate: Sources,uses, and occurrences in the environment

Perchlorate contamination of groundwater and soil continues to be a hot topic in many sectors, including industry, the federal Departments of Defense and Energy, regulators, and the general public. This article presents information on what is currently known regarding perchlorate uses, known and suspected naturally occurring versus anthropogenic perchlorate sources, and past and present manufacturing locations. It provides the reader with a baseline as well as background information to facilitate an understanding of perchlorate in the environment for the ultimate purpose of remediation. The article is based on research conducted by the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council for a forthcoming, more substantial perchlorate overview document scheduled for publication later in 2005. The document will include an overview of the chemical and discussions of remediation techniques and methods of analysis. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Age effects on the predictors of technical workers' commitment and willingness to turnover

Building commitment and preventing costly turnover of technical employees are key challenges facing organizations today. We examine whether the elements of the employment relationship that predict commitment and willingness to change companies vary significantly with age. Using a sample of over 3000 technical professionals from six large companies, we find that in comparison to those under 30, satisfaction with job security is more strongly related to the commitment of more senior workers (ages 31–45 and those over age 45) and to their desire to remain with their companies. In contrast, satisfaction with work–life balance is more strongly related to commitment of those under age 30 than those over 30. Also, for the under‐30s, satisfaction with opportunities to develop technical skills and pay linked to individual performance has a stronger negative relationship with willingness to change companies than for those over 45. While statistically significant, the size of the age effects is small, suggesting popular and managerial attention devoted to differences among age groups may be overblown. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microbial responses to in situ chemical oxidation,six‐phase heating,and steam injection remediation technologies in groundwater

The evaluation of microbial responses to three in situ source removal remedial technologies—permanganate‐based in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), six‐phase heating (SPH), and steam injection (SI)—was performed at Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. The investigation stemmed from concerns that treatment processes could have a variety of effects on the indigenous biological activity, including reduced biodegradation rates and a long‐term disruption of community structure with respect to the stimulation of TCE (trichloroethylene) degraders. The investigation focused on the quantity of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and its distribution to determine the immediate effect of each remedial technology on microbial abundance and community structure, and to establish how rapidly the microbial communities recovered. Comprehensive spatial and temporal PLFA screening data suggested that the technology applications did not significantly alter the site's microbial community structure. The ISCO was the only technology found to stimulate microbial abundance; however, the biomass returned to predemonstration values shortly after treatment ended. In general, no significant change in the microbial community composition was observed in the SPH or SI treatment areas, and even small changes returned to near initial conditions after the demonstrations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The transtheoretical model of change in adolescents: implications for injury prevention

INTRODUCTION: Many injury prevention interventions require changes in human behavior to reduce self-risk or risk to others. Promising injury prevention interventions may be discarded if they lack power to create a significant difference in outcomes when judging their ability to "move a person from nonaction or negative action to positive action (safety)." The transtheoretical model of change (TMC) allows greater sensitivity in detecting along the change process where an intervention may be effective. The stages of change consist of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Change is not viewed as an "all or none phenomenon." METHOD: Use of the TMC was examined using a quasiexperimental, cross-over design involving high school agriculture students enrolled in 21 schools in Kentucky (n=9), Iowa (n=7), and Mississippi (n=5). A series of physical and narrative simulations (safety training exercises) were developed with a focus on preventing amputation, spinal cord injury, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and noise-induced hearing loss. Contemplation and action, as part of the TMC, were measured using a 10-item, Likert-type, stages of change (SOC) instrument comprised of two subscales (reliability coefficients were.88 and.81, respectively). The final sample consisted of 790 students (373 treatment and 417 control). RESULTS: There was a significant group effect for both contemplation, F(1,732)=197.4; p<.0001, and action, F(1,730)=106.1; p<.0001. A convenience sample of 29 of the participating students was selected for follow-up farm visits 1 year postparticipation. Of these students, 25 (86%) had made safety behavior changes in their farm work. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The use of the TMC model can provide researchers with greater precision in examining intervention effectiveness in promoting change.     

Influence of organic matter decomposition on soluble carbon and its copper-binding capacity

Bulk and low molecular weight (LMW) (<1 kDa) water-extractable carbon were collected from fresh and microbially degraded wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) residues to monitor early-stage humification over an 8-wk incubation. Copper complexation parameters were determined for both bulk and LMW water-extractable C for both plant materials in a separate 1-wk incubation. Humification progressed through increasing molar absorptivity (A285) and phenolic and total acidity (TA), and through an increase in average molecular size and degree of polymerization as determined by ultrafiltration and changes in fluorescence peak locations. Such dynamic transformations demonstrate that while humification is a bulk property, with C breakdown and stabilization occurring simultaneously and continuously in soil, its early stages can be effectively monitored for fresh plant residues. Significant changes consistently occurred during the first 7 d of the incubation and were more pronounced for LMW fractions than bulk extracts. For both residues, water-extractable C extracted initially and following a 7-d incubation desorbed and complexed 0.11 to 0.55 mmol resin-bound Cu g(-1) C. Low molecular weight water-extractable C generated the higher values within this range, and values increased consistently following incubation. Potential concerns regarding LMW soluble Cu complexes include percolation through soils or runoff into adjacent water bodies as well as effects on plant root development.     

Diagnosis of polyhydramnios in early gestation: Indication for prenatal diagnosis?

Previously published reports have indicated that idiopathic polyhydramnios may be associated with trisomies 18 and 21 and that chromosomal analysis is indicated. Furthermore, the natural history and fetal outcome of polyhydramnios diagnosed in early gestation have not been well delineated. We identified 138 pregnancies with polyhydramnios prior to 26 weeks' gestation. Of 131 complete cases, 21 were diagnosed as severe, 18 as moderate, and 92 as mild polyhydramnios. Congenital abnormalities were noted in 18 of 21 severe cases (86 per cent). Two of the remaining three cases were twin-to-twin transfusion. Thirteen of 18 cases with moderate polyhydramnios (72 per cent) were associated with anomalies; six of the remaining cases were twin-to-twin transfusion. Sixteen of 92 cases of mild polyhydramnios (17 per cent) were associated with congenital abnormalities. In 69 of 76 cases of mild hydramnios not associated with anomalies (91 per cent), the hydramnios resolved prior to delivery. Only 2 of 16 (13 per cent) associated with anomalies resolved. In 4 of 5 cases (80 per cent) with moderate hydramnios and no anomalies, the amniotic fluid volume was normal on subsequent ultrasound. No case of moderate polyhydramnios associated with anomalies or maternal conditions nor any case of severe polyhydramnios resolved. There were seven cases of chromosomal abnormalities in this series; all were associated with sonographic findings in addition to the presence of polyhydramnios. On the basis of these data, we doubt the benefit of amniocentesis following the early diagnosis of idiopathic polyhydramnios in the absence of other ultrasound findings.     

The value of agricultural wetlands as invertebrate resources for wintering shorebirds

Agricultural landscapes have received little recognition for the food resources they provide to wintering waterbirds. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon, modest yet significant populations of wintering shorebirds (Charadriiformes) regularly use hundreds of dispersed wetlands on agricultural lands. Benthic invertebrates are a critical resource for the survival of overwintering shorebirds, yet the abundance of invertebrate resources in agricultural wetlands such as these has not been quantified. To evaluate the importance of agricultural wetlands to a population of wintering shorebirds, the density, biomass, and general community composition of invertebrates available to birds were quantified at a sample of Willamette Valley sites during a wet (1999–2000) and a dry winter (2000–2001). Invertebrate densities ranged among wetlands from 173 to 1925 (mean ± S.E.: 936 ± 106) individuals/m² in the wet winter, and from 214 to 3484 (1028 ± 155) individuals/m² in the dry winter. Total invertebrate estimated biomass among wetlands ranged from 35 to 652 (mean ± S.E.: 364 ± 35) mg/m² in the wet winter, and from 85 to 1405 (437 ± 62) mg/m² in the dry winter. These estimates for food abundance were comparable to that observed in some other important freshwater wintering regions in North America.