Analysis of building environment assessment frameworks and their implications for sustainability indicators

Green construction is gaining increasing attention in the global context. However, the construction of sustainable green buildings and environments involves different tools and systems and diverse perspectives. Therefore, the development of environmental assessment tools is an important task for managing green housing and green building projects. In this paper, we discuss the benefits, limitations, and future directions of the assessment framework. There are four characteristics of building environmental assessment, i.e., comprehensiveness, design guideline, signaling, and communication tools, which afford both benefits and limitations. We illustrate the role of the assessment framework as a hub promoting integration of diverse knowledge, as a design guideline encouraging better design and action, as signaling environmentally friendly design and action, and as a communication tool. On the other hand, there are limitations, such as the use of a mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures, ambiguity of weighing, lack of financial evaluation, and lack of involvement of diverse disciplines and stakeholders. To develop an effective assessment framework, the following three factors must be considered: knowledge, power, and implementation. We propose that knowledge innovation, a credible approach for a salient solution, and collective action represent the future challenges of the assessment framework.     

Phosphorus recovery from secondary effluent and side-stream liquid in a sewage treatment plant using zirconium-loaded saponified orange waste

Zirconium was loaded onto orange waste, a cheap and available agricultural waste in Japan, to investigate the feasibility of its utilization for phosphorus recovery from secondary effluent and side-stream liquid, which contain 5.9 and 68.2 mg/dm³ phosphorus, respectively. The phosphorus removal from side-stream liquid by using zirconium-loaded saponified orange waste (Zr-SOW) gel increased with an increasing solid/liquid ratio, and it was found that Zr-SOW gel showed better performance than zirconium ferrite. The prepared adsorbent was effective for phosphorus removal and exhibited a reasonably high adsorption capacity, twice than that of zirconium ferrite. The secondary effluent was treated in a column packed with Zr-SOW gel, and an dynamic adsorption capacity of 1.3 mol-P/kg was attained. The adsorbed phosphorus from the column was successfully eluted as a concentrated form by using a small amount of 0.2 M NaOH. Throughout the elution process, zirconium was not leaked from the adsorption gel.     

Leaching of heavy metals by citric acid from fly ash generated in municipal waste incineration plants

The leaching behavior of heavy metals from municipal waste incineration (MWI) fly ash was investigated in this study. The leaching process includes two steps, i.e., fly ash was firstly washed with water, and then subjected to citric acid leaching. The main parameters of the washing process such as liquid/solid ratio, washing time, and number of washing were tested. The optimum conditions for water washing were found as follows: washing time 5–10 min, liquid/solid ratio 10:1 (ml:g), and number of washing was twice; under these conditions, 86% Na, 70% K, 12% Ca, 1.2% Al, and 0.5% Pb were removed from the fly ash in the prewashing. From the results of screening tests of leaching lixiviants, citric acid was found to be the most effective leaching agent, taking account of its environmentally benign characteristics. Optimum metal extraction can be achieved with citric acid under the following conditions: pH 3.0, liquid/solid ratio 40 (ml:g), citric acid concentration 0.10 mol/dm³, contact time 20 min at room temperature.     

Levels and regional trends of persistent organochlorines and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Asian breast milk demonstrate POPs signatures unique to individual countries

Human breast milk samples collected in 2007–2008 from four countries, Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Beijing), Korea (Seoul) and Japan (Sendai, Kyoto and Takayama), were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Comparing with previous surveys, the present study indicates that the DDTs in breast milk from China and Vietnam had gradually decreased during the last decade, but were still 5–10 times higher than those in other nations. The ratios of p,p′-DDE/p,p′-DDT and o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT were higher in Beijing than in the other countries, suggesting that there is less fresh intake of commercial DDT products and a possible exposure to dicofol in China. CHL and PCB levels were relatively higher in mothers from Japan, whereas β-HCH and HCB were more common in Chinese women. In Japan, it is suspected that mothers in the urban/coastal area (Sendai) were more continuously exposed to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) than mothers in the rural/inland area (Takayama). In addition, OCP levels in primiparae were significantly higher than those in multiparae from Japan and Korea. These indicate that both parity and regional factors are major determinants of the levels of OCPs and PCBs in human milk. On the other hand, higher concentrations of PBDEs were observed in mothers' milk from Korea. The congener was dominated by BDE-47 (43–54%), followed by BDE-153 (23–33%) in all regions except for Beijing where BDE-28 (23%) was relatively abundant. In Japanese breast milk, regional and parity-dependent distributions were not observed for PBDEs. Among PBDE congeners, age-dependency was observed for BDE-153, which was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) to the age of mothers in Kyoto (17 participants were housewives), while it increased with age in Sendai (10 participants were clerks). No such correlation was seen for BDE-47, indicating that BDE-47 was ingested and assimilated via different kinetics or routes from BDE-153 in Japan.     

Contribution of transboundary air pollution to ionic concentrations in fog in the Kinki Region of Japan

To estimate the contribution of transboundary transported air pollutants from other Asian countries to Japan in ionic concentrations in fog water in March 2005, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system was utilized with meteorological fields produced by the 5th generation Mesoscale Model (MM5). For meteorological predictions, the model well reproduced the surface meteorological variables, particularly temperature and humidity, and generally captured fog occurrence. For chemical predictions, most of the model-predicted monthly mean concentrations were approximately within a factor of 2 of the observations, indicating that the model well simulated the long-range atmospheric transport from the Asian Continent to Japan. For SO₄^2?, NO₃^? and NH₄⁺, the contribution rates of the transboundary air pollution in the Kinki Region of Japan ranged from 69 to 82% for aerosols, from 47 to 87% for ionic concentrations in rain, and from 55 to 79% for ionic concentrations in fog. The study found that the transboundary air pollution also affected ionic concentrations in fog as well as aerosol concentrations and ionic concentrations in rain.     

Long-term Trends in Surface Water Quality of Five Lakes in Japan

Since 1983, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan has conducted nation-wide acid deposition surveys. To investigate the effects of acid deposition on surface water, we used the nonparametric Mann–Kendall test to find temporal trends in pH, alkalinity, and electrical conductivity (EC) in more than 10 years of data collected from five lakes and their catchments (Lake Kuttara: northernmost; Lake Kamakita: near Tokyo; Lake Ijira: central; Lake Banryu: western; and Lake Unagiike: southernmost). The pH of Lake Ijira water has declined slightly since the mid-1990s, corresponding with the downward trends seen in the pH and alkalinity of the river water flowing into the lake. There were significant upward trends in the EC of both the lake and stream water; the same trends were also found for concentrations. These trends show evidence of acidification due to atmospheric deposition, and this is the first such finding in Japan based on significant long-term trends. Lake Ijira is located about 40 km north of the Chukyo industrial area near Nagoya. The annual depositions of H⁺, nss-, and in Lake Ijira were among the highest of all deposition monitoring sites, suggesting that this is the main cause of the significant acidification observed in Lake Ijira. No significant trends suggesting acidification were observed in any of the other lake catchments in spite of the significant upward trends in EC. Upward trends in pH and alkalinity at Lake Banryu and upward trends in alkalinity at Lake Kamakita were detected, but no change in pH or alkalinity at Lake Kuttara and Lake Unagiike was observed.     

Effect of tributyltin on veliger larvae of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum

We investigated the effects of waterborne and maternal exposure to tributyltin (TBT) on veliger larvae of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum. In a waterborne exposure test, veliger larvae (D-larvae stage: 24h after fertilization) were exposed to TBT at measured concentrations of <0.01 (control), 0.055, 0.130, 0.340, and 0.600microg/l for 13d. The percentage of normal veliger larvae (the ratio of normal veliger larvae to all larvae) decreased significantly in all TBT treatment groups compared with that in the control group. In a maternal exposure test, 100 clams were exposed to TBT at measured concentrations of <0.01 (control), 0.061, and 0.310microg/l at 20-22 degrees C for 3 weeks, and the percentage of normal veliger larvae assessed for 13d. No maternal effects on veliger larvae from TBT were observed in TBT treatment groups as compared with the control group. These results demonstrate that waterborne TBT affects Manila clam veliger larvae, and indicates that TBT may have reduced Manila clam populations by preventing the development and survival of veliger larvae.     

Geology-dependent impacts of forest conversion on stream fish diversity

Forest conversion is one of the greatest global threats to biodiversity, and land-use change and subsequent biodiversity declines sometimes occur over a variety of underlying geologies. However, how forest conversion and underlying geology interact to alter biodiversity is underappreciated, although spatial variability in geology is considered an integral part of sustaining ecosystems. We aimed to examine the effects of forest conversion to farmland, the underlying geology, and their interaction on the stream fishes’ diversity, evenness, and abundance in northeastern Japan. We disentangled complex pathways between abiotic and biotic factors with structural equation modeling. Species diversity of stream fishes was indirectly shaped by the interaction of land use and underlying geology. Diversity declined due to nutrient enrichment associated with farmlands, which was mainly the result of changes in evenness rather than by changes in species richness. This impact was strongest in streams with volcanic geology with coarse substrates probably because of the differential responses of abundant stream fishes to nutrient enrichment (i.e., dominance) and the high dependency of these fishes on large streambed materials during their life cycles. Our findings suggest that remediation of deforested or degraded forest landscapes would be more efficient if the interaction between land use and underlying geology was considered. For example, the negative impacts of farmland on evenness were larger in streams with volcanic geology than in other stream types, suggesting that riparian forest restoration along such streams would efficiently provide restoration benefits to stream fishes. Our results also suggest that land clearing around such streams should be avoided to conserve species evenness of stream fishes.     

Adsorption characteristics of carbonaceous adsorbents for organic pollutants in a model incineration exhaust gas

Adsorption characteristics of carbonaceous adsorbents were examined using 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene, naphthalene and 2,4,6-tribromophenol as adsorbates. The breakthrough and equilibrium adsorption characteristics were evaluated using laboratory-scale adsorption test equipment. A micropore volume of diameter less than 2 nm is the most important factor governing the adsorption capacity of all adsorbates. A kinetic analysis was performed and the adsorption behavior of the adsorbates was analyzed. Diffusion within porous particles controls the adsorption rate in this system, and the diffusion process is a function of pore diffusion. The operating conditions in working incineration facility adsorbers were reviewed and the breakthrough time of these adsorbents in actual adsorbers was estimated using the mass transfer zone method. Information on the optimal operating conditions of adsorbers was derived from the adsorption breakthrough characteristics.