中日合作项目国内外危险化学品安全管理初步研究

按照中日合作项目《加强中国安全生产科学技术能力计划》,分析了日本、美国、加拿大、德国、欧盟和联合国等国际危险化学品安全管理现状,总结提出了实施风险评价、申报登记、风险控制、信息警示和员工培训等国际危险化学品安全管理方式及其特点。同时,结合中国危险化学品安全管理现状,提出了系统化建设危险化学品安全生产法规标准体系、制定作业场所危险化学品卫生要求、修订《危险化学品安全管理条例》等进一步建立健全中国危险化学品安全管理的对策和建议。这对完善中国危险化学品安全管理具有重要的参考意义。     

Plasticity in spawning visits of female damselfish, Stegastes nigricans : effect of distance to mates

Both sexes of the damselfish Stegastes nigricans hold individual territories in which they feed on filamentous algae. At dawn, females visit males' territories to spawn, and the males guard the eggs until hatching. We examined how females' spawning behavior varied according to the distances to their mates. Females usually mated with a single male per morning. The distance to the territory of a mate (0.7–12.8 m) did not affect a female's total spawning time per morning, but affected the number of her spawning visits with that male. Females made many repeated spawning visits when spawning with males at short distances, while they spawned the entire clutch in one visit when spawning with males at long distances. This plasticity in female behavior appears to be related to two costs during the spawning visits: (1) intrusions by other fish to feed on algae in the female's territory during her absence, which may cause the female to return repeatedly to her territory for defense, and (2) attacks on the female by other territorial fish, which increased with the distance to their mates' territories. To minimize the sum of both costs, females should change the number of spawning visits depending on the distance to the males' territories. Received: 30 September 1996 / Accepted after revision: 17 March 1997     

Identification and behavior of reaction products formed by chlorination of ethynylestradiol

Six products were formed by reaction of ethynylestradiol (EE2) with sodium hypochlorite in buffered solutions. 4-Chloroethynylestradiol (4-ClEE2) and 2,4-dichloroethynylestradiol (2,4-diClEE2) were identified as the two major reaction products, using preparative HPLC, MS, and NMR. When EE2 reacted with chlorine at different pHs (pH 5, 7, and 9) or chlorine concentrations (0.2, 1, 2, and 5 mmol/l, corresponding to molar ratios to EE2, 1, 5, 10, and 25, respectively), the formation of 4-ClEE2 and 2,4-diClEE2 was observed under the above conditions, and the highest yields were 20 and 52 mol%, respectively. EE2 was consumed almost completely within 5 min of chlorination by addition of chlorine of more than 1 mmol/l (molar ratio to EE2, 5). On the other hand, the two products existed in highly chlorinated solutions after 60 min (4ClEE2, 1-6 mol%; 2,4-diClEE2, 3-25 mol%). The estrogenic activities of 4-ClEE2 by estrogen receptor alpha or beta binding assay were similar to those of the parent EE2, and the activities of 2,4-diClEE2 were lower about 10 times.     

Roadside particulate air pollution in Bangkok

Airborne fine particles of PM(2.5-10) and PM2.5 in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Ayutthaya were measured from December 22, 1998, to March 26, 1999, and from November 30, 1999, to December 2, 1999. Almost all the PM10 values in the high-polluted (H) area exceeded the Thailand National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 120 microg/m3. The low-polluted (L) area showed low PM10 (34-74 microg/m3 in the daytime and 54-89 microg/m3 at night). PM2.5 in the H area varied between 82 and 143 microg/m3 in the daytime and between 45 and 146 microg/m3 at night. In the L area, PM2.5 was quite low both day and night and varied between 24 and 54 microg/m3, lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard (65 microg/m3). The personal exposure results showed a significantly higher proportion of PM2.5 to PM10 in the H area than in the L area (H = 0.80 +/- 0.08 and L = 0.65 +/- 0.04). Roadside PM10 was measured simultaneously with the Thailand Pollution Control Department (PCD) monitoring station at the same site and at the intersections where police work. The result from dual simultaneous measurements of PM10 showed a good correlation (correlation coefficient: r = 0.93); however, PM levels near the roadside at the intersections were higher than the concentrations at the monitoring station. The relationship between ambient PM level and actual personal exposures was examined. Correlation coefficients between the general ambient outdoors and personal exposure levels were 0.92 for both PM2.5 and PM10. Bangkok air quality data for 1997-2000, including 24-hr average PM10, NO2, SO2, and O3 from eight PCD monitoring stations, were analyzed and validated. The annual arithmetic mean PM10 of the PCD data at the roadside monitoring stations for the last 3 years decreased from 130 to 73 microg/m3, whereas the corresponding levels at the general monitoring stations decreased from 90 to 49 microg/m3. The proportion of days when the level of the 24-hr average PM10 exceeded the NAAQS was between 13 and 26% at roadside stations. PCD data showed PM10 was well correlated with NO2 but not with SO2, suggesting that automobile exhaust is the main source of the particulate air pollution. The results obtained from the simultaneous measurement of PM2.5 and PM10 indicate the potential environmental health hazard of fine particles. In conclusion, Bangkok traffic police were exposed to high levels of automobile-derived particulate air pollution.     

ReefBahia, an integrated GIS approach for coral reef conservation in Bahia, Brazil

Coral reefs around the world are facing serious threats. These fragile ecosystems are in need for conservation. The coastal state of Bahia hosts the most extensive and richest area of coral reefs in the South Atlantic Ocean. Assessment, planning and management of coral reef ecosystems are particularly challenging tasks. This work shows how the creation of a GIS improves the process of management, monitoring and conservation of the Bahian reef environments The initial data input started by the vectorization of 1) bathymetric data from the Bureau of Hydrography and Navigation (DHN), 2) shoreline and mangrove areas from Landsat 7 ETM + images, 3) near surface reefs from Quickbird images, and 4) coastal and marine protected areas of federal, state and local administrations. Geological, physical, biological and social information was then included in order to create a suitable marine GIS for conservation aims. The data includes information on sediment granulometry and transport patterns, rocky substrate outcrops, sea surface temperature, wave direction, rain precipitation, major contributing river discharge, artisanal fishery, benthic cover and bleaching data. ReefBahia GIS has provided essential information for a better understanding of coral reefs of the state of Bahia geological and ecological characteristics such as mapping, representation, connectivity and biodiversity of coral reefs, geological facies, Quaternary sedimentation, numeric modeling of wave refraction and monitoring of bleaching events.     

The recycled content of plastic products: estimating the impact of a recycling law on the input mix

The use of recycled material is a key building block for the circular economy. In this study, we explore the impact of recycling laws in Japan on the use of recycled materials in the production process of intermediate plastics. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we investigate whether the input share of recycled plastics in intermediate plastic products increased after the Container and Packaging Recycling Law (CPR Law) was enforced in 1997 in Japan. Results indicate that the input share of recycled plastics increased by 1 percentage point after the law’s implementation. Meanwhile, the input share of virgin plastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and vinyl chloride, per plastic product decreased by 3 percentage points on average. These results suggest that the CPR law helped shift inputs from virgin plastics to recycled plastic materials even though the impact size has been small. To further encourage the use of recycled plastic materials, policy interventions should directly incentivize producers to increase the use of recycled plastics.

     

Mapping the global supply and demand structure of rice

Rice plays a major role in the global supply and demand for sustainable food production. The constraints of maintaining sustainable rice production are closely linked to the relationship between the distribution patterns of human activity on the planet and economic growth. Global patterns of rice production can be mapped by using various criteria linked to domestic income, population patterns, and associated satellite brightness data of rice-producing regions. Prosperous regions have more electric lighting, and there are documented correlations between gross domestic product (GDP) and nighttime light. We chose to examine global rice production patterns on a geographical basis. For the purposes of this study, each country is considered to be made up of regions, and rice production is discussed in terms of regional distribution. A region is delineated by its administrative boundaries; the number of regions where rice is produced is about 13,839. We used gridded spatial population distribution data overlain by nocturnal light imagery derived from satellite imagery. The resultant relationship revealed a correlation between regional income (nominal values of GDP were used) and rice production in the world. The following criteria were used to examine the supply and demand structure of rice. Global rice consumption = “caloric rice consumption per capita per day” multiplied by “regional population values”. Regional rice yields = “country-based production” divided by “harvested area” (multiple harvests are taken into account). Regional rice production = “regional harvested areas” multiplied by “rice yield values”. We compared regional rice consumption and production values according to these methods. Analysis of the data sets generated a map of rice supply and demand. Inter-regional shipping costs were not accounted for. This map can contribute to the understanding of food security issues in rice-producing regions and to estimating potential population values in such regions.     

Synthesis of calcium phosphate hydrogel from waste incineration fly ash and its application to fuel cell

Waste incineration fly ash was successfully recycled to calcium phosphate hydrogel, a type of fast proton conductor. The crystallized hydrogel from incineration fly ash had a lower electric conductivity and a lower crystallinity than that from calcium carbonate reagent. However, the difference in electric conductivity between these crystallized hydrogels decreases with temperature. This was due to the presence of potassium in the incineration fly ash. The fuel cell with a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) using the calcium phosphate hydrogel membrane prepared from incineration fly ash was observed to generate electricity. The performance of this fuel cell was almost equal to that of a mixture of K₂CO₃ and CaCO₃ reagents; further, the performance of the former was superior to the fuel cell with a perfluorosulfonic polymer membrane at temperatures greater than approximately 85 °C.     

Feasibility of a monitoring system for detecting changes in dioxin concentrations of both in flue gas and fly ash in incineration plants

Surrogate measurements should be low in cost and quick to perform. To examine its feasibility, continuous surrogate monitoring was performed using an organic halogen compound (OHC) analyzer. Surrogates for dioxins (DXNs) from waste incinerators were examined by changing the operating conditions such as the atomized volume of activated carbon added and the temperature at the inlet of the dust collector. OHCs were measured along with DXNs in flue gas at the inlet and the outlet of the dust collector of two waste incinerators over five runs; the fly ash was sampled at the same time. Although the final flue gas concentration of DXNs at the incineration plants was below the regulation criteria, this does not mean complete reduction of DXNs. In addition, the de novo synthesis of DXNs inside the dust collectors was studied by analyzing the mass balance for DXNs concentrations in flue gas and fly ash. Semivolatile chlorinated organic compound concentrations at the outlet of the bag filter were basically well correlated with DXNs levels at the inlet of the bag filter in the test runs. When advanced flue gas treatment is applied by using a bag filter and lime/activated carbon adsorbent, DXNs that may be generated during flue gas cooling processes move to the fly ash, and this amount determines the mass balance of the entire system. It may be useful to monitor surrogate organic halogens for detecting changes in DXN concentrations of both flue gas and fly ash in incineration plants.