The occurrence of the herbicide dalapon (2,2-dichloropropionate) in potable water as a disinfection by-product

Salts of 2,2-dichloropropionic acid, such as dalapon, are well known as herbicides and are regulated as such in potable water in Australia and elsewhere. It is also an identified disinfection by-product (DBP), but little is known about the compound's formation and typical levels from this source. This work presents results from a sampling campaign where 2,2-dichloropropionate was found at levels between 0.1 and 0.5 μg l(-1) in potable water samples from a major treatment plant in South East Queensland, Australia. However, levels were below the reporting limit (0.01 μg l(-1)) in the immediate source water for the plant. Also, temporal trends in 2,2-dichloropropionate observed in treated water during sampling mirrored those of trihalomethanes albeit at much lower concentrations, suggesting that the occurrence is due to in situ formation as a DBP. This could present a regulatory dilemma in some jurisdictions.     

Animal Consciousness and Ethics in Asia and the Pacific

The interactions between humans, animals and the environment have shaped human values and ethics, not only the genes that we are made of. The animal rights movement challenges human beings to reconsider interactions between humans and other animals, and maybe connected to the environmental movement that begs us to recognize the fact that there are symbiotic relationships between humans and all other organisms. The first part of this paper looks at types of bioethics, the implications of autonomy and the value of being alive. Then the level of consciousness of these relationships are explored in survey results from Asia and the Pacific, especially in the 1993 International Bioethics Survey conducted in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. Very few mentioned animal consciousness in the survey, but there were more biocentric comments in Australia and Japan; and more comments with the idea of harmony including humans in Thailand. Comparisons between questions and surveys will also be made, in an attempt to describe what people imagine animal consciousness to be, and whether this relates to human ethics of the relationships. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

WATER QUALITY PROJECTIONS: PREIMPOUNDMENT CASE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: Recent regulations require impact statements for major water development projects, including reservoirs that will be used for water supply, recreation, and pollution control. A water quantity/quality model was developed and used for making water quality projections of a proposed reservoir in Montgomery County, Maryland. The study area is uncommon in that there is an extensive water quality data base. The results indicate that land use changes will have a significant effect on water quality and that the proposed reservoir will improve the quality of the surface waters downstream from the reservoir. A major effect of land use changes is the increase in the variability of water quality.     

CONFLICTS IN ATTAINING NATIONAL GOALS FOR BOTH WATER QUALITY AND ENERGY PRODUCTION1

ABSTRACT: The “policy environment” is defined herein as the institutional setting in which planning is conducted and policy decisions are made with regard to meeting two of the Nation's high priority goals: water quality protection and energy independence. The simultaneous pursuit of these goals has resulted in numerous conflicts among the energy industry, environmentalists, and government. An analysis of selected energy development-water quality conflicts shows that these conflicts can be described in terms of one or more of the following policy environment characteristics: resource scarcity, sense of urgency, lack of experience, administrative complexity, uncertainty about future policies and regulations, technological complexity, and uncertainty about impacts. These characterics provide a useful framework for formulating potential strategies for the resolution of energy development-water quality conflicts.     

Ethical Opportunities in Global Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry: The Role for FAO

FAO has a unique and essential rolein addressing the ethical problems facinghumanity and in making these problems intoopportunities for practical resolution. A broadrange of ethical issues in agriculture,fisheries, and forestry were identified byanalysis of the literature and by interviewswith FAO staff. Issues include sharing accessto and preserving natural resources,introduction of new technology, conservatismover the use of genetic engineering, ethics inanimal agriculture, access to information, foodsecurity, sustainable rural development,ensuring participation of all people indecision making and in receiving benefits ofagriculture, reducing corruption, andinvolvement of private and public sectors indecision making. Rather than viewing theseissues as problems, they should be viewed asopportunities for debate, learning aboutothers' views, and resolution. The UnitedNations has an important role to play in howdecisions are made in the global ethical debatein food and agriculture. The ethical role ofFAO is to promote global food security,balanced conservation, management andutilization of natural resources, andsustainable rural development. FAO should fullyand publicly assume its ethicalresponsibilities, gathering and sharinginformation on ethics in its areas of mandate,acting as an interactive forum, and providingexpert guidance on policy options and choicesbased on practical ethical analysis.     

A column test for leaching of organochlorines from soil by amphiphilic nonionic nanopolymers

Amphiphilic nonionic cross-linked nanopolymers (NPs) were synthesized to examine removal of five organochlorines (OCs), namely lindane, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and DDT, from a range of Thai agricultural soils. The synthesized NP particles had polarity characteristics similar to those of nonionic surfactant micelles and were largely in the size range of 55-155 nm. This work aimed to determine the optimal conditions for leaching of OC contaminated soil with NPs and also to investigate the role and influence of soil properties on this leaching. An investigation of the concentrations of aqueous dispersions of these particles found that a concentration of 10 g L(-1). was found most effective in leaching the OCs from a column of spiked soil. The optimal contact time that allowed a NP dispersion and spiked soil to reach equilibrium was 48 h. The results indicated influencing factors for OC removal and soil remediation were properties both of the soil and the compounds themselves. Soil organic carbon (SOC) content and soil texture played an important role on the sorption as well as compound hydrophobicity expressed as log K(OW) values. The removal efficiency was found to be in the range of 85.2-92.8 % for all soil samples and in the order of DDT < aldrin < heptachlor < dieldrin < endrin < lindane regardless of soil type. This order is inversely related to the log K(OC) values of these compounds. For OC compounds with a similar molecular structure, removal efficiency was related to molecular weight (MW).     

The performance of passive flow monitors and phosphate accumulating passive samplers when exposed to pulses in external water flow rate and/or external phosphate concentrations

Passive samplers are typically calibrated under constant flow and concentration conditions. This study assessed whether concentration and/or flow pulses could be integrated using a phosphate passive sampler (P-sampler). Assessment involved three 21-day experiments featuring a pulse in flow rate, a pulse of filterable reactive phosphate (FRP) concentration and a simultaneous concentration and flow pulse. FRP concentrations were also determined by parallel grab sampling and the P-sampler calibrated with passive flow monitors (PFMs) and direct measurement of flow rates. The mass lost from the PFM over the deployment periods predicted water velocity to within 5.1, 0.48 and 7.1% when exposed to a flow rate pulse (7.5-50 cm s⁻¹), concentration pulse (5-100 μg P L⁻¹), or both simultaneously. For the P-sampler, good agreement was observed between the grab and passive measurements of FRP concentration when exposed to a pulse in flow (6% overestimation) or concentration (2% underestimation).     

Public engagement and climate adaptation: insights from three local governments in Australia

Public participation in decision making is a central component of the planning process; however, implementing effective engagement initiatives to resolve complex planning and policy problems, such as climate change, is challenging for planners. These challenges are particularly acute in coastal communities throughout Australia, where many settlements are at risk of future climate perturbations. Using the International Association for Public Participation framework for public participation, we analyse three local government led public participation initiatives in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Our analysis suggests there are three critical factors that can influence the level of public participation in the context of climate change adaptation: the technocratic approach to decision making; absent high order government support; and the lack of evaluation mechanisms for public participation.     

Critical evaluation of the measurement of the 1- octanol / water partition coefficient of hydrophobic compounds

Data on the experimental measurement of the octanol/water partition coefficient (K_ow) with hydrophobic compounds was assembled from the literature. The precision, characterised by the standard deviation of mean K_ow values based on five commonly used experimental methods, over an extended K_ow range was found to generally decline with compounds having log K_ow > 5.5. In the log K_ow range from 2.0 to 5.5 there was little difference between the mean values of log K_ow determined by the different methods but major differences occured with compounds having log K_ow > 5.5. The agreement between calculated ClogP values and K_ow values derived from individual experimental methods indicated that ClogP overestimates log K_ow from all experimental methods with compounds having values greater than 5.5.