Supporting tqem with boeing's environmental assessment monitoring program

This article describes how Boeing'S program to conduct environmental assessments has developed since its inception five years ago, and has contributed to the company'S overall Quality Improvement process.     

Youth participation in disaster risk reduction through science clubs in the Philippines

With the UN‐led celebration of the International Year of Youth from August 2010 to August 2011 there has been a renewed interest in young people and the vital role they can play in important issues, such as disaster risk reduction (DRR). This study aims to examine the potential of science clubs as a vehicle for youth participation in DRR in the Philippines. A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 658 science club members from different provinces of the Philippines participated in the survey. The result of the survey is used to explain how the major barriers to youth participation in DRR can be overcome. Through science clubs, the youth can become a link between their school, home and community and can contribute to spreading knowledge about disaster prevention, preparedness and response learned inside and outside the classroom.     

Earliest zygodactyl bird feet: evidence from Early Cretaceous roadrunner-like tracks

Fossil footprints are important in understanding Cretaceous avian diversity because they constitute evidence of paleodiversity and paleoecology that is not always apparent from skeletal remains. Early Cretaceous bird tracks have demonstrated the existence of wading birds in East Asia, but some pedal morphotypes, such as zygodactyly, common in modern and earlier Cenozoic birds (Neornithes) were unknown in the Cretaceous. We, herein, discuss the implications of a recently reported, Early Cretaceous (120–110 million years old) trackway of a large, zygodactyl bird from China that predates skeletal evidence of this foot morphology by at least 50 million years and includes the only known fossil zygodactyl footprints. The tracks demonstrate the existence of a Cretaceous bird not currently represented in the body fossil record that occupied a roadrunner (Geococcyx)-like niche, indicating a previously unknown degree of Cretaceous avian morphological and behavioral diversity that presaged later Cenozoic patterns. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A laboratory study of the persistence of carbofuran and its 3‐hydroxy‐ and 3 keto‐metabolites in sterile and natural mineral and organic soils

Abstract

In a laboratory study, the persistence of carbofuran and its 3‐hydroxy‐ and 3‐keto‐metabolites was examined separately over 16 wk in sterile and natural organic (muck) and mineral (loam) soils. Carbofuran was relatively persistent in sterile soils; at 8 wk 77% remained in the sterile muck and about 50% remained in the sterile loam. In the natural muck 25% of initial carbofuran remained at 8 wk whereas in the natural loam carbofuran had completely disappeared by that time. The 3‐ketocarbofuran was very short‐lived even in the sterile muck where only 50% remained at 1 wk. The 3‐hydroxycarbofuran degraded appreciably on zero day in the natural soils (with conversion to 3‐ketocarbofuran) and about 90% had disappeared in 1 wk. A more detailed study of the persistence of 3‐hydroxycarbofuran in the natural soils showed complete disappearance in 2 days in loam and in 3 days in muck. The 3‐ketocarbofuran produced from the 3‐hydroxy‐carbofuran reached a maximum concentration in 1 day and then disappeared within 4 days in loam and about 1 wk in muck.     

Energy and Efficiency Characteristics of the Ejector Venturi Scrubber

The scrubbing and pumping actions in the Ejector Venturi Scrubber are two separate phenomenon occurring simultaneously. Each phenomenon requires energy and has efficiency of operation and collection efficiency. These energy and efficiency relationships are discussed and illustrated in form of numerous graphs. The scrubbing energy requirements and how they vary with particle sizes down to one micron are also discussed and presented in form of numerous graphs.     

Reducing the Risk of Accidental Death Due to Vehicle-Related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

ABSTRACT

Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) from motor vehicles cause several hundred accidental fatal poisonings annually in the United States. The circumstances that could lead to fatal poisonings in residential settings with motor vehicles as the source of CO were explored. The risk of death in a garage (volume = 90 m³) and a single-family dwelling (400 m³) was evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation with varying CO emission rates and ventilation rates. Information on emission rates was obtained from a survey of motor vehicle exhaust gas composition under warm idle conditions in California, and information on ventilation rates was obtained from a summary of published measurements in the U.S. housing stock. The risk of death ranged from 16 to 21% for a 3-hr exposure in a garage to 0% for a 1-hr exposure in a house. Older vehicles were associated with a disproportionately high risk of death. Removing all pre-1975 vehicles from the fleet would reduce the risk of death by one-fourth to two-thirds, depending on the exposure scenario. Significant efforts have been made to control CO emissions from motor vehicles with the goal of reducing CO concentrations in outdoor air. Substantial public health benefit could also be obtained if vehicle control measures were designed to take account of acute CO poisonings explicitly.     

Allocating Remedial Costs at Superfund Sites with Commingled Groundwater Contaminant Plumes

Remedial efforts at Superfund sites across the country focus on groundwater contaminant plumes that have been produced by contributions from multiple parties. Allocating cleanup costs between the parties in a fair and equitable manner can be a problem of substantial complexity. Considerable time and money may be spent determining the amount of contamination attributable to each party in order to apportion liability. Contaminant plumes that have evolved over long periods of time may affect large volumes of groundwater and require extensive remediation. Pump and treat remedial costs are driven by both the volume of water extracted and the mass of contaminants removed. Allocation methods based solely on the mass of contaminants contributed by each party are inadequate in this setting since they do not account for both components of the remedial costs. This paper presents an approach for equitably allocating remedial costs when addressing overlapping or commingled groundwater plumes. The method accounts for the major elements driving the costs of remediating dispersed contaminant plumes.     

The stability of dieldrin,aldrin, lindane,chlorpyrifos and prothiofos in stored roof water

Abstract

The stability of dieldrin, aldrin, lindane, chlorpyrifos and prothiofos was determined in distilled water and in roof water from either galvanised or concrete tanks. Samples were stored in the dark at 23°C. Dieldrin and lindane were stable for the 36 week period. Aldrin dissipated rapidly with a half‐life of 4–5 weeks, with no dieldrin being formed. Chlorpyrifos and prothiofos also broke down, with half‐lives ranging 12–18 weeks and 11–14 weeks respectively. No significant effect of water type was found. For the purpose of domestic usage, an activated carbon filter would be essential otherwise all contaminated water would have to be disposed of safely.     

A bioeconomic model of afforestation in Southern Ontario: Integration of fiber,carbon and municipal biosolids values

This study explores the economic attractiveness of afforestation as a strategy for the joint production of fibre, carbon storage and biosolids (treated municipal sewage sludge) disposal for municipalities in Southern and Central Ontario, Canada. We use a spatial, stochastic model, the Canadian Forest Service Afforestation Feasibility Model (CFS-AFM), to simulate a range of spatial biosolids application scenarios in hybrid poplar afforestation projects. Results suggest that such joint afforestation strategies could be financially attractive. Significant cost savings can be expected through decreases in transportation distances and avoided waste disposal fees. Sensitivity analysis is used to examine the effects of variations in critical model parameters on net present values. Our findings indicate that waste disposal savings from application of biosolids on hybrid poplar plantations combined with incentives for landowners to sequester carbon can easily compete with agricultural land rental values in some regions of Ontario. Social acceptance of this kind of activity, however, may be an impediment to adoption.