The development of effects-based air quality management regimes

This paper considers the evolution of attempts to control and manage air pollution, principally but not exclusively focussing upon the challenge of managing air pollution in urban environments. The development and implementation of a range of air pollution control measures are considered. Initially the measures implemented primarily addressed point sources, a small number of fuel types and a limited number of pollutants. The adequacy of such a source-control approach is assessed within the context of a changing and challenging air pollution climate. An assessment of air quality management in the United Kingdom over a 50-year timeframe exemplifies the range of issues and challenges in contemporary air quality management. The need for new approaches is explored and the development and implementation of an effects-based, risk management system for air quality regulation is evaluated.     

Spatial distribution of uranium and thorium in the surface soil around proposed uranium mining site at Lambapur and its vertical profile in the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

The understanding and evaluation of the possible interactions of various naturally occurring radionuclides in the world's third largest man-made dam, Nagarjuna Sagar located in Andhra Pradesh, India and built on river Krishna assumed significance with the finding of uranium deposits in locations near the dam. For the present work, surface soil samples from the mineralized area of Lambapur, Mallapuram, Peddagattu and sediment core samples from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam were analyzed for naturally occurring radionuclides namely uranium and thorium using gamma spectrometric technique. Also toxic elements lead and chromium were analysed by the Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (EDXRF) technique. Surface soil samples show a variation from 25 to 291 Bq/kg (2.02–23.5 mg/kg) for ²³⁸U and 32–311 Bq/kg (7.9–76.9 mg/kg) for ²³²Th. U/Th concentration ratio in surface soil samples ranged from 0.19 to 0.31 and was found comparable with the nation wise average of 0.26. The study of sediment core samples reflected higher U/Th concentration ratio of 0.30–0.33 in the bottom section of the core as compared to 0.22–0.25 in the upper section. The concentration ratio in the upper section of the core was similar to the ratio 0.23 found in the western Deccan Basalt region through which the river originates. A higher concentration of lead and chromium was observed in the upper section of the core compared to bottom section indicating the impact of river input on the geochemical character of dam sediment.     

Analysis of some heavy metals in the riverine water, sediments and fish from river Ganges at Allahabad

The river Ganges has been one of the major recipients of industrial effluents in India. The present paper deals with the study related to occurrence and bioaccumulation of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn) in the riverine water, sediment, and the muscles of two cat fish species, Channa punctatus (C. punctatus) and Aorichthys aor (A. aor) procured from the river Ganges at Allahabad. The data obtained after water analysis reflected the order of occurrence of heavy metals to be Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd, respectively. The analysis of heavy metals in sediment indicated that among the five heavy metals tested; Zn was maximally accumulated followed by Pb, Cr, Cu and Cd. The trend of heavy metals accumulation in fish muscles was found to be similar to that observed in sediment and water such as Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd. Data indicated that Zn accumulated maximally in the sediment as well as muscles of both of the fish species in comparison to other metals.     

Monsoon-induced changes in the size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass and production rate in the estuarine and coastal waters of southwest coast of India

Changes in the autotrophic pico- (0.2–2 μm), nano- (2–20 μm), and microplankton (>20 μm) biomass (chlorophyll a) and primary production were measured in the estuarine and coastal waters off Cochin, southwest coast of India during the onset and establishment of a monsoon. During this period, the estuary was dominated by nutrient-rich freshwater, whereas the coastal waters were characterized with higher salinity values (>30 psu) and less nutrients. The average surface chlorophyll a concentrations and primary production rates were higher in the estuary (average 13.7 mg m^???3 and 432 mgC m^???3 day^???1) as compared to the coastal waters (5.3 mg m^???3 and 224 mgC m^???3 day^???1). The nanoplankton community formed the major fraction of chlorophyll a and primary production, both in the estuary (average 85 ± SD 8.3% and 81.2 ± SD 3.2%) and the coastal waters (average 73.2 ± SD 17.2% and 81.9 ± 15.7%). Nanoplankton had the maximum photosynthetic efficiency in the coastal waters (average 4.8 ± SD 3.9 mgC mgChl a m^???3 h^???1), whereas in the estuary, the microplankton had higher photosynthetic efficiency (average 7.4 ± 7 mgC mgChl a m^???3 h^???1). The heavy cloud cover and increased water column turbidity not only limit the growth of large-sized phytoplankton in the Cochin estuary and coastal waters but also support the proliferation of nanoplankton community during the monsoon season, even though large variation in nanoplankton chlorophyll a and production exists between these two areas.     

A novel way to upgrade the coarse part of a high calcium fly ash for reuse into cement systems

Reject fly ash (rFA) represents a significant portion of the fly ashes produced from coal-fired power plants. Due to the high carbon content and large particle mean diameter, rFA is not utilized in the construction sector (for example, as supplementary cementing material) and is currently dumped into landfills, thus representing an additional environmental burden. Recently, the feasibility of using rFA in a relatively small number of applications, like solidification/stabilization of other wastes, has been investigated by different researchers. However, as the overall amount of fly ash utilized in such applications is still limited, there is a need to investigate other possibilities for rFA utilization starting from a deeper understanding of its properties. In the work presented herein, mechanical and hydration properties of cementitious materials prepared by blending the coarse fraction of a lignite high-calcium fly ash with ordinary cement were monitored and compared with the respective ones of a good quality fly ash-cement mixture. The results of this work reveal that a relatively cheap, bilateral classification-grinding method is able to promote the pozzolanic behavior of the rFAs, so that the overall performances of rFA containing cements are drastically improved. The evaluation of these results supports the belief that appropriate utilization of non-standardized materials may lead to new environmental-friendly products of superior quality.     

Combustion characteristics of Malaysian municipal solid waste and predictions of air flow in a rotary kiln incinerator

Malaysia is in dire need of alternatives to landfilling for solid waste management. Recently, landfills have faced the problems of overfilling, overflowing of leachates leading to pollution of water resources, and uncontrolled dust emissions adversely affecting the local environment. With the rising cost of urbanization coupled with the high rate of waste generation, one possible method of waste treatment that is receiving particular attention by the government is incineration. Incineration of solid waste is rather new in Malaysia, with limited usage in handling small sources of waste generation such as the municipal solid waste (MSW) of resort islands; however, its potential in ameliorating the problems associated with solid waste treatment may make it an attractive alternative to landfill. This article presents the results of test runs conducted to investigate the performance of a locally designed and manufactured rotary kiln incinerator (RKI). The test runs were conducted using MSW collected from the Shah Alam municipality. The combustion efficiency was analyzed by looking at the temperature profiles and chemical species concentrations. To complement the combustion characteristics measurements, predictions of the air flow in the incinerator during the process were also investigated. The overall performance of the RKI suggests that it is suitable for treating MSW.     

Genetic, morphological, and chemical divergence in the sponge genus Latrunculia (Porifera: Demospongiae) from New Zealand

We undertook a comprehensive study of Latrunculia in New Zealand to determine the relationship between taxonomic, environmental, and chemical variation within the genus. Sponges were collected from five locations around New Zealand: Three Kings Islands, Tutukaka, Wellington, Kaikoura, and Doubtful Sound. Allozyme electrophoresis at nine polymorphic loci indicated that sponges from each geographic location were genetically distinct, and that they displayed genetic differences of the magnitude usually associated with reproductively isolated species (Nei's D between locations =0.375-2.476). Additionally, the comparisons revealed that the green and brown colour morphs of Latrunculia that are sympatric at Three Kings Islands and Kaikoura are distinct from each other, and that there are two genetic groups within the green sponges in Doubtful Sound. On the basis of genetic data we conclude that there are at least eight species of Latrunculia in New Zealand waters, not one to four as had been previously thought. Morphological comparisons of the eight genetic species based on skeletal characters (i.e. skeletal organisation of the choanosome, spicule composition, size, and geometry) indicated that the eight Latrunculia species fell into only two morphological groups that could be easily diagnosed on the basis of discorhabd type. Within these two primary morphological groups, skeletal characteristics among the eight species largely overlap and are not diagnostic. These findings emphasise the limitations of traditional taxonomic methods based solely on skeletal characters for distinguishing species of Latrunculia. However, multivariate analysis (MANOVA and CDA) based on six measured skeletal variables did reveal significant morphological variation among the species (Pillai's Trace=3.28, F=6.90, P<0.0001), supporting the division of the genus into eight species. Comparisons of chemical extracts from Latrunculia also showed that the amounts of five different bioactive compounds (discorhabdins A, B, C, D, and J) varied predictably among the eight species. This finding suggests that discorhabdin variation within Latrunculia, previously thought to be associated with intra-specific environmental variability, is more likely to reflect differences among species rather than phenotypic plasticity. Our results also highlight the importance of thorough taxonomic studies associated with marine natural products research to understand fully the variation in bioactive properties among individuals. The potential processes underlying the unusually high speciation rates in New Zealand Latrunculia that are indicated in our study are discussed.     

Noninvasive Stress and Reproductive Measures of Social and Ecological Pressures in Free-Ranging African Elephants

Abstract: The African elephant (   Loxodonta africana ) experienced a poaching-related 60% population decline between 1979 and 1988 that was inordinately concentrated on adults. This, coupled with political pressures to delist the elephant, has created a need for noninvasive physiological measures that can quantify the long-term effects of past mortality patterns of this long-lived species. We collected fresh fecal samples from 16 female elephants in three different groups over 23 months at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, and analyzed them for fecal progesterone and cortisol metabolites. Social and ecological measures were collected concurrently. Fecal progesterone metabolite measures corresponded significantly with stage of gestation, and appear to be able to confirm pregnancy in female elephants from as early as 3 months of gestation. We found that progesterone metabolite concentrations were significantly lower during the dry season than during the wet season after controlling for stage of gestation. Fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations showed the opposite seasonal pattern, being significantly higher in the dry season and inversely correlated with rainfall across seasons. Fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations also increased with group size and were correlated positively with dominance rank in the largest group. Our results suggest that measures of progesterone and cortisol metabolites in feces provide indices of reproductive function and physiological stress that can quantify both natural and human disturbances in African elephants. These measures are ideally suited for monitoring the long-term effects of social disruption from poaching and a variety of other management concerns.