Human PCDD/PCDF levels near a pentachlorophenol contamination site in Tainan, Taiwan

A pentachlorophenol (PCP) manufacturing plant in southern Taiwan discontinued production in 1989. The site of the abandoned plant was heavily contaminated by PCDD/PCDFs, impurities formed in the PCP production process. Serum samples collected from 27 residents living near the deserted plant were evaluated to determine whether this contamination had associated serum levels of PCDD/PCDFs in local residents. The average level of 17 tested congeners ranged from 556 to 5240 pg/g lipid (mean, 1670 pg/g lipid). The corresponding 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxicity equivalent quotient values calculated by international toxicity equivalent factors (I-TEFs) and those recommended by WHO (WHO-TEFs) were 47.2 pg I-TEQ/g lipid and 53.4 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid, respectively. Levels in other parts of Taiwan typically range from 15 to 20 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid; therefore, it is likely that the heavily contaminated plant site caused these unusually high serum levels. The average PCDD/PCDF levels of 29 fish-tissue and nine soil samples collected from the sea reservoir surrounding the abandoned PCP plant were also abnormally high: 8630 pg/g lipid (985 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid) and 606000 pg/g-sample (922 pg WHO-TEQ/g-sample), respectively. Factor analysis indicated that the congener pattern of human serum samples collected from residents living near the abandoned PCP plant different from samples collected from other areas in Taiwan without known PCDD/PCDF pollution. Similar results were observed for the fish tissue and soil samples. The current study may have discovered a "hot spot" for elevated dioxin human exposure in Taiwan. The preliminary finding has raised a public health concern in the inspected area and requires further investigations to clarify the nature of the contamination and potential impact on the local environment and human health.     

Is being a leader a mixed blessing? A dual‐pathway model linking leadership role occupancy to well‐being

Recent leadership research has drawn greater attention to how the well‐being of leaders influences leadership behaviors, follower performance and well‐being, and overall leadership effectiveness. Yet little attention has been paid to the relationship between occupying leadership positions and job incumbents' well‐being. This research addresses this question by developing and testing a dual‐pathway model. Our model proposes that incumbency in leadership positions is positively related to high levels of both job demands and job control, whereas job demands and job control have offsetting effects on well‐being. Results based on a longitudinal sample revealed that employees who transitioned from nonleadership positions to leadership roles showed trajectories of increasing job demands and job control, whereas such trends were weaker among those who remained in nonleadership positions. Findings from three additional samples generally demonstrated that leadership role occupancy was indirectly related to various indices of psychological and physiological well‐being through job demands and job control. Because the signs of the indirect effects through job demands and job control differed in expected ways, the overall relationship between leadership role occupancy and the well‐being outcomes was generally small and nonsignificant. We discuss research and practical implications of our framework and findings for organizations, employees, and leaders.     

Let's get this meeting started: Meeting lateness and actual meeting outcomes

Meeting lateness is pervasive and potentially highly consequential for individuals, groups, and organizations. In Study 1, we first examined base rates of lateness to meetings in an employee sample and found that meeting lateness is negatively related to both meeting satisfaction and effectiveness. We then conducted 2 lab studies to better understand the nature of this negative relationship between meeting lateness and meeting outcomes. In Study 2, we manipulated meeting lateness using a confederate and showed that participants' anticipated meeting satisfaction and effectiveness were significantly lower when meetings started late. In Study 3, participants holding actual group meetings were randomly and blindly assigned to either a 10 min late, 5 min late, or a control condition (n = 16 groups in each condition). We found significant differences concerning participants' perceived meeting satisfaction and meeting effectiveness, as well as objective group performance outcomes (number, quality, and feasibility of ideas produced in the meeting). We also identified differences in negative socioemotional group interaction behaviors depending on meeting lateness. In concert, our findings establish meeting lateness as an important organizational phenomenon and provide important conceptual and empirical implications for meeting research and practice.     

高铁酸钾预处理强化污泥破解及厌氧产酸

在序批式污泥厌氧反应器中探究了高铁酸钾对污泥破解及厌氧产酸的影响。实验结果表明高铁酸钾对污泥具有较强的破解性,当高铁酸钾的质量浓度由0 mg/L增加至16 mg/L时,溶解性COD与总COD的比值由6.2%升至35.6%。同时污泥液相中溶解性蛋白质的质量浓度由561 mg/L增加至1 365 mg/L。高铁酸钾的浓度与挥发性悬浮固体(VSS)的减量具有一定的线性关系。当高铁酸钾的质量浓度为8 mg/L时,污泥厌氧产挥发性脂肪酸最大,并且最大值为895 mg/L,其浓度是空白组2.56倍。     

Integrating total oxidizable precursor assay data to evaluate fate and transport of PFASs

Fate and transport of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are complex and are not well understood. Among this class of emerging contaminants, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) comprising perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) are being studied more frequently than polyfluorinated compounds. PFAAs are persistent in the environment, recalcitrant to biological degradation, and, therefore, widespread. Previous studies have indicated that some PFASs bioaccumulate. The fate and transport of PFAAs can be complicated by the presence of PFAA precursors. The PFAA precursors are defined in this article as those fluorinated chemicals that can be potentially transformed abiotically or biotically into terminal PFCA or PFSA products. Due to potential biotransformation in the environment, PFAA precursors can influence the temporal and lateral distribution of PFAAs in the environment. Presently, only a very small number of PFAA precursors can be quantitatively analyzed by commercial laboratories. For instance, N‐ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid and N‐methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid are the only two precursors included in the most commonly applied PFAS analytical method, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method 537. The current commercial laboratory methodologies primarily quantify between 14 and 31 PFASs. As an alternative, a total oxidizable precursor assay (TOPA) was developed to quantify the measurable PFSA and PFCA concentrations after aggressive oxidation converting PFAA precursors abiotically into PFCAs. The difference between PFAA concentrations before and after oxidation can be used to estimate the amount of oxidizable PFAA precursors in the sample. This is one of the first articles that utilized TOPA data to help interpret PFAS fate and transport in the environment.     

Accumulation of heavy metals in native Andean plants: potential tools for soil phytoremediation in Ancash (Peru)

Metal contamination is a recurring problem in Peru, caused mainly by mine tailings from a past active mining activity. The Ancash region has the largest number of environmental liabilities, which mobilizes high levels of metals and acid drainages into soils and freshwater sources, posing a standing risk on human and environmental health. Native plant species spontaneously growing on naturally acidified soils and acid mine tailings show a unique tolerance to high metal concentrations and are thus potential candidates for soil phytoremediation. However, little is known about their propagation capacity and metal accumulation under controlled conditions. In this study, we aimed at characterizing nine native plant species, previously identified as potential hyperaccumulators, from areas impacted by mine tailings in the Ancash region. Plants were grown on mine soils under greenhouse conditions during 5 months, after which the concentration of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn was analyzed in roots, shoots, and soils. The bioaccumulation (BAF) and translocation factor (TF) were calculated to determine the amount of each metal accumulated in the roots and shoots and to identify which species could be better suited for phytoremediation purposes. Soil samples contained high Cd (6.50–49.80 mg/kg), Cu (159.50–1187.00 mg/kg), Ni (3.50–8.70 mg/kg), Pb (1707.00–4243.00 mg/kg), and Zn (909.00–7100.00 mg/kg) concentrations exceeding national environmental quality standards. After exposure to mine tailings, concentrations of metals in shoots were highest in Werneria nubigena (Cd, 16.68 mg/kg; Cu, 41.36 mg/kg; Ni, 26.85 mg/kg; Zn, 1691.03 mg/kg), Pennisetum clandestinum (Pb, 236.86 mg/kg), and Medicago lupulina (Zn, 1078.10 mg/kg). Metal concentrations in the roots were highest in Juncus bufonius (Cd, 34.34 mg/kg; Cu, 251.07 mg/kg; Ni, 6.60 mg/kg; Pb, 718.44 mg/kg) and M. lupulina (Zn, 2415.73 mg/kg). The greatest BAF was calculated for W. nubigena (Cd, 1.92; Cu, 1.20; Ni, 6.50; Zn, 3.50) and J. bufonius (Ni, 3.02; Zn, 1.30); BCF for Calamagrostis recta (Cd, 1.09; Cu, 1.80; Ni, 1.09), J. bufonius (Cd, 3.91; Cu, 1.79; Ni, 18.36), and Achyrocline alata (Ni, 137; Zn, 1.85); and TF for W. nubigena (Cd, 2.36; Cu, 1.70; Ni, 2.42; Pb, 1.17; Zn, 1.43), A. alata (Cd, 1.14; Pb, 1.94), J. bufonius (Ni, 2.72; Zn, 1.63), and P. clandestinum (Zn, 1.14). Our results suggest that these plant species have a great potential for soil phytoremediation, given their capability to accumulate and transfer metals and their tolerance to highly metal-polluted environments in the Andean region.     

Smoke aerosols dispersion and transport from the 2013 New South Wales (Australia) bushfires

Environmental monitoring and modelling, especially in the regional context, has seen significant progress with the widely usage of satellite measurement in conjunction with local meteorological and air quality monitoring to understand the atmospheric dispersion and transport of air pollutants. This paper studies the application of these data and modelling tools to understand the environment effects of a major bushfire period in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, in 2013. The bushfires have caused high pollution episodes at many sites in the greater Sydney metropolitan areas. The potential long-range transport of aerosols produced by bushfires to other region and states has been seen by regulators as a major concern. Using data and images collected from satellites, in addition to the results obtained from different simulations carried out using HYSPLIT trajectory model and a regional meteorological model called Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM), we were able to identify at least 2 days on which the smoke aerosols from bush fires in NSW has been transported at high altitude to the northern state of Queensland and the Coral Sea. As a result, widespread high particle concentration in South East Queensland including the Brisbane area, as measured by nearly all the air quality monitoring stations in this region, occurred on the day when the smoke aerosols intruded to lower altitude as indicated by the CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) Lidar measurements on the CALIPSO (Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite. The use of meteorological or air quality modelling to connect the ground-based measurements with satellite observations as shown in this study is useful to understand the pollutant transport due to bushfires and its impact on regional air quality.     

绵竹市典型河流水污染特征及水质评价

于2017年3月、8月和11月,每月月初对绵竹市两条典型河流(绵远河与马尾河)5个监测断面表层水样进行采集,选取8个水质指标进行因子特征分析,并采用单因子评价法、综合污染指数法和主成分分析法对河流水质进行评价。两条河流水体呈弱碱性。单因子评价法表明,总磷(TP)为两条河流水质的主要限制因子。综合污染指数法表明,除马尾河中间断面外,其他水质状况均为轻度污染,且枯水期水质最差。主要污染因子为氨氮(NH3-N)、TP和高锰酸盐指数(CODMn)。主成分分析表明,断面水质主要受砷(As)、溶解氧(DO)、CODMn、氟离子(F^-)、TP和NH3-N等多个因子影响,出境断面水质优于中间断面。3种方法结合定性和定量评价,评价结论不一致,所以应用多种方法来评价水质具有重要意义。     

Analyzing the Effects of Groundwater Pumping on an Urban Stream‐Aquifer System

When the cone of influence of a pumping well reaches a nearby river, the resulting hydraulic gradient can induce enhanced seepage of streamflow into the aquifer. The rate of seepage is often modeled using analytical solutions that are simple to apply but may not reproduce field data due to mathematical assumptions not being met in the field. Furthermore, the appropriateness of such models has not been investigated in detail due to difficulty in measuring streamflow loss in the field. In this study, a field experiment was conducted on a reach of the South Platte River near Denver, Colorado to estimate pumping‐induced streamflow loss. A network of stream gauges, monitoring wells, and in situ measurements was used to observe streamflow rates, groundwater levels, and temperature to assess if pumping wells have a significant impact on streamflow, and to compare observed streamflow depletion against analytical solutions. Data collected suggest that pumping wells have a noticeable impact on streamflow. The analytical solutions proved accurate if streamflow was low and constant but performed poorly if streamflow was high and variable. Therefore, for this reach, the use of analytical solutions to predict streamflow may only be appropriate under low‐flow, constant‐flow conditions. Methods and results can be used to guide other streamflow depletion studies and to inform cases of pumping‐induced streamflow depletion, particularly in regard to water rights.     

Analyzing the Variability of Remote Sensing and Hydrologic Model Evapotranspiration Products in a Watershed in Michigan

The goal of this paper was to statistically explore the spatiotemporal performance of remotely sensed actual evapotranspiration (ETa) datasets and a remotely sensed ensemble in a region that lacks observed data. The remotely sensed datasets were further compared with ETa results from a physically based hydrologic model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to examine the differences and determine the level of agreement between the ETa datasets and the model outputs. ETa datasets were compared on temporal (i.e., monthly and seasonal basis) and spatial (i.e., landuse) scales at both watershed and subbasin levels. The results showed a lack of consistent similarities and differences among the datasets when evaluating the monthly ETa variations; however, the seasonal aggregated data presented more consistent similarities and differences during the spring and summer compared to the fall and winter. Meanwhile, spatial analysis of the datasets showed the MOD16A2 500 m ETa product was the most versatile of the tested datasets, being able to differentiate between landuses during all seasons. Furthermore, the use of an averaging ensemble was able to improve overall ETa performance in the study area. This study showed that the remotely sensed ETa products are not similar throughout the year, but the appropriate application periods for different ETa products were identified. Finally, spatial variabilities of the ETa products are more in tune with landuse and climate characteristics.