Photoinductive activity of humic acid fractions with the presence of Fe(III): the role of aromaticity and oxygen groups involved in fractions

Relationship between the photoinductive activity and the properties of humic acids (HA) fractions were investigated with and without Fe(III). Three fractions were separated based on the molecular weight (M(w)) and were obtained following the order of M(w): F(A)>F(B)>F(C). Compared to F(A) and F(B), photodegradation of atrazine under simulated sunlight was much faster in solution containing F(C), whose structure was dominated by greater aromaticity, more oxygen groups and fluorophores. The interaction of HA fractions and Fe(III) was studied using fluorescence spectrometry and F(C) had the largest quenching constant. The capacity of electron transfer, estimated from the amount of photoformed Fe(II), was also highest for F(C). Thus, the Fe(III)-F(C) complex was efficient in phototransformation of atrazine in nearly neutral aqueous solutions. These results suggest that the aromaticity and oxygen groups content of HA exert great influence on the binding ability of metals and on the fate of pollutants in natural waters.     

Novel electricity-saving concept using a radio technique for indoor lighting

This study proposes a novel concept for designing a radio switch that can match workplace characteristics and personal needs by individually controlling the lighting group to save electricity. We use a microcontroller that can achieve the function of timing, turned-on and turn-off by setting the internal program to control the radio switch for convenient use, and electricity saving. As compared with the traditional mechanical switch, the radio switch reduced the electricity consumption by 38.64 kwh/week (86.25% of ideal condition or 1194.62% of practical condition), and the annual CO₂ emission can be reduced by 1032.2 kg/year. Additionally, the cost of the radio switch to replace the traditional mechanical switch can be paid back in 1.72 years.     

Incense burning at home and the blood lead level of preschoolers in Taiwan

The growth and intellectual development of children less than 6 years old may be affected by exposure to low levels of lead. To further reduce environmental lead exposure, this study examined possible household-related factors that affect the blood lead levels of Taiwanese children. In total, based on a stratified random sampling strategy, 934 kindergarten students were recruited throughout Taiwan from April to October 2011 after their parents signed a statement of consent. A venous blood sample was drawn from each participant and analyzed for lead content using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Information on the demographics and household environment of the study subjects was collected by administering a questionnaire (Table 1). The geometric mean lead level in the blood samples of the study subjects was 1.84 μg/dL with a geometric standard deviation of 1.55. The blood lead level was negatively correlated with household income and parental educational levels (p?p?p?p?=?0.0022). Because the health effects of low levels of lead exposure have been reported in recent years and because no consensus has been reached regarding a safety threshold for blood lead level in children, any trivial factor is worth investigating to further prevent lead exposure in children. Incense burning at home is a common traditional religious activity in Taiwan; therefore, more study is warranted to further eliminate the lead content in incense and reduce lead exposure for the families who practice this activity.     

HCHs and DDTs in salt marsh plants (Scirpus) from the Yangtze estuary and nearby coastal areas, China

HCHs and DDTs in salt marsh plants taken from intertidal flats in the Yangtze estuary and coastal area in April and July 2002 were determined by GC-ECD. A significant seasonal effect was observed for HCHs and DDTs in sources and concentration levels in different sample types including above-ground tissues and roots as well as the whole plants and rhizospheric sediments. The results indicated that the concentration of t-HCH was higher in the above-ground tissues than in their roots in April; however, the partitioning of DDTs between contaminated sediments and the roots showed the higher concentrations of t-DDT in their roots. HCHs and DDTs concentration levels were higher in above-ground tissues than in roots in July. BCFs of HCHs and DDTs exhibited lower values with higher levels of contaminants in sediments, and higher values with lower levels in sediments.     

Risk analysis in research environment – Part I: Modeling Lab Criticity Index using Improved Risk Priority Number

Current available risk analysis techniques are well adapted to industry needs since they were developed for its purpose. All hazards present in industry are also met in research/academia, although quantities of some hazardous substances are smaller. Still, because of its characteristics e.g., high turnover of collaborators, rapid reorientation of research programs, freedom of research, equipment often in development stage, difficulty to obtain accidents statistics, not well described processes, etc., research/academia milieu is an environment whose risks are difficult to assess by available risk analysis techniques. In the present paper, a new methodology, Laboratory Assessment and Risk Analysis – LARA, for research and/or complex environment is proposed. When multiple hazards are analyzed, the result of assessment is a risk ranking calculated using a Lab Criticity Index – LCI, providing identification of critical areas and prioritization of safety actions. LCI is conceived through two approaches: the Risk Priority Number – RPN and the Analytic Hierarchy Process – AHP. It is suggested to estimate risk as a combination of severity, probability, detectability, worsening factors and research specificities.     

不同生育期Cd胁迫对水稻生长及镉累积的影响

采用水培试验方法,从水稻移栽至某特定生育期之间添加外源镉(Cd),通过递推减法,研究了湘晚籼13号水稻不同生育期Cd胁迫对其生长和不同部位中Cd含量的影响.结果表明,50μg·L~(-1)外源Cd胁迫不会影响水稻的正常生长发育,糙米中的Cd主要来源于水稻分蘖期吸收的Cd在后期的迁移、灌浆期吸收的Cd和成熟期吸收的Cd,这3个关键生育期对糙米中最终Cd含量的贡献率分别为36.4%、18.2%和16.4%.因此,与灌浆期和成熟期相比,在水稻分蘖期采用一些植物阻隔技术可能对水稻籽粒中Cd含量的削减更为重要.     

CTAC改性膨润土吸附去除水体中高氯酸盐的离子交换性能研究

选用阳离子表面活性剂十六烷基三甲基氯化铵(CTAC)改性膨润土以提高膨润土对ClO4-的吸附能力.试验结果表明,CTAC改性能显著提高膨润土对ClO4-的吸附能力,在0.1～l mmol·L-1的C1O4-溶液中,6h内能迅速达到吸附平衡.有机膨润土对ClO4-的吸附最符合Langmuir等温吸附模型,其吸附容量可达0.48 mmol·g-1.pH值在4～10范围内变化对ClO-的吸附几乎没有影响.高的分配系数(Kd＞1.5×103cm3·g-1)表明有机膨润土对ClO4-有很高的选择性,各阴离子的分配系数从小到大的顺序为HPO42-＜ SO42-＜ NO3-＜ ClO4-,这与阴离子的自由水合能大小相一致.1 mol·L-1 HCl溶液对吸附剂的再生效率在96％左右,可直接使用,不用再改性.     

环境监测中遥感技术的运用探究

目前,遥感技术已被广泛使用于大气污染、水污染、地面污染等环境污染的监测工作中,在环境检测工作中遥感技术有速度快、成本低、范围广、长期进行动态监测等优势。经过不断的发展遥感技术越来越新颖,有热红外遥感技术、微波遥感监测技术和可见光-反射红外遥感技术。     

珠三角夏秋季节大气颗粒物与碳黑气溶胶污染特征的研究

以珠三角地区4个区域监测站2012年夏秋季节监测结果为例,分析该地区不同粒径大气颗粒物（PM10／PM2．5／PM1）和碳黑气溶胶（BC）质量浓度的变化特征。结果显示,区域内不同站点之间或站点不同粒径颗粒物之间均有显著的相关性,该地区PM,和BC质量浓度约占PM2．5的70％和8．2％,PM1,约占PM10的68％。秋季污染天气中,PM1质量浓度的增长量大于其他粒径颗粒物的增长量。颗粒物浓度与大气能见度的影响分析显示,碳黑气溶胶质量浓度增大与能见度降低关系密切。