Stabilization of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash using silica fume

The objective of this work was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of silica fume on stabilizing heavy metals in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash. In addition to compressive strength measurements, hydrated pastes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal-analyses (DTA/TG), and MAS NMR (²⁷Al and ²⁹Si) techniques. It was found that silica fume additions could effectively reduce the leaching of toxic heavy metals. At the addition of 20% silica fume, leaching concentrations for Cu, Pb and Zn of the hydrated paste cured for 7 days decreased from 0.32 mg/L to 0.05 mg/L, 40.99 mg/L to 4.40 mg/L, and 6.96 mg/L to 0.21 mg/L compared with the MSWI fly ash. After curing for 135 days, Cd and Pb in the leachates were not detected, while Cu and Zn concentrations decreased to 0.02 mg/L and 0.03 mg/L. The speciation of Pb and Cd by the modified version of the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) extractions showed that these metals converted into more stable state in hydrated pastes of MSWI fly ash in the presence of silica fume. Although exchangeable and weak-acid soluble fractions of Cu and Zn increased with hydration time, silica fume addition of 10% can satisfy the requirement of detoxification for heavy metals investigated in terms of the identification standard of hazardous waste of China.     

Medical waste management in China: A case study of Nanjing

Medical waste management is of great importance due to its infectious and hazardous nature that can cause undesirable effects on humans and the environment. The objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate the present status of medical waste management in the light of medical waste control regulations in Nanjing. A comprehensive inspection survey was conducted for 15 hospitals, 3 disposal companies and 200 patients. Field visits and a questionnaire survey method were implemented to collect information regarding different medical waste management aspects, including medical waste generation, segregation and collection, storage, training and education, transportation, disposal, and public awareness.The results indicated that the medical waste generation rate ranges from 0.5 to 0.8 kg/bed day with a weighted average of 0.68 kg/bed day. The segregated collection of various types of medical waste has been conducted in 73% of the hospitals, but 20% of the hospitals still use unqualified staff for medical waste collection, and 93.3% of the hospitals have temporary storage areas. Additionally, 93.3% of the hospitals have provided training for staff; however, only 20% of the hospitals have ongoing training and education. It was found that the centralized disposal system has been constructed based on incineration technology, and the disposal cost of medical waste is about 580 US$/ton. The results also suggested that there is not sufficient public understanding of medical waste management, and 77% of respondents think medical waste management is an important factor in selecting hospital services.The problematic areas of medical waste management in Nanjing are addressed by proposing some recommendations that will ensure that potential health and environmental risks of medical waste are minimized.     

鄱阳湖流域排污权初始分配模式的比较研究

排污权初始分配是排污权交易的起点和基础,在分配模式和实证研究方面需要加强。采用地区人口法、经济总量法、历史排污量法、环境容量法和综合分配法5种模式研究了鄱阳湖流域11个地市水污染物化学需氧量(COD)与氨氮的初始排污权分配。结果表明:COD和氨氮初始排污权在地市之间的分配格局相似;南昌、新余与鹰潭3市按经济总量模式分配的排污量明显高于其它模式,上饶、吉安两市人口分配模式高于其它模式,景德镇、九江两市历史排污量模式高于其它模式,赣州市环境容量模式高于其它模式,宜春市综合模式高于其它模式。综合分配模式为赣州市排污权总量最高,南昌、九江、吉安、宜春、抚州和上饶6市次之,景德镇、萍乡、新余、鹰潭4市最低。总体来看,排污权配额因分配模式不同而有所差异,综合分配模式得到的初始排污权最为合理。建议鄱阳湖流域严格执行综合分配模式下的各地市初始排污权分配额度,确保区域经济社会与生态环境的协调发展。     

黑水河下游鱼类资源现状及其保护措施

为了解白鹤滩蓄水运行前黑水河下游鱼类资源的现状、受到的主要威胁及其保护措施,于2014年1~12月在黑水河下游干支流江段采用电捕法进行了渔获物调查。结果显示:12个月共调查发现鱼类28种,隶属于3目8科23属,其中喜流水生境、产粘沉性卵、以着生藻类或/和底栖动物为食物的鱼类种类较多;调查区域鱼类个体规格普遍较小,其中齐口裂腹鱼Schizothorax prenanti、短体副鳅Paracobitis potanini、红尾副鳅Paracobitis varigatus、短须裂腹鱼Schizothorax wangchiachii、前鳍高原鳅Triplophysa anterodorsalis、中华纹胸鮡Glyptothorax sinense和凹尾拟鲿Pseudobagrus emarginatus为调查区域的主要经济鱼类;上半年和下半年的渔获物结构在统计学上差异显著(R=0.81,p=0.1%0.05),鱼类在金沙江干流和黑水河下游之间的相互迁徙比较明显;CPUE呈现先波动下降然后逐月上升的趋势,其中10月份的CPUE最低;丰度生物量比较曲线显示2014年各月的渔获物结构均处于严重干扰状态。黑水河下游河道采砂以及过度捕捞是白鹤滩蓄水前影响黑水河下游鱼类资源的主要因素,建议通过控制采砂的江段、采砂的时间以及全面禁捕保护该区域的鱼类资源。     

Factors influencing farmers’ decisions on nitrogen fertilizer application in the Liangzihu Lake basin,Central China

Overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture activities has caused severe water pollution in China. The lack of data at producer level hampers decision makers in the development and implementation of efficient policies to curb excessive N-fertilizer use. In a survey of 300 farm households in the Liangzihu Lake basin, we identified factors associated with farmers’ decisions on N-fertilizer use and application rate. Household survey and multiple linear regression models indicate that the average application rate in the study region is 229 kg N ha^?1, which exceeds the recommended rate for maximum profit for cereal crops (maize, wheat, and rice) in China of 150–180 kg N ha^?1. High N-application rates are associated with low farmland productivity (coefficient = ?15.66, p = 0.02), a high share of off-farm income (coefficient = 27.14, p = 0.003), and a low education level of the household head (coefficient = ?10.83, p = 0.039). Neither physical infrastructure nor access to input markets appears to be related to N-application rates. It may be concluded that excessive use of N in agriculture of Central China is mainly a problem of insufficient awareness and high share of off-farm income.     

粮食安全：我国农业现代化的任务与标志

解决10多亿人吃饭问题是我国农业第一主题,是农业现代化的首要任务,而粮食安全水平是我国农业现代化的重要标志,因此,在我国农业现代化进程中,必须强化商品粮基地建设;不断提高种粮科学技术的经济效益、粮食转化效益,保护和改善粮食生产者和主产区经济利益和经济状况,建立健全国家粮食安全保障体系,提高我国粮食安全水平。     

E-waste recycling induced polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans pollution in the ambient environment

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been determined in 30 samples, including soil, biota and plant collected from an electronic waste recycling site and its vicinage towns. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans (PCDD/Fs) were also simultaneously analyzed in 20 samples. PBDEs were detected in all soil samples and the highest was up to 789 ng/g dry weight (dw). The toxic equivalency (TEQ) of PCBs and PCDD/Fs detected in E-waste recycling site is significant higher than those in the vicinage samples. Biota and plant were also contaminated with high level of PBDEs, PCBs and PCDD/Fs in this area. High levels of the three kinds of organic compounds in the environmental samples showed that the E-waste recycling have induced serious environmental problems.     

Occurrence and distribution of organochlorine pesticides - lindane, p,p'-DDT, and heptachlor epoxide - in surface water of China

Persistent organochlorine pesticides pollutants (OCPs) have been reported to occur at relatively high concentrations in some Chinese waters. In order to map the distribution of organochlorine pesticides in the surface water throughout China, samples were collected from over 600 sites in seven major river basins and three main internal rivers drainage areas during 2003 and 2004. The surface water samples were analyzed for the representative organochlorine pesticides contaminants including lindane (gamma-HCH), p,p'-DDT and heptachlor epoxide. In general, the most frequently detected compound was lindane, being detected in 83.9% of samples (mean=31.3 ng/l; range <0.17-860 ng/l), and the highest concentration was present in the Yellow River basin. p,p'-DDT was detected in 63.1% of the samples collected (mean=14.6 ng/l; range <0.14-368 ng/l) with the highest concentration present in the Huaihe River basin. Heptachlor epoxide was detected in only 9.3% of water samples (range <0.11-10 ng/l). Measured concentrations for the three compounds were low and rarely exceed the environment quality standard for surface water of China. Lindane was more frequently detected at much higher concentrations in the rivers of northern China compared with those of southern China. The sites with higher concentration of lindane and p,p'-DDT mainly occurred in the Yellow River and Huaihe River basins, so the results of this investigation indicate that the organochlorine pesticide contamination of Yellow River and Huaihe River basins should be of particular concern relative to the other basins. When compared with other regions of the world, it appears that the Chinese surface water is moderately polluted by lindane and p,p'-DDT.     

Profile of Methane Concentrations in Soil and Atmosphere in Alpine Steppe Ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau

The methane concentration profile from -1.5m depth in soil to 32m height in air was measured in alpine steppe located in the permafrost area. Methane concentrations showed widely variations both in air and in soil during the study period. The mean concentrations in atmosphere were all higher than those in soil, and the highest methane concentration was found in air at the height of 16m with the lowest concentration occurring at the depth of 1.5m in soil. The variations of atmospheric methane concentrations did not show any clear pattern both temporally and spatially, although they exhibited a more steadystable state than those in soil. During the seasonal variations, the methane concentrations at different depths in soil were significantly correlated （R^2〉0.6） with each other comparing to the weak correlations （R^2〈0.2） between the atmospheric concentra- tions at different heights. Mean methane concentrations in soil significantly decreased with depth. This was the compositive influence of the decreasing production rates and the increasing methane oxidation rates, which was caused by the descent soil moisture with depth. Although the methane concentrations at all depths varied widely during the growing season, they showed very distinct temporal variations in the non-growing season. It was indicated from the literatures that methane oxidation rates were positively correlated with soil temperature. The higher methane concentrations in soil during the winter were determined by the lower methane oxidation rates with decreasing soil temperatures, whereas methane production rates had no reaction to the lower temperature. Relations between methane contribution and other environmental factors were not discussed in this paper for lacking of data, which impulse us to carry out further and more detailed studies in this unique area.     

Environmental impact and human exposure to PCBs in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling site in China

PCB levels in fish (collected from local rivers), atmosphere and human milk samples have been studied to determine the exposure levels of PCBs for local residents and e-waste workers in Guiyu, a major electronic waste scrapping center in China. The source appointment and correlation analyses showed that homologue composition of PCBs in 7 species of fish were consistent and similar to commercial PCBs Aroclor 1248. PCB levels in air surrounding the open burning site were significantly higher than those in residential area. Inhalation exposure contributed 27% and 93% to the total body loadings (the sum of dietary and inhalation exposure) of the local residents, and e-waste workers engaged in open burning respectively. Total PCB concentrations in human milk ranged from N.D. to 57.6 ng/g lipid, with an average of 9.50 ng/g lipid. The present results indicated that commercial PCBs derived from e-waste recycling are major sources of PCBs accumulating in different environmental media, leading to the accumulation of high chlorinated biphenyls in human beings.