Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Effects of ocean temperature on the southern range limits of two understory kelps, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pterygophora californica</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eisenia arborea</Emphasis>, at multiple life-stages

Environmental factors have long been shown to influence species distributions, with range limits often resulting from environmental stressors exceeding organism tolerances. However, these abiotic factors may differentially affect species with multiple life-history stages. Between September 2004 and January 2006, the roles of temperature and nutrient availability in explaining the southern distributions of two understory kelps, Pterygophora californica and Eisenia arborea (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales), were investigated along the coast of California, USA and the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, by limiting either: (a) tissue nitrogen uptake and storage by adult sporophytes during periods of elevated temperature, and/or (b) production of embryonic sporophytes by microscopic gametophytes. Results suggest that while adult sporophytes of both species are tolerant of high temperatures and low nutrients, reproduction by their microscopic stages is not. Specifically, while E. arborea produced embryonic sporophytes at both 12 and 18°C, temperatures commonly observed throughout the southern portion of its range, P. californica produced sporophytes at 12 but not at 18°C. As a result, it appears that the southern distribution of P. californica, which ends in northern Baja California, Mexico, may be limited by temperature acting on its microscopic stages. In contrast, the ability of E. arborea’s microscopic and adult stages to tolerate elevated temperatures allows it to persist in the warmer southern waters of Baja California, as well as to the north along the California coast where both species co-occur.     

GCM-based analysis of water availability along the Tone River and Tokyo Metropolitan Area under climatic changes

Tone River supplies most of the water requirements of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA). Lowering of Tone flow and yearly fluctuation, however, is causing water shortage along TMA nowadays. This study investigated the future water availability scenarios under climatic changes. A state-of-the-art approach to utilize the output of several GCM has been demonstrated to investigate the future water availability scenarios for TMA from the Tone River. An integrated modeling approach for water balance considering several hydrological risk indices was adopted to quantify the future changes in this case. It is observed that the future summer precipitation along the Tone basin is going to be increased considerably, while an almost constant or decreasing trend is observed for winter season. Natural flow availability for winter or spring seasons thus can be crucial under future scenarios. After reservoir routing, the hydrological risk indices estimated, however, were not found to be changed significantly due to the presence of a robust reservoir system at the upstream.     

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVE MODEL

The implementation of sustainable development may seem a simple concept when written on paper. However to carry-out long term actions put forward by the Agenda 21 (AG21) at the local level represents one of the main challenges as municipal governments in general do not have the capacity to effectively implement the process. Regional environmental assessment (REA) has shown to be effective in supporting decision-making not only to correct environmental problems due to past unsustainable social-economic developments but also help local governments to implement sustainable actions. However this requires long-term investments of AG21 plans and projects. The allocation of regular and consistent financial resources is one of the main ingredients for the sustainable development process. But traditional plans and projects financed by national and/or international funds may not be sustainable in the long-term because they become dependent on external funding. Research demonstrate that innovative economic instruments such as ecotaxes represent a feasible alternative to sponsor local sustainability because taxes are collected permanently by the government and could be invested in continuous actions. Ecotaxes experiences have provided important reference to structure a municipal incentive model (MIM) to sponsor AG21’s environmental plans and projects on a long-term (permanent) basis. However sustainable development cannot be solely through economic investments. A comprehensive municipal environmental management scheme (MEMS) has been established to support the incentive model. The scheme seeks not only to improve local institutional framework but also incentive continuous participation of local stakeholders at all levels of society. Participatory events and the provision of incentives (educational and financial) are key to motivate society to protect the environment and support actively the sustainable development process as emphasised in the RIO-92 Conference.     

北京地区基于化学组分的夏季气溶胶吸湿特性

利用吸湿增长光散射测量系统、黑碳仪和气相色谱质谱联用仪等仪器,于2019年7月15日~8月4日在北京地区开展了为期21d的大气气溶胶观测实验.观测期间北京市区于7月27日出现短暂的轻度污染,并在7月29日出现强降水天气.结果显示：北京市区夏季大气污染变化剧烈且短暂,大气气溶胶散射吸湿增长因子f（RH）呈现平滑连续的特点,并且降水会对f（RH）造成显著影响.7月27日PM_2.5的平均质量浓度为（92.54±47.05）μg/m³;,表现出较为剧烈的污染变化.7月28~30日平均散射吸湿增长因子f（80%±1%）分别为（1.50±0.35）,（1.43±0.36）和（1.48±0.25）,反映了降水对于大气气溶胶的湿清除作用.最后利用实验数据估算粒径吸湿增长因子gf（RH）,并建模研究f（RH）和gf（RH）的关系,模型精度R²最高可达0.698.     

基于风险矩阵和五元减法集对势的湖泊水生态健康动态诊断评估

为判断湖泊水生态健康子系统发展趋势、诊断病态因子,引进了五元减法集对势,建立生态子系统与物理化学子系统的合成矩阵得到湖泊水生态健康状态,从而提出了基于风险矩阵和五元减法集对势的湖泊水生态健康动态诊断评估方法,并应用于安徽省瓦埠湖。结果表明:瓦埠湖水生态健康状态1980—2015年呈变差趋势,2012年为微病态,2015年略有好转。五元减法集对势识别出瓦埠湖水生态健康的病态因子主要有底栖动物、浮游动物、叶绿素、COD、TN、TP和透明度,为改善瓦埠湖水生态健康的重要指标。上述风险矩阵和五元减法集对势耦合的动态诊断评估方法可为湖泊水生态健康评估提供新的思路。     

中国化学品环境暴露评估领域的综合区划

大尺度空间（中国）化学品环境暴露多介质模型的建立需要先对空间做相应的区划.本文以ArcGIS软件为平台,通过有空间约束的聚类方法和水文分析方法相耦合,建立全国范围的综合分区.全国范围分为华南综合大区、华北综合大区、西北综合大区、华东综合大区、东北综合大区和西南综合大区6个综合大区.每个综合大区又分别包含了若干个综合小区,小区总数为38个.该研究为我国暴露评估的综合分区提供了一个方案,在多介质模型的建立中起着重要的作用.     

多环芳烃污染与儿童内暴露负荷的关系

为了更好地了解环境空气PAHs污染与儿童内暴露负荷之间的关系,该研究在儿童尿液中未代谢PAHs以及代谢PAHs研究的基础上,同时获取了连续3 d空气中PAHs污染浓度。对环境空气中PAHs和尿液中未代谢的PAHs的分析表明:除Nap和Phe以外的其它PAHs单体在环境空气和尿液中占比一致,而且环境空气和尿液中PAHs组成特征一致,均表现为2环PAHs>3环PAHs>4环PAHs的规律;3 d中仅有A-Nap和U-Nap之间存在相关性(P<0.05,R~2=0.999 6)。对尿液中代谢的PAHs和尿液中未代谢的PAHs分析表明:儿童尿液中排出的Nap、Flu和Phe主要以羟基代谢物为主,仅Pyr与OHPyr基本一致。尿液中未代谢PAHs与代谢的PAHs组成特征一致,表现为Nap>Phe>Flu>Pyr和OHNap>OHPhe>OHFlu>OHPyr的规律;仅U-Nap和OHNap 3 d中均存在相关性,U-Phe和OHPhe、U-Pyr和OHPyr仅1 d存在相关性。结合PAHs污染与儿童内暴露负荷的共同研究表明,PAHs内暴露标志物可以在一定程度上反映环境PAHs污染的时间变异性。     

固定化硫氧化菌对海水养殖生境中硫化物的控制效果研究

海水养殖生境中由于有机质积累以及缺氧条件导致硫化物大量产生,严重危及养殖环境健康。为此,创建海水养殖系统,以沸石为载体吸附固定化硫氧化菌株,通过定位布放固定化硫氧化菌袋,探究其对生境中硫化物控制效果及其影响因素。结果表明,固定化菌剂中活菌含量为1.9×107 CFU/g,对硫化物的控制效果受环境温度、pH、菌剂投加量的影响较大,对温度及pH变化有更好的耐受性;在温度为30℃、pH为7.0、150 r/min的实验条件下,对硫化物的最大去除速率为8.3 mg/（g·h·L）。在海水养殖环境中,将沸石固定化菌剂平铺于土工布袋内,将布袋平铺于养殖系统沉积物-水界面,覆盖率2.5%,固定化布袋菌剂能够显著抑制环境中硫化物的产生,在缺氧条件下7 d内对硫化物的控制率达到99%。本研究表明定点布放硫氧化菌袋能够很好的控制养殖水体中硫化物,为其在海水养殖系统中的应用提供了技术支撑。