Exposure to PCBs, through inhalation, dermal contact and dust ingestion at Taizhou, China--a major site for recycling transformers

Air samples containing gaseous and particulate phases were collected from e-waste workplaces and residential areas of an intensive e-waste recycling area and compared with a reference site. The highest total concentration of PCBs was detected at transformer recycling workshops (17.6 ng m(-3)), followed by the residential area (3.37 ng m(-3)) at Taizhou, and the lowest was obtained at the residential area of the reference site, Lin'an (0.46 ng m(-3)). The same trend was also observed with regards to PCB levels in dust samples. The highest average PCBs level of 2824 ng g(-1) (dry wt) was found in the transformer recycling workshops, and was significantly higher than that of residential areas of Taizhou (572 ng g(-1) dry wt) and Lin'an (42.4 ng g(-1) dry wt). WHO-PCB-TEQ level in the workshops of Taizhou was 2216 pg TEQ(1998)g(-1) dry wt or 2159 pg TEQ(2005)g(-1) dry wt, due to the high abundance of PCB 126 (21.5 ng g(-1) dry wt), which contributed 97% or 99% of WHO-PCB-TEQs. The estimated intake of PCBs via dust ingestion and dermal absorption by transformer recycling workers were 77.5×10(-5) and 36.0×10(-5) pg WHO-PCB-TEQ(1998)kg(-1)d(-1), and 67.3×10(-5) and 31.3×10(-5) pg WHO-PCB-TEQ(2005)kg(-1)d(-1), respectively.     

地震动频谱特性对罐液体系地震响应的影响分析

基于拉格朗日方法建立考虑流固耦合效应的位移格式的运动方程,运用ANSYS建立立式拱顶储罐的三维有限元模型,分别选取短周期成分丰富(S1)、普通地震波(S2)和长周期成分丰富(S3)的三条天然地震波,分析了地震波频谱特性对液体晃动、罐底剪力、弯矩以及罐壁响应等结果的影响。研究表明,罐液体系自振频率存在两个明显频段,即液体晃动低频率段(长周期)和罐液耦联振动高频率段(短周期)。罐液体系的动力响应对地震波频谱特性的影响较为敏感。S3地震波卓越周期最接近罐液晃动周期,引起液面大幅度晃动,较其他增长4倍。罐液耦联振动对轴向应力响应影响最大,S1地震波卓越周期最接近罐液耦联振动周期,其引起罐底轴向压应力超过规范许用应力,出现明显"象足"屈曲变形。罐底剪力和弯矩受耦联振动影响最大,而液体晃动对其影响较小,地震激励仅引起液体表面少量单元产生对流运动。     

Spatial differentiation of comprehensive suitability of urban human settlements based on GIS: a case study of Liaoning Province,China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The comprehensive suitability of regional human settlements is of great significance to the development and spatial distribution of regional human...     

Potential distribution of Blumea balsamifera in China using MaxEnt and the ex situ conservation based on its effective components and fresh leaf yield

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Blumea balsamifera is a famous Chinese Minority Medicine, which has a long history in Miao, Li, Zhuang, and other minority areas. In recent years, due...     

Effect of Mn2+ on the phosphorus removal and bioflocculation under anoxic condition

Manganese ion (Mn²⁺) generated from metallurgical, steel making and chemical industries enters sewage treatment plants and affects the sludge activity and flocculation. The effect of Mn²⁺ on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (TP) and sludge activity were investigated in anoxic zone of an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A²O) process. The compositions and structures of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were characterized using three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to reveal the relationship among Mn²⁺, EPS and sludge flocculation.The results showed that low concentration of Mn²⁺ (<5 mg/L) improved removal efficiencies of COD and TP and increased the activity of alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase and dehydrogenase. Meanwhile, the addition of Mn²⁺ increased total EPS, sludge contact angle, Zeta potential and sludge particle size, and thus enhanced sludge flocculation. However, high concentration of Mn²⁺ (>10 mg/L) hindered microbial flocculation and reduced removal efficiencies of the pollutants. When Mn²⁺was 5 mg/L, removal efficiencies of COD and TP reached 65% and 90%, respectively. Sludge flocculation was the best and SVI was 70.56 mL/g. The changes of Mn²⁺ concentration caused deviation of groups’ compositions in LB-EPS and TB-EPS, where the main components were always protein (PN) and polysaccharide (PS). The addition of Mn²⁺ resulted in the degradation of humic acids. However, it did not give rise to significant morphology changes of EPS.     

Numerical analysis on a novel CGPFs for improving NOx conversion efficiency and particulate combustion efficiency to reduce exhaust pollutant emissions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Improving the NOx conversion efficiency and particulate combustion efficiency under cold-start conditions (low-temperature conditions) is still the...     

PM2.5-bound phthalates and phthalate substitutes in a megacity of southern China: spatioseasonal variations,source apportionment,and risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plasticizers are ubiquitous pollutants in the environment, whereas few efforts have been made to elucidate their emission sources in the atmosphere....     

Analysis of degradation and pathways of three common antihistamine drugs by NaClO,UV, and UV-NaClO methods

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Antihistamines (ANTs) are medicines to treat allergic diseases. They have been frequently detected in the natural water environment, posing potential...     

Seed priming with brassinosteroids alleviates aluminum toxicity in rice via improving antioxidant defense system and suppressing aluminum uptake

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Brassinosteroids (BRs) are growth-promoting hormones that exhibit high biological activities across various plant species. BRs shield plants against...