Comparison of the industrial source complex and AERMOD dispersion models: case study for human health risk assessment

Air quality models are typically used to predict the fate and transport of air emissions from industrial sources to comply with federal and state regulatory requirements and environmental standards, as well as to determine pollution control requirements. For many years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) widely used the Industrial Source Complex (ISC) model because of its broad applicability to multiple source types. Recently, EPA adopted a new rule that replaces ISC with AERMOD, a state-of-the-practice air dispersion model, in many air quality impact assessments. This study compared the two models as well as their enhanced versions that incorporate the Plume Rise Model Enhancements (PRIME) algorithm. PRIME takes into account the effects of building downwash on plume dispersion. The comparison used actual point, area, and volume sources located on two separate facilities in conjunction with site-specific terrain and meteorological data. The modeled maximum total period average ground-level air concentrations were used to calculate potential health effects for human receptors. The results show that the switch from ISC to AERMOD and the incorporation of the PRIME algorithm tend to generate lower concentration estimates at the point of maximum ground-level concentration. However, the magnitude of difference varies from insignificant to significant depending on the types of the sources and the site-specific conditions. The differences in human health effects, predicted using results from the two models, mirror the concentrations predicted by the models.     

Comparison of mercury bioaccumulation between wild and mariculture food chains from a subtropical bay of Southern China

Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of mercury (Hg) both in the natural marine ecosystem and the mariculture ecosystem were studied at Daya Bay, a subtropical bay in Southern China. Averaged Hg concentrations in sediment, phytoplankton, macrophyte, shrimp, crab, shellfish, planktivorous fish, carnivorous fish, farmed pompano, farmed snapper, compound feed and trash fish were 0.074, 0.054, 0.044, 0.098, 0.116, 0.171, 0.088, 0.121, 0.210, 0.125, 0.038 and 0.106 μg g⁻¹ dw, respectively. These Hg levels were at the low–middle ends of the global range. Positive correlation between Hg concentrations in farmed fish and fish weights/sizes was observed, whereas no clear correlation between Hg concentrations and lipid contents was found. Hg concentrations followed macrophyte < phytoplankton < sediment < planktivorous fish < shrimp < crab < carnivorous fish < shellfish, and commercial feed < trash fish < farmed fish. Hg was biomagnified along the marine food chain in the ecosystem of Daya Bay. Hg levels in the farmed fish were higher than those in the wild fish primarily because of the higher Hg level in fish feed and the smaller size of marine wild fish.

     

Comparison of Indexes for Prioritizing Placement of Water Quality Buffers in Agricultural Watersheds1

Dosskey, Michael G. and Zeyuan Qiu, 2011. Comparison of Indexes for Prioritizing Placement of Water Quality Buffers in Agricultural Watersheds. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):662‐671. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00532.x Abstract: Five physically based, spatially distributed, empirical indexes were compared for the degree to which they identified the same or different locations in watersheds where vegetative buffers would function better for reducing agricultural nonpoint source pollution. All five indexes were calculated on a 10 m × 10 m digital elevation grid on agricultural land in the 144‐km² Neshanic River watershed in New Jersey. The indexes included the topography‐based Wetness Index (WI) and Topographic Index (TI) and three soil survey‐based indexes (sediment trapping efficiency [STE], water trapping efficiency [WTE], and groundwater interaction [GI]). Results showed that each index associated higher pollution risk and mitigation potential to a different part of the landscape. The WI and TI identified swales and riparian areas where runoff converges, whereas STE and WTE identified upland sites. The STE and WTE lack the fine scale of slope resolution and the accounting for convergent runoff patterns that can be important for properly locating buffers in some watersheds. The GI index indicates the existence of a shallow water table but the correspondence with WI‐ and TI‐identified sites was only modest. For watersheds where pollutant loading is generated by both saturation‐excess (emphasized by TI and WI) and infiltration‐excess processes (emphasized by STE and WTE), the indexes could be complementary. However, techniques would be needed for properly apportioning priority among sites identified by each index.     

Identification of microcystins contamination in surface water samples from the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Physicochemical and biological parameters related to water quality and microcystins (MCs) contamination in aquatic environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir were investigated in August 2004 and January 2005. A solid-phase extraction method and an HPLC equipped with photodiode array were used for MC-LR detection. A quantitative analysis showed the total MC-LR concentrations of water samples ranged from non-detectable to 0.57 μg L?1 among the seven sampling sites. The highest MC-LR concentration was found at sampling site G (Wushan), which was followed by F (Kaixian), E (Wanzhou), D (Fuling), C (Cuntan), and A (Daxigou). The correlation analysis showed the MC-LR concentration was positively correlated with chlorophyll-a concentration. This result suggests that MC concentration in water can be indirectly estimated by analyzing the chlorophyll-a concentration. Overall, the results of this study suggest that more importance should be placed on monitoring of MC contamination and water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir to ensure drinking water safety and reduce the potential exposure of people to these health hazards.     

基于供应链和可拓决策的食品安全预警模型及其应用

为提高食品安全预警能力,改善食品安全状况,以食品原料供应环境质量、生产加工、流通加工、销售食品质量、食品安全管理与监测作为食品安全预警的关键因素,提出一种基于供应链和可拓决策的食品安全预警模型。从供应链的角度建立食品安全预警指标体系,确定食品安全的经典域、节域和预警对象;建立食品安全预警模型并给出食品安全预警的方法和步骤;结合A省2010年的食品安全数据,定量评价A省食品安全预警状态,结合模型评价结果进行单指标和综合安全预警分析,验证该模型的合理性和适用性。研究结果表明:针对食品安全状况与预警特征,运用基于供应链和可拓决策的食品安全预警模型,能够对食品安全状态进行快速判断并有效预警。     

银川供电公司数据通信网络改造

针对银川供电公司数据通信网不能满足业务应用承载需求和信息安全需求的问题,对银川供电公司数据通信网现状及存在问题进行深入分析,提出将信息内、外网络物理隔离,地市公司网络架构采用“口”字型双联方式与省电力公司相连,信息内网采用多个业务虚拟专用网络(Virtual Private Network,VPN)管理的解决方案。应用结果表明:该方案实现了银川地区数据通信网络精益化管理,提升数据通信网的安全性、规范性、先进性和稳定性。     

Catalytic activity,selectivity, and stability of co-precipitation synthesized Mn-Ce mixed oxides for the oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mn-Ce mixed oxides were prepared using a simple, facile, and high yielding co-precipitation method. The effects of the proportion of Mn/Ce and the...     

浮动床膜生物反应器去除焦化废水中间甲酚研究

焦化废水属有毒有害、难降解的高浓度有机废水,其中间甲酚等酚类污染物含量较高且用常用水处理方法去除比较困难。因此,研究了将浮动床生物膜反应器与膜生物反应器进行复合去除焦化废水中间甲酚的影响因素,并与普通MBR反应器在相同间甲酚浓度梯度下的处理功效进行比较。结果表明,在相同间甲酚浓度下,生物浮动床膜生物反应器的处理效果优于普通MBR反应器,其毒阈值为1200 mg/L,普通MBR反应器为1000 mg/L。同时,利用扫描电镜对浮动床膜生物反应器填料上微生物进行观察,考察了间甲酚浓度升高对填料上微生物的影响及附着态微生物形态的变化,得出大型微生物随着间甲酚浓度的提高最后破裂死亡;杆菌种类及数量减少,最后转变成丝状菌;球菌的菌胶团解体,形状变成短杆状。     

Coking wastewater treatment for industrial reuse purpose：Combining biological processes with ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis

A full-scale plant using anaerobic, anoxic and oxic processes (A1/A2/O), along with a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) integrated system developed by Shanghai Baosteel Chemical Co. Ltd., was investigated to treat coking wastewater for industrial reuse over a period of one year. The removals reached 82.5% (COD), 89.6% (BOD), 99.8% (ammonium nitrogen), 99.9% (phenol), 44.6% (total cyanide (T-CN)), 99.7% (thiocyanide (SCN-)) and 8.9% (fluoride), during the A1/A2/O biological treatment stage, and all parameters were further reduced by over 96.0%, except for fluoride (86.4%), in the final discharge effluent from the currently operating plant. The pilot-scale MBR process reduced the turbidity to less than 0.65 NTU, and most of the toxic organic compounds were degraded or intercepted by the A1/A2/O followed MBR processes. In addition, parameters including COD, T-CN, total nitrogen, fluoride, chloride ion, hardness and conductivity were significantly reduced by the NF-RO system to a level suitable for industrial reuse, with a total water production ratio of 70.7%. However, the concentrates from the NF and RO units were highly polluted and should be disposed of properly or further treated before being discharged.