Incidence of organochlorine pesticide and PCB residues in an aquatic ecosystem of river duero in castile and Leon (Spain)

The occurrence of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in an aquatic ecosystem of River Duero was checked by means of a bioindicator organism: the grey heron (Ardea cinerea). Analyses of water, sediments, fish fat tissues and heron viscera revealed a marked bioaccumulation of organochlorine compounds, particularly hexa‐ and heptachlorinated biphenyls of industrial origin, which may account for the gradual decline in the number of individuals that make up the heron colonies studied.     

Potential health impacts of heavy-metal exposure at the Tar Creek Superfund site,Ottawa County,Oklahoma

The potential impact of exposure to heavy metals and health problems was evaluated at the Tar Creek Superfund site, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA. Observed versus expected mortality was calculated for selected conditions in the County and exposed cities. Excess mortality was found for stroke and heart disease when comparing the exposed County to the state but not when comparing the exposed cities to the nonexposed rest of the County. However, sample sizes in the exposed area were small, population emigration has been ongoing, and geographic coding of mortality data was incomplete. In an exposed community, 62.5% of children under the age of 6 years had blood lead levels exceeding 10 μg/dl. The relationships between heavy-metal exposure and children’s health and chronic disease in adults are suggestive that a more thorough investigation might be warranted. A number of possible environmental and health studies are suggested, including those focusing on possible central nervous system impacts. Unfortunately, the exposed population is dispersing. One lesson learned at this site is that health studies need to be conducted as soon as possible after an environmental problem is identified to both study the impact of the most acute exposures and to maximize study sample size—including those exposed to higher doses—and minimize the loss of individuals to follow-up.     

Water — and nutrient and energy — systems in urbanizing watersheds

Driven by considerations of sustainability, it has become increasingly difficult over the past 15?C20 years ?? at least intellectually ?? to separate out the water infrastructure and water metabolism of cities from their intimately inter-related nutrient and energy metabolisms. Much of the focus of this difficulty settles on the wastewater component of the city??s water infrastructure and its associated fluxes of nutrients (N, P, C, and so on). Indeed, notwithstanding the massive volumes of these materials flowing into and out of the city, the notion of an urban nutrient infrastructure is conspicuous by its absence. Likewise, we do not tend to discuss, or conduct research into, ??soilshed?? agencies, or soilshed management, or Integrated Nutrient Resources Management (as opposed to its most familiar companion, Integrated Water Resources Management, or IWRM). The paper summarizes some of the benefits (and challenges) deriving from adopting this broader, multi-sectoral ??systems?? perspective on addressing water-nutrient-energy systems in city-watershed settings. Such a perspective resonates with the growing interest in broader policy circles in what is called the ??water-food-energy security nexus??. The benefits and challenges of our Multi-sectoral Systems Analysis (MSA) are illustrated through computational results from two primary case studies: Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and London, UK. Since our work is part of the International Network on Cities as Forces for Good in the Environment (CFG; see www.cfgnet.org), in which other case studies are currently being initiated ?? for example, on Kathmandu, Nepal ?? we close by reflecting upon these issues of water-nutrient-energy systems in three urban settings with quite different styles and speeds of development.     

Modeling and forecasting daily maximum hourly ozone concentrations using the RegAR model with skewed and heavy-tailed innovations

This paper considers the modeling and forecasting of daily maximum hourly ozone concentrations in Laranjeiras, Serra, Brazil, through dynamic regression models. In order to take into account the natural skewness and heavy-tailness of the data, a linear regression model with autoregressive errors and innovations following a member of the family of scale mixture of skew-normal distributions was considered. Pollutants and meteorological variables were considered as predictors, along with some deterministic factors, namely week-days and seasons. The Oceanic Niño Index was also considered as a predictor. The estimated model was able to explain satisfactorily well the correlation structure of the ozone time series. An out-of-sample forecast study was also performed. The skew-normal and skew-t models displayed quite competitive point forecasts compared to the similar model with gaussian innovations. On the other hand, in terms of forecast intervals, the skewed models presented much better performance with more accurate prediction intervals. These findings were empirically corroborated by a forecast Monte Carlo experiment.     

Characteristics of major volatile organic hazardous air pollutants in the urban air of Kaohsiung city

The concentrations and characteristics of volatile organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the urban city of Kaohsiung from motor vehicles and dense pollutant sources has become a national concern. To continuously monitor volatile organic HAPs, sampling sites were selected near the four air-quality monitoring stations established by Ethe nvironmental Protection Administration of Taiwan ROC, namely Nan-tz, Tso-ying, San-min and Hsiao-kang, from north to south. An on-site automated online monitor of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was used for continuous monitoring. This study performed two consecutive days of 24-h monitoring of five volatile organic HAPs form August to October 2005 at the four monitoring sites, which cover the northern, central, and southern areas of Kaohsiung city. The average monitored concentration was 2.78–4.84 ppb for benzene, 5.90–9.66 ppb for toluene, 3.62–5.90 ppb for ethylbenzene, 3.73–5.34 ppb for m,p-xylene, 3.38–4.22 ppb for o-xylene, and 4.48–7.00 ppb for styrene. The average monitored concentrations of the major volatile organic HAPs tended to follow the pattern San-min > Nan-tz > Hsiao-kang > Tso-ying. Among all the species monitored in this study, toluene had the highest ambient concentration, followed by styrene, m,p-xylene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and benzene. The results showed that the concentration at night was higher than that in the day for toluene at Nan-tz, San-min, Hsiao-kang, and for benzene at Nan-tz and Hsiao-kang.     

Local and interregional economic analysis of large US Department of Energy waste management projects

An economic simulation model was used to understand the local and interregional economic impacts of four alternative waste management technologies proposed for the US Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear weapons site. The simulations of the four technologies, each of which will cost at least a billion dollars, were done for the period 2000-2015. The analyses show that differences in project costs are not directly reflected in local economic impacts because of differences among the technologies during the design, testing and construction phases; differences in locations where the design and pilot-testing would occur; and choices about how any of the technologies would be funded.     

PROMOTING GROUND WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION IN SMALL BUSINESSES1

ABSTRACT: Although they have not been the focus of major regulations, small businesses can contribute pollutants to ground water through routine practices. Because strict regulation of millions of micro firms is not likely, water resource professionals face a challenge of how to reach small business operators with effective pollution prevention messages. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence a small business operator to adopt measures that reduce potential ground water pollution. We looked at how information delivery, internal business characteristics, and external relationships are associated with voluntary preventive measures. Mail surveys from small businesses in New Jersey municipalities and interviews with business owners provided data about business characteristics and current pollution prevention activities. Findings suggested that businesses doing the most to prevent ground water pollution were generally more connected to external organizations and had more financial and technical resources. The study also discovered that small business owners fear government involvement in their affairs. The study concludes with recommendations to encourage more voluntary adoption of prevention measures by businesses. These center on separating assistance programs from enforcement and involving industry peer groups in an effort to make information available in a non-threatening manner.     

Preservation and Change in the Upland Landscape: The Public Benefits of Grazing Management

A contingent valuation survey was undertaken to estimate the public benefits of landscapechanges that could arise from reductions in grazing levels using the example of the Central Southern Uplands of Scotland. A dichotomous choice with continuous follow-up format was used to quantify the environmentalbenefit in terms of the willingness to pay of the general public and visitors. The paper discusses the merits of this format and the evidence of starting-point bias. In addition, the results are compared with the preferences of locals and interest groups as expressed through focus group sessions and subsets of the survey. A strong preference for more tree cover was evident, a landscape feature not well represented in the current landscape.