Sustainable land application: an overview

Man has land-applied societal nonhazardous wastes for centuries as a means of disposal and to improve the soil via the recycling of nutrients and the addition of organic matter. Nonhazardous wastes include a vast array of materials, including manures, biosolids, composts, wastewater effluents, food-processing wastes, industrial by-products; these are collectively referred to herein as residuals. Because of economic restraints and environmental concerns about land-filling and incineration, interest in land application continues to grow. A major lesson that has been learned, however, is that the traditional definition of land application that emphasizes applying residuals to land in a manner that protects human and animal health, safeguards soil and water resources, and maintains long-term ecosystem quality is incomplete unless the earning of public trust in the practices is included. This overview provides an introduction to a subset of papers and posters presented at the conference, "Sustainable Land Application," held in Orlando, FL, in January 2004. The USEPA, USDA, and multiple national and state organizations with interest in, and/or responsibilities for, ensuring the sustainability of the practice sponsored the conference. The overriding conference objectives were to highlight significant developments in land treatment theory and practice, and to identify future research needs to address critical gaps in the knowledge base that must be addressed to ensure sustainable land application of residuals.     

Botswana's environmental policy on recycling

Recycling operations have become one of the primary strategies for waste management, worldwide. Especially, recycling operations are viewed as among the most effective techniques for reducing the amount of municipal solid waste disposed at landfill sites. Botswana's environmental policy on recycling stipulates, among others, that all waste management authorities should provide information on the classification and quantities of controlled waste targeted for recycling. This paper, therefore, examines the extent to which recycling operations in Botswana have either been conducted in compliance with or in violation of some major environmental requirements as enunciated on statutory guidelines. Compatibility between environmental policies on recycling and actual practice is evaluated focusing on two companies (Dumatau trading and Botswana Tissue) involved in recycling operation. Data from the two companies is complemented by one collected from the Gaborone landfill site. Finally, this study discusses on the role played by various stakeholders in policy formulation and implementation with particular emphasis being placed on a select number of non-governmental organisations (NGO).     

Effects of commercial diazinon and imidacloprid on microbial urease activity in soil and sod

Diazinon [O,O-diethyl O-2-isopropyl-6-methyl(pyrimidine-4-yl) phosphorothioate] and imidacloprid [1-(1-[6-chloro-3-pyridinyl]methyl)-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine] are applied to lawns for insect control simultaneously with nitrogenous fertilizers such as urea, but their potential effect on urease activity and nitrogen availability in turfgrass management has not been evaluated. Urease activity in enzyme assays, washed cell assays, and soil slurries was examined as a function of insecticide concentration. Intact cores from field sites were used to assess the effect of insecticide application on urease activity in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.) and bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) sod. Bacterial urease from Bacillus pasteurii and plant urease from jack bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC.] were unaffected by the insecticides. Both insecticides inhibited the growth of Proteus vulgaris, a urease-producing bacterium, but only diazinon significantly reduced urease activity in washed cells; neither insecticide inhibited urease activity in sonicated cells. Neither diazinon nor imidacloprid inhibited urease activity in Woolper soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Argiudoll) slurries, but diazinon slightly inhibited urease activity in Maury soil (fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Paleudalf) slurries. Imidacloprid had no effect on urease activity in creeping bentgrass or bluegrass sod at up to 10 times the commercial application rate. Diazinon briefly, but significantly, reduced urease activity in bluegrass sod. Co-application of imidacloprid and urea appears to be benign with respect to urease activity in soil and sod. Diazinon, in contrast, appears to have a significant, short-term, inhibitory effect on the microbial urease-producing community, but that effect depends on soil type.     

Phosphorus leaching in sandy outwash soils following potato-processing wastewater application

Land application of wastewater presents potential for ground water pollution if not properly managed. In situ breakthrough tests were conducted using potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)-processing wastewater and a Br tracer to characterize P leaching in seasonally frozen sandy outwash soils. In the first test, P and Br breakthrough were measured in a 7-m deep well following wastewater [2.94 mg L(-1) total P (TP); 280 mg L(-1) Br] application at the site that had 13.1 mg water-extractable P (WEP) kg(-1)and 94.4 mg Bray-1 P kg(-1). Bromide was detected in the well after approximately 0.4 pore volumes, but there was no P break-through after 7 pore volumes. In the second breakthrough test, wastewater containing 3.6 mg L(-1) TP and 259 mg L(-1) Br was applied on 1.5-m deep lysimeters at low (0.8 mg WEP kg(-1); 12.1 mg Bray-1 P kg(-1)) and high soil test P sites (104 mg WEP kg(-1); 585 mg Bray-1 P kg(-1)). Leachate TP concentration during the test remained constant (0.04 mg L(-1)) at the low P sites but increased from approximately 3.5 to 5.6 mg L(-1) at the high P sites. These results indicate no P leaching in low P soils, but leaching in high P soils, thus suggesting that most of the P leached at the high P sites was mainly due to desorption and dissolution of weakly adsorbed P from prior P applications. This was consistent with P transport simulations using the convective-dispersive equation. We conclude that P concentration in land-applied wastewater should be regulated based on soil test-P level plus wastewater P loading.     

Accelerated soil dissipation of tebuconazole following multiple applications to peanut

Repeated application may increase rates of pesticide dissipation in soil and reduce persistence. The potential for this to occur was investigated for the fungicide, tebuconazole (alpha-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]-alpha-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol), when used for peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production. Soil samples were collected from peanut plots after each of four tebuconazole applications at 2-wk intervals. Soil moisture was adjusted to field capacity as necessary and samples were incubated in the laboratory for 63 d at 30 degrees C. Untreated plot samples spiked with the compound served as controls. Results indicated accelerated dissipation in field-treated samples with the time to fifty percent dissipation (DT50) decreasing from 43 to 5 d after three tebuconazole applications. Corresponding increases in rates of accumulation and decay of degradates were also indicated. Best-fit equations (r2 = 0.84-0.98) to dissipation kinetic data combined with estimates of canopy interception rates were used to predict tebuconazole and degradates concentration in soil after each successive application. Predicted concentrations compared with values measured in surface soil samples were from twofold less to twofold greater. Use of kinetic data will likely enhance assessments of treatment efficacy and human and ecological risks from normal agronomic use of tebuconazole on peanut. However, the study indicated that varying soil conditions (in particular, soil temperature and water content) may have an equal or greater impact on field dissipation rate than development of accelerated dissipation. Results emphasize that extension of laboratory-derived kinetic data to field settings should be done with caution.     

灰色系统模型在总悬浮物预测中的应用

以１９８６－１９９４年东北某城市总悬浮物统计资料为依据，应用灰色系统理论ＧＭ（１，１）模型对总量浮物数值进行预测分析。     

净化SO2的生物膜填料塔中微生物类群分析

对净化废气中SO2的生物膜填料塔内的微生物进行了分离纯化并做鉴定,得到一株嗜酸性氧化硫硫杆菌（Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans IEL001）和一株分类地位非常接近链二孢属（Bispora sp.）的极端嗜酸真菌IEL002,生物膜填料塔内的极端酸性环境和有机营养的缺乏导致生物膜上的微生物种类较为单一,多样性程度不高。本研究还发现IEL002自身并不能氧化单质硫,但它能促进Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans IEL001对单质硫的氧化。     

河南省旱涝灾害的地域分异规律和减灾对策研究

河南省地处我国南北气候过渡地带,自古以来就以旱涝灾害频繁而著称。根据旱涝灾害的地域分异特点,可将全省分为五个区。减轻旱涝灾害的主要措施是:加强水利建设,进一步开发地下水;扩大引黄灌溉、抗旱、补源面积;走旱作农业的道路,广泛提高农田抗灾水平。     

TMA改性粘土矿物对模拟地下水中苯系物的吸附

用短链季铵盐阳离子表面活性剂四甲基铵离子（ＴＭＡ）改性膨润土和凹凸棒土,研究它们对模拟地下水中苯系物的吸附作用。二种ＴＭＡ改性粘土矿物均可以有效地吸附模拟地下水中的苯系物,吸附机理较复杂,主要以表面吸附为主。     

Abiotic control on the dissipation of chlorpyrifos spiked in an Udic Ferrisol at a lower dosage

The dissipation routes of chlorpyrifos spiked in an Udic Ferrisol at the dosage of 400 ng g^?1, which represents a residual level after an agricultural application, were studied in a laboratory, using the natural soil under three moisture regimes, sterilised, and organic matter-free soils in the dark at 20°C. The obtained results showed that higher soil moisture caused faster dissipation, and the abiotic and biotic contributions to the total dissipated amount of the applied chlorpyrifos in the soil accounted for 77.3–85.2% and 14.7–22.7%, respectively. In the sterilised soil, the contribution of organic matter to chlorpyrifos dissipation was noticed to account for 95% in the earlier two weeks, and was nearly equal to that of soil minerals two weeks after the incubation.