Contamination assessment of arsenic and heavy metals in a typical abandoned estuary wetland—a case study of the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve

Coastal and estuarine areas are often polluted by heavy metals that result from industrial production and agricultural activities. In this study, we investigated the concentration trait and vertical pattern of trace elements, such as As, Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cr, and the relationship between those trace elements and the soil properties in coastal wetlands using 28 profiles that were surveyed across the Diaokouhe Nature Reserve (DKHNR). The goal of this study is to investigate profile distribution characteristics of heavy metals in different wetland types and their variations with the soil depth to assess heavy metal pollution using pollution indices and to identify the pollution sources using multivariate analysis and sediment quality guidelines. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and pollution level indices were applied to evaluate the contamination conditions due to wetland degradation. The findings indicated that the concentration of trace elements decreased with the soil depth, while Cd increases with soil depth. The As concentrations in reed swamps and Suaeda heteroptera surface layers were slightly higher than those in other land use types. All six heavy metals, i.e., Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Cr, and Pb, were strongly associated with PC1 (positive loading) and could reflect the contribution of natural geological sources of metals into the coastal sediments. PC2 is highly associated with Cd and could represent anthropogenic sources of metal pollution. Most of the heavy metals exhibited significant positive correlations with total concentrations; however, no significant correlations were observed between them and the soil salt and soil organic carbon. Soil organic carbon exhibited a positive linear relationship with Cu, Pb, and Zn in the first soil layer (0–20 cm); As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the second layer (20–40 cm); and As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the third layer (40–60 cm). Soil organic carbon exhibited only a negative correlation with Cd (P?I _geo values), which averaged less than 0 in the three soil layers, this finding indicates that the soils have remained unpolluted by these heavy metals. The mean concentrations of these trace elements were lower than Class I criteria. The degradation wetland restoration suggestions have also been provided in such a way as to restore the reserved flow path of the Yellow River. The results that are associated with trace element contamination would be helpful in providing scientific directions to restore wetlands across the world.     

Comparative research on NIMBY risk acceptability between Chinese and Japanese college students

Along with the progressive acceleration of urbanization, the need to identify potentially troublesome “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) facilities in the city is inevitable. To resolve NIMBY conflict, it is important to know people’s NIMBY risk acceptability for these facilities. A questionnaire survey was used among Chinese and Japanese college students to identify NIMBY risk acceptability. LISREL was used to construct a structural equation model to analyze the difference in NIMBY risk acceptability between the Chinese and Japanese college students. Factors that may affect NIMBY risk acceptability were analyzed: “perceiving utility,” “perceiving risk,” “trust in government,” “reasonable compensation,” and “procedural justice.” The findings show that Japanese students’ concerns were greater than Chinese students’ concerns. Perceiving utility and perceiving risk were the most important factors that affect people’s NIMBY risk acceptability, followed by procedural justice, trust in government, and reasonable compensation. There is a difference between the different cultural backgrounds in confronting the risk: Chinese students focus more on the reputation and value of real estate, while Japanese students pay more attention to environmental pollution and damage to health. Furthermore, cultural influences play a role in students’ risk perception. To improve the risk acceptability for NIMBY facilities and provide a basis for resolving NIMBY conflicts, it is necessary to ensure the benefits of the NIMBY facility while reducing environmental pollution. The findings of this study may be of interest for policy makers and practitioners to devise future NIMBY strategies.     

Characteristic, composition, and sources of TSP investigated by HRTEM/EDS and ESEM/EDS

Total suspended particle (TSP) collected at the fifth floor of House Dust in Hunan University, China, was analyzed in terms of microscopic morphology and chemical composition. The fine particles (50?nm-2?μm) in the TSP were analyzed by a high-resolution transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer (HRTEM/EDS). Results showed that the particles were in shapes of plate, irregular and agglomerate. Based on EDS results, these fine particulate matter was primarily composed of Fe-rich (35.82-61.29%), Ca-rich (30.18-36.77%) and Si-rich (18.95-32.28%) particles. Other elements mainly including Mg (0.47-4.97%), Al (0.45-14.57%), S (0.45-4.73%), K (1.13-2.13%) and Zn (0.67-3.85%) were also observed. The sources analysis indicated that the HRTEM particles mainly originated from coal combustion, traffic emission, vehicles exhaust emission and fugitive soil or cement particulate matter. The coarse particles (4-50?μm) were detected by environmental scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray detector (ESEM/EDS). Based on a simple algorithm, ESEM particles were categorized into five groups: C-bearing (46.15%, 67% and 86.98%), Si + Ca-bearing (21.48?+?11.80%, 16.51?+?10.81% and 16.32?+?10.62%), Si + Al-bearing (20.06?+?12.40%, 20.16?+?11.22% and 15.31?+?11.25%), Si-bearing (34.40%, 26.92% and 27.15%) particles and aggregates, most of which exhibit obvious crystalline structure, and these ESEM particles mainly derived from vehicles exhaust emission, coal combustion, soil, and biomass burning, while the aggregates are indicative of atmospheric reaction progress. HRTEM/EDS and ESEM/EDS are mutual complementary in analyzing the characteristic and determining the sources of TSP.     

Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in breast milk,cord blood and placentas: a systematic review

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been extensively used as flame retardants in consumer products. PBDEs rapidly bioaccumulate in the environment, food, wild animals and humans. In this review, we investigated the harmful effects of PBDEs on humans, especially in early life, and summarised the levels of PBDEs in human biological samples (breast milk, cord blood and placentas). In addition, we described the spatiotemporal distribution of PBDEs in this review. PBDE levels in breast milk, cord blood and placentas were generally higher in North America than in other regions, such as Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa. However, high levels of PBDEs in human biological samples were detected at e-waste recycling sites in South China, East China and South Korea. This finding suggests that newborns living in e-waste regions are exposed to high levels of PBDEs during prenatal and postnatal periods. The time trends of PBDE concentration differed according to the region. Few studies have investigated PBDE levels in humans from 1967 to 2000, but they increased rapidly after 2000. PBDE concentration peaked at approximately 2006 globally. Compared with other PBDE congeners, BDE-47, BDE-153 and BDE-209 were the major components, but the detection rate of BDE-209 was lower than those of others. Future studies should focus on determining the BDE-209 concentration, which requires the implementation of different analytical approaches. Additionally, the levels of PBDEs in human samples and the environment should be monitored, especially in e-waste recycling regions.

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Graphical abstract The figures described the spatial distribution of the lowest (Fig. a1) and highest concentration of ∑PBDE (Fig. a2) in different countries by 2006 and described the spatial distribution of the lowest (Fig. b1) and highest concentration of ∑PBDE (Fig. b2) in different countries from 2007 to 2015. All the figures indicated that the levels of PBDEs in North America were substantially higher than those in many regions of Europe, Asia, Oceania, or Africa. Comparing Fig. a1–b1 or Fig. a2–b2, increasing trends were observed in some countries, especially in some regions in China, Korea and Canada.

     

Validation of temporal and spatial consistency of facility- and speed-specific vehicle-specific power distributions for emission estimation: A case study in Beijing,China

Vehicle-specific power (VSP) has been found to be highly correlated with vehicle emissions. It is used in many studies on emission modeling such as the MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator) model. The existing studies develop specific VSP distributions (or OpMode distribution in MOVES) for different road types and various average speeds to represent the vehicle operating modes on road. However, it is still not clear if the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions are consistent temporally and spatially. For instance, is it necessary to update periodically the database of the VSP distributions in the emission model? Are the VSP distributions developed in the city central business district (CBD) area applicable to its suburb area? In this context, this study examined the temporal and spatial consistency of the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions in Beijing. The VSP distributions in different years and in different areas are developed, based on real-world vehicle activity data. The root mean square error (RMSE) is employed to quantify the difference between the VSP distributions. The maximum differences of the VSP distributions between different years and between different areas are approximately 20% of that between different road types. The analysis of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission factor indicates that the temporal and spatial differences of the VSP distributions have no significant impact on vehicle emission estimation, with relative error of less than 3%.

Implications: The temporal and spatial differences have no significant impact on the development of the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions for the vehicle emission estimation. The database of the specific VSP distributions in the VSP-based emission models can maintain in terms of time. Thus, it is unnecessary to update the database regularly, and it is reliable to use the history vehicle activity data to forecast the emissions in the future. In one city, the areas with less data can still develop accurate VSP distributions based on better data from other areas.     

电渗透脱水污泥干燥特性曲线及干燥模型

通过电渗透脱水技术及自然风干技术两种预处理方式降低污泥含水率,当污泥初始含水率相近时,研究经两种方式处理后污泥的干燥特性曲线,并对电渗透脱水污泥干燥特性曲线的优势情况进行探讨。在40—120℃的低温条件下,研究电渗透脱水污泥（泥饼厚度为3．5mm）的干燥特性曲线并分析其干燥特性。通过所得电渗透脱水污泥的干燥特性曲线,引人薄层污泥干燥模型进行数值分析。结果表明,在实验条件下,电渗透脱水污泥的干燥速率要优于自然风干污泥的干燥速率。随着温度的升高,电渗透脱水污泥的干燥速率随之升高,干燥到所需含水率的时间则随之减少。Logarithmic模型比其他模型更适合描述薄层电渗透脱水污泥在低温条件下的干燥特性。     

CuO/γ-Al2O3类Fenton试剂降解丁基黄药

CuO/γ-Al2O3类Fenton试剂是降解丁基黄药的优良试剂。该试剂与传统的Fenton试剂相比,提高了反应的pH值,可在较高pH(4~5)条件下反应,而传统的Fenton试剂的适宜pH值一般在3以下。采用单因素实验和正交实验相结合的方法研究了pH、催化剂投加量、过氧化氢投加量以及反应时间对丁基黄药降解效果的影响,并对催化剂的使用寿命进行了探讨。研究结果表明,反应的最佳条件为:pH为4~5,催化剂投加量为6 g/L,过氧化氢用量为30 mg/L,反应30min。在此反应条件下,丁基黄药的降解率达98%以上;影响丁基黄药降解效果的因素大小顺序为:pH>反应时间>H2O2用量>催化剂投加量,其中pH对CuO/γ-Al2O3类Fenton试剂降解丁基黄药的影响最为显著。     

重庆主城区秋冬季逆温对空气质量影响的观测分析

2013年9—11月利用RPG-HATPRO地基多通道微波辐射计对重庆主城区大气进行连续探测,统计了大气逆温情况,并对典型重污染天气下大气逆温与空气质量状况进行综合分析。结果表明,逆温出现的频率为63.3%,基本为接地逆温类型,逆温层厚度为953 m,逆温强度为0.3℃/hm;逆温的存在为气溶胶的积聚和凝聚创造了有利条件。     

柴油机微粒中可溶性有机成分的真空干燥条件

柴油机碳烟颗粒(PM)中可溶性有机组分(SOF)含量是其重要的特性参数,而真空干燥法可方便、高效、可靠地分析颗粒SOF含量,对其干燥条件的探索具有重要的研究意义和应用价值。首先采用模拟的柴油机颗粒,分析不同的干燥条件对模拟SOF(柴油、润滑油)挥发率的影响规律,得出模拟的SOF分析的最佳干燥条件;在此基础上,探索了真实柴油机颗粒SOF分析的最佳干燥条件为:干燥温度220℃、干燥时间3 h、真空度98 kPa,得知SOF组分干燥的难易程度介于柴油和润滑油之间;同时,根据此干燥条件,分析了排气管末端采集的真实碳烟颗粒的SOF含量特性。     

Rubber and pulp plantations represent a double threat to Hainan's natural tropical forests

Hainan, the largest tropical island in China, belongs to the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and harbors large areas of tropical forests, particularly in the uplands. The Changhua watershed is the cradle of Hainan's main river and a center of endemism for plants and birds. The watershed contains great habitat diversity and is an important conservation area. We analyzed the impact of rubber and pulp plantations on the distribution and area of tropical forest in the watershed, using remote sensing analysis of Landsat images from 1988, 1995 and 2005. From 1988 to 1995, natural forest increased in area (979-1040?sq?km) but decreased rapidly (763?sq?km) over the next decade. Rubber plantations increased steadily through the study period while pulp plantations appeared after 1995 but occupied 152?sq?km by 2005. Rubber and pulp plantations displace different types of natural forest and do not replace one another. Because pulp is not as profitable as rubber and existing pulp processing capacity greatly exceeds local supply, considerable pressure exists on remaining upland forests. We recommend for future management that these plantation forests be reclassified as 'industrial', making a clear policy distinction between natural and industrial forestry. Additionally, the local government should work to enforce existing laws preventing forest conversion on marginal and protected areas.