关于欧盟植物保护品对鸟类和哺乳动物的风险评估的反思：过去、现在和未来

植物保护品在农作物上的使用会导致鸟类和哺乳动物接触有毒化学物质。在欧盟,关于此类暴露的风险评估均以当前(2009)欧洲食品安全局(EFSA)颁布的指导性文件为依据,与之前的版本相比,该文件在理论风险评估的可实现性方面有所提高(SANCO/4145/2000)。自从7年前实施2009 EFSA 指导性文件以来,基于此已经对众多植物保护品的毒性进行了成功地评估。然而,在今后的修订版本中仍然存在需要改进的重要方面。这篇焦点文章讨论了目前方案的风险评估经验,包括输入参数的保守水平和监管当局的解释以及如何在不远的将来对指导性文件进行修订提出建议。明确了推进指导文件的几方面建议,例如与生态相关的鸟类和哺乳动物生殖端点的推导和情境风险评估中建模方法的使用。在完善现有数据库方面,本文也有所强调,包括校对全欧洲相关焦点物种和扩大食物残留数据库。为了能够在将来形成一个真实可用的指导性文件,强烈建议在产业、监管和欧洲食品安全局等部门之间进行开放和建设性的沟通和交流。这样的合作也将鼓励会员国之间的融合,从而减轻产业和监管机构工作负荷。
精选自Amy C. Brooks, Mike Fryer, Alan Lawrence, Juan Pascual, Rachel Sharp. Reflections on bird and mammal risk assessment for plant protection products in the European Union: past, present and future. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Volume 36, Issue 3, pages 565–575, July 2017. DOI: 10.1002/etc.3719
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/etc.3719/full
     

Improved oxidative stability of biodiesel via alternative processing methods using cottonseed oil

Biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) requires antioxidants to meet oxidation stability specifications set forth in ASTM D6751 or EN 14214. In contrast, unrefined cottonseed oil (CSO), containing tocopherols and gossypol, produces biodiesel of higher oxidation stability. However, only a portion of these CSO endogenous antioxidants are suspected to be retained in biodiesel. Because the economics of biodiesel manufacturing rely upon inexpensive sources of triglycerides, emphasis was placed on developing improved alternative processing methods where WCO was the main source of methyl esters (WCOME) and CSO was used as a supplemental source of triglycerides and antioxidants in a 4:1 ratio. This study compared four processing methods for their ability to produce biodiesel of increased oxidative stability prepared from a 4:1 ratio of WCO:CSO. Two novel processing methods developed for this study utilise solvent properties of fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol to avoid additional chemical inventory for biodiesel processors. This study concludes that the two new processing methods resulted in biodiesel that had statistically significant improved oxidation stability when compared to two common industrial processing methods. Another significant finding is that high-shear homogenisation during transesterification reduced reaction time from the published one hour to 16 minutes.     

Characterisation of particulate matter on the receptor level in a city environment

Airborne particulate matter (PM) has become one of the dominant pollutants with the increasing material and energy demand due to global economic growth. The main objective of this research is to provide a comprehensive receptor level characterisation of the particulate matter collected in a city environment. Particulate matter samples were collected on Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) filters from five monitoring sites over a period of 1 year. An Andersen eight-stage cascade impactor was also used to collect airborne PM samples from three other locations to compare with the samples collected by TEOM. All the samples were then subjected to individual particle morphology and chemical composition analysis by SEM/EDS. Bulk chemical composition of the samples were also analysed through ICP–OES. Based on these analyses, possible sources of the PM samples were identified. The results showed that the monitoring sites in residential environments were dominated by transportation-derived particles and other migratory particulates. Monitoring sites near the city centre were dominant by particles from transportation, with biological particles abundant for the site closer to a river. The monitoring station located close to the industrial area, despite only 200 m away from a motorway, has low contribution of non-exhaust particulates from vehicles. Instead, the particulates collected from this site were dominated by industrial sources. An air dispersion modelling package was also used to model the particulate matter dispersion in the city area for the period of sampling. The results from the model showed that the points of high emissions were around industrial areas.     

中国露天生物质燃烧的温室气体排放及秸秆禁燃政策的协同减排效应

露天生物质燃烧是温室气体(CO₂、CH₄、N₂O)的重要排放源之一,这些排放可影响本地、区域和全球的大气化学和气候变化,并带来一系列生态环境问题,进而对人类及其他生物的生存环境产生影响.本研究采用卫星火点排放清单(FINN),对2010—2019年中国露天生物质燃烧温室气体排放进行研究,并分析秸秆禁燃政策对温室气体排放的影响,对后续秸秆禁燃政策的制定具有重要参考价值.结果表明,我国2010—2019年平均年温室气体排放量为1.53×10⁸t(将CH₄和N₂O的温室效应换算为同等效应的CO₂当量单位),总体呈波动性下降趋势.温室气体排放量最大的植被类型是森林(7.43×10⁷t)和农作物(3.19×10⁷t),分别占总排放量的48.7%和20.9%.从月分布来看,露天生物质燃烧排放的温室气体集中在2—6月,3月是高峰值.从空间分布上看,排放主要集中在华南、西南和华东地区,占总排放量的72.9%...     

Biodiversity and rockfish recruitment in sponge gardens and bioherms of southern British Columbia,Canada

In the Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound, British Columbia, colonies of individual cloud sponges, growing on rock (known as sponge gardens) receive resource subsidies from the high biodiversity of epifauna on adjacent rock habitats. Bioherms are reefs of glass sponges living on layers of dead sponges. In the same area as the sponge gardens, newly discovered bioherms in Howe Sound, BC (49.34.67 N, 123.16.26 W) at depths of 28- to 35-m are constructed exclusively by Aphrocallistes vastus, the cloud sponge. The sponge gardens had much higher taxon richness than the bioherms. The sponge garden had 106 species from 10 phyla, whereas the bioherm had only 15 species from 5 phyla. For recruiting juvenile rockfish (quillback, Sebastes maliger), the food subsidy of sponge gardens appears to be missing on bioherms of cloud sponge, where biodiversity is relatively low. While adult and subadult rockfishes (S. maliger, S. ruberrimus, S. proriger, and S. elongatus) were present on bioherms, no evidence for nursery recruitment of inshore rockfishes to bioherms was observed, whereas the sponge gardens supported high densities of newly recruited S. maliger, perhaps owing to the combination of both refuge and feeding opportunities. These results indicate that sponge gardens form a habitat for early stages of inshore S. maliger, whereas A. vastus bioherms are associated only with older juvenile and adult rockfishes.     

The use of commercial and industrial waste in energy recovery systems - A UK preliminary study

With 2020 energy targets set out by the EU fast approaching, the UK is trying to source a higher proportion of its energy from renewable resources. Coupled with this, a growing population and increasing trends in consumer demand have resulted in national waste loads increasing. A possible solution to both issues is energy-from-waste (EfW) technologies. Many studies have focused on municipal solid waste (MSW) as a potential feedstock, but appear to overlook the potential benefits of commercial and industrial waste (C&IW). In this study, samples of C&IW were collected from three North West waste management companies and Lancaster University campus. The samples were tested for their gross and net calorific value, moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, and also elemental composition to determine their suitability in EfW systems. Intra-sample analysis showed there to be little variation between samples with the exception two samples, from waste management site 3, which showed extensive variation with regards to net calorific value, ash content, and elemental analysis. Comparisons with known fuel types revealed similarities between the sampled C&IW, MSW, and refuse derived fuel (RDF) thereby justifying its potential for use in EfW systems. Mean net calorific value (NCV) was calculated as 9.47 MJ/kg and concentrations of sulphur, nitrogen, and chlorine were found to be below 2%. Potential electrical output was calculated using the NCV of the sampled C&IW coupled with four differing energy generation technologies. Using a conventional incinerator with steam cycle, total electrical output was calculated as 24.9 GWh, based on a plant operating at 100,000 tpa. This value rose to 27.0 GWh when using an integrated gasification combined cycle. A final aspect of this study was to deduce the potential total national electrical output if all suitable C&IW were to be used in EfW systems. Using incineration coupled with a steam turbine, this was determined to be 6 TWh, 1.9% of the national demand thereby contributing 6.5% towards the UK’s 2020 renewable electricity target.     

Review of measured concentrations of triphenyltin compounds in marine ecosystems and meta-analysis of their risks to humans and the environment

The state of scientific knowledge regarding analytical methods, environmental fate, ecotoxicity and ecological risk of triphenyltin (TPT) compounds in marine ecosystems as well as their exposure and health hazard to humans was reviewed. Since the 1960s, TPT compounds have been commonly applied as biocides for diverse industrial and agricultural purposes. For instance, they are used as active ingredients in antifouling systems on marine vessels and mariculture facilities, and as fungicides in agriculture. Due to their intensive use, contamination of coastal waters by TPT and its products of transformation has become a worldwide problem. The proportion of quantified TPT to total phenyltin compounds in the marine environment provides evidence that TPT is photodegradable in water and sediment but resistant to biotransformation. Concentrations of TPT in marine biota are consistently greater than concentrations in water and sediment, which implies potential of TPT to bioaccumulate. TPT is toxic to both marine plants and animals. The predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) for TPT, as determined by use of the species sensitivity distribution approach, is 0.64 ng L⁻¹. In some parts of the world, concentrations of TPT in seawater exceed the PNEC, indicating that TPT can pose risks to marine life. Although there is negligible risk of TPT to average human consumers, TPT has been detected in blood of Finnish people and the concentration was greater in fishermen who ate more seafood. It is, therefore, advocated to initiate regular monitoring of TPT in blood and breast milk of populations that consume greater amounts of seafood.     

An Integrated WebGIS Framework for Volunteered Geographic Information and Social Media in Soil and Water Conservation

Volunteered geographic information and social networking in a WebGIS has the potential to increase public participation in soil and water conservation, promote environmental awareness and change, and provide timely data that may be otherwise unavailable to policymakers in soil and water conservation management. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop a framework for combining current technologies, computing advances, data sources, and social media; and (2) develop and test an online web mapping interface. The mapping interface integrates Microsoft Silverlight, Bing Maps, ArcGIS Server, Google Picasa Web Albums Data API, RSS, Google Analytics, and Facebook to create a rich user experience. The website allows the public to upload photos and attributes of their own subdivisions or sites they have identified and explore other submissions. The website was made available to the public in early February 2011 at and evaluated for its potential long-term success in a pilot study.