LAKE MICHIGAN DIVERSION - STREAM QUALITY PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: By United States Supreme Court action, the diversion of water from Lake Michigan and the Lake Michigan Drainage Basin in the Metropolitan Chicago Area is regulated at an annual maximum rate of 3,200 cfs. Approximately 1,700 cfs of this diversion is used for water supply, and the remaining 1,500 cfs consists primarily of stormwater runoff with lesser amounts of direct lake diversion, such as lockage and leakage, navigational makeup water flows, and discretionary diversion needed to maintain water quality standards in the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago's basic waterways. In order to assess the schedule of its discretionary diversion needs, the District, using a computer model of its basic waterway system, has calculated the minimum discretionary diversion requirements for projected water quality conditions as successive elements of the District's water pollution control program are completed. The results of these analyses can be used as a basis for developing plans for future allocations of the limited supply of Lake Michigan water to other uses such as domestic water supply, when and if such supplies become available.     

卡片打印机的新进展

被称为安全识别设备“苦力”的卡片打印机现在已经步入了一个新的发展阶段。在用户需求的驱使下,卡片打印机的应用已经超越了传统的安全范畴,其打印速度更快,设备更加智能,操作方式更加简便,而与之相伴的却是单位价格的逐年下降。 以得克萨斯州的一家娱乐公园为例,如果某人需要马上购买一张该园的出入卡,而且想在购买之日就开始使用,那么就可以用卡片打印机来完成这     

Applying total quality and strategic planning techniques for improved compliance performance at polaroid

Polaroid Corporation is committed to a policy of respect for the environment. Each division is charged with responsibility to achieve environmental goals for compliance, toxic use and waste reduction, and community outreach. This article shows how a major manufacturing division is now striving to meet new compliance demands by combining strategic planning and Total Quality techniques.     

Macroglomeruli for fruit odors change blend preference in Drosophila

The olfactory circuitry of Drosophila melanogaster is becoming increasingly clear. However, how olfactory processing translates into appropriate behavioral responses is still poorly understood. Using a sibling species approach, we tested how a perturbation in the olfactory circuitry affects odor preference. In a previous study, we found that the sibling species of D. melanogaster, the specialist D. sechellia, overrepresents a sensillum, ab3, the A neuron of which is sensitive to hexanoate esters, characteristic of the species’ sole host, the Morinda citrifolia fruit. Concordantly, the corresponding glomerulus, DM2, is enlarged. In this study, we found that the ab3B neuron, the expansion of which was previously assumed to be pleiotropic and of no ecological significance, is in fact tuned to another morinda fruit volatile, 2-heptanone (HP). Axons of this neuron type arborize in a second enlarged glomerulus. In behavioral experiments we tested how this has affected the fly’s odor preference. We demonstrate that D. sechellia has a reversed preference for the key ligands of these macroglomeruli, especially at high concentrations. Whereas D. melanogaster was repelled by high concentrations of these odors, D. sechellia was highly attracted. This was the case for odors presented singly, but more notably for blends thereof. Our study indicates that relatively simple changes, such as a shift in sensillar abundance, and concordant shifts in glomerular size, can distort the resulting olfactory code, and can lead to saltatory shifts in odor preference. D. sechellia has exploited this to align its olfactory preference with its ecological niche.     

Hydrogeochemical characterization and groundwater quality assessment in intruded coastal brine aquifers (Laizhou Bay,China)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aquifer in the coastal area of the Laizhou Bay is affected by salinization processes related to intense groundwater exploitation for brine...     

Characterization of gaseous pollutant and particulate matter emission rates from a commercial broiler operation part II: Correlated emission rates

Emission rates of ammonia, acid gases, inorganic aerosols, methane, and size fractionated particulate matter were measured from a commercial broiler facility. This paper discusses the statistically influential parameters on numerous pollutants’ emission from a broiler chicken facility and generates emission correlations to fill data gaps and develop averaged emission factors.Live mass of the birds was commonly a significant variable to each pollutant’s emission. Some variables significantly impacted the pollutants’ emissions, such as litter moisture content, but were measured discretely and cannot be used for filling in data gaps.House parameter correlations were, therefore, developed using parameters measured at the facility, such as indoor temperature, relative humidity, and the live mass of the birds, and relied on the mutual behaviour of discretely measured explanatory parameters and continuously monitored confounding variables. The live mass and the difference in the indoor temperature and the house set-point temperature were the most significant variables in each pollutant’s correlation.The correlations predicted each pollutants emission to within 20% (total mass basis) over most broiler production cycles. Their validation on independent datasets also successfully estimated the flocks’ emissions to within 3%.Emission factors (EFs) were developed for methane, ammonia, and size fractionated particulate matter using measured data and correlated emissions to fill in data gaps. PM₁₀ (particulate matter ≤10 microns) EFs were estimated to be 4.6 and 5.9 g d^?1 [Animal Unit, AU]^?1 for five and six week production cycles, respectively. PM_2.5 (PM ≤ 2.5 microns) EFs were 0.8 and 1.4 g d^?1 AU^?1 for five and six week cycles, respectively. Ammonia and methane emission factors were estimated at 120.8 and 197.0 g d^?1 AU^?1, respectively for a five week production cycle.     

South Philadelphia passive sampler and sensor study

From June 2013 to March 2015, in total 41 passive sampler deployments of 2 wk duration each were conducted at 17 sites in South Philadelphia, PA, with results for benzene discussed here. Complementary time-resolved measurements with lower cost prototype fenceline sensors and an open-path ultraviolet differential optical absorption spectrometer were also conducted. Minimum passive sampler benzene concentrations for each sampling period ranged from 0.08 ppbv to 0.65 ppbv, with a mean of 0.25 ppbv, and were negatively correlated with ambient temperature (–0.01 ppbv/°C, R² = 0.68). Co-deployed duplicate passive sampler pairs (N = 609) demonstrated good precision with an average and maximum percent difference of 1.5% and 34%, respectively. A group of passive samplers located within 50 m of a refinery fenceline had a study mean benzene concentration of 1.22 ppbv, whereas a group of samplers located in communities >1 km distant from facilities had a mean of 0.29 ppbv. The difference in the means of these groups was statistically significant at the 95% confidence level (p < 0.001). A decreasing gradient in benzene concentrations moving away from the facilities was observed, as was a significant period-to-period variation. The highest recorded 2-wk average benzene concentration for the fenceline group was 3.11 ppbv. During this period, time-resolved data from the prototype sensors and the open-path spectrometer detected a benzene signal from the west on one day in particular, with the highest 5-min path-averaged benzene concentration measured at 24 ppbv.

Implications: Using a variation of EPA’s passive sampler refinery fenceline monitoring method, coupled with time-resolved measurements, a multiyear study in South Philadelphia informed benzene concentrations near facilities and in communities. The combination of measurement strategies can assist facilities in identification and mitigation of emissions from fugitive sources and improve information on air quality complex air sheds.     

Field evaluation of digital optical method to quantify the visual opacity of plumes

Visual Determination of the Opacity of Emissions from Stationary Sources (Method 9) is a reference method established by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to quantify plume opacity. However, Method 9 relies on observations from humans, which introduces subjectivity. In addition, it is expensive to teach and certify personnel to evaluate plume opacity on a semiannual basis. In this study, field tests were completed during a "smoke school" and a 4-month monitoring program of plumes emitted from stationary sources with a Method 9 qualified observer to evaluate the use of digital photography and two computer algorithms as an alternative to Method 9. This Digital Optical Method (DOM) improves objectivity, costs less to implement than Method 9, and provides archival photographic records of the plumes. Results from "smoke school" tests indicate that DOM passed six of eight tests when the sun was located in the 140 degrees sector behind one of the three cameras, with the individual opacity errors of 15% or less and average opacity errors of 7.5% or less. DOM also passed seven of the eight tests when the sun was located in the 216 degrees sector behind another camera. However, DOM passed only one of the eight tests when the sun was located in the 116 degrees sector in front of the third camera. Certification to read plume opacity by a "smoke reader" for 6 months requires that the "smoke reader" pass one of the smoke school tests during smoke school. The average opacity errors and percentage of observations with individual opacity errors above 15% for the results obtained with DOM were lower than those obtained by the smoke school trainees with the sun was located behind the camera, whereas they were higher than the smoke school trainee results with the sun located in front of the camera. In addition, the difference between plume opacity values obtained by DOM and a Method 9 qualified observer, as measured in the field for two industrial sources, were 2.2%. These encouraging results demonstrate that DOM is able to meet Method 9 requirements under a wide variety of field conditions and, therefore, has potential to be used as an alternative to Method 9.     

The Australian Air Quality Forecasting System: the use of green scenarios of motor vehicle usage as an educational tool

The Australian Air Quality Forecasting System (AAQFS) is one of several newly emerging, high-resolution, numerical air quality forecasting systems. The system is briefly described. A public education application of the air quality impact of motor vehicle usage is explored by computing the concentration and dosage of particulate matter less than 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) for a commuter traveling to work between Geelong and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, under "business-as-usual" and "green" scenarios. This application could be routinely incorporated into systems like AAQFS. Two methodologies for calculating the dosage are described: one for operational use and one for more detailed applications. The Clean Air Research Programme-Personal Exposure Study in Melbourne provides support for this operational methodology. The more detailed methodology is illustrated using a system for predicting concentrations due to near-road emissions of PM10 and applied in Sydney.     

Nitrate reduction by fluoride green rust modified with copper

Nitrate reduction by the fluoride form of green rust modified with copper (GR-F(Cu)) was investigated using a batch reactor system. The extent of nitrate reduction was measured by measuring the increase in concentration of ammonia, which is the final product of nitrate reduction by GR. This approach was required, because nitrate could be removed from solution by ion exchange without reduction. The rate of ammonium production was investigated over the range of pH 7.8-11. The fastest reaction was achieved at pH 9 when GR was present at a concentration of 0.083M as Fe(II) and 1mM of Cu(II) was added. The rate at pH 9 was enhanced by a factor of 2.5 compared to that at pH 7.8 by comparing the time elapsed to transform all nitrate to ammonium. Kinetics of nitrate reduction by GR-F at pH 7.8 were affected by the concentration of Cu(II) added. The rate constants for ammonium production increased from 0.012 to 1.52h(-1) as Cu(II) additions increased from 0 to 2.5mM, but the reaction rate at 5mM was slightly decreased to 1.25h(-1). The mechanism of enhanced rates of nitrate reduction by addition of Cu(II) could not be fully determined in this study. However, XRD results showed that magnetite was produced in the reaction of Cu(II) and GR-F and SEM shows the production of nano-size particles which were not fully identified in this study. In addition, the concentration of Fe(II) in GR was observed to linearly decrease with concentration of Cu(II) added.