Does the environmental inequality matter? A literature review

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The environmental inequality theory reveals that the risk of environmental pollution exposure varies among regions and groups and that particular groups face...     

Inter-comparisons of VOC oxidation mechanisms based on box model: A focus on OH reactivity

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) oxidation processes play a very important role in atmospheric chemistry, and the chemical reactions are expressed in various manners in chemical mechanisms. To gain an improved understanding of VOCs evolution during oxidation processes and evaluate the discrepancies of VOCs oxidation schemes among different mechanisms, we used the total VOC reactivity as a diagnostic and evaluated tool to explore the differences for six widely used chemical mechanisms. We compared the total VOC reactivity evolution under high-NO_x conditions for several sets of precursors, including n-pentane, toluene, ethene, isoprene and a mixture of 57 Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) species in a 0-D photochemical box model. Inter-comparison of total VOC reactivity of individual precursor simulations showed discrepancies to different extent of the oxidation schemes among the studied mechanisms, which are mainly attributed to the different lumping approaches for organic species. The PAMS simulation showed smaller discrepancy than individual precursor cases in terms of total VOC reactivity. SAPRC07 and RACM2 performances are found to better match the MCM for simulation of total VOC reactivity. Evidences suggest that the performance in simulating secondary organic products, OH concentrations and NO_x concentrations are related to the OH reactivity discrepancies among various chemical mechanisms. Information in this study can be used in selection of chemical mechanisms to better model OH reactivity in different environments. The results in this study also provide directions to further improve the ability in modelling total VOC reactivity with the chemical mechanisms.     

Potential lung carcinogenicity induced by chronic exposure to PM2.5 in the rat

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may increase lung cancer risk, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This study explored...     

Environmental impact assessment on the construction and operation of municipal solid waste sanitary landfills in developing countries: China case study

An inventory of material and energy consumption during the construction and operation (C&O) of a typical sanitary landfill site in China was calculated based on Chinese industrial standards for landfill management and design reports. The environmental impacts of landfill C&O were evaluated through life cycle assessment (LCA). The amounts of materials and energy used during this type of undertaking in China are comparable to those in developed countries, except that the consumption of concrete and asphalt is significantly higher in China. A comparison of the normalized impact potential between landfill C&O and the total landfilling technology implies that the contribution of C&O to overall landfill emissions is not negligible. The non-toxic impacts induced by C&O can be attributed mainly to the consumption of diesel used for daily operation, while the toxic impacts are primarily due to the use of mineral materials. To test the influences of different landfill C&O approaches on environmental impacts, six baseline alternatives were assessed through sensitivity analysis. If geomembranes and geonets were utilized to replace daily and intermediate soil covers and gravel drainage systems, respectively, the environmental burdens of C&O could be mitigated by between 2% and 27%. During the LCA of landfill C&O, the research scope or system boundary has to be declared when referring to material consumption values taken from the literature; for example, the misapplication of data could lead to an underestimation of diesel consumption by 60–80%.     

Vertical diversity of sediment bacterial communities in two different trophic states of the eutrophic Lake Taihu, China

Vertical diversity of sediment bacterial communities in 2 different trophic states (macrophyte-dominated and algae-dominated) of the large shallow eutrophic Lake Taihu, China, were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Clustering analysis of DGGE profiles showed that different clusters were recognized in different depths of sediment cores in the 2 lake trophic states. Analyses of the bacterial diversity, as estimated by the Shannon index (H'), showed that different sediment layers of the macrophyte-dominated state had higher diversity than the algae-dominated state. In addition, bacterial diversity of the sediment in the macrophyte-dominated state changed abruptly throughout the layers, but bacterial diversity of the algae-dominated state decreased gradually with sediment depth. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum in the middle sediment of the 2 lake trophic states. In the macrophyte-dominated state, clone sequences related to Betaproteobacteria (50.0%) were the most abundant, followed by Epsilonproteobacteria (21.1%), Acidobacteria (7.9%), Deltaproteobacteria (7.9%), Chloroflexi (7.9%), and Bacteroidetes (5.3%); whereas in the algae-dominated state, sequences affiliated with Betaproteobacteria (84.4%) were predominant, followed by Deltaproteobacteria (12.5%) and Acidobacteria (3.1%). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that organic matter and pH play key roles in driving the vertical changes of bacterial community composition.     

油田集油站泵房噪声的治理

通过对油田集油站泵房噪声污染现状及来源分析,提出噪声治理方案。经过噪声治理,集油站电机噪声平均降低至84dB(A),值班室噪声降低至58dB(A),达到GBJ 87-85《工业企业噪声控制设计规范》中的要求,治理后的降噪效果明显。     

Have international remittance inflows degraded environmental quality? A carbon emission mitigation analysis for Ghana

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Despite the considerable contributions of remittances to households and economic advancements, their environmental implications have received little...     

Assessment of organic contamination along the coast of Laizhou Bay,China: chemical analysis and integrated biomarker responses in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum

An investigative biomonitoring study was conducted along the coastal area of Laizhou Bay (China) to evaluate the impact of organic pollution on the clam Ruditapes philippinarum using bioaccumulation and multi-biomarker measurements. In addition, the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and nonylphenol (NP) content in surface sediment at the study sites were also analyzed. Concentrations of PCBs, TPHs and NP in the sediments of the study area were 1.90 ± 0.10 μg kg^?1, 39.55 ± 2.42 mg kg^?1, 9.23 ± 0.41 μg kg^?1 dry weight, respectively, while the organic contaminants in the soft tissues of R. philippinarum were 14.81 ± 0.96 μg kg^?1 for PCBs, 165.87 ± 5.03 mg kg^?1 for TPHs and 86.16 ± 5.29 μg kg^?1 for NP. Linear regression analysis on the levels of organic pollutants accumulated in R. philippinarum and in sediments showed no significant correlation. Multi-biomarkers including superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, total glutathione and lipid peroxidation were assayed in gills and digestive glands of R. philippinarum. Finally, the biomarkers in gills were selected to calculate the Integrated Biomarker Response (IBR) index and to evaluate the impact of the three organic contaminants on R. philippinarum collected from different sites. According to IBR results, the western coast and eastern coast exhibited higher environmental stress than the sampling sites along the southern coast of Laizhou Bay. Significant correlation was found between the level of organic contaminants in the sediments and IBR whereas no dependence was found between pollutants’ concentrations in sediments and separate biomarker responses. The results showed that PCBs and NP were the main organic pollutants among the three studied which have caused pollution pressure on R. philippinarum in Laizhou Bay coastal area.

     

The effects of polyethersulfone and Nylon 6 micromembrane filters on the pyraclostrobin detection: adsorption performance and mechanism

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Adsorption of test substances on micromembrane filters during sample pretreatment before qualitative and quantitative analysis has greatly affected...