Monitoring and modelling of indoor radon concentrations in a multi-storey building at Mumbai,India

Radon (Rn(222)) levels in an indoor atmosphere of a multi-storey building at Mumbai have been measured for one year covering all the four seasons. Monitoring was carried out using the time-integrated passive detector technique, using Kodak-115 type Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD) films of 2.5x2.5 cm size. Measured indoor radon levels showed a decreasing trend with height with concentration ranging from 41 Bq m(-3) at ground floor level to 15 Bq m(-3) at 19th floor level. Using the dose conversion factors, the inhalation dose due to breathing of radon gas is estimated to be 1.03 mSv y(-1) at the ground floor to 0.38 mSv y(-1) at the 19th floor level. Measured indoor radon concentrations on each floor were compared with the computed values using a mathematical model. The agreement between measured values and calculated values of indoor concentrations at different floors was very good within the limitations of various field parameter values.     

Photolysis of atrazine and ametryne herbicides in Barbados sugar cane plantation soils and water

The photodegradation kinetics of atrazine (2-chloro-6-(ethylamino)-4-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine) and ametryne (2-methylthio-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine), in fresh and coastal salt water from Barbados, were measured under irradiation with artificial solar and UV254-radiation. The first-order rate constants were greater for ametryne than for atrazine, and the rates were reduced in seawater relative to fresh water, and in soil slurries relative to fresh water. However, rates were accelerated in the presence of iron(III) at pH 3 due to photo-Fenton type processes. This rate enhancement was reduced at ambient pH values (pH 7-7.5) representative of surface water in Barbados. These results have important implications for the relative persistence of these contaminants in aquatic environments in tropical areas.     

Endosulfan transport: I. Integrative assessment of airborne and waterborne pathways

To reduce endosulfan (C9H6O3Cl6S; 6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5, 5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepin 3-oxide) contamination in rivers and waterways, it is important to know the relative significances of airborne transport pathways (including spray drift, vapor transport, and dust transport) and waterborne transport pathways (including overland and stream runoff). This work uses an integrated modeling approach to assess the absolute and relative contributions of these pathways to riverine endosulfan concentrations. The modeling framework involves two parts: a set of simple models for each transport pathway, and a model for the physical and chemical processes acting on endosulfan in river water. An averaging process is used to calculate the effects of transport pathways at the regional scale. The results show that spray drift, vapor transport, and runoff are all significant pathways. Dust transport is found to be insignificant. Spray drift and vapor transport both contribute low-level but nearly continuous inputs to the riverine endosulfan load during spraying season in a large cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)-growing area, whereas runoff provides occasional but higher inputs. These findings are supported by broad agreement between model predictions and observed typical riverine endosulfan concentrations in two rivers.     

A Paradigm of International Environmental Law: The Case for Controlling the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of “acceptable” waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community—and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.     

Simulation of cooling-water discharges from power plants

Accurate simulation of the temperature distribution in a cooling lake or reservoir is often required for feasibility studies of engineering options that increase the cooling capacity of the waterbody. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic and temperature model has been developed and applied to several cooling lakes in the south-eastern United States. In this paper, the details of the modeling system are presented, along with the application to the Flint Creek Lake.     

Exploring red deer culling strategies using a population-specific calibrated management model

Wildlife management is generally carried out under conditions of uncertainty. The exact population size is unknown, its future dynamics are uncertain and clear management objectives are often not formulated. In order to provide management advice in this situation, a framework is presented for combining different sources of information using a Bayesian approach for calibrating a management model. Harvesting strategies can then be explored based on predictions of future populations size and structure which incorporate parameter uncertainty. This method makes it possible to evaluate the probability of achieving certain objectives with different management strategies. The advantage of the approach presented in this paper lies in that both the model and the harvesting strategies are adaptable to any particular population of interest. The approach is illustrated for two Scottish red deer populations for which culling strategies corresponding to different management objectives are explored and their benefits evaluated. It is found that each population requires different culling rates for keeping population number stable, demonstrating the benefits of the population specific calibration of the management model.     

Simulation of Live and Dead Phytomass Formation and Transformation in Optimized Agrocenoses

The formation and transformation of live and dead phytomass in agrocenoses with a complex horizontal structure are described. These processes are demonstrated to be specific and to be determined by differences in the horizontal structure. Only agrocenoses of a mosaic structure (with square parcels) have optimal conditions for these processes.     

On Methods for Analyzing Ecotones of Forest Margins

A simple method for the quantitative gradient analysis of a xerotermic forest-margin ecotone is described. In this method, the mean value of the coefficient of similarity between all plots of the transect is used for estimating the rate of changes in species composition. Changes in the phytosociological spectrum are analyzed. The method adequately reflects trends in the displacement of forest species by forest-margin, steppe, and meadow species.     

Lightning Fires in a Brazilian Savanna National Park: Rethinking Management Strategies

Fire occurrences and their sources were monitored in Emas National Park, Brazil (17°49′–18°28′S; 52°39′–53°10′W) from June 1995 to May 1999. The extent of burned area and weather conditions were registered. Forty-five fires were recorded and mapped on a GIS during this study. Four fires occurred in the dry winter season (June–August; 7,942 ha burned), all caused by humans; 10 fires occurred in the seasonally transitional months (May and September) (33,386 ha burned); 31 fires occurred in the wet season, of which 30 were caused by lightning inside the park (29,326 ha burned), and one started outside the park (866 ha burned). Wet season lightning fires started in the open vegetation (wet field or grassy savanna) at a flat plateau, an area that showed significantly higher fire incidence. On average, winter fires burned larger areas and spread more quickly, compared to lightning fires, and fire suppression was necessary to extinguish them. Most lightning fires were patchy and extinguished primarily by rain. Lightning fires in the wet season, previously considered unimportant episodes, were shown to be very frequent and probably represent the natural fire pattern in the region. Lightning fires should be regarded as ecologically beneficial, as they create natural barriers to the spread of winter fires. The present fire management in the park is based on the burning of preventive firebreaks in the dry season and exclusion of any other fire. This policy does not take advantage of the beneficial effects of the natural fire regime and may in fact reduce biodiversity. The results presented here stress the need for reevaluating present policies and management procedures concerning fire in cerrado conservation areas.     

Application of a stochastic, Weibull probability generator for replacing missing data on ambient concentrations of gaseous pollutants

A stochastic, three-parameter, Weibull frequency distribution, probability generator was tested by using theoretical data. Subsequently, it was applied to replace missing values of hourly atmospheric concentrations of trace gases that were continuously monitored at three study sites, for 2 years. The results were highly accurate and realistic. The cumulative means and the medians calculated by the Weibull method were intermediate between corresponding values calculated by uniform substitution of missing values with 'zero' or with half of the minimum detection limit of the appropriate measurement instrument used. Furthermore, the Weibull method allowed the replacement of as many as 100 missing values on either side of a measured data sub-set, without altering the overall characteristics of the true frequency distribution of the entire data set.