Emission factors of air toxics from semiconductor manufacturing in Korea

The development of local, accurate emission factors is very important for the estimation of reliable national emissions and air quality management. For that, this study is performed for pollutants released to the atmosphere with source-specific emission tests from the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The semiconductor manufacturing industry is one of the major sources of air toxics or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs); thus, understanding the emission characteristics of the emission source is a very important factor in the development of a control strategy. However, in Korea, there is a general lack of information available on air emissions from the semiconductor industry. The major emission sources of air toxics examined from the semiconductor manufacturing industry were wet chemical stations, coating applications, gaseous operations, photolithography, and miscellaneous devices in the wafer fabrication and semiconductor packaging processes. In this study, analyses of emission characteristics, and the estimations of emission data and factors for air toxics, such as acids, bases, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds from the semiconductor manufacturing process have been performed. The concentration of hydrogen chloride from the packaging process was the highest among all of the processes. In addition, the emission factor of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) for the packaging process was higher than that of the wafer fabrication process. Emission factors estimated in this study were compared with those of Taiwan for evaluation, and they were found to be of similar level in the case of TVOCs and fluorine compounds.     

Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city markets in Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meat eaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State of Amazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With these data, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We then scaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an average of 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by a family member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles (23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated with the proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality (administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat might be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person per year. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figure is comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in central Amazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies that allow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting.     

Effects of temperature on oocyte growth in the Mediterranean terebellid Eupolymnia nuebulosa (Annelida: Polychaeta)

Eupolymnia nebulosa (Montagu) is a widely distributed terebellid polychaete that builds its tubes on the coastal shelf in areas with mixed soft and hard bottoms. From a long-term survey in the Bay of Banyuls, France (NW Mediterranean), we found an advancement of the timing of the spawning period coincident with a delayed breakdown of the thermocline. We postulate that persistent high temperatures can influence gamete development by stimulating oocyte growth, resulting in earlier spawning. During 1992 and 1993, we used a between-individuals experimental approach to assess the possible effect of temperature on oocyte growth based on: (1) determination of the growing fraction of the oocyte population (i.e. oocyte net growth); (2) identification of differences in oocyte growth-rate among females; (3) comparison of non-significantly different size-distributions of the growing oocyte fraction (net oocyte size-distributions) at the beginning of the experiments with those at the end. No effect of temperature on oocyte growth was detectable at the population level, but a positive individual response to prolonged high temperature was evident. Thus, the lack of a significant response by the population to prolonged high temperature does not imply a lack of individual response. We propose a model of oocyte-growth dynamics based on temperature that incorporates previous observations of extended oogenesis and oocyte growth during periods of both increasing and decreasing temperature and on the scattered pattern of oocyte size-distributions at the onset of spawning. Received: 4 November 1996 / Accepted: 18 January 1997     

Microwave process for volatile organic compound abatement

The CHA Corporation has completed the U.S. Air Force Phase II Small Business Innovation Research program to investigate the feasibility of using a novel microwave-based process for the removal and destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in effluents from noncombustion sources, such as paint booth ventilation streams. Removal of solvents by adsorption, followed by the regeneration of saturated granular activated carbon (GAC) by microwave energy, was achieved in a single fixed-bed reactor. Microwave regeneration of the fixed-bed-saturated carbon restored the original GAC adsorption capacity. After 20 adsorption/regeneration cycles, the adsorption capacity dropped from 13.5 g methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)/100 g GAC to 12.5 g MEK/100 g GAC. During microwave regeneration of the GAC fixed bed, the concentrated desorbed paint solvent was oxidized by passing the solvent mixture through a fixed bed of an oxidation catalyst mixed with silicon carbide in a microwave reactor. A 98% oxidation efficiency was consistently achieved from the oxidation of VOCs in the microwave catalytic reactor.     

Microwave regeneration of activated carbon used for removal of solvents from vented air

A microwave regeneration of activated carbon used to remove organic solvents from vented air has been investigated. Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, and tetrachloroethylene (TCE) vapors were removed from vented air through adsorption onto granular activated carbon. The saturated carbon was then regenerated in a microwave field, where the solvent was quickly desorbed and recovered from the inner pores of the carbon granules. The microwave-induced regeneration restored the original adsorption capacity and surface area of the activated carbon.     

Characteristics of biotic and abiotic removals of dissolved organic carbon in wastewater effluents using soil batch reactors.

Biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) analyses and abiotic adsorption of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from different wastewater effluent were conducted to evaluate biotic and abiotic removal mechanisms as a function of the initial DOC concentration and source of DOC using soil batch reactors. To obtain high DOC concentrations, a laboratory-scale reverse osmosis unit was used. It was found that BDOC fraction was independent of the initial DOC concentration and was dependent on the source of wastewater and/or the types of wastewater treatment. The BDOC fractions varied from 9 to 73%. Trickling filter effluent (Tucson, Arizona) showed the highest BDOC, ranging from 65 to 73% biodegradable, while wastewater treated by the soil aquifer treatment (SAT) (NW-4) was found to be most refractory, with DOC removals of 9 to 14%. For nitrified/denitrified tertiary effluent (Mesa, Arizona) and secondary effluent (Scottsdale, Arizona), 36 to 42% removal of DOC was observed during the BDOC test. The amount of BDOC in the wastewater depended not on the concentration of DOC, but on the effectiveness of pretreatment. Abiotic adsorption capacity of wastewater effluent varied from 6 to 18%. Molecular weight distribution analyses showed that more than 50% of DOC in the Scottsdale concentrate had a molecular weight of less than 1000 Da, and no significant change in distribution profiles occurred after approximately 12% abiotic adsorption with both soils with acclimated microorganisms (SAT soil) and soils without acclimated microorganisms (non-SAT soils). Hence, preferential adsorption was not observed and the presence of acclimated microbes did not influence adsorption.     

某水源地四氯化碳人体健康风险评价动态分析

四氯化碳是地下水中常见的有机污染物,文章针对某市南区供水水源地岩溶地下水遭受四氯化碳污染的情况,对供水区人群通过食入和皮肤接触四氯化碳从而对人体健康可能造成的影响进行了风险评价,并分析了该地区多年来健康风险的动态变化。结果显示从2001～2007年供水区人群风险指数整体呈下降趋势,四氯化碳污染所带来的健康危害逐渐减弱。距污染源最近的X-49井是存在风险最大的水井,非致癌指数最高为10.2,致癌指数最高为5.29×10-4,均超过规定标准。     

Evaluation of the relationship between two different methods for enumeration fecal indicator bacteria： Colony-forming unit and most probable number

Most probable number (MPN) and colony-forming unit (CFU) estimates of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentration are common measures of water quality in aquatic environments. Thus, FIB intensively monitored in Yeongsan Watershed in an attempt to compare two di erent methods and to develop a statistical model to convert from CFU to MPN estimates or vice versa. As a result, the significant di erence was found in the MPN and CFU estimates. The enumerated Escherichia coli concentrations in MPN are greater than those in CFU, except for the measurement in winter. Especially in fall, E. coli concentrations in MPN are one order of magnitude greater than that in CFU. Contrarily, enterococci bacteria in MPN are lower than those in CFU. However, in general, a strongly positive relationship are found between MPN and CFU estimates. Therefore, the statistical models were developed, and showed the reasonable converting FIB concentrations from CFU estimates to MPN estimates. We expect this study will provide preliminary information towards future research on whether di erent analysis methods may result in di erent water quality standard violation frequencies for the same water sample.     

Does hedgerow management on organic farms benefit small mammal populations?

Organic farming is a whole-farm management approach believed to encourage biodiversity by excluding the input of agrochemicals and introducing specific management regimes for non-crop habitats. We examined the impact of the hedgerow management regime encouraged for organic farms on small mammal populations, since small mammal numbers influence a range of species at higher trophic levels and, in particular, are key to the conservation of a range of mammalian and avian predators. We compared differences in management and structure of non-crop habitats at the farm-scale between organic and conventional farms, and used within-farm variations in hedgerow size to predict the effect of hedgerow size on small mammals on both farm types. There were no significant differences in the proportion of non-crop habitats between organic and conventional farms, although management differences produced larger hedgerows on organic farms and greater diversity of hedgerow growth stages. However, a difference in hedgerow size between the farm types did not have a significant effect on small mammal abundance or diversity. We conclude that increased hedgerow size is not benefiting small mammal populations on organic farms: significant gains in small mammal numbers may be more effectively achieved by increasing the area of non-crop habitats rather than by improving management regimes.     

Vertical infiltration of fuel oil hydrocarbons in an agricultural soil

The influence of rainfall, air temperature and soil moisture on the vertical mobility in the soil of fuel oil hydrocarbons (HC) was investigated in a field experiment. A controlled spreading of fuel oil (nC10‐nC25) was performed at a rate of 5 L HCm^‐2 on an agricultural soil in summer and in winter. Concentration, chemical composition of HC and soil moisture were regularly determined at different soil depths between 0 and 140 cm, 1 h, 3, 8and 15 days (d) after the spreading of oil. Sorption of hydrocarbons onto the organo‐mineral matrix of the soil was studied in laboratory experiments. The results showed that in summer, with an air temperature of 24°C and without water leaching in the soil profile, 65% of the initial HC remained trapped in the 0–140 cm soil layer, about 20% of the HC volatilized and around 15% migrated deeper. A vertical selective migration of the lightest (nC10‐nC15) HC (naphthas) was shown lSd after the spreading of fuel oil. Naphthas progressively reached the 120–140 cm soil layers whereas the heavy fractions of oil (nC17‐nC25) migrated and concentrated in the 0–60 cm soil layers. In winter, when soil was regularly watered by rainfalls and at low air temperatures, only 47% of the initial HC remained in the 0–140 cm profile after 15 d. A fast vertical infiltration of naphthas occurred within the first 3 d. After 15 d, all HC were detected in the same relative amounts as in the initial oil in the whole profile. Volatilization was negligible in winter and an increase in the migration of total oil at depth in the soil profile was shown. As inferred from the laboratory experiments, the high soil moisture led to the decrease in HC sorption on the organo‐mineral matter of the soil.