‘Reserves’ as a leading indicator to future mineral production

The factors which influence the size and value of mineral reserves are discussed and an example is given of a more rigorous system for measuring supplies of non-renewable resources.The extent to which reserves and resources of minerals can be used as leading indicators of future mineral production is examined and examples of the dangers of over-reliance on this factor are described.Key aspects, such as confidence limits, differences in the economic exploitability, the dynamic nature of reserves, and their variability in grade, are examined in some detail using the South African coal industry as an example.     

Environmental chemistry of PCB-replacement compounds - VI - composition and metabolism of Wemcol ®, an isopropylbiphenyl formulation

Wemcol is a technical isopropylbiphenyl formulation that is used as a substitute for polychlorobiphenyl. According to the producer Wemcol is 4-isopropylbiphenyl, but we found our sample to consist of 60.3% 3-isopropylbiphenyl, 38.6% 4-isopropylbiphenyl and 3,5-, 3,3′-, 3,4′- and 4,4′-diisopropylbiphenyl in amounts of 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. The two major components of the mixture are metabolized in the rat by two routes : oxidation of the isopropyl group and hydroxylation of the aromatic nuclei. Rats fed the technical mixture retained 3- and 4-isopropylbiphenyl in a ratio 4.3 : 1 in their abdominal fat, whilst the ratio in the mixture is 1.6 : 1. One week after the simultaneous feeding of equal amounts of Wemcol, 4,4′-dichlorobiphenyl, 2,4′,5-trichlorobiphenyl and 2,2′,5,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl, the isopropylbiphenyls, in contrast to the chlorobiphenyls, could no longer be detected in the abdominal fat of rats.     

SEWAGE DISCHARGES FROM SHIPS TRANSITING COASTAL SALT WATERS1

ABSTRACT: A number of aspects of the discharging of non-oily wastewaters by transiting ships are treated in this overview paper. In the introduction, options to discharging (the use of holding tank, on board treatment) and the impact of changing regulations are discussed. Assessment of the effects of sewage discharges on coastal waters required that data, at first not available, be generated. An account is given of the characterization of Navy shipboard wastewaters and of experiments involving sewage discharges at sea, measurements of water quality before, during and after an amphibious operation, and fore and aft of transitting Navy ships. A better understanding of sewage dilution after discharge led to the verification of a method for controlled discharging of sewage (and other wastewaters). This method permits limiting the coliform bacteria count in the ship's wake to values below acceptable limits. The final sections contain information on long range effects of ships’sewage discharges, obtained in studies by the U.S. Navy and others, as well as public health considerations.     

An Automated Wet Deposition System to Compare the Effects of Reduced and Oxidised N on Ombrotrophic Bog Species: Practical Considerations

Critical N loads for ombrotrophic bogs, which often contain rare and N-sensitive plants (especially those in lower plant groups: lichens, mosses and liverworts), are based on very few experimental data from measured, low background N deposition areas. Additionally the relative effects of reduced versus oxidised N are largely unknown. This paper describes an automated field exposure system (30 km S. of Edinburgh, Scotland) for treating ombrotrophic bog vegetation with fine droplets of oxidised N (NaNO₃) and reduced N (NH₄Cl). Whim Moss exists in an area of low ambient N deposition (ca. 8 kg N ha^–1 y^–1), the sources and quantification of which are described. The wet N treatment system is run continuously, and is controlled/activated by wind speed and rainfall to provide a unique simulation of real world treatment patterns (no rain=no treatment). Simulated precipitation is supplied at ionic concentrations below4mMin rainwater collected on site. Treatments provide a replicated dose response to 16, 32 and 64 kg N ha^–1 y^–1 adjusted for ambient deposition (8 kg N ha^–1 y^–1). The 16 and 64 kg N ha^–1 y^–1 are duplicated with a P+K supplement. Baseline soil chemistry and foliar nutrient status was established for all 44 plots for Calluna vulgaris, Sphagnum capillifolium, Hypnum jutlandicum and Cladonia portentosa.