Radon emissions from natural gas power plants at The Pennsylvania State University

Burning natural gas in power plants may emit radon (²²²Rn) into the atmosphere. On the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University, atmospheric radon enhancements were measured and modeled in the vicinity of their two power plants. The three-part study first involved measuring ambient outdoor radon concentrations from August 2014 through January 2015 at four sites upwind and downwind of the power plants at distances ranging from 80 m to 310 m. For each plant, one site served as a background site, while three other sites measured radon concentration enhancements downwind. Second, the radon content of natural gas flowing into the power plant was measured, and third, a plume dispersion model was used to predict the radon concentrations downwind of the power plants. These predictions are compared to the measured downwind enhancements in radon to determine whether the observed radon concentration enhancements could be attributed to the power plants’ emissions. Atmospheric radon concentrations were consistently low as compared to the EPA action level of 148 Bq m^?3, averaging 34.5 ± 2.7 Bq m^?3 around the East Campus Steam Plant (ECSP) and 31.6 ± 2.7 Bq m^?3 around the West Campus Steam Plant (WCSP). Significant concentrations of radon, ranging from 516 to 1,240 Bq m^?3, were detected in the natural gas. The measured enhancements downwind of the ECSP averaged 6.2 Bq m^?3 compared to modeled enhancements of 0.08 Bq m^?3. Measured enhancements around the WCSP averaged ?0.2 Bq m^?3 compared to the modeled enhancements of 0.05 Bq m^?3, which were not significant compared to observational error. The comparison of the measured to modeled downwind radon enhancements shows no correlation over time. The measurements of radon levels in the vicinity of the power plants appear to be unaffected by the emissions from the power plants.

Implications: Radon measurements at sites surrounding power plants that utilize natural gas did not indicate that the radon concentrations originated from the plants’ emissions. There were elevated radon concentrations in the natural gas supply flowing into the power plants, but combustion dilution puts the concentration below EPA action levels coming out of the stack, so no hazardous levels were expected downwind. Power plant combustion of natural gas is not likely to pose a radiation health hazard unless very different gas radon concentrations or combustion dilution ratios are encountered.     

Characteristics of stone moroko population dynamics at different stages of naturalization in lake- and steam-type Dnieper reservoirs

The probable source of stone moroko, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846), populations in lake- and stream-type Dnieper reservoirs was revealed. The dynamics and specific growth rates of these populations over 20 years were analyzed. The dynamic phase portrait method was used to determine the timing of stages in the process of invader naturalization and the periods when its populations were in equilibrium. The potential growth rates of P. parva populations in the Kremenchug and Dneprodzerzhinsk reservoirs were estimated.     

Does social justice knowledge matter? Education for sustainable development and student attitudes

Recent conjecture on the potential primacy of physical environmental components in education for sustainable development (ESD) efforts serves to question the centrality of social justice education as a component of ESD. This research explores a sustainable development student’s basic knowledge of social justice conditions in their country of residence and its relationships to policy attitudes that should be of importance to ESD, including beliefs about the importance of corporate social responsibility, their endorsement of gross national product as an effective measure of progress, their overall assessment of the social fairness of current national social justice policy, and their endorsement of the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Results obtained using path-model hypothesis testing indicate that accuracy of knowledge of US standing on social justice issues is significantly related to these policy attitudes, providing support for social justice content in ESD endeavors to create students empowered for engagement in broader policy goals.     

Assessing and managing intensification in smallholder dairy systems for food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smallholder farmers play an important part in the dairy value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three technological approaches have been used to improve productivity. These are through, applying agricultural ecological processes (ecological intensification), utilising modern livestock breeding (genetic intensification), and socio-economic intensification. Ecological intensification includes continuous housing of cows applying a cut-and-carry feeding system, introduction of purpose-bred forages and pastures, and the introduction of agro-forestry within the dairy systems. Genetic intensification strategies include: importation of dairy breeds such as Holstein–Friesian (HF) and cross-breeding of the indigenous breeds with HF. Training and capacity-building activities to create sustainable livelihoods have been initiated for farming and technological practices of animal husbandry, but also to enhance appropriate leadership and corporative-building skills that would create and support an enabling environment for sustainability. These improvements and initiatives in the service delivery have been championed by national governments, development partner institutions, or non-governmental organisations through different programmes. Challenges of intensification include matching management to genetic potential of imported and cross-bred improved dairy breeds, ensuring low post-harvest losses, proper utilisation, and reducing environmental impact. Using examples from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, this paper reviews the management and assessment approaches used in fostering smallholder dairy development strategies and dairy’s contribution to sustainable livelihoods in the face of intensification.     

A review of vulnerability indicators for deltaic social–ecological systems

The sustainability of deltas worldwide is under threat due to the consequences of global environmental change (including climate change) and human interventions in deltaic landscapes. Understanding these systems is becoming increasingly important to assess threats to and opportunities for long-term sustainable development. Here, we propose a simplified, yet inclusive social–ecological system (SES)-centered risk and vulnerability framework and a list of indicators proven to be useful in past delta assessments. In total, 236 indicators were identified through a structured review of peer-reviewed literature performed for three globally relevant deltas—the Mekong, the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna and the Amazon. These are meant to serve as a preliminary “library” of potential indicators to be used for future vulnerability assessments. Based on the reviewed studies, we identified disparities in the availability of indicators to populate some of the vulnerability domains of the proposed framework, as comprehensive social–ecological assessments were seldom implemented in the past. Even in assessments explicitly aiming to capture both the social and the ecological system, there were many more indicators for social susceptibility and coping/adaptive capacities as compared to those relevant for characterizing ecosystem susceptibility or robustness. Moreover, there is a lack of multi-hazard approaches accounting for the specific vulnerability profile of sub-delta areas. We advocate for more comprehensive, truly social–ecological assessments which respond to multi-hazard settings and recognize within-delta differences in vulnerability and risk. Such assessments could make use of the proposed framework and list of indicators as a starting point and amend it with new indicators that would allow capturing the complexity as well as the multi-hazard exposure in a typical delta SES.     

Framing for resilience through social learning: impacts of environmental stewardship on youth in post-disturbance communities

Civic ecology practices, such as community gardening and citizen-led urban reforestation and wetland restoration, provide opportunities for social learning. Because social learning is an important component of community resilience, we suggest that civic ecology practices can be a strategy for responding to and mitigating environmental disturbances in an era threatened by climate change. Despite the links between civic ecology, social learning and community resilience, empirical research that systematically considers these connections is limited. This study addresses this gap by introducing ‘frames’ as an approach to considering social learning outcomes and process. More specifically, we provide a model for investigating the role civic ecology education programs play in shaping youths’ capacity to understand and respond to environmental disturbance. We used participant observation and cognitive mapping to assess social learning among three youth restoration programs working in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in New York, NY, and after the 2013 floods in Boulder, CO. In all three programs, youth demonstrated social learning and cognitive change by shifting their emphasis from the impacts of disturbance towards a solutions-based framing that focused on community, action, and mitigation. However, the depth of these changes was not uniform across all programs, suggesting that variations in program length, community context, social identity, and opportunities for self-defined action may shape overall impacts of programs and youth capacity for future action.     

The current state of knowledge of ecosystems and ecosystem services in Russia: A status report

This paper focusses on a conceptual overview of ways to address a comprehensive analysis of ecosystem services (ES) in a country as large and heterogeneous as Russia. As a first step, a methodology for assessing the services for the federal subjects of Russia was chosen, i.e., its constituent provinces and similar entities, in physical terms. Russia harbors a great diversity of natural conditions and ecosystems which are suppliers of ES, and likewise a variety of the socio-economic conditions that shape the demand for these services and their consumption. The methodological approach described permits several important tasks to be addressed: the evaluation of the degree of satisfaction of people’s needs for ES, the identification of ecological donor and acceptor regions, and zoning of the country’s territory for ES assessment. The next step is to prepare a prototype of a National Report on ES in Russia, for which we are presenting the planned structure.     

Enhanced science–stakeholder communication to improve ecosystem model performances for climate change impact assessments

In recent years, climate impact assessments of relevance to the agricultural and forestry sectors have received considerable attention. Current ecosystem models commonly capture the effect of a warmer climate on biomass production, but they rarely sufficiently capture potential losses caused by pests, pathogens and extreme weather events. In addition, alternative management regimes may not be integrated in the models. A way to improve the quality of climate impact assessments is to increase the science–stakeholder collaboration, and in a two-way dialog link empirical experience and impact modelling with policy and strategies for sustainable management. In this paper we give a brief overview of different ecosystem modelling methods, discuss how to include ecological and management aspects, and highlight the importance of science–stakeholder communication. By this, we hope to stimulate a discussion among the science–stakeholder communities on how to quantify the potential for climate change adaptation by improving the realism in the models.     

Risk Assessment of 26 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Compounds in Parkıng Garages

The aim of this study was to determine the level of 26 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at parking garages and to provide the necessary annual information based on occupational inhalation exposure and non-occupational inhalation exposure, which carry risks for the environment. For this purpose, 22 samples were collected continuously from both gas and particulates phase PAHs from two parking garages at Konya City Center, Turkey. The exposure-based risk of these samples was evaluated using concentrations of the carcinogenic PAH compounds. None of the 26 PAHs measured had values exceeding the recommended exposure limits (RELs) standard values for inhalation rate recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Exposure levels of gas and particulate PAHs for the occupational group and the public (children and adults who spend time in shopping centers) were found to be 0.07–28.24 μgm^?3 and 0.05–5.753 μgm^?3, respectively, representing levels two to four times higher than those at the control site. Maximum daily inhalation of B[a]Py was estimated at 1.33 ngd^?1 for exposure of the public and as 274 ngd^?1 for the occupational group. It is believed that traffic makes a substantial contribution to the PAH profile, which had relatively high concentrations of naphthalene (Napth) and coronene (Coro). Highly carcinogenic dibenzo(a,l)pyrene (B[al]Pyre) was found in the ambient air at two parking garages. Napth and phenanthrene (Phen) were the main compounds found in nearly all the tested samples. In this study, benzo[e]pyrene (B[e]Py) was used as a reference for PAHs because its concentration is stable and does not change seasonally. Considering the importance of these compounds in relation to human health, the aim of this work was to characterize and quantify the more toxic PAHs in parking garages. Conducting PAH sampling and their chemical analysis is very costly and labor intensive. This study produced data that can be a powerful tool for environmental forensics.     

Production of new concrete with leather tannery waste used as partial replacement of the natural sand

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Leather production is a technology that boosts the economy because of its versatility and durability. However, the wastes generated throughout the...