Urban Australians using recycled water for domestic non-potable use--an evaluation of the attributes price, saltiness, colour and odour using conjoint analysis

Recycled water use in urban areas is viewed as one part of the solution to Australia's water shortage. The effectiveness of policies designed to promote recycled water systems depends on the acceptance by the community of the price, colour, odour and salt content of the recycled water. In Australia and other countries, limited research has been conducted that investigates community attitudes to and willingness to pay for recycled water, especially in urban settings. Community acceptance of recycled water and the economic feasibility of such projects have not been widely evaluated, even though the long-term feasibility of many projects is dependent on such information. This paper examines the attitudes of an urban Australian community living at Mawson Lakes in South Australia, to using recycled water for non-potable domestic purposes. Conjoint analysis (CA) was used to evaluate participant's (n=136) preferences for various attributes of recycled water (colour, odour, salt content and price) for various uses (garden watering, toilet flushing and clothes washing). The analysis was used to estimate the respondent's willingness to pay (WTP) for quality increases for each of the attributes. Differences in WTP were investigated according to various demographic variables including income and education. Results indicate that for garden watering having 'low salt levels' is the most important attribute of recycled water, for clothes washing 'colourless' is the most important attribute, and for toilet flushing a 'low price' was the most important attribute. Respondents were willing to pay for increases in the quality of recycled water. The amount they were willing to pay varied depending on applied use and the attribute in question. Respondents were most willing to pay for an increase in quality of recycled water when used for clothes washing (willing to pay Australian dollars (A$) 0.07/cubic meter (m(3)) for removal of colour, A$0.065 per cubic meter for an increase in quality of recycled water from 'salty' to 'low salt,' and A$ 0.06/m(3) for removal of odour (1A$=0.75 US $ and 0.62 euro, August 24, 2005)). Segmentation of the price attribute by demographic sectors reveals that those in the higher income bracket, higher education sector, middle age group, and who are male, had a higher marginal valuation on price. The results of this study provide important information for recycled water retailers and water policy developers, helping achieve greater economic feasibility for future recycled water projects, to the satisfaction of the communities involved.     

Tetrodotoxin prevents copper-induced bradycardia in gastropod limpets

Acute exposure to waterborne copper is followed by a reduction in heart rate in gastropod limpets. In order to understand the mechanism of this effect, exposure to copper (0.25 or 0.5 mg l(-1); for 3 and 6 h) was combined with an injection of tetrodotoxin (TTX, 20 microl, 0.5 or 1 microM), a natural toxin that inhibits the propagation and transmission of impulses in excitable tissues. Experiments were performed on the Mediterranean limpet Patella caerulea, using a non-invasive method for the recording of cardiac activity. TTX did not affect the bradycardic effect of the cholinergic agonist carbachol. However, this toxin significantly antagonized the bradycardia induced by 0.25 and 0.5mg l(-1) of copper exposure and prevented the acardia observed in some limpets exposed to 0.5mg l(-1) of copper for 6h. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the inhibitory action of copper on limpet cardiac activity involves an extrinsic, cholinergic neuronal control.     

A spatially-evaluated methodology for assessing risk to a population from contaminated land

A methodology is proposed which combines quantitative probabilistic human health risk assessment and spatial statistical methods (geostatistics) to produce an assessment of risks to human health from exposure to contaminated land, in a manner which preserves the spatial distribution of risks and provides a measure of uncertainty in the assessment. Maps of soil contaminant levels, which incorporate uncertainty, are produced from sparse sample data using sequential indicator simulation. A real, age-stratified population is mapped across the contaminated area, and intake of soil contaminants by individuals is calculated probabilistically using an adaptation of the Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment (CLEA) model. An abundance of information is contained in results which can be interrogated at the population and individual level, and mapped to provide a powerful visual tool for risk managers, enabling efficient targeting of risk reduction measures to different locations.     

UNMIX modeling of ambient PM(2.5) near an interstate highway in Cincinnati, OH, USA

The "Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS)" is underway to determine if infants who are exposed to diesel engine exhaust particles are at an increased risk for atopy and atopic respiratory disorders, and to determine if this effect is magnified in a genetically at risk population. In support of this study, a methodology has been developed to allocate local traffic source contributions to ambient PM(2.5) in the Cincinnati airshed. As a first step towards this allocation, UNMIX was used to generate factors for ambient PM(2.5) at two sites near at interstate highway. Procedures adopted to collect, analyze and prepare the data sets to run UNMIX are described. The factors attributed to traffic sources were similar for the two sites. These factors were also similar to locally measured truck engine-exhaust enriched ambient profiles. The temporal variation of the factors was analyzed with clear differences observed between factors attributed to traffic sources and combustion-related regional secondary sources.     

Combined application of Triton X-100 and Sinorhizobium sp. Pb002 inoculum for the improvement of lead phytoextraction by Brassica juncea in EDTA amended soil

The process of EDTA-assisted lead phytoextraction from the Bovisa (Milan, Italy) brownfield soil was optimized in microcosms vegetated with Brassica juncea. An autochthonous plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), Sinorhizobium sp. Pb002, was isolated from the rhizosphere of B. juncea grown on the Pb-contaminated soil in presence of 2 mM EDTA. The strain was augmented (10(8) CFU g(-1) soil) in vegetated microcosms to stimulate B. juncea biomass production and, hence, its phytoextraction potential. Triton X-100 was also added to microcosms at 5 and 10 times the critical micelle concentration (cmc) to increase the permeability of root barriers to the EDTA-Pb complexes. Triton X-100 amendment determined an increase in Pb concentration within plant tissues. However it contextually exerted a phytotoxic effect. Sinorhizobium sp. Pb002 augmentation was crucial to plant survival in presence of both bioavailable lead and Triton X-100. The combination of the two treatments produced up to 56% increase in the efficiency of lead phytoextraction by B. juncea. The effects of these treatments on the structure of the soil bacterial community were evaluated by 16S rDNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE).     

Increased levels of polychlorobiphenyls in Italian women with endometriosis

Endometriosis has been hypothesised to be linked to persistent and toxic organochlorinated chemicals. Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds have in particular been associated with the disease, mainly on the basis of experimental studies. Data in women are conflicting. A case-control study on 80 Italian nulliparous women of reproductive age was carried out to assess whether there is a correlation between the presence of endometriosis and blood levels of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), a family of ubiquitary environmental pollutants which comprises congeners with dioxin-like activity. Higher levels of PCBs were found in women with endometriosis. A mean cumulative value of 410 ng g(-1), lipid base, was found in cases versus the value of 250 ng g(-1) observed in the control group (odds ratio for upper tertile 4.0, CI 95% 1.3-13; p = 0.0003). PCB increase involved both dioxin-like (PCBs 105, 118, 156, and 167) and non-dioxin-like congeners (PCBs 101, 138, 153, 170, 180).     

An analysis of cyclists’ speed at combined pedestrian and cycle paths

Abstract

Objective: In Sweden, cyclists, pedestrians, and moped riders share the space on combined pedestrian and cycle paths, and their speeds may differ greatly. Both actual speed and speed differences can potentially influence the number of accidents on the shared paths. As a starting point, this article studies the speed component and how cyclists’ speed varies at pedestrian and cycle paths depending on the day, week, and year; road user composition; and road design.

Methods: Three data sources were used: Existing measurements of cycle speed and flow in 3 different Swedish municipalities, Eskilstuna (1 site, January–December 2015), Linköping (6 sites, 4?weeks in September–October 2015), and Stockholm (10 sites, 1–5?days in August–September 2015); complementary measurements of cycle speed and flow in Linköping (4 sites, 1–10?days in August–September 2016) and Stockholm (1 site, only part of 2?days in August 2016) were also conducted within the project, in addition to roadside observations of bicycle types at the 5 new sites.

Results: The average speed of cyclists on the paths varied between 12.5 and 26.5?km/h. As expected, the lower average speeds were found in uphill directions, near intersections, and on paths with high pedestrian flows. The higher speeds were found in downhill directions and on commuter routes. In all, 70%–95% of road users observed on pedestrian and cycle paths were cyclists, and 5%–30% were pedestrians. The most common type of bicycle was a comfort bike, followed by a trekking bike. Electric-assisted bicycles and racer bikes occurred at all sites, with proportions of 1%–10% and 1%–15%, respectively. The 2 sites with the highest proportion of electric-assisted bicycles and racer bicycles also had the highest average speeds. The differences in average speed throughout the day, week, and year could only be assessed at one of the sites. Only small differences were found, with the most noticeable being that the average speed was lower in January and February (13.8?km/h) compared to the rest of the year (15.3–16.1?km/h). The average speed was also lower during daytime (14.7?km/h) than during other parts of the day (15.4–15.8?km/h).

Conclusions: The relationship between bicycle type and measured speed was not entirely clear, but the results suggest that paths with higher proportions of electric and racer bicycles have higher average speeds. There also appears to be a connection between average speed and the width of the distribution; that is, the higher the average speed, the wider the speed distribution. More research is needed on how speed levels and speed variance affect accident risk.     

Can radiation chemistry supply a highly efficient AO(R)P process for organics removal from drinking and waste water? A review

The increasing role of chemistry in industrial production and its direct and indirect impacts in everyday life create the need for continuous search and efficiency improvement of new methods for decomposition/removal of different classes of waterborne anthropogenic pollutants. This review paper addresses a highly promising class of water treatment solutions, aimed at tackling the pressing problem of emerging contaminants in natural and drinking waters and wastewater discharges. Radiation processing, a technology originating from radiation chemistry studies, has shown encouraging results in the treatment of (mainly) organic water pollution. Radiation (“high energy”) processing is an additive-free technology using short-lived reactive species formed by the radiolysis of water, both oxidative and reducing, to carry out decomposition of organic pollutants. The paper illustrates the basic principles of radiolytic treatment of organic pollutants in water and wastewaters and specifically of one of its most practical implementations (electron beam processing). Application examples, highlighting the technology’s strong points and operational conditions are described, and a discussion on the possible future of this technology follows.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and selected organochlorine pesticides in serum of Slovak population from industrial and non-industrial areas

The concentrations of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs No. 28, 52, 101, 138, 153 and 180) and organochlorine pesticides (HCB, p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDT) in 121 blood serum specimens collected from non-occupationally exposed adults living in contaminated and comparison areas were determined using high-resolution gas chromatography/electron capture detection (HRGC/ECD). The sum of the serum concentrations of the three most abundant PCB congeners (No. 138, 153 and 180) found in participants (N?=?81) living in industrial areas near incinerators, metallurgical and chemical plants (Krompachy, Kosice, Nemecka and Sala) was significantly higher (p?N?=?40). Similarly, significant differences were observed for p,p′-DDE (p?p?U test between groups showed that the difference for HCB was not statistically significant (p?=?0.089). Age was positively correlated with the sum of PCBs (No. 138, 153 and 180), HCB and the sum of p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDT (p?相似文献