Correlation of indoor radon concentration to commonly available geologic data

Over the last several years, the inhalation of decay products coming from radon-222 has become a national health concern. It is estimated that somewhere between 16,000 and 20,000 people die annually in the United States from lung cancer due to exposure to these decay products. Nationwide, 95% of all homes have not been tested for radon, and so it would seem that any methodology that could give a general idea of indoor radon concentrations (without actually testing the house itself) might be useful. While not intended to replace a radon test, which is both simple and inexpensive, our project attempts to predict indoor radon concentrations based on easily obtainable information from Soil Conservation Service county soil surveys and US Geological Survey surficial geology maps. We have chosen four parameters: soil permeability, surficial geology, soil shrink-swell potential, and distance to the nearest geologic fault. Of these four variables, surficial geology and distance to fault correlated well to winter indoor radon concentrations as measured by short-term (48-h) tests. While it is understood that there are limits to this methodology, primarily because of map scale problems, the correlations mentioned above were very strong and suggest further study would be useful.     

Information Management System for Site Remediation Efforts

/ Environmental regulatory agencies are responsible for protecting human health and the environment in their constituencies. Their responsibilities include the identification, evaluation, and cleanup of contaminated sites. Leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) constitute a major source of subsurface and groundwater contamination. A significant portion of a regulatory body's efforts may be directed toward the management of UST-contaminated sites. In order to manage remedial sites effectively, vast quantities of information must be maintained, including analytical dataon chemical contaminants, remedial design features, and performance details. Currently, most regulatory agencies maintain such information manually. This makes it difficult to manage the data effectively. Some agencies have introduced automated record-keeping systems. However, the ad hoc approach in these endeavors makes it difficult to efficiently analyze, disseminate, and utilize the data. This paper identifies the information requirements for UST-contaminated site management at the Waste Cleanup Section of the Department of Environmental Resources Management in Dade County, Florida. It presents a viable design for an information management system to meet these requirements. The proposed solution is based on a back-end relational database management system with relevant tools for sophisticated data analysis and data mining. The database is designed with all tables in the third normal form to ensure data integrity, flexible access, and efficient query processing. In addition to all standard reports required by the agency, the system provides answers to ad hoc queries that are typically difficult to answer under the existing system. The database also serves as a repository of information for a decision support system to aid engineering design and risk analysis. The system may be integrated with a geographic information system for effective presentation and dissemination of spatial data.     

Agricultural Land Use in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: An Assessment of an Agri-environmental Policy Measure

The agri-environmental measures included in European Union regulation 1257/99 encourage agricultural methods designed to protect the environment and maintain the countryside. The option of such environmentally favourable management of farming round a sensitive ecosystem including two lakes is examined. A multi-objective programming model is used to assess the cost of reducing the use of agrochemicals by changing the pattern of cropping alone. The solution shows that a substantial reduction in the use of agrochemicals can be achieved, if the support scheme provided for in this regulation can offset income loss due to reduced agrochemical use. The proposed aid results in a substantial reduction in the use of fungicides and insecticides, which are the most noxious agrochemicals.     

Labelling ecofriendly products in india — an emerging option for environmental production

Summary The labelling of ecofriendly products has been introduced in a number of developed countries to assist in the protection of the environment. Recently, developing countries like India, have introduced the scheme. This paper examines the steps involved in establishing the Indian Ecomark. For the successful implementation of the scheme the effective coordination of a number of agencies is necessary. Consumers, as well as manufacturers, have to be educated in the longterm benefits of the scheme. Initiatives necessary for the successful implementation of Ecomark have been highlighted.Mr S. S. Arvind is a member of faculty at the Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology, at the Administrative Staff College of India. He is currently on secondment to the Centre for Technology Development, Clark University, 950, Main Street, Worcester MA 01610-1477, USA. Mr E.V. Muley is a scientist working for the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110003, India.     

Environmental accounting and statistics

The views expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily reflect an expression of opinion on the part of the United Nations. The objective of sustainable development is to integrate environmental concerns with mainstream socio-economic policies. Integrated policies need to be supported by integrated data. Environmental accounting achieves this integration by incorporating environmental costs and benefits into conventional national accounts. Modified accounting aggregates can thus be used in defining and measuring environmentally sound and sustainable economic growth. Further development objectives need to be assessed by more comprehensive, though necessarily less integrative, systems of environment statistics and indicators. Integrative frameworks for the different statistical systems in the fields of economy, environment and population would facilitate the provision of comparable data for the analysis of integrated development.     

Geochemical partitioning of copper, lead, and zinc in benthic, estuarine sediment profiles

The geochemical partitioning of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) was examined in benthic sediment profiles (0- to 20-cm depth interval) composed of relatively coarse (65-90% sand-sized particles), noncohesive, suboxic material (Eh +120 to +260 mV). Total Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations ranged from 8.3 to 194, 16.3 to 74.8, and 30.1 to 220 mg/kg, respectively, and were related to vertical trends in sediment texture. The observed distribution coefficients describing solid-solution partitioning were in the range of 100 to 1000 L/kg. The geochemical partitioning of solid-phase Cu, Pb, and Zn between six operationally defined fractions was examined with a sequential extraction scheme. The association of Cu, Pb, and Zn with amorphous oxides, crystalline oxides, and organic matter was linearly dependent on the abundance of each respective phase. For retention by amorphous oxide minerals, the observed stoichiometry ranged from 5.2 to 23.7 mg/g for Cu, 12.8 to 21.5 mg/g for Pb, and 23.1 to 85.7 mg/g for Zn. Corresponding values for association with crystalline oxides were an order of magnitude less than those for amorphous oxides, indicating a lesser affinity of trace metals for crystalline oxides. The stoichiometric relationships describing association with organic matter ranged from 17.6 to 54.0 mg/g for Cu, 6.1 to 9.6 mg/g for Pb, and 6.4 to 16.4 mg/g for Zn. The results from this study provide an insight into processes controlling trace metal partitioning in coarse-textured, suboxic, estuarine sediments.     

Evaluation of tidal marsh restoration: Comparison of selected macroinvertebrate populations on a restored impounded valley marsh and an unimpounded valley marsh within the same salt marsh system in Connecticut,USA

Macroinvertebrates were examined on an impounded valley marsh in Stonington, Connecticut, that has changed from aTypha-dominated system to one with typical salt-marsh vegetation during 13 years following the reintroduction of tidal exchange. Animal populations on this restored impounded marsh were evaluated by comparing them with populations on a nearby unimpounded valley marsh of roughly the same size. Populations of the high marsh snail,Melampus bidentatus Say, were quantitatively sampled along transects that extended from the water-marsh edge to the upland; those of the ribbed mussel,Geukensia demissa Dillwyn, were sampled in low marsh areas on transects along the banks of creeks and mosquito ditches. The occurrence of other marsh invertebrates also was documented, but their abundance was not measured. The mean density ofMelampus was 332±39.6 SE/m² on the restored impounded marsh and 712±56.0 SE/m² on the unimpounded marsh. However, since snails were larger on the restored impounded marsh, the difference in snail biomass was less pronounced than the difference in snail density. MeanMelampus biomass was 4.96±0.52 SE g dry wt/m² on the restored impounded marsh and 6.96±0.52 SE g dry wt/m² on the unimpounded marsh. On the two marshes, snail density and biomass varied in relation to plant cover and other factors. The density and biomass ofGeukensia at the edge of the marsh were comparable on the restored impounded and unimpounded marshes. Mean mussel densities ranged from 80 to 240/m² and mean mussel biomass varied from 24.8–64.8 g dry wt/m² in different low marsh areas. In contrast, below the impoundment dike, meanGeukensia density was 1100±96.4 SE/m² and meanGeukensia biomass was 303.6±33.28 SE g dry wt/m². A consideration of all available evidence leads to the conclusion that the impounded marsh is in an advanced phase of restoration.     

Window Sensitivity Functions for Line Transect Sampling

L and width 2w, then by a selection of viewing window is meant a choice of w, with the intent being to search for optimal viewing windows, with the goal in mind of improving variances of estimators of population density, reducing sampling effort, while maintaining the property of unbiasedness. The notions of increasing window sensitivity (IWS) and decreasing window sensitivity (DWS) are introduced, and a method of deriving confidence intervals is discussed.