Effects of temperature on bacterial transport and destruction in bioretention media: field and laboratory evaluations

Microbial activities are significantly influenced by temperature. This study investigated the effects of temperature on the capture and destruction of bacteria from urban stormwater runoff in bioretention media using 2-year field evaluations coupled with controlled laboratory column studies. Field data from two bioretention cells show that the concentration of indicator bacteria (fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli) was reduced during most storm events, and that the probability of meeting specific water quality criteria in the discharge was increased. Indicator bacteria concentration in the input flow typically increased with higher daily temperature. Although bacterial removal efficiency was independent of temperature in the field and laboratory, column tests showed that bacterial decay coefficients in conventional bioretention media (CBM) increase exponentially with elevated temperature. Increases in levels of protozoa and heterotrophic bacteria associated with increasing temperature appear to contribute to faster die-off of trapped E. coli in CBM via predation and competition.     

A Survey of Graduate Education in Hazardous Waste Management

A brief, informal survey questionnaire was sent to 69 universities in the U.S. Forty-two schools responded. Of the 42 respondents, 30 offered one or more courses in hazardous waste management. The average number of courses offered was 1.76 at an average frequency of once per year. Approximately 400 students take the hazardous waste management courses each year. Only four schools provided explicit laboratory training in hazardous waste analysis/treatment. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents have a research program in hazardous waste management. Typical course outlines are presented. Equipment needs for a hazardous waste laboratory are suggested.     

环境管理的信息化视角——美国环境信息生命周期模型研究

有效、可靠的数据和信息是环境管理的基础和主线,是政府部门确定环境管理目标、衡量进展以及同所有利益相关方共享信息的基础。美国环保局(EPA)从整体视角和跨学科观点提出环境信息生命周期模型,能够更好地理解环境信息的生产者、管理者、提供者和使用者等不同角色的作用。本文介绍了环境信息生命周期模型的各环节和要素,包括政策、规划和项目,数据采集和管理,信息交换和共享,信息管理,发现、获取信息,理解、使用信息,用户/公众反馈等,用于评估环境管理业务的数据和信息需求,帮助提高数据质量,增强公众获取环境信息的能力。环保部门需要关注数据质量的不确定性以及不同部门之间缺乏信息共享的问题,将环境信息生命周期的方法融入中国的环境管理和信息化建设,将提高环境数据的质量和政府透明度。本文针对中国的环保信息化建设提出了若干政策建议。     

Pollution,habitat loss,fishing, and climate change as critical threats to penguins

Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large‐scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystem‐based management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales. Contaminación, Pérdida de Hábitat, Pesca y Cambio Climático como Amenazas Críticas para los Pingüinos     

Enhanced land treatment of petroleum-contaminated soils using solid peroxygen materials

A pilot field study evaluated whether adding solid peroxygen materials during land treatment could cost effectively accelerate cleanup at a site contaminated with petroleum-related compounds. Five test cells were constructed containing approximately five cubic yards of soil contaminated with 300–400 mg/kg of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Three cells received treatment with solid peroxygen materials (either MgO₂ or CaO₂), while the other two cells served as controls (no peroxygen amendment). Adding solid peroxygen compounds effectively reduced the hydrocarbon contamination in the soils and decreased the treatment time. During this time, the concentration of TPH in soil in the three treatment cells decreased. In contrast, there was little loss of TPH from the two control cells simulating traditional land treatment. Adding the solid peroxygen materials reduced the total site remediation time, thereby reducing the overall costs.     

Analysis of TCDD and TCDF on the ppq-level in milk and food sources

Analysis of 2378-TCDD and 2378-TCDF on the ppq-level in foods with high fat content is described. The migration over twelve days of 2378-TCDD, 2378-TCDF and 1278-TCDF from bleached paperboard cartons into whole milk was found to be exponential with time. A survey of selected fatty foods shows the presence of 2378-TCDD and 2378-TCDF in foodstuff.     

Implementing gender policy in the water and sanitation sector

Using a case study approach, this article examines how the gender aspects of policy are implemented. It presents examples of gender policy implemented by different types of organizations, with particular emphasis on the water and sanitation sector. Implementing agencies include a UN agency, developing country governments, bilateral donors, and local and international NGOs. Observations from project implementation in the water and sanitation sector reveal the degree of effectiveness of the gender policies applied. Cases were chosen to provide interesting examples, rather than illustrate lessons that can be generalized. Much more research is needed before that can be done. The article also addresses project implementation strategy considerations, including how policies and implementation address women's needs, whether gender issues are treated separately or mainstreamed, and what factors are linked to successful implementation. Problems of coordination between different project implementation aspects/agents are endemic in the water and sanitation sector. Thus physical installation work is typically completed by engineers, while NGOs mostly deal with social aspects of projects, and the two groups often do not communicate effectively.     

The minerals sector, sectoral analysis, and economic development

Sectoral analysis, a new branch of political science, alleges that mineral extraction creates a socio-political climate that promotes inflexible statism, which in turn leads to substandard development performance. The theory, that mineral economies underperform bureaucratically and economically, is said not only to hold in a post-dictive sense for the mature mineral economies, such as Zambia, but also in a predictive sense for the newer mineral economies, such as Ecuador. This essay reviews and assesses this hypothesis in the light of the empirical evidence comparing mineral production, state capacity, and economic performance. It finds that the sectoralist view is supportable only in selected cases, and is not a general result.