A non-parametric distance-based method using all available indicators for integrated environmental assessment – a case study of the Mid-Atlantic Region,USA

The paper presents a multivariate measure useful for integrated environmental assessments. It is a weighted distance measure applied to metric data but based on nonparametric statistical procedures. The proposed measure allows all environmental indicators to be used directly without any reduction in dimension (e.g. as in principal component analysis) nor losing variance while being able to tolerate possible non-normality of the indicators, as well as non-linear relationships among them. Results of the hypothetical example and the Mid-Atlantic case study show that the proposed measure is suitable and valuable for integrating multiple indicators into a single index, an important task in integrated environmental assessment.     

Shark fin,a symbol of wealth and good fortune may pose health risks: the case of mercury

There is a lack of information concerning human health risks due to exposure to mercury contained in shark fins, through dietary intake. Health risk assessment of shark fins, collected from 5 cities in China: Hong Kong (HK), Beijing, Shanghai (SH), Haikou (HN) and Wenzhou (WZ), was conducted, based on total mercury and methylmercury, and analyzed by a cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry equipped with high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The results showed that 16.8 % samples from HK, 8.3 % from SH, 33.3 % from HN, and 16.8 % from WZ were regarded as unsafe for human consumption. Extremely high consumption rates of shark fins for an adult and a child (0.150 and 0.0807 kg/day, respectively), at 95th centile, samples from WZ demonstrated high non-cancer risks (adverse health effects) (Hazard Quotient = 16.0) on adults (aged 25–65), and samples from SH, HN and WZ also showed high non-cancer risks (Hazard Quotient = 12.9, 21.0, and 34.4, respectively) on children (aged 1–7). Consumption of shark fins may be detrimental to human health.     

Species of Trace Metals, Organic Residues and Humic Substances in Sediments From the Taiwan Erhjin River and Coastal Areas

Total organic carbon, humic substances, and the species of trace metals (including Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Mn and Fe) in six and seven phases, such as bioexchangeable (P1), skeletal (carbonates, P2), easily reducible (Fe and Mn oxides, P3), moderately reducible (crystalline Mn oxides, P4), organic matters with sulphides (P5), and detritus with minerals (P6) as well as organic with humic substances (PB4) and organic residues (PB6), were analyzed in sediments from the Taiwan Erhjin coastal (including river and estuarine) area, where places we found the copper pollution. Results indicate that higher percentages of P1 and P2 for copper, zinc, lead, cadmium and manganese in samples collected in March and September of 1990 were much higher than those in P3-P6. High percentages of chromium and iron in samples respectively collected in March and September of 1990 were found in P6. for the seven phase analysis, higher percentages of copper species in PB4 and PB6 as well as iron species in PB7 were observed. On the other hand, purified humic acid with the high contents of manganese and iron in humic acid as well as purified fulvic acids were generally found at the upstream stations; and low values at coastal stations. However, extremely high copper (as high as 1750μg g^-1, dry weight in fulvic acid and 820μg g^-1 in humic acid) and lead (821μg g^-1 in humic acid) concentrations with relatively high manganese and iron concentrations were observed in humic substances from the station near the copper recycling area. Comparing the results obtained from the Antarctic Ocean sediments with those from the Taiwan Erhjin Chi coastal sediments, the human impacts on the latter are evaluated.     

Dispersal behaviour in a subsocial spider: group conflict and the effect of food availability

This study investigates proximate factors influencing dispersal behaviour in the subsocial spider Amaurobius ferox. Dispersal of spiderlings from the natal web occurred as a progressive sigmoidal function (mean duration of dispersal period=31 days), with considerable individual variability in developmental instar and body mass within the clutch at the time of dispersal. The spiderlings showed a significant decrease in group cohesion on the 6th day after their second moult, which corresponded to the beginning of the dispersal period. Mutual aggressiveness appeared when the spiderlings began to show predatory behaviour (4th day post-second moult) and increased over the course of the dispersal period. While lack of prey in the maternal nest accelerated dispersal behaviour, the addition of prey items lengthened the dispersal period in previously non-fed clutches. Individuals that dispersed were smaller than the remaining individuals when measured on the day 50% of the clutch had dispersed. Timing of the appearance of the developmental characters (second moult, predation activity, agonistic behaviour against siblings, reduction of group cohesion, dispersal) suggests that the dispersal trait might have evolved in consequence of these different functional behaviours. Received: 10 August 1999 / Received in revised form: 15 March 2000 / Accepted: 1 April 2000     

Enrichments of Trace Metals in Particulate Matter From the Southern East China Sea, North of Taiwan

This study investigates the distributions and enrichments of trace metals in suspended and sinking particulate matter from southern East China Sea (ECS) north of Taiwan during the period April 1992 to April 1993. According to these results, concentration of suspended particulate matter in the inner shelf of southern China Sea, the upwellinginfluenced shelf break, and in Kuroshio water are 1.30 (surface)-4.2 (bottom) mg1^-1, ca. 0.4 mg1^-1 and 0.1-0.2 mg1^-1, respectively, reflecting various influences of terrestrial inputs. A benthic nepheloid layer (BNL), apparently owing to resuspension of local and/or remote bottom sediments, formed over the shelf region. Temporal variations in trace metal contents and enrichments in suspended matter from the shelf region reflect the variation of metal inputs from Chinese rivers, particularly from the Changjiang runoff. the enriched metals are more likely to be derived from anthropogenic input, rather than from biological accumulation. in addition, a decrease in metal contents and an increase in salinity confirm the transport of suspended particulate metals from the East China Sea shelf to the open ocean. the feature of metal plume in the intermediate layer (550-800m) of Kuroshio water also verifies this occurrence. Moreover, the sinking particles collected from a sediment trap on the upper slope are relatively enriched in lithogenic matter and trace metals, suggesting the deposit of anthropogenic metals in the slope area.     

Applying Multi-attribute Utility Theory to Decision Making in Environmental Planning: A Case Study of the Electric Utility in Korea

This paper applies the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) to obtaining value judgments concerning the significance of environmental impacts to achieve integration of environmental concerns at an early stage of planning, using the electric utility of Korea as a specific case study. An environmental multi-attribute index is constructed as a multi-attribute utility function, based on value judgments provided by a group of experts related to electric utility and a decision maker from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The societal values are derived from examining trade-offs between environmentalindex and money. The implications of the results for KEPCO are also discussed. We found that the work and results can provide valuable insights and decision opportunities for major decision making in environmental planning facing KEPCO.     

Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl compounds in maternal and umbilical cord sera and birth outcomes in Korea

This study analyzed the concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) in maternal and umbilical cord sera at delivery from the general population in Korea. Seventy samples were analyzed with ion-pairing and LC/MS/MS. PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were detected in both maternal and umbilical cord sera. There was a high correlation of PFC concentrations between maternal and cord serum samples, implying transplacental transport. Ranking of transplacental transfer efficiency was PFOA > PFHxS > PFOS. Student’s t-tests revealed that concentrations of maternal PFOA were related with decreases in birth weight, birth length and ponderal index, suggesting a possible impact on fetal growth. With multiple logistic regression models, maternal PFOS concentration showed a significant inverse association with ponderal index (OR = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.05–0.90). Umbilical cord PFHxS concentration showed a significant inverse association with birth weight (OR = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08–0.85) or a marginally significant inverse association with birth length (OR = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.09–1.17). This is the first report demonstrating an inverse association of birth outcomes with PFHxS exposure. Concentrations of maternal PFOA were decreased with parity, implying that delivery is one of the major routes for PFOA elimination in women. This study demonstrated prenatal exposure of PFCs through placental transfer which could result in possible developmental effects in the population sampled. Our results may provide data basis to conduct a larger scale investigation into developmental effects of PFCs in the future and contribute to understanding levels of PFC contaminations from a variety of populations in the globe.     

Enhancement of aerobic biodegradation in an oxygen-limiting environment using a saponin-based microbubble suspension

This study investigated the ability of a saponin-based microbubble suspension to enhance aerobic biodegradation of phenanthrene by subsurface delivery. As the microbubble suspension flowed through a sand column pressure buildup and release was repeatedly observed, which delivered oxygen to the less permeable regions. Burkholderia cepacia RPH1, a phenanthrene-degrading bacterium, was mainly transported in a suspended form in the microbubble suspension. When three pore volumes of the microbubble suspension containing B. cepacia RPH1 was introduced into a column contaminated with phenanthrene (100 mg/kg), the oxygen content declined to 5% from an initial value of 20% within 5 days and correspondingly, 34.4% of initial phenanthrene was removed in 8 days. The addition of two further three pore volumes enhanced the biodegradation efficiency by a factor of 2.2. Our data suggest that a saponin-based microbubble suspension could be a potential carrier for enhancing the aerobic biodegradation under an oxygen-limiting environment.     

Environmental assessment on a soil washing process of a Pb-contaminated shooting range site: a case study

In this study, an environmental assessment on a soil washing process for the remediation of a Pb-contaminated shooting range site was conducted, using a green and sustainable remediation tool, i.e., SiteWise ver. 2, based on data relating specifically to the actual remediation project. The entire soil washing process was classified into four major stages, consisting of soil excavation (stage I), physical separation (stage II), acid-based (0.2 N HCl) chemical extraction (stage III), and wastewater treatment (stage IV). Environmental footprints, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, and critical air pollutant productions such as PM₁₀, NO _x , and SO _x , were calculated, and the relative contribution of each stage was analyzed in the environmental assessment. In stage I, the relative contribution of the PM₁₀ emissions was 55.3 % because the soil excavation emitted the fine particles. In stage II, the relative contribution of NO _x and SO _x emissions was 42.5 and 52.5 %, respectively, which resulted from electricity consumption for the operation of the separator. Stage III was the main contributing factor to 63.1 % of the GHG emissions, 67.5 % of total energy used, and 37.4 % of water consumptions. The relatively high contribution of stage III comes from use of consumable chemicals such as HCl and water-based extraction processes. In stage IV, the relative contributions of GHG emissions, total energy used, and NO _x and SO _x emissions were 23.2, 19.4, 19.5, and 25.3 %, respectively, which were caused by chemical and electricity demands for system operation. In conclusion, consumable chemicals such as HCl and NaOH, electric energy consumption for system operation, and equipment use for soil excavation were determined to be the major sources of environmental pollution to occur during the soil washing process. Especially, the acid-based chemical extraction process should be avoided in order to improve the sustainability of soil washing processes.     

Male-Specific and Somatic Coliphage Profiles from Major Aquaculture Areas in Republic of Korea

Human and animal feces are important sources of various types of microbial contamination in water. Especially, enteric viruses, the major agents of waterbo