Off-site emergency scenario, a case study from a LPG Bottling Plant

After Bhopal disaster, emergency planning in an industrial area has become inevitable. The off-site emergency plan is an integral part of any major hazard control system. Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE) leads to fatal consequences. This paper highlights some salient features of the emergency scenario, which ultimately leads to fireball with enormous pressure wave all around.     

The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for Ny-Nj Harbor: Distribution of Pcdd/Fs in Ambient Waters

As part of the NJ Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor, ambient water samples were collected at fifteen locations along the tidal portions of the Hackensack, Passaic, Raritan, Rahway and Elizabeth Rivers, and in Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, and Kill van Kull. A Trace Organics Platform Sampler was used to collect a total of 75 suspended sediment phase samples between June 2000 and May 2002. These samples were analyzed for spatial and wet vs. dry weather trends in the 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs; modified USEPA Method 1613b). Mean total PCDD/F (tPCDD/F) concentrations at the sampling locations ranged between 3.8 and 41.5 ng/g. On average, OCDD accounted for almost 80% of the tPCDD/F concentrations; mean total [PCDD/F – OCDD] concentrations ranged between 0.84 and 5.20 ng/g at the sampling locations. Mean 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations ranged between 0.003 and 0.28 ng/g, with the highest concentrations (> 0.10 ng/g) along the tidal Passaic and lower Hackensack Rivers, and in upper Newark Bay. Mean tPCDD/F Toxic Equivalency Quotients (TEQ) ranged between 45 and 344 TEQ pg/g, with the highest levels found in the lower Passaic River. Toxicity was primarily driven by 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations in the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, and in Newark Bay. Examples of congener distribution patterns at some of the sampling locations are also presented.     

Rapid amino acid cycling in arctic and antarctic soils

Amino acids constitute one of the largest inputs of organic nitrogen (N) to most polar soils and have been hypothesized to be important in regulating vegetational succession and productivity in Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of amino acid cycling in these soils, however, is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the size and rate of turnover of the amino acid pool in a range of Arctic and Antarctic soils. Our results indicate that in polar soils with either high or low ornithogenic inputs the amino acid pool is small in comparison to the inorganic N pool (NO^–₃ and NH⁺₄). The free amino acid pool constituted only a small proportion of the total dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in these soils. Here we show that these low concentrations may be due to rapid use by the soil microbial community in both Arctic and Antarctic soils. The turnover of the amino acid pool in soil was extremely rapid, with a half-life ranging from 2 to 24 h, indicating that this N pool can be turned over many hundred times each summer when polar soils are frequently unfrozen. The implications of amino acids in N cycling and plant and microbial nutrition are discussed.     

Lightweight Concrete Containing an Alkaline Resistant Starch-Based Aquagel

Starch aquagel-based lightweight concrete has properties similar to those of other lightweight concrete products. However, starch aquagels are unstable in the strongly alkaline conditions typical of Portland Cement-based concrete and may interfere with the setting process. The effect of alkali treatments on the physical, mechanical, and functional properties of starch aquagels and aquagels from starch/polymer blends was investigated. Starch was blended at 100–115°C in a twin-screw extruder with five different polymers to determine whether the blends improved alkaline resistance. Polymer blends containing 5%, 15%, and 30% of the polymer hydrated and formed aquagels when equilibrated in water for 24 h. However, equilibrium moisture content was lower for the blends compared to the starch control. Aquagels equilibrated in 0.15 N NaOH swelled, lost compressive strength and had greater than 90% moisture. The blend of starch and 30% PVOH absorbed less moisture and was more resistant to alkaline dissolution in 1 N NaOH than the other blends tested making it a more suitable material for aquagel-based concrete. The moisture content of starch-based aquagels and mixing time were critical factors in determining setting times. The size of aquagel blends had a minor effect on density and compressive strength.     

Assessing the Performance Level of a Water System

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution: Focus - What should System Managers prefer? Systems that never fail or systems that remain safe during a failure? The present paper tries to give an answer to this...     

Rapid amino acid cycling in arctic and antarctic soils

Amino acids constitute one of the largest inputs of organic nitrogen (N) to most polar soils and have been hypothesized to be important in regulating vegetational succession and productivity in Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of amino acid cycling in these soils, however, is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the size and rate of turnover of the amino acid pool in a range of Arctic and Antarctic soils. Our results indicate that in polar soils with either high or low ornithogenic inputs the amino acid pool is small in comparison to the inorganic N pool (NO^? ₃ and NH⁺ ₄). The free amino acid pool constituted only a small proportion of the total dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in these soils. Here we show that these low concentrations may be due to rapid use by the soil microbial community in both Arctic and Antarctic soils. The turnover of the amino acid pool in soil was extremely rapid, with a half-life ranging from 2 to 24 h, indicating that this N pool can be turned over many hundred times each summer when polar soils are frequently unfrozen. The implications of amino acids in N cycling and plant and microbial nutrition are discussed.     

An automated wet deposition system to compare the effects of reduced and oxidised N on ombrotrophic bog species: Practical considerations

Critical N loads for ombrotrophic bogs, which often contain rare and N-sensitive plants (especially those in lower plant groups: lichens, mosses and liverworts), are based on very few experimental data from measured, low background N deposition areas. Additionally the relative effects of reduced versus oxidised N are largely unknown. This paper describes an automated field exposure system (30 km S. of Edinburgh, Scotland) for treating ombrotrophic bog vegetation with fine droplets of oxidised N (NaNO₃) and reduced N (NH₄Cl). Whim Moss exists in an area of low ambient N deposition (ca. 8 kg N ha^?1 y^?1), the sources and quantification of which are described. The wet N treatment system is run continuously, and is controlled/activated by wind speed and rainfall to provide a unique simulation of “real worl” treatment patterns (no rain=no treatment). Simulated precipitation is supplied at ionic concentrations below 4 mM in rainwater collected on site. Treatments provide a replicated dose response to 16, 32 and 64 kg N ha^?1 y^?1 adjusted for ambient deposition (8 kg N ha^?1 y^?1). The 16 and 64 kg N ha^?1 y^?1 are duplicated with a P+K supplement. Baseline soil chemistry and foliar nutrient status was established for all 44 plots for Calluna vulgaris, Sphagnum capillifolium, Hypnum jutlandicum and Cladonia portentosa.     

Correlating the spatial distribution of atmospheric ammonia with δ15n values at an ammonia release site

A field ammonia (NH₃) release experiment and open top chambers containing moorland monoliths continuously fumigated with NH₃ or sprayed with NH₄Cl were used to assess the potential for using δ¹⁵N values in determining the area of influence around a point NH₃ emission source. δ¹⁵N values are being increasingly used as environmental tracers and we tested the hypothesis that the δ¹⁵N signal from an NH₃ emission source is observable in nearby vegetation. Using modified monitoring devices, atmospheric NH₃ concentrations were found to decrease with distance from source, with δ¹⁵N values also reflecting this trend, producing a signal shift with changing concentration. Open top chamber studies of δ¹⁵N values of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull indicated a correlation with deposition treatments in current year shoots. Analysis of Calluna shoots from the NH₃ release showed a similar trend of δ¹⁵N enrichment. Significant linear correlations between δ¹⁵N and percent N in plant material were found, both in the controlled conditions of the open top chambers and at the NH₃ release site, illustrating the possible use of this technique in N deposition biomonitoring.     

Tillage erosion and its effect on soil properties and crop yield in Denmark

Tillage erosion had been identified as a major process of soil redistribution on sloping arable land. The objectives of our study were to investigate the extent of tillage erosion and its effect on soil quality and productivity under Danish conditions. Soil samples were collected to a 0.45-m depth on a regular grid from a 1.9-ha site and analyzed for 137Cs inventories, as a measure of soil redistribution, soil texture, soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, and phosphorus (P) contents. Grain yield was determined at the same sampling points. Substantial soil redistribution had occurred during the past decades, mainly due to tillage. Average tillage erosion rates of 2.7 kg m(-2) yr(-1) occurred on the shoulderslopes, while deposition amounted to 1.2 kg m(-2) yr(-1) on foot- and toeslopes. The pattern of soil redistribution could not be explained by water erosion. Soil organic carbon and P contents in soil profiles increased from the shoulder- toward the toeslopes. Tillage translocation rates were strongly correlated with SOC contents, A-horizon depth, and P contents. Thus, tillage erosion had led to truncated soils on shoulderslopes and deep, colluvial soils on the foot- and toeslopes, substantially affecting within-field variability of soil properties. We concluded that tillage erosion has important implications for SOC dynamics on hummocky land and increases the risk for nutrient losses by overland flow and leaching. Despite the occurrence of deep soils across the study area, evidence suggested that crop productivity was affected by tillage-induced soil redistribution. However, tillage erosion effects on crop yield were confounded by topography-yield relationships.