Ammonium removal from waste solutions by precipitation of MgNH4PO4 I. Ammonium removal with use of commercial reagents

The method of ammonium ion removal from industrial waste solutions was investigated and parameters for MgNH₄PO₄ precipitation were determined. A solution laden with NH₄⁺ ions was brought to pH 1–2 by the use of H₃PO₄; MgO was then added and the pH adjusted to 9–10 with the use of NaOH solution. Stirring of the suspension was carried out during a prolonged period of time ( 3 hours), with final filtration or sedimentation. By this method the ammonium ion content in the filtrate may be reduced to concentrations below 1 mg/l. The MgNH₄PO₄·6H₂O sediment produced is considered to be a long-term fertilizer, suitable for agricultural use.     

Bioavailability to rats and toxicological potential in mice of bound residues of malathion in beans.

Under conditions of local practice, the application of 2,3-succinate-14C-malathion on beans led to the formation of 17-18% of bound 14C-residues after 30 weeks. When fed to rats, 75% of these residues became bioavailable after 2 days with the major part, excreted via expired air (8%) and urine (60%). The main radioactive metabolites detected in urine were malathion monocarboxylic acid and malathion dicarboxylic acid. Feeding of bound residues to mice (1.8 ppm in feed) for 90 days resulted in a reduction in body weight gain after 60 days and inhibition of erythrocyte cholinesterase activity after 90 days. Increased levels of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase were also observed. The results strongly suggest that bean-bound malathion residues can cause adverse biological effects in mice.     

芳烃联合装置地下管线测漏处理过程的风险分析

运用预先危险性分析法(PHA),对芳烃联合装置地下管线测漏处理过程中存在的风险进行了分析,确定了应采取的安全措施,取得了明显效果.     

中国自然灾害和减灾的对策

2006年5月9日防灾科技学院揭牌暨建校30周年庆典之际,马宗晋院士应邀为我校师生作了题为“中国自然灾害和减灾的对策”的学术报告,受到全校师生的热烈欢迎和一致好评。马宗晋院士是我国著名的地质学家,曾担任中国地震局地质研究所所长（现为中国地震局地质研究所名誉所长）,长期从事地质构造、地震预报、地球动力学方面的研究工作,完成了多项国家级重大研究课题。1972年,他率领地震小组,首创渐进式预报模式,提出长中短临渐近蕴震模式,成为中国预报强震的主要思想和工作程序,该模式的预报思想一直影响至今。其间,对海城、松潘等大地震的预测,乃至对唐山大地震的中期估计和短期预报分析都有重要影响,该模式在国际上被誉为“中国式地震预报”;他还提出了地球动力学的模式构想,建立了三个全球的构造系统,论证了地球变动的韵律性和非对称性,从而提出以壳、幔、核细分层角差运动为基础的地球自转与热、重、流联合的动力模式构想,对全球构造动力模式进行了新的分析与综合,为灾害和矿产研究提供了部分基础;提出了综合减灾系统工程设计。马宗晋院士1995年兼任国务院三部委中国重大自然灾害综合研究组组长;2005年任国家减灾委专家委员会主任。 马宗晋院士的报告以大量的研究数据系统地论述了中国的自然灾害和减灾的对策。我国是一个灾害频发、灾种繁多、灾情严重、经济损失巨大的国家,很好的学习和掌握马宗晋院士报告的观点和精神,对于推进我国的防灾减灾事业和从事防灾减灾教育事业均具有十分重要的意义。 我学报编辑部在认真学习和整理马宗晋院士报告的基础上,决定在学报的“院士专家论谈”专题栏目,陆续刊载以“中国自然灾害和减灾的对策”为题的系列文章,并经马院士同意和审核,马智同志编辑整理。我们认为,这对于全国各地从事防灾减灾事业的部门和工作人员,是十分有帮助的。希望各地从事防灾减灾事业和其他工作的读者能够关注这个栏目。[编者按]     

Characteristics of speeders

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of speeders, defined as drivers of vehicles traveling at least 15 mph above the posted speed limit and relatively faster than surrounding vehicles. METHODS: Vehicle speeds were recorded on 13 roads in Virginia with speed limits ranging from 40 to 55 mph. Speeders were compared with slower drivers, defined as drivers of adjacent vehicles traveling no more than 5 mph above the speed limit. License plates were used to identify vehicle owners; owners were inferred to have been driving if observed gender and estimated age matched those of the registered owner. For these drivers, information on exact driver age and gender, vehicle make and model, and driving record was obtained from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. RESULTS: Five percent of the vehicles observed were traveling at least 15 mph above the limit, and 3% qualified as speeders, as defined in this study. Speeders were younger than drivers in the comparison group, drove newer vehicles, and had more speeding violations and other moving violations on their records. They also had 60% more crashes. DISCUSSION: Speeders are a high-risk group. Their speeding behavior is not likely to be controlled without vigorous, consistent enforcement, including the use of automated technology.     

Risk assessment for safety of soils and vegetables around a lead/zinc mine

Concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu) were determined in soils and vegetables (chrysanthemum, spinach and four cultivars of Chinese cabbage from the area adjacent to a Pb/Zn mine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China, and compared with the Chinese National Standards for Soil Environmental Quality. The accumulation of heavy metals in cabbage cv. Siyuegreen was investigated at different distances from the center of the mine. The vegetable plantation soils were polluted with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn, especially by Pb and Cd. The levels of Pb and Cd were 20 and 30 times higher than the permitted standards, indicating that this Pb/Zn mining area is unsuitable for agricultural use. Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum and spinach had different enrichment coefficients. The enrichment coefficient of Cd from soil to roots of chrysanthemum was >80% and from roots to leaves of cabbage cv. Shanghaigreen was >120%. These vegetables were polluted by heavy metals and could not be regarded as safe for human consumption. Environmental accumulation of heavy metals in the vegetable plantation soils was proportional to heavy metal accumulation in vegetables and both were inversely proportional to the distance from the lead/zinc mine.     

Mobilization of arsenic in groundwater of Bangladesh: evidence from an incubation study

The extensive extraction of arsenic (As)-contaminated groundwaters for drinking, household and agricultural purposes represents a serious health concern in many districts of Bangladesh. This laboratory-based incubation study investigated the sources and mechanisms of As mobilization in these groundwaters. Several incubation studies were carried out using sediments collected from the Bangladesh aquifer that were supplemented, or not, with different nutrients, followed by an analysis of the sediment suspensions for pH, ORP (oxidation-reduction potential), EC (electrical conductivity) and As and Fe(ΙΙ) concentrations. In the substrate-amended sediment suspensions incubated under anaerobic environment, there was a mobilization of As (maximum: 50–67 μg/l) and Fe(ΙΙ) (maximum: 182 μg/l), while the ORP value decreased immediately and drastically (as much as −468 mV to −560 mV) within 5–6 days. In the sediment suspensions incubated under control and aerobic conditions, no significant As mobilization occurred. The simultaneous mobilization of As and Fe(ΙΙ) from sediments is a strong indication that their mobilization resulted from the reduction of Fe oxyhydroxide by the enhanced activity of indigenous bacteria present in the sediments; this phenomenon also provides insights on the mobilization mechanism of As in groundwater. The concentrations of As in the sediments used in the incubation studies were strongly linked to the gradients of redox potential development that was stimulated by the quantity of organic nutrient (glucose) used. The penetration of surface-derived organic matter into the shallow aquifer may stimulate the activity of microbial communities, thereby leading to a reduction of iron oxyhydroxide and As release.     

Study of metabolites from the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments

The PAH metabolites produced during degradation of fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene by a bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments were analyzed using the on-fiber silylation solid-phase microextraction (SPME) combining with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method. Seventeen metabolites at trace levels were identified in different PAH degradation cultures based on the full scan mass spectra. In fluorene degradation cultures, 1-, 2-, 3- and 9-hydroxyfluorene, fluorenone, and phthalic acid were detected. In phenanthrene and pyrene degradation cultures, various common metabolites such as phenanthrene and pyrene dihydrodiols, mono-hydroxy phenanthrene, dihydroxy pyrene, lactone and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene, methyl ester, and phthalic acid were found. The detection of various common and novel metabolites demonstrates that SPME combining with GC–MS is a quick and convenient method for identification as well as monitoring the real time changes of metabolite concentrations throughout the degradation processes. The knowledge of PAH metabolic pathways and kinetics within indigenous bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments contributes to enhance the bioremediation efficiency of PAH in real environment.