Economic and Spatial Impacts of an Existing Reserve Network on Future Augmentation

An optimization model for land reservation was developed that explicitly selects parcels in the most compact or contiguous manner possible while meeting habitat requirements and a budget limitation. The model was used to compare the effects of an existing reserve network on future parcel spatial locations and total cost. Using habitat and land value data from Josephine County, Oregon, it was found that a system of existing reserves created by various policies and overseen by different agencies can decrease future reserve compactness and contiguity, and increase total cost. This work suggests that coordinated planning can result in more efficient conservation efforts for less cost.     

Preliminary air pollution monitoring in San Miguel, Buenos Aires

Passive diffusion samplers were employed in San Miguel(Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area) for a preliminary airpollution monitoring. The highest loads were observedin downtown, compared with an urban background site.Total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) varied from0.257 to 0.033 mg cm^-2 month^-1; dust was examinedfor particle nature and size distribution. A similartrend was observed for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) andTSPM spatial distribution, suggesting that traffic isthe major pollution source. Sulphur dioxide (SO₂)values were low and rather homogeneous. Levels for theinvestigated pollutants are below EPA's guide linevalues. Geographic (flat area, near to Rio de LaPlata) and climatologic factors (rainfalls andvariable wind directions) contribute to disperse pollutants.     

A Watershed-based Cumulative Risk Impact Analysis: Environmental Vulnerability and Impact Criteria

Swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have received much attention in recent years. As a result, a watershed-based screening tool, the Cumulative Risk Index Analysis (CRIA), was developed to assess the cumulative impacts of multiple CAFO facilities in a watershedsubunit. The CRIA formula calculates an index number based on: 1) the area of one or more facilities compared to the area of the watershed subunit, 2) the average of the environmental vulnerability criteria, and 3) the average of the industry-specific impact criteria. Each vulnerability or impact criterion is ranked on a 1 to 5 scale, with a low rank indicating low environmental vulnerability or impact and a high rank indicating high environmental vulnerability or impact. The individual criterion ranks, as well as the total CRIA score, can be used to focus the environmental analysis and facilitate discussions with industry, public, and other stakeholders in the Agency decision-making process.     

Air pollution exposure monitoring and estimation. Part VI. Ambient exposure of adults in an industrialised region

This paper presents methodology and results of a dynamic individual air pollution exposure model (DINEX) that calculates the hourly exposure for each adult in a panel study. Each of over 260 participants, through the use of a diary, provided information used in the model to calculate his/her personal, individualised exposure. The participants filled out the diary daily, hour by hour, over two, two month periods. The exposure assessment model coupled the diary information and results of an indoor/outdoor measurement program, with the results of dispersion modelling on an hourly basis for an industrial area in Norway. The estimated air pollution concentrations from the dispersion model, based on continuous meteorological measurements, were calibrated with air pollutant concentrations measured continuously.     

Collaborative study to improve the quality control of rare earth element determinations in environmental matrices

In order to control the quality of rare earth determinations in environmental matrices, the Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme (formerly Community Bureau of Reference, BCR) of the European Commission has started a project, the final aim of which is to certify four types of matrices (tuna muscle, mussel tissue, aquatic plant and estuarine sediment) for their contents of a range of rare earth elements (Sc, Y and the lanthanides: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu). The elements U and Th were added to the study. The first part of this project consisted of an interlaboratory study which aimed to test the feasibility of preparation of environmental reference materials and to detect and remove most of the pitfalls observed in rare earth determinations. This paper presents the preparation of the four matrices for the intercomparison study and for the candidate reference material. The main results are presented of the interlaboratory study that was carried out prior to the certification campaign. This collaborative trial is the first attempt ever carried out at this scale to evaluate the state-of-the-art of rare earth determinations in the environment. Its impact on the improvement of chemical measurements will have positive effects on the comparability of data necessary for environmental monitoring.     

Evaluation of two adsorbents for diffusive sampling and thermal desorption-gas chromatographic analysis of monoterpenes in air

Tube type samplers with two different adsorbents, Chromosorb 106 and Tenax TA, were evaluated by laboratory experiments and field tests for simultaneous diffusive sampling of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene and delta 3-carene and subsequent thermal desorption-gas chromatographic analysis. No statistically significant effects of exposure time, concentrations of monoterpenes or relative humidity were found for samplers with Chromosorb 106 when running a factorial design, with the exception of the adsorption of delta 3-carene, for which some weak effects were noted. Samplers with Tenax TA were affected by the sampling time as well as the concentration for all terpenes, with a strong interaction effect between these two factors. The terpenes showed good storage stability on both adsorbents. No effect of back-diffusion was noted when using Chromosorb 106, while Tenax TA showed some back-diffusion effects. The uptake rates, in ml min-1, for the terpenes on Chromosorb 106 were 0.36 for alpha-pinene, 0.36 for beta-pinene and 0.40 for delta 3-carene. The corresponding average values on Tenax TA were 0.30 for alpha-pinene, 0.32 for beta-pinene and 0.38 for delta 3-carene. The field validation proved that diffusive sampling on Chromosorb 106 agreed well with pumped sampling on charcoal for stationary samples, while the personal samples indicated a discrepancy of 25% between Chromosorb 106 and charcoal samples. Tenax TA generally gave lower results than Chromosorb 106 in all field samples. Samplers packed with Chromosorb 106 could be used to monitor terpene levels in workplaces such as sawmills. The major advantages with this method are the sampling procedure, which is simple to perform compared to other techniques, the easily automated analysis procedure and the possibility to reuse the samplers.     

evaluation of a measurement method for forest vegetation in a large-scale ecological survey

We evaluate a field method for determining species richness andcanopy cover of vascular plants for the Forest Health MonitoringProgram (FHM), an ecological survey of U.S. forests. Measurementsare taken within 12 1-m² quadrats on 1/15 ha plots in FHM.Species richness and cover are determined for four height classes(strata) within each quadrat and aggregated by stratum over the entireplot. We estimated (1) the agreement between experienced trainers andinexperienced technicians who collected the data on this survey(accuracy) and (2) the agreement among the technicians (precision) forresults on species richness and cover from 3 test plots at 3 timeintervals. The methods appear to be highly precise, although somediscrepancies with the values obtained by the trainers were found.Trainers found significantly more species in the ground stratum (0–0.6 m) and measured significantly more cover in the uppermost stratum(>4.9 m). The proportion of variation due to measurement error andtemporal variability was less than 13% for species richness (all strata)and cover (all but one stratum). This indicates that the method issuitable for monitoring changes in species richness and canopy coverfor a large-scale synoptic monitoring project such as FHM.     

profiling areas of ground water contamination by pesticides in california: phase ii – evaluation and modification of a statistical model

A well sampling study was conducted to evaluate anempirical approach to classifying areasof land in California as vulnerable to ground watercontamination by pesticides (Troiano et al., 1994). Wells were sampled from sections of land that had noprevious detections of pesticideresidues. The sections had been classified into vulnerablesoil clusters or into a not-classified groupusing a procedure based on Principal Components Analysis(PCA). Grape, citrus, and olive growingareas of Fresno and Tulare Counties were targeted, areas wherepre-emergence herbicide residues hadbeen detected in well water. Overall, herbicide residues weredetected in 75 of 176 sampled wells, ahigh frequency of detection in relation to results fromprevious targeted well sampling studies. Sinceresidues were also detected in the not-classified group, theclassification procedure was modified usingan approach based on Canonical Variates Analysis (CVA). Moresections were classified intovulnerable soil clusters with the CVA approach than with thePCA method. Data from two otherexplanatory variables, depth to ground water and amount ofpesticide used per section, were includedto illustrate how additional information can be incorporatedinto this approach of identifying vulnerable areas.     

Soil Lead and Other Metal Levels in Industrial, Residential and Nature Reserve Areas in Singapore

The use of pressure feedback microwave digestion technique has permitted rapid and efficient digestion of soil and sediment samples. The evaluation of different acid mixtures to digest soil samples were studied by mixed-level orthogonal array design. The selected acid mixture of HCl-HNO3-HF was employed in the survey of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr and Mn in soil samples. Surface soil samples were collected from industrial, residential and nature reserve areas in Singapore. The five metal concentrations were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The lead and other metal contents in NBS SRM 1645, NIES CRM No. 2 and NRCC BCSS-1 sediment standard references were determined concurrently with the survey samples. Five measured metal loading on the surface soils was in the order: industrial area > residential area > nature reserve area. The trace metal concentrations in surface soil from areas of heavy traffic are higher than those from residential areas. The main sources of trace metal pollution are vehicular exhaust and industrial activities.     

粗苯污染事故应急处理

针对一次苯泄漏事故的应急处理过程、方法进行论述与总结，并分析了事故现场周围地表、地下水中苯污染浓度的变化情况，提出了该类事故的应急措施，以此作为处理同类事故的参考和依据。