Characterizations of particle-bound trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within Tibetan tents of south Tibetan Plateau, China

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed on particulates is of a serious health concern. Levels of some trace metals in total suspended particulate and 13 PAHs of fine particulate matter were measured from nomadic tents in the southern Tibetan Plateau in summer 2010. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The indoor air within the tents was seriously polluted, mainly due to yak dung combustion. Average trace metal concentrations were much higher (range of indoor/outdoor ratio 61-291) than those of the outdoor air. Additionally, enrichment factors of most trace metals of indoor air were similar to those of outdoor air, indicating outdoor air quality of the studied area was possibly influenced by pollutants emitted from local tents. Mean concentrations of total PAHs and BaP within tents was 5372.45 and 364.79 ng/m(3), hundred times higher than that of outdoor air of the Tibetan Plateau. Three- and four-ring PAHs were the predominant components. The diagnostic ratio of BaA/(BaA + Chr) was 0.33. Since Tibetan women typically spend longer time within the tents, they were exposed to PAHs (BaP exposure = 1.81 μg/m(3)) about two times of other family members. Among all the PAHs, Bap contributed the most (82.6%) of the total carcinogenicity. Similarly, the excess lifetime cancer risk for women and other family members were 2.75 × 10(-4) and 1.27 × 10(-4), respectively, indicating Tibetan herdsmen, especially women who are in charge of most house chores were at risk for adverse health effects.     

A laboratory study of microalgae-based ammonia gas mitigation with potential application for improving air quality in animal production operations

Ammonia gas emission is a major concern in concentrated animal production operations. It not only reduces the manure value as fertilizer due to nitrogen loss, but also has considerable environmental consequences for both animals and ecosystem. In this work, a microalgae culture system was developed as an ammonia gas bioscrubber to reduce ammonia gas emission. The green algae Scenedesmus dimorphus was grown in a flat-panel photobioreactor aerated with ammonia-laden air. A continuous culture was performed at different operational conditions including dilution rate (D = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 day^?1), ammonia gas loading rate (9.4, 19.3, 28.9, 39.9, 55.6 mg/L-day), and medium pH (5, 6, 7, and 8). The alga culture at 0.1 day^?1 dilution rate, 39.9 mg/L-day ammonia gas loading rate, and pH 7 resulted in the highest cell density and biomass productivity. In order to provide a wide spectrum evaluation of the algae-based ammonia mitigation system, four parameters were determined, including ammonia removal rate, overall ammonia gas removal efficiency, cellular ammonia consumption rate, and cell yield based on ammonia input. Depending on the operational conditions used, the maximum values of those four evaluative parameters were 50.92 ± 2.91 mg/L-day of ammonia removal rate, 94.90 ± 1.87% of ammonia removal efficiency, 0.0597 ± 0.0024 g NH₃/g cell-day of cellular ammonia consumption rate, and 19.40 ± 2.52 g cell/g NH₃ of cell yield based on ammonia. It was also found that the majority of nitrogen in the ammonia gas was assimilated by the algal cells. At D = 0.1 day^?1, 39.9 mg/L-day of ammonia gas loading rate and pH 7, algal biomass assimilated 98.6% of nitrogen contained in the ammonia gas input, with less than 5% of inlet ammonia gas was exhausted after the algal treatment.

Implications: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of using microalgae for mitigating ammonia gas emission from animal production operations. The results enabled us to better understand the mechanisms of ammonia assimilation by microalgae, the engineering design parameters for the process scale up, and the economic viability of the system. Eventually, it will lead to a novel, alternative method for mitigating ammonia gas emission from concentrated animal operations while producing biomass as high-quality feed ingredient.     

The levels of PAHs and aryl hydrocarbon receptor effects in sediments of Taihu Lake,China

A total of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment samples from Taihu Lake were analyzed by instruments, and sediment extracts were assayed for aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) induction using a rat hepatoma cell line (H4IIE). The cause–effect relationship between the observed EROD activity and chemical concentrations of PAHs was examined. Our results showed that sediment extracts could induce significant AhR effects, and the bioassay-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents of raw extracts (TEQ_bios) ranged from 2.7 to 39.8 pg g^?1 dw. Chemical analysis showed that 16 PAHs were all detected in all samples, and their total concentrations (Σ₁₆PAHs) ranged from 179.8 to 1,669.4 ng g^?1 dw. The abundance of sedimentary PAHs in the three regions (Meiliang Bay, Gonghu Bay, and Xukou Bay) showed a decreasing trend from the inflow region to the outflow region. Chemical analysis-derived TEQs (TEQ_cals) contributed by PAHs ranged from 1.6 to 20.7 pg g^?1 dw. The mean contribution rates (CRs) of PAHs to TEQ_bios were 48.9 %. In Meiliang Bay, EROD effects of 60 % samples were caused by PAHs whose CRs were more than 60 %, while in most sampling sites of Gonghu Bay and Xukou Bay, the CRs of PAHs to TEQ_bios were basically below 40 %. In addition, preliminary ecological risk assessment found that PAHs in sediments have very low ecological impact based on the chemical data of PAHs, while the sediments might pose an unacceptable risk to aquatic organisms and their predators based on the data of TEQ_bio. These findings showed that EROD effects of sediment extracts from Taihu Lake were also caused by other compounds, such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, etc., together.     

基于Arcgis Server与ASP.Net Ajax的北京市应急避难场所信息管理平台设计与实现

北京作为＂国家首都、世界城市、文化名城和宜居城市＂,近两年加快了应急避难场所建设的步伐。针对北京市应急避难场所管理过程中存在的问题,在详细介绍ArcGIS Server的体系结构和内部运行机制的基础上,结合北京市应急避难场所的实际情况,开发了基于ASP.Net Ajax和Arcgis Server北京市应急避难场所信息管理平台。系统采用了Oracle数据库存储空间和业务数据,通过ArcSDE实现Arcgis Server和Oracle数据库的连接,实现了属性数据和空间数据的一体化存储。不仅有利于提供及时、直观、形象的应急避难场所属性信息和空间信息,同时在事故发生后抢险救灾、伤员疏散以及最大限度的减少事故损失方面起到了关键作用。     

Y型内混双级雾化喷嘴流量特性研究

对自行设计的 Y 型内混双级雾化喷嘴进行了实验研究,分析了不同喷嘴尺寸对喷嘴流量特性的影响.对比了压缩空气与过热蒸气做雾化介质的不同.通过测量喷嘴内混室压力,拟合出了供气压力-内混室压力曲线,并通过实验测量和校核,得到工质流景系数的表达式,对喷嘴设计有指导作用.     

Water quality changes of a closed underground coal mine in Korea

The objective of this study was to assess the changes in mine water quality as an underground mine flooded from July 2005 to October 2008. The effect of air injection with a blower into the water was used to evaluate the potential to convert ferrous to ferric iron and to provide in situ treatment and precipitation. Mine flooding averaged 31 cm/day with a linear shape until November 2007, when it flattened out due to outflow. During flooding, mine water pH remained around 6, but Eh shifted from 200 to −150 mV. After the mine water level stabilized, contents of elements such as Fe and SO₄ tended to decrease as time passed. Air was injected by diffusers (150 L/min/each) at three different depths of 2, 3, and 5 m below the water level in the shaft. Dissolved oxygen eventually increased to 4 or 5 mg/L depending on the depth of the diffusers. Aeration caused conversion of ferrous iron to ferric iron and about 30 mg/l of iron was removed from the mine water. Therefore, air injection shows potential as a semi-active treatment or part of conventional treatment to precipitate iron in the mine pool.     

Measurement of metal bioaccessibility in vegetables to improve human exposure assessments: field study of soil–plant–atmosphere transfers in urban areas,South China

The quality of cultivated consumed vegetables in relation to environmental pollution is a crucial issue for urban and peri-urban areas, which host the majority of people at the global scale. In order to evaluate the fate of metals in urban soil–plant–atmosphere systems and their consequences on human exposure, a field study was conducted at two different sites near a waste incinerator (site A) and a highway (site B). Metal concentrations were measured in the soil, settled atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and vegetables. A risk assessment was performed using both total and bioaccessible metal concentrations in vegetables. Total metal concentrations in PM were (mg kg^?1): (site A) 417 Cr, 354 Cu, 931 Zn, 6.3 Cd and 168 Pb; (site B) 145 Cr, 444 Cu, 3289 Zn, 2.9 Cd and 396 Pb. Several total soil Cd and Pb concentrations exceeded China’s Environmental Quality Standards. At both sites, there was significant metal enrichment from the atmosphere to the leafy vegetables (correlation between Pb concentrations in PM and leaves: r = 0.52, p < 0.05) which depended on the plant species. Total Cr, Cd and Pb concentrations in vegetables were therefore above or just under the maximum limit levels for foodstuffs according to Chinese and European Commission regulations. High metal bioaccessibility in the vegetables (60–79 %, with maximum value for Cd) was also observed. The bioaccessible hazard index was only above 1 for site B, due to moderate Pb and Cd pollution from the highway. In contrast, site A was considered as relatively safe for urban agriculture.     

20t/h煤粉炉除尘系统改造

对大同矿务局中央机厂２０ｔ／ｈ煤粉炉原有除尘系统所存在的问题进行了全面分析，在此基础上，确定了改造方案，进行了改造设计。改造后实际运行情况表明，２０ｔ／ｈ煤粉炉的烟气黑度及烟尘浓度均达到了国家二级标准。     

快速城镇化地域生态承载力评价模型构建与分析

综合客观地评价城镇区域生态承载状况是中国快速城镇化进程中经济与环境协调发展的保障。传统生态承载力测度法仍偏向于将区域作为封闭系统来研究,但现实中区域生态系统是和外界相沟通的,区域对承栽力的需求可外部化。为综合测度城镇生态承栽力,以生态经济学理论为依据,结合快速城镇化地域特点,构建了快速城镇化地域生态承载力评价模型,并以义乌市为例,对2005年-2007年的生态承载力状况进行了评价与分析。评价结果表明,义乌2005年-2007年的生态承载力值均大于1,以东莞市和惠州市两个典型城镇的生态承载力值为参比值,与其相比较后说明义鸟的生态承载力状况良好;但逐渐以过高的生态成本来换取经济增长,生态承载力值逐年降低,生态承载力状况逐年变差。评价结果较准确地反映了区域的实际情况,所提出的评价方法能较准确客观地评价快速城镇化地域的生态承栽力状况。     

注册安全工程师行业混合监管模式探讨

注册安全工程师执业资格制度是在市场经济条件下,加强企业安全与卫生工作的一项重要管理制度。我国注册安全工程师制度刚刚兴起,一个高效的行业监管模式尚未建立起来,因此有必要对这一新兴行业的监管开展先行研究。目前,国际上通行的注册安全工程师行业监管模式主要有行业自律和政府监管两种,并呈现出逐步向独立监管方向发展的趋势。不同监管模式具有不同的优缺点和不同的适应条件,中国注册安全工程师行业的监管既应借鉴国际先进经验,又必须着眼于中国的实际情况,分别从短期、中期和长期的综合监管绩效考虑,采纳混合监管模式不失为一种现实可行的抉择。