Study on macro-meso mechanical properties of cemented tailings backfill with high fly ash content

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The use of cement and fly ash (FA) to prepare cemented tailings backfill (CTB) lowers backfill mining costs while also reducing pollution caused by...     

Origin,distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia,Poland

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The composition and distribution of airborne particles in different locations in a salt mine were determined in terms of their origin, the distance from the...     

Mercury in fish tissues in the area of Malachov Hg-ore deposit (Slovakia)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The abandoned Malachov deposit belongs among the most important historic Hg deposits in the world. The soil, groundwater, surface water, plants, and animals...     

An integrated method for the rapid dewatering and solidification/stabilization of dredged contaminated sediment with a high water content

• An integrated method, called PHDVPSS, was proposed for treating DCS. • The PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to conventional method. • Using the method, water content (%) of DCS decreased from 300 to<150 in 3 days. • The 56-day UCS from this method is 12‒17 times higher than conventional method. • Relative to PC, GGBS-MgO binder yielded greater reduction in the leachability. To more efficiently treat the dredged contaminated sediment (DCS) with a high water content, this study proposes an integrated method (called PHDVPSS) that uses the solidifying/stabilizing (S/S) agents and prefabricated horizontal drain (PHD) assisted by vacuum pressure (VP). Using this method, dewatering and solidification/stabilization can be carried out simultaneously such that the treatment time can be significantly shortened and the treatment efficacy can be significantly improved. A series of model tests was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results indicated that the proposed PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to the conventional S/S method that uses Portland cement (PC) directly without prior dewatering. The 56-day unconfined compressive strength of DCS treated by the proposed method with GGBS-MgO as the binder is 12‒17 times higher than that by the conventional S/S method. DCS treated by the PHDVPSS method exhibited continuous decrease in leaching concentration of Zn with increasing curing age. The reduction of Zn leachability is more obvious when using GGBS-MgO as the binder than when using PC, because GGBS-MgO increased the residual fraction and decreased the acid soluble fraction of Zn. The microstructure analysis reveals the formation of hydrotalcite in GGBS-MgO binder, which resulted in higher mechanical strength and higher Zn stabilization efficiency.     

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the bottom sediments from Klaipėda Harbour,Lithuania (Baltic Sea)

A total of 22 bottom surface sediment samples were collected from Klaip?da Harbour, Lithuania (Baltic Sea). Sediment parameters, such as grain size and concentrations of total organic carbon, aliphatic hydrocarbons (ALHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were determined. Hydrocarbon contamination levels in the sediments were estimated based on classifications provided in the literature, and potential biological effects were assessed based on the effects range low–effects range median values of the Sediment Quality Guidelines and on the total toxic benzo(a)pyrene equivalent. The results demonstrated that concentrations of PAHs and total aliphatic hydrocarbons in the sediments varied between 1.6 and 5456?ng?g^?1 d.w. and 6.9 and 727?μg?g^?1 d.w., respectively. In most cases, the concentrations of ALHs and PAHs in the sediments indicated low to moderate levels of pollution and were not observed to have any significant adverse effects on living biota. To determine possible sources of hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon compositions were analysed, and ALHs’ and PAHs’ specific diagnostic ratios were calculated. According to the results, the Klaip?da Harbour bottom sediments were dominated by PAHs of pyrogenic origin, whereas the origin of ALHs was mixed, that is, anthropogenic with a biogenic (aquatic and terrestrial) input.     

Agent-based framework for modeling and simulation of resources in self-sustainable human settlements: a case study on water management in an eco-village community in Croatia

A newly developed agent-based framework for modeling, simulation, and evaluation of resource management in self-sustainable human settlements is presented, along with the ability of the framework to prolong the self-sustainability of the observed human settlement system in the simulation environment. In this study the focus is on the analysis of a conducted water management simulation based on observations of an existing eco-village in Croatia, in the context of producing, storing, and consuming water as a resource. The conducted research shows that the developed framework was able to prolong the self-sustainability of localized water production, storage, and consumption dynamics when managing the water allocation with the use of self-sustainability mechanisms, in comparison to water management without using such mechanisms, under the same initial conditions. The work is placed within the context of sustainable development, Internet of Things, as well as Environmental Internet of Things areas of research, analyzing the ambiguous relationship between the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘self-sustainability’.     

类二噁英物质及芳香烃受体(AhR)介导的有害结局路径(AOP)研究进展

二噁英及类二噁英物质(dioxin-like compounds,DLCs)是一类高毒性化合物的统称,对其毒理学的研究一直都是备受关注的焦点。已有证据表明,高毒二噁英及DLCs主要通过激活芳香烃受体(aryl hydrocarbon receptor,AhR),进而导致一系列生物毒性。近年来越来越多的新型有机污染物被发现具有类二噁英分子结构并存在潜在生物毒性或活性。与此同时,如何评估二噁英及DLCs对本土生态生物的危害及其风险也受到更多关注。本文综述了近几年发现的新型二噁英物质、二噁英及DLCs的AhR致毒机制、相应的有害结局路径(adverse outcome pathway,AOP)及AOP在指导探索新型物质及物种敏感性方面上的新观点和发现,同时也展望了二噁英及DLCs在生态毒理及风险评估领域的未来研究方向。     

成都市冬季大气颗粒物组成特征及来源变化趋势

年冬季分别在成都市8个环境受体采样点采集PM₁₀、PM_2.5样品,同时采集颗粒物源类样品,分析上述样品质量浓度及多种无机元素、水溶性离子和碳组分的含量,以对这3 a冬季大气颗粒物浓度、特征组分、来源及变化趋势进行分析. 使用CMB-iteration模型对成都市中心城区的PM₁₀、PM_2.5进行来源解析. 结果表明: 成都市冬季ρ(PM₁₀)在工业区最高,PM_2.5污染呈现区域性特征;冬季PM₁₀的主要来源有扬尘、二次硫酸盐、煤烟尘、二次硝酸盐和机动车尾气尘,上述5类源在2010─2012年的分担率分别为24%～29%、17%～22%、13%～16%、6%～12%、6%～11%;对PM_2.5有重要贡献的源类有二次硫酸盐、扬尘、煤烟尘、二次硝酸盐和机动车尾气尘,这5类源在2010─2012年的分担率范围分别为25%～27%、19%～22%、12%～15%、11%～13%、8%～11%. 二次粒子、扬尘等是成都市大气颗粒物的主要污染源,其中扬尘、建筑水泥尘等以粗粒子为主的源类浓度贡献呈逐年下降趋势,而二次粒子等以细粒子为主的源类浓度贡献则逐年上升,成都市冬季大气细颗粒物污染加重.      

The repeatability of avian egg ejection behaviors across different temporal scales,breeding stages,female ages and experiences

An evolutionarily fundamental, yet rarely examined, aspect of host–parasite arms races is the repeatability of individual host responses to parasitism. We examined the repeatability of egg ejection, and the latency to eject, across a time-scale of days (within one breeding attempt), weeks and months (between breeding attempts within one breeding season), and years (across different breeding seasons). The ejection of non-mimetic model eggs by European blackbirds, Turdus merula, showed overall high repeatability (r?~?0.70) and, similar to empirical patterns on most other behavioral traits already studied, showed decreasing repeatability with time. In contrast, latency to ejection showed negligible repeatability overall (r ~0.20) and did not change with time. Ejection rates, latencies to ejection and the repeatability of egg ejection did not differ between young and old females. Previous experience with experimentation (number of model eggs the female received before the focal trial) marginally non-significantly covaried with egg ejection (positively) and with latency to egg ejection (negatively). Repeatability estimates for both egg ejection and latency to egg ejection at the within one breeding attempt time-scale did not statistically differ from those reported in a previous study of a different blackbird population (introduced population in New Zealand). To our knowledge, this is the first comparison of behavioral repeatability between a native vs. introduced population of any animal species.