Assessing groundwater quality and its sustainability in Joypurhat district of Bangladesh using GIS and multivariate statistical approaches

Sustainable groundwater quality is a key global concern and has become a major issue of disquiets in most parts of the world including Bangladesh. Hence, the assessment of groundwater quality is an important study to ensure its sustainability for various uses. In this study, a combination of multivariate statistics, geographical information system (GIS) and geochemical approaches was employed to evaluate the groundwater quality and its sustainability in Joypurhat district of Bangladesh. The results showed that the groundwater samples are mainly Ca–Mg–HCO₃ type. Principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed that geogenic sources (rock weathering and cation exchange) followed by anthropogenic activities (domestic sewage and agro-chemicals) were the major factors governing the groundwater quality of the study area. Furthermore, the results of PCA are validated using the cluster analysis and correlation matrix analysis. Based on the groundwater quality index (GWQI), it is found that all the groundwater samples belong to excellent to good water quality domains for human consumption, although iron, fluoride and iodide contaminated to the groundwater, which do not pose any significant health hazard according to World Health Organization’s and Bangladesh’s guideline values. The results of irrigation water quality index including sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability index and sodium percentage (Na %) suggested that most of the groundwater samples are good quality water for agricultural uses. The spatial distribution of the measured values of GWQI, SAR, Fe (iron), EC (electrical conductivity) and TH (total hardness) were spatially mapped using the GIS tool in the study area.     

Measurement of public awareness of climate change in China: based on a national survey with 4,025 samples

Just before the new round of UN climate change conference in Bonn, a survey report, named as the Climate Change in the Chinese Mind 2017, was released in Beijing. The investigation was conducted in the form of a computer-assisted telephone survey with a sample size of 4,025 samples, covering 332 prefecture-level administrative units and four municipalities in China. Urban-rural proportion and sex proportion were specially taken into account, so as to demonstrate the Chinese public awareness objectively. The investigation measures the public awareness from six aspects, which includes climate change beliefs, impacts, response, policies, actions, and the assessment of the effectiveness of climate communication. This article presents the key findings of the survey and provides further insights behind the data.     

生物滴滤塔处理模拟甲硫醚废气

在常温条件下,采用生物滴滤塔处理模拟甲硫醚废气,考察了气体空床停留时间(EBRT)、容积负荷、喷淋密度及营养液pH对生物滴滤塔性能的影响。实验结果表明:当EBRT为90 s、进气甲硫醚质量浓度为150 mg/m~3、喷淋密度为0.65 m~3/(m~2·h),营养液pH为6.8时,甲硫醚去除率为90%;容积负荷高于15 g/(m~3·h)时,对生物滴滤塔的性能产生抑制作用;EBRT为90 s及60 s时,最佳喷淋密度分别为0.56~0.65 m~3/(m~2·h)及0.65~0.75 m~3/(m~2·h);降解甲硫醚的微生物对pH的变化较敏感,最适营养液pH为6~7。     

Recycling of biodiesel fuel wastewater for use as a liquid fertilizer for hydroponics

Wastewater is discharged during washing processes in the production of biodiesel fuel (BDF) using alkaline catalysts. It can be recycled as a liquid fertilizer for hydroponics by adding essential components for plant growth. The effects of the liquid fertilizer on plant growth were investigated. Liquid fertilizer containing a smaller amount of the BDF wastewater had a similar effect on plant growth as the standard nutrient solutions. This result reveals that BDF wastewater can be recycled for use as a liquid fertilizer for hydroponics. However, fertilizer with a larger amount of the BDF wastewater showed poor and varied plant growth due to the growth of microorganisms in the contaminated wastewater. Hence, when BDF wastewater becomes contaminated during storage, sterilization is necessary to recycle it as a liquid fertilizer. Moreover, contamination during storage should be avoided for successful recycling.     

A comparison of refrigerant management policies and suggestions for improvement in South Korea

HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) emerged as alternative refrigerants after the production of chlorofluorocarbons was banned and hydrochlorofluorocarbons were phased out, under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. However, because the Kyoto Protocol considered HFCs as greenhouse gases, and their impact on climate change has been increasing, major developed countries have been strengthening existing regulations on the use of HFCs as refrigerants. South Korea has also passed various legislations related to refrigerant management. However, reports indicate that implementation of these regulations has been ineffective, due to the absence of a specific system for managing the production, use, and disposal phases of refrigerants. To identify and resolve these issues, this study investigates the current state of refrigerant management in South Korea for those three phases. Refrigerant management policies are compared between different legislatures, using the examples of the European Union, United States, and Japan. Based on the findings, five types of measures are suggested to reduce the production and consumption of refrigerants, and to improve refrigerant management regulations in ways that are most appropriate to the South Korean context.     

计算毒理学在内分泌干扰物筛选上的应用和展望

内分泌干扰物通过干扰内分泌系统导致多种疾病,如生殖疾病、肥胖症甚至癌症。然而,面对环境中大量潜在的内分泌干扰物,传统的体外、体内评估方法由于成本高、耗时长等问题,难以实现内分泌干扰物的高通量筛查。计算毒理学逐渐发展成为被美国环保局(Environmental Protection Agency,EPA)、经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,OECD)等机构所推荐的内分泌干扰物筛选与预测方法。本文综述了计算毒理学在内分泌干扰物筛选上的进展,主要包括分子对接和分子动力学模拟的应用,并对有害结局路径(adverse outcome pathway,AOP)的方法进行介绍和展望。     

农药混配制剂环境风险评估现状与展望

本文综述了欧洲和美国农药混配制剂的环境风险评估方法。详细介绍了欧洲食品安全局(EFSA)评估体系中的2种方法,即,基础的"整体测试法"和近年来提倡的"基于组分的方法"。"基于组分的方法"的特点是以浓度加和模型(CA模型)作为默认假设进行初级评估,以独立作用模型(IA模型)等作为高级评估手段的农药混配制剂环境风险评估方法。此外,本文还介绍了模型偏差率(MDR)、毒性相似度及毒力单元(TU)等概念以及混配制剂风险评估流程。本文的目的旨在为建立我国农药混配制剂的环境风险评估方法体系提供参考。     

黄、渤海滨海带大气颗粒物时空分布与来源特征

PM10作为大气污染物监测的主要指标之一,探究大气PM10浓度对大气环境质量和人体健康评价具有重要意义。黄、渤海滨海带包括京、津和辽、冀、鲁、苏等工、农业大省,区域大气PM10污染的时空分布和来源特征具有复杂性和典型性。在锦州、北京、天津、烟台、青岛、连云港和盐城7个城市布设10个采样点,含7个城市点和3个农村点,开展为期一年的大气颗粒物的采样;同时,于冬季1月和夏季7月在锦州、天津和烟台进行合计60 d的加密采样,藉以确定研究区域大气PM10的时空分布和来源特征。结果表明,黄、渤海滨海带大气年均PM10总浓度为(129’18)"g·m~(-3),单月最低值出现在2015年7月盐城农村样点15"g·m~(-3),最高值为2015年3月北京城市点307"g·m~(-3)。盐城大气PM10浓度(城市点(85’27)"g·m~(-3)和农村点(66’35)"g·m~(-3))显著低于其他样点大气PM10浓度。渤海滨海带中西部的京(140’68"g·m~(-3))、津(169’60"g·m~(-3))两市大气PM10年均浓度显著高于东部的锦州(125’41"g·m~(-3))和烟台(109’31"g·m~(-3));而且黄海滨海带大气PM10年均浓度(114"g·m~(-3))显著低于渤海滨海带年均浓度(136"g·m~(-3)),总体上表现出西高东低、北高南低的特征。黄、渤海滨海带城市点和农村点年均浓度分别为(129’18)"g·m~(-3)和(112’30)"g·m~(-3);农村点春冬季大气PM10浓度和城市点浓度相当,无显著差异,夏秋季大气PM10浓度略低于城市浓度,表明农村地区大气颗粒物污染情况也较为严重,需受到关注。区域内PM10浓度季节变化整体表现为春冬高、夏秋低。利用多元回归分析初步判断黄、渤海滨海带PM10属于复合来源,大气PM10浓度约30%的变化与降水、人均能耗和沙尘天气相关。黄、渤海滨海带大气PM10浓度的昼夜变化不大,大气PM10浓度与气温呈现正相关,与风速和降水呈现负相关,表现为受各种气象因素综合作用的影响。     

环境有毒有害物质快速鉴别方法与应用

频发的污染事故严重影响环境质量,危害人群健康,事故的源解析和修复成为了关键问题。而传统的靶向分析方法无法胜任实际工作需求。因此,本研究建立了1)有毒有害物质清单;2)一种针对有毒有害物质的快速高效鉴别方法。将上述方法应用于某场地污染事件,成功筛查鉴定出30种环境高关注度物质,通过数据库比对进一步鉴定了6种危废物质,通过购买标准样品成功验证了4种物质。同时,还通过文献查阅与标样比对确认了另外2种有毒物质。因此,本研究建立的有毒有害物质快速筛查方法为实际环境中的污染物快速鉴别提供了一种可靠的、可行的方法。     

7种农药对管氏肿腿蜂的毒性及初级风险评价

为评估农药对寄生类自然天敌昆虫的安全性,选择管氏肿腿蜂(Scleroderma guani Xiao et Wu)作为受试生物,采用管测药膜法测定了3种杀虫剂、2种除草剂、2种杀菌剂对其致死效应,并根据田间推荐剂量计算暴露量,采用风险商值HQ对杀虫剂进行风险评估。结果显示,与空白对照比较,3种杀虫剂均具明显毒性作用,其中丁硫克百威、吡虫啉和呋虫胺对管氏肿腿蜂的24 h半致死量(24 h-LR50)分别为5.11、2.92和0.06 g a.i.·ha-1,农田内风险商值分别为60.23、16.64和3 105。除草剂和杀菌剂在3倍最大田间推荐剂量作用下,24 h管氏肿腿蜂死亡率均小于50%。上述结果表明,在田间推荐用量下,3种杀虫剂对管氏肿腿蜂的初级风险评价为存在高风险,建议进一步开展高级阶段风险评估或者采取合理的风险管理措施来降低风险;除草剂和杀菌剂对管氏肿腿蜂的风险可接受。