The NICE-Whyco technologies partnership: saving energy, dollars, and the environment in the metal plating industry

In partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technology, Whyco Technologies, Inc., has developed an innovative perforated plating barrel used in the plating of metal parts. This new technology employs a thin-walled construction, differing from the traditional thick-wall design required to provide adequate structural integrity. The thicker walls lowered the efficiency of transferring plating solution into and out of the barrel and diminished the electrical current pushed through the holes and onto the parts being plated. By machining pockets out of the traditional thick-walled perforated structure, Whyco produced a ‘honeycomb’ of staggered cells, allowing for the greatest number of holes per open area while maintaining structural integrity. Hydrodynamic pumping occurs during barrel rotation to create greater solution transfer than in traditional barrels. The Whyco barrel has higher current density plating, which leads to faster plating cycles, reduced bath concentration, and better plating of difficult chemistries such as in alloys. This new technology has helped the company reduce energy use by 16%, eliminate more than 480 tons/year of solid waste, and reduce wastewater by more than 17 000 gallons/day. The resulting cost savings total more than $500 000 annually. The company has manufactured and sold more than 275 of these barrels to other electroplating companies that are reporting up to a 40% increase in plating productivity and similar energy and environmental impacts.     

Efficacy of Vegetated Buffers in Preventing Transport of Fecal Coliform Bacteria from Pasturelands

An experimental study was conducted in Tillamook, Oregon, USA, to quantify the effectiveness of edge-of-field vegetated buffers for reducing transport of fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) from agricultural fields amended with dairy cow manure. Installation of vegetated buffers on loamy soils dramatically reduced the bacterial contamination of runoff water from manure-treated pasturelands, but the size of the vegetated buffer was not an important determinant of bacterial removal efficiency. Only 10% of the runoff samples collected from treatment cells having vegetated buffers exhibited FCB concentrations >200 colony forming units (cfu)/100 mL (a common water quality standard value), and the median concentration for all cells containing vegetated buffers was only 6 cfu/100 mL. The presence of a vegetated buffer of any size, from 1 to 25 m, generally reduced the median FCB concentration in runoff by more than 99%. Results for FCB load calculations were similar. Our results suggest that where substantial FCB contamination of runoff occurs from manure-treated pasturelands, it might be disproportionately associated with specific field or management conditions, such as the presence of soils that exhibit low water infiltration and generate larger volumes of runoff or the absence of a vegetated buffer. Buffer size regulations that do not consider such differences might not be efficient or effective in reducing bacterial contamination of runoff.     

The influence of rear turn-signal characteristics on crash risk

IntroductionThe relationship between the relative risk of a rear-end collision during a turn, merge, or lane change maneuver and the characteristics of the rear turn-signal configuration was examined using crash data from seven states in the United States.MethodRear turn-signal characteristics—including color, optics, separation, and light source—were identified for 55 vehicle models and used in a logistic regression analysis to model the odds of a rear-end collision. Additional variables including driver demographics (gender, age), vehicle age, and light condition were also modeled. Risk was assessed using a contrast group of striking vehicles in similar collisions.ResultsThe results suggest that the odds of being the struck vehicle were 3% to 28% lower among vehicles equipped with amber versus red turn signals. Although the analysis suggests that there may be a safety benefit associated with amber rear turn signals, it is unclear whether turn-signal color alone is responsible.Impact on IndustryThe results suggest that aspects of a vehicle's rear signal characteristics may influence crash risk.     

Methylmercury, fish consumption, and the precautionary principle

This paper considers several broad issues in the context of probabilistic assessment of the benefits of curtailing mercury (Hg) emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants, based on information developed from recent literature and epidemiology studies of health effects of methylmercury. Exposure of the U.S. population is considered on the national scale, in large part because of recent questions arising from survey and experimental data about the relative importance of local deposition of airborne Hg. Although epidemiological studies have provided useful information, safe levels of Hg exposure remain uncertain, in part because of other dietary considerations in the populations that were studied. For example, much of the seafood consumed in one of the major studies was also contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, as are fish taken from some U.S. fresh waters. The primary epidemiological approach involves cross-study comparisons in relation to mean exposures, rather than detailed critiques of individual effects reported in each study. U.S. exposures are seen to be well below the levels at which adverse health effects are reported. This analysis supports the conclusion that unilateral reduction of Hg emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants alone is unlikely to realize significant public health benefits.     

Possible impacts of changes in UV-B radiation on North American trees and forests

Approximately 35 species representing 14 tree genera have been evaluated for responses to UV-B radiation in North America. The best representation has been in the conifers where some 20 species representing three genera have been studied. Overall, about 1/3 of these have demonstrated some deleterious response to UV-B. However, most negative impacts have been observed under controlled environment conditions where sensitivity may be enhanced. Therefore, it seems unlikely that expected levels of ozone depletion will result in direct losses in productivity. However, the role that ambient or enhanced levels of UV-B may play in forest ecosystem processes is more difficult to access. One possible indirect response of forests to changes in UV-B radiation levels could be via alterations in plant secondary metabolites. Increases in phenolics and flavonoids that enhance epidermal UV-screening effectiveness may also influence leaf development, water relations or ecosystem processes such as plant-herbivore interactions or decomposition.     

Biodiversity Differences between Managed and Unmanaged Forests: Meta-Analysis of Species Richness in Europe

Abstract: Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics inevitably lead to changes in the biodiversity of forest‐dwelling species. The possible biodiversity gains and losses due to forest management (i.e., anthropogenic pressures related to direct forest resource use), however, have never been assessed at a pan‐European scale. We used meta‐analysis to review 49 published papers containing 120 individual comparisons of species richness between unmanaged and managed forests throughout Europe. We explored the response of different taxonomic groups and the variability of their response with respect to time since abandonment and intensity of forest management. Species richness was slightly higher in unmanaged than in managed forests. Species dependent on forest cover continuity, deadwood, and large trees (bryophytes, lichens, fungi, saproxylic beetles) and carabids were negatively affected by forest management. In contrast, vascular plant species were favored. The response for birds was heterogeneous and probably depended more on factors such as landscape patterns. The global difference in species richness between unmanaged and managed forests increased with time since abandonment and indicated a gradual recovery of biodiversity. Clearcut forests in which the composition of tree species changed had the strongest effect on species richness, but the effects of different types of management on taxa could not be assessed in a robust way because of low numbers of replications in the management‐intensity classes. Our results show that some taxa are more affected by forestry than others, but there is a need for research into poorly studied species groups in Europe and in particular locations. Our meta‐analysis supports the need for a coordinated European research network to study and monitor the biodiversity of different taxa in managed and unmanaged forests.     

Treatment of Highly Contaminated Groundwater: A SITE Demonstration Project

From September through November 1994, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a field demonstration of the remediation of highly contaminated groundwater at the Nascolite Superfund site located in Millville, New Jersey. Besides high concentrations of the major contaminant, methyl methacrylate (MMA), the groundwater also contained small amounts of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds. ZenoGem® technology, an integrated bioreactor and ultrafiltration membrane system, was employed for this demonstration project. Approximately 30,000 gallons of groundwater containing MMA in concentrations of 567 to 9,500 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values ranging from 1,490 to 19,600 mg/L was treated. The demonstration focused on the system's ability to remove MMA and reduce COD from the groundwater. Results of the three‐month demonstration showed that average MMA and COD removal efficiencies were greater than 99.9 and 86.9, respectively. The total cost of treatment, depending on the duration of the project, is estimated to vary from $0.22 to $0.55 (in 1994 dollars) per gallon of groundwater treated. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons.     

The emergence of an environmental governance network: the case of the Arizona borderlands

Regional Environmental Change - Across the country, government agencies increasingly collaborate with non-governmental actors on environmental dilemmas to gain access to resources, expertise, and...