Determination and impact of volatile organics emitted during rush hours in the ambient air around gasoline stations

This study analyzes the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ambient air around gasoline stations during rush hours and assesses their impact on human health. Results from this study clearly indicate that methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), toluene, and isobutane are the major VOCs emitted from gasoline stations. Moreover, the concentrations of MTBE and toluene in the ambient air near gasoline stations are remarkably higher than those sampled on surrounding roads, revealing that these compounds are mainly released from gasoline stations. The concentration of VOCs near the gasoline stations without vapor recovery systems are approximately 7.3 times higher than those around the gasoline stations having the recovery systems. An impact on individual health and air quality because of gasoline station emissions was done using Integrated Risk Information System and Industrial Source Complex Short Term model.     

Particle generation by ultraviolet-laser ablation during surface decontamination

A novel photonic decontamination method was developed for removal of pollutants from material surfaces. Such a method relies on the ability of a high-energy laser beam to ablate materials from a contaminated surface layer, thus producing airborne particles. In this paper, the authors presented the results obtained using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) system and an aerosol particle sizer (APS). Particles generated by laser ablation from the surfaces of cement, chromium-embedded cement, and alumina were experimentally investigated. Broad particle distributions from nanometer to micrometer in size were measured. For stainless steel, virtually no particle > 500 nm in aerodynamic size was detected. The generated particle number concentrations of all three of the materials were increased as the 266-nm laser fluence (millijoules per square centimeter) increased. Among the three materials tested, cement was found to be the most favorable for particle removal, alumina next, and stainless steel the least. Chromium (dropped in cement) showed almost no effects on particle production. For all of the materials tested except for stainless steel, bimodal size distributions were observed; a smaller mode peaked at approximately 50-70 nm was detected by SMPS and a larger mode (peaked at approximately 0.70-0.85 microm) by APS. Based on transmission electron microscopy observations, the authors concluded that particles in the range of 50-70 nm were aggregates of primary particles, and those of size larger than a few hundred nanometers were produced by different mechanisms, for example, massive object ejection from the material surfaces.     

Distribution and dissipation pathways of nonylphenol polyethoxylates in the Yellow River: Site investigation and lab-scale studies

Spatial distribution of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and nonylphenol (NP) was investigated in a field study in Lanzhou Reach of the Yellow River. NPEOs and their metabolites were found in the river, with the maximum dissolved concentrations of 6.38 nmol/L for NPEOs, 0.19 nmol/L for nonylphenol ethoxy acetic acids (NPECs) and 0.79 nmol/L for NP, respectively. The maximum concentrations in the sediment and suspended particle samples were 1.50 and 5.09 nmol/g for NPEOs and NP, respectively. The effects of particles, light and microorganism on the dissipation of NPEOs in the river water were investigated based on lab-scale experiments. When natural particles were removed, 72% and 22% degradation of NPEOs were achieved at 120 h in non-sterile and sterile conditions with light, respectively. Different concentrations of NPECs were also observed in these experiments. When suspended particle matters (SPMs) were present, about 38-50% of NPEOs were sorbed to the particulate phase in only 1 h. As a result, the degradation of NPEOs and production of NPECs were inhibited. However, the combined sorption and degradation in the presence of SPMs resulted in lower dissolved NPEO concentrations than those in the absence of SPMs. Biodegradation was the most important pathway for NPEOs degradation in the river water, while NPECs seemed to be produced through both biological and abiological pathways.     

五十年的辉煌--西部防震减灾学术研讨会暨兰州观象台建台50周年纪念大会侧记

繁忙中蕴含着秩序,开拓中孕育着希望。金风送爽之际,一个地震系统的盛会——西部防震减灾学术研讨会暨兰州观象台建台50周年纪念大会吸引了众多国内外地学界领导,著名专家学者,联合国禁核组织及媒体的关注。     

环境管理日常监督检查的规范化

介绍了洛阳分公司在环境管理中实施的一套有效的日常监督检查机制,及时发现和纠正偏差,提高了环境管理体系的运行效率。     

Experimental study on non-destructive testing of rock bolts based on pseudo-random signal

The quality of rock bolt anchoring is closely related to the stability and safety of underground engineering and slope protection. In this paper, non-destructive testing of rock bolts is proposed based on pseudo-random signal, owing to the deficiencies of the conventional detecting method of stress wave reflection. The characteristics of pseudo-random signal for non-destructive testing of rock bolts are introduced. And the rock bolts are tested in the experiment, the time of reflection wave is identified and the length of rock bolts is calculated through cross correlation analysis between the extracted wavelet signal and the test signal. It is proved that the testing results of non-destructive testing methods based on pseudo-random signal are of low deviation. The experiment has shown that non-destructive testing of rock bolts based on pseudo-random signal is feasible with high precision.     

Exploring the perceived influence of safety management practices on project performance in the construction industry

Although safety management is known to be vital to construction projects, very few studies have solicited views from construction practitioners about their perceptions of which safety management practices (SMPs) are important to construction projects and related to project performance. An empirical study was undertaken in Hong Kong in order to shed more light on this topic. In the study, the importance levels of 15 popular SMPs and five project performance criteria were rated by 232 respondents. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and three SMP categories - information, process, and committees - were extracted. Of these three categories, safety management process was perceived by the construction practitioners as being the most important, followed by safety management information and committees. Moreover, the effect of the three SMP categories on a composite project performance variable was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Results indicate that the “information” and “committees” categories were associated with project performance positively and significantly. One of the major conclusions of the study is that the construction industry has paid relatively less attention to safety management committees, which were empirically analyzed as having a strong perceived impact on project performance. In order to improve project performance, construction companies should promote the criticality of safety management committees.     

Quantitative indicator of homeostatic risk perception in car following

Driving behavior is largely affected by the risk perception of drivers. On the basis of risk homeostasis theory, we regard that drivers may adjust car movement according to the perceived risks fluctuating around a target level. However, the manner by which risk perception is quantified remains unclear. We propose assumptions on the quantitative indicators of risk perception and identify a suitable quantitative indicator of risk perception in car-following process. Three risk indicators are discussed, i.e. time-to-collision (TTC), time headway (TH), and safety margin (SM). Using homeostatic features as bases, we found that SM more suitably quantifies homeostatic risk perception than TTC or TH does. Data collected from video drive recorders installed in taxis operating in Beijing are used to analyze the target risk level of SM (desired SM, or DSM) of professional drivers during the car-following process. The data collected by Ahn et al. (2004) to verify Newell’s model are converted into DSM data to further analyze the target risk level of general drivers. The DSM histogram of professional drivers shows that the standard deviation of the DSM value is 0.115, with a mean value of 0.862 and a total distribution close to the normal distribution. For a general driver, the mean value of DSM is 0.896, which is higher than that of professional drivers. This research may shed lights on the understanding of driving behavior.     

一种验证可变速电梯变速功能安全性的检验方法

在分析可变速电梯原理的基础上,研究了可变速电梯变速功能安全性对其正常运行产生的影响,提出了验证可变速电梯变速功能安全性的检验内容与检验方法。试验采用了普通累积法作为测量数据的处理方法,完成了对称重系统的误差评定。试验证明,该检验方法可以有效地反映可变速电梯变速功能的安全状态。     

循环流化床烟气悬浮脱硫技术中试及机理分析

设计了新的循环流化床烟气悬浮脱硫中试装置,其烟气处理量达3500m³/h.首先进行了进料钙硫比(Ca/S)、过饱和温度对装置脱硫效率影响实验,进一步研究了脱硫塔内固体颗粒物循环和烟气流速等因素对脱硫装置性能的影响.对比实验研究表明:在Ca/S=1.2时,固体颗粒物的循环使系统脱硫效率提高15% 左右;脱硫塔内烟气设计流速可以偏高一些.本文同时对系统脱硫过程进行了机理分析,指出了延长脱硫剂有效停留时间的途径.