建立我国生态环境标准体系的初步构想

我国的生态环境标准极其薄弱，建立生态环境标准体系是我国生态环境保护的迫切需要。借鉴我国目前针对污染防治的环境标准体系，提出了我国生态环境标准体系的基本框架，以及生态环境标准制订的原则和重点。     

A screening study of the treatability of dioxins and furans in bleach plant filtrates and mill wastewaters

Findings are presented of a study to provide the pulp and paper industry with basic data regarding the feasibility for treatment of bleach plant filtrates or combined treated mill effluents for 2,3,7,8-TCDD and 2,3,7,8-TCDF reduction.     

The future for electrocoagulation as a localised water treatment technology

Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical method of treating polluted water whereby sacrificial anodes corrode to release active coagulant precursors (usually aluminium or iron cations) into solution. Accompanying electrolytic reactions evolve gas (usually as hydrogen bubbles) at the cathode. Electrocoagulation has a long history as a water treatment technology having been employed to remove a wide range of pollutants. However electrocoagulation has never become accepted as a 'mainstream' water treatment technology. The lack of a systematic approach to electrocoagulation reactor design/operation and the issue of electrode reliability (particularly passivation of the electrodes over time) have limited its implementation. However recent technical improvements combined with a growing need for small-scale decentralised water treatment facilities have led to a re-evaluation of electrocoagulation. Starting with a review of electrocoagulation reactor design/operation, this article examines and identifies a conceptual framework for electrocoagulation that focuses on the interactions between electrochemistry, coagulation and flotation. In addition detailed experimental data are provided from a batch reactor system removing suspended solids together with a mathematical analysis based on the 'white water' model for the dissolved air flotation process. Current density is identified as the key operational parameter influencing which pollutant removal mechanism dominates. The conclusion is drawn that electrocoagulation has a future as a decentralised water treatment technology. A conceptual framework is presented for future research directed towards a more mechanistic understanding of the process.     

Leaching behaviour of synthetic aggregates

In the framework of EU project "Utilising innovative kiln technology to recycle waste into synthetic aggregate" (BRST-CT98-5234), the leaching behaviour of synthetic aggregates has been studied to assess its environmental compatibility in the various stages of its use. Since the conditions are very different for the different uses, the assessment calls for a variety of different leaching conditions. The pH dependence test is used to cover important differences in pH environment to which the materials are exposed to as well as for an assessment of the buffering capacity of the material. Synthetic aggregate features a low buffer capacity, which makes it sensitive to externally imposed pH conditions. Utilisation and storage exposed to acidic conditions needs to be avoided. The results of the pH dependence test and column leaching test are mutually consistent. The CEN TC 154 method appears to provide systematically low values due to the arbitrary selection of test conditions. Synthetic aggregate studied to date will not adversely affect the concrete in its service life. The main issue for aggregate use is the recycling and the "end of life" condition, when the material becomes construction debris. Not metals, but oxyanions, such as Cr VI and Mo are most relevant under these conditions. A concise test has been applied to assess crucial aspects of leaching for different production mixes.     

Partitioning and removal of perfluorooctanoate during rain events: the importance of physical-chemical properties

The potential for airborne emissions to undergo long-range transport or to be removed from the atmosphere is influenced by their physical-chemical properties. When perfluorooctanate (PFO) enters the environment, its physical-chemical properties can vary significantly, depending on whether it exists as an acid, a salt, or a dissociated ion. A summary of the physical-chemical properties of the three most likely environmental states: ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and the dissociated perfluorooctanoate anion (PFO(-)) is presented to illustrate the distinct environmental properties of each. The most volatile species, PFOA, is shown to have a pH-dependent air-water partitioning coefficient (K(aw)). The variability of K(aw) with pH influences the potential for vapor formation from aqueous environments, including rain events. Using the pH-dependent K(aw) and measured rain and air concentrations, it is shown that vapor-phase PFOA is not likely to be present above measurable levels of 0.2 ng m(-3) (12 parts per quadrillion v/v) during a rain event. Because rain concentrations determined in this work are comparable to measurements in other parts of North America, it is unlikely that rain events are a significant source of vapor-phase PFOA for the general North American region. It is shown that PFOA exists primarily in the particle phase in ambient air near direct sources of emissions and is efficiently scavenged by rain droplets, making wet deposition an important removal mechanism for emissions originating as either PFOA or APFO. Washout ratios of particle-associated PFO were determined to range between 1 x 10(5) and 5 x 10(5), in the same range as other semi-volatile compounds for which wet deposition is an important mechanism for atmospheric removal and deposition onto soils and water bodies.     

Dioxin emissions from waste incinerators

Mechanisms that have been proposed to account for the emission of PCDD/PCDF from municipal waste incinerators were evaluated in the light of extensive experimental data obtained from the Quebec City municipal solid waste incinerator by Environment Canada. It was found that PCDD/PCDF emissions were closely related to the quantity of material entrained by the combustion gases.     

Coastal retreat and/or advance adjacent to defences in England and Wales

Retreat and advance of shoreline position occurs naturally, and also as a result of defences which are constructed to prevent erosion and flooding. Retreat more commonly manifests itself down-drift of defences due to a sediment deficit causing the coast to become ‘set-back’. Advance normally develops due to sediment accumulation up-drift of a barrier inhibiting longshore drift, resulting in the coast becoming ‘set-forward’. Many examples of set-backs and set-forwards are recorded, but their location, number and cause is not known on a national scale. Using the Futurecoast aerial photographs, approximately 200 localities were identified as set-back or set-forward in England and Wales, with half situated in the Eastern and South East regions of England. Half of the total set-backs or set-forwards were on cliffed coasts, and half on low-lying coasts. Without local knowledge it is difficult to distinguish between set-backs and set-forwards. Set-backs often indicate higher retreat rates, thus threatening cliff-top infrastructure which requires defence upgrade and extensions, as well as raising maintenance costs. Monitoring set-backs is important for shoreline management, because as retreat continues, set-backs evolve and artificial headlands form and grow. This is reinforced by the shift from hard defence policies towards softer engineering approaches, managed realignment and limited intervention.     

Classification of Ephemeral,Intermittent, and Perennial Stream Reaches Using a TOPMODEL‐Based Approach

Whether a waterway is temporary or permanent influences regulatory protection guidelines, however, classification can be subjective due to a combination of factors, including time of year, antecedent moisture conditions, and previous experience of the field investigator. Our objective was to develop a standardized protocol using publically available spatial information to classify ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams. Our hypothesis was that field observations of flow along the stream channel could be compared to results from a hydrologic model, providing an objective method of how these stream reaches can be identified. Flow‐state sensors were placed at ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial stream reaches from May to December 2011 in the Appalachian coal basin of eastern Kentucky. This observed flow record was then used to calibrate the simulated saturation deficit in each channel reach based on the topographic wetness index used by TOPMODEL. Saturation deficit values were categorized as flow or no‐flow days, and the simulated record of streamflow was compared to the observed record. The hydrologic model was more accurate for simulating flow during the spring and fall seasons. However, the model effectively identified stream reaches as intermittent and perennial in each of the two basins.