Occurrence and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (HCH and DDT) in sediments collected from East China Sea

Sediments used in this study were collected from different depths of eight sites in East China Sea in November 2002. The levels and distribution patterns of the selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs=p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-HCH) in samples were investigated by the technique of sonication extraction followed by the analysis of gas chromatography (GC) coupled with a micro-electron capture detector (muECD). The concentrations of SigmaHCH and SigmaDDT in the surface sediments were in the range of <0.05-1.45 ng/g (mean 0.76 ng/g), <0.06-6.04 ng/g (mean 3.05 ng/g) based on dry weight (dw), respectively. In the vertical distributions, the SigmaHCH and SigmaDDT were in the range of <0.05-2.52 ng/g, <0.06-10.94 ng/g dw, respectively. Residues of OCPs varied significantly with different sampling sites. SigmaDDT in the surface sediments was correlated well with total organic carbon (TOC) content (r2=0.71), while SigmaHCH showed no obvious correlation. The distribution showed that the sediments from the vicinity estuary or near shore had higher TOC contents, and higher OCPs concentrations. The contamination record indicated an extensive use of OCPs in the catchments from Yangtze River in the past might greatly affect the OCP residues.     

Occurrence of 222Rn, 226Ra, 228Ra and U in groundwater in Fujian Province, China

222Rn, 226Ra, 228Ra and U were determined in a total of 552 groundwater samples collected throughout Fujian Province of China. The geometric mean concentrations of 222Rn, 226Ra, 228Ra and total U in the groundwater were 147.8 kBq m-3, 12.7 Bq m-3, 30.2 Bq m-3 and 0.54 microgram kg-1, respectively. High groundwater 222Rn was explained by the predominantly granitic rock aquifers in Fujian. A lifetime risk of 1.7 x 10(-3) was estimated for the ingestion of groundwater 222Rn. High ratios of 228Ra to 226Ra contents (geometric mean of 2.4) and their disproportion suggest that 228Ra should also be measured in the assessment of population doses from drinking water in the regions of high rock or soil 232Th. No significant correlation between the 222Rn concentrations in groundwater and air was found.     

Increased risk of preterm delivery among people living near the three oil refineries in Taiwan

The petrochemical and petroleum industries are two of the main sources of industrial air pollution in Taiwan. Data used in this study concern outdoor air pollution and the health of individuals living in communities in close proximity to oil refinery plants. The prevalence of delivery of preterm birth infants was significantly higher in mothers living near the oil refinery plants than in control mothers in Taiwan. After controlling for several possible confounders (including maternal age, season, marital status, maternal education, and infant sex), the adjusted odds ratio was 1.14 (95% CI=1.01-1.28) for delivery of preterm infants for mothers living near oil refinery plants. These data provide further support for the hypothesis that air pollution can affect the outcome of pregnancies.     

滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理研究

随着滇池治理的进展,在今后一个时期内,恢复滇池饮用水环境功能,成为滇池治理的首要目标和任务。围绕滇池流域水资源供求平衡,采用水资源全要素配置框架下的三次平衡分析理论,从整体上分析了滇池流域水资源供求平衡关系及存在的主要问题,提出了以需求为导向,建立滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理目标和措施。分析表明：在滇池治理的基础上,通过建立滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理体系,落实管理措施,从总量平衡的理论上能够充分发挥引水工程的作用,恢复滇池饮用水环境功能,实现水量、水质供求的综合平衡。建议进一步开展量化分析和模拟实验研究,为在滇池流域实施综合平衡管理提供可靠依据和建议     

基于灾变理论的盐城市土地生态安全评价研究

土地生态安全关系到区域的可续发展。以压力 状态 响应模型与灾变理论相结合,根据盐城市的土地利用特点,分别从社会、经济和生态环境方面构建土地生态安全评价指标体系,分析盐城市2002～2011年的土地生态安全变化情况,找出其中的问题,能为盐城市土地利用可持续发展提供理论依据和参考价值。研究表明：盐城市土地利用生态安全等级除了2003年和2007年为安全等级外,其余8 a均为中等安全、不安全和极不安全等级,而且基本呈逐年下降趋势;人口、环保投入和城镇化是导致盐城市土地利用生态安全等级下降的重要影响因素,这种现实状况应该引起政府相关决策部门的高度重视,最后提出了几点建议     

汉江流域土地利用/覆被变化的水文效应模拟研究

针对流域LUCC驱动因子众多、驱动因子与土地利用/覆被变化之间存在复杂的非线性动态关系的特点,以汉江上游流域LUCC模拟为例,构建基于人工神经网络（ANN）与元胞自动机（CA）的模拟土地利用/覆被变化的CA ANN耦合模型,并应用该模型预测汉江上游流域2020s年代的LUCC变化情景。结果表明：2020s汉江黄家港站上游流域水田、旱地、灌木林与建设用地面积均有不同程度的增加,其中建设用地增幅最大,与区域交通和城市化的迅猛发展趋势相符;除建设用地增幅变化较大之外,1980s～2000s与2000s～2020s两个时期其余土地利用/覆盖类型的面积变化率都比较相近,表明CA ANN耦合模型能够刻画土地利用/覆盖类型的转换规律,在流域土地利用/覆被变化的复杂非线性动态演变情景的模拟预测方面是可行的。在此基础上,应用SWAT分布式水文模型模拟汉江上游流域水文过程。研究结果表明：在1980s年代、2000s年代及预测的2020s年代LUCC情景下,汉江上游流域年平均径流量呈增加趋势,LUCC对径流量年内影响较汛期显著,多年平均蒸散发量呈增加趋势     

Energy use,blue water footprint,and greenhouse gas emissions for current food consumption patterns and dietary recommendations in the US

This article measures the changes in energy use, blue water footprint, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with shifting from current US food consumption patterns to three dietary scenarios, which are based, in part, on the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines (US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services in Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, 7th edn, US Government Printing Office, Washington, 2010). Amidst the current overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA, the Dietary Guidelines provide food and beverage recommendations that are intended to help individuals achieve and maintain healthy weight. The three dietary scenarios we examine include (1) reducing Caloric intake levels to achieve “normal” weight without shifting food mix, (2) switching current food mix to USDA recommended food patterns, without reducing Caloric intake, and (3) reducing Caloric intake levels and shifting current food mix to USDA recommended food patterns, which support healthy weight. This study finds that shifting from the current US diet to dietary Scenario 1 decreases energy use, blue water footprint, and GHG emissions by around 9 %, while shifting to dietary Scenario 2 increases energy use by 43 %, blue water footprint by 16 %, and GHG emissions by 11 %. Shifting to dietary Scenario 3, which accounts for both reduced Caloric intake and a shift to the USDA recommended food mix, increases energy use by 38 %, blue water footprint by 10 %, and GHG emissions by 6 %. These perhaps counterintuitive results are primarily due to USDA recommendations for greater Caloric intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and fish/seafood, which have relatively high resource use and emissions per Calorie.     

Policy evaluation of vehicle exhaust standards in Japan from 1995 to 2005 based on two human health risk indices for air pollution and global warming

Measures for vehicle exhaust emissions aimed at reducing either air pollution or global warming could have counterproductive effects on one another. Increasing diesel passenger vehicles, which generally have lower CO₂ emissions than gasoline counterparts, leads to increasing particulate matter (PM) emissions, while gasoline has lower PM emissions than diesel. It is said that stringent limits on PM emission factors discourages improved CO₂ emission factors. Without including both effects in a risk evaluation, one cannot evaluate whether the total risk is reduced or not. Hence, we evaluated representative exhaust emission measures based on risk evaluation for both air pollution and global warming. Considering consumer choice between diesel and gasoline passenger vehicles and emissions standards adopted in Japan from 1995 to 2005, we built five cases for vehicle policy evaluation. For each case, we estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALY) as an index of human health risk caused by lung cancer linked to inhalation exposure of elemental carbon in PM as well as due to global warming linked to CO₂. The results of our risk evaluation reveal that the case adopting the 2005 new long-term Japanese emission standard reduces the human health risk caused by lung cancer due to air pollution by 0.6 × 10³ DALY, but would increase the risk due to global warming by 31.9 × 10³ DALY compared with the case of adopting EURO 4, for the same conditions of passenger vehicle choice from 1995. These results suggest that the characteristics of Japanese emissions standards are mainly designed to reduce air pollution.     

Drinking water risk assessment in practice: the case of Swedish drinking water producers at risk from floods

To achieve a safe and reliable drinking water supply, water producers need to manage a large range of risks regarding both water quality and quantity. A risk management approach where risks are systematically identified and handled in a preventive manner is promoted by the World Health Organization and supported by researchers and drinking water experts worldwide. Risk assessment is an important part of such a management approach, and a variety of tools for risk assessment are described in the literature. There is, however, little knowledge of how drinking water risk assessment is performed in practice, including which tools that are actually used. This study investigates the use of risk assessment tools, and the approach to risk management, on a local level in the Swedish water sector. It is based on interviews with key persons from a targeted selection of water producers. We find that the application of tools as well as the approach to risk assessment and management differs considerably between the water producers. The tools most frequently used are mainly the ones promoted or required by Swedish national organizations. Although many of the water producers have done some kind of risk assessment, most have not implemented a risk management approach. Furthermore, their knowledge of the concepts of risk and risk management is often limited. The largest challenge identified is to prioritize risk assessment, so that it is actually performed and then used as a basis for managing risk in a systematic way.     

An improvement selection methodology for key performance indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical measures for determining the health of a manufacturing plant in relationship to the plant’s goals. In today’s competitive environment, manufacturers cannot be careless about their business; in fact, they must ensure that their KPIs are effective and use them to make improvements when necessary. This paper describes a method for suggesting improvements to a manufacturer’s KPIs, based on the results achieved from a workshop to score the KPI on a number of predefined criteria. The approach uses a prospect theory approach to weight the scoring. Different problem formulations were derived that allow for both recommendations for improvements and the recommendations for disinvestments to over-performing KPIs. The authors applied the developed approach to two workshop outputs, each from independent manufacturers, and the results highlighted the significant difference between the two manufacturers in terms of improvement priorities and KPI assessment. The optimal improvement suggestions were compared to those found through a fast heuristic. It was determined that given the underlying assumptions of the approach that the heuristic solutions were just as adequate as the optimal ones.