Food contamination as a pathway for lead exposure in children during the 2010–2013 lead poisoning epidemic in Zamfara, Nigeria

In 2010, an estimated 400 to 500 children died of acute lead poisoning associated with artisanal gold mining in Zamfara, Nigeria. Processing of gold ores containing up to 10% lead within residential compounds put residents, especially children, at the highest risk. Principal routes of exposure were incidental ingestion and inhalation of contaminated soil and dusts. Several Nigerian and international health organizations collaborated to reduce lead exposures through environmental remediation and medical treatment. The contribution of contaminated food to total lead exposure was assessed during the environmental health response. Objectives of this investigation were to assess the influence of cultural/dietary habits on lead exposure pathways and estimate the contribution of contaminated food to children's blood lead levels(BLLs). A survey of village dietary practices and staple food lead content was conducted to determine dietary composition, caloric intakes, and lead intake. Potential blood lead increments were estimated using bio-kinetic modeling techniques. Most dietary lead exposure was associated with contamination of staple cereal grains and legumes during post-harvest processing and preparation in contaminated homes. Average post-harvest and processed cereal grain lead levels were 0.32 mg/kg and 0.85 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. Age-specific food lead intake ranged from 7 to 78 μg/day. Lead ingestion and absorption were likely aggravated by the dusty environment, fasting between meals, and nutritional deficiencies. Contamination of staple cereal grains by highly bioavailable pulverized ores could account for as much as 11%–34% of children's BLLs during the epidemic, and were a continuing source after residential soil remediation until stored grain inventories were exhausted.     

Using markets for land preservation: Results of a TDR program

This paper reviews different approaches to using transferable development rights (TDRs) as a way to preserve rural lands in the face of development pressure. One TDR program is examined in detail, that of Calvert County, Maryland, which has had an active TDR market since the mid-1980s. This program uses TDRs as a key policy tool for achieving a total amount of preserved acreage in the county, and for providing incentives for preservation in some areas and development in others. The paper examines both the early difficulties in developing participation in the program, and the events that lead eventually to an active TDR market. It assesses the workings of the market including factors that influence the demand and supply of TDRs, the movement of prices over time, and the location of preserved areas and of additional developed areas. The study found that the program is achieving many of the county's land preservation goals because of the high level of activity in the TDR market. However, most of the additional density is being channeled into rural areas with underlying low-density zoning.     

BLACK WILLOW CUTTING SURVIVAL IN STREAMBANK PLANTINGS,SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES1

Field studies were conducted on black willow (Salix nigra) cuttings planted for riparian zone restoration along Harland Creek, Twentymile Creek, and Little Topashaw Creek in Mississippi, USA. Planted cuttings were 2.5 to 3 m long and had base diameters of 2.5 to 7.5 cm. Streams were unstable, deeply incised sand bed channels with eroding banks 1 to 6 m high. Soil texture, redox potential (Eh), depth to water table, and willow survival were monitored for two to three years after planting. While many factors influence willow cuttings at restoration sites, soil texture and moisture are key to plant success. In these studies, plant survival and growth were best for cuttings planted in soils with less than 40 percent silt‐clay content and a water table 0.5 m to 1.0 m below the soil surface during the growing season. These conditions produced soil Eh greater than approximately 200 mV and were most often observed 1 to 2 m higher than the bank toe. These findings suggest criteria useful for preplanting site evaluations. Additional evidence suggests that preplanting soaking enhances performance of black willow cuttings. Additional factors (channel erosion, herbivory by beaver, and competition from exotics) may control performance over periods longer than two to three years.     

Moisture effects in heat transfer through clothing systems for wildland firefighters.

Wildland firefighters work in unfavourable environments involving both heat and moisture. Moisture in clothing systems worn by wildland firefighters may increase or decrease heat transfer, depending on its source and location in the clothing system, location on the body, timing of application and degree of sorption. In this experiment, 4 outerwear/underwear combinations were exposed to 1 of 5 different conditions varying on amount and location of moisture. The fabric systems were then exposed to either a high-heat-flux flame exposure (83 kW/m(2)) or a low-heat-flux radiant exposure (10 kW/m(2)). Under high-heat-flux flame exposures, external moisture tended to decrease heat transfer through the fabric systems, while internal moisture tended to increase heat transfer. Under low-heat-flux radiant exposures, internal moisture decreased heat transfer through the fabric systems. The nature and extent of such differences was fabric dependent. Implications for test protocol development are discussed.     

Remediation and stewardship: Coexisting processes to protect health and the environment

Organizations that manage property that poses risks for surrounding communities need to practice stewardship. Stewardship is defined as carrying out the responsibility to manage land and facilities in a sustainable manner, while being accountable to others who have a stake in those resources. This article reviews six case studies of organizational stewardship and derives a set of five lessons learned, along with four challenges. Lessons include developing stewardship goals, good stakeholder relationships, multiple approaches to safety, and encouraging innovation and stable funding. Challenges include bureaucratic processes, burdensome regulations, organizational continuity, and inter‐organizational cooperation. These crosscutting lessons learned about how to achieve success or avoid failure in long‐term management of resources can be applied to all types of public and private agencies, including the long‐term management of environmental contamination. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT NEEDS PECULIAR TO ARID CLIMATES1

ABSTRACT: Many practices followed uniformly nationwide in the federal flood control and floodplain management programs are inappropriate or even counter productive in the arid Utah climate. An analysis of the 130-year Utah flood history, the structural and nonstructural flood programs in the state, and local perceptions obtained by field visits and interviews in 35 Utah communities revealed a number of such inefficiencies. Since flood flows dissipate quickly when they emerge from mountain watersheds onto desert lowlands, risks are concentrated near the apex of alluvial fans, include hazard from mud as well as water flow, and are compounded by canal interception of flood waters. Because of variation in the area flooded from one event to the next, floodplain mapping has tended to show risks too high in mapped areas and too low outside. Traditional channelization carries floods downstream past where they would dissipate naturally. The federal government needs to become more active in developing better flood hazard delineation and structural and nonstructural designs for arid areas. State government can help by providing a forum where communities can exchange experiences, reviewing structural designs prepared by local government, and providing local communities with technical expertise for dealing with federal agencies.     

ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS FOR STATE SCENIC RIVER SYSTEM FORMULATION1

ABSTRACT: Efforts to protect free flowing streams of state significance have met with limited success. Some states established large numbers of “instant” scenic rivers through legislation, then have worked out procedures to add new streams. Other have inadequate current funding and staff to implement the law. The chief barriers to growth of the systems are:

• lack of program staffing and funding and support in some states,
• slowness of the study and planning process,
• landowner uncertainties about the effects on their property and rights, and
• legal complexities.

There are few difficulties experienced in evaluation criteria, but a lack of objective rating systems may cause future problems. The state systems which have grown require careful planning, thorough communications with landowners, flexible land use control programs, and systematic education of community leaders about the values and operation of the program. State systems now protect about four times the river mileage of the federal wild and scenic rivers program. This gap is likely to widen even more, if state programs can achieve their growth potential. No state appears to be yet near to achieving the full purpose of the policy makers who designed and instituted the scenic rivers programs.     

INVESTOR OWNED VS. PUBLICLY OWNED WATER AGENCIES: AN EVALUATION OF THE PROPERTY RIGHTS THEORY OF THE FIRM1

ABSTRACT: The property rights theory of the firm is evaluated by comparing the cost structures of a sample of water agencies under two alternative modes of ownership - public and investor owned. On the basis of the sample, investor owned water agencies appear to have lower cost structures.