INASUD project findings on integrated assessment of climate policies

This communication summarizes the main findings of INASUD, an European-wide research project on integrated assessment of climate policies. The project aimed at improving the framing of climate policy analysis through the parallel use of various existing integrated assessment models. It provides a comprehensive examination of the link between uncertainty regarding damages and inertia in economic systems. Results show that the Kyoto targets and timing are consistent with the precautionary principle but offers little insurance for longer-term climate protection. Flexibility mechanisms offer potentials for cooperation with developing countries, and are necessary to tap the environmental and economic benefits of joint carbon and sulfur emissions abatement.     

The effect of filter material on bioaerosol collection of Bacillus subtilis spores used as a Bacillus anthracis simulant

The objective of this study was to determine filter materials and extraction methods that are appropriate to use for environmental sampling of B. anthracis. Four types of filters were tested: mixed cellulose ester (MCE) with a pore size of 3 microm, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with pore sizes of 1 and 3 microm, and gelatin with a pore size of 3 microm. Bacillus subtilis var. niger endospores (also known as Bacillus globigii[BG]) were used as a surrogate for B. anthracis. Endospores were collected into Button Inhalable Aerosol Samplers with sampling times of 15 minutes, 1 hour, and 4 hours. Physical collection efficiency was determined by measuring upstream and downstream B. subtilis concentrations with an optical particle counter. Vortexing with ultrasonic agitation and vortexing with shaker agitation extraction methods were evaluated. The MCE, 1 microm PTFE, and gelatin filters provided physical collection efficiencies of 94% or greater. The 3 microm PTFE filter showed inconsistent physical efficiency characteristics between filters. Epifluorescence microscopic analysis of the gelatin filter extraction fluid revealed the presence of contamination by non-culturable bacteria. Mean differences for microbial culturability were not statistically significant for filter materials and extraction methods. However, the vortexing with shaker agitation extraction method resulted in higher total microbial counts in the extraction fluids for MCE and 1 microm PTFE filters when compared to vortexing with ultrasonic agitation. In summary, the MCE and 1 microm PTFE filters in combination with vortexing and shaker extraction demonstrated the best performance for the filter collection and extraction of BG spores.     

Monitored natural attenuation forum: The case for abiotic MNA

The environmental fate and transport of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is controlled by the physical and chemical properties of the compound and the nature of the subsurface media through which the compound is migrating. Several processes (advection, dispersion, diffusion, biodegradation, and abiotic degradation, to name a few) result in a reduction in concentration and/or mass of contaminants in groundwater. Of these processes, biodegradation is often considered the dominant destructive attenuation mechanism for chlorinated VOCs. However, chlorinated VOCs can also degrade through abiotic processes and, in some cases, may be the primary or only destructive process occurring. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Optimal Treatment Zone Moves During Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination in Fractured Bedrock

An enhanced bioremediation pilot test was implemented to study the efficacy of enhancing in situ reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) in shallow bedrock where some intrinsic degradation to cis‐1,2‐dichloroethene (cis‐1,2‐DCE) was observed without further degradation to vinyl chloride or nontoxic ethene. Limited Dehalococcoides spp. cell concentrations were present within the study area prior to the gravity‐fed injection of an injectate of fermentable carbon substrates in native anaerobic groundwater. Direct connectivity between the injection well screen and performance monitoring well was evidenced and resulted in the degradation of nearly all PCE to cis‐1,2‐DCE, significant decrease in pH, and apparent inhibited Dehalococcoides spp. growth in the study area groundwater in the first six months. After 24 months, nearly all cis‐1,2‐DCE had degraded to nontoxic ethene, pH rebounded to more optimal levels, and abundant growth of Dehalococcoides spp. (6.8E05 cells/mL) and its functional gene expressions responsible for complete dechlorination were evident. The observations indicated initial poor dechlorination within the injection zone did not preclude effective treatment, allowing sufficient monitoring time showed the effective treatment zone (or more‐optimal fringe) first moved outward from the injection zone beyond the monitoring point and then receded back toward the point of injection over a period of two years. ©2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Critique of Estimating Future Costs Using Most Likely Value

ASTM E2137 (Standard Guide for Estimating Monetary Costs and Liability for Environmental Matters, or E2137) is the guidance for developing estimates of future environmental costs. E2137 provides a hierarchy of cost estimation approaches, and expresses an explicit preference for the use of probabilistic cost analysis to develop expected values for environmental costs. Dr. Ram and his colleagues have published an article (Remediation Journal, Autumn 2013) which rejects the use of EV analysis, arguing that while “good in principle” it has little practical value because it is nearly impossible to develop supportable probabilities. The E2137 principles and processes have been used for more than a decade in the context of addressing future environmental costs, yet their view of E2137 renders the standard meaningless. We conclude that the deficiency is not in the ASTM standard, and that when properly constructed, probabilistic analyses can be used to develop expected values with supportable probabilities. ©2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Constant Head Injection for Enhanced In Situ Chemical Oxidation

With the successful implementation of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) programs to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater aquifers worldwide, ISCO has become established as a traditional remediation technique. On the basis of historical success, expanded ISCO practices are now routinely applied to increasingly difficult geologic environments, including formerly problem locations such as those containing nonaqueous‐phase liquid, fractured bedrock, low‐conductivity media, and highly layered and/or heterogeneous aquifers. Effective delivery of amendment, however, remains the single most important aspect of successful remediation, particularly given the range of potentially applicable delivery methods and site complexities. Selecting the most appropriate technique for any specific site depends upon a clear understanding of the variety of site constraints, including factors such as site conditions, underlying geology, contaminant distribution, technology limitations, and other project‐specific factors. Because the injection program is often the largest cost associated with implementation of an ISCO project, it is critical to develop a cost‐effective injection method for each site. Constant head injection provides a cost‐effective alternative for sites with low‐conductivity lithology(ies). Constant head injection employs a continuous low‐pressure application method to deliver ISCO agents over a long period of time. This synergistic method complements the existing site conditions and heterogeneity, working with the natural conditions, rather than trying to overcome or destroy the site geology using highly aggressive delivery techniques. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Endogenous swimming rhythms underlying the spawning migration of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: ontogeny and variation with ambient tidal regime

Spawning female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, use ebb-tide transport (ETT) to migrate seaward. In estuaries with semi-diurnal tides, ETT in ovigerous blue crabs is driven by a circatidal rhythm in vertical swimming in which crabs ascend into the water column during ebb tide. The ontogeny of this rhythm was examined by monitoring swimming behavior of females before the pubertal molt, females that had recently undergone the molt but had not yet produced a clutch of eggs, and ovigerous females from an estuary with strong semi-diurnal tides. To assess variation in swimming rhythms with ambient tidal regime, swimming rhythms of ovigerous females from semi-diurnal (Beaufort, North Carolina), diurnal (St. Andrew Bay, Florida), and non-tidal (South River, North Carolina) estuaries were compared. Experiments were conducted during the summers of 2006–2008. Female crabs prior to oviposition had variable endogenous swimming rhythms (circadian, circatidal, or circalunidian). Ovigerous females from estuaries with semi-diurnal and diurnal tides had pronounced circatidal or circalunidian rhythms with swimming during the time of ambient ebb tide. Swimming rhythms of several ovigerous crabs switched between circatidal and circalunidian during the ~5-day observation period. Ovigerous crabs from a non-tidal estuary had a circadian rhythm with vertical swimming around the time of sunset. These results suggest that, while endogenous swimming rhythms are present in some female blue crabs prior to oviposition, rapid seaward movement via ETT in tidal estuaries begins following oviposition of the first clutch of eggs.