How chemically stable is stabilized hazardous waste?

Bioassays can provide meaningful information about the relative toxicity of remediated soil samples, revealing the unwelcome toxic side effects produced by some cleanup projects. Section 121 of CERCLA's 1986 amendments calls for hazardous waste site remediations to permanently and significantly reduce the volume, toxicity, and mobility of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants. Traditional engineering technology has focused on reducing volume and mobility, assuming that such reduction would lead to reductions in toxicity. Environmental scientists have argued, however, that such reductions are not always the result, but lack of consensus on how hazardous waste mixtures should be measured toxicologically has slowed development of integrated assessments. The aquatic and terrestrial bioassays discussed in this article are evaluated for various chemicals, mixtures of chemicals, and actual waste site chemical mixtures at a Superfund mobility reduction project in Kent, Washington. Results suggest that although remediation accomplished the primary objective of reducing mobility, it also introduced toxic effects. These tradeoffs must be viewed holistically when the ultimate performance of cleanup measures is judged.     

Transitional coordination in Sudan (2006–08): lessons from the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office

With the increase in internal conflicts following the end of the Cold War, the scale and scope of the United Nations' work in conflict and post‐conflict environments grew markedly. As a result, the coordination of programming and policy in the transition from relief to recovery has been a central preoccupation of academics and practitioners alike. Intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) have made these topics a subject of regular discussion, while some countries have altered their bureaucratic structures to respond more effectively in post‐crisis settings, particularly in cases involving the deployment of national troops. The United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Sudan provides a model for other transitional countries and is a useful case study of the broader challenges of post‐crisis programming. Effective coordination structures and planning/programming processes are identified as interdependent prerequisites for ensuring a successful transition from relief to recovery.     

Monitoring and reporting attacks on education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia

The United Nations' Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism is charged with documenting six grave violations against children in a time of conflict, including attacks on schools. Many of these incidents, however, remain unreported across the globe. This study explores whether or not a local knowledge base of education and child protection actors in North and South Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Mogadishu, Somalia, could contribute to a more complete record of attacks on education in those areas. Hundreds of semi‐structured interviews were conducted with key informants across the three settings, and in total 432 attacks on education were documented. Purposive samples of these reports were verified and a large majority was confirmed. Local non‐governmental organisations and education institutions were most knowledgeable about these incidents, but most never reported them to a monitoring authority. The study concludes that attack surveillance and response were largely insufficient, and recommends investing in mechanisms that utilise local knowledge to address these shortcomings.     

Screening of phthalic acid esters in raw materials,premixes and feed additives

Phthalates are animal carcinogens and may cause death or tissue deformities. Samples of feedstuffs collected in 2005 and 2006 from industrial feed manufacturers in the Czech Republic were analysed for contamination with phthalic acid esters (PAEs), specifically di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP). Samples of feed additives, premixes and raw materials were collected (year 2005, n = 26). For soybean oil, the total volume of phthalates measured (DBP + DEHP) reached a level of 131.42 mg kg⁻¹; for rapeseed oil, fish meal and animal fats, the levels measured were 15.00, 7.96 and 58.87 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The lowest level of DBP + DEHP was found in corn (2.03 mg kg⁻¹). Since phthalates were detected, samples of feed additives (n = 28) and raw materials (n = 28) were collected again in 2006. The highest levels of DBP + DEHP were found in raw materials containing fat. Phthalate levels in rapeseed oil samples ranged from 1.38 to 32.40 mg kg⁻¹ DBP + DEHP. For feed additives, contamination levels in vitamins and amino acids ranged from 0.06 to 3.15 and 1.76 to 4.52 mg kg⁻¹ DBP + DEHP, respectively. Here, we show that the levels of PAEs found in cereals such as wheat, barley and corn may be regarded as being alarmingly high, because cereals make up the largest proportion of compound feed of farm animals.     

Photo-polymerization of triclosan in aqueous solution induced by ultraviolet radiation

The formation of 2,8-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and other harmful degradation products in the photo-degradation process of triclosan is of increasing concern. Here we worked on the identification of polymerized products at high triclosan concentration and on the mechanism of photoreaction. Five dimmers and two trimers of triclosan were detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrum analysis. 2,8-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin was also identified by comparing with an authentic standard. Relatively low pH and high concentration favored the polymerization of triclosan. Three main routes of photoreaction were postulated, namely dechlorination, ring closure and polymerization.     

Foliar fungal pathogens and grassland biodiversity

By attacking plants, herbivorous mammals, insects, and belowground pathogens are known to play an important role in maintaining biodiversity in grasslands. Foliar fungal pathogens are ubiquitous in grassland ecosystems, but little is known about their role as drivers of community composition and diversity. Here we excluded foliar fungal pathogens from perennial grassland by using fungicide to determine the effect of natural levels of disease on an otherwise undisturbed plant community. Importantly, we excluded foliar fungal pathogens along with rabbits, insects, and mollusks in a full factorial design, which allowed a comparison of pathogen effects along with those of better studied plant enemies. This revealed that fungal pathogens substantially reduced aboveground plant biomass and promoted plant diversity and that this especially benefited legumes. The scale of pathogen effects on productivity and biodiversity was similar to that of rabbits and insects, but different plant species responded to the exclusion of the three plant enemies. These results suggest that theories of plant coexistence and management of biodiversity in grasslands should consider foliar fungal pathogens as potentially important drivers of community composition.     

Counterintuitive effects of large-scale predator removal on a midlatitude rodent community

Historically, small mammals have been focal organisms for studying predator-prey dynamics, principally because of interest in explaining the drivers of the cyclical dynamics exhibited by northern vole, lemming, and hare populations. However, many small-mammal species occur at relatively low and fairly stable densities at temperate latitudes, and our understanding of how complex predator assemblages influence the abundance and dynamics of these species is surprisingly limited. In an intact grassland ecosystem in western Montana, USA, we examined the abundance and dynamics of Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and montane voles (Microtus montanus) on 1-ha plots where we excluded mammalian and avian predators and ungulates, excluded ungulates alone, or allowed predators and ungulates full access. Our goal was to determine whether the relatively low population abundance and moderate population fluctuations of these rodents were due to population suppression by predators. Our predator-exclusion treatment was divided into two phases: a phase where we excluded all predators except weasels (Mustela spp.; 2002-2005), and a phase where all predators including weasels were excluded (2006-2009). Across the entire duration of the experiment, predator and/or ungulate exclusion had no effect on the abundance or overall dynamics of ground squirrels and deer mice. Ground squirrel survival (the only species abundant enough to accurately estimate survival) was also unaffected by our experimental treatments. Prior to weasel exclusion, predators also had no impacts on montane vole abundance or dynamics. However, after weasel exclusion, vole populations reached greater population peaks, and there was greater recruitment of young animals on predator-exclusion plots compared to plots open to predators during peak years. These results suggest that the impacts of predators cannot be generalized across all rodents in an assemblage. Furthermore, they suggest that specialist predators can play an important role in suppressing vole abundance even in lower-latitude vole populations that occur at relatively low densities.     

Perception of people for the risk of Tianwan nuclear power plant

A questionnaire survey of residents’ risk perceptions related to Taiwan nuclear power plant in China was carried out to explore the determining factors that affect individual risk perception. This study proposed to pursue a more comprehensive understanding of factors that affected individual risk perception to nuclear power plants. Covariance structure analysis was conducted using risk perceptions of nuclear power as dependent variable and including interest and knowledge levels of nuclear power, acceptability, benefit perception, trust in nuclear power operation, and trust in government as independent variables. The use of the hypothesis of Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) was also proposed. The results showed that persons with higher levels of interest and knowledge of nuclear power had their own perceptions of risk closely associated with acceptability and potential benefits of nuclear power. In contrast, persons with no interest in and knowledge of nuclear power would have risk perceptions related to their trust in nuclear operation and the government, which partially supported the ELM hypothesis. All these results indicated that the government in China plays an important role in rational risk perceptions, and well-designed communication of risks will help the public to be involved in risk management and improve people’s rational acceptance of risk.     

Nitrogen-retaining property of compost in an aerobic thermophilic composting reactor for the sanitary disposal of human feces

Aerobic composting is a method for the sanitary disposal of human feces as is used in bio-toilet systems. As the products of composting can be utilized as a fertilizer, it would be beneficial if the composting conditions could be more precisely controlled for the retention of fecal nitrogen as long as possible in the compost. In this study, batch experiments were conducted using a closed aerobic thermophilic composting reactor with sawdust as the bulk matrix to simulate the condition of a bio-toilet for the sanitary disposal of human feces. Attention was paid to the characteristics of nitrogen transformation. Under the controlled conditions of temperature at 60°C, moisture content at 60%,anda continuous air supply, more than 70% fecal organic removal was obtained, while merely 17% fecal nitrogen loss was observed over a two-week composting period. The nitrogen loss was found to occur mainly in the first 24 h with the rapid depletion of inorganic nitrogen but with an almost unchanged organic nitrogen content. The fecal NH₄-N which was the main component of the inorganic nitrogen ( > 90%) decreased rapidly in the first day, decreased at a slower rate over the following days, and finally disappeared entirely. The depletion of NH₄-N was accompanied by the accumulation of NH₃ gas in the ammonia absorber connected to the reactor. A mass balance between the exhausted NH₃ gas and the fecal NH₄-N content in the first 24 hours indicated that the conversion of ammonium into gaseous ammonia was the main reason for nitrogen loss. Thermophilic composting could be considered as a way to keep a high organic nitrogen content in the compost for better utilization as a fertilizer.     

Impact of solids on biphasic biodegradation of phenanthrene in the presence of hydroxypropyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-cyclodextrin (HPCD)

The consequence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment is of great concern. The hydrophobic properties of PAHs significantly impact phase distribution causing limited bioavailability. Enhanced biodegradation has been extensively carried out by surfactants and the redeployment effect was recognized. However, the quantitative relationship concerning the impact of solids was rarely reported. A batch of biphasic tests were carried out by introducing Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) into a mixture of phenanthrene solution and various glass beads (GB37-63, GB105-125, and GB350-500). The comparative results demonstrated that HPCD had little effect on microbial growth and was not degradable by bacterium. A model was proposed to describe the biodegradation process. The regression results indicated that the partition coefficient k _d (1.234, 0.726 and 0.448 L·g^?1) and the degradation rate k (0 mmol·L^?1: 0.055, 0.094, and 0.112; 20 mmol·L^?1: 0.126, 0.141, and 0.156; 40 mmol·L^?1: 0.141, 0.156 and 0.184 d^?1) were positively and negatively correlated with the calculated total surface area (TSA) of solids, respectively. Degradation enhanced in the presence of HPCD, and the enhancing factor f was calculated (20 mmol·L^?1: 15.16, 40.01, and 145.5; 40 mmol·L^?1: 13.29, 37.97, and 138.4), indicating that the impact of solids was significant for the enhancement of biodegradation.