贺词

环境预防战略,无论是清洁生产、生态效益还是污染防治,是改变不可持续生产和消费方式的最佳战略.自从它被引入《21世纪议程》后,政府和工商业越来越多地采用了清洁生产观念,并且为完善这一概念做出了巨大的努力.     

Preliminary patterns of distribution and abundance of loggerhead sea turtles,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Caretta caretta</Emphasis>, around Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve,Spanish Mediterranean

Aerial surveys were conducted to estimate the abundance and distribution of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve and surrounding waters (western Mediterranean). Four surveys were carried out during 2000 and 2001, following the line transect methodology. Loggerheads appeared to be present at high densities in the area throughout the whole year, although density varied between seasons, being more abundant during the spring. Mean density in the study area was 0.322 turtles/km² (range 0.200–0.516) and the mean abundance was 1,324 turtles (range 825–2,124). The turtles were distributed homogeneously throughout the study area, we found no difference in loggerhead density between the water around the reserve and that in the rest of the study area. Current conservation measures planned by the local authorities, which include increasing the area of the reserve, would be very positive for the conservation of this stock.Communicated by S.A. Poulet, Roscoff     

Do female roe deer in good condition produce more sons than daughters

In polygynous roe deer Capreolus capreolus, males are only slightly heavier than females and the overall sex ratio at birth is close to unity. We studied offspring sex ratio and litter size (range 1–4, n = 74) of culled females, in utero, which provided an opportunity to examine responses of sex ratio to maternal condition. Male embryos were heavier than their sisters, and male fawns (9 months old) heavier than female fawns, suggesting a higher growth rate in males. There was no evidence for differential mortality between the sexes from birth to 9 months old. Heavier adult females produced larger embryos than lighter, or primiparous females. The overall sex ratio of embryos did not differ from unity, but adult does had more male embryos (55%) than primiparous does (32%), and the proportion of male embryos in a litter increased with the mother's body mass. Litter size also tended to increase with maternal age and body mass. We argue that this pattern reflects adaptive variation in offspring sex ratio.     

Possible use of constructed wetland to remove selenocyanate,arsenic, and boron from electric utility wastewater

Wetland microcosms were used to evaluate the ability of constructed wetlands to remove extremely high concentrations of selenocyanate (SeCN-), arsenic (As), and boron (B) from wastewater generated by a coal gasification plant in Indiana. The wetland microcosms significantly reduced the concentrations of selenium (Se), As, B, and cyanide (CN) in the wastewater by 64%, 47%, 31%, and 30%, respectively. In terms of the mass of each contaminant, 79%, 67%, 57%, and 54% of the Se, As, B, and CN, respectively, loaded into the microcosms were removed from the wastewater. The primary sink for the retention of contaminants within the microcosms was the sediment, which accounted for 63%, 51%, and 36% of the Se, As, and B, respectively. Accumulation in plant tissues accounted for only 2-4%, while 3% of the Se was removed by biological volatilization to the atmosphere. Of the 14 plant species tested, cattail, Thalia, and rabbitfoot grass were highly tolerant of the contaminants and exhibited no growth retardation. Environmental toxicity testing with fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) larvae confirmed that the water treated by the wetland microcosms was less toxic than untreated water. The data from the wetland microcosms support the view that constructed wetlands could be used to successfully reduce the toxicity of aqueous effluent contaminated with extremely high concentrations of SeCN-, As, and B, and that a pilot-scale wetland should therefore be constructed to test this in the field. Cattail, Thalia, and rabbitfoot grass would be suitable plant species to establish in such wetlands.     

Land Use-related Chemical Composition of Street Sediments in Beijing

BACKGROUND: More than 10 million people are currently living in Beijing. This city faces severe anthropogenic air pollution caused by an intense vehicle increase (11% per year in China), coal combusting power plants, heavy industry, huge numbers of household and restaurant cookers, and domestic heating stoves. Additionally, each year dust storms are carrying particulate matter from the deserts of Gobi and Takla Makan towards Beijing, especially in spring. Other geogenic sources of particulate matter which contribute to the air pollution are bare soils, coal heaps and construction sites occurring in and around Beijing. Streets function as receptor surfaces for atmospheric dusts. Thus, street sediments consist of particles of different chemical compositions from many different sources, such as traffic, road side soils and industry. METHODS: Distributions and concentrations of various chemical elements in street sediments were investigated along a rural-urban transect in Beijing, China. Chemical elements were determined with X-ray fluorescence analysis. Factor analysis was used to extract most important element sources contributing to particulate pollution along a main arterial route of the Chinese capital. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The statistical evaluation of the data by factor analysis identifies three main anthropogenic sources responsible for the contamination of Beijing street sediments. The first source is a steel factory in the western part of Beijing. From this source, Mn, Fe, and Ti were emitted into the atmosphere through chimneys and by wind from coal heaps used as the primary energy source for the factory. The second source is a combination of traffic, domestic heating and some small factories in the center of Beijing discharging Cu, Pb, Zn and Sn. Calcium and Cr characterize a third anthropogenic element source of construction materials such as concrete and mortar. Beside the anthropogenic contamination, some elements like Y, Zr, Nb, Ce, and Rb are mainly derived from natural soils and from the deserts. This is supported by mineral phase analysis, which showed a clear imprint of material in road dusts coming from the West-China deserts. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly show that the chemical composition of urban road dusts can be used to identify distinct sources responsible for their contamination. The study demonstrates that the chemistry of road dusts is an important monitor to assess the contamination in the urban environment. Chemical composition of street sediments in Beijing comprises the information of different sources of atmospheric particles. RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: This study is only a small contribution to the understanding of substance fluxes related to Beijing's dust. More effort is required to assess Beijing's dust fluxes, since the dust harms the living quality of the inhabitants. Especially the measurable superimposing of long scale transported dust from dry regions with the anthropogenic polluted urban dust makes investigations of Beijing's dust scientifically valuable.     

Analysis of serpentinophytes from north-east of Portugal for trace metal accumulation--relevance to the management of mine environment

In north–east of Portugal, the serpentinized area is about 8000 ha with a characteristic geology and flora. The serpentine plant community and respective soils were analyzed to examine the trace metal budget in different tissues of the plants exhibiting resistance to trace metals. One hundred and thirty five plant species belonging to 39 families and respective soils have been analyzed for total Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Substantial amounts of Ni, Cr, Co and Mn were detected in plant tissues which are listed below: Ni: Alyssum serpyllifolium (38 105); Bromus hordeaceus (1467); Linaria spartea (492); Plantago radicata (140); Lavandula stoechas (118) and Cistus salvifolius (114); Cr: L. spartea (706.7); Ulmus procera (173.4); A. serpyllifolium (129.3); Cistus ladanifer (40.8); L. stoechas (29.5); P. radicata (27.81); Setariopsis verticillata (25.7); Plantago lanceolata (24); Digitalis purpurea (23.4); Logfia minima (23.1); Arenaria querioides (23); Hieracium peleteranum (22.7); Arenaria montana (14.5); Co: A. serpyllifolium (145.1); L. spartea (63.2); P. radicata (10.4); H. peleteranum (7.3); Lepidium heterophyllum (6.9); A. querioides (6.6); C. salvifolius (6.5); C. ladanifer (6.3); L. stoechas (6.1); Anthyllis lotoides (6.1); L. minima (6.1); Euphorbia falcata (5.7) and B. hordeaceus (5.6); Mn: A. serpyllifolium (830); L. spartea (339); L. stoechas (187.1); L. minima (182.7); Castanea sativa (125); Spergula pentandra (124); P. radicata (119); Cytisus striatus (115.4); Quercus pyrenaica (110); Teucrium scorodonia (109.4); Fraxinus vulgaris (109); Anthyllis sampaiana (108); Quercus ilex (108). The significance of serpentine flora, need for conservation of these fragile and environmentally invaluable plant resources for possible use for in situ remediation of metalliferous substrates are presented in this paper.     

Investigating the sources of the mutagenic activity found in a river using the Salmonella assay and different water extraction procedures

In the routine São Paulo state (Brazil) surface water quality-monitoring program, which includes the Salmonella microsome mutagenicity assay as one of its parameters, a river where water is taken and treated for drinking water purposes has repeatedly shown mutagenic activity. A textile dyeing facility employing azo-type dyes was the only identifiable source of mutagenic compounds. We extracted the river and drinking water samples with XAD4 at neutral and acidic pH and with blue rayon, which selectively adsorbs polycyclic compounds. We tested the industrial effluent, raw, and treated water and sediment samples with YG1041 and YG1042 and compared the results with the TA98 and TA100 strains. The elevated mutagenicity detected with YG-strains suggested that nitroaromatics and/or aromatic amines were causing the mutagenicity detected in the samples analyzed. Positive responses for the blue rayon extracts indicated that mutagenic polycyclic compounds were present in the water samples analyzed. The mutagen or mixture of mutagens present in the effluent and water samples cause mainly frameshift mutations and are positive with and without metabolic activation. The Salmonella assay combined with different extraction procedures proved to be very useful in the identification of the origin of the pollution and in the identification of the classes of chemical compounds causing the mutagenic activity in the river analyzed.     

Prediction of SO2 levels using neural networks

In this paper, we present an adaptation of the air pollution control help system in the neighborhood of a power plant in As Pontes (A Coru?a, Spain), property of Endesa Generación S.A., to the European Council Directive 1999/30/CE. This system contains a statistic prediction made half an hour before the measurement, and it helps the staff in the power plant prevent air quality level episodes. The prediction is made using neural network models. This prediction is compared with one made by a semiparametric model.     

Integrating decay, storage, kinetic selection, and filamentous backbone factors in a bacterial competition model.

Filamentous bulking in activated sludge systems occurs when filamentous organisms outgrow floc-forming bacteria and interfere with sludge settling. The competition between filaments and floc formers has been described previously using the kinetic selection and filamentous backbone theories. We hypothesized that differences in decay rates and storage abilities also affect this competition. We tested this hypothesis by integrating these four factors into a substrate-utilization model to predict and explain coexistence in a completely mixed reactor. In addition, filamentous and nonfilamentous sludges were developed in laboratory-scale reactors and analyzed to determine decay rates. The modeling results showed coexistence of the two organism types, and sensitivity analysis showed that the kinetic parameters, storage rate constants, and backbone coefficient had the greatest effect on the simulation results. Monte Carlo simulation showed the effect of storage, and the ranges of dilution rates wherein one group outcompeted the other were delineated.