The Scattering Coefficient and Mass Concentration of Smoke from Some Australian Forest Fires

Smoke from large scale fuel reduction fires in Western Australia has been investigated from an aircraft; These fires are typically 10,000-20,000 acres in area with fuel loadings of 3-6 tons/acre. Measurements were made of mass concentration, scattering coefficient and total particulate production in the smoke. The results suggest that the mass concentration (g m^-3) is equal to 0.24 times the scattering coefficient (m^-1). About 1.8% of the fuel appears as particulate matter in the air above the fire.     

Siting Ambient Air Particulate Samplers Near Dirt Roads

There are economic and regulatory incentives for considering alternatives to the direct land disposal of solvent-bearing hazardous waste streams (EPA Hazardous Waste Codes: F001, F002, F003, F004, and F005). These alternatives include recycle/reuse (including use as a fuel substitute), destruction of a stream's solvent component, and treatment prior to land disposal. This paper reviews these three waste management alternatives and discusses their applicability to solvent waste streams having various physical characteristics. Seven waste treatment techniques which may be used to handle solvent wastes are described: incineration, agitated thin-film evaporation, fractional distillation, steam stripping, wet oxidation, carbon adsorption, and activated sludge biological treatment.     

Quantitative analysis of remedial approaches,costs, and time required to remediate dry cleaner sites

This article presents an analysis of remedial approaches, costs, and time required to remediate dry cleaner sites in the United States based on data compiled by the State Coalition for the Remediation of Dry Cleaners (SCRD). Trends in soil and groundwater remedy selection are identified and discussed. Median costs and the time required to remediate dry cleaner sites are presented. In addition, median costs and the duration of soil and groundwater remediation for the most widely used remedial approaches are reported. The analysis is intended to serve the needs of stakeholders, including responsible parties, consultants, regulators, and litigants, as well as real estate developers, banks, and other holders of portfolios of impacted dry cleaner sites by providing quantitative results useful for planning and transactional analysis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A mechanism of injury to the forefoot in car crashes

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine a mechanism of injury of the forefoot due to impact loads and accelerations as noted in some frontal offset car crashes. METHODS: The impact tests conducted simulated knee-leg-foot entrapment, floor pan intrusions, whole-body deceleration, muscle tension, and foot/pedal interaction. Specimens were impacted at speeds of up to 16 m/s. To verify this injury mechanism research was conducted in an effort to produce Lisfranc type injuries and metatarsal fractures. A total of 54 lower legs of post-mortem human subjects were tested. Two possible mechanisms of injury were investigated. For the first mechanism the driver was assumed to be braking hard with the foot on the brake pedal and at 0 deg plantar flexion (Plantar Nominal Configuration) and the brake pedal was in contact with the foot behind the ball of the foot. The second mechanism was studied by having the ball of the foot either on the brake pedal or on the floorboard with the foot plantar-flexed 35 to 50 deg (Plantar Flexed Configuration). RESULTS: The Plantar Nominal injury mechanism yielded few injuries of the type the study set out to produce. Out of 13 specimens tested at speeds of 16 m/s, three had injuries of the metatarsal (MT) and tarsometatarsal joints. The Plantar Flexed Configuration injury mechanism yielded 65% injuries at high (12.5-16 m/s) and moderate (6-12 m/s) speeds. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that Lisfranc type foot injuries are the result of impacting the forefoot in the Plantar Flexed Configuration. The injuries were consistent with those reported by physicians treating accident victims and were verified by an orthopedic surgeon during post impact x-ray and autopsy. They included Lisfranc fractures, ligamentous disruptions, and metatarsal fractures.     

NEPA AND A STATE'S ROLE IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, has been called a revolutionary piece of legislation. It has changed, and is still changing the traditional ways of governmental decision-making. NEPA has strongly influenced the field of water resources management. An environmental statement can now be seen not as a document to support or justify a plan, but an objective assessment of what environmental costs and benefits are involved. New York State has seized upon NEPA as an important feature of its environmental quality management programs and has used the opportunity to comment upon draft environmental statements under NEPA to increase its influences upon Federal decision-making. The Department of Environmental Conservation coordinates and synthesizes all comments and provides one unified State response on a statement. At the State level, lacking a comprehensive “little NEPA”, an extensive environmental analysis program has been built by utilizing a wide spectrum of Federal and State Laws and administrative regulations.     

Applying a chemical modelling technique to ecological problems

A very simple computer program can be adapted to handle both complicated chemical and ecological problems, by using procedures which reduce different reaction types and flows of material all to the one form. The process of reduction discloses similarities between ecological situations which, at first sight, seem very different.