The impact of handpump corrosion on water quality in rural areas of West African sub-region

Water, even in its natural environment, contains some level of impurities. Water is nearly a universal solvent. It contains dissolved solids and gases, and hosts a number of micro-organisms. The exploitation of groundwater by means of boreholes for supplying small user groups and rural communities with water has been widely applied in certain parts of the world for several decades. In recent years this practice has spread all over the globe, and hundred of thousands of boreholes have beendrilled to tap low-yield aquifers. It is evident that such boreholes require pumps for lifting thewater. In developing countries these are usually handpumps, butsolar as well as other systems with submersible pumps are also used, depending upon the energy sources available and the financial means of the beneficiaries. This article gives a general overview of groundwater quality with regard to itsphysico-chemical composition. The results presented originatefrom the experience gained from handpump equipped boreholes within the UNICEF through German Centre for Technical EducationTransfer executed inter-regional UNDP-Handpumps Project inWest African Regions. Particular attention is paid to presenting corrosion onthe water quality of wells in terms of iron concentrationand other parameters. Furthermore, the corrosion attack ongalvanised iron, the effect of biofilms on the corrosionrate, and the difference between internal and externalcorrosion of rising mains are shown.     

日本水环境质量监测管理概述

伴随着日本经济的高速发展,其水环境污染问题十分严峻,防治水污染成为日本政府在20—21世纪的重要工作之一。经过几十年的努力,日本水污染治理取得长足进展。目前日本水环境监测已经形成由水和土壤等方面组成的水循环监测体系,包括地表水、近海、湖泊、地下水和土壤等。在日本的重要环保法律法规中均有涉及水环境监测工作内容的明确法律条文,国家行政机关、地方政府和公立的科研单位在具体实施水环境质量监测过程中的职责和义务不同,水环境质量监测管理的国家行政机关以环境省为主,地方政府根据环境省制定的水环境质量标准、监测技术方法及规范,制定所辖地域的监测方案并实施监测,公立的环境科研机构在环境质量监测工作中起到重要的支撑作用。笔者概述了日本开展水环境质量监测的法律依据和监测管理情况等。     

企业建设项目竣工环境保护自主验收工作初探

简述了企业建设项目竣工环境保护自主验收政策的出台背景,介绍了自主验收目前取得的成效。针对现阶段工作中存在的自主验收缺乏有效监管及配套的技术支撑、企业主体责任意识不强等问题,提出了完善监督管理制度、提高企业主体责任意识、加强第三方验收监测机构管理、开展验收技术培训、规范建设项目变动认定管理等建议。     

A Spatial Model to Estimate Habitat Fragmentation and Its Consequences on Long-Term Persistence of Animal Populations

The increasing use of the landscape by humans has led to important diminutions of natural surfaces. The remaining patches of wild habitat are small and isolated from each other among a matrix of inhospitable land-uses. This habitat fragmentation, by disabling population movements and stopping their spread to new habitats, is a major threat to the survival of numerous plant and animal species. We developed a general model, adaptable for specific species, capable of identifying suitable habitat patches within fragmented landscapes and investigating the capacity of populations to move between these patches. This approach combines GIS analysis of a landscape, with spatial dynamic modeling. Suitable habitat is identified using a threshold area to perimeter ratio. Potential movement pathways of species between habitat patches are modeled using a cellular automaton. Habitat connectivity is estimated by overlaying habitat patches with movement pathways. The maximum potential population is calculated within and between connected habitat patches and potential risk of inbreeding within meta-populations is considered. The model was tested on a sample map and applied to scenario maps of predicted land-use change in the Peoria Tri-county region (IL). It (1) showed area of natural area alone was insufficient to estimate the consequences on animal populations; (2) underscored the necessity to use approaches investigating the effect of land-use change spatially through the landscape and the importance of considering species-specific life history characteristics; and (3) highlighted the model's potential utility as an indicator of species likelihood to be affected negatively by land-use scenarios and therefore requiring detailed investigation.     

IFTCIP: An Integrated Optimization Model for Environmental Management under Uncertainty

In this study, an interval-fuzzy two-stage chance-constrained integer programming (IFTCIP) method is developed for supporting environmental management under uncertainty. The IFTCIP improves upon the existing interval, fuzzy, and two-stage programming approaches by allowing uncertainties expressed as probability distributions, fuzzy sets, and discrete intervals to be directly incorporated within a general mixed integer linear programming framework. It has advantages in uncertainty reflection, policy investigation, risk assessment, and capacity-expansion analysis in comparison to the other optimization methods. Moreover, it can help examine the risk of violating system constraints and the associated consequences. The developed method is applied to the planning for facility expansion and waste-flow allocation within a municipal solid waste management system. Violations of capacity constraints are allowed under a range of significance levels, which reflects tradeoffs between the system cost and the constraint-violation risk. The results indicate that reasonable solutions for both binary and continuous variables have been generated under different risk levels. They are useful for generating desired decision alternatives with minimized system cost and constraint-violation risk under various environmental, economic, and system-reliability conditions. Generally, willingness to take a higher risk of constraint violation will guarantee a lower system cost; a strong desire to acquire a lower risk will run into a higher system cost.     

水污染突发事件：演化模型与应急管理

概述了突发事件演化研究的现状,总结了现阶段中国水污染突发事件的典型案例,研究了事件的演化过程,提出把社会因素和全过程干预作为水污染突发事件演化动因的一个重要方面,并在此基础上分析了水污染突发事件演化的主要动力因素,运用灾害学、应急管理、环境科学等相关理论构建了事件演化的动力因素体系,最后从系统分析的角度构建了水污染突发事件演化模型。研究表明：社会因素和应急干预对水污染突发事件的演化具有推动作用;事件演化具有阶段性,不同阶段的动力因素存在差异;水污染突发事件应急管理具有多目标性,单一目标应急管理不能有效控制水污染突发事件演化。研究水污染突发事件演化机理可为政府有效地预警与事件初期的应急决策提供重要的理论依据。     

End-users’ knowledge,attitude, and behavior towards safe use of pesticides: a case study in the Guanting Reservoir area,China

Pesticides are widely used in China for crop protection. However, the use of some highly toxic and accumulative pesticides has led to serious pollution to the environment. The knowledge that end-users of pesticides have about hazards is important for the prevention of acute poisoning. Moreover, farmers, especially those who purchase and use pesticides, often make important and long-standing impacts on the local ecosystem and environment. In this study, a specially designed questionnaire was used to collect information on their knowledge, attitude, and behavior related to pesticides in the Guanting Reservoir area, north of China. Most pesticide end-users reported that they took incomplete preventive measures for lack of extensive pesticide knowledge and information. Pesticide information, instruction, and training among farmers should be promoted, and governmental intervention is needed to ensure proper management regarding public health risks and environmental hazards.