Pesticide Impact Rating Index – A Pesticide Risk Indicator for Water Quality

Pesticide users, natural resource managers, regulators, government agencies and many others are concerned about the off-site impact of pesticides on the environment. Systematic methods of the assessment of potential risk of pesticides to environmental components can serve as valuable tools in decision making and policy formulation. Simple risk indicators have been developed which cover a range of scenarios such as toxicity to organisms, health of farm workers, consumer health, and residues in harvested produce. The authors have developed a software package named Pesticide Impact Rating Index (PIRI) that outputs an improved pesticide risk indicator for water quality. PIRI is a standalone, user-friendly, platform-independent program. It can be used to (i) rank pesticides in terms of their relative pollution potential to groundwater or surface water, and (ii) to compare different land uses in a catchment or at a regional scale in terms of their relative impact on water quality. It is based on pesticides use; the pathway through which the pesticides are released to the water resources (drift, runoff, erosion, leaching) and the value of the water resources threatened. Each component is quantified using pesticide characteristics (including toxicity to organisms at different trophic levels, i.e. fish, daphnia, algae, etc.), environmental and site conditions (e.g. organic carbon content of soil, water input, slope of land, soil loss, recharge rate, depth of water table, etc.). This paper describes two case studies of the application of PIRI in Australia. The comparison of the risk assessment by PIRI on these revealed that PIRI correctly estimated the pollution potential of pesticides in greater than 80% of cases. A GIS version of PIRI is described in a companion paper in this volume. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Non-native Species <Emphasis Type="Italic">DO</Emphasis> Threaten the Natural Environment!

Sagoff [Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18 (2005), 215–236] argues, against growing empirical evidence, that major environmental impacts of non-native species are unproven. However, many such impacts, including extinctions of both island and continental species, have both been demonstrated and judged by the public to be harmful. Although more public attention has been focused on non-native animals than non-native plants, the latter more often cause ecosystem-wide impacts. Increased regulation of introduction of non-native species is, therefore, warranted, and, contra Sagoff’s assertions, invasion biologists have recently developed methods that greatly aid prediction of which introduced species will harm the environment and thus enable more efficient regulation. The fact that introduced species may increase local biodiversity in certain instances has not been shown to result in desired changes in ecosystem function. In other locales, they decrease biodiversity, as they do globally.     

铁路客运站疏散安全风险分析与对策研究——以乌鲁木齐站为例

本文对乌鲁木齐站疏散安全进行分析研究。经乌鲁木齐站客流数据分析得,日均客流量1.78万人,日常高峰时段客流量2.4万人,每日早高峰客流在9:00～12:00之间,晚间客流高峰在18:00～24:00之间。乌鲁木齐站以原有疏散能力计算,日常高峰时段旅客平均排队时间为36.7min,其他特殊时段旅客积压排队现象更长,造成旅客需要提前1.3～2.0小时排队进站。影响乌鲁木齐站疏散安全的主要原因包括疏散设施未全部投入使用,安检设备通过能力有限,旅客疏散路线复杂等。笔者从疏散路径、疏散设施和疏散管理等方面提出疏散安全风险控制的对策和建议。     

城镇供热管道隐患辨识研究

近年来,因供热管道老化腐蚀、外部自然环境、施工活动等导致的事故时有发生,给居民的冬季供暖造成了严重的危害和影响。本文在分析供热管道自身安全特性的基础上,运用事故树等系统安全分析方法对供热管道隐患进行辨识分析,结合供热管道影响因素明确隐患辨识重点,并针对隐患排查内容及手段等提出对策建议,以支撑供热管道单位更系统、更科学的开展隐患排查治理工作,保障管线的安全运行。     

基于突发事件机理分析的风险评估方法研究及应用

近年来,我国部分城市开展了城市安全风险评估工作。为了能够得到科学的风险评估方法和有效的结果,本文基于突发事件机理分析及单一事件链,对城市安全风险评估方法进行了研究及应用。通过引入控制因子,构建基于突发事件机理分析的单一事件链模型,并将该模型转化为风险评估工作的指标体系,并将该指标体系在某区城市安全风险评估工作中进行了应用,对该区17种单位或场所,涉及到的18类风险,共计201家企业进行风险级别评估。最终得出该区17种单位或场所中每种单位或场所的整体风险等级,以及重大风险数量的占比情况,为该区提出有针对性的风险管控意见奠定了一定基础,并对本文的局限性和下一步研究方向提出一些看法和意见。     

火灾科学需深入研究的课题探讨

火灾科学是系统的科学,它涉及多个技术领域。从科学发展和现实角度,提出当前的火灾科学在城市消防规划、高大空间建筑防火设计综合方法、多层地下交通枢纽防火研究、安全疏散心理和机理研究、火灾自动报警系统的关联研究、建筑防排烟技术研究、建筑结构耐火性能研究等10个技术领域需深入研究的课程,以最终实现基础理论、实用方法、先进技术和科学管理一体化。     

页岩气加砂压裂高压管汇失效爆裂风险 控制措施研究与实践

随着页岩气平台井工厂化压裂施工启动,在大排量、高压力、长时间施工条件下,高压管汇失效爆裂大幅增加。为减少高压管汇在压裂过程中失效爆裂风险,运用故障假设、因果分析法从人的因素、物的因素、技术工艺、生产管理、工作环境5个方面分析事故的原因,提出了提升采购产品质量、修订完善高压管汇使用技术规范和管理制度、实施专业化管理、应用大数据管理高压管汇、优化现场地面高压管汇流程分配布局设计与联接工艺等高压管汇失效爆裂风险预防控制措施和失效后应急安全防护措施,建立了生命周期全过程、专业化的高压管汇失效爆裂防控与应急防护体系,实现风险可防受控。为页岩气压裂作业的安全提供了参考。     

新时期城市安全风险防控实践探析——以成都为例

随着我国加快从"乡村社会"迈向"城市社会",城市安全问题成为了新时期亟待解答的"国家命题",分析了城市化与城市风险相关问题,提出了适合成都的安全风险预防指标体系,并以"技术防控"开发建设城市安全监测预警系统,以"标准防控"推动企业和公共领域安全管理标准化,以"群众防控"依托安全社区为载体,构建基层社区公共安全体系,为我国城市安全风险防控体系建设提供了宝贵经验和有益启示。     

城乡接合部居民楼火灾风险评价及防控对策研究

为了准确探究城乡接合部居民楼火灾事故致因机理,预防与控制城乡接合部日常生产与生活过程中引发火灾事故的有效途径,建立信息面更全、实际性更强的火灾风险评估模型是目前行之有效的手段。基于湖南省某地发生火灾事故的实际情况,根据事故树分析法,以城乡接合部居民楼火灾事故为顶事件构建事故树,计算得到事故树的最小割集、最小径集和结构重要度,研究城乡接合部居民楼火灾事故的发生模式、致因因素及影响程度,为改善城乡接合部居民楼火灾安全提供重要的理论依据,并提出相应的防控措施及对策。     

Toward reassessing data‐deficient species

One in 6 species (13,465 species) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is classified as data deficient due to lack of information on their taxonomy, population status, or impact of threats. Despite the chance that many are at high risk of extinction, data‐deficient species are typically excluded from global and local conservation priorities, as well as funding schemes. The number of data‐deficient species will greatly increase as the IUCN Red List becomes more inclusive of poorly known and speciose groups. A strategic approach is urgently needed to enhance the conservation value of data‐deficient assessments. To develop this, we reviewed 2879 data‐deficient assessments in 6 animal groups and identified 8 main justifications for assigning data‐deficient status (type series, few records, old records, uncertain provenance, uncertain population status or distribution, uncertain threats, taxonomic uncertainty, and new species). Assigning a consistent set of justification tags (i.e., consistent assignment to assessment justifications) to species classified as data deficient is a simple way to achieve more strategic assessments. Such tags would clarify the causes of data deficiency; facilitate the prediction of extinction risk; facilitate comparisons of data deficiency among taxonomic groups; and help prioritize species for reassessment. With renewed efforts, it could be straightforward to prevent thousands of data‐deficient species slipping unnoticed toward extinction.