A scoping study on the costs of indoor air quality illnesses: an insurance loss reduction perspective

The number of indoor air quality (IAQ)-related health complaints in commercial buildings, and the frequency of litigation over the effects of poor IAQ is increasing. These increases have ramifications for insurance carriers, which pay for many of the costs of health care and general commercial liability. However, little is known about the actual costs to insurance companies from poor IAQ in buildings. This paper reports on the results of a literature search of buildings-related, business and legal databases, and interviews with insurance and risk management representatives aimed at finding information on the direct costs to the insurance industry of poor building IAQ, as well as the costs of litigation. The literature search turned up little specific cost information, but indicated that there is a strong awareness and growing concern over the “silent crisis” of IAQ and its potential to cause large industry losses. The source of these losses includes both direct costs to insurers from paying health insurance and professional liability claims, as well as the cost of litigation. In spite of the lack of data on how IAQ-related health problems affect their business, the insurance industry has taken the anecdotal evidence about their reality seriously enough to alter their policies in ways that have lessened their exposure.     

商用低温核供热站潜在事故环境影响和厂址选择

介绍了国外核供热站安全评价和潜在事故环境影响估计.根据我国拟建中200MW核供热站潜在事故后果初步分析结果表明,商用核供热站靠近城市不会给公众带来不适当的风险.此外在我国和国际核安全法规和导则框架内还讨论了核供热站的应急计划和选址准则.由于核供热站的高安全水平,在其周围不需要场外应急撤离计划,人口分布不应是核反应堆选址的决定因素.但从尽可能合理低的辐射防护原则考虑,建立约2km半径的限制发展区和必要的环境辐射应急监测及应急通讯则是有利的.     

商业类建筑人员密度统计分析与建模

对文献中商业类建筑人员密度的实地调查数据进行了整理分类,用统计方法研究了建筑面积、商业类型(经营形式和性质)、城市类型(所在城市经济水平)以及营业时期对人员密度的影响.结果表明,建筑面积与人员密度不存在明显的线性关系,而商业类型、城市经济水平以及营业时期对人员密度的影响较大;超市、服装类建筑的人员密度高于百货商场和家具建材类建筑,商业建筑人员密度随城市经济水平增长而降低.利用广义线性回归模型,以商业类型、城市类型和营业时期为解释变量初步建立了商业类建筑人员密度的预测模型.     

商住楼扰民噪声监测技术探讨

通过对贵阳市某商住楼内S超市的扰民噪声投诉处理,提出了在处理商住楼内商场、超市类项目扰民噪声投诉中经常面时的几个主要问题及处理建议,探讨了商住楼扰民噪声的监测技术.     

Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca (L.)) in Decline: High Mortality of Three Populations in the Northern Baltic Sea

The development of three pikeperch (Sander lucioperca (L.)) populations in the northern Baltic Sea was monitored using standardized multimesh gillnets in 1995–2009. Declining trends in the abundances of pikeperch over 40 cm total length, low numbers of individuals older than 6 years, and high mortality rates were observed in all three populations. In the site with the largest commercial catches per unit area and a rapidly increased colony of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis Blumenbach 1798), also the abundance of pikeperch below 40 cm total length and year-class strength showed declining trends. The adverse population level changes did not correlate with changes in water quality or eutrophication status. Together, the results suggest that in all study sites fisheries are harvesting a large proportion of the pikeperch soon after or even before reaching the maturity, and that predation from great cormorants may increase mortality of juveniles. Pikeperch is important not only for fisheries but also for ecosystem functioning, and our results point at the need for further management measures to ensure viable populations in the areas studied.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-013-0429-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Effect of grass cover on water and pesticide transport through undisturbed soil columns, comparison with field study (Morcille watershed, Beaujolais)

The purpose of this work is to assess the effectiveness of two grass covers (buffer zone and grass-covered inter-row), to reduce pesticide leaching, and subsequently to preserve groundwater quality. Lower amounts of pesticides leached through grass-cover soil columns (2.7-24.3% of the initial amount) than the bare soil columns (8.0-55.1%), in correspondence with their sorption coefficients. Diuron was recovered in higher amounts in leachates (8.9-32.2%) than tebuconazole (2.7-12.9%), in agreement with their sorption coefficients. However, despite having a sorption coefficient similar to that of diuron, more procymidone was recovered in the leachates (10.2-55.1%), probably due to its facilitated transport by dissolved organic matter. Thus even in this very permeable soil, higher organic matter contents associated with grass-cover reduce the amount of pesticide leaching and limit the risk of groundwater contamination by the pesticides. The results of diuron and tebuconazole transfer through undisturbed buffer zone soil columns are in agreement with field observations on the buffer zone.     

The Past,Present, and Future of Environmental Insurance Including a Case Study of MTBE Litigation

Environmental insurance policies and the success of claims brought under them depend upon the intersection of both the legal and technical issues involved. The evolution of environmental insurance policies, from their origin in the Commercial General Liability policies up to the creation of new insurance products designed to cover specifically environmental concerns are addressed in this work. Both scientists and attorneys will have to develop a fuller understanding of environmental damage and assessments. The intent of this article is to provide a starting point for members of both disciplines in their quest for a fuller understanding of the legal and technical issues involved in environmental claims.     

Persistent organochlorine contaminants in hair samples of Northern Poland population, 1968-2009

The European regulation on chemicals, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), came into force on 1 June 2007. With pre-registration complete in 2008, data for these substances may provide an overview of the expected chemical space and its characteristics. In this paper, using various in silico computation tools, we evaluate 48 782 neutral organic compounds from the list to identify hazardous and safe compounds. Two different classification schemes (modified Verhaar and ECOSAR) identified between 17% and 25% of the compounds as expressing only baseline toxicity (narcosis). A smaller portion could be identified as reactive (19%) or specifically acting (2.7%), while the majority were non-assigned (61%). Overall environmental persistence, bioaccumulation and long-range transport potential were evaluated using structure-activity relationships and a multimedia fugacity-based model. A surprisingly high proportion of compounds (20%), mainly aromatic and halogenated, had a very high estimated persistence (>195 d). The proportion of compounds with a very high estimated bioconcentration or bioaccumulation factor (>5000) was substantially less (6.9%). Finally, a list was compiled of those compounds within the applicability domain of the models used, meeting both persistence and bioaccumulation criteria, and with a long-range transport potential comparable to PCB. This list of 68 potential persistent organic pollutants contained many well-known compounds (all halogenated), but notably also five fluorinated compounds that were not included in the EINECS inventory. This study demonstrates the usability of in silico tools for identification of potentially environmentally hazardous chemicals.     

"罐中罐"技术在炼油废水处理中的工业应用

介绍了具有复合功能的水力旋液型均质、除油、沉淀、调节罐(WS-Ⅱ型、简称“罐中罐”)技术和设备的开发和工业应用的情况,通过生产实践和现场标定,显现了该设备具有较高的除油能力和缓冲调节能力。其可靠的收油、排泥设施使得运行稳定。基本上解决了现存污水调节罐的问题。设计思想独特新颖,操作简便可靠,值得推广和应用。     

Soil erosion in developing countries: A politicoeconomic explanation

Soil erosion is accelerating in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It has threatened the livelihood of millions of peasants, for agriculture is their economic mainstay. A probe into the forces causing erosion reveals that the elite’s resolve to accumulate ever more wealth and to maintain, consolidate, or expand their sociopolitical power and the necessity of the poor to fulfill their requirements of food, fuelwood, and fodder are the two major factors accelerating soil erosion. Unless the vast masses of poor people are integrated into the national mainstream through the implementation of equitable and redistributive development policies, it is impossible to control the accelerating rate of soil erosion and thus to achieve the objective of sustainable development. In this article, the phenomenon “soil erosion” is studied with the sol e focus on causation through anthropogenic factors.