USE OF DELPHI METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS GOALS AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF A WATERSHED PROJECT1

ABSTRACT: The major objective is to report the way the Delphi methodology was employed in an environmental study aimed at identifying and ranking goals and social impacts of Cooper Dam and Reservoir Project located in the East Texas area. The Delphi procedures were modified to accommodate the nature of social field under study. Data were collected through personal interviews from twenty-seven respondents representing the government agency responsible for planning the Project and three communities geographically contiguous to the project. The respondents were provided an initial list of the Project's goals and social impacts and were asked to rank them in terms of degree of importance and to add to the list other goals and impacts that they would consider necessary. Respondents were interviewed in two successive rounds. Data show that on the whole the Delphi procedures were helpful in action analysis of the Project by identifying and ranking its goals and social impacts in terms of selected criteria.     

火电项目环境影响评价中污染控制水平分析

针对国家投资体制改革后我国火电迅猛发展的现象,以内蒙古地区作为研究对象,从2004年内蒙古地区拟建的36个火电项目的环境影响报告书中取得有关资料,分析了这些项目的环境影响控制情况,并对内蒙古地区火电发展的区域环境影响进行讨论.结果表明:即使内蒙古地区拟建项目全部建成投产,在火电装机容量增加33.68×106 kW的情况下,SO₂排放量仅增加0.8×104 t/a;通过对城市中水、矿井疏干水的使用,节约新鲜水用量超过1×108 t/a,环境影响评价中对火电项目的SO2总量控制和节约用水控制效果较好.但是内蒙古地区拟建电厂区域累积用水总量很大,将加剧该地区水资源不足问题,而内蒙古地区作为我国能源输出地,需寻求可持续发展道路.建议加快开展规划环境影响评价,并考虑循环经济发展模式.      

流域水质目标管理的AIZ量化分配技术

“分配影响区”（AIZ）概念是对传统混合区概念及其应用的一次重要补充和修正.它以保持水生态完整性为目的,将分配的概念引入对混合区的管理.AIZ过程涉及的“相对环境价值”、“保护水平”和“毒性质量”等重要概念需要多学科共同研究确定,也是分配过程的关键.在详细介绍了AIZ制定过程的基础上,以大宁河为例说明分配计算过程.采用基于毒性质量的分配方法,结合相关文献资料确定水体用途区和有关参数,计算出各用途区内AIZ的允许面积,该面积即为水体中各排放允许的影响区域.最后给出计算结果说明和管理应用,认为该分配结果要严于一般的“混合区”规定.同时认为该方法是对水体进行综合、量化管理的一个有效手段.      

层次分析法在规划环评中的应用--以太仓市沿江地区规划为例

综合分析了层次分析法(AHP法)的特点及应用于规划环评的优势,并以太仓市沿江地区规划为例,综合考虑社会、经济和环境资源的因素,建立了评价体系,对太仓市沿江地区规划的4个替代方案进行了比选,最后对拟定规划方案给出了修正建议。     

SCI收录的环境工程期刊概况分析

为了给环境工程的科研工作者检索文献和投稿时选择期刊提供参考,介绍了环境工程期刊被SCI数据库的收录情况。汇总介绍了SCI—E收录的42种环境工程期刊的刊名、国际标准连续出版物编号（ISSN）、出版国／地和最新影响因子,同时详细介绍了其中SCI收录的19种环境工程期刊的出版周期、出版者、联系地址、期刊资源描述等有关的期刊信息。通过对期刊相关信息的描述,以期为环境工程相应学科的科研工作者提供帮助。     

建设项目环境影响评价公众参与过程中常见的问题分析

结合建设项目环境影响报告书评审过程中公众参与章节出现的问题,总结实际工作过程中的公众参与章节以及评价过程中的公众参与工作程序、调查内容、调查对象、调查方式、专题编制等方面所存在的问题;针对这些问题提出相应的解决对策和措施,指导环评工作者在日常工作中如何避免出现类似问题和更有效的进行公众参与,并更好的发挥环境影响评价过程中公众参与的作用。针对目前环境影响评价公众参与制度、效果等问题提出了相关意见。     

移动通信基站项目EIA公众参与原则与方案设计

结合电磁辐射类项目特点及难点,阐述公众参与的环境知情权、环境参与权和环境司法请求权3原则。围绕原则梳理公众关心的主要问题,制订出信息公示内容及公众参与方案,并对公众参与制度提出合理建议,对开展移动通信基站项目公众参与具有理论指导和现实意义     

Assessing the factors impacting the bioaccessibility of mercury (Hg) in rice consumption by an in-vitro method

Mercury (Hg) in rice is drawing mounting concern since methylmercury (MeHg) was found capable of accumulating in rice. In-vitro bioaccessibility is a feasible and reliable method to assess the health effects of Hg in rice and has been utilized in a number of studies. This study was done to investigate the impact of cultivar, planting location, and cooking on the total mercury (THg) and MeHg bioaccessibility of rice, for which multiple statistical analysis methods were used to analyze the significance of their effects. The THg concentrations of rice samples taken from non-Hg contaminated areas of China were all below 15 ng/g and their MeHg concentrations were below 2 ng/g. Cooking could significantly reduce the MeHg bioaccessibility of rice because the MeHg was mainly combined with protein and the protein will be denatured during the cooking process, and then the denatured MeHg is difficult to be dissolved into the liquid phase. Indica- and japonica-type rice cultivars did not show significant differentiation in either the concentration of Hg or its bioaccessibility. However, the glutinous rice type differed significantly from the above rice types, and it showed greater bioaccessibility of THg and MeHg due to its distinct protein contents and starch properties. Planting location can affect the Hg concentration in rice and THg bioaccessibility but has a limited impact on MeHg bioaccessibility. Based on these results, two macro factors (rice cultivar, planting location) are presumed to impact Hg bioaccessibility by how they affect micro factors (i.e., Hg forms).     

Dry land tree management for improved household livelihoods: farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a set of practices farmers use to foster the growth of indigenous trees on agricultural land, has drawn substantial attention as a contributing factor to a trend of increasing vegetation greenness in the Republic of Niger. This paper identifies drivers of FMNR adoption and assesses its impacts on rural households in the Region of Maradi, Niger, an area covering 42,000 square kilometers. The results show that 26% of households practice a form of FMNR involving both pruning and protecting woody vegetation. Adoption is strongly linked to soil type, market access, and the education level of the head of household. FMNR raises household income and increases crop diversity, household migration rates, and the density and diversity of trees on farmland. It is estimated that FMNR raises the annual gross income of the region by between 17 and 21 million USD and has contributed an additional 900,000 to 1,000,000 trees to the local environment. These findings support the value of continued promotion of FMNR as an inexpensive means of enhancing rural livelihoods and an attractive alternative to reforestation efforts relying on tree planting.     

Life-Cycle Impact Assessment of oil drilling mud system in Algerian arid area

The objective of this work is to assess the environmental impacts of the drilling mud system in Algeria's arid region. Water-based mud (WBM) and oil-based mud (OBM) are used during well drilling in Hassi Messaoud petroleum field, and have a considerable pollution potential particularly on the aquifer system which constitutes the single resource of drinking water in the Sahara. The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach is applied to evaluate the impacts of several drilling mud systems across all stages of their life cycle, e.g. use, treatment and disposal. Environmental impacts of five treatments scenarios corresponding to the drilling waste management applied in Hassi Messaoud are compared: reserve pit without treatment (burial option), secondary high centrifugation (vertical cuttings dryer), stabilisation/solidification online, stabilisation/solidification off line and thermal desorption. The impact assessment is carried on using the LCIA models of Impact 2002+ method in SIMAPRO7 software. This assessment identifies human toxicity and terrestrial eco-toxicity as the major impact categories in this specific arid context and quantifies the emissions contributions. The local environmental impact is the most important of the drilling mud life cycle and is mainly linked to emissions from reserve pits, treated cuttings, and drilling phase 16″ through the Turonian and Albian aquifer. The main contributing substances are aromatic hydrocarbons fraction and metals in particular barium, zinc, antimony, arsenic, and aluminium. Concerning the comparison of the treatment scenarios, it appears that stabilisation/solidification online is the best one; it has the lowest impact score in the two dominating categories because of the waste minimisation: mud storage avoided in the reserve pit. The second best scenario is the thermal desorption which obtains the lowest impact score in carcinogen effects due to hydrocarbons reduction (<1%) and avoided impacts of recovered oil. The toxic substances fate modeling will be improved by taking into account their site-specific impact.