Uranium quantification in groundwater and health risk from its ingestion in Haryana,India

Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element which may cause toxicological or radiological hazards to the public if present in drinking water. This study reports the quantification of uranium in groundwater of major towns of the district Fatehabad, Haryana, India. Uranium concentrations ranged between 0.3 and 48 μg L^?1. In 22% of the groundwater samples, uranium concentrations were higher than the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 30 µg L^?1. The radiological dose for males was found to be in the range of 4.8?×?10^?4–7.1?×?10^?2 mSv y^?1 and for females 3.5?×?10^?4–5.2?×?10^?2 mSv y^?1. The results showed that due to the ingestion of groundwater in the study area, radiological cancer risk is in the range of 9.1?×?10^?7–1.3?×?10^?4, lower than the risk limit. Uranium ingestion from groundwater varied from 0.02 to 3.5 µg kg^?1 day^?1, which is within acceptable limit.     

Assessment of potentially toxic elements in Swiss chard and sediments of Akaki River,Ethiopia

For the determination of 15 potentially toxic elements (V, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Sn, Hg, and Pb) in plant and sediment samples of the Akaki River, Ethiopia, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, and a RA-915+ mercury analyzer were applied. Sediment and plant samples were mineralized using a closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion system. The elemental concentrations varied considerably in plant and sediment samples. The minimum concentration was observed for known toxic elements (As, Hg, and Cd) while the highest concentration was observed for the elements of relatively low toxicity Zn, Mn, and Fe. The concentration of Cr, Fe, Pb, Zn, and As in Swiss chard surpassed the maximum permissible levels at specific sites. At some of the sites, the sediment quality guidelines are surpassed for Cu, Zn, and Pb.     

Diffusion pollution from livestock and poultry rearing in the Yangtze Delta,China

BACKGROUND: The Yangtze Delta is one of the most developed regions in China and includes Shanghai, eight cities in Jiangsu province and eight cities in Zhejiang province. Meat consumption in this region has increased with economic growth, and most of the consumed meat is produced locally. The water quality of surface waters has deteriorated in recent years. An example was the huge blue-green algae bloom in Tai Lake in late May 2007, which affected millions of people's daily drinking water. However, animal husbandry is considered to be one of the main pollution sources. METHODS: Pollutants (NH3-N, total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN)) excreted by livestock and poultry, and the resultant COD (chemical oxygen demand) and BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), were estimated using two different methods based on different data sets. RESULTS: The number of livestock and poultry has remained stable in the Yangtze Delta over the four years from 1999 to 2002, with the average number of pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry being 21.1 M, 0.4 M, 7.7 M and 597.6 M, respectively. Pollutants in livestock and poultry excreta estimated by Method I were: 0.12 Mt NH3-N, 0.11 Mt TP and 0.29 Mt TN, resulting in COD and BOD of 1.34 Mt and 1.30 Mt, respectively, while the estimations based on Method II were: 0.18 Mt NH3-N, 0.15 Mt TP and 0.40 Mt TN, resulting in COD and BOD of 1.95 Mt and 1.80 Mt, respectively. DISCUSSION: Pollutants excreted annually by livestock and poultry in the Yangtze Delta are estimated to be: 0.17 Mt NH3-N, 0.16 Mt TP and 0.42 Mt TN, giving rise to a COD of 1.86 Mt and a BOD of 1.72 Mt. Approximately 25% of this pollution was estimated to enter water bodies, which means that the annual pollutant load is 43,700 t NH3-N, 39,400 tTP, 104,600t TN with a COD of 465,000 tand a BOD of 430,100 t. Pollutants from animal husbandry were similar in magnitude to those from industrial wastewater. Pigs produced the most pollution, followed by poultry, cattle and sheep. The pollution load from animal husbandry in the Yangtze Delta is about twice the average level of the whole of China. CONCLUSIONS: Domestic wastewater was the main pollution source in the Yangtze Delta, followed by pollution from raising livestock and poultry and from industrial wastewater. The pollution load in Shanghai and Jiaxing were the greatest, followed by 7 cities of Jiangsu province (except Suzhou) and other cities of Zhejiang province and Suzhou. Pigs and poultry produced about 90% of the total pollutants from animal husbandry. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: The local governments, especially in Shanghai and Jiaxing, should focus their attention on the pollution produced by livestock and poulrry. Controlling pollution from pigs and poultry will have the greatest impact in this region. Control of pollution will be facilitated by the development of large-scale livestock and poultry farming units and a shift away from small scale husbandry.     

聚硅酸氯化铝处理皂素废水的研究

制备了聚硅酸氯化铝(PASC)絮凝剂,并用其进行了皂素废水处理实验。考察了絮凝剂投加量、pH值、搅拌速度对COD和浊度去除率的影响。结果表明,当絮凝剂投加量为9～13.5 mg/L、pH值5～7、搅拌速度150～250 r/min时,COD和浊度去除效果较好。最佳工艺条件为：絮凝剂投加量11.25 mg/L、pH值6、搅拌速度200 r/min。此时,COD去除率为93.7％,浊度去除率为97.5％。PASC的絮凝性能明显优于PAC。     

不同加碱量下爆破制浆的源强试验研究

为了解爆破制浆的排污情况和废水处理的可行性,以烧碱和石灰作投加药剂,进行了不同加碱量条件下爆破制浆产生源强的试验研究,以确定最佳的加碱量和适宜的黑液提取率.研究表明,在加碱量相同的情况下,采用常规爆破浆样,浆样性能较好;在保持吨粗干浆产生的COD一致时,投加价格低廉的石灰,既能降低生产成本,又便于后续的废水处理;工程调试运行结果表明,控制吨粗干浆的石灰投加量为25～30 kg时,黑液提取率超过80%,最终出水COD<100 mg/L.     

Comparative analysis of two tobacco surveillance questionnaires used in NHANES: accuracy of self-reported smoking status

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) uses two tobacco use surveillance questionnaires. One is administered during an at-home interview (HI) and the other, during an examination session at a mobile examination center (MEC). NHANES data for the years 1999–2012 were used to evaluate the consistency of responses to tobacco surveillance questions in HI and MEC interview. In addition, accuracy of self-reported smoking status was evaluated. Of those who reported to be daily cigarette smokers during HI, 18.7% reported to be either some-day smokers or nonsmokers during MEC interview. Of those who reported to be some-day cigarette smokers during HI, 22.1% reported to be daily smokers and 17.5% reported to be nonsmokers. Also, 4.1% of those who reported to be nonsmokers during HI reported to be either daily or some-day smokers during MEC interview. Using serum cotinine measurements taken during MEC interview, 27.1% were found to be smokers and 72.9% were found to be nonsmokers. In general, a moderate to high agreement, as measured by the κ statistic, was found between the self-reported responses to tobacco use questions during the home and MEC interviews as well as between smoking statuses based on self-reported and serum cotinine measurements.     

Abating whey organic load through ethanol and lactic acid production by kefir

Abstract

The extent to which selected ethanol and lactic acid production bioprocesses contribute to whey waste abatement was examined. Alcoholic fermentation of whey was carried out by kefir cells immobilized on grape stalks, delignified cellulosic materials, or brewer's spent grains. Lactic acid fermentation was also performed by free kefir cells with or without addition of brewer's spent grains as promoting material. Since whey fermentation rate is affected by the lactose uptake rate, ¹⁴C-labeled lactose was used to study the fermentation ability of kefir. The highest reductions in biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand of whey, about 68% and 52%, respectively, were achieved by lactic acid fermentation in 6 h at 37 °C and pH 5.5, in the presence of 120 g brewer's spent grains. Additionally, at the same conditions, the highest ¹⁴C-labeled lactose uptake rate by kefir and consequently the highest alcoholic fermentation rate were also recorded. However, greater reductions in biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand of whey are required prior to final disposal.     

水质氨氮在线监测仪对污染源低浓度样品测定的研究

水质氨氮在线监测仪广泛用于各类水体中氨氮的在线监测,随着我国水质氨氮减排工作的开展,污染源废水中氨氮浓度逐渐降低,目前市场上的水质氨氮在线监测仪是否适用于低浓度氨氮样品的在线监测成为广大环保工作者关心的问题。选取3种不同类型的水质氨氮在线监测仪分别进行低浓度标样和实际水样测试,并对结果进行了讨论。     

分光光度法快速测定化学耗氧量

本方法是重铬酸钾法改进与仪器自动测定法相结合的一种快速分析方法，氧化消耗量是重铬酸钾法的十分之一，测定时间仅４０分钟，操作简便，适合于工厂污水处理场中间控制分析要求。     

硫酸盐对高浓度黑液二相厌氧处理的影响

用二相ＵＡＳＢ反应器处理碱法草浆黑液，酸化相为８．８７Ｌ的普通升流式反应器，甲烷相为２８．７５Ｌ的ＵＡＳＢ反应器，系统温度３５±１℃。结果表明：当酸化相进水ＣＯＤ５５１３￣９５５ｍｇ／Ｌ，ＳＯ４＾２－８３７０￣１０４１ｍｇ／Ｌ，ｐＨ值为５．５时，二相系统ＣＯＤ去除率为７６．１８％。