Waste Management in Guangdong Cities: The Waste Management Literacy and Waste Reduction Preferences of Domestic Waste Generators

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2002 on 1365 households in two prefectural-level cities in the Pearl River Delta, Jiangmen and Zhongshan. Three groups of issues are covered in this paper: 1) waste management literacy, concerns, and public participation; 2) waste recycling practices and the potential for waste avoidance; and 3) public environmental literacy. This study confirms findings from previous surveys and provides new information on important issues such as imposing monetary charges on waste and environmental activities, littering, source separation programs (SSPs), and public participation and expectations in local waste management. Saving up recyclable materials for redemption in waste depots is commonly practiced in mainland China regardless of the level of development of a city, although at the household level, high-income families tend to place less value on the revenues to be gained from redemption than lower income groups do. Data from the previous and the present studies indicate that such voluntary but largely economically driven waste recovery behavior diverts at least 10% of the household waste from the waste stream. Although uncompensated SSP is less appealing in the two cities than compensated SSP, it was found that when the median per capita income of a city reaches RMB2000 per month, a high participation rate for uncompensated waste recovery is more likely to occur. Education and income levels are the chief factors affecting littering behavior and the potential for waste avoidance. Contrary to general belief, the local Chinese community is active in microwaste management. The concern, however, is over the inability of the grassroots bureaucracy to deal with rising expectations for waste collection services and neighborhood cleanliness.     

厌氧消化在城市生活污水处理中的应用及技术经济指标研究

本文就生活污水的厌氧处理常见装置的原理、性能进行了简要介绍，并通过省内现正在运行的几种化粪池的处理效果和国外粪便污水处理装置试验结果比较，来论证化粪池设计的主要参数确定原则，在保证污水有效处理的前提下，控制“无效”地容，以降低成本。     

新型厌氧反应器处理生活污水的研究进展

新型高速厌氧反应器的发生使生活污水的厌氧处理成功可能，介绍了几种厌氧反应器的特点及其在生活污水处理中的研究现状。     

浅析成都市生活垃圾焚烧发电的经济可行性

根据成都市生活垃圾性状和现有的工业基础及技术经济条件，对成都市建设生活垃圾焚烧发电厂的经济可行性进行了初步分析，指出上网电价为0．25元／千瓦时，政府对处置垃圾的补贴费为50元／吨，是经济可行的。     

垃圾焚烧与二■■

多氯二苯并-对-二■■(PCDDs)和多氯二苯并呋喃(PCDFs)是毒性极强的环境污染物质,垃圾焚烧又是大城市中引起二■■污染的主要来源。文中介绍了如何加强垃圾焚烧厂的运行管理,严格控制二■■的产生和排放等问题。      

生活污泥干化与生活垃圾协同焚烧研究分析

我国城市化的快速发展导致城市人口的迅速膨胀,城市生活污水产生量也迅速增加,在污水处理过程中自然而然的产生了大量的污泥。据不完全统计,每年一座中等城市产生的污泥量大约在25~30万t。本文通过对生活污泥干化的研究与生活垃圾协同焚烧的研究,有助于形成积极的公众舆论和认同,为垃圾协同污泥焚烧技术在全国的推广实施提供便利。     

一体化设备在农村生活污水治理中的应用

随着中国农村经济的发展,生活污水排放量的日益增长,农村水环境治理成为新农村建设亟需解决的主要问题之一。本文分析了我国农村生活污水治理现状及水质水量特点,着重探讨了一体化设备在农村生活污水治理中的优势,可为加快推进其在农村生活污水治理中的应用提供参考。     

Levels of PCDD/Fs,PCBs and PBDEs in breast milk of women living in the vicinity of a hazardous waste incinerator: Assessment of the temporal trend

The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in breast milk from women living in the vicinity of a hazardous waste incinerator (HWI) in Catalonia, Spain. The results were compared with the levels obtained in previous surveys carried out in the same area in 1998 (baseline study), 2002 and 2007. The current total concentrations of 2,3,7,8-chlorinated PCDD/Fs in breast milk ranged from 18 to 126 pg g⁻¹ fat (1.1–12.3 pg WHO₂₀₀₅-TEQ_PCDD/F), while the total levels of PCBs ranged from 27 to 405 pg g⁻¹ fat (0.7–5.3 pg WHO₂₀₀₅-TEQ_PCB). In turn, PBDE concentrations (sum of 15 congeners) ranged 0.3–5.1 g g⁻¹ fat, with a mean value of 1.3 ng g⁻¹ fat. A general decrease in the concentrations for PCDD/Fs, both planar and total PCBs, and PBDEs in breast milk was observed. The levels of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and PBDEs in milk of women living in urban zones were higher than those corresponding to industrial zones (41%, 26%, and 8%, respectively). For PCDD/Fs and PCBs, the current decreases are in accordance with the reduction in the dietary intake of these pollutants that we have also observed in recent studies carried out in the same area of study.     

Assessment of domestic water quality: case study, Beirut, Lebanon

In urban cities, the environmental services are the responsibility of the public sector, where piped water supply is the norm for urban household. Likewise, in Beirut City (capital of Lebanon) official water authorities are the main supplier of domestic water through a network of piping system that leaks in many areas. Beirut City and its suburbs are overpopulated since it is the residence of 1/3 of the Lebanese citizens. Thus, Beirut suffers deficiency in meeting its water demand. Water rationing, as a remedial action, is firmly established since four decades by the Lebanese Water Authorities. Consumers resorted then to private wells to supplement their domestic water needs. Consequently, household water quality is influenced by external factors relating to well water characteristics and internal factors depending on the types of the pipes of the distribution network and cross connections to sewer pipes. These factors could result in chemical and microbial contamination of drinking water. The objective of this study is to investigate domestic water quality variation in Beirut City emerging form the aforementioned factors. The presented work encircles a typical case study of Beirut City (Ras Beirut). Results showed deterioration pattern in domestic water quality. The predicted metal species and scales within the water pipes of distribution network depended on water pH, hardness, sulfate, chloride, and iron. The corrosion of iron pipes mainly depended on Mg hardness.     

Environmental assessment of water-courses of the Turvo Limpo River basin at the Minas Gerais State, Brazil

A study was performed to evaluate the environmental contamination in the Turvo Limpo River basin which receives effluent discharges from domestic (residential and commercial) activities. The watercourses examined were the São Bartolomeu Stream, Turvo Sujo River, and Turvo Limpo River, located in the Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Water samples were collected at the river-side and analyzed for evaluation of pollutant inputs. The pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, redox potential (Eh), dissolved oxygen (DO), total and settleable solids, visual color, hardness, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chloride, total phosphate, total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate, total coliforms and E. coli, as well as the Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn speciation were determined in the watercourses. The data obtained were compared with those of the Brazilian Environmental Standards and with data from non-contaminated areas. River water characteristics in some sites were far from the limit values established for superficial waters with satisfactory quality. For instance, the BOD values reached 411 mg L^?1 for a maximum limit of 10.0 mg L^?1, while the ammonia nitrogen concentration reached 28 mg L^?1 for a maximum limit of 13.3 mg L^?1. Some sites showed E. coli values above those of non-contaminated regions. Besides the effects of sewage discharges into the water-courses, agriculture activities and the use of the area for cattle husbandry influenced the quality of the river waters, for instance, the pH of a spring-water sample reached the value of 4.3. The São Bartolomeu Stream has been contributing to the deterioration of the water quality of the Turvo Sujo River, while the Turvo Limpo River has also been affected by anthropogenic discharges in the Turvo Sujo River. The speciation of Cd, Cu and Pb showed that these metals were mainly found in the particulate fraction (i. e., associated with the suspended material). Fifty five percent of the water samples showed labile Zn concentrations greater than that of the nonlabile Zn.