The dissipation rates of trichlorfon and its degradation product dichlorvos in cabbage and soil

The residual levels and dissipation rate of trichlorfon, and its degradation product, dichlorvos, in cabbage crops and the soil in which these were grown, were determined by gas chromatography at two geographically distant experimental sites, one in Kunming and one in Beijing, China. Trichlorfon was applied at two dosages (900 g ai ha⁻¹ and 1350 g ai ha⁻¹). Maximum final residues of trichlorfon in soil and cabbage were 1.23 mg kg⁻¹ and 1.81 mg kg⁻¹ respectively at Kunming, and 0.35 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.70 mg kg⁻¹ respectively at Beijing. However, the final residues of dichlorvos in both cabbage and soil was only 0.04 mg kg⁻¹ at Kunming, and only 0.03 mg kg⁻¹, or “not detectable”, at Beijing. The mean half-life of trichlorfon in cabbage was 1.80 d with a dissipation rate of 90% over 5 d, while that in soil was 3.05 d with a dissipation rate of 90% over 14 d at one experimental site. The dissipation rates of trichlorfon and its degradation product dichlorvos at the two experimental sites were different, suggesting that degradation of these pesticides was affected by local soil characteristics and climate. When applied at both the recommended dosage and at 1.5 times this, no detectable residues of either trichlorfon or dichlorvos were found in soil or cabbage at harvest. Although trichlorfon can easily degrade into dichlorvos, which is highly toxic to humans and other animals, the observed low residual levels of dichlorvos suggest that trichlorfon is safe when applied at the recommended dosage.     

Determination of o-phthalic acid in snow and its photochemical degradation by capillary gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

Phthalic acid and its photochemical degradation has been determined in snow and rainwater samples collected during winters (2003-2010) in the Southeast of Massachusetts using capillary gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. Water samples were dried using a rotary evaporator and derivatized with a 14% BF₃/methanol reagent before GC analysis. The developed method proved simple and accurate. Phthalic acid was found in snow samples collected in a concentration range of 7.22-76.5 nM. The photodegradation of phthalate was carried out under 300 nm UV light. The direct photodecomposition of the acid is slow (5% h⁻¹). However, the addition of dissolved Fe(III) species at 2.0 μM accelerated the light-induced degradation of phthalic acid by 3.5 times in the atmospheric water samples. Photodegradation rates of phthalic acid increases with decreasing pH value of water samples in the range of pH 2.8-4.5.     

Analysis of pesticide residues using the Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) pesticide multiresidue method in traditional Chinese medicine by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

The Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe multiresidue method (QuEChERS) has been validated for the extraction of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in completely different matrices of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The method employed a rapid, simple and cost-effective procedure. The spiking levels for the recovery experiments were 0.1, 0.5 and 2.0 mg kg⁻¹. Mean recoveries mostly ranged between 76.0% and 114.0% (96.0% on average), and relative standard deviations (RSD) were generally below 10% (4.72% on average). Based on these results, the methodology has been proven to be highly efficient and robust and thus suitable for monitoring the MRL compliance of a wide range of commodity. The contamination status of 15 OCPs on 80 different TCMs marketed in China, and a total of 400 samples were also performed using a previously validated method. 15 OCPs were benzene hexachloride (BHC, including α-BHC, β-BHC, γ-BHC, δ-BHC), hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, p, p′-DDE, p, p′-DDD, o, p′-DDT, p, p′-DDT, mirex, endrin, dieldrin. This study indicates that the proposed method is useful for analyzing OCPs in TCM.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and mercury in fish from lakes of the Tibetan Plateau

High mountains may act as cold traps for globally transported persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg). In the present study, 60 fish samples were collected from eight alpine lakes across the Tibetan Plateau. Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), total mercury (HgT) and methyl mercury (MeHg) were quantified in the fish muscle tissues to improve the understanding of pollution status and factors regulating the transport and fate of these contaminants on the Plateau. The results showed that lake-averaged ∑₁₄PBDEs concentration was between 0.09 ng g⁻¹ dw and 4.32 ng g⁻¹ dw, which was lower than those reported for European mountains. The total mercury concentration in individual fish ranged from 243 to 2384 ng g⁻¹ dw, and that of MeHg from 131 to 1610 ng g⁻¹ dw, which is much higher than those reported in other mountain fish. The spatial variation of PBDEs and mercury in the Plateau is largely controlled by the specific meteorological patterns.     

多孔水力空化装置降解甲基橙

研制了多孔水力空化装置,并将其应用于降解甲基橙溶液,通过测定甲基橙的降解率,考察了孔径、小孔排布方式、液体温度、运行时间对空化效果的影响,分析了平均降解速率与运行时间的关系。研究表明:孔径越小,小孔分布越均匀,空化效果越好,甲基橙的降解率越高;随着时间的延长,甲基橙的降解率不断提高,平均降解速率先增大再减小;当水温在40℃时,空化效果最好,甲基橙的降解率达到17.2%。综上所述,可以通过控制操作条件和优化孔板设计提高空化效果。     

Biodegradation of α and β Endosulfan in Soil as Influenced by Application of Different Organic Materials

Abstract

A laboratory pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of amending soil with four different sources of organic matter on the degradation rate of α and β endosulfan isomers. Poultry by-product meal, poultry manure, dairy manure, and municipal solid waste compost were cured, dried, ground (<1 mm) and thoroughly mixed with a calcareous soil at a rate of 2% and placed in plastic pots. Endosulfan was added at the rate of 20 mg kg^?1. The moisture level was kept near field capacity and the pots were kept at room temperature. Soil sub-samples, 100 g each, were collected from every pot at days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 43, and 57 for the measurement of endosulfan isomers. Endosulfan residues were extracted from the soil samples with acetone. The supernatant was filtered through anhydrous sodium sulphate, 5 mL aliquot was diluted to 25 mL with hexane, mixed well, and then two sub-samples from the filtrates were analyzed for α and β endosulfan isomers by gas chromatography. The results indicated that the half-life (T _½) of α-endosulfan in the poultry by-product meal treatment was 15 days compared to about 22 days in the other treatments. The T _½ of β-endosulfan was 22 days in the poultry by-product meal treatment and followed a bi-phasic pattern, 57 days in the municipal solid waste compost treatment and the extrapolated T _½ was about 115 days for the other three treatments.     

Interpreting the relationship between pheromone component emission from commercial lures and captures of Helicoverpa zea (boddie) in bucket and cone traps

Abstract

Male corn earworm moths, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), were captured in conical Texas pheromone traps (cone traps) and bucket traps baited with four different commercial lures manufactured by three different manufacturers. Because significant numbers were captured in bucket traps baited with some of the lures, and none with others, the volatile emissions from all of the lures were sampled and analyzed by gas Chromatographic methods. The numbers of males captured in two types of trap were compared with bait emissions in an endeavor to define a more effective lure for bucket traps. The lure from one manufacturer captured the same numbers of males in both trap types; one captured more in bucket traps than in cone traps, and another captured only a small number in bucket traps. The emission rate of all active compounds from each of the different lures was approximately linear for the duration of the assays. A gas‐liquid Chromatographic peak associated with a third compound, (Z)‐9‐tetradecenal, which reduces behavioral responses, was observed in the emissions from all lures evaluated. The effectiveness of the Hercon (Emmigsville, PA) lure in capturing males in both types of trap was associated with a lower emission of (Z)‐l 1‐hexadecenal, (Z)‐9‐hexadecenal and (Z)‐9‐tetradecenal than from the other lures.     

An integrated EDIB model for probabilistic risk analysis of natural gas pipeline leakage accidents

Natural gas pipeline construction is developing rapidly worldwide to meet the needs of international and domestic energy transportation. Meanwhile, leakage accidents occur to natural gas pipelines frequently due to mechanical failure, personal operation errors, etc., and induce huge economic property loss, environmental damages, and even casualties. However, few models have been developed to describe the evolution process of natural gas pipeline leakage accidents (NGPLA) and assess their corresponding consequences and influencing factors quantitatively. Therefore, this study aims to propose a comprehensive risk analysis model, named EDIB (ET-DEMATEL-ISM-BN) model, which can be employed to analyze the accident evolution process of NGPLA and conduct probabilistic risk assessments of NGPLA with the consideration of multiple influencing factors. In the proposed integrated model, event tree analysis (ET) is employed to analyze the evolution process of NGPLA before the influencing factors of accident evolution can be identified with the help of accident reports. Then, the combination of DEMATEL (Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) and ISM (Interpretative Structural Modeling) is used to determine the relationship among accident evolution events of NGPLA and obtain a hierarchical network, which can be employed to support the construction of a Bayesian network (BN) model. The prior conditional probabilities of the BN model were determined based on the data analysis of 773 accident reports or expert judgment with the help of the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory. Finally, the developed BN model was used to conduct accident evolution scenario analysis and influencing factor sensitivity analysis with respect to secondary accidents (fire, vapor cloud explosion, and asphyxia or poisoning). The results show that ignition is the most critical influencing factor leading to secondary accidents. The occurrence time and occurrence location of NGPLA mainly affect the efficiency of emergency response and further influence the accident consequence. Meanwhile, the weight ranking of economic loss, environmental influence, and casualties on social influence is determined with respect to NGPLAs.     

Study on acceleration and suppression properties of coal gangue with different void fractions on gas explosion propagation

Gas explosion is one of the main disasters in coal mining. Plenty of coal gangue are generally distributed in the disaster areas in gob. Experiments were carried out to explore the propagation law of the gas explosion distributed by coal gangue. The variation characteristics of the overpressure, pressure rise rate, and flame shape with void fractions were analyzed. The results showed that the effect of the coal gangue on the explosion intensity changed from suppression to acceleration with the increase of void fraction, the flame front upstream blockage area changed from laminar state to turbulent divergent state, and a reverse flame was formed. When the void fraction of the coal gangue was 0.50–0.65, the maximum overpressure downstream of the blocked area were positively correlated with the void fraction and the critical suppression range was between 0.50 and 0.55. When the void fraction was lower than 0.50, the flame was quenched in the coal gangue, neither the flame nor the pressure could pass through the blocked area. It is helpful to guide the improvement of coal recovery process to avoid the expansion of the explosion impact in coalmine gob.     

Influence of sewage culvert cover plate thickness on dynamic response and damage of the cover plate under gas explosion

In order to address the risk of combustible gas explosions in sewage culverts, a numerical model was established using ANSYS/LS-DYNA software. The model consisted of a culvert and a cover plate, and was used to study the effect of cover plate thickness (ranging from 0.08 m to 0.12 m) on the dynamic response and damage of the structure under explosive loads. The results indicated that, during the loading negative pressure stage, the equivalent stress peak value of the central monitoring unit of the cover plate first increased and then decreased with increasing cover plate thickness. Additionally, the maximum principal stress peak value first decreased and then increased, while the maximum shear stress peak value first increased and then decreased. During the loading positive pressure stage, the maximum principal strain peak value of the monitoring unit decreased overall with increasing cover plate thickness. However, the equivalent plastic strain peak value initially increased and then decreased gradually. The equivalent strain indicated that plastic damage occurred in the cover plate. Beyond a thickness of 0.11 m, increasing the cover thickness did not appear to enhance its resistance to plastic damage. The damage analysis revealed that as cover plate thickness increased, the peak displacement and velocity of the monitoring unit continued to decrease, while the overall stability and explosive resistance of the cover plate increased. Additionally, the number of damaged fragments decreased. However, once the cover plate thickness reached 0.11 m, the bonding performance of the reinforced concrete structure had been fully developed, increasing the thickness of the cover plate no longer had a significant impact on the explosive resistance of the cover plate.