Use of created cattail (Typha) wetlands in mitigation strategies

In order to balance pressures for land-use development with protection of wetland resources, artificial wetlands have been constructed in an effort to replace lost ecosystems. Despite its regulatory appeal and prominent role in current mitigation strategies, it is unclear whether or not created systems actually compensate for lost wetland resources. Mitigation predictions that rely on artificial wetlands must be analyzed critically in terms of their efficacy. Destruction of wetlands due to burial by coal fly ash at a municipal landfill in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA, provided an opportunity to compare resulting growth of created cattail (Typha) marshes with natural wetland areas. Once the appropriate cattail species was identified for growth under disturbed landfill conditions, two types of artificial wetlands were constructed. The two systems differed in their hydrologic attributes: while one had a surface water flow characteristic of most cattail wetlands, the second system mimicked soil and water conditions found in naturally occurring floating cattail marshes. Comparison of plant growth measurements for two years from the artificial systems with published values for natural cattail marshes revealed similar structure and growth patterns. Experiments are now in progress to investigate the ability of created cattail marshes to remove and accumulate heavy metals from polluted landfill leachate. Research of the type reported here must be pursued aggressively in order to document the performance of artificial wetlands in terms of plant structure and wetland functions. Such research should allow us to start to evaluate whether artificial systems actually compensate for lost wetlands by performing similar functions and providing the concomitant public benefits.     

STATE WATER QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM IN ARIZONA1

ABSTRACT: Arizona's water pollution control program is based on authorties of Arizona Revised Statutes and Public Law 92–500, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. The primary areas of this program are monitoring, facility inspections, plan review, planning, discharge permits and grants for the construction of publicly-owned waste water treatment facilities. The discharge permit program deals with control of point-source discharges and is administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The planning and construction grants programs are administered by the State Water Quality Control Council and are implemented by the Bureau of Water Quality Control, which serves as staff to the Council. There are several challenges that face the State in this program. First is the adaptation of the “eastern law” to deal with Arizona's water quality problems. Second is to address problems caused by a long history of “laissez-faire” environmental quality management. Third is a mutual cooperation and coordination among the many entities involved in water resources management. Areas of particular interest in the State's program is the process setting water quality standards and the involvement of people of diversified backgrounds in the field of areawide planning under Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is primarily concerned with non-point sources of water pollution.     

大亚湾开发区排污权交易实施方案研究

为保护大亚湾开发区的环境,充分运用社会主义市场经济手段配置环境资源,提高环保投资效益,在国内外排污权交易研究和实践的基础上,充分考虑环境污染物排放总量控制实施中的经济、技术、管理因素,提出了排污权交易实施的原则、程序等具体方案,明确了环境行政管理部门和企业法人在总量控制实施中的地位、具体行为和关系。研究结果已经在大亚湾开发区应用。     

What Is Source Reduction? A Critique and Comparative Analysis of Polish and American Students

/ Source reduction is recognized as the preferred form of waste management, but its definition is ambiguous. This study proposes four underlying dimensions of the source reduction concept. Source reduction is foremost a preventive activity that reduces the number or extent of environmental impacts. Second, source reduction can prevent both resource consumption and pollution generation impacts. Third, source reduction may be viewed as both a producer and consumer activity. Lastly, it may include frugal and more efficient activities. In surveys exploring these fourdimensions, Polish and American university students evaluated whether 20 activities were examples of source reduction. The American students gave higher ratings to preventive activities over adaptive activities. The Polish students most prominently rated efficient over frugal activities. Factor analysis indicated that both samples identified a group of consumer-based resource conservation activities, with the American students recognizing a cluster of recycling activities. In a separate ranking of environmental protection priorities, the Polish students endorsed pollution prevention, whereas the American students favored both efficient and frugal resource conservation. These findings suggest that the conceptualization of source reduction varies according to contextual factors and that prevention is still an obscure environmental management theme. KEY WORDS: Source reduction; Pollution prevention; Resource conservation; Frugality; Poland     

A Preliminary Index of Biotic Integrity for Monitoring the Condition of the Rio Paraiba do Sul,Southeast Brazil

The biodiversity of many Brazilian rivers is seriously threatened by industrial and municipal pollution, and Rio Paraiba do Sul, located between two major industrial centers is one example of this situation. A survey of the fish assemblage was conducted from October 1998 to September 1999 and the data were used to develop an index of biotic integrity (IBI). We sampled three zones in bracketing a large urban–industrial complex to evaluate water quality changes and the usefulness of the IBI as a monitoring tool. Water quality was classified as poor upstream of the effluent discharges, very poor near the discharges, and poor–fair downstream of the discharges, with this latter situation revealing the current biological capacity of the river. Physical and chemical habitat characteristics were also measured at each site to construct an independent environmental index to validate the IBI. The habitat and IBI indices were highly correlated, suggesting this IBI would be applicable to other large rivers in southeast Brazil.     

Safety with access scaffolds: development of a prototype decision aid based on accident analysis

PROBLEM: Accidents involving temporary access systems, particularly temporary scaffolds, account for a large proportion of injuries in the construction industry worldwide. METHOD: This paper outlines the development of a prototype decision aid (SCAFPASS, an abbreviation for Scaffold Planning Aid for System Safety) to promote access scaffold safety. It was guided by an examination of the root-causes and management deficiencies apparent in: (a) paper-based files of 186 access-related incidents held by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK; and (b) computer-based files of 2,910 incidents appearing in the HSE database between 1997 to 2000. RESULTS: The more frequent root-causes included the fitting of defective components, unauthorized modification of the structure, omission of barriers, and errors resulting in simple, readily detectable structural faults. Common managerial deficiencies included failure to control risk, unsafe methods and procedures, and inadequate training and supervision. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: SCAFPASS aims to avoid these root-causes by improving safety management from the outset and throughout all phases of a project.     

事故的突变论

事故是系统运动发生的突变。事故潜势是系统在运动过程中所存在的发生事故的可能性。在参量空间 ,用系统参量演化相对于分岔点 (集 )的度量 ,建立事故潜势的数学表达式。事故潜势反映了事故发生的本质特征和机理 ,为预防事故提供了理论依据。     

Age differences in safety attitudes and safety performance in Hong Kong construction workers

PROBLEM: Safety in the construction industry is a major issue in Hong Kong, representing about 46% of all occupational injuries in 1998. This study explored linear and curvilinear relations between age and safety performance (accident rates and occupational injuries), as well as safety attitudes, in construction workers in Hong Kong. METHOD: A Chinese version of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ by Donald & Canter) was developed and administered to a sample of Chinese construction workers (N=374, 366 males, 8 females) from 27 construction sites. RESULTS: Accident rates were not related to age. Occupational injuries were related to age in a curvilinear manner, with injuries at first increasing with age, then decreasing. Two safety attitude scales were related to age with older workers exhibiting more positive attitudes to safety. If age and tenure are controlled, some attitude scales are predictors of safety performance. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Management/supervisors, team leaders, and workers are all responsible for safety, and any negative bias toward older construction workers is unfounded.     

我国建筑安全管理的现状及其思考

建筑业企业由于行业自身的特点 ,安全事故比较突出。安全管理水平的高低 ,对安全事故的发生具有决定影响。笔者通过我国的与国外发达国家的安全管理水平相比较 ,认为我国建筑安全现状在管理制度、安全评估方法手段、市场主动调节等方面还存在着较大差距 ,在此基础上 ,探讨了适应于我国国情的建筑安全管理的改革思路。笔者认为 :要提高我国建筑安全管理水平 ,应从完善安全生产责任制和安全监督机制 ;完善建筑安全事故的记录、检查、申报制度 ;充分发挥市场经济杠杆对安全的巨大调节作用 ;认真推广和积极应用安全科学技术等方面深化改革 ,实践创新 ,走出新路。     

从事故特性谈人的安全意识的培养

缺乏安全意识是目前我国重特大伤亡事故发生的主要原因。事故的发生具有偶然性、必然性和可预防性等特性 ,充分认识事故的这些特性对提高安全意识水平有重要的意义。笔者对事故具有的一些基本特性及其与安全意识的关系进行了深入探讨 ,分析了安全意识的含义、特点及其表现形式 ,提出应结合事故的有关特性 ,通过文化、法制、经济等途径培养安全意识 ,不断提高社会公众的安全科技文化素质和自护技能水平。