Decision making under uncertainty in case of soil remediation

Decisions on soil remediation are one of the most difficult management issues of municipal and state agencies. The assessment of contamination is uncertain, the costs of remediation are high, and the impacts on the environment are multiple. This paper presents a general, transparent, and consistent method for decision making among the remediation alternatives. Soil washing, phytoremediation, and no remediation are exemplarily considered. Multi-criteria utility functions including (a) the cost of remediation (b) the impact on human health and agricultural productivity, and (c) the economic gain after remediation are constructed using probability density functions representing contamination for all site coordinates. Herewith, the probability of different types of (i) correct decisions such as a hit or a true rejection and (ii) erroneous decisions such as a false alarm or miss are examined. The decision theoretic model is applied to a case study on heavy metal contaminated soil. This case study reveals the non-linear structure of multi-criteria-decision making. The case study shows that the geostatistical uncertainties of the log-normal distributed soil contamination must be taken into account: When uncertainties are not considered and the utilities are assessed according to the estimated value for a spatial unit, only few (N=26) spatial units result where the utility score of the alternative soil washing are higher than the utility score to the no remediation alternative. However, when taking into account geostatistical uncertainties of the log-normal soil distribution this number is about ten times greater (N=237). Furthermore, the use of 'maximizing expected utility' as decision rule is critical in that it may lead to a high probability of misses.     

An efficient technology to treat heavy metal--lead--contaminated soil by microwave radiation

Microwave (MW) technology can be used to vitrify contaminated soil wastes and immobilize heavy metal ions in soils. More than 93% of the Pb(II)-contaminated soil was vitrified to a glass/ceramic formation after 30 min of MW radiation. In a 6-year study, the Pb(II) concentration of the vitrified soil in the leaching test was less than 1.0 mg/l, which is substantially below the USEPA regulatory limit of 5.0 mg/l.     

Fish mercury increase in Lago Manso, a new hydroelectric reservoir in tropical Brazil

It has been frequently demonstrated that mercury (Hg) concentrations in fish rise in newly constructed hydroelectric reservoirs in the Northern Hemisphere. In the present work, we studied whether similar effects take place also in a tropical upland reservoir during impoundment and discuss possible causes and implications. Total Hg concentrations in fish and several soil and water parameters were determined before and after flooding at Rio Manso hydroelectric power plant in western Brazil. The Hg concentrations in soil and sediment were within the background levels in the region (22-35 ng g(-1) dry weight). There was a strong positive correlation between Hg and carbon and sulphur in sediment. Predatory fish had total Hg concentrations ranging between 70 and 210 ng g(-1) f.w. 7 years before flooding and between 72 and 755 ng g(-1) f.w. during flooding, but increased to between 216 and 938 ng g(-1) f.w. in the piscivorous and carnivorous species Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, cachara, and Salminus brasiliensis, dourado, 3 years after flooding. At the same time, concentrations of organic carbon in the water increased and oxygen concentrations decreased, indicating increased decomposition and anoxia as contributing to the increased Hg concentrations in fish. The present fish Hg concentrations in commonly consumed piscivorous species are a threat to the health of the population dependent on fishing in the dam and downstream river for sustenance. Mercury exposure can be reduced by following fish consumption recommendations until fish Hg concentrations decrease to a safe level.     

Determination of Frequency for Remeasuring Ground and Vegetation Cover Factor Needed for Soil Erosion Modeling

Determining a remeasurement frequency of variables over time is required in monitoring environmental systems. This article demonstrates methods based on regression modeling and spatio-temporal variability to determine the time interval to remeasure the ground and vegetation cover factor on permanent plots for monitoring a soil erosion system. The spatio-temporal variability methods include use of historical data to predict semivariograms, modeling average temporal variability, and temporal interpolation by two-step kriging. The results show that for the cover factor, the relative errors of the prediction increase with an increased length of time interval between remeasurements when using the regression and semivariogram models. Given precision or accuracy requirements, appropriate time intervals can be determined. However, the remeasurement frequency also varies depending on the prediction interval time. As an alternative method, the range parameter of a semivariogram model can be used to quantify average temporal variability that approximates the maximum time interval between remeasurements. This method is simpler than regression and semivariogram modeling, but it requires a long-term dataset based on permanent plots. In addition, the temporal interpolation by two-step kriging is also used to determine the time interval. This method is applicable when remeasurements in time are not sufficient. If spatial and temporal remeasurements are sufficient, it can be expanded and applied to design spatial and temporal sampling simultaneously.     

Effect of Cadmium on Microbial Activity and a Ryegrass Crop in Two Semiarid Soils

Soil pollution with Cd is an environmental problem common in the world, and it is necessary to establish what Cd concentrations in soil could be dangerous to its fertility from toxicity effects and the risk of transference of this element to plants and other organisms of the food chain. In this study, we assessed Cd toxicity on soil microorganisms and plants in two semiarid soils (uncultivated and cultivated). Soil ATP content, dehydrogenase activity, and plant growth were measured in the two soils spiked with concentrations ranging from 3 to 8000 mg Cd/kg soil and incubated for 3 h, 20 days, and 60 days. The Cd concentrations that produced 5%; 10%;, and 50%; inhibition of each of the two soil microbiological parameter studied (ecological dose, ED, values) were calculated using two different mathematical models. Also, the effect of Cd concentration on plant growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne, L.) was studied in the two soils. The Cd ED values calculated for soil dehydrogenase activity and ATP content were higher in the agricultural soils than in the bare soil. For ATP inhibition, higher ED values were calculated than for dehydrogenase activity inhibition. The average yields of ryegrass were reduced from 5.03 to 3.56 g in abandoned soil and from 4.21 to 1.15 g in agricultural soil with increasing concentrations of Cd in the soil. Plant growth was totally inhibited in abandoned and agricultural soils at Cd concentrations above 2000 and 5000 mg/kg soil, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the concentration of Cd in the plants and the total or DTPA-extractable concentrations of Cd in the soil.     

流动注射-氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法测定土壤中铅

采用流动注射-氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法测定土壤中的铅,工作曲线线性关系良好,检出限为0.25 mg/kg,相对标准偏差＜3.5%,加标回收率为93.0%～105%.该方法简便快速,测定结果准确可靠.     

植物修复--大面积低剂量放射性污染的新治理技术

放射性污染是当今难以治理的环境污染问题,对于大面积低剂量的放射性污染,植物修复是种较适用的新型治理技术.系统阐述了植物修复技术的概念与内容,对放射性污染植物修复技术研究现状与进展、植物修复的优缺点进行了重点评述,并对这技术在未来放射性污染治理中的应用与研究提出了建议.     

土壤渗滤处理系统运行控制的模拟研究

通过建立地下水数学模型,回答了土壤渗滤工程运行控制中的两个难点问题:(1)工程运行水力负荷.当工程地块周边存在河流时,河流水位低时,有助于增加水力负荷,反之则降低水力负荷;实际土壤运行面积的增加和独立运行单元之间的间距增加也能够增加工程运行水力负荷.(2)地下水水质监测井的优化布设.模拟工程运行后地下水水质空间分布特征,在地下水水质最不利的位置和其他特别关注的位置布置监测井,从而能够以具有典型代表性且数目较少的监测井达到准确评估工程对地下水水质影响的目的.     

污染农田土壤修复产业发展面临的问题及建议

随着经济的发展,我国的农业建设也迎来了新的发展机遇,但是目前我国的农业发展过程中存在着严重的土壤污染问题,污染农田土壤修复的问题有待解决。本文围绕污染农田土壤修复这一问题展开研究,望有所助益。     

污染影响型土壤环境影响评价过程中预测和评价方法

随着国民经济的持续发展,建设项目开发过程中可能造成土壤本身或与之相关的环境要素之间在物质、能量转移循环过程中受到不同程度的影响。以《环境影响评价技术导则土壤环境》(HJ 964-2018)为依据,对污染型土壤环境进行环境影响评价,为建设项目土壤环境保护提供科学依据。