Human health effects of residual carbon nanotubes and traditional water treatment chemicals in drinking water

The volume of industrial and domestic wastewater is increasing significantly year by year with the change in the lifestyle based on mass consumption and mass disposal brought about by the dramatic development of economies and industries. Therefore, effective advanced wastewater treatment is required because wastewater contains a variety of constituents such as particles, organic materials, and emulsion depending on the resource. However, residual chemicals that remain during the treatment of wastewaters form a variety of known and unknown by-products through reactions between the chemicals and some pollutants. Chronic exposure to these by-products or residual chemicals through the ingestion of drinking water, inhalation and dermal contact during regular indoor activities (e.g., showering, bathing, cooking) may pose cancer and non-cancer risks to human health. For example, residual aluminium salts in treated water may cause Alzheimer's disease (AD). As for carbon nanotubes (CNTs), despite their potential impacts on human health and the environment having been receiving more and more attention in the recent past, existing information on the toxicity of CNTs in drinking water is limited with many open questions. Furthermore, though general topics on the human health impacts of traditional water treatment chemicals have been studied, no comparative analysis has been done. Therefore, a qualitative comparison of the human health effects of both residual CNTs and traditional water treatment chemicals is given in this paper. In addition, it is also important to cover and compare the human health effects of CNTs to those of traditional water treatment chemicals together in one review because they are both used for water treatment and purification.     

某油田加油站作业人员职业健康状况分析

从加油站作业人员接触的主要职业病危害因素入手,重点对加油站油气防护设施、个人防护用品、工作制度等进行职业卫生现场调查,同时,根据对作业人员职业性健康检查结果和作业场所空气中汽油及苯的浓度检测结果,分析加油站作业人员的健康状况和长期接触成品汽油对作业人员健康的影响。结果表明,加油站人员作业过程中接触的汽油及苯系物对员工健康可能构成危害,但若加强职业健康监护及个体防护,就能有效预防汽油及苯系物所带来的职业危害。     

Biomagnetic monitoring of industry-derived particulate pollution

Clear association exists between ambient PM₁₀ concentrations and adverse health outcomes. However, determination of the strength of associations between exposure and illness is limited by low spatial-resolution of particulate concentration measurements. Conventional fixed monitoring stations provide high temporal-resolution data, but cannot capture fine-scale spatial variations. Here we examine the utility of biomagnetic monitoring for spatial mapping of PM₁₀ concentrations around a major industrial site. We combine leaf magnetic measurements with co-located PM₁₀ measurements to achieve inter-calibration. Comparison of the leaf-calculated and measured PM₁₀ concentrations with PM₁₀ predictions from a widely-used atmospheric dispersion model indicates that modelling of stack emissions alone substantially under-predicts ambient PM₁₀ concentrations in parts of the study area. Some of this discrepancy might be attributable to fugitive emissions from the industrial site. The composition of the magnetic particulates from vehicle and industry-derived sources differ, indicating the potential of magnetic techniques for source attribution.     

环境暴露风险评价在大黄堡湿地自然保护区中的应用

我国目前在区域环境质量评价方面存在一定缺陷,常规评价指标无法表征特征污染物对区域生态环境及人体健康造成的暴露风险。以环境暴露风险理论为基础,对大黄堡湿地自然保护区内的大气、水及土壤构建复合环境要素综合评价模型,评价结果显示保护区的综合判别值为12.68×10-5 a-1,高于国际辐射防护委员会(ICRP)推荐的最大可接受值1.0×10-5 a-1,且地域差异比较明显,其中保护区北部农药厂周边地区潜在健康风险最高、东八里庄附近次之、而后蒲棒村周边相对较小。最终根据评估区域内环境暴露风险评价结果提出具有针对性的防范和治理措施,为保护区环境暴露风险的预警和管理提供决策依据。     

Anthropogenic NOx emissions alter the intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) for Quercus cerris stands under Mediterranean climate conditions

We investigated the effect of N deposition (Ndep) on intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUE_i), the ratio of photosynthesis (A) to stomatal conductance (g_s), for two Quercus cerris stands at different distances to an oil refinery in Southern Italy. We used δ¹³C in tree rings for assessing changes in WUE_i; while the influence of climate and NO_x emission was explored through δ¹⁸O and δ¹⁵N, respectively. Differences in WUE_i between the two sites were significant, with trees exposed to different degrees of NO_x emissions showing an abrupt increase with the onset of pollution. Assuming similar g_s at the two sites, as inferred through δ¹⁸O, the higher N availability at the polluted site caused the shift of the A/g_s ratio in favour of A. Overall, our result suggests that an increase of Ndep may enhance tree WUE under a scenario of reduction of precipitation predicted for Mediterranean area.     

Work-related fatal injuries in parking lots, 1993-2002

PROBLEM: Although parking facilities are a common feature of the landscape in the United States, little is known about their safety. METHOD: A dataset of parking lot fatalities for 1993-2002, created from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injury (CFOI) research file, was analyzed. RESULTS: The most common events in parking lots were contact with objects (15%), pedestrian fatalities (13%), homicides (36%), and suicides (11%). The perpetrators of parking lot fatalities, compared to all workplace homicides, were more likely to be known to the victim. CONCLUSION: The 206 work-related fatalities per year in parking lots present challenges to the safety community. Although much of the risk results from the usage of motor vehicles, violent acts are even more prominent. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Because homicides are most prevalent in parking lots, both administrative and environmental measures may lower the risk of homicide. Although difficult to assess, various elements of the design of parking facilities may have an influence on the occurrence of injuries.     

From subsistence farming towards a multifunctional agriculture: sustainability in the Chinese rural reality

The rural economic situation in China-with a living standard mostly at subsistence level-lags far behind the prosperous development in the cities and coastal areas. To balance this disequilibrium, comprehensive concepts and endeavors are necessary keeping in view all-not just economic-interests and needs that contribute to lively rural identities. In this context the role of agriculture, where still 50% of the Chinese population are working, will be newly defined, and sustainability concepts can help to find a readjusted position within the Chinese economy focusing on environmental health and food safety as main targets of political and other supporting measures. Within the SUCCESS project, a Concept of Sustainable Agriculture was developed and it drafts one conceivable relation between the exposure to natural resources and economy and tries to find new answers to the broad range of rural challenges in China. It is a qualitative model and, therefore, not always fully applicable, but in the concrete situation of villages, it shows possible directions of sustainability-oriented development by considering the typical local potentials. In the Chinese context that means identifying the different functions of agriculture-the well-known and the hidden-to make them explicit for the Chinese public and therewith to give them new significance. The article is based on a 3-years study within the EU-China Project SUCCESS with field research in four Chinese rural communities. It analyzes the agricultural sustainability potential of these selected villages against the background of massive structural changes within the next 20 years in rural China. Starting from the current agricultural reality, based on a qualitative analysis of the actual situation, local potentials and needs towards sustainable production and marketing are identified, and possible functions of the Chinese agriculture are formulated for the future.     

A plea to implement robustness into a breeding goal: poultry as an example

The combination of breeding for increased production and the intensification of housing conditions have resulted in increased occurrence of behavioral, physiological, and immunological disorders. These disorders affect health and welfare of production animals negatively. For future livestock systems, it is important to consider how to manage and breed production animals. In this paper, we will focus on selective breeding of laying hens. Selective breeding should not only be defined in terms of production, but should also include traits related to animal health and welfare. For this we like to introduce the concept of robustness. The concept of robustness includes individual traits of an animal that are relevant for health and welfare. Improving robustness by selective breeding will increase (or restore) the ability of animals to interact successfully with the environment and thereby to make them more able to adapt to an appropriate husbandry system. Application of robustness into a breeding goal will result in animals with improved health and welfare without affecting their integrity. Therefore, in order to be ethically acceptable, selective breeding in animal production should accept robustness as a breeding goal. L. Star, E. D. Ellen contributed equally to this work. Star belongs to the Adaptation Physiology Group, Wageningen University, and the rest of the authors belong to the Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University.     

Respiratory health of road-side vendors in a large industrialized city

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: The literature reports a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms associated with exposure to motor vehicle exhaust emissions and people exposed to vehicle emissions are at risk of reduced lung function and cardiovascular performance. Although the effect of traffic emissions is a known risk to respiratory health, retailers are often situated along major roads in a busy urban environment to maximise customers. Shop assistants in an air-conditioned environment should be less exposed to traffic fumes and their lung function should be better preserved compared to 'unprotected' vendors exposed directly to vehicle emissions. The lung function of these two groups of workers has not previously been compared. The aims of this study are to determine if there is a difference in the concentration of respirable particles of diameter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) inside and outside air-conditioned shops along a busy major road; and to compare the lung function parameters, blood lead levels and respiratory symptoms between road-side vendors directly 'exposed' to traffic fumes and vendors working in 'protected' air-conditioned shops along the same road. METHODS: Roadside vendors (n=33) and adjacent shop assistants (n=31) were recruited for the study in a district known to have high emissions and pollution measures. All subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire providing the frequency of their respiratory symptoms. Spirometry pulmonary function tests were conducted and exhaled carbon monoxide levels (ECO), oxygen saturation and blood lead levels (BLL) were measured. PM10 level was concurrently measured in the subject's working environment. Pulmonary function data and ECO levels collected from a cohort of university staff aged > or = 30 years (n=92) at a university campus were included for comparison. RESULTS: The concentration of particulate matter (PM10) at the roadside (210 +/- 70 microg/m3) was significantly higher than inside the shops (130 +/- 40 microg/m3). There was no difference in lung function parameters or BLL between the groups, however the forced vital capacity of both groups of vendors was significantly lower than a 'control' cohort of academic institution personnel (n=92). DISCUSSION: This study illustrated that while the level of pollution improved with air conditioning, this may not be sufficient to prevent respiratory consequences. Our data suggests that a reduction in occupational exposure is not enough to protect these workers. CONCLUSIONS: Air-conditioned work environment is insufficient to protect the respiratory system against the adverse effects of exposure to vehicle emissions. RECOMMENDATIONS: The overwhelming effect of exposure during travel to and from work and at home cannot be underestimated. More stringent guidelines to control pollution appear necessary to protect the respiratory health of both shop-keepers and road-side vendors and further studies to explore the effect on respiratory health of the exposure to pollutants associated with commuting to and from work are warranted.     

从业人员安全卫生权利法律定位及保护问题综述

通过对安全卫生权本质的解析和法理学分析,明确安全卫生权的法律定位,并指出民法上的物质性人身权与劳动法上的职业安全卫生权存在的区别。根据安全卫生权的法律定位,并结合我国职业安全卫生权利法律保护研究现状,对我国职业安全卫生权利保护存在的问题进行了综述,并对法律制度的综合性调节功能欠缺,法律制度的内容不够系统、完善,侵权责任中的工伤赔偿与民事侵权赔偿等主要问题进行研讨。经过分析和归纳,可以得出如下结论:只有向着职业安全卫生法律一体化方向发展,方能从制度层面有效解决现存的问题;应采用"补充模式"解决侵权责任事故中的工伤赔偿与民事侵权赔偿问题。