Phyt'Eaux Cités: application and validation of a programme to reduce surface water contamination with urban pesticides

This paper presents first results of Phyt’Eaux Cités, a program put in place by the local water supply agency, the SEDIF (Syndicat des Eaux d’Ile-de-France), in collaboration with 73 local authorities, private societies and institutional offices (365 km²). The challenges included: measurement of the previous surface water contamination, control of urban pesticide applications, prevention of pesticide hazard on users and finally a overall reduction of surface water contamination. An inquiry on urban total pesticide amount was coupled with a surface water bi-weekly monitoring to establish the impact of more than 200 molecules upon the Orge River. For 2007, at least 4400 kg and 92 type of pesticides (essentially herbicides) were quantified for all urban users in the Phyt’Eaux Cités perimeter. At the outlet of the Orge River (bi-weekly sampling in 2007), 11 molecules were always detected above 0.1 μg L⁻¹. They displayed the mainly urban origin of pesticide surface water contamination. Amitrole, AMPA (Aminomethyl Phosphonic Acid), demethyldiuron, diuron, glyphosate and atrazine were quantified with a 100% of frequency in 2007 and 2008 at the Orge River outlet. During the year, peaks of contamination were also registered for MCCP, 2,4 MCPA, 2,4 D, triclopyr, dichlorprop, diflufènican, active substances used in large amount in the urban area. However, some other urban molecules, such as isoxaben or flazasulfuron, were detected with low frequency. During late spring and summer, contamination patterns and load were dominated by glyphosate, amitrole and diuron, essentially applied by cities and urban users. Both isoproturon and chlortoluron were quantified during autumn and winter months according to upstream agricultural practices. In conclusion, 3 years after the beginning of this programme, the cities reduced the use of 68% of the total pesticide amount. An improvement on surface water quality was found from 2008 and during 2009 for all pesticides. In particular, glyphosate showed a decrease of the load above 60% in 2008, partly related to the Phyt’Eaux Cités action.     

Planetary Stewardship in an Urbanizing World: Beyond City Limits

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world’s population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally. The world’s multiple and complex environmental and social challenges require interconnected solutions and coordinated governance approaches to planetary stewardship. We suggest that a key component of planetary stewardship is a global system of cities that develop sustainable processes and policies in concert with its non-urban areas. The potential for cities to cooperate as a system and with rural connectivity could increase their capacity to effect change and foster stewardship at the planetary scale and also increase their resource security.     

Is There a Metabolism of an Urban Ecosystem? An Ecological Critique

The energy and material flows of a city are often described as urban metabolism (UM), which is put forward as a way to link a city's ecology and economy. UM draws parallels to the biology of individual organisms, yet the analogy is misapplied. In striving to be interdisciplinary, UM makes this organismic comparison rather than identifying the city as an ecosystem, thereby ignoring developments in ecological theory. Using inappropriate rhetoric misdirects researchers, which influences scientific investigation-from problem statements to interpretations. UM is valuable in quantifying the city's use of natural resources but does not achieve a comprehensive, integrated analysis of the urban ecosystem. To realize an interdisciplinary, perhaps transdisciplinary, understanding of urban ecology, researchers need to emphasize the essential tenets of material flows analysis, view the city as an ecosystem, and use language that properly reflects current knowledge, theory, and conceptual frameworks in the foundational disciplines.     

乌鲁木齐城市小区雨水收集回用系统设计建议——以晨光-佳苑为例

运用城市小区雨水资源收集回用系统成为了城市节约水资源新的途径。分析了乌鲁木齐晨光-佳苑住宅小区原有雨水收集回用状况,建议采用雨水入渗技术,对原有设计系统进行改造,增加新的雨水收集回用系统,探讨改造小区雨水收集回用系统的可行性,提出完善新增雨水收集回用系统的建议。     

大型燃煤电站电袋复合除尘器的应用研究

对大型燃煤电站电一袋复合除尘技术进行了较全面的分析研究,如气流组织最优方案确定、脉冲喷吹系统选型及参数优化、粉尘荷电对滤料阻力的影响及高压电源的优选等。研究表明对电袋复合除尘器来说,袋式除尘区采用阶梯式布置是一种较为理想的气流组织方式,活塞式脉冲阀具有更好的清灰性能,粉尘的荷电有助于减小除尘设备的阻力,三相电源的性能优于单相电源。     

Tritium concentrations in the atmospheric environment at Rokkasho, Japan before the final testing of the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant

This study aimed at obtaining background tritium concentrations in precipitation and air at Rokkasho where the first commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Japan has been under construction. Tritium concentration in monthly precipitation during fiscal years 2001-2005 had a seasonal variation pattern which was high in spring and low in summer. The tritium concentration was higher than that observed at Chiba City as a whole. The seasonal peak concentration at Rokkasho was generally higher than that at Chiba City, while the baseline concentrations of both were similar. The reason for the difference may be the effect of air mass from the Asian continent which is considered to have high tritium concentration. Atmospheric tritium was operationally separated into HTO, HT and hydrocarbon (CH₃T) fractions, and the samples collected every 3 d-14 d during fiscal year 2005 were analyzed for these fractions. The HTO concentration as radioactivity in water correlated well with that in the precipitation samples. The HT concentration was the highest among the chemical forms analyzed, followed by the HTO and CH₃T concentrations. The HT and CH₃T concentrations did not have clear seasonal variation patterns. The HT concentration followed the decline previously reported by Mason and Östlund with an apparent half-life of 4.8 y. The apparent and environmental half-lives of CH₃T were estimated as 9.2 y and 36.5 y, respectively, by combining the present data with literature data. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change used the atmospheric lifetime of 12 y for CH₄ to estimate global warming in its 2007 report. The longer environmental half-life of CH₃T suggested its supply from other sources than past nuclear weapon testing in the atmosphere.     

Effect of an organic amendment on availability and bio-accessibility of some metals in soils of urban recreational areas

A composted biosolid from wastewater treatment was added to soils of two public parks of Sevilla, and successive samples were taken during one year. In one of the parks, a second addition of biosolid was carried out after the first year. The soil contents in metals (pseudo-total) and their plant-available and oral bio-accessible fractions were significantly altered when the soils were amended with biosolid. Increase of the bio-accessible metal contents represents a deterioration of the environmental quality of recreational areas, where hand-to-mouth transfer of pollutants to children is likely to occur, although part of the metals added might be leached by rainfall or irrigation. The limits established in several countries for metal contents of soils in recreational areas are often exceeded after application of the biosolid. A careful study of the metal contents of recycled wastes is thus recommended before being used for green area maintenance.     

In vitro and in vivo approaches for the measurement of oral bioavailability of lead (Pb) in contaminated soils: a review

We reviewed the published evidence of lead (Pb) contamination of urban soils, soil Pb risk to children through hand-to-mouth activity, reduction of soil Pb bioavailability due to soil amendments, and methods to assess bioaccessibility which correlate with bioavailability of soil Pb. Feeding tests have shown that urban soils may have much lower Pb bioavailability than previously assumed. Hence bioavailability of soil Pb is the important measure for protection of public health, not total soil Pb. Chemical extraction tests (Pb bioaccessibility) have been developed which are well correlated with the results of bioavailability tests; application of these tests can save money and time compared with feeding tests. Recent findings have revealed that fractional bioaccessibility (bioaccessible compared to total) of Pb in urban soils is only 5-10% of total soil Pb, far lower than the 60% as bioavailable as food-Pb presumed by U.S.-EPA (30% absolute bioavailability used in IEUBK model).     

Distribution, source and risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in urban soils of Beijing, China

The concentration of PCBs in urban soils of Beijing across six land types including business districts (BD), cultural and educational areas (CE), classical gardens (CG), public green (PG), residential areas (RA), and roadsides (RD) was investigated. The total concentrations of PCBs ranged from below method detection limit (M.D.L.) to 37.11 × 10⁻³ mg kg⁻¹ dry weight (mean: 11.70 × 10⁻³ mg kg⁻¹; median: 13.28 × 10⁻³ mg kg⁻¹), which was at a medium level compared with other cities around the world. In general, the levels of PCBs decreased from the center of Beijing city to the suburb, suggesting the increasing PCBs concentrations with the age of the urban area. For different types of land use, the highest level of PCBs was observed in CG soils which have the oldest age, and the homologue profiles were similar, which were predominated by lowly chlorinated congeners including di-, tri- and tetra-CBs. Principal component analysis indicated that local sources such as Aroclor 1016, 1242, and 1248 were important sources in addition to long-range transport of PCBs all over the world. Although the toxic equivalency (TEQ) concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs in all soil samples of Beijing were higher than those in other urban areas of China, they met the Canadian soil quality standard.