The rise of glyphosate and new opportunities for biosentinel early‐warning studies

Glyphosate has become the most commonly used herbicide worldwide and is reputedly environmentally benign, nontoxic, and safe for use near wildlife and humans. However, studies indicate its toxicity is underestimated and its persistence in the environment is greater than once thought. Its actions as a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor indicate its potential to act in similar ways to persistent organic pollutants such as the organochlorines dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dioxin. Exposure to glyphosate and glyphosate‐based herbicides for both wildlife and people is likely to be chronic and at sublethal levels, with multiple and ongoing exposure events occurring in urban and agricultural landscapes. Despite this, there has been little research on the impact of glyphosate on wildlife populations, and existing studies appear in the agricultural, toxicology, and water‐chemistry literature that may have limited visibility among wildlife biologists. These studies clearly demonstrate a link between chronic exposure and neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, cell damage, and immune suppression. There is a strong case for the recognition of glyphosate as an emerging organic contaminant and substantial potential exists for collaborative research among ecologists, toxicologists, and chemists to quantify the impact of glyphosate on wildlife and to evaluate the role of biosentinel species in a preemptive move to mitigate downstream impacts on people. There is scope to develop a decision framework to aid the choice of species to biomonitor and analysis methods based on the target contaminant, spatial and temporal extent of contamination, and perceived risk. Birds in particular offer considerable potential in this role because they span agricultural and urban environments, coastal, inland, and wetland ecosystems where glyphosate residues are known to be present.     

“十三五”期间中国生态环境质量变化特征

以国家生态环境监测网监测结果为基础,总结归纳了"十三五"时期中国生态环境质量变化特征和主要环境问题。结果表明:"十三五"期间,全国生态环境质量全面好转,2020年环境空气优良天数比例比"十二五"末期上升5.8个百分点;地表水总体水质由轻度污染转为良好,Ⅰ～Ⅲ类水质断面比例上升17.4个百分点,劣V类断面比例下降9.0个百分点;酸雨污染程度减轻,海洋等环境要素质量稳中向好。但与此同时,后续改善难度加大,全国仍有40%地级及以上城市空气质量超标,4.8%的国土面积发生酸雨,辽河和海河流域仍是轻度污染,部分河流污染较重,地下水以IV类水质为主,农村饮用水源地和地表水水质均受到不同程度污染,近三分之一国土面积县域生态质量为较差和差。总体来看,当前生态环境质量与人民对美好生态环境的需求和美丽中国目标的实现还有较大差距。逐年上升的能源消费总量和不断增长的汽车保有量,增加了生态环境质量继续改善的压力。     

Connecting the Dots: Public Engagement with Environmental Data

Air pollution and other environmental hazards are often imperceptible and need to be made publicly visible. The paper argues for the importance of visualizations in drawing public attention to imperceptible hazards and in providing the public with access to empirical data describing the risks. It also argues for critical inquiry into hazards’ selective visibility as it is produced by visualizations. The impact of visualizations and their selective visibility are considered through the example of a public art project called Particle Falls installed in 2014 in Pittsburgh, a city with a long history of both ignoring air pollution and working to ameliorate this problem. I examine the impact and selective visibility of Particle Falls by considering the underlying production of data, as well as context and support systems for this visualization, and by comparing it with other visualizations of local air quality.     

Efficiency enhancement in solar air heaters by modification of absorber plate-a review

This paper outlines a complete review on modifications made on the absorber plate of solar air heaters in order to improve the turbulence and heat transfer rate, thereby efficiency. Corrugated sheets, fins, extended surfaces, wire mesh, porous medium, etc., are a few of the modifications used. Most of such alterations in the absorber plate resulted with an increase in efficiency but associated with drawback of increased pumping power due to raising friction factor. Pumping power is considered here as a predominant comparison parameters of various solar air heaters with different absorber plate in terms of effective efficiency.     

西北石化区周围毒害类空气污染物污染特征及健康风险评价

采用SUMMA罐、活性炭吸附及玻璃纤维滤膜富集3种方式,于2014年12月对西北地区3个代表性炼化生产基地周围环境空气收集样品,并采用气相色谱-质谱联用、气相色谱法及高效液相色谱法3种方法,对13种典型毒害类物质进行分析,以研究其污染特征和人群健康风险.结果表明,3个石化区周围环境空气中8种毒害类物质普遍检出,检出率超过80%;石化区苯系物、1,3-丁二烯、对二氯苯、苯并[a]芘平均质量浓度范围分别为48.01~182.75μg·m~(-3)、6.28~7.95μg·m~(-3)、5.53~12.62μg·m~(-3)、7.03~36.08 ng·m~(-3).其中,苯并[a]芘超标最为严重,日均浓度超二级标准限值1.8~13.4倍,苯、甲苯、二甲苯也存在不同程度超标现象.3个石化区苯并[a]芘、1,3-丁二烯非致癌健康风险均已超出可接受的风险水平,兰州石化区周围人群遭受苯的非致癌不良影响风险也较高.与此同时,苯、乙苯、苯乙烯、1,3-丁二烯、对二氯苯、苯并[a]芘的致癌风险均超出了可接受的范围,其中苯、1,3-丁二烯、对二氯苯的致癌风险最为显著.     

Ti/SnO_2-Sb阳极-空气阴极电催化降解染料废水

为解决电化学法处理高盐染料废水存在的能耗大、成本高等问题,分别采用溶胶-凝胶法和辊压法制备Ti/SnO_2-Sb阳极和空气阴极,构建了Ti/SnO_2-Sb阳极-空气阴极双极体系(TSSA-ADC)。甲基橙(MO)作为高盐染料废水的典型污染物,考察了电流强度、MO浓度、电解液浓度和初始p H对TSSA-ADC体系和TSSA单阳极体系降解MO的影响。结果表明:与TSSA单阳极体系相比,TSSA-ADC体系具有更好的抗有机负荷冲击、抗盐分冲击、抗酸碱波动能力,能够维护酸碱平衡防止硬度离子结垢。最佳反应条件为电流强度为0.030 A,电解液浓度为3%,MO浓度为100 mg/L,初始pH=6。以MO去除率达到98%为基准,TSSA-ADC体系比TSSA体系可节能74.26%。     

不同絮凝剂对活性污泥特性及除污效能的影响研究

为了研究絮凝剂对污泥特性及除污效能的作用结果,考察了SBR反应器中投加聚合氯化铝(PAC)、聚合硫酸铁(PFS)和阳离子聚丙烯酰胺(CPAM)对污泥特性及COD、NH_4~+-N和TP去除效果的影响。结果表明:投加10 mg/L PAC会导致活性污泥沉降性能变差,降低了微生物对污染物质的分解能力;投加0.1 mg/L CPAM和10 mg/L PFS能够改善活性污泥菌胶团和絮体结构,使得活性污泥的吸附效能和沉降性增强。     

城市大气中臭氧浓度控制的困难与挑战——以成都市为例

研究城市化、工业化和区域经济一体化进程的不断加快,对城市大气环境的影响是当前大气环境领域研究的热点问题。在此过程中,利用空气质量模型模拟系统研究大气环境污染问题成为大气环境研究中不可缺少的组成部分。在当前空气污染复杂的形势下,针对城市大气环境中臭氧的浓度尚未有效的控制措施。研究主要利用Models-3/CMAQ空气质量模式对成都市臭氧浓度数值通过不同的控制情景进行模拟,揭示城市大气中臭氧浓度控制的困难与挑战,并尝试性提出今后的研究方向,以期为控制城市大气中臭氧浓度提供建议。     

北京市大气重污染过程中AQI的时空扩散特征及其预测模型

通过对北京市大气重度污染时段AQI与气象因子分析,探讨AQI的时间和空间变化特征,并建立了AQI的空间预测模型。结果表明:1)风速>2.5 m/s,且持续时间长(超过5 h)时,AQI曲线特征呈现倒"V"型。若其在1.7 m/s中部>北部,4 d后则中部>南部>北部。3)各方向上中部和北部的AQI预测模型中幂函数模型精度最高,且两者受西南方向的影响最大。     

京津冀区域燃煤发电行业大气污染物排放时空变化特征研究

为了科学评估京津冀区域燃煤发电行业特别排放限值和超低排放相关要求实施后的大气污染物减排效果,以行业调查数据为基础,建立了2013年和2015年京津冀区域燃煤发电行业大气污染物排放清单,分析了装机容量与SO_2、NO_x和烟尘排放量的时空耦合关系,讨论了国家相关政策和标准的实施效果。结果显示:区域内2015年燃煤机组装机容量与2013年相比略有下降,SO_2、NO_x和烟尘排放量分别下降75.95%、83.09%和71.20%,减排效果明显。2015年100 MW以下等级机组3种污染物排放总量位居各机组首位,建议通过多种合理方式压减小型燃煤发电机组数量和排放浓度。