环境基准研究与环境标准制定进展及展望

环境基准是一个非常棘手且具有挑战性的科学难题,环境标准制定与修订是一项长期的、艰巨的任务。根据国际上该方向近年来的发展,对环境基准和环境标准的概念与内涵进行了论述,对过去的认识进行了纠正,指出:环境基准不等于环境质量基准,环境基准应该包括环境质量基准和污染环境修复基准2个方面;相应地,环境标准则应包括环境质量标准和污染环境修复标准2个部分。在此基础上,概述了国际和国内有关环境质量基准研究方面取得的显著成绩,列举了法国(作为西欧的代表)、加拿大(作为美洲的代表)和意大利(作为中欧的代表)在环境质量标准制定过程中的先进做法,介绍了美国、英国和俄罗斯等国家在污染环境修复基准研究与污染环境修复标准制定等方面的进展。最后,对我国今后环境基准的研究进行了展望。     

有机磷细菌的分离鉴定及其对MC-RR的响应(The Isolation and Identification of Organic Phosphorus Bacteria and Its Response to MC-RR)

从云南滇池水样中分离出具有解磷能力的有机磷细菌P-2,并利用现代分子生物学技术进行了初步鉴定.用0.01、5mg·L-1微囊藻毒素(MC-RR)处理有机磷细菌P-2,研究了MC-RR对其生长、细胞内酸碱磷酸酶活性(ACP和AKP)以及培养液中可溶性磷酸盐含量的影响.结果表明,高浓度MC-RR能显著抑制有机磷细菌的生长,延缓其细胞增殖,抑制细胞内酸碱磷酸酶活性以及培养液中可溶性磷酸盐含量的升高,因而可能改变或减缓生态系统中磷循环的进程,这表明微囊藻毒素在一定程度上可能调节水体细菌功能群落.     

毒死蜱低剂量重复染毒致学习记忆功能障碍及CREB信号途径的抑制(Repeated Exposures to Low-Level Chlorpyrifos Result in Learning Memory Impairment and Inhibition of the CREB Signal System)

毒死蜱(CPF)是我国推荐使用的低毒有机磷农药之一,目前在全世界广泛应用.选择不引起动物出现全身系统毒性的CPF剂量(1、5、10mg·kg-1)对大鼠连续染毒4周,评价CPF对动物的学习记忆功能和CREB信号通路的影响.结果显示:CPF连续染毒后动物出现记忆能力的损伤,随着染毒剂量的增加,海马、皮质和纹状体CREB及ERKI/Ⅱ磷酸化蛋白表达逐渐减少,这表明ERK/CREB信号通路可能是参与毒死蜱低剂量重复暴露致学习记忆功能改变的重要途径.     

制药废水生化出水的强化混凝—高级氧化深度处理组合工艺比较

采用强化混凝和高级氧化法对制药废水生化出水进行深度处理,比较了不同混凝剂、不同氧化方法（包括Na₂S₂O₈氧化、电化学氧化、Fenton/类Fenton氧化）的处理效果。实验结果表明：经聚合硫酸铁与聚丙烯酰胺强化混凝处理后,废水的COD去除率达18.5%;强化混凝与不同氧化方法联用均可使废水脱色至无色,COD去除率达70.1%~92.4%。强化混凝—电化学氧化组合工艺的出水COD为27.1 mg/L,达到GB 8978—1996《污水综合排放标准》一级标准限值要求,且成本较低,适于实际应用。     

Quantitative assessment in safety reports of the consequences from the detonation of solid explosives

Safety reports are mandatory documents in member states of European Union whenever any threshold limits of amounts of either stored or processed hazardous substances are exceeded. After a short introduction to EU Seveso Directives on major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances and to the transposition and implementation by member states, with a brief comment on last 2012/18/EU Directive (also known as Seveso III directive), the paper focuses on drafting of safety reports for industrial activities involving solid explosives. Specifically, the quantitative assessment of consequences from detonation is tackled respect to the side-on overpressure and the debris production. Both direct and inverse problems are illustrated to determine respectively the overpressure value at a given distance, and the explosive amount that allows respecting the regulations. Their solution is based on either analytic or numerical techniques and being based on recent scientific publications on the matter either evaluates or zeroes nonlinear algebraic equations. The availability of these equations avoids grounding the consequences assessment on diagrams and nomograms that otherwise would lead to interpretation and usage errors besides avoiding the automatic solution of the inverse problem. The paper focuses also on details such as embankment, crater, munitions, rocket propellant, building structure, and wall material that, at different levels, play a role in the assessment of detonation consequences. A discussion on debris formation, the available literature, and the evaluation of the impact probability of fragments on both fixed and moving targets closes the paper.     

Experimental analysis of radiographer exposure to the static field from a 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging machine

Introduction. This study measures the exposure of occupational therapists from a 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. Method. A total of 14 time-series on each of the chest, head and hand were taken before and after different MRI procedures. The peak values were noted in each case together with an average of all data recorded in the time-series. Results. The highest exposure recorded was observed on the hand, followed by the head and the chest. The overall maximum exposure (1479.40?mT) recorded was observed on the hand during a change of coil. It was also observed that the recorded exposure of experienced radiographers working in the MRI environment was less than that of junior staff due to different practices. Conclusion. This study is of significant importance in Malta since it is the first conducted in a MRI environment, especially because the results were compared with limits imposed by EU Directive 2013/35/EU which has to be implemented by July 2016.     

Exploring the lay/expert divide: the attribution of responsibilities for coal ash pollution in Tuzla,Bosnia and Herzegovina

Invoking expert knowledge is a common strategy in attempts to settle environmental disputes. However, the validity of expertise is contingent upon the context in which an actor is recognised as an expert. In complex environmental conflicts the distinction between lay and expert knowledge is not always fixed a priori. However, as conflicts unfold, intervening parties tend to present their cases in ways that reinforce this distinction. This is apparent in the attribution of environmental responsibilities. This paper presents an empirical case of an environmental conflict related to land contamination due to coal ash disposal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis revealed two polar positions in the conflict: the first one, mainly held by scientists and industry representatives, invoked expert knowledge and presented a distributed approach to the attribution of responsibilities; the second one, mainly held by local residents and municipal officials, presented an experiential understanding of pollution, as lay knowledge, and attributed direct responsibilities to the local energy industry. The paper concludes that the persistence of the distinction between expert and lay knowledge is a manifestation of the social structures that underlie the conflict.     

Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain1

Epps, Thomas H., Daniel R. Hitchcock, Anand D. Jayakaran, Drake R. Loflin, Thomas M. Williams, and Devendra M. Amatya, 2012. Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐14. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12000 Abstract: Hydrologic monitoring was conducted in two first‐order lower coastal plain watersheds in South Carolina, United States, a region with increasing growth and land use change. Storm events over a three‐year period were analyzed for direct runoff coefficients (ROC) and the total storm response (TSR) as percent rainfall. ROC calculations utilized an empirical hydrograph separation method that partitioned total streamflow into sustained base flow and direct runoff components. ROC ratios ranged from 0 to 0.32 on the Upper Debidue Creek (UDC) watershed and 0 to 0.57 on Watershed 80 (WS80); TSR results ranged from 0 to 0.93 at UDC and 0.01 to 0.74 at WS80. Variability in event runoff generation was attributed to seasonal trends in water table elevation fluctuation as regulated by evapotranspiration. Groundwater elevation breakpoints for each watershed were identified based on antecedent water table elevation, streamflow, ROCs, and TSRs. These thresholds represent the groundwater elevation above which event runoff generation increased sharply in response to rainfall. For effective coastal land use decision making, baseline watershed hydrology must be understood to serve as a benchmark for management goals, based on both seasonal and event‐based surface and groundwater interactions.     

Modeling Monthly Fluctuations in Submersion Area of a Dammed River Reservoir: A Case Study1

Lu, Haorong, S. Samuel Li, and Jinsong Guo, 2012. Modeling Monthly Fluctuations in Submersion Area of a Dammed River Reservoir: A Case Study. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐13. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12003 Abstract: Fluctuations in water submersion of the Three Gorges Reservoir in China have not been explored in spite of their important implications for shoreline erosion and other undesirable consequences. This article aims to quantify the monthly fluctuations in response to changing hydraulic parameters and regional climatic factors. Flow velocity and water levels distributed along the 609‐km long dammed river reservoir are calculated with a one‐dimensional hydrodynamics model. Evaporation of water from the surface of the reservoir is determined using mass transfer‐based methods. Calculated flow velocities and water levels compare well with field data. We show that the water surface slope decreases with rising water level at the dam, and decreases to almost zero during the winter months of water storage when the downstream water level reaches the normal pool level. The submersion area varies between 830 and 1,070 km² over the year or over 20% of the reservoir zone will experience the annual cycle of dry land and partial or complete submersion. These fluctuations are of relevance to shoreline management and to the prevention and restoration of shoreline erosion. Evaporation is estimated to fluctuate between 1,240 and 26,110 tons of water per month per kilometer length of reservoir channel; this can possibly affect the hydrological budget of the reservoir region. The simple methodologies discussed in this article can easily be applied to other dammed river reservoirs for submersion estimates.     

Flooding in Texas: Examination of Temporal Changes and Impacts of Tropical Cyclones

Annual maximum peak discharge measurements from 62 stations with a record of at least 70 years are used to assess extreme flooding in Texas at the regional scale. This work focuses on examination of the validity of the stationarity assumption and on the impact of tropical cyclones (TCs) on the upper tail of the flood peak distribution. We assess the validity of the stationarity assumption by testing the records for abrupt and gradual changes. The presence of abrupt changes in the first two moments of the flood peak distribution is assessed using the Lombard test. We use the Mann‐Kendall test to examine the presence of monotonic trends. Results indicate that violations of the stationarity assumption are most commonly caused by abrupt changes, which are often associated with river regulation. We fit the time series of stationary flood records with the generalized extreme value distribution to investigate whether TCs control the upper tail of the flood peak distribution. Our results indicate that TCs play a diminished role in shaping the upper tail of the flood peak distribution compared with areas of the eastern United States subject to frequent TCs.