Cancer and Non-Cancer Health Risk from Eating Cassava Grown in Some Mining Communities in Ghana

Food crops such as cassava, cocoyam and other tuber crops grown in mining communities uptake toxic or hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, and cadmium, from the soil. Cassava is a stable food for Ghanaians. This study evaluated human health risk from eating cassava grown in some mining communities in Ghana such as Bogoso, Prestea, Tarkwa and Tamso, which are important mining towns in the Western Region of Ghana. The study evaluated cancer and non-cancer health effects from eating cassava grown in the study areas in accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of the study revealed the following: cancer health risk for Tamso, 0.098 (RME – Reasonable Maximum Exposure) and 0.082 (CTE – Central Tendency Exposure). This means that approximately 10 and 8 out of 100 resident adults are likely to suffer from cancer related cases by RME and CTE parameters respectively. For Prestea, we have 0.010 and 0.12, which also means that approximately 1 out of 100 and 10 resident adults out of 100 are also likely to suffer from cancer related diseases by RME and CTE parameters. The results of the study obtained were found to be above the acceptable cancer risk range of 1× 10⁻⁶ to 1× 10⁻⁴, i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1 million or 100,000 people respectively.     

上海地区河流健康评价方法探讨

界定了河流健康的概念,基于对国外河流健康表征指标的剖析,尝试从河流水文、河流形态、河岸带状况、水质理化参数以及河流生物5方面对河流健康进行评价,初步提出由5个1级指标、17个2级指标架构的城市河流健康评价体系.通过国际调研、标准对照、专家咨询等方法制定相关评价标准,基于简明的评价模型将河流健康状况划分为很健康、健康、亚健康、不健康和病态5个等级.以上海中心城区某河流为例,对其健康状况进行评价.     

西双版纳补蚌地区望天树林近20 a来物种多样性变化研究

通过对1988年和2006年西双版纳补蚌地区望天树林样方资料的比较研究,探讨了望天树林群落近20a来在物种多样性方面的变化.研究结果表明,在2006年的样方中,望天树仍然具有最大的优势度,该群落仍然是以望天树为优势种的单优群落.在群落自身演替以及外界环境干扰的影响下,幼树、灌木和藤本植物种类和数量明显增加,而草本植物和附生植物减少.分析乔木层的物种多样性变化发现,尽管2006年样方在植物种类和数量上都要高于1988年样方,但辛普森指数和均匀度指数并未增加,很可能是样方中形成了林窗的结果.另外,乔木层中物种优势度变化非常明显,少数优势种衰退了,少数变得更优势.1988年的两个样方中分别有50%和40%的物种被后来的物种所取代,物种替换现象特别显著,外界环境的干扰可能是导致物种成分替换的主要原因.图2表1参23     

Arsenic occurrence in Brazil and human exposure

Environmental exposure to arsenic (As) in terms of public health is receiving increasing attention worldwide following cases of mass contamination in different parts of the world. However, there is a scarcity of data available on As geochemistry in Brazilian territory, despite the known occurrence of As in some of the more severely polluted areas of Brazil. The purpose of this paper is to discuss existing data on As distribution in Brazil based on recent investigations in three contaminated areas as well as results from the literature. To date, integrated studies on environmental and anthropogenic sources of As contamination have been carried out only in three areas in Brazil: (1) the Southeastern region, known as the Iron Quadrangle, where As was released into the drainage systems, soils and atmosphere as a result of gold mining; (2) the Ribeira Valley, where As occurs in Pb-Zn mine wastes and naturally in As-rich rocks and soils; (3) the Amazon region, including the Santana area, where As is associated with manganese ores mined over the last 50 years. Toxicological studies revealed that the populations were not exposed to elevated levels of As, with the As concentrations in surface water in these areas rarely exceeding 10 microg/L. Deep weathering of bedrocks along with formation of Fe/Al-enriched soils and sediments function as a chemical barrier that prevents the release of As into the water. In addition, the tropical climate results in high rates of precipitation in the northern and southeastern regions and, hence, the As contents of drinking water is diluted. Severe cases of human As exposure related to non-point pollution sources have not been reported in Brazil. However, increasing awareness of the adverse health effects of As will eventually lead to a more complete picture of the distribution of As in Brazil.     

Types of Ectomycorrhiza of Mature Beech and Spruce at Ozone-Fumigated and Control Forest Plots

In the Kranzberg forest near Freising (Germany) a novel “Free-Air Canopy O₃ Exposure” system has been employed for analysing O₃-induced responses from sub-cellular to ecosystem levels that are relevant for carbon balance and CO₂ demand of 60-year-old beech trees. The below-ground ectomycorrhizal community was studied in two-fold ambient O₃ concentrations (five cores per sampling) and in a control plot with an ambient O₃ concentration (four cores per sampling). Five samplings were taken throughout two vegetation seasons (2003 and 2004). Types of ectomycorrhiza were determined by their morphological, anatomical and molecular characteristics and quantified by counting. The total number of mycorrhizal fine roots was higher at the fumigated plot as compared with the control site. The numbers of ectomycorrhizal types at the fumigated and control plots were 28 and 26, respectively. Cenococcum geophilum was present in all soil cores at all sampling times with a significant increase in abundance under ozone-fumigated trees. Other mycorrhizal types present at higher abundance at the fumigated than at the control plot were identified as Russula densiflora, R. fellea, R. illota, Tuber puberulum, Lactarius sp. 2 and Russula sp. 2. Some mycorrhizal types were present exclusively at the fumigated plot (Fagirhiza fusca, F. setifera, Lactarius acris, Piceirhiza nigra and Russula sp. 1). A possible ecological role for the abundant types of ectomycorrhiza and their putative application in bio-indication is discussed.     

Mega-Development Trends in the Amazon: Implications for Global Change

This paper describes four global-change phenomena that are having major impacts on Amazonian forests. The first is accelerating deforestation and logging. Despite recent government initiatives to slow forest loss, deforestation rates in Brazilian Amazonia have increased from 1.1 million ha yr^–1 in the early 1990s, to nearly 1.5 million ha yr^–1 from 1992–1994, and to more than 1.9 million ha yr^–1 from 1995–1998. Deforestation is also occurring rapidly in some other parts of the Amazon Basin, such as in Bolivia and Ecuador, while industrialized logging is increasing dramatically in the Guianas and central Amazonia.The second phenomenon is that patterns of forest loss and fragmentation are rapidly changing. In recent decades, large-scale deforestation has mainly occurred in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon — in the Brazilian states of Pará, Maranho, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, and in northern Bolivia. While rates of forest loss remain very high in these areas, the development of major new highways is providing direct conduits into the heart of the Amazon. If future trends follow past patterns, land-hungry settlers and loggers may largely bisect the forests of the Amazon Basin.The third phenomenon is that climatic variability is interacting with human land uses, creating additional impacts on forest ecosystems. The 1997/98 El Niño drought, for example, led to a major increase in forest burning, with wildfires raging out of control in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima and other locations. Logging operations, which create labyrinths of roads and tracks in forsts, are increasing fuel loads, desiccation and ignition sources in forest interiors. Forest fragmentation also increases fire susceptibility by creating dry, fire-prone forest edges.Finally, recent evidence suggests that intact Amazonian forests are a globally significant carbon sink, quite possibly caused by higher forest growth rates in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ fertilization. Evidence for a carbon sink comes from long-term forest mensuration plots, from whole-forest studies of carbon flux and from investigations of atmospheric CO₂ and oxygen isotopes. Unfortunately, intact Amazonian forests are rapidly diminishing. Hence, not only is the destruction of these forests a major source of greenhouse gases, but it is reducing their intrinsic capacity to help buffer the rapid anthropogenic rise in CO₂.     

基于熵权综合健康指数法的瀛湖水生态系统健康评估

瀛湖是南水北调丹江口水库重要的水源涵养区,承担着丹江口水库60%的供水量,又是沿线乡镇和安康市城区饮用水水源地。在充分调查的基础上,采用综合健康指数法对1986—2012年之间瀛湖的水生态系统健康状况进行了评估,结果表明,1986—2005年,瀛湖水生态系统健康指数呈逐渐下降趋势,健康状态由健康降至一般病态;2005—2012年之间,瀛湖水生态系统健康指数总体呈上升趋势,健康状态除2010年为一般病态外,其余均为亚健康状态。     

论职业卫生安全管理体系标准化与我国职业卫生安全管理及其改革的一致性

职业卫生安全管理体系（ＯＨＳＭＳ）标准倡导好的管理的共同原理,将ＯＨＳＭＳ融入组织总的管理体系,与我国组织职业卫生安全（ＯＨＳ）管理的经验相容,对我国组织在市场经济体制下建立自主安全管理机制有极重要的意义。实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准不存在经济实力的前提,且ＯＨＳ投入与组织的经济效益是一致的。这种标准化适应了我国经济体制转变时期政府安全管理职能和管理方式的变化,还与我国ＯＨＳ管理体制的改革方向相吻合。我国基本具备实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准的法律基础。为有效实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准化,应加强ＯＨＳ法规建设,在监察体系上实行第三方机构的认证／注册制度     

城市土壤污染研究现状与趋势

城市土壤是城市生态环境系统的有机组成部分,对城市的可持续发展有着重要的意义.城市化和工业化进程的加快,造成城市土壤污染、侵蚀、酸化和硬化以及土壤生物和植被退化等一系列较为严重的城市环境问题,直接危及到城市居民的健康和安全;因此,城市土壤污染问题已经引起人们的高度重视.近10多年来,国内外有关城市土壤重金属污染,微有机物污染,生源要素污染和城市土壤污染的环境与健康风险评价等诸多研究取得了一系列的研究成果.本文主要就以上研究成果进行了较为系统地总结与阐述,并且在此基础上提出了今后有关城市土壤污染研究的发展重点与趋势,以期为改善城市生态环境质量提供重要的科学依据.     

OFA系列石油定量分析仪使用探讨

通过分析现有OFA系列石油定量分析仪的使用对操作人员的职业危害,从试剂对人体的危害程度、对油气发出荧光的干扰程度、油气萃取灵敏度与萃取荧光效率、钻井液添加剂选择性进行对比实验提出了采用异丙醇代替正已烷作为萃取剂的可能性,并对工作台进行改造,将有害气体迅速排除,降低室内有害气体浓度,从而实现“绿色”操作的方法。