Thallium in the Environment and Health Effects

Thallium is present in the natural environment in low concentration, being found most frequently in the sulphide ores of a number of heavy metals. Atmospheric emission and deposition from industrial sources has resulted in raised levels in the vicinity of mineral smelters, coal burning power plants, brick works and cement plants. In contaminated areas, raised levels are found in vegetables, fruit and in farm animals. Thallium is used industrially in small quantities, with uses in electronics, in the production of certain glasses and crystals and in medical diagnostics. It has in the past been commonly used as a rodenticide, but its use has now been banned in many countries. Thallium salts are now considered to be amongst the most toxic compounds known. With regard to population exposure, an epidemiological study in an area with high thallium concentrations in soil and garden vegetables centred on a cement plant, has found evidence of a dose response relationship between thallium concentration in urine and a number of non-specific subjective symptoms. Much further research is required to investigate the possible adverse health effects of thallium following population exposure.     

GRAZED STUBBLE HEIGHT AS A CRITERION FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT PRODUCTION FROM GRAZING LANDS1

ABSTRACT: Efforts by state and federal agencies to develop standards and guidelines for protecting and enhancing water quality on grazing lands have led to suggestions that grazed stubble height criteria could be used to determine when cattle should be removed from a specific pasture or grazing area. Until recently only indirect scientific evidence from agronomy and laboratory studies gave support to the stubble height concept. Consequently, a grazing study was initiated on a Montana ranch in 1997 to determine the reduction in overland sediment achieved by grazing a pasture to a predetermined stubble height. Treatments consisted of 7 cm (3 in) grazed, 7 cm (3 in) clipped or mowed, 15 cm (6 in) grazed; 15 cm (6 in) clipped and untreated or natural forage plant height. The five treatments were used in a two‐year trial spanning 1997 to 1999. At the conclusion of this study the magnitude of sediment production was related to the number of intense rain events during the March through June period rather than total precipitation. There was a significant year effect in terms of sediment accumulation (P < 0.01) but no year by treatment effect (P = 0.11). Even though a significant difference in sediment accumulation was detected between the shorter and taller stubble heights (P = 0.04) in both 1998 and 1999, the difference could not be explained by grazed stubble height alone. Close grazing (7 cm stubble) consistently ranked lowest in sediment production (P < 0.01) among all treatments, including the ungrazed control. These results suggest that changes in plant community structure and microtopographic caused by grazing influence sediment entrapment (retention) on hillslopes more than those caused by plant height.     

Habitat Fragmentation Effects on Trophic Processes of Insect-Plant Food Webs

Abstract:  Habitat fragmentation is the transformation of once-extensive landscapes into smaller, isolated remnants surrounded by new types of habitat. There is ample evidence of impoverished biodiversity as a consequence of habitat fragmentation, but its most profound effects may actually result from functional changes in ecological processes such as trophic interactions. We studied the trophic processes of herbivory and parasitism in insect-plant food webs composed of hundreds of species in a fragmented woodland landscape. We recorded all plant species, collected mined leaves, and reared leafminers and parasitoids from 19 woodland remnants. Herbivory and parasitism rates were then analyzed in relation to woodland size and edge or interior location. Herbivory by leaf-mining insects and their overall parasitism rates decreased as woodland remnants became smaller. For each remnant the intensity of both processes differed between edge and interior. Our results provide novel evidence of the magnitude of habitat fragmentation effects, showing they can be so pervasive as to affect trophic processes of highly complex food webs and suggesting a response associated with trophic specialization of the involved organisms as much as with their trophic level.     

EFFECTS OF SEDIMENTATION ON THE ALGAL FLORA OF A SMALL RECREATIONAL IMPOUNDMENT1

ABSTRACT: Investigations were initiated to evaluate the effects of sedimentation on the algal composition, primary productivity rates and chemical nutrient concentrations of a 17 acre recreational impoundment in central Virginia. Comparisons during the winter seasons of 1972–1973 indicated that as a result of sedimentation, from lake front home construction, the total numbers of algal genera in the lake decreased from 24 to 16, productivity as measured by ¹⁴CO₂ and total extractable chlorophyll decreased two fold, and several important nutrients, i.e. NH4⁺-N, SiO₂ and PO₄-P increased significantly.     

The use of failure mode and effects analysis to construct an effective disposal and prevention mechanism for infectious hospital waste

In recent times, the quality of medical care has been continuously improving in medical institutions wherein patient-centred care has been emphasized. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) has also been promoted as a method of basic risk management and as part of total quality management (TQM) for improving the quality of medical care and preventing mistakes. Therefore, a study was conducted using FMEA to evaluate the potential risk causes in the process of infectious medical waste disposal, devise standard procedures concerning the waste, and propose feasible plans for facilitating the detection of exceptional cases of infectious waste. The analysis revealed the following results regarding medical institutions: (a) FMEA can be used to identify the risk factors of infectious waste disposal. (b) During the infectious waste disposal process, six items were scored over 100 in the assessment of uncontrolled risks: erroneous discarding of infectious waste by patients and their families, erroneous discarding by nursing staff, erroneous discarding by medical staff, cleaning drivers pierced by sharp articles, cleaning staff pierced by sharp articles, and unmarked output units. Therefore, the study concluded that it was necessary to (1) provide education and training about waste classification to the medical staff, patients and their families, nursing staff, and cleaning staff; (2) clarify the signs of caution; and (3) evaluate the failure mode and strengthen the effects.     

Preventing falls among seniors: the way forward

There is a growing body of research about the etiology and prevention of falls. However, the persistently high incidence of falls among seniors calls for renewed efforts to develop, test, implement, and scale-up fall prevention strategies for older adults. This paper considers advances in the field and describes three priority areas for generating research and translating knowledge on fall prevention. Clinical practice guidelines, systems change approaches and environmental risk factors are discussed. Recommendations include transcending our health sector view of the fall prevention problem, supporting comparative research on system-oriented approaches to fall prevention, and examining ways to sustain and scale-up fall prevention efforts.     

福州市主栽蔬菜品种对砷的积累及健康风险

为阐明福州市主要蔬菜基地种植的蔬菜中砷积累特征与食用风险水平,对研究区域内蔬菜和对应土壤中砷含量进行了分析检测,采用Monte-Carlo 模型法对蔬菜中砷引起的健康风险进行了评价,并探讨了蔬菜和土壤砷含量之间的相关性及不同品种、不同类别蔬菜之间积累砷的差异。结果表明：研究区内菜地土壤没有明显的砷超标,砷含量均未超出国家土壤二级标准（30 mg·kg-1）;研究区内蔬菜安全状态很好,不存在明显的健康风险;蔬菜中砷与其对应土壤中砷之间无显著相关性;不同类别的蔬菜之间对于砷的累积存在差异性,蔬菜中砷的富集系数顺序为叶菜类 > 根茎类 > 瓜果类,其中茼蒿的富集系数最大,豌豆和辣椒的最小。     

GIS在B-IBI法评价鄱阳湖水生态系统健康性中的应用

在探讨目前国内外水生态系统评价方法的基础上,采用B-IBI法评价鄱阳湖水生态系统健康性,分析认为,底栖生物参数差异性与水体理化环境相关性不明显,提出将GIS与B-IBI法耦合使用进一步提高评价结果的精度,并以鄱阳湖为研究对象验证此法的精度,结果表明:GIS与B-IBI法耦合使用评价结果较好,误差在±10%范围内;鄱阳湖水生态系统总体处于亚健康-健康状态;长江口段及周溪镇段水生态系统较差,处于病态-亚健康状态,说明开展水生态修复工程迫在眉睫。评价结论对鄱阳湖管理部门制定水生态修复方案具有一定参考意义。     

炼化企业污水处理厂恶臭治理设施排放特征及污染控制策略

以某炼化企业污水处理厂为研究对象,对其恶臭治理设施外排气体的组成特征及其健康风险进行了分析。外排气体中的恶臭物质主要是氨、硫化氢、非甲烷总烃、芳香烃、有机含硫化合物;其中,氨、硫化氢、甲硫醇、甲硫醚、二甲二硫、二硫化碳和4-乙基甲苯的浓度均高于嗅阈值;甲硫醇、硫化氢的理论臭气浓度最高,是关键的致臭物质;生化设施恶臭治理单元的外排气体对污水厂整体恶臭污染的贡献度最高(77%);外排气体中,20种恶臭污染物的非致癌健康风险指数(HI_total≈10⁻⁴)和终生致癌风险(LCR_total≈10⁻⁸)低。     

Distinguishing Ecotoxic Effects of Environmental Pollutants

Environmental fluctuations and biological variability affect the establishment of baseline data in studying the ecotoxic effects of pollutants. Since substantial fluctuations are recorded for various ecological indices, it becomes problematic to establish whether an observed change in some ecological parameters represents a variation caused by presence of a pollutant, or represents 'natural' fluctuations inherent in the ecosystem.Thus, ability to predict ecotoxic effect lies at the base of the diagnosis. Such diagnosis should employ characteristics that reflect the integrated response of component populations to perturbations and as well provide a comprehensive picture of ecosystem 'status'. Measurements become authentic and acceptable only when compared with normal values of the numerical parameter in question.