The Valuation of Health Effects Caused by Stationary Sources–Related SO2 Emissions: The Adaptation of Impact Pathway Approach in Taiwan

This paper presents the externalities of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in the Taichung metropolitan, Taiwan. The human effects of SO₂ from stationary sources are a key element for local air quality management. A methodology to evaluate those effects in monetary term had been adapted and applied. This method was modified from the EU-based impact pathway approach link to the skill of geographic information systems. The studied area was divided into 66 districts and the quantity of SO₂ was allocated to each district. Then, the ambient concentration of SO₂ was estimated by using the ordinary kriging method. A risk analysis was employed to characterize the health impacts caused by SO₂. Finally, a monetary transfer approach based on the European data was conducted to estimate local damage costs per ton of SO₂. Health impacts, especially acute mortality, dominate in term of costs. The calculation showed that damage costs ranged from 0.56 to 7.38 USD/kg SO₂ based on the 2002 emission data. The results could be used in the internalization of SO₂ externalities and management of the stationary sources in the studied area. This paper also concludes that the externalities caused by stationary-related SO₂ emissions are some 28.5 million US dollars in Taichung metropolitan (Taiwan) in 2002.     

开拓创新 超前谋划 提前布局碳减排战略

碳减排是当前国际政治、经济和环境保护战略斗争的新领域。昌吉州的碳减排工作在新疆具有一定的示范意义,昌吉州目前所排放的二氧化碳主要来自于燃煤、建筑取暖、农业生产及居民生活等方面。现阶段可通过发展循环经济、走可持续发展道路,加强节能减排和植树造林,提倡节约、减少浪费,发展绿色生态农业,积极开发清洁能源,发展新能源等方式来发展低碳经济,降低昌吉州的二氧化碳排放量,为国家减少碳排放的战略目标做出自己的贡献。     

浅谈新疆“十二五”畜禽养殖业主要污染物的减排

结合主要污染物"十二五"总量控制规划编制工作经验,对新疆畜禽养殖业主要污染物的减排潜力及途径进行分析,宏观测算出新疆畜禽养殖业"十二五"期间的减排潜力,并提出新疆畜禽养殖业的减排途径及方法,为新疆主要污染物"十二五"减排工作提供合理化建议。     

Restoration of fly ash dump through biological interventions

Field experiment on 10 ha area of fly ash dump was conducted to restore and revegetate it using biological interventions, which involves use of organic amendment, selection of suitable plant species along with specialized nitrogen fixing strains of biofertilizer. The results of the study indicated that amendment with farm yard manure at 50 t/ha improved the physical properties of fly ash such as maximum water holding capacity from 40.0 to 62.42% while porosity improved from 56.78 to 58.45%. The nitrogen content was increased by 4.5 times due to addition of nitrogen fixing strains of Bradyrhizobium and Azotobacter species, while phosphate content was increased by 10.0 times due to addition of VAM, which helps in phosphate immobilization. Due to biofertilizer inoculation different microbial groups such as Rhizobium, Azotobacter and VAM spores, which were practically absent in fly ash improved to 7.1 × 10⁷, 9.2 × 10⁷ CFU/g and 35 VAM spores/10 g of fly ash, respectively. Inoculation of biofertilizer and application of FYM helped in reducing the toxicity of heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, nickel and lead which were reduced by 25, 46, 48 and 47%, respectively, due to the increased organic matter content in the fly ash which complexes the heavy metals thereby decreasing the toxicity of metals. Amendment of fly ash with FYM and biofertilizer helped in profuse root development showing 15 times higher growth in Dendrocalamus strictus plant as compared to the control. Thus amendment and biofertilizer application provided better supportive material for anchorage and growth of the plant.     

均等指数和两极化指数建立与比较

在基尼系数衡量收入差距存在一定缺陷和我国收入两极化概念不清楚的情况下,本文重点对基尼系数与两极分化的涵义进行了剖析,指出了两个概念的本质与它们之间的联系、区别。对以后的收入差距测量有一定的指导意义。基尼系数反映了所有个体偏离总体的程度,两极化指数反映二大组之间差异情况。在前人测量收入差距方法基础上构造两极分化指数I。结合中国和部分其它国家的数据,测量了三个指数并进行了比较分析,结果表明:三个指数高度相关,在一般情况下均等指数、基尼系数和两极分化指数都能大致反映收入差距情况。对组间、组内差距处理方法不同是基尼系数(均等指数)与两极分化指数最根本的区别。构造的两极分化指数具有直观、易于理解、意义明确、计算简单等诸多优点。因此在测量收入差距时,倡导优先使用均等指数。在测量只有二等分组构成总体的收入差距时,优先选择两极分化指数。实际研究中,可以根据研究的问题,合理地选择基尼系数,均等指数,两极分化指数从事相关研究。     

Uncertainty estimation in the analysis of pesticide residues in olive oil using data from proficiency tests

In this work we report the results for estimating the measurement uncertainty (MU) following up the application of two different approaches, relatively the top-down procedure, by using proficiency test data. We have focused the estimation on the olive oil matrix. We used the analytical data obtained from five selected editions of the Proficiency Tests (PTs, from 2007 to 2011) on pesticide residues in olive oil to estimate the MU. These PTs have been organized by Istituto Superiore di Sanità annually in cooperation with International Olive Council (IOC) since 1997. The number of participants in each trial ranged from 10 to 43. We used a total of 34 pesticide results. The expanded uncertainty U _(c) was calculated using a covering factor k = 2 for a confidence interval of 95%. In the approach 1, the within–laboratory reproducibility standard deviation is combined with estimates of the method and laboratory bias using PTs data. In the approach 2, the way of estimating the MU is based only on the bias that the laboratory has obtained participating in a sufficient number of the IOC proficiency tests. Comparing the relative expanded uncertainty based on these different approaches we notice values quite constant and close, from 42% to 48%. Moreover, these calculated expanded uncertainties are less than the default value of 50% (corresponding to a 95% confidence level), adopted from European guidance document SANCO based on the fit-for-purpose relative standard deviation (FFP-RSD).     

Multi-biomarker approach in wild European bullhead, Cottus sp., exposed to agricultural and urban environmental pressures: practical recommendations for experimental design

In freshwater ecosystems, a large number of chemical substances are able to disturb homeostasis of fish by modulating one or more physiological functions including the immune system. The aim of this study was to assess multi-biomarker responses including immunotoxicity induced by urban and agricultural pressure in European bullheads living in a small French river basin. For this purpose, a set of biochemical, immunological, physiological and histological parameters was measured in wild bullheads from five locations characterized by various environmental pressures. Moreover, to address effects of physiological status and contamination level variation on biomarker responses, fish were sampled during three periods (April, July and October). Results revealed a clear impact of environmental pressure on fish health and particularly on immunological status. An increase of EROD activity was recorded between upstream and downstream sites. Upstream sites were also characterized by neurotoxicological effects. Fish exhibited upstream/downstream variations of immunological status but strong differences were observed according to sampling season. Conversely, regarding biochemical and immunological effects, no significant response of physiological indexes was recorded related to environmental pressures. According to these results, the European bullhead appears as a valuable model fish species to assess adverse effects in wildlife due to urban and agricultural pressures.     

基于耦合关系的中国区域土地利用效益水平测度

新时期,土地利用的属性决定了土地利用能同时产生社会经济效益与生态环境效益,而这两种效益的交互耦合进一步决定了土地利用的整体效益。本研究建立了土地利用的社会经济效益与生态环境效益的耦合模型,设计了分别测度这两种效益的指标体系,用熵值赋权法计算了各指标的权重,进而计算了中国31个省(市、自治区)土地利用中这两种效益的系数及其耦合协调发展系数。结果显示:第一类地区是我国社会经济与生态环境均较好的上海市;第二类地区主要是社会经济发展较好但生态环境建设相对滞后的地区;第三类是生态环境较好但社会经济发展相对滞后的地区;第四类是社会经济发展相对滞后但生态环境建设更为落后的地区;第五类是生态环境建设滞后但社会经济发展更为落后的地区。最后,对每一个类型的成因和未来发展思路作了说明,在此基础上,又说明了中国土地利用的整体效益仍较为有限、整体效益表现出较为明显的区域分布特征、社会经济与生态环境的协调发展已成为提高我国土地利用效益的现实选择等基本政策含义。     

Differentiation of nitrous oxide emission factors for agricultural soils

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) direct soil emissions from agriculture are often estimated using the default IPCC emission factor (EF) of 1%. However, a large variation in EFs exists due to differences in environment, crops and management. We developed an approach to determine N₂O EFs that depend on N-input sources and environmental factors. The starting point of the method was a monitoring study in which an EF of 1% was found. The conditions of this experiment were set as the reference from which the effects of 16 sources of N input, three soil types, two land-use types and annual precipitation on the N₂O EF were estimated. The derived EF inference scheme performed on average better than the default IPCC EF. The use of differentiated EFs, including different regional conditions, allows accounting for the effects of more mitigation measures and offers European countries a possibility to use a Tier 2 approach.     

基于夏普里值过程的农村居民收入差距分解

认识农村居民收入差距现状并研究引致收入差距的因素,对缩小收入差距的政策制定有重要意义.本文利用内蒙古和甘肃2个省1500户农户的截面数据,采用夏普里值过程对Gini系数、Theil指数、Atkinson指数这三个不平等指标进行回归分解.分解结果稳健地发现,以县域为代理变量的外部环境因素对收入差距具有重要影响,非农劳动力、培训比和家庭男劳动力比对收入差距的相对贡献度较大,而平均年龄、家庭人口和平均教育对收入差距的相对贡献较小.作为社会网络的人情收支和作为物质资本的人均土地面积对收入差距的贡献极小.从缓解中国西部农村地区间的不平等的角度看,长期而言,支持和促进地区经济发展,增加非农就业机会,提供平等的教育和培训机会,有利于缓解收入不平等.而在城市化进程中,处理好土地问题,避免作为物质资本的土地成为引致不平等的因素,对于未来控制不平等状况有重要意义.