ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF TAILINGS DISPERSAL FROM A URANIUM MINE USING TOXICITY TESTING PROTOCOLS1

ABSTRACT: Toxicity testing is a means of establishing the environmental risk of a uranium tailings release. It is valuable in designing tailings containment structures because it assists in setting acceptable levels of risk for the design. This paper presents details of toxicity tests of the tailings from Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia. The results suggest that the non-radiological toxicity of the tailings is low. The environmental risk of a tailings release is more likely to be related to the physical impacts of the tailings, including infilling of billabongs and changes in the sedimentology of riparian ecosystems rather than their biogeochemical impact. Two major results were: (1) water from treatment with washed tailing fines were not toxic to Hydra viridissima, and (2) mixtures of washed tailings fines and natural floodplain sediment (overlying water or elutriates) were not toxic to Hydra viridissima or Moinodaphnia macleayi.     

长江流域可持续发展综合分析与评价

本文分析了长江流域经济社会发展的基本态势以及存在的问题 ,研究了流域可持续发展中的资源环境因素 ,并且提出了进行流域可持续发展评价的指标体系以及评价方法 ,对近年来长江流域各地区可持续发展状况分别进行了评价 ,并在此基础上 ,提出了促进长江流域可持续发展的主要对策措施     

农业贸易政策环境影响评价的案例研究

随着国际贸易自由化程度的提高,贸易与环境问题越来越引起人们的重视。对贸易政策进行环境影响评价。指导贸易政策的制定。是解决贸易所带来的环境问题的重要途径。了解中国入世后一系列的农业政策调整会在多大程度上影响环境。对于新的政策决策具有指导意义。本文在总结贸易政策环境影响评价研究步骤和方法的基础上。对农业贸易政策环境影响评价的特点进行讨论,并以河北省迁安市小麦种植业为例,进行农业贸易政策环境影响评价的案例研究。由于农业贸易政策直接作用于农业生产经营活动。再通过农业生产经营等活动间接地影响环境质量状况。本文借助转移矩阵方法进行分析评价。     

Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai,Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single-island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.     

公路网规划环境影响评价中的困难和不确定性分析

首先分析了公路网规划环境影响评价中的困难,即评价方法的不成熟和获取资料的困难;然后重点分析了评价中的公路网规划方案的不确定、环境信息的不确定、空间信息的不确定和环境影响程度的不确定;最后提出了 4种解决困难和降低不确定的方法,即制定公路网规划环境影响评价技术导则,使用基于情景分析的预测方法,广泛开展公众参与以及通过多方协作的方式开展环境影响评价工作.     

基于单体对象的城市区域火灾风险评价方法研究

从分析城市区域内单体对象自身的致灾因素及其制约灭火抢险救援力量发挥的环节入手,基于指数法和层次分析法建立了单体对象火灾风险评价指标体系.以单体对象火灾风险向量为基础,基于线性加权模型构建了一种新的区域火灾风险评价计算模型,并以树形结构表征了区域火灾风险评价结构.试点地区实例表明,该方法能够有效地评价城市区域火灾风险.     

石油化工场地环境评价

介绍了石油化工场地环境评价的程序和方法,内容主要包括石油化工场地环境评价的基本内容、土壤和地下水监测点位的布设、样品的采集与保存、样品的预处理及分析、质量控制等.     

芳烃联合装置地下管线测漏处理过程的风险分析

运用预先危险性分析法(PHA),对芳烃联合装置地下管线测漏处理过程中存在的风险进行了分析,确定了应采取的安全措施,取得了明显效果.     

Risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in shrimp farming in Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong

An ecological survey was carried out to determine the sediment concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish and shrimp including tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus×O. nilotica), grey mullet (Mugil cephalus), gei wai shrimp (Metapenaeus ensis) and caridean shrimp (Macrobrachium nipponensis) in the traditional tidal shrimp ponds (gei wais) of Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. The sediments collected from the landward sites contained higher nutrient contents, as well as zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) than those collected from the seaward sites, but vice versa for lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). However, the concentrations of all metals were exceptionally high in the two sites located outside the reserve, suggesting that waters from Deep Bay might be the possible source of metal contamination affecting the reserve. All metals studied seemed to accumulate in the viscera of fish. Body size was the determining factor for the accumulation of heavy metals in caridean shrimp and gei wai shrimp but not fish. Concentrations of the metals studied in tissues of grey mullet and gei wai shrimp were found to be safe for human consumption. Concentrations of Cr in tilapia whole body (0.68–1.10 mg kg⁻¹ wet weight) were close to or over the guideline value of 1 mg kg⁻¹ set by the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations of Hong Kong. Tilapia flesh and small caridean shrimp collected from gei wais were contaminated by Cr and Pb but still fit for human consumption. Caution is required if large caridean shrimp is to be consumed in large amounts continuously because the concentration of Pb exceeded the maximum permitted concentration (6 mg kg⁻¹). The rather high Cr concentrations in tilapia whole body should not be overlooked as the fish will serve as a food source for migratory birds visiting the site.     

Can aquatic distribution of human pharmaceuticals be related to pharmacological data?

The recognition of pharmaceuticals as significant environmental contaminants has only been a recent phenomenon. Therefore there is a paucity of data relating to the fate and effects of pharmaceuticals once they enter an aquatic receiving system. The amount of work that needs to be done in terms of risk assessment for pharmaceuticals required by regulatory agencies is substantial. This paper has determined the environmental partitioning coefficient (K_d) of 13 diverse human pharmaceuticals in three model systems of differing combinations of solid phases and solutions. The K_d values were then compared with distribution values of the pharmaceuticals in the human body determined from pharmacological studies. This was done to assess the functional relationship between K_d and distribution values in the human body (V_D). K_d values ranged from 3 to 2450 L kg⁻¹. Regression coefficients ranged from r² = 0.62–0.72, indicating that V_D values are a useful indicator for the K_d values of the tested pharmaceuticals within the batch sorption systems. The relationship between K_d and V_D should therefore be further explored to determine whether this relationship can be applied to a broader range of pharmaceuticals in more diverse environmental systems. Exploiting available human pharmacological data in such a way would be of great benefit in prioritising human pharmaceuticals as environmental contaminants in the risk assessment process.