The impact of handpump corrosion on water quality in rural areas of West African sub-region

Water, even in its natural environment, contains some level of impurities. Water is nearly a universal solvent. It contains dissolved solids and gases, and hosts a number of micro-organisms. The exploitation of groundwater by means of boreholes for supplying small user groups and rural communities with water has been widely applied in certain parts of the world for several decades. In recent years this practice has spread all over the globe, and hundred of thousands of boreholes have beendrilled to tap low-yield aquifers. It is evident that such boreholes require pumps for lifting thewater. In developing countries these are usually handpumps, butsolar as well as other systems with submersible pumps are also used, depending upon the energy sources available and the financial means of the beneficiaries. This article gives a general overview of groundwater quality with regard to itsphysico-chemical composition. The results presented originatefrom the experience gained from handpump equipped boreholes within the UNICEF through German Centre for Technical EducationTransfer executed inter-regional UNDP-Handpumps Project inWest African Regions. Particular attention is paid to presenting corrosion onthe water quality of wells in terms of iron concentrationand other parameters. Furthermore, the corrosion attack ongalvanised iron, the effect of biofilms on the corrosionrate, and the difference between internal and externalcorrosion of rising mains are shown.     

Being Good at Doing Good? Quality and Accountability of Humanitarian NGOs

Quality enhancement of humanitarian assistance is far from a technical task. It is interwoven with debates on politics of principles and people are intensely committed to the various outcomes these debates might have. It is a field of strongly competing truths, each with their own rationale and appeal. The last few years have seen a rapid increase in discussions, policy paper and organisational initiatives regarding the quality of humanitarian assistance. This paper takes stock of the present initiatives and of the questions raised with regard to the quality of humanitarian assistance.     

Visual Aesthetic Quality of Northern Ontario's Forested Shorelines

Only a few empirical studies on forest aesthetics have adopted a water-based perspective for observers and have investigated the perceived visual quality of forested shorelines. In forested environments with many lakes, such as the boreal forest in the Canadian Shield, individuals have greater exposure to forests from water-based rather than in-stand vantage points. This study employed the psychophysical research direction to explore the relationships between scenic beauty and biophysical characteristics of the forested shorelines in the boreal forests. Two model forms were tested. One model related the variation of shoreline forest aesthetic evaluations of near-vista views (140 m offshore) to a set of forest mensuration data. Tree size, tree mortality, conifer shrubs, tree density, amount of hardwood, and slope explained 60.2% of the variance in scenic beauty between the study sites. A second model was calibrated to test the relationship between an already existing ecosystem vegetation classification system and the aesthetic evaluations of the same forested shorelines. When the ecosystem classification was simplified to eight groups, the model explained 48.5% of variance. These models suggest that the psychophysical approach to studying aesthetics can be applied successfully to near-vista evaluations of scenic beauty. The finding that a forest ecosystem classification system is highly related to scenic beauty suggests that, at least in the boreal forest, managers can reasonably estimate the scenic beauty of forested shoreline environments from an ecosystem classification, with little need for intensive data on these sites.     

岷江流域地表水水质的模糊综合评价

岷江是长江上游的一个重要支流，其水质安全对维持成都平原正常的生产生活起着至关重要的作用。采用模糊综合评价的方法，对岷江流域14个地表水监测断面的水质状况进行了综合评价。结果表明：在14个监测断面中，处于清洁和未污染程度的断面占50％，主要位于岷江流域的上游和下游，其水质状况较好；处于重污染的断面占29％，主要位于岷江流域的中游，水质状况较差。因此，需要加强流域综合治理尤其是对岷江中游的治理，以确保岷江流域的水质安全。     

山东省城市空气自动监测监控系统数据的应用设计和使用方法

山东省城市空气自动监测监控系统的主要功能是将全省城市自动监测站数据利用计算机网络、数据仓库等技术导入到环境监测数据仓库中，实现全省城市空气质量自动监测的统一监控和监测信息的自动管理和发布。本文简单介绍了系统控制中心端监测数据统计应用部分的功能设计和实现方法。     

模糊聚类法在大气环境质量评价中的应用

通过对2004年甘肃省5个有代表性城市的大气质量监测数据进行分析,较为详细地介绍了将模糊聚类法应用于大气环境质量综合评价的过程,从而展示了模糊聚类在环境评价和管理中的积极作用和重要意义.     

工科学生工程安全素质培养的探索与实践

高等学校工科学生的社会职业定位是工程师,工程师的主要工作是从事工程的规划、设计、实施、运行和管理,其工程行为对工程安全具有至关重要的影响。随着现代工程向大型化、综合化和复杂化方向发展,工程安全已成为人类社会面临的重大问题,解决工程安全问题的根本途径之一是加强和改进高等工程教育,致力于提高工科学生的工程安全素质培养。对工科学生的工程安全素质培养,各高校可根据自己的专业优势和服务需求面而独具特色,以适应社会对工程安全人才多样性要求。湖南科技大学在工科学生的培养中,从培养目标的改革中加强了对工程安全素质的要求;从培养内容的改革中加强了对工程安全知识的传授;从培养方法的改革中加强了对工程安全技能的训练;各项改革中的措施在实践中取得令人满意的效果。     

浅谈水质在线监控中遥感技术的应用

空间信息技术以及计算机技术的发展，给环境监控提供了先进、快速和科学的方法。其中，遥感技术由于能够快速、宏观地获得所监控区域的数据，近年来已逐渐成为环境监控系统中的重要技术手段。遥感信息是被控区域的电磁辐射能量及其结构特征与时空状态在遥感图像上的表现。今后，遥感技术、在线监控系统和地理信息系统等多种信息处理工具的结合将是环境信息监控系统发展的主要方向。     

加强安全文化建设提高人员安全管理水平

分析论述了安全文化的概念及功能,探讨了安全文化建设的必要性和安全文化在人员安全管理中的地位,对如何在人员安全管理中应用安全文化提出了见解.     

Nutrient Uptake in a Large Urban River1

Abstract: Small streams have been shown to be efficient in retaining nutrients and regulating downstream nutrient fluxes, but less is known about nutrient retention in larger rivers. We quantified nutrient uptake length and uptake velocity in a regulated urban river to determine the river’s ability to retain nutrients associated with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. We measured net uptake of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), dissolved organic phosphorus, ammonium (NH₄), nitrate, and dissolved organic nitrogen in the Chattahoochee River, Atlanta, GA by following the downstream decline of nutrients and fluoride from WWTP effluent on 10 dates under low flow conditions. Uptake of all nutrients was sporadic. On many dates, there was no evidence of measurable nutrient uptake lengths within the reach; indeed, on several dates release of inorganic N and P within the sample reach led to increased nutrient export downstream. When uptake occurred, SRP uptake length was negatively correlated with total suspended solids and temperature. Uptake velocities of SRP and NH₄ in the Chattahoochee River were lower than velocities in less‐modified systems, but they were similar to those measured in other WWTP impacted systems. Lower uptake velocities indicate a diminished capacity for nutrient uptake.