Quality Control for Environmental Policy Appraisal Tools: An Empirical Investigation of Relations Between Quality,Quality Control and Effectiveness

The spectre of regulatory reform carried out in a range of Western countries has generated concern amongst parts of the environmental policy community. Quality and effectiveness are said to be at stake, but empirically there is a dearth of data on the relationship between provisions for quality control and the effects on quality and effectiveness. This research addresses this lacuna by analysing the effects of different quality control provisions in the Netherlands and Denmark for a globally institutionalized environmental appraisal tool—Environmental Assessment (EA). Extensive technical provisions for quality control in the Netherlands have led to it being described as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of EA systems, while in Denmark the polity is expected to take charge of quality control. The effects of quality control are investigated through surveys and in-depth interviews with actors centrally engaged with EA implementation. The results show that quality control provisions are poorly related to the perceived quality and effectiveness of EA. Only the appropriateness of the scope of EA reports is perceived to be strongly related to quality control provisions. The findings are relevant for environmental policy communities concerned with quality control systems and effectiveness of policy appraisal tools and policy-makers contemplating regulatory reforms.     

Evaluating the efficacy of wood shreds for mitigating erosion

An erosion control product made by shredding on-site woody materials was evaluated for mitigating erosion through a series of rainfall simulations. Tests were conducted on bare soil and soil with 30, 50, and 70% cover on a coarse and a fine-grained soil. Results indicated that the wood product known as wood shreds reduced runoff and soil loss from both soil types. Erosion mitigation ranged from 60 to nearly 100% depending on the soil type and amount of concentrated flow and wood shred cover. Wood shreds appear to be a viable alternative to agricultural straw. A wood shred cover of 50% appears optimal, but the appropriate coverage rate will depend on the amount of expected concentrated flow and soil type.     

Spatial distribution of uranium and thorium in the surface soil around proposed uranium mining site at Lambapur and its vertical profile in the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

The understanding and evaluation of the possible interactions of various naturally occurring radionuclides in the world's third largest man-made dam, Nagarjuna Sagar located in Andhra Pradesh, India and built on river Krishna assumed significance with the finding of uranium deposits in locations near the dam. For the present work, surface soil samples from the mineralized area of Lambapur, Mallapuram, Peddagattu and sediment core samples from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam were analyzed for naturally occurring radionuclides namely uranium and thorium using gamma spectrometric technique. Also toxic elements lead and chromium were analysed by the Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (EDXRF) technique. Surface soil samples show a variation from 25 to 291 Bq/kg (2.02–23.5 mg/kg) for ²³⁸U and 32–311 Bq/kg (7.9–76.9 mg/kg) for ²³²Th. U/Th concentration ratio in surface soil samples ranged from 0.19 to 0.31 and was found comparable with the nation wise average of 0.26. The study of sediment core samples reflected higher U/Th concentration ratio of 0.30–0.33 in the bottom section of the core as compared to 0.22–0.25 in the upper section. The concentration ratio in the upper section of the core was similar to the ratio 0.23 found in the western Deccan Basalt region through which the river originates. A higher concentration of lead and chromium was observed in the upper section of the core compared to bottom section indicating the impact of river input on the geochemical character of dam sediment.     

China's Total Emission Control Policy:a Critical Review

As part of a comprehensive environmental management system, many countries establish emission control targets for mass emissions of a pollutant. Such targets are often the key objective of an environmental policy, such as an emission trading program. In China, however, it is more than just an objective of one particular policy; it has become a concept that has influenced many national environmental policies and activities. The objective of this article is to review the implementation of the total emission c...     

微曝气Fenton氧化法处理模拟双酚A废水的效果及其生物验证

研究了微曝气Fenton氧化法关键工艺参数对模拟双酚A（BPA）废水处理效果的影响,并从活性污泥性质和污染物去除率两方面,采用膜生物反应器(membrane bioreactor, MBR)对微曝气Fenton氧化法的处理效果进行了实验验证,为实现BPA废水的生物处理奠定基础。结果表明,初始pH值、反应时间、H₂O₂/COD(质量浓度比)、H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ (摩尔浓度比)、反应温度及曝气量均对预处理效果有较大影响,在最佳条件下,COD去除率可达70%,BOD/COD值则由原废水的0.02提高到0.50以上。MBR处理上述出水的结果表明,经微曝气Fenton氧化处理BPA的废水,可较好地适应后续的生化处理。     

含油污泥调剖技术在陇东油田悦29区的应用

针对长庆陇东油田悦29区注水平面矛盾突出的特点,优选了含油污泥调剖技术。详细介绍了调剖体系的配制,调剖体系性能测试表明其相关性能指标满足要求。进行了驱替模拟试验,结果表明:其封堵作用可以维持较长时间,通过对不同注水井组进行现场应用,显示该技术能改善水驱开发效果,可以满足油藏深部封堵大孔道的技术要求,有增油降水效果。     

废钢铁切割加工烟尘的治理

介绍了氧-乙炔火焰切割加工废钢铁产生的烟尘治理系统的设计和系统设备选型,重点介绍了烟尘捕集罩的设计和除尘器、电磁脉冲阀、风机的选型和PLC自动控制以及系统实际运行效果,为废钢铁加工企业治理污染提供一套简单、经济、实用的除尘系统作参考.     

复杂社会技术系统安全控制人因研究的转变趋向

在分析复杂社会技术系统的特征及其事故机制的基础上,总结出目前安全控制的人因研究领域中的4种新趋向:分别是从关注个体因素到关注组织因素;从强调行政控制到呼吁社会控制;从考察近端因子到探讨远端征兆;从考核导向向优化发展导向。四大趋势的转变为系统的安全控制提供了新的视角,也开辟了安全控制研究新的领域。最后,笔者结合4方面的转变,针对我国实际情况提出了相应的企业安全管理建议。     

自动喷水灭火系统喷水强度概率分布特性及其控火性能研究

喷水强度是体现自动喷水灭火系统控火能力的重要参数,具有不均匀性和不确定性.传统的喷水强度设计主要考虑喷头的流量和保护面积,没有考虑其分布特性,对系统控火性能的影响.因此本文将喷水强度分布特性引入自动喷水灭火系统的控火性能研究.以公称口径为15 mm的传统下垂型玻璃球洒水喷头的喷水强度分布实验为基础,建立了包含径向距离和喷头工作压力等参数的喷水强度分布模型,采用蒙特卡罗方法获得了喷水强度的概率分布特性.参照不同危险等级场控火所需的喷水强度参数和不同喷头开启个数下的有效控火百分比,分析了喷水强度概率分布特性对控火性能的影响.研究结果表明,喷水强度概率分布特性对控火性能有重要影响,随径向距离的增加,喷水强度出现较小值的概率增大,控火性能下降,在某些危险较大的场所不能达到控火作用.对于同一危险等级场所,控火性能随着喷头安装间距减小而增强.研究方法可为合理评估喷头适用范围、优化喷头布置提供参考.     

"九五"期间乌鲁木齐市交通噪声的控制措施及效果

在分析交通噪声影响因素的基础上,对乌鲁木齐市近十年控制交通噪声污染的措施和效果进行了探讨。