Influence of industry on the geochemical urban environment of Mieres (Spain) and associated health risk

This study is concerned with the elemental composition of soils and street dust collected in an historical industrial city of approximately 27 000 inhabitants, where old Hg mining and metallurgical activities strongly affected the load of heavy metals in the urban environment. For the purpose of the study, representative samples of soils and street dust were collected at different locations in the whole urban area (3 km²). Elevated mean concentrations of As in soils and street dust (69 and 135 g g^–1, respectively), and Hg (3.07 and 4.24 g g^–1, respectively), compared to background levels and to those found in other cities, reflect the anomalous geochemical nature of these materials and the strong influence exerted by the old mining sites.     

深街道峡谷内高架桥对污染物传播特性影响的模拟研究

城市化进程导致在城市中出现通风条件较差的深街谷,建设于深街谷内的高架桥会加重周边街谷内空气污染.用计算流体力学模拟方法（CFD）探索在不同环境风速下的深街谷中,高架桥的高度和宽度对街谷内气流组织与污染物扩散的影响.结果表明:高架宽度小于0.8倍街谷宽度时的高架桥不会抑制桥下空间的流动;桥宽增加会改变桥下空间的涡旋结构和涡旋方向,近地面流动方向由之前的从右至左流动变为从左至右流动,因而桥下空间污染分布也发生明显改变;高架桥宽度的增加导致两侧低层住户受到较大影响,对背风面住户的影响更为明显;但高架宽度为0.5倍街谷宽度的高架桥能对迎风面中层住户造成影响;增加高架桥的高度,其下方污染物浓度增加;当高架桥位于街谷冠层时,下部空间的污染物浓度急剧增加;冠层处及涡旋交界面高架桥对两侧住户产生较大影响,而其他高度高架桥对两侧住户影响不大;随着环境风速的增加,高架桥对近地面源污染物扩散的阻碍作用逐渐减弱.研究显示,深街谷中增加高架桥的宽度、高度都会导致街谷内空气质量的恶化,而高架桥会阻碍因环境风速增加对街谷内空气质量的改善.      

A Street Categorization Method to Study Urban Noise: The Valladolid (Spain) Study

Abstract We describe the application of a categorization method for road traffic noise (TN) evaluation. The method assumes that urban noise is stratified according to a five-category classification of streets based only on their use as communication routes. The method has previously been shown to be valid for towns under 220,000 inhabitants, and in the present case is applied to study the urban noise in Valladolid (Spain), a town with a population of nearly 320,000 inhabitants. Novel mathematical tools in this field are used to analyze the method. We demonstrate the existence of a stratification of the streets sound levels. Thus, the categories defined seem to be quite adequate for towns of this size range. Moreover, noise level predictive capacity of the method was also analyzed, and an overall value for the predictive capacity of 80% was obtained. Thus, our method can be a simple, low-cost strategy to make a statistical evaluation of the TN in a city.     

Hybridization,agency discretion,and implementation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires that the “best available scientific and commercial data” be used to protect imperiled species from extinction and preserve biodiversity. However, it does not provide specific guidance on how to apply this mandate. Scientific data can be uncertain and controversial, particularly regarding species delineation and hybridization issues. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had an evolving hybrid policy to guide protection decisions for individuals of hybrid origin. Currently, this policy is in limbo because it resulted in several controversial conservation decisions in the past. Biologists from FWS must interpret and apply the best available science to their recommendations and likely use considerable discretion in making recommendations for what species to list, how to define those species, and how to recover them. We used semistructured interviews to collect data on FWS biologists’ use of discretion to make recommendations for listed species with hybridization issues. These biologists had a large amount of discretion to determine the best available science and how to interpret it but generally deferred to the scientific consensus on the taxonomic status of an organism. Respondents viewed hybridization primarily as a problem in the context of the ESA, although biologists who had experience with hybridization issues were more likely to describe it in more nuanced terms. Many interviewees expressed a desire to continue the current case‐by‐case approach for handling hybridization issues, but some wanted more guidance on procedures (i.e., a “flexible” hybrid policy). Field‐level information can provide critical insight into which policies are working (or not working) and why. The FWS biologists’ we interviewed had a high level of discretion, which greatly influenced ESA implementation, particularly in the context of hybridization.     

宝鸡市街道尘埃磁学特征空间分布及环境意义

对宝鸡市街道尘埃样品进行详细系统环境磁学实验分析并结合扫描电子显微镜研究表明,宝鸡市街道尘埃中磁性矿物含量高,主要的磁性矿物为多畴和假单畴的低矫顽力亚铁磁性矿物,同时含有少量的赤铁矿等高矫顽力的硬磁性矿物.污染来源主要以工业和交通等人为污染为主.街道尘埃的磁学特征表现出一定的空间变化规律揭示出污染的空间分布,划分为6个主要区域:A(创新路到高新八路区域)和B(东风路和马营路区域),磁性物质含量整体很高,揭示污染相对较重,污染源主要为"工业+交通";C区(火炬路到医康区域)磁性物质含量相对较高,是中度污染的区域,污染源主要为"交通";D(经二路与人民路区域)、E(清姜路和姜谭路西部区域)和F(陈仓区虢镇),磁性物质含量相对较低,揭示轻度污染,污染源主要为"交通".     

金华市街道灰尘磁化率时空变化研究

对不同时空条件下的金华市二环以内的街道灰尘样品的磁化率进行了研究.结果表明,金华市街道灰尘磁化率均值349.67×10-8 m3/kg,冬、春、夏各个季节的平均值:322.55×10-8 m3/kg、358.16×10-8 m3/kg和368.31×10-8 m3/kg,指示了其均具有磁性增强效应,且其值相近;春、夏两个季节街道灰尘磁化率的高值区分布结构相似,模型参数分析表明,区域因素为影响其值的主因;街道灰尘磁化率高值区与城区工业区大体吻合分布,工业区是主要的区域因素。     

WATER POLLUTION AS AFFECTED BY STREET SALTING1

The use of salt to melt ice and snow on streets and roads has become prevalent throughout the Northeast. Several states apply as much as 20 tons per lane-mile. Salt runoff may be sorted in various locations within the hydrologic system. Eventually the salt reaches streams and lakes. In Meadowbrook, it was observed that the chloride content reached a high of 11,000 ppm in December 1969. The runoff from the watershed was emitted in several surges. Chloride concentrations declined with the onset of summer, but still remained high, suggesting that some of the salt applied during the past winter appeared in the summer stream flow. Salt runoff entering a small lake, flowed directly to the lake bottom. The buildup of high density saline water in the lower portion of the lake prevented complete mixing in the spring. Incomplete mixing led to anoxic conditions in the lower lake strata. The population of bent hic fauna of the lake was changed by the flow of salt water into the lake. From a total of 10 species of dipteran larva and oligochaetes, only 4 species of the latter remained.     

城市街道地表物特性分析

通过对城市街道地表物的收集、处理、分析和典型降水的径流冲刷实测,全面探究了城市街道地表物的分布、累积和冲刷规律,并对其污染物的含量和污染物总量进行了定量计算。为现代城市非点源污染截污处理和环境综合整治提供了理论和实践依据。     

Dispersion of Pollutants in Street Canyon under Traffic Induced Flow and Turbulence

A 3-D Eulerian-Lagrangian approach to moving vehicles is presented that takes into account the traffic induced flow rate and turbulence. The method is applied to pollutants dispersion in a street canyon. The approach is based on CFD calculations using Eulerian approach to the continuous phase and Lagrangian approach to the "discrete phase" of moving objects - vehicles. A commercial CFD code StarCD was used into which the Lagrangian model was integrated. As an example a street canyon is taken into consideration. It has the length of 50 m and the aspect ratio of 1.27. The speed of wind was assigned values of 4, 7 and 12 m/s at the altitude of 300 m. The total height of the domain is 115 m. In the study different traffic situations are considered, namely one-way and two-way traffic with different traffic rates per lane. The predictions show that different traffic situations affect pollutants dispersion in the street canyon and that there are also differences in the pollutants dispersion in case of one- and two-way traffic.     

城市街道峡谷空气质量的初步研究

介绍了街道峡谷的定义及特征,通过对其空气质量进行初步研究,分析影响街道峡谷空气质量的因素,选择采样点位及监测技术,探讨了污染物迁移扩散的规律,提出今后街道峡谷研究的方向.