Development and Use of Integrated Air Quality Management Tools in Urban Areas with the Aid of Environmental Telematics

Contemporary urban air quality management requires the use of appropriate systems which include air quality models, a Geographical Information System (GIS) and a combination of expert systems and decision support tools, while at the same time possessing the capability to receive information from in situ measurements. Until recently, the relation between Information Technology capabilities and the system's design and architecture were poorly addressed, mainly due to technological limitations posed. Moreover, air quality management scenario design issues were partially considered, because of the difficulty in aggregating complex, air quality related issues, in a comprehensive and effective manner, from the end users point of view. In the present paper the use of Environmental Telematics is discussed as a framework for the development of urban air quality management systems, while a comprehensive approach for the application and evaluation of relevant scenarios is presented.     

Optimal Expansion Strategy for a Sewer System under Uncertainty

Because of fast urban sprawl, land use competition, and the gap in available funds and needed funds, municipal decision makers and planners are looking for more cost-effective and sustainable ways to improve their sewer infrastructure systems. The dominant approaches have turned to planning the sanitary sewer systems within a regional context, while the decentralized and on-site/cluster wastewater systems have not overcome the application barriers. But regionalization policy confers uncertainties and risks upon cities while planning for future events. Following the philosophy of smart growth, this paper presents several optimal expansion schemes for a fast-growing city in the US/Mexico borderlands—the city of Pharr in Texas under uncertainty. The waste stream generated in Pharr is divided into three distinct sewer sheds within the city limit, including south region, central region, and north region. The options available include routing the wastewater to a neighboring municipality (i.e., McAllen) for treatment and reuse, expanding the existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the south sewer shed, and constructing a new WWTP in the north sewer shed. Traditional deterministic least-cost optimization applied in the first stage can provide a cost-effective and technology-based decision without respect to associated uncertainties system wide. As the model is primarily driven by the fees charged for wastewater transfer, sensitivity analysis was emphasized by the inclusion of varying flat-rate fees for adjustable transfer schemes before contracting process that may support the assessment of fiscal benefits to all parties involved. Yet uncertainties might arise from wastewater generation, wastewater reuse, and cost increase in constructing and operating the new wastewater treatment plant simultaneously. When dealing with multiple sources of uncertainty, the grey mixed integer programming (GIP) model, formulated in the second stage, can further allow all sources of uncertainties to propagate throughout the optimization context, simultaneously leading to determine a wealth of optimal decisions within a reasonable range. Both models ran for three 5-year periods beginning in 2005 and ending in 2020. The dynamic outputs of this analysis reflect the systematic concerns about integrative uncertainties within this decision analysis, which enable decision makers and stakeholders to make all-inclusive decisions for sanitary sewer system expansion in an economically growing region.     

绿色大学评价指标体系设计初探

绿色大学的建设是贯彻环境保护基本国策和实施可持续发展战略的重要举措之一。建立一套系统全面且便于操作的指标体系对绿色大学建设具有指导意叉。“绿色大学”建设围绕教育的核心，将可持续发展和环境保护的指导思想落实到大学的各项活动中、融入到大学教育的全过程。按目标层、准则层和指标层的思路构建绿色大学的评价指标体系。准则层由绿色教育、绿色校园、绿色科研、绿色实践和绿色办学构成，反映的是绿色校园建设所应包括的5大部分。指标层包括指标和主要参数，反映准则层的具体内容。     

危化品企业安全信用内涵的探讨

现代市场经济是信用经济,信用需要用制度来保障.对危化品企业就"信用"与"信用制度"进行了探讨,给出了危化品企业安全信用概念,并简单阐述危化品企业安全信用制度内涵.最后,对建立危化品企业安全信用制度的可能性与必要性进行了分析.     

基于系统安全观的道路交通安全立法体系重构研究

介绍和分析现代道路交通安全治理的3种思想。应用其中非常值得我国借鉴的系统治理思想对现行道路交通安全立法进行分析。现行道路交通安全立法仅围绕驾驶人的行为控制而设计,围绕道路交通安全管理部门的职能而展开,在很大程度上局限于道路交通秩序管理,在体系上存在缺失,影响道路交通安全治理的工作及其成效。基于当前形势分析,我国有必要也有条件借鉴道路交通安全系统治理的先进思想,重新构建道路交通安全立法的体系。该体系的重构需从道路安全保障、车辆安全保障、交通秩序管理、运输安全运营、交通事故处理等5个方面展开。     

接地保护与接零保护安全性比较

我国现存标准或规范仍在推荐使用接零保护(TN系统),这是一种人为增大故障电流、以过流保护装置(过流保护断路器或熔断器)对漏电进行防护的方法.在漏电保护器RCD广泛应用的今天,完成漏电防护的首要装置是RCD,而不再是过流保护装置.通过基于RCD的漏电防护水平评价和对本质安全性的综合比较, 得出的结论是接地保护(TT系统)比接零保护(TN系统)更安全.     

绵竹县社会经济发展战略的系统动力学研究

摆脱传统思维方式的束缚,采用科学的、系统的、程序化的方法制定我国县级经济和社会发展战略,是我国现代化建设提出的一项艰巨任务。本文旨在通过介绍“绵竹县经济社会发展总体规划(系统工程应用)研究”的核心部分——绵竹县社会经济系统动态仿真模型设计与发展战略的仿真实验择优,阐述系统工程的原理和运用数学模型方法对县级社会经济系统进行总体设计、预演和优化的一点体会。     

KALMAN FILTER CALCULATION OF SAMPLING FREQUENCY WHEN DETERMINING ANNUAL MEAN SOLUTE CONCENTRATIONS

ABSTRACT: A linear filter (Kalman filter) technique was used with a Streamflow-concentration model the minimize surface water quality sampling frequencies when determining annual mean solute concentrations with a predetermined allowable error. The Kalman filter technique used the stream discharge interval as a replacement for the more commonly used time interval. Using filter computations, the measurement error variance was minimized within the sample size constraints. The Kalman filter application proposed here is applicable only under several conditions including: monitoring is solely to estimate annual mean concentration; discharge measurement errors are negligible; the Streamflow-concentration model is valid; and monthly samples reflect the total variance of the solute in question.     

LEAD AND CADMIUM ASSOCIATED WITH SALTWATER INTRUSION IN A NEW JERSEY AQUIFER SYSTEM1

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Geological Survey collected ground-water samples from the upper and middle aquifers of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system in a 400-square-mile area of New Jersey from 1984 through 1986. Concentrations of lead were greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 50 micrograms per liter in water from 16 of 239 wells. The cencentrations of cadmium were greater than the MCL of 10 micrograms per liter in water from 10 to 241 wells. One-half of the wells that exceeded the lead MCL were in known areas of saltwater intrusion, as were all 10 wells that exceeded the cadmium MCL. The association of elevated concentrations of these metals with elevated concentrations of chloride indicates a mochanism related to saltwater intrusion.     

PREDICTING MEASUREMENT ERROR OF AREAL MEAN PRECIPITATION DURING EXTREME EVENTS1

ABSTRACT: The areal mean precipitation (AMP) over a catchment is normally calculated using point measurements at rainfall gages. Error in AMP estimates occurs when an insufficient number of gages are used to sample precipitation which is highly variable in space. AMP error is investigated using historic, severe rainfalls with a set of hypothetical catchments and raingage networks. The potential magnitude of error is estimated for typical gage network densities and arrangements. Possible sources of error are evaluated, and a method is proposed for predicting the magnitude of error using data that are commonly available for severe, historic rainfall.