Benzene Exposure Assessment at Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Levels. The French Contribution to the Life MACBETH Programme

Many VOC represent hazards to human health through chronic exposure. Recent European and world-wide legislation proposes limit values for ambient concentrations of these compounds. However, very little experimental data exists for true population exposure. In 1996, the European MACBETH initiative set out to measure population exposure to benzene in six European cities. This study details the French contribution to this program. Six campaigns were carried out, each comprising measurements at 100 outdoor sites and the participation of 50 non-smoking volunteers who wore personal samplers and had passive monitors installed in their homes. Iso-concentration maps were drawn for each campaign and the results showed that outdoor concentrations were significantly lower than indoors. Almost 75% of the volunteers were exposed to mean concentrations higher than the limit value of 5µgm³. It is demonstrated that personal exposure levels cannot be deduced simply by combining indoor and outdoor background concentrations. It is also shown that there is need for better knowledge of the contributions to overall exposure of outdoor microenvironments and the authors hope that future European directives will take this into account.     

Using Multi-Scale Sampling and Spatial Cross-Correlation to Investigate Patterns of Plant Species Richness

Land managers need better techniques to assess exoticplant invasions. We used the cross-correlationstatistic, I _YZ, to test for the presence ofspatial cross-correlation between pair-wisecombinations of soil characteristics, topographicvariables, plant species richness, and cover ofvascular plants in a 754 ha study site in RockyMountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A. Using 25 largeplots (1000 m²) in five vegetation types, 8 of 12variables showed significant spatial cross-correlationwith at least one other variable, while 6 of 12variables showed significant spatial auto-correlation. Elevation and slope showed significant spatialcross-correlation with all variables except percentcover of native and exotic species. Percent cover ofnative species had significant spatialcross-correlations with soil variables, but not withexotic species. This was probably because of thepatchy distributions of vegetation types in the studyarea. At a finer resolution, using data from ten1 m² subplots within each of the 1000 m² plots, allvariables showed significant spatial auto- andcross-correlation. Large-plot sampling was moreaffected by topographic factors than speciesdistribution patterns, while with finer resolutionsampling, the opposite was true. However, thestatistically and biologically significant spatialcorrelation of native and exotic species could only bedetected with finer resolution sampling. We foundexotic plant species invading areas with high nativeplant richness and cover, and in fertile soils high innitrogen, silt, and clay. Spatial auto- andcross-correlation statistics, along with theintegration of remotely sensed data and geographicinformation systems, are powerful new tools forevaluating the patterns and distribution of native andexotic plant species in relation to landscape structure.     

Estimating Trophic State Proportions of a Regional Lake Population: Are Larger Samples Always Better?

During the summers of 1991–1994, the Environmental Monitoringand Assessment Program (EMAP) sampled 344 lakes throughout thenortheastern United States using a proportional stratified sampling design based on lake size. Approximately one-quarter ofthe 344 lakes were sampled each year (4 years) for totalphosphorus to determine the proportion (and associated95% confidence intervals) of the northeast lake population 1ha (11,076 ± 1,699 lakes) that was in oligotrophic,mesotrophic, eutrophic, or heupereutropic (4 classes) conditionaccording to the total phosphorus criteria of the North AmericaLake Manegement Society. Estimates for the second, third, andfourth yr were developed as cumulative of the previous yrsamples and the current yr samples for the northeast as a wholeand for each of its three ecoregions (4 regions). New confidence intervals were computed for each cumulative yrcondition estimate. This produced a total (4 years × 4classes × 4 regions) of 64 cumulative yr tropic conditionestimates. Confidence intervals for 21% of these estimates didnot shorten with increased sample size. This phenomena raisedquestions about the accuracy of estimates based on cumulativesampling procedures. We explain why and how the phenomenon comesabout with both straight random and proportional randomsampling. Further, we present an example of the effects thisphenomenon has on lake tropic state condition estimates in thenortheastern United States.     

石油修井作业机钢丝绳断裂失效研究

石油修井作业机钢丝绳断裂失效给人身安全和设备带来了很大的安全风险。我们分析了钢丝绳断裂机理,对采样进行综合研究认为:钢丝绳断裂的直接原因是在用钢丝绳在断裂前的脆性断丝数远远超过标准规定的报废要求,即该绳"带病工作",承载力严重降低,在过大的解卡载荷下,剩余钢丝不足以承受工作载荷,而导致断裂。笔者建议在今后的修井作业过程中,定期对钢丝绳和轮槽进行检查,及时更换不满足使用要求的钢丝绳、轮槽;钢丝绳使用过程中采用合理的润滑方法进行维护;在钢丝绳保存和转运期间,避免对钢丝绳造成损伤影响使用寿命;对于轮式修井机改用钢芯钢丝绳,避免结构破坏;鉴于卷筒旋向,今后应改用右捻钢丝绳。在修井作业过程中,解卡作业严禁超负荷施工。     

连续采样与五日法采样效果及费用的对比分析

通过对连续采样与五日法采样五种方法监测结果及所需费用的比较，得出连续采样方法监测结果更具有代表性，合理性，一次性投资大，但运行费用并不高的结论。     

碱片-离子色谱法测定硫酸盐化速率影响因素

采用碱片-离子色谱法测定空气的硫酸盐化速率,方法在硫酸盐质量浓度为1.00~20.0 mg/L范围内线性良好(r≥0.999 0);碱片剪碎或不剪碎对空白碱片中硫酸根离子质量浓度的测定无明显影响,且高低两种加标浓度的回收率均在80.0%~120%之间;对于碱片实际样品,碱片剪碎更有利于硫酸根离子的快速溶出;随浸泡时间的延长,碱片中溶出的硫酸根离子质量浓度呈上升趋势,7 h硫酸根离子基本溶出完全,从保证结果质量和节省时间的角度考虑,确定最佳浸泡时间为3.5 h,建议碱片全部采取剪碎处理。     

Seasonal trend of ambient PCDD/Fs in Tianjin City, northern China using active sampling strategy

The spatial concentrations, seasonal trends, profiles and congener pairs of ambient polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were investigated within a seasonally active sampling scheme during Jun 2008 and Jan 2009 in Tianjin City, northern China. The PCDD/F concentrations ranged 14.2-172 fg I-TEQ/m³ (average 69.3 fg I-TEQ/m³) in summer and (89.8-1.01) × 10³ fg I-TEQ/m³ (average 509 fg I-TEQ/m³) in winter, respectively, except for the E-waste dismantling site where much higher values were observed (1.04 × 10³ fg I-TEQ/m³ in summer and 7.123 × 10³ fg I-TEQ/m³ in winter). The results indicated a significantly seasonal trend with higher TEQ values in winter as compared with summer, which could be related to increased emission sources and seasonal variations of the atmospheric boundary layer height. 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the dominant contributor to the total PCDD/F toxic equivalents, and 2,3,7,8-TCDD was detected at almost all the sampling sites in winter. Most of the similarly substituted PCDD/F congener pairs exhibited high correlations, suggesting that they might have similar environmental fate or sources. But different seasonal and spatial distributions of PCDD/F concentrations indicated that the emission sources might be intermittent.     

Diffusive gradients in thin films using molecularly imprinted polymer binding gels for in situ measurements of antibiotics in urban wastewaters

• Selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) binding gel was prepared. • MIP-DGT showed excellent uptake performance for antibiotics. • In situ measurement of antibiotics in wastewaters via MIP-DGT was developed. • The MIP-DGT method was robust, reliable, and highly sensitive. Urban wastewater is one of main sources for the introduction of antibiotics into the environment. Monitoring the concentrations of antibiotics in wastewater is necessary for estimating the amount of antibiotics discharged into the environment through urban wastewater treatment systems. In this study, we report a novel diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT) method based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for in situ measurement of two typical antibiotics, fluoroquinolones (FQs) and sulfonamides (SAs) in urban wastewater. MIPs show specific adsorption toward their templates and their structural analogs, resulting in the selective uptake of the two target antibiotics during MIP-DGT deployment. The uptake performance of the MIP-DGTs was evaluated in the laboratory and was relatively independent of solution pH (4.0–9.0), ionic strength (1–750 mmol/L), and dissolved organic matter (DOM, 0–20 mg/L). MIP-DGT samplers were tested in the effluent of an urban wastewater treatment plant for field trials, where three SA (sulfamethoxazole, sulfapyridine, and trimethoprim) and one FQ (ofloxacin) antibiotics were detected, with concentrations ranging from 25.50 to 117.58 ng/L, which are consistent with the results measured by grab sampling. The total removal efficiency of the antibiotics was 80.1% by the treatment plant. This study demonstrates that MIP-DGT is an effective tool for in situ monitoring of trace antibiotics in complex urban wastewaters.     

Assessing citizen contributions to butterfly monitoring in two large cities

Citizen science may be especially effective in urban landscapes due to the large pool of potential volunteers. However, there have been few evaluations of the contributions of citizen scientists to knowledge of biological communities in and around cities. To assess the effectiveness of citizen scientists' monitoring of species in urban areas, we compared butterfly data collected over 10 years in Chicago, Illinois (U.S.A.), and New York City, New York (U.S.A.). The dates, locations, and methods of data collection in Chicago were standardized, whereas data from New York were collected at any location at any time. For each city, we evaluated whether the number of observers, observation days (days on which observations were reported), and sampling locations were associated with the reported proportion of the estimated regional pool of butterfly species. We also compared the number of volunteers, duration of volunteer involvement, and consistency of sampling efforts at individual locations within each city over time. From 2001 to 2010, there were 73 volunteers in Chicago and 89 in New York. During this period, volunteers observed 86% and 89% of the estimated number of butterfly species present in Chicago and New York, respectively. Volunteers in New York reported a greater proportion of the estimated pool of butterfly species per year. In addition, more species were observed per volunteer and observation day in New York, largely due to the unrestricted sampling season in New York. Chicago volunteers were active for more years and monitored individual locations more consistently over time than volunteers in New York. Differences in monitoring protocol--especially length of sampling season and selection protocol for monitoring locations--influenced the relationship between species accrual and sampling effort, which suggests these factors are important in volunteer-based species-monitoring programs.     

民用燃料燃烧排放PM2.5和PM10中碳组分排放因子对比

在实验室中模拟民用燃料在家庭炉灶中的燃烧,应用稀释通道系统采集颗粒物,获得玉米秸秆、薪柴、蜂窝煤和块煤四种常用民用燃料燃烧排放PM10,PM2.5及载带碳组分的排放因子.结果表明,民用燃料燃烧排放的颗粒物以细颗粒为主, PM2.5占PM10的70%~90%.颗粒物排放因子最大的为块煤,其PM2.5和PM10的排放因子分别为9.837和11.929g/kg,分别是蜂窝煤的12.6和13.7倍;玉米秸秆和薪柴PM2.5和PM10的排放因子稍低于块煤,为7.359~10.444g/kg.4种燃料燃烧OC排放因子块煤最高,其在PM2.5和PM10中分别为5.29和5.19g/kg.薪柴燃烧EC的排放因子最高,其在PM2.5和PM10 中的排放因子分别为1.065和1.126g/kg.块煤两种粒径上EC的排放因子略低于薪柴.蜂窝煤EC的排放因子最低,比薪柴低300倍左右,玉米秸秆EC的排放因子也要比薪柴低10倍左右.碳组分是块煤,秸秆,薪柴排放颗粒物的主要成分,其含量在40%~60%之间,该值比蜂窝煤高3倍.四种燃料对应的OC/EC比值差异很大,薪柴和块煤燃烧排放颗粒该值为3~6,秸秆和蜂窝煤燃烧排放颗粒其值高达30~50.