U and Th in some brown coals of Serbia and Montenegro and their environmental impact

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: The objective of this paper is to determine and compare the concentrations of U and Th in soft to hard brown (lignite to sub-bituminous) coals of Serbia and Montenegro. It also presents comparison of the obtained data on U and Th concentrations with the published data on coals located in some other countries of the world. Almost the whole coal production of Serbia and Montenegro is used as feed coals for combustion in thermal power plants. METHODS: Channel samples from open pit and underground mines and core samples were collected for hard and soft brown coals. For the analysis the samples were decomposed using microwave technique. Obtained solutions containing U and Th were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) using NIST standards. RESULTS: Concentration of U from the investigated basins and the corresponding mine fields ranges within 0.60-70.10 mg/kg, 0.65-3.20 mg/kg, 0.95-6.59 mg/kg, 1.20-6.05 mg/kg, 0.80-6.66 mg/kg, 0.18-89.90 mg/kg, 0.19-4.14 mg/kg, and 0.28-3.52 mg/kg for the Kostolac, Kolubara, Krepoljin, Sjenica, Soko Banja, Bogovina East field, Senje-Resavica and Pljevlja basins, respectively. Concentration of Th ranges within 0.20-2.60 mg/kg, 0.84-6.57 mg/kg, 1.48-6.48 mg/kg, 0.12-2.71 mg/kg, 0.13-4.95 mg/kg, 0.14-3.48 mg/kg, 0.29-3.56 mg/kg, and 0.17-1.89 mg/kg for the Kostolac, Kolubara, Krepoljin, Sjenica, Soko Banja, Bogovina East field, Senje-Resavica and Pljevlja basins, respectively. DISCUSSION: Brown coal from Senje-Resavica, Kolubara, Kostolac and Pljevlja is characterized by low U concentration. Coals form the Krepoljin, Soko Banja and Sjenica basins have slightly higher U concentrations than the mentioned group. The highest concentration of U is characteristic for the coal from the Bogovina East field. Concentration of Th in coals from Serbia and Montenegro has proved to be low. Out of all investigated coal basins, only the coal from the Krepoljin and Kolubara basins has high concentration of Th. The hydrothermally altered rocks of the Timok dacite-andesite complex, representing the basement of the Bogovina basin, could be a potential source of U, especially at the bottom part of the Lower seam of the Bogovina East field. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that brown coals in Serbia and Montenegro (soft to hard brown coals or lignite to sub-bituminous) contain low levels of U (5.30 mg/kg, average value and 2.10 mg/kg geometric mean value) and Th (1.80 mg/kg, average value and 1.12 mg/kg geometric mean value). There are some obvious differences in concentration of U and Th in coals from different basins in Serbia and Montenegro. The approximate value for U and Th release mainly from power plants was 644.33 t and 983.46 t, respectively within the period 1965-2000 for the studied mines in Serbia, and 23.76 t and 15.05 t for the Potrlica mine (Montenegro) within the period 1965-1997. RECOMMENDATIONS: The coals in Serbia and Montenegro show no identifiable unfavourable impact on the surrounding environment, due to low natural radioactive concentration of U and Th, but further investigations concerning human health should be performed. PERSPECTIVES: Preliminary research revealed that in some Serbian coals (and, particularly, parts of the coal seam) U and Th content are rather high. Such coals should be carefully studied, as well as U and Th concentrations in ash, fly ash, waste disposals, nearby soil and ground water. Further studies should include determination of the radioactivity of all these products, and estimation of possible health impact.     

Humic substances

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Freshwater bodies which chemistry is dominated by dissolved humic substances (HS) seem to be the major type on Earth, due to huge non-calcareous geological formations in the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics. Based on the paradigm of the inertness of being organic, direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms are mostly neglected. However, dissolved organic carbon, the majority of which being HS, are natural environmental chemicals and should therefore directly interact with organisms. Major results that widened our perspective on humic substance ecology come from experiments with the compost nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which behaved contradictorily to textbook knowledge and provoked an in-depth re-consideration of some paradigms. APPROACH: To overcome old paradigms on HS and their potential interactions with organisms, we reviewed recent international literature, as well as 'grey' literature. We also include results from own ongoing studies. RESULTS: This review focuses on direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms and disregards indirect effects, such as under-water light quenching. Instead we show with some macrophyte and algal species that HS adversely interfere with photosynthesis and growth, whereby closely related algal species show different response patterns. In addition to this, HS suppress cyanobacteria more than eukaryotic algae. Quinones in the HS appear to be the effective structure. Furthermore, HS can modulate the offspring numbers in the nematode C. elegans and cause feminization of fish and amphibians--they possess hormone-like properties. The ecological consequences of this potential remain obscure at present. HS also have the potential to act as chemical attractants as shown with C. elegans and exert a mild chemical stress upon aquatic organisms in many ways: induction of molecular chaperons (stress proteins), induction and modulation of biotransformation and anti-oxidant enzymes. Furthermore, they produce an oxidative stress with lipidperoxidation as one clear symptom or even stress defense strategy. Stronger chemical stresses by HS may even lead to teratogenic effects as shown with fish embryos; all physiological responses to HS-mediated stress require energy, which were compensated on the expense of yolk as shown with zebra fish embryos. One Finnish field survey supports the view of a strong chemical stress, as the weight yield in fish species decreases with increasing HS content in the lakes. DISCUSSION: HS exert a variety of stress symptoms in aquatic and compost organisms. According to current paradigms of ecotoxicology, these symptoms have to be considered adverse, because their compensation consumes energy which is deducted from the main metabolism. However, the nematode C. elegans looks actively for such stressful environments, and this behavior is only understandable in the light of new paradigms of aging mechanisms, particularly the Green Theory of Aging. In this respect, we discuss the mild HS-mediated stress to aquatic and compost organisms. New empirical findings with HS themselves and HS building blocks appear to be consistent with this emerging paradigm and show that the individual lifespan may be expanded. At present the ecological consequences of these findings remain obscure. However, a multiple-stress resistance may be acquired which improves the individual fitness in a fluctuating environment. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that dissolved HS have to be considered abiotic ecological driving forces, somewhat less obvious than temperature, nutrients, or light. PERSPECTIVES: The understanding of the ecological control by dissolved humic substances is still fragmentary and needs to be studied in more details.     

Trends in snowpack chemistry and comparison to National Atmospheric Deposition Program results for the Rocky Mountains, US, 1993–2004

Seasonal snowpack chemistry data from the Rocky Mountain region of the US was examined to identify long-term trends in concentration and chemical deposition in snow and in snow-water equivalent. For the period 1993–2004, comparisons of trends were made between 54 Rocky Mountain Snowpack sites and 16 National Atmospheric Deposition Program wetfall sites located nearby in the region. The region was divided into three subregions: Northern, Central, and Southern. A non-parametric correlation method known as the Regional Kendall Test was used. This technique collectively computed the slope, direction, and probability of trend for several sites at once in each of the Northern, Central, and Southern Rockies subregions. Seasonal Kendall tests were used to evaluate trends at individual sites.Significant trends occurred during the period in wetfall and snowpack concentrations and deposition, and in precipitation. For the comparison, trends in concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate for the two networks were in fair agreement. In several cases, increases in ammonium and nitrate concentrations, and decreases in sulfate concentrations for both wetfall and snowpack were consistent in the three subregions. However, deposition patterns between wetfall and snowpack more often were opposite, particularly for ammonium and nitrate. Decreases in ammonium and nitrate deposition in wetfall in the central and southern rockies subregions mostly were moderately significant (p<0.11) in constrast to highly significant increases in snowpack (p<0.02). These opposite trends likely are explained by different rates of declining precipitation during the recent drought (1999–2004) and increasing concentration. Furthermore, dry deposition was an important factor in total deposition of nitrogen in the region. Sulfate deposition decreased with moderate to high significance in all three subregions in both wetfall and snowpack. Precipitation trends consistently were downward and significant for wetfall, snowpack, and snow-telemetry data for the central and southern rockies subregions (p<0.03), while no trends were noted for the Northern Rockies subregion.     

Use of principal component analysis to profile temporal and spatial variations of chlorinated solvent concentration in groundwater

This work aims at evaluating spatial distribution patterns of concentration variations for chlorinated solvents in groundwater, based on principal component analysis and geographic information system (GIS) tools. The study investigates long-time series of chlorinated solvent concentrations in groundwater measured for 18 contaminated industrial sites. The characterization of contaminant plumes and delineation of pollutant sources are essential for choosing appropriate monitoring and remediation strategies, as contaminated groundwaters are characterized by complex patterns of spatial and temporal concentration variability, with wide unpredictable fluctuations over time. The present work describes the results of a new exploratory statistical method called the Variability Index Method (VIM) applied to environmental data to assess the performance of using concentration variations as molecular tracers to reveal aquifer dynamics, industrial impacts, and point sources for contamination plumes. The application of this method provides a useful assessment of controls over contaminant concentration variations as well as support for remediation techniques.     

Conjoint analysis for environmental evaluation

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Conjoint analysis and the related choice-modelling methods have been used for many years in marketing research to evaluate consumer behaviour and preferences for different kinds of product attributes. Recently, the number of applications in environmental science and management has started to grow. Conjoint analysis is found in many different forms, and the environmental studies evaluated in this review display the same range of methods as in other fields. The key characteristic of all these methods is that trade-offs are evaluated by jointly considering a number of important attributes. MAIN FEATURES: This paper is a review of the literature on environmental applications of conjoint analysis and assesses in which environmental area conjoint analysis has been most successful. The method and the design of the studies are reviewed as well. RESULTS: A total of 84 studies were found, dealing with environmental issues that were evaluated by conjoint analysis. The studies concern agriculture, ecosystem management, energy, environmental evaluation, forestry, land management, pollution, products, recreation, environmental risk analysis and waste management. DISCUSSION: Choice experiments seem to have a comparatively stronger position in environmental studies than elsewhere. Most of the environmental applications are related to natural resource management. This is somewhat surprising, but a number of reports have appeared also on product evaluation, which could be a key application area in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to marketing and transportation, the number of environmental conjoint studies is rather small but increasing, and the method has proven to work effectively in eliciting preferences on environmental issues. In environmental issues, experimenters often use choice experiments, especially concerning ecosystem management and environmental evaluations. When it comes to evaluating preferences concerning agriculture, forestry, energy and products, a more traditional approach of conjoint analysis is favoured. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Two new areas of application are identified in this review--environmental communication and expert elicitation. Conjoint analysis can thus be developed into a useful instrument for environmental risk analysis and communication, both of which are necessary for an efficient approach to risk governance.     

输电塔结构的动力稳定性研究

作为一种重要的生命线工程,输电线路的破坏会造成巨大的经济损失。统计显示,风荷载作用下输电塔结构的动态侧倾失稳是输电线路经常发生的破坏形式之一。因此,对风作用下输电塔结构的失稳破坏进行研究有着十分重要的意义。本文应用谐波叠加法模拟脉动风场,分别采用Budiansky-Roth准则和动态增量法(IDA)结合位移相等准则这两种方法,基于ANSYS的非线性屈曲分析和时程分析模块,对沈阳某输电塔的抗风动力稳定性进行了研究。结果表明,风的动力特性对结构稳定性影响较大,现行规范中按等效静力风荷载进行计算是偏于不安全的。     

吸力式桶形基础多桶组合结构承载力特性研究

海洋采油平台结构中一般采用多桶组合基础型式,然而迄今对多桶组合结构尚缺乏理论分析和实验研究。本文针对我国第一座吸力式桶形基础采油平台CB20B,基于单桶基础在复合加载模式下的承载力特性,建立了双桶、四桶组合基础的三维有限元数值计算模型,探讨了对称多桶基础结构与单桶基础结构的承载力特性之间的相互关系,阐述了不同桶间距的多桶组合结构地基破坏机制,为工程设计提供参考依据。     

基坑开挖对临近地基极限承载的影响性状数值分析

采用弹塑性有限元分析方法,分析了悬臂式排桩支护的基坑开挖对邻近地基条形基础下极限承载力的影响性状。主要考虑了在基坑开挖深度、荷载与基坑的距离、荷载宽度、支护刚度等因素的影响下地基极限承载力的减损性状。研究表明,基坑开挖深度H较浅时,对地基极限承载力P_u的影响较小,P_u随H的增大略有降低,随着开挖深度的增加,H对P_u值的影响显著增大,且P_u值显著降低;当L/H≤2时,荷载与基坑的距离L对地基极限承载力P_u的影响很大,地基极限承载力P_u随L的减小而显著减小,当L/H>3时,L的影响逐渐减小,且P_u逐渐趋近于无基坑开挖时的值;P_u随地基荷载作用宽度B的增大而呈线性增大;支护桩的位移越小,P_u值越接近无基坑开挖时的地基极限承载力。     

基于岩体质量指标Q分类系统的风险分析方法

基于岩体质量指标Q分类系统,应用Monte-Carlo模拟技术,研究了岩体质量风险分析方法。该方法视Q分类系统中各单因素取值为随机变量,建立了各单因素取值概率模型;通过对所建模型的抽样计算,可获取所评价岩体实际Q值小于设计所采用Q值的概率;通过对比分析Q值累计曲线和岩体质量分布图,可得到任意Q值对应的风险概率,查清岩体中可能出现的质量等级以及每个质量等级所占百分比的情况。本文研究成果已在青岛胶州湾海底隧道工程中得到应用,并获得良好效果。     

岩体开挖卸荷过程力学特性分析

基于岩体开挖卸荷过程中力学参数变化理论的分析研究,建立卸荷岩体有限元分析模型,运用ADINA有限元分析软件对岩体进行一维卸荷数值仿真研究。根据有限元数值分析计算成果得到岩体力学参数与主卸荷方向累计开挖卸荷量间的变化关系曲线。结果表明:岩体开挖卸荷过程中,岩体力学参数变形模量、泊松比、粘聚力和内摩擦角等呈现出随开挖卸荷量的变化而发生变化的特征,随卸荷量的增大有减小的趋势,但它们不是从初始值一直减小到零,而是随卸荷量的增大减小到一定的量值后,岩体的裂隙张开、结构面的扩展到一定的程度,岩体的力学参数保持一定的量级不再减小。