An Index to Measure Depreciation in Air Quality in Some Coal Mining Areas of Korba Industrial Belt of Chhattisgarh, India

The comparison with National Ambient Air Quality Standards does not always depict a true pic-ture of the Air Quality Status of a study area. As an alternative an index that measures depreciation in Air Quality on more realistic terms has been proposed and applied to the ambient air monitoring data collected from some areas of Korba Coalfields in India. Results have been discussed in detail to illustrate the applica-tion of the proposed index and utility in bringing out more realistic air quality assessment.     

Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?

Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native to Africa, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has established stakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote “responsible” culture practices. As a preface to its “tilapia aquaculture dialogue,” the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certification issues, later published as a peer-reviewed article. This article contends that both the review and the draft certification standards subsequently developed fail to adequately integrate critical factors governing the relative sustainability of tilapia production and thereby miss more significant issues related to resource-use efficiency and the appropriation of ecosystem space and services. This raises a distinct possibility that subsequent certification will promote intensive systems of tilapia production that are far less ecologically benign than existing widely practiced semi-intensive alternatives. Given the likely future significance of this emergent standard, it is contended that a more holistic approach to certification is essential.     

河口区水质标准问题的探讨

介绍了目前河口区执行水质标准的相关规定,针对福建省一些重要河口区,分析了其在执行地表水环境质量标准或海水水质标准的过程中存在的河海划界不确定、标准无法衔接和河口混合区确定较难等问题,提出了加强河口区适用水质标准研究的建议.     

基于叶绿素a分级的东部湖区富营养化标准研究

文章基于东部湖区142个湖泊的水质和水生态数据,选取富营养化的原因变量和响应变量,采用叶绿素a六段分级的方法,得到东部湖区各指标富营养化控制的分级标准值,与GB3838-2002中的各指标值相比,所得到的分级富营养化控制标准值均超过III类水标准,这为东部湖区湖泊的管理和控制提供了理论依据。     

Prospect of China's ambient air quality standards

Ambient air quality standards are the core strategic goal of ambient air quality management. Countries worldwide have given importance to research on the development of ambient air quality standards. To understand the history of the development of China's ambient air quality standards, this study analyzed the background associated with all previous formulations and revisions of the standards, classification of functional areas, standard grading, pollutants, and evolution of the standard limits over the past 40 years. The results show that since the initial release of the “Ambient Air Quality Standard” by China in 1982, it has been supplemented once, revised twice, and modified twice. The first ambient air quality standard specified the standard limits of six pollutants commonly found in ambient air. With the development of ambient air quality management, the number of pollutants has increased to ten. Since the release of the “Ambient Air Quality Standards” in 2012, the ambient air quality in China has significantly improved. However, the proportion of cities meeting these standards is still low. At present, China is suitably positioned to make the standards associated with 24 hr SO₂ concentrations more stringent such that it meets the values defined in the World Health Organization (WHO) interim target-2 and the WHO air quality guideline (AQG). We further suggested that the SO₂ standard should be revised promptly. Simultaneously, regions with a relatively high proportion of cities meeting the standard are encouraged to introduce more stringent interim target limits in due course to manage the local ambient air quality.     

Standards, technology and sustainability

There are many examples in the developing countries (DCs) of environmental standards being set at high levels that cannot possibly be met in the prevailing economic conditions. Such standards are counter-productive; responsible operators who would work towards reasonable standards are turned off and evade the standards. This situation arises because the selected standards tend to be copies of existing standards from industrialized countries where most of the work of developing standards has taken place. The standards they copy are the current high standards that are affordable in the West, but are not affordable in the DCs. A similar situation exists with respect to technology. Designs that work well in the West tend to be copied but do not function well in the DCs because the level of expertise needed to ensure proper performance does not exist, and cannot be recruited and retained at the low wage levels that most authorities are able to pay. The remedy in both cases is to ensure that standards are appropriate and that the constructed facilities will be appropriate and sustainable. They can be sustainable only if adequate funds are assured for a sound program of operation and maintenance. With the ever increasing competition for the use of scarce water resources, all control agencies have a duty to maximize the use of the water they are allocated. For urban water supply systems this means ensuring tight control of UFW. Privatization of UFW control may offer significant benefits for the DCs and merits serious consideration.     

Safety rules: procedural freedom or action constraint?

The paper presents a partial classification of safety rules as constraints imposed from outside on the freedom of choice of individuals or companies. The classification is linked to the Reason model of skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based behaviour. The imposition of constraints is related to a number of criteria concerning the context and use of the rules to arrive at proposals for when and where to apply what type of rule. To illustrate the principles discussed an example is given of the rule from the Dutch Working Environment legislation concerning the requirement to use “current state of the art in prevention” in companies. The paper proposes providing procedural rule support to companies on how to meet the rule, in the form of a data bank of practicable solutions to health and safety problems.     

IMO在世纪之交的回顾与展望

介绍 190 0年以来发生的重大海难 ,以及对其调查 ;IMO成立以后 ,它对促进航运安全、保护海洋环境所作的努力 ,对其成就的评估 ;今后 10 0年海运的展望以及IMO优先考虑的。     

实施ISO 14001环境管理体系认证的回顾

本文通过回顾国际、国内建立ISO 14001环境管理体系、开展ISO 14001认证的历程,分析了秦皇岛市企业实施认证的状况,并对标准的实施提出了对策和建议.     

沈阳市室内空气中挥发性有机物的污染状态分析

选取装修时间分别为7d、30d、90d的居室各50户,采集室内空气样测定总挥发性有机物（TVOC）浓度,发现超标率随装修时间的延长而下降,且90d后TVOC超标2倍以上的严重污染户已降至2％;装修3个月以上居室室内空气中TVOC组分共检测出59种,其中32种为半数以上居室所共有,经分析绝大多数为室内装修材料所释放且多为有害物质;通过实验发现周期性通风放置比封闭状态放置能够更快地降低室内TVOC浓度．是减轻TVOC污染的最佳方法。