Pollution characteristics of lead,zinc, arsenic,and cadmium in short-term storm water roof runoff in a suburban area

Pollution of hazardous elements in roof runoff has been a potential danger to aquatic ecosystem as documented in previous studies. In this study, concentrations of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) in roof runoff were measured for short-term rainfall events. The concentrations of the selected elements varied to a high degree during the rainfall period, and the well-known first-flush phenomenon was not observed due to the short-term rainfall patterns. Based on event mean concentrations (EMCs) and fluxes, the elemental pollution may be ranked as Zn >> Pb > As > Cd. The average levels of Pb and Zn exceeded the fourth class value and fifth class value of the environmental quality standards for surface water in China. The relative high pollution could be caused by atmospheric deposition and the erosion of crust steel appurtenance installed above the rooftop. Furthermore, elements in particulate form dominated the roof runoff pollution, and the ratios of elements in particulate form to total amounts were 0.6 (As), 0.9 (Pb), 0.7 (Cd), and 0.5 (Zn). This study cleared the pollution characteristics of hazardous elements in short-term storm water roof runoff; it was useful for the selection of best management practices.     

Trace elements in fish and oysters from Sepetiba Bay (Rio de Janeiro – Brazil) determined by total reflection X-ray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation

Trace elements were determined in fish and oysters from Sepetiba Bay, Brazil, by total reflection Xray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation (SRTXRF). Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Se were determined in fish muscles and organs and in oyster soft tissue. SRTXRF was shown to be a good tool for the analysis of trace elements from biological tissue samples. Overall, the levels of the analysed metals were higher in oysters than in the fish samples. Metals were not uniformly distributed throughout the body of the analysed fish. The detected concentrations of Cr, Zn and Se were very high in some samples, surpassing the maximum limits established by Brazilian legislation.     

青岛大气气溶胶中微量元素溶解度及影响因素

利用2012年12月在青岛采集的31个总悬浮颗粒物（TSP）样品,分析其中11种微量元素的总浓度和溶解态浓度,讨论了沙尘负载、气溶胶来源、酸过程及天气条件对微量元素溶解度的影响.结果表明,Fe和Al的溶解度<5%,Pb、Ba、Bi的为10%左右,Cu、V、Cd、Mn的为20%~30%,Zn和As的约为40%.随着沙尘负载量的增加,气溶胶中微量元素溶解度呈规律性递减.气团后向轨迹聚类分析和正矩阵因子分析（PMF）结果显示,受人为源影响的气溶胶中微量元素溶解度明显高于受沙尘源影响的,受二次生成源和海洋源影响的的气溶胶中微量元素溶解度明显高于受土壤源影响的.大气酸过程是造成这些差异的主要原因.相关性分析表明,SO₄^2-、NO₃^-和有机酸等酸组分均对微量元素溶解度有一定影响.霾天时气溶胶中微量元素溶解度明显低于雾天的,其原因为酸组分在较高的相对湿度下更能促进微量元素溶解度的提高.     

南京市霾天气与主要气象条件的相关分析

利用天气学原理,分析研究2012~2014年南京市霾天气的主要地面天气形势、气象要素以及PM2.5与PM10浓度的相互关系.结果表明,2012~2014年南京市霾天气以轻度和轻微霾为主,且冬季最多,夏季最少;相对湿度在50%~80%之间有利于霾的发生,尤其是70%≤RH<80%时;有87.6%的霾发生在风速≤4m/s的情况下,并且主要来自东北偏东到东南风向区域.最利于南京霾天气形成的主要天气形势是均压场、高压控制和高压后部,而低压槽、副高控制和台风影响时霾发生较少.PM2.5在PM10中所占比例与霾强度呈正比.通过对南京市气象条件与霾的关系,及后向轨迹HYSPLIT4模式的聚类分析显示,结合南京市霾天气时的风向统计,影响南京霾发生的污染源主要有本地源、南京市东南地区的近距离污染源和华北地区的远距离污染源.     

Challenges of a feasible route towards sustainability in environmental protection

Anaerobic processes for treatment of low and high strength wastewaters and solid wastes constitute the core method in the natural biological mineralization (NBM) treatment concept. When adequately combined with the complementary NBM-systems and modern clean water saving practices in wastewater collection and transport, they represent a feasible route to sustainable environmental protection (EPsus), in essence even towards a more sustainable society. Despite the development and implementation of modern high rate Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment (AnWT-) systems and complementary innovative NBM-processes, the considerable progress made since the seventies in fundamental insights in microbiology, biochemistry and process technology, still numerous challenging improvements in the NBM-field can be realized. This contribution is mainly based on the insights attained from wide ranging literature evaluations and the results of experimental research conducted by numerous PhD students who participated in our group over the last four decades. An attempt is made here to identify major facets on which an improved insight can, and consequently should, be obtained in order to accomplish more optimal operation and design of various types of Anaerobic Degradation (AnDeg-) processes.     

土壤中腐殖酸对外源农用稀土生物可利用性的影响

采用盆栽实验方法,研究了腐殖酸对稀土元素在土壤-植物体系中的迁移、富集和生物可利用性的影响,结果表明,在试验土壤红壤中,稀土元素主要富集在小麦根部,加入低浓度的腐殖酸后,促进了小麦对稀土元素的吸收：而高浓度的腐殖酸则抑制小麦对稀土元素的吸收,腐殖酸浓度过高时,对小麦生长产生毒害作用,同时发现,小麦中叶绿素含量与小麦中稀土含量存在相关关系。     

Gangba sheep in the Tibetan plateau: Validating their unique meat quality and grazing factor analysis

Gangba sheep are known for having typical sensory characteristics attributed to free range conditions and grazing on wild plants. The genuine Gangba mutton was selected as the experimental group, and the commercial Tibetan mutton was selected as the control group, the nutritive composition of basic chemical components, amino acids and fatty acids in mutton were investigated to correlate its unique meat quality and eating satisfaction. The results showed that fatty acids were significantly higher (P<0.05) in Gangba mutton than in commercial mutton, and the higher content of flavoring amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartame) were primarily responsible for the taste attributes umami of meat juices. Moreover, the trace elements analysis in mutton and grazing factors (forage, water source and soil) were conducted, to explain the source of essential trace elements in mutton. The concentrations of essential trace elements show that the Gangba mutton was a valuable source for highly available Cu and Zn in human nutrition, and well managed with few detected of toxicity metal. The concentrations of essential trace elements in mutton are closely related to the trace elements in environmental grazing factors. In conclusion, the congenital grazing conditions (a highly mineralized water resource, natural forages and clean soils) were shown to contribute to the unique meat characteristics of Gangba sheep.     

Rail height effects on safety performance of Midwest Guardrail System

Objective: Guardrail heights play a crucial role in the way that errant vehicles interact with roadside barriers. Low rail heights increase the propensity of vehicle rollover and override, whereas excessively tall rails promote underride. Further, rail mounting heights and post embedment depths may be altered by variations in roadside terrain. An increased guardrail height may be desirable to accommodate construction tolerances, soil erosion, frost heave, and future roadway overlays. This study aimed to investigate and identify a maximum safe installation height for the Midwest Guardrail System that would be robust and remain crashworthy before and after pavement overlays.

Methods: A research investigation was performed to evaluate the safety performance of increased mounting heights for the standard 787-mm (31-in.)-tall Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) through crash testing and computer simulation. Two full-scale crash tests with small passenger cars were performed on the MGS with top-rail mounting heights of 864 and 914 mm (34 and 36 in.). Test results were then used to calibrate computer simulation models.

Results: In the first test, a small car impacted the MGS with 864-mm (34-in.) rail height at 102 km/h (63.6 mph) and 25.0° and was successfully redirected. In the second test, another small car impacted the MGS with a 914-mm (36-in.) rail height at 103 km/h (64.1 mph) and 25.6° and was successful. Both system heights satisfied the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) evaluation criteria. Test results were then used to calibrate computer simulation models. A mounting height of 36 in. was determined to be the maximum guardrail height that would safely contain and redirect small car vehicles. Simulations confirmed that taller guardrail heights (i.e., 37 in.) would likely result in small car underride. In addition, simulation results indicated that passenger vehicle models were successfully contained by the 34- and 36-in.-tall MGS installed on approach slopes as steep as 6:1.

Conclusions: A mounting height of 914 mm (36 in.) was determined to be the maximum guardrail height that would safely contain and redirect 1100C vehicles and not allow underride or excessive vehicle snag on support posts. Recommendations were also provided regarding the safety performance of the MGS with increased height.     

Preliminary investigation of sensitive biomarkers of trace metal pollution in mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Izmir Bay (Turkey)

The aim of this study was to identify possible relationships between biochemical- superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and chemical (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe) contaminants from relatively clean area (Middle Bay) and heavily polluted area (Inner Bay) of the Izmir Bay. Sampling of mussels was performed in the beginning of May 2004. Mussel digestive glands have been used for biochemical assays. Trace metal content was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer using standard procedures. Metal contents in mussels collected at polluted site increased compared to the middle part of the bay. While there was a positive correlation between metals and SOD enzyme activity, there was a negative correlation between metals and GPx enzyme activity. An increase was observed in SOD enzyme activity and a decrease of GPx enzyme activity at the inner part of the bay.