Micronutrient deficiencies in maternity and child health: a review of environmental and social context and implications for Malawi

It is well documented that micronutrient malnutrition is of increasing concern in the developing world, resulting in poor health and high rates of mortality and morbidity. During pregnancy, deficiency of iron and zinc can produce cognitive and growth impairment of the foetus, which may continue into infancy. Iron and zinc are essential micronutrients for both plant growth and human nutrition. Despite significant work in the areas of soil fertility, crop biofortification and dietary interventions, the problems of micronutrient deficiencies persist in Africa. There is a need to examine why communities have not embraced intervention strategies which may offer health benefits. Bottom-up, interdisciplinary approaches are required to effectively study the relationships between local communities and their environment, and to assess the impact their behaviour has on the cycling of micronutrients within the soil–plant–human system. From a detailed consideration of diverse influencing factors, a methodological model is suggested for studying the barriers to improving micronutrient uptake within rural communities. It combines environmental understanding with health and social factors, emphasising the need for and potential benefits of understanding and coherence in true interdisciplinary working.     

Mercury contamination and health risk to crops around the zinc smelting plant in Huludao City,northeastern China

The Huludao zinc plant in Liaoning province, northeast China was the largest in Asia, and its smelting activities had seriously contaminated soil, water and atmosphere in the surrounding area. For the first time, we investigated the total mercury (THg) content in maize, soybean, broomcorn, 22 vegetables, and the soil around their roots from eight sampling plots near the Huludao zinc plant. THg contents of the seeds of maize, soybean, and broomcorn are 0.008, 0.006, and 0.057 mg kg⁻¹, respectively, with the broomcorn being the highest, exceeding the maximum level of contaminant in food (GB2762-2005) by 4.7 times. The edible parts of vegetables are also contaminated with a range of mercury contents of 0.001–0.147 mg kg⁻¹ (dry weight). THg contents in plant tissue decrease in the order of leaves > root > stalk > grain. Using correlation analysis, we show that mercury in the roots of these plants is mainly derived from soil, and the uptake of gaseous mercury is the predominant path by which the mercury accumulated in the foliage. The average and maximum mercury daily intake (DI) of adult around the Huludao zinc plant via consuming vegetables are 0.015 and 0.051 μg/kg/d, respectively, and those of children are 0.02 and 0.07 μg/kg/d, respectively. The average and maximum weekly intakes of total mercury for adult are 2.1 and 7.1%, respectively, of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), and 2.8 and 9.7%, respectively, of the PTWI for children.     

The effects of exposure to zinc and cadmium separately and jointly on the free amino acid pool of Gammarus pulex (L.)

Effects of the heavy metals zinc and cadmium on the free amino acid (FAA) pool of Gammarus pulex were studied at different metal concentrations and combinations as well as different exposure times. The dominant effect of these two metals was the reduction of most free amino acids and the whole FAA pool, except in the 10‐day low zinc and cadmium concentration exposures which resulted in a rise of free amino acid pool.

Among the free amino acids, the most sensitive to zinc exposure, were alanine, glutamic acid, arginine, and taurine; valine, leucine, asparagine, and isoleucine were among the most sensitive to cadmium. No predictable changes of individual free amino acids were shown in the mixed metals exposures. Elevation of taurine concentration was constant in seven of the eight treatments, it is suggested that this elevation may be related to the hepatopancreatic damage observed and induced synthesis of metallothioneins.     

粗铅冶炼过程铅元素流分析

针对粗铅冶炼生产过程中铅金属环境污染问题,应用元素流分析方法,建立了粗铅冶炼过程铅元素流分析框架. 以液态高铅渣直接还原工艺为研究对象,通过监测和分析配料、底吹炉、还原炉、烟化炉等工序含铅样品数据及企业台账数据,对生产过程中铅元素流进行全过程识别和追踪分析. 结果表明:粗铅冶炼系统铅元素平衡系数为98.61%,铅回收率为98.28%,但铅直收率仅为74.39%,与国内外先进水平相比,还有一定提升空间;单位粗铅产品烟尘、铅尘产生量分别为0.636和0.308 t/t;排放量最大的烟囱是还原炉-烟化炉烟囱,其次为岗位环保烟囱和底吹炉制酸烟囱,三者排放量分别占废气铅排放量的69.06%、25.81%、5.13%. 针对粗铅冶炼生产过程中存在的问题,提出了优先提高铅直收率、降低烟尘率、减少无组织粉尘散逸、采用高效脱硫除尘协同防治技术等建议.      

羟基锡酸锌阻燃聚氯乙烯电缆材料及其潜在火灾危险性评价

采用氧指数、成炭率、烟密度、垂直燃烧(UL 94)、热重分析、环境扫描电镜和锥形量热的方法测试了羟基锡酸锌(ZHS)对PVC的阻燃抑烟作用。ZHS用量为15%时即可以满足对PVC电缆材料燃烧烟密度的要求,燃烧等级可以达到UL94 V0级。PVC/ZHS电缆材料的热稳定性能、成炭性能和燃烧性能表明,ZHS在PVC电缆材料燃烧时,可以促进PVC交联成炭,生成的炭具有较好的隔氧、隔热及抑制可燃性气体逸出的作用,提高了PVC电缆材料的热稳定性能,有效降低了PVC电缆材料的潜在火灾危险性。     

贵溪冶炼厂闪速炉袋式收尘器改造

介绍低压脉冲袋式收尘器替代传统扁袋除尘器技术在有色金属铜冶炼过程中的应用。通过对原收尘器改造 ,使整个冶炼系统运行正常 ,排放达标 ,取得了较好的社会效益和经济效益。     

Comparison of zinc complexation properties of dissolved natural organic matter from different surface waters

The zinc binding characteristics of natural organic matter (NOM) from several representative surface waters were studied and compared. NOM samples were concentrated by reverse osmosis. The samples were treated in the laboratory to remove trace metals. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) was used to study zinc complexing properties of those NOM samples at fixed pH, ionic strength, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. Experimental data were compared to the predictions from the Windermere Humic Aqueous Model (WHAM) Version VI. At the same pH, ionic strength, and temperature, the zinc titration curves for NOM samples from different surface water sources tested in our study almost overlapped each other, indicating similarity in zinc binding properties of the NOM. A discrete two-site model gave good fits to our experimental titration data. Non-linear fitting by FITEQL 4.0 shows that the conditional zinc binding constants at the same pH are similar for NOM from different sources, indicating that zinc complexation characteristics of the NOM used in our study do not depend on their origin and one set of binding parameters can be used to represent Zn-NOM complexation for NOM samples from those different surface water sources representing geographically diverse locations. In addition, the total ligand concentrations (L(1,T), L(2,T), and L(T)) of all NOM show no observable gradation with increasing pH (L(1,T)=2.06+/-0.80 mmol/g carbon; L(2,T)=0.12+/-0.04 mmol/g carbon; L(T)=2.18+/-0.78 mmol/g carbon), while the conditional binding constants of zinc by NOM (logK(ZnL)(c)) show a linear increase with increasing pH(logK(1)(c)(pH=6.0)=4.69+/-0.25; logK(1)(c)(pH=7.0)=4.94+/-0.10; logK(1)(c)(pH=8.0)=5.25+/-0.006; logK(2)(c)(pH=6.0)=6.29+/-0.13; logK(2)(c)(pH=7.0)=6.55+/-0.08; logK(2)(c)(pH=8.0)=6.86+/-0.023) with a slope of ca. 0.28, indicating the zinc-NOM complexes become more stable at higher pH. The WHAM VI predicted free zinc ion activities at high zinc concentrations agree with our experimental results at pH 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0. However, the zinc binding of these NOM samples is over estimated by WHAM VI at zinc concentrations below 10(-6) M at pH 8.0.     

Sorption of cadmium and zinc from aqueous solutions by zeolite 4A, zeolite 13X and bentonite

The sorption and desorption of cadmium and zinc on zeolite 4A, zeolite 13X and bentonite has been studied using batch sorption studies. Parameters such as equilibrium time, effect of pH and sorbent dose were studied. The sorbents exhibited good sorption potential for cadmium and zinc with a peak value at pH 6.0 and 6.5, respectively. The sorption followed the Freundlich sorption model. More than 70% sorption occurred within 20 min and equilibrium was attained at around 90 min for the three sorbents. The metals sorption by zeolite 4A was higher than that by zeolite 13X and bentonite. The desorption studies were carried out using NaCl solution and the effect of NaCl concentration on desorption was also studied. Maximum desorption of 76% for cadmium and 80% for zinc occurred with 10% NaCl.     

冶炼厂SO2烟气化学催化吸收扩大试验研究

在单层塔板泡沫吸收塔中的ＳＯ２液相催化氧化进行了扩在试验研究,当ＳＯ２净化效率（单板效率）为５０％时,得到１６％（Ｗｔ）Ｈ２ＳＯ４,硫酸生成速率为１８％／ｈ,ＳＯ２吸收最佳敢化５Ｌ／Ｎｍ＾３,添加表面活性剂Ａｌ２（ＳＯ４）３及鼓氧操作对ＳＯ２液相催化氧化有明显促进作用,冶炼烟气ＳＯ２浓度波动吸收效率影响不大。     

Estimating mercury emissions from a zinc smelter in relation to China’s mercury control policies

Mercury concentrations of flue gas at inlet/outlet of the flue gas cleaning, electrostatic demister, reclaiming tower, acid plant, and mercury contents in zinc concentrate and by-products were measured in a hydrometallurgical zinc smelter. The removal efficiency of flue gas cleaning, electrostatic demister, mercury reclaiming and acid plant was about 17.4%, 30.3%, 87.9% and 97.4% respectively. Flue gas cleaning and electrostatic demister captured 11.7% and 25.3% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate, respectively. The mercury reclaiming tower captured 58.3% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate. About 4.2% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate was captured by the acid plant. Consequently, only 0.8% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate was emitted to the atmosphere. The atmospheric mercury emission factor was 0.5 g t⁻¹ of zinc produced for the tested smelter, indicating that this process offers the potential to effectively reduce mercury emissions from zinc smelting.