A GIS-based approach for the long-term prediction of human health risks at contaminated sites

A Health Index/Risk Evaluation Tool (HIRET) has been developed for the integration of risk assessment and spatial planning using GIS capabilities. The method is meant to assist decision makers and site owners in the evaluation of potential human health risk with respect to land use. Human health risk defined as the potential adverse effects on human life or health is generally accepted as the most important aspect for site assessment and planning of remediation strategies. It concerns polluted sites that endanger human health on one hand and derelict land that does not cause the immediate risk on the other hand. In current state-of-the-art risk-assessment, long-term spatial and temporal changes of risks, in relation to changes in contamination patterns and land use functions, are not taken into account. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the methodology developed for human health risk assessment in aspect of spatial and temporal domain. HIRET was developed as an extension for ESRI software ArcView 3.2 and allows performing dynamic human health risk assessment in long-term period, which is relevant for land use planning. The paper illustrates how such methodology can assist in environmental decision-making to enhance the efficiency of contaminated land management. A case study of contaminated site is given showing how data can be used within a GIS framework to produce maps indicating areas of potential human health risk.     

Determination of Background Concentrations of Inorganics in Soils and Sediments at Hazardous Waste Sites

Hazardous waste sites may pose a threat to human health and the environment when toxic substances are released. However, the contaminants present at a waste site may have originated on-site (i.e., resulting from releases attributable to site activities) or off-site (i.e., resulting from sources not on-site). Off-site substances may result either from natural sources (e.g., erosion of naturally occurring mineral deposits) or anthropogenic sources (e.g., widespread contamination from automobile exhaust in urban areas). To determine the appropriate action to take at a hazardous waste site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must distinguish between substances directly attributable to the hazardous waste site (i.e., site contaminants) and those attributable to natural background concentrations. The most important factor to consider when determining background concentrations is to ensure that the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the media to be sampled at both the contaminated site and the background site are as similar as possible. Inorganics, in particular metals, are addressed. Radionuclides are not specifically addressed; however, metals with radioactive isotopes that may be encountered at hazardous waste sites are included. There are references and data included in this paper that provide average concentrations and reference values for selected soils and sediments in the United States. Suggested sampling and monitoring design approaches that could be used by scientists and engineers faced with how to determine background concentrations are identified. The issues discussed include the selection of background sampling locations, considerations in the selection of sampling procedures, and statistical analyses for determining whether contaminant levels are significantly different on a potential waste site compared with a background site.     

Partition Constants and Adsorption/Desorption Hysteresis for Volatile Organic Compounds on Soil from a Louisiana Superfund Site

The adsorption of four volatile organic compounds (1,4-dichloro-benzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2,2-trichloroethane and 1,1,2,2,-tetrachloroethane) on three soil types from a Superfund site (Petroprocessors Inc) in Baton Rouge, LA was studied with the purpose of obtaining an overall correlation for inclusion in a groundwater transport model being developed for site remediation. The soil-water partition constant, K_d was determined using a standard ASTM procedure (E–1195–87). Using the data for different soil types (fraction organic carbon between 0.11% and 1.13%) and different mineral surface areas (7 to 45 m²/g), the organic carbon contribution (K_oc) and the mineral matter contribution (K_min) to the partition constant were determined. The soils obtained were either from the Pleistocene period or recent shallow deposits at the site. Both log K_oc and log K_min were linearly correlated to log K_ow, the octanol-water partition constant. This data provided the basis for obtaining a general correlation for K_d on different soil types at the site. The predicted values were in agreement with that for a composite soil from the same site. The desorption of compounds from the high clay soil after the 24 hour adsorption period was observed to show a biphasic behavior, namely, an easily desorbed fraction and a desorption resistant fraction. The easily desorbed fraction was found to be satisfactorily predicted using the conventional K_d as obtained from the adsorption experiment. The slowly desorbing fraction had a time constant of several weeks. The concentration in the desorption resistant compartment was found to be dependant on the initial amount of contaminant available for adsorption. The aqueous phase concentration in equilibrium with the desorption resistant fraction was found to be 8 g/L for dichlorobenzene and 12 g/L for dichloroethane.     

A combined hydrologic simulation and landscape design model to prioritize sites for wetlands restoration

Most landscape design models have been applied to the problem of maximizing species richness in a network of nature reserves. This paper describes a combined hydrologic simulation and landscape design model designed to prioritize sites for wetlands restoration, where the objective is to maximize the amount of nutrients in non-point-source runoff attenuated in the restored wetlands. Targeted site selection in four small watersheds in the Central Valley resulted in predicted levels of nitrogen attenuation two to eight times greater than that from maximizing wetland area without consideration of the location of the restoration sites. Disclaimer  The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the US Environmental Protection Agency. No official Agency endorsement should be inferred.     

泥河湾盆地于家沟遗址AMS-14C年代学研究及其考古学意义

于家沟遗址作为泥河湾盆地中唯一具有新旧石器工业过渡的典型遗址,为研究东亚旧石器向新石器时代过渡提供了理想的场所。本文通过于家沟遗址剖面沉积物(厚约550 cm)的加速器质谱法(AMS-~(14)C)年代测定,确定了于家沟剖面的年代跨度为16.19?—?2.43 ka BP,其中旧石器向新石器时代的转化时限为9.35 ka BP。该遗址中发现的最早陶器经同层位地层推测,其年代为13.60 ka BP,是目前中国北方发现的最早陶器。陶器的使用可能改善了古人类的生活条件;大量细石器反映出泥河湾盆地中采猎经济高度繁荣。因此,在晚更新世末期气候开始变暖的背景下陶器和细石器的出现一定程度推动了中国北方旧石器时代向新石器时代的转变。     

某工业场地砷污染的加密布点优化与精度对比分析

场地污染调查是开展场地风险评估和修复的基础,随着我国颁布建设用地土壤风险管控标准等文件,提出风险筛选值和管制值的分级管控体系,我国土壤污染调查工作对于精确掌握污染物浓度梯度及空间分布有了更高的要求,因而如何构建高效采样布点方法变得尤为重要.本研究以南京市某砷工业污染场地为例,开展了优化布点方法与调查精度的研究.首先,在初查数据的基础上,运用指示克里格的方法预测土壤污染概率,参考城市土壤背景值开展阈值设定,提取加密布点区域,之后结合场地历史生产资料与自然信息布设加密点位,最终将插值预测污染结果与非加密、均匀加密、真实情况结果进行对比,验证方法精度.结果表明：本方法符合国际中基于设计抽样以达到场地调查简单、经济、客观的理念,适用于数据存在明显空间相关性的场地;该方法获得的污染区域面积占比为8.32%,与8.57%的现实情况较为接近,但普通法得到的污染面积比相对未加密情况不升反降,可能的原因是在非污染区域增设点位会造成阈值边缘区域在模拟时往清洁区域偏移,污染区域被误判为清洁,反而造成结果偏差;在目前我国环境管理对超阈范围重点关注的背景下,该方法既能够节约布点成本,又精确化预测场地污染超标范围,为后续的场地修复和治理工作提供帮助.     

城市生活垃圾填埋场选址研究

城市生活垃圾填埋场址的选择涉及到自然地理因素，地质因素、水文地质因素、工程地质因素，社会、经济、法律、交通运输、环境保护等因素，是一项十分复杂的工作。在综述前人城市生活垃圾填埋场选址方法的基础上，提出了用环境系统工程的原理来研究垃圾填埋场选址的问题。阐明影响因子的选择过程。     

不同垃圾填埋单元土壤--植物系统中汞的污染和迁移

对上海老港垃圾填埋场不同年份填埋单元的表层履土,以及典型植物中汞的分布进行了分析研究。结果发现,自1989-2001年共13a间不同时间的垃圾填埋单元表层土壤中,汞浓度与填埋时间有一定关系:从1989年到1993年,土壤汞浓度呈逐年递减趋势;从1998年到2001年又呈递增趋势;而中间几年出现汞浓度异常现象。土壤总汞、结合态汞和可挥发汞的浓度与土壤有机质含量有显著的相关性,相关系数分别为0.8147、0.8045和0.8213。另外,被调查植物体内汞的分布特点为:叶汞>根汞>茎汞。填埋时间较长的几个单元中,典型植物(加拿大黄花)的根汞与土壤可挥发汞有较好的相关性。     

Toward a Management Framework for Networks of Protected Areas in the Face of Climate Change

Abstract: Networks of sites of high importance for conservation of biological diversity are a cornerstone of current conservation strategies but are fixed in space and time. As climate change progresses, substantial shifts in species’ ranges may transform the ecological community that can be supported at a given site. Thus, some species in an existing network may not be protected in the future or may be protected only if they can move to sites that in future provide suitable conditions. We developed an approach to determine appropriate climate‐change adaptation strategies for individual sites within a network that was based on projections of future changes in the relative proportions of emigrants (species for which a site becomes climatically unsuitable), colonists (species for which a site becomes climatically suitable), and persistent species (species able to remain within a site despite the climatic change). Our approach also identifies key regions where additions to a network could enhance its future effectiveness. Using the sub‐Saharan African Important Bird Area (IBA) network as a case study, we found that appropriate conservation strategies for individual sites varied widely across sub‐Saharan Africa, and key regions where new sites could help increase network robustness varied in space and time. Although these results highlight the potential difficulties within any planning framework that seeks to address climate‐change adaptation needs, they demonstrate that such planning frameworks are necessary, if current conservation strategies are to be adapted effectively, and feasible, if applied judiciously.     

Biodegradation of soil‐applied endosulfan in the presence of a biosurfactant

Abstract

Biodegradation of endosulfan isomers in soil‐applied and flask‐coated conditions was studied, by an isolated bacterial coculture. The degradation in soil‐applied form was 20–30% slower than in flask‐coated condition. Addition of a biosurfactant, isolated from Bacillus subtilis MTCC 1427, enhanced the rate of biodegradation by 30–45% in both the conditions. It also mobilized the residual endosulfan towards biodegradation, that otherwise remains undegraded.