The Thermal Discharges From Nuclear Power Plants in Taiwan

The increasing use of sea water for industrial cooling presents a real threat to the ecological environment in the ocean. in Taiwan where many electric power plants along the coast take sea water for cooling, people are concerned seriously about nuclear power plants. There are three nuclear power plants in Taiwan. Each plant has two units for generating power. the first two are located along the northern coast of Taiwan. the third is located in Kenting National Park along the coast of southernmost Taiwan. the plants take sea water for cooling, and discharge their heated effluents to the ocean surface from the coast. the thermal effluents have variable effects on the ecological environment near the plants. Fishermen living near the power plants complain that the heated water affects the inshore fishery catch. in addition, the thermal water from the second plant is easily accumulated near the coastal zone to influence the nearby swimming area in the summer-time. the thermal water from the third plant bleaches or kills some corals in shallow water near the outlet, and this conflicts with the interests of Kenting National Park.     

云南兰坪铅锌矿区优势植物重金属富集特性及应用潜力

为筛选适合云南高原地区重金属污染土壤修复治理以及矿区生态复垦的植物材料,通过实地野外调查,采集云南兰坪铅锌矿区18种优势植物样品及相应根系土壤,测定其Cd、 Cr、 Cu、 Ni、 Pb和Zn含量,计算植物对重金属的富集和转运系数,通过聚类分析方法,综合评估植物的应用潜力.结果表明, 18种优势植物分属18属13科,均为草本植物.植物体内多种重金属含量均高于植物正常含量,其中,延胡索(Corydalis yanhusuo)、旱芹菜(Carum bretschneideri)和毛连菜(Picris hieracioides)地上部Cd含量分别达到62.29、 76.49和85.09 mg·kg~(-1),Cd富集系数分别为0.57、 0.58和0.66,转运系数分别为0.89、 0.45和1.48,有着较强的吸收和转移土壤重金属Cd能力,具有修复Cd污染土壤潜力.狼毒(Euphorbia fischeriana)和倒提壶(Cynoglossum amabile)地上部Cd含量分别为0.46 mg·kg~(-1)和0.23 mg·kg~(-1),富集系数均小于0.01,属于重金属低积累植物,适合在中国西南高海拔地区生长,两种植物可以考虑作为Cd污染农田安全利用经济植物.其余13种植物对矿区重金属污染有着较好的耐性,可以用作矿区植被修复.     

砷、汞对植物毒性影响及其迁移富集效应探讨

介绍了自然环境中砷、汞的污染来源与污染现状,探讨了砷、汞对植物生长发育、光合作用和抗氧化能力的影响;为了缓解砷、汞对植物的毒害作用,可以添加新一代植物激素、营养元素和改良剂。分析发现,植物对不同浓度砷和汞的敏感程度并不相同,可利用特定植物的富集作用进行环境修复。当前研究主要集中于植物对砷、汞的吸收和转运生理机制,今后还需要加强对超积累植物分子基础的探索。     

Human viral pathogens are pervasive in wastewater treatment center aerosols

Wastewater treatment center(WTC) workers may be vulnerable to diseases caused by viruses, such as the common cold, influenza and gastro-intestinal infections. Although there is a substantial body of literature characterizing the microbial community found in wastewater, only a few studies have characterized the viral component of WTC aerosols,despite the fact that most diseases affecting WTC workers are of viral origin and that some of these viruses are transmitted through the air. In this study, we evaluated in four WTCs the presence of 11 viral pathogens of particular concern in this milieu and used a metagenomic approach to characterize the total viral community in the air of one of those WTCs. The presence of viruses in aerosols in different locations of individual WTCs was evaluated and the results obtained with four commonly used air samplers were compared.We detected four of the eleven viruses tested, including human adenovirus(h Ad V),rotavirus, hepatitis A virus(HAV) and Herpes Simplex virus type 1(HSV1). The results of the metagenomic assay uncovered very few viral RNA sequences in WTC aerosols, however sequences from human DNA viruses were in much greater relative abundance.     

渤海大气气溶胶元素组成及物源分析

利用电感耦合等离子体-光发射光谱法(ICP-OES)分析了2000年夏季渤海大气气溶胶样品,给出了渤海气溶胶污染物浓度分布特点,结合气象资料和富集因子进行了元素物源分析.分析结果表明,辽东湾的污染程度高于其他海区,气溶胶中含量最高的元素是Zn(1638ng/m3),含量最低的是V(2ng/m3).渤海气溶胶中Pb、Zn、Cu和Ni等具有较高的富集因子.辽东湾Pb的富集因子达4000以上,Zn的富集因子普遍大于其他海区.Pb、Mn、Cu、V等含量的相对大小与同期北京的分析结果一致.综合分析表明,渤海大气严重受到陆地人为排放污染物的影响.     

强酸型离子交换纤维富集-火焰原子吸收测定水中痕量铜、铅、镉、镍

通过强酸型离子交换纤维柱,在同一水样中同时富集和洗脱了铜、铅、镉、镍,采用火焰原子吸收光谱法测定,并对富集条件及洗脱条件、干扰因素进行了探讨。该方法简便易行,回收率在96.1%~105.5%之间,测定的相对标准偏差小于5.0%。     

Higher Plants As Bioindicators Of Sulphur Dioxide Emissions In Urban Environments

The evaluation of certain vascular plants that grow in the city of Madrid as biomonitors of SO₂ air pollution in urban environments has been carried out. Total concentration of sulphur in leaves of the chosen higher plants as well as other parameters in close relation to this contaminant (visible injury symptoms, chlorophyll a- and b-content and peroxidase activity) have been determined in order to study the spatial distribution and temporal changes in SO₂ deposition. Results obtained show that coniferous species such as Pinus pinea, were more sensitive to SO₂ atmospheric concentration than leafy species as Quercux ilex subspecies ballota and, in the same way, bush species, such asPyracantha coccinea and Nerium oleander, were more sensitive than wooded species, such as Cedrus deodaraandPinus pinea, respectively. There is a higher accumulation of sulphur in vegetable species located near highways and dense traffic incidence roads and near areas with high density of population. The minimum values for accumulation of SO₂ were registered in winter and spring seasons (from January to April) due to the vegetative stop; while maximum values are obtained during the summer season (from June to September), due to the stoma opening. The highest increments in sulphur concentration, calculated as the difference between two consecutive months, are obtained in May and June for all considered species except forCedrus deodara and Pyracantha coccinea, both species have few seasonal changes during the whole year. Some species are more sensitive to natural washing than others, showing a decrease in sulphur concentration after rainfall periods.     

A Study on Transfer Factors of 60Co and 65Zn from Soil to Plants in the Tropical Environment of Bangladesh

Soil to plant transfer factor (TF) of⁶⁰Co and ⁶⁵Zn was determined fromradioisotope experiments on plants grown in pots underoutdoor ambient tropical conditions for three growingseasons (1995–1998). The TFs were obtained fordifferent plants/crops such as, rice, bean, peanutspineapple, cabbage, tomato, spinach and grass. Theaverage TF values of ⁶⁰Co are found to be 0.087,0.15, 0.12, 0.67, 0.28, 0.79, 1.03 and 0.34respectively for the above mentioned plants/crops. Incase of ⁶⁵Zn, the average TF values are found tobe 2.24, 1.17, 0.89, 1.09, 0.78, 1.34, 2.92 and 1.78,respectively, for the above mentioned plants/crops. Thedata will be useful to assess the radiation exposureto man associated with the releases of radionuclidesfrom nuclear facilities by means of radiologicalassessment models that require transfer factors asinput parameters to predict the contamination ofradionuclides in foodchain.     

Modeling rhizofiltration: heavy-metal uptake by plant roots

The discovery of phytoaccumulation potential of plant species has led to its application for remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated soil and wastewater, which is termed as phytoextraction/rhizofiltration. For prediction, analysis, planning and cost-effective design of such systems, mathematical models not only are used as a screening tool but also provide optimal parameters like harvesting time, irrigation schedule, etc. Several laboratory and field scale studies have been carried out in the past, and mathematical expressions have been developed by various researchers for different phenomena like metal adsorption in soil, plant root growth with time, moisture and metal uptake by plant root, moisture movement in unsaturated zone, soil moisture relationship, etc. The complete design of any such phytoremediation program would require the knowledge of behavior of heavy-metal movement in soil, water and plant root system. In this paper, a model for simulating heavy-metal dynamics in soil, water and plant root system is developed and discussed. The governing non-linear partial differential equation is solved numerically by implicit finite difference method using Picard's iterative technique, and the formulation has been illustrated using a characteristic example. The source code is written in MATLAB.     

大气CO2浓度升高对农田生态系统的影响

自由大气CO2浓度升高(简称FACE,即Free A ir CO2Enrichment)对陆地生态系统的影响是全球变化研究中的一个热点。综述了FACE条件下,农田土壤植物生物量质量变化和土壤微生物对植物的反馈作用,以及土壤痕量气体排放的趋势变化。