Current and Future Strategies for Water and Wastewater Management of Istanbul City

Istanbul has experienced rapid increases in population to more than 12 million people, which has created infrastructure problems of water supply and wastewater treatment and disposal. In this article, the achievements and approaches of the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) to solve the water shortage problem and to improve services are summarized. Istanbul had a very severe water shortage problem in 1994 because of ignorance of the implementation of the needed projects. After reviewing the reasons and causes of the problem, new priority criteria adopted after 1994 are given. Following the implementation of the projects determined according to the aforementioned criteria, water supplied has exceeded the water demand. The added capacity is equal to one to three times of the capacity built up to 1994 for water treatment, service reservoirs, pumping stations, transmission lines, and the water distribution network; water quality has been improved the meet local and international potable water standards. Unaccounted for water has been reduced from 60% to 27%. The percentage of treated wastewater has been increased from 10% to 90% in 8 years, resulting in drastic improvements and rehabilitation of the Golden Horn and coastal water quality. Through improved customer services, complaints were reduced from 33% in 1994 to 0.3%. Some of the main criteria and the approaches behind this success are summarized. Published online     

A Quantitative Safety Assessment Model For Transgenic Protein Products Produced In Agricultural Crops

Transgenic plants are now being used to develop pharmaceutical and industrial products in addition to their use in crop improvement. Using confinement requirements, these transgenic plants are grown and processed under conditions that prevent intermixing with commodity crops. Regulatory agencies in the United States have provided guidance of zero tolerance of these new industrial crops with commodity crops. While this is a worthy goal, it is theoretically unattainable. In spite of the best containment practices, there is a potential risk using any system of production due to unforeseen incidences including natural disasters or exposure to workers. The precautionary principle has been used for numerous regulated articles in addressing the potential risks of new products and technology based on a risk assessment in similar situations. We present here a risk assessment model that could be used as a start to develop an accepted model for the industry. The model is based on current risk models used for other regulated articles, but adapted for these types of products. This could be used to determine action levels in the event of an unintended exposure or to ensure that detection or confinement methods are adequate to avoid risks. As an example, aprotinin, a therapeutic protein now being produced in maize, was evaluated for potential risk to humans using this model.     

THERMAL GRADIENTS IN RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS DUE TO HEATED PLANT EFFLUENTS1

ABSTRACT The direction of heated effluents from large thermal power plants into streams and lakes has been a matter of public concern for some time, and the collection of prototype data related to the hydraulic aspects has taken on massive proportions. Unfortunately, most of the data are proprietary and not available for public analysis. The authors have endeavored to collect such data as are available to them for the initiation of steps toward generalization and the discussion of some of the more evident hydraulic considerations. The study is primarily concerned with rivers, including estuaries, with some interest in cooling ponds.     

影响富营养化水体沉水植物修复的生态因子探讨

日益严重的水体富营养化现象，不仅降低了它的使用功能，也使水生态系统日趋退化，从而制约了当地社会经济的可持续发展。利用组建或重建沉水植物技术净化水质或进行水体生态修复是一种有效的生态工程措施。本文综述了光照、pH、营养盐、重金属、悬浮颗粒物及着生藻类等生态因子对沉水植物修复的影响和修复时应注意的问题。     

春夏两季四种植物净化生活污水的静态试验研究

在春夏两季，分别开展为期30天的静态试验，以研究芦苇、黄菖蒲、美人蕉、香蒲四种湿地植物对富营养化生活污水的净化效果。试验结果表明：通过纵向比较，夏季时植物对TN、TP的净化效果优于春季。通过横向比较，春季时黄菖蒲和香蒲的净化能力较强；夏季时美人蕉的净化能力较强。在时间上，可将喜温植物与耐寒植物结合，以保证湿地系统的长年运行；在空间上，可将挺水植物与沉水植物结合，以保证湿地系统的处理效果。     

Comparative Evaluation of Biomonitoring Techniques of Tropospheric Ozone

During a survey of tropospheric ozone pollution carried out using tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cv. Bel-W3, ozone- supersensitive, and cv. Bel-B, ozone-resistant, as bioindicators, the effectiveness of the traditional biomonitoring method, based on the use of adult plants, was compared with an innovative miniaturized kit of seedlings. The ratio of foliar and cotyledonar necrosis, respectively, was estimated as ozone injury rate. The miniaturized kit proved to be advantageous, since seedlings need only easy growth procedures and a large number of individuals can be placed in a small space, supplying good data amounts for statistical elaboration. Moreover, correlation studies among cotyledonar and foliar injury index and ozone levels monitored through physico-chemical measurements and results of analysis of variance tests highlighted the high sensitivity of the innovative methodology.     

水生植物对污染物的清除及其应用

综述了水生植物对氮、磷、重金属及有毒有机物等各类污染物的清除作用及其在污染治理中的应用实践,同时对水生植物在废水处理和湖泊治理方面的应用提出了相应的建议。     

Elevated CO2 facilitates C and N accumulation in a rice paddy ecosystem

Elevated CO2 can stimulate wetland carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) exports through gaseous and dissolved pathways, however, the consequent influences on the C and N pools are still not fully known. Therefore, we set up a free-air CO2 enrichment experiment in a paddy field in Eastern China. After five year fumigation, we studied C and N in the plant–water–soil system. The results showed:(1) elevated CO2 stimulated rice aboveground biomass and N accumulations by 19.1% and 12.5%, respectively.(2) Elevated CO2 significantly increased paddy soil TOC and TN contents by 12.5% and 15.5%, respectively in the 0–15 cm layer, and22.7% and 26.0% in the 15–30 cm soil layer.(3) Averaged across the rice growing period,elevated CO2 greatly increased TOC and TN contents in the surface water by 7.6% and 11.4%,respectively.(4) The TOC/TN ratio and natural δ15N value in the surface soil showed a decreasing trend under elevated CO2. The above results indicate that elevated CO2 can benefit C and N accumulation in paddy fields. Given the similarity between the paddies and natural wetlands, our results also suggest a great potential for long-term C and N accumulation in natural wetlands under future climate patterns.     

辽宁省典型城市道路尘PM2.5成分谱研究

为构建辽宁省典型城市道路尘源成分谱，分别采集了鞍山市和盘锦市道路尘样品，分析了其化学组分特征，用富集因子法和比值法分析了其主要来源，用分歧系数法分析了两个城市成分谱的相似度.结果表明：盘锦市和鞍山市道路尘PM_2.5中的化学组成以有机碳组分（OC）和地壳类元素（Al、Ca、Mg、Fe和K）为主.除Cu和V元素外，其余元素均表现为鞍山市的富集因子大于盘锦市.由比值法可得，盘锦市和鞍山市OC/EC分别为（13.20±6.26）和（3.94±0.63），均存在二次污染现象；NO₃^-/SO₄^2-的均值分别为（0.52±0.55）和（0.46±0.13），说明其道路尘PM_2.5受固定源影响更大.盘锦市与鞍山市道路尘成分谱分歧系数为0.354，说明两个源成分谱可能相似.     

Database for accidents and incidents in the fuel ethanol industry

The purpose of the present research is to collect information about accidents and incidents that have occurred at fuel ethanol facilities from 1998 to October 2014, and to keep complete unified records of them in a database. The developed database contains general information about the accident or incident, its sequence, mitigation measures, its causes and consequences for humans, environment and for the plant. Until now, this information is not available. The work consisted in gathering information from different documental sources and subsequent organization in a database. It complements the previous work made for biodiesel industry and fills the existing gap in the field of ethanol. Knowledge about this information enables us to manage plant risks, since the accidents that are more likely to occur and the main sources of risk can be easily identified. Also, it makes it possible to exchange information with interested third parties. Statistical analysis shows that accident frequency has an oscillatory behavior, rising in the last year. Fire is the most common type of accident, while equipment mechanical failure is the main cause of accident. Partial material loss has been identified as the most common consequence. Finally, some conclusions are obtained concerning to the importance of having an updated and complete accident and incident database.