An integrated assessment model for cross-country pipelines

The cross-country petroleum pipelines are environmentally sensitive because they traverse through varied terrain covering crop fields, forests, rivers, populated areas, desert, hills and offshore. Any malfunction of these pipelines may cause devastating effect on the environment. Hence, the pipeline operators plan and design pipelines projects with sufficient consideration of environment and social aspects along with the technological alternatives. Traditionally, in project appraisal, optimum technical alternative is selected using financial analysis. Impact assessments (IA) are then carried out to justify the selection and subsequent statutory approval. However, the IAs often suggest alternative sites and/or alternate technology and implementation methodology, resulting in revision of entire technical and financial analysis. This study addresses the above issues by developing an integrated framework for project feasibility analysis with the application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple attribute decision-making technique. The model considers technical analysis (TA), socioeconomic IA (SEIA) and environmental IA (EIA) in an integrated framework to select the best project from a few alternative feasible projects. Subsequent financial analysis then justifies the selection. The entire methodology has been explained here through a case application on cross-country petroleum pipeline project in India.     

开展建设项目施工期的环境管理与环境监测

分析了建设项目施工期的环境影响，阐述了开展施工期环境管理与环境监测的必要性，介绍了施工期环境管理的实施手段，施工单位的环境管理制度，施工期环境监测的主要内容及对环境监测部门的要求，建议将施工期的环境管理与环境监测纳入正常的环保管理渠道之中，实现建设项目的全过程环境管理。     

人工神经网络在化学和环境科学中应用的若干问题

讨论了人工神经网络中最常用的多层前馈网络 ( BP网络 )及误差反向传播算法应用于化学和环境科学时要考虑的几个问题 :网络的输入与数据的归一化 ;隐含层数、隐含层节数和学习速率 ;训练集与监控集 ;网络误差 ;初始权重     

精密度--偏性分析质控试验数据处理系统

结合环境监测实验实质量控制数据处理的实际要求,用计算机高级语言,设计开发成功了《精密度－偏性分析质控试验数据处理系统》,该系统具有数据输入,查询,修改,统计分析和打印报告等功能,在实际应用中,取得良好效果。     

新疆城市污水处理方式及利用途径初探

奎屯市城市污水的处理现阶段采用一级处理后接生物稳定塘的处理工艺是较为适宜的,但要注意做好污水及处理水的排放监测,加强排水管理,今后要逐步完善为规范的二级处理工艺。对污水处理要制定切实可行的水污染防治规划,不拘泥于现有的排水方案和污水处理厂选址,在污水厂下游建设规范的污水库作为处理水资源化利用的必要措施。我区多数城市水污染防治路线与奎屯市有着相似性,对各城市污水处理方式及利用途径可采用此方法进行深入细致的研究论证,为未来城市污水的有效处理及无害化、资源化利用打下基础。     

Uptake of metals by food plants grown on soils 10 years after biosolids application

Potentially hazardous trace elements such as Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn are expected to accumulate in biosolids–amended soil and remain in the soil for a long period of time. In this research, uptake of metals by food plants including cabbage, carrot, lettuce and tomato grown on soils 10 years after biosolids application was studied. All the five metals were significantly accumulated in the biosolids-amended soils. The accumulation of metal in soil did not result in significant increase in concentrations of Cu, Cr and Ni in the edible plant tissues. However, the Cd and Zn concentrations of the edible tissues of plants harvested from the biosolids receiving soils were significantly enhanced in comparison with those of the unaffected soils. The plant uptake under Greenfield sandy loam soil was generally higher than those under the Domino clayey loam soil. The metal concentration of edible plant tissue exhibited increasing trends with respect to the concentrations of the ambulated metals. The extents of the increases were plant species dependent. The indigenous soil metals were absorbed by the plants in much higher rates than those of the biosolids–receiving soils. It appeared that the plant uptake of the indigenous soil-borne metal and the added biosolids-borne metals are independent of one another and mathematically are additive.     

Solid beef cattle manure application impacts on soil properties and 17β-estradiol fate in a clay loam soil

Livestock manure applied to agricultural land is one of the ways natural steroid estrogens enter soils. To examine the impact of long-term solid beef cattle (Bos Taurus) manure on soil properties and 17β-estradiol sorption and mineralization, this study utilized a soil that had received beef cattle manure over 35 years. The 17β-estradiol was strongly sorbed and sorption significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing soil organic carbon content (SOC) and with an increasing annual rate of beef cattle manure. The 17β-estradiol mineralization half-life was significantly negatively correlated, and the total amount of 17β-estradiol mineralized at 90 days (MAX) was significantly positively correlated with 17β-estradiol sorption. The long-term rate of manure application had no significant effect on MAX, but the addition of fresh beef cattle manure in the laboratory resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) smaller MAX values. None of the treatments showed MAX values exceeding one-third of the 17β-estradiol applied.     

Minimizing drift and exposure from knapsack sprayers

Abstract

An improved drift shield for attaching to the lance of conventional knapsack sprayer to reduce wind induced drift and operator exposure was designed and tested. The drift shield consists of a conical wire frame covered with polythene and has an annular opening at the point of attachment to the lance which allows air to be drawn into the shield while spraying. Tests conducted with winds in the range of 1.25–5.75 m/s show that wind can increase the width of spray swath from an unshielded lance, up to 4.3 times the normal swath in no‐wind condition. Use of a conventional shield contained the swath width within 3.5 times and the improved shield restricted the swath width to 3.1 times the normal swath. Spray deposit from an unshielded lance, within the normal swath decreased to as low as 45%, due to wind effects. However, use of the conventional, and the improved shields enhanced the spray deposit to 54.2% and 68%, respectively. The improved drift shield improved the spray pattern displacement (SPD) significantly (P<0.05) compared with the conventional shield and the unshielded lance when the wind speed exceeded 1.25 m/s. The improved shield decreased the off target drift by as much as 63% compared with the unshielded spray. It also decreased the quantity of pesticide deposit on the operator's body by 41–84% and thereby reduced exposure and improved safety.     

污染源普查成果在环境管理中的应用

历经3年的第一次全国污染源普查现已基本结束。此次污染源普查中获得了大量珍贵的污染源基础性数据,合理开发这些数据,对提高环境监察、项目审批、污染源治理及减排等工作,对加强环境管理有着不可估量的作用。结合唐山市的环境管理工作,阐述了利用普查成果,可对唐山市环境保护工作的开展起到积极的促进作用。     

Multimedia fate modeling and comparative impact on freshwater ecosystems of pharmaceuticals from biosolids-amended soils

This study modeled the impact on freshwater ecosystems of pharmaceuticals detected in biosolids following application on agricultural soils. The detected sulfonamides and hydrochlorothiazide displayed comparatively moderate retention in solid matrices and, therefore, higher transfer fractions from biosolids to the freshwater compartment. However, the residence times of these pharmaceuticals in freshwater were estimated to be short due to abiotic degradation processes. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory mefenamic acid had the highest environmental impact on aquatic ecosystems and warrants further investigation. The estimation of the solid-water partitioning coefficient was generally the most influential parameter of the probabilistic comparative impact assessment. These results and the modeling approach used in this study serve to prioritize pharmaceuticals in the research effort to assess the risks and the environmental impacts on aquatic biota of these emerging pollutants.