Estimating the economic burden from illnesses associated with recreational coastal water pollution--a case study in Orange County, California

A cost-of-illness framework was applied to health and income data to quantify the health burden from illnesses associated with exposure to polluted recreational marine waters. Using data on illness severity due to exposure to polluted coastal water and estimates of mean annual salaries and medical costs (adjusted to 2001 values) for residents of Orange County, California, we estimated that the economic burden per gastrointestinal illness (GI) amounts to 36.58 dollars, the burden per acute respiratory disease is 76.76 dollars, the burden per ear ailment is 37.86 dollars, and the burden per eye ailment is 27.31 dollars. These costs can become a substantial public health burden when millions of exposures per year to polluted coastal waters result in hundreds of thousands of illnesses. For example, exposures to polluted waters at Orange County's Newport and Huntington Beaches were estimated to generate an average of 36,778 GI episodes per year. At this GI illness rate, one can also expect that approximately 38,000 more illness episodes occurred per year of other types, including respiratory, eye, and ear infections. The combination of excess illnesses associated with coastal water pollution resulted in a cumulative public health burden of 3.3 million dollars per year for these two beaches. This paper introduces a public health cost variable that can be applied in cost-benefit analyses when evaluating pollution abatement strategies.     

Effectiveness of biodiversity-conservation marketing

Conservation marketing holds potential as a means to engage audiences with biodiversity conservation and help to address the human dimensions of biodiversity loss. Empirical evaluations of conservation marketing indicatives are growing, so we reviewed the literature on this research to inform future directions in the field. We used a systematic search strategy to identify studies that evaluated the effects of conservation marketing interventions (techniques and campaigns) on psychosocial outcomes, categorized as cognitive, affective, or behavioral. Six academic databases (Business Source Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Greenfile, Proquest, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collections), 3 gray-literature databases (BASE, Zenodo, and Google Scholar), and 2 websites (Rare and WildAid) were searched. Articles were subjected to critical appraisal to assess their methodological quality, and data were extracted from each article and analyzed using narrative synthesis. Altogether 28 studies from 26 articles were included in the review. Twenty-five studies were conducted from 2014 through 2016. Methodological quality of most studies was weak (n = 16, 57%) (moderate quality n = 8, 29%; high quality n = 4, 14%). The proportion of studies that evaluated a conservation-marketing technique (e.g., variants of texts, images, or videos) versus a campaign (e.g., community-based campaigns targeting locally relevant issues, such as unsustainable palm oil agriculture, light pollution, or wood fuel fire use) was relatively balanced. Although many studies reported statistically significant results in the intended direction, the utility of findings was limited by persistent methodological limitations, such as a lack of a comparator group, use of non-validated assessment tools, and a focus on self-reported data and subjective outcomes. Conservation marketing is clearly a nascent field of scientific enquiry that warrants further, high-quality research investigations.     

弘文重教十余年的《文教资料简报》

创刊于1972年12月的《文教资料简报》是由南京师范学院(1984年易名为南京师范大学)内部编印的资料性月刊,主要目的是为文科教研服务。本文回顾该刊从创办至拥有"统一刊号"、从非正式出版物至成为正式出版物的历史沿革,具体观照该刊的编辑理念,总结该刊的内容特色、文献价值及经验启示。     

micro-XANES and micro-XRF investigations of metal binding mechanisms in biosolids

Micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) microprobe analysis and micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (micro-XANES) spectroscopy were employed to identify Fe and Mn phases and their association with selected metals in two biosolids (limed composted [LC] and Nu-Earth) before and after treatment to remove organic carbon (OC). Spatial correlations derived from elemental mapping of XRF images showed strong correlations between Fe and Cd, Cr, Pb, or Zn (r2= 0.65-0.92) before and after removal of most of the OC. The strong correlation between Fe and Cu that was present in intact samples disappeared after OC removal, suggesting that Cu was associated with OC coatings that may have been present on Fe compounds. Except for Fe and Cr, the spatial correlations of metals with Mn were improved after treatment to remove OC, indicating that the treatment may have altered more than the OC in the system. The Fe micro-XANES spectra of the intact biosolids sample showed that every point had varying mixtures of Fe(II and III) species and no two points were identical. The lack of uniformity in Fe species in the biosolids sample illustrates the complexity of the materials and the difficulty of studying biosolids using conventional analytical tools or chemical extraction techniques. Still, these microscopic observations provide independent information supporting the previous laboratory and field hypothesis that Fe compounds play a major role in retention of environmentally important trace elements in biosolids. This could be due to co-precipitation of the metals with Fe, adsorption of metals by Fe compounds, or a combination of both mechanisms.     

Effects of repeated exposure to malathion on growth, food consumption, and locomotor performance of the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

Effects of repeated pollutant exposure on growth, locomotor performance, and behavior have rarely been evaluated in reptiles. We administered three doses of malathion (2.0, 20, or 100mg/kg body weight) to western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) over an 81day period. Eight and 23% mortality occurred at 20 and 100mg/kg (p=0.079) and 85% of lizards in the 100mg/kg group exhibited clinical symptoms of poisoning. Growth, food consumption, body condition index, and terrestrial locomotor performance were not significantly influenced by malathion. However, arboreal sprint velocity was significantly reduced in lizards receiving 100mg/kg. Fifty percent of lizards in the 100mg/kg group also refused to sprint in the arboreal setting (p=0.085). Based on these results, arboreal locomotor performance was the most sensitive metric of exposure we evaluated. Further study of compounds such as malathion is warranted due to highly variable application rates and exposure scenarios.     

Indoor/Outdoor Measurements of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia

The Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia which is comprised of Charleston and surrounding communities Is the center of a heavily industrialized area known for its chemical manufacturing. As part of a larger study designed to investigate the Impact of the chemical industry on human exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC), a study of the relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations was conducted. Thirty-five homes were selected for monitoring from among volunteers; approximately ten in each of three distinct population-industry centers and four outside the Valley to act as controls. Monitoring was performed using passive, badge samplers with a three-week monitoring period. Two separate questionnaires were administered: one for characterization of the residence; and one to characterize source use during monitoring. Participants were also asked to keep a record of their activities with respect to in-home, outdoors and other Indoor environments. Analysis of the samplers was performed by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography using a flame-ionization detector. Results suggest that indoor VOC concentrations are higher than outdoor concentrations. Additionally, certain ventilation-related parameters were identified that afforded some predictive power for indoor concentrations. No statistically significant differences between regions were identified.     

Evaluation of the Use of Solar Irradiation for the Decontamination of Soils Containing Wood Treating Wastes

Laboratory evaluation of the efficacy of soil phase photodegradation of recalcitrant hazardous organic components of wood treating wastes is described. The photodecomposition of anthracene, biphenyl, 9H-carbazole, m-cresol, dibenzofuran, fluorene, pentachlorophenol, phenanthrene, pyrene and quinoline under UV and visible light was monitored over a 50-day reaction period in three test soils. Methylene blue, riboflavin, hydrogen peroxide, peat moss and diethylamine soil amendments were evaluated as to their effect on the enhancement of compound photoreaction rates in the test soil systems. Dark control samples monitored over the entire study period were utilized to quantify non-photo mediated reaction losses. Compounds losses in both the dark control and irradiated samples were found to follow first order kinetics, allowing the calculation of first order photodegradation reaction rate constants for each test soil/compound combination. Degradation due to photochemical activity was observed for all test compounds, with compound photolytic half-lives ranging from 7 to approximately 180 days. None of the soil amendments were found to improve soil phase photodegradation, although photosensitization by anthracene was shown to significantly enhance the rate of photodegradation of the other test compounds. Soil type, and its characteristic of internal reflectance, proved to be the most significant factor affecting compound degradation rates suggesting the necessity for site specific assessments of soil phase photodegradation potential.