Future energy: in search of a scenario reflecting current and future pressures and trends

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - Growing societal pressures, technological trends and government and industry actions are moving the world toward decarbonization and away from the...     

The effect of filter material on bioaerosol collection of Bacillus subtilis spores used as a Bacillus anthracis simulant

The objective of this study was to determine filter materials and extraction methods that are appropriate to use for environmental sampling of B. anthracis. Four types of filters were tested: mixed cellulose ester (MCE) with a pore size of 3 microm, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with pore sizes of 1 and 3 microm, and gelatin with a pore size of 3 microm. Bacillus subtilis var. niger endospores (also known as Bacillus globigii[BG]) were used as a surrogate for B. anthracis. Endospores were collected into Button Inhalable Aerosol Samplers with sampling times of 15 minutes, 1 hour, and 4 hours. Physical collection efficiency was determined by measuring upstream and downstream B. subtilis concentrations with an optical particle counter. Vortexing with ultrasonic agitation and vortexing with shaker agitation extraction methods were evaluated. The MCE, 1 microm PTFE, and gelatin filters provided physical collection efficiencies of 94% or greater. The 3 microm PTFE filter showed inconsistent physical efficiency characteristics between filters. Epifluorescence microscopic analysis of the gelatin filter extraction fluid revealed the presence of contamination by non-culturable bacteria. Mean differences for microbial culturability were not statistically significant for filter materials and extraction methods. However, the vortexing with shaker agitation extraction method resulted in higher total microbial counts in the extraction fluids for MCE and 1 microm PTFE filters when compared to vortexing with ultrasonic agitation. In summary, the MCE and 1 microm PTFE filters in combination with vortexing and shaker extraction demonstrated the best performance for the filter collection and extraction of BG spores.     

Heavy metal contents in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) along a pollution gradient in a subarctic watercourse

Metallurgic industry is a source of serious environmental pollution related to the emission of heavy metals. Freshwater systems are focal points for pollution, acting as sinks for contaminants that may end up in fish and humans. The Pasvik watercourse in the border area between Finland, Norway and Russia is located in the vicinity of the Pechenganickel metallurgic enterprises, and the lower part of the watershed drains the Nikel smelters directly through Lake Kuetsjarvi. Heavy metal (Ni, Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Hg) concentrations in environment (water and sediments) and whitefish Coregonus lavaretus tissue (gills, liver, kidney and muscle) were contrasted between five lake localities situated along a spatial gradient of increasing distance (5-100 km) to the smelters. The heavy metal concentrations, in particular Ni, Cu and Cd, were highly elevated in Kuetsjarvi, but steeply declined with increasing distance to the smelters and were moderate or low in the other four localities. The study demonstrates that the majority of metal emissions and runoffs are deposited near the pollution source, and only moderate amounts of the heavy metal contaminants seem to be transported at further distances. Bioaccumulation of Hg occurred in all investigated tissues, and higher Hg concentrations in planktivorous versus benthivorous whitefish furthermore indicated that pelagic foraging is associated with higher levels of Hg biomagnification. Potential population ecology impacts of high heavy metal contaminations where mainly observed in whitefish in Kuetsjarvi, which showed depletions in growth rate, condition factor and size and age at maturation.     

Estimating sampling frequency in pollen exposure assessment over time

A time series model was fitted to the pollen concentration data collected in the Greater Cincinnati area for the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS). A traditional time series analysis and temporal variogram approach were applied to the regularly spaced databases (collected in 2003) and irregularly spaced ones (collected in 2002), respectively. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the sampling frequency on the sampling precision in terms of inverse of standard error of the overall level of mean value across time. The presence of high autocorrelation in the data was confirmed and indicated some degree of temporal redundancy in the pollen concentration data. Therefore, it was suggested that sampling frequency could be reduced from once a day to once every several days without a major loss of sampling precision of the overall mean over time. Considering the trade-offs between sampling frequency and the possibility of sampling bias increasing with larger sampling interval, we recommend that the sampling interval should take values from 3 to 5 days for the pollen monitoring program, if the goal is to track the long-term average.     

Biological treatment of wastewater in aeration tanks: Theoretical bases for process calculations

This article describes the method, based on the kinetics of enzyme reaction, for calculating treatment rates for wastewater effluents of varied concentrations in mixing aeration tanks and continuous flow aeration tanks. Using this method would make it possible to optimize the parameters of the biological treatment of wastewater. In addition, the authors illustrate that partitioning of the aeration space of the mixing aeration tank in a separate KU‐200 compact installation, which is intended for wastewater treatment from small sources, would make it possible to increase its efficiency by a factor of 1.8.     

Characteristics of speeders

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of speeders, defined as drivers of vehicles traveling at least 15 mph above the posted speed limit and relatively faster than surrounding vehicles. METHODS: Vehicle speeds were recorded on 13 roads in Virginia with speed limits ranging from 40 to 55 mph. Speeders were compared with slower drivers, defined as drivers of adjacent vehicles traveling no more than 5 mph above the speed limit. License plates were used to identify vehicle owners; owners were inferred to have been driving if observed gender and estimated age matched those of the registered owner. For these drivers, information on exact driver age and gender, vehicle make and model, and driving record was obtained from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. RESULTS: Five percent of the vehicles observed were traveling at least 15 mph above the limit, and 3% qualified as speeders, as defined in this study. Speeders were younger than drivers in the comparison group, drove newer vehicles, and had more speeding violations and other moving violations on their records. They also had 60% more crashes. DISCUSSION: Speeders are a high-risk group. Their speeding behavior is not likely to be controlled without vigorous, consistent enforcement, including the use of automated technology.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Accumulation of natural radionuclides (7Be, 210Pb) and micro-elements in mosses,lichens and cedar and larch needles in the Arctic Western Siberia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This is a study of the atmospheric-origin natural radionuclides (7Be and 210Pb) and a wide range of micro- and macro-element accumulation in mosses,...     

The current state of knowledge of ecosystems and ecosystem services in Russia: A status report

This paper focusses on a conceptual overview of ways to address a comprehensive analysis of ecosystem services (ES) in a country as large and heterogeneous as Russia. As a first step, a methodology for assessing the services for the federal subjects of Russia was chosen, i.e., its constituent provinces and similar entities, in physical terms. Russia harbors a great diversity of natural conditions and ecosystems which are suppliers of ES, and likewise a variety of the socio-economic conditions that shape the demand for these services and their consumption. The methodological approach described permits several important tasks to be addressed: the evaluation of the degree of satisfaction of people’s needs for ES, the identification of ecological donor and acceptor regions, and zoning of the country’s territory for ES assessment. The next step is to prepare a prototype of a National Report on ES in Russia, for which we are presenting the planned structure.