Impact of automobile emissions on the levels of platinum and lead in Accra,Ghana

Examination of car fleet records in Accra demonstrates an increasing proportion of catalytic converter-equipped cars in the relatively old car fleet (average age 13 years) due to their import from developed countries. However, only leaded petrol is sold in Ghana. Lead anti-knocking additives, which are known to affect catalyst activity and promote thermal sintering and mechanical abrasion, may increase Pt emissions. This possible synergism prompted the concomitant determination of Pb and Pt levels in road dust and roadside soils in Ghana. Both metals followed traffic density with higher concentrations in urban areas compared to remote sites. In urban areas, the range for Pb (365 +/- 93 microg g(-1) for dust and 291 +/- 76 microg g(-1) for soil) reflects precatalyst levels in Europe and the US, while the range for Pt (39 +/- 24 ng g(-1) for dust and 15 +/- 5.3 ng g(-1) for soil) is typical for the same countries. The elevated Pt concentrations were unexpected due to recent introduction of catalysts to Ghana compared to the prolonged use of catalysts in Europe and the US.     

城市垃圾问题及处理对策

中国的城市垃圾问题已经成为比较严重的环境问题之一,目前的垃圾处理存在很多问题.以全过程控制思想为基础,在可持续发展和"三化"原则的指导下,运用环境管理的经济、法律、行政等方法,提出解决城市垃圾问题的城市垃圾管理对策和技术对策,提出了城市生活垃圾多元化综合处理的设想,以求建立适合中国国情的城市垃圾管理体系和垃圾产业化体系.     

Application of Forensic Techniques for Age Dating and Source Identification in Environmental Litigation

A multitude of forensic techniques are available for age dating and source identification, including corrosion models for underground storage tanks, the commercial availability of a compound, chemical associations with discrete types of manufacturing processes, chemical profiling, proprietary additives, stable isotope analysis, degradation models, biomarkers and contaminant transport models. The selection and use of these techniques in environmental litigation must be thoroughly understood and applied to be effective as forensic evidence. When introduced as scientific evidence, the governing assumptions and quality of the data are critically evaluated and frequently successfully challenged. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of commonly used environmental forensic techniques and their possible applications so that a user can decide which technique or combination of methods is most appropriate for their case.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in breast milk of first-time Irish mothers: impact of the 2008 dioxin incident in Ireland

The 2008 dioxin incident in Ireland resulted in elevated concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Irish pork and pork products, due to the consumption of contaminated animal feed by pigs. In order to investigate any resulting impact on the Irish population, these contaminants were measured in pooled breast milk samples from 109 first-time mothers, collected in 2010. A comparison of the results with similar data from 2002 revealed generally lower concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in the 2010 samples, confirming the declining trend reported by many authors. Contaminant concentration levels for both 2002 and 2010 were generally slightly lower than those reported internationally, with a mean combined PCDD/F and PCB WHO-TEQ of 9.66 pg g⁻¹ fat, for an overall pooled sample of milk from 2010. An apparent slight increase in PCDFs was observed between 2002 and 2010 (from 2.73 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹ fat to 3.21 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹ fat), with the main contributory congener being 2,3,4,7,8-PentaCDF. While it cannot be totally discounted that the slight increase in 2,3,4,7,8-PentaCDF and in the overall PCDF WHO-TEQ in breast milk could be attributable to consumption of Irish pork during the 2008 incident, we consider that it is more likely that this was due to other factors, including the predominantly urban/industrial sampling locations for the 2010 samples, compared to 2002.     

An evaluation of resource inventory and monitoring program used in national forest planning

The National Forest Management Act (1976) specifies that multiresource inventories be conducted to provide baseline data for development and, later, monitoring of national forest management plans. This mandate entails the most ambitious and complex resource planning effort ever attempted. In this paper we evaluate the structure and use of current inventory-monitoring programs and recommend a framework for gathering data to improve national forest planning. Current national guidelines are general and provide only basic directions to forest-level planners. Forest inventories have traditionally concentrated on timber. Although these inventories are often well designed, the questions we are now asking about forest resources have outgrown these methods. Forest management is impeded by general confusion over definitions of resources and the interactions among them. We outline a simple classification scheme that centers on identification of basic ecosystem elements that can be readily measured. Furthermore, spatial and temporal scales must be considered in the design of inventory-monitoring programs. The concept of ecological indicators is reviewed, and caution is advised in their use. Inventory-monitoring programs should be goal-directed and based on as rigorous a statistical design as possible. We also review fundamental issues of variable selection, validation, and sampling bias. We conclude by developing a flexible inventory-monitoring program that is designed to provide information on individual characteristics of the environment, rather than being based on fixed definitions of resources.     

PERSPECTIVES FROM THREE YEARS EXPERIENCE OF REGIONAL WATER SERVICES IN THAMES WATER AUTHORITY1

ABSTRACT: Thames Water is one of ten regional Water Authorities established in 1974 to manage all water services in England and Wales. This paper looks back at water reorganization and reviews the achievements and highlights of the last three years. Constitutionally, Water authorities are a combination of a nationalized industry and local authority. This has advantages and disadvantages. Freedom of action, particularly in financial matters, is constrained by Government and official agencies. A severe pollution of the upper Thames and the drought of 1976 tested Thames Water's ability to deal with emergencies. Thames Water does not have an operational monopoly. Private Water Companies supply one third of the water demand and local authorities manage nearly all the sewers. But Thames Water's control over planning and investment ensures that the river basin is managed in a coordinated fashion. Tariff structure changes have led the Authority to bill all its consumers direct. The Thames is a small but intensively used river and vigilance is needed to maintain water quality. Thames Water is proud of the restoration of the tidal Thames from a typical grossly polluted metropolitan estuary to its present excellent condition. The British Government intends to establish a national water industry strategic planning organization but at the same time they affirm that there can be no departure from the principle of integrated river basin management.     

Planning,governance and rural futures in Australia and the USA: revisiting the case for rural regional planning

Rural regions in post-industrial countries confront significant new challenges, particularly in relation to climate, biodiversity, unconventional resource development and energy. Yet at a time when the contours of these challenges are still being sketched, and preliminary, planned interventions undertaken, the practice of rural planning finds itself at a low ebb. We examine two ‘critical cases’, one each from Australia and the USA, to explore the issues and options for capacity of rural regional planning to surmount these new challenges. Our examination indicates the urgent need for a renewed discourse on rural regional planning.     

基于RuO2-IrO2/Ti和Fe0电极的电氧化-电絮凝处理含Tl废水

基于RuO₂-IrO₂/Ti形稳电极和Fe⁰牺牲电极实现电氧化-电絮凝(EO-EC)一体化处理含Tl (I)废水,并与单一的电絮凝(EC)进行比较,探讨了EO-EC处理含Tl废水的机理.结果表明,相较于单一EC,EO-EC (1:1)组合技术适应于宽pH (4-10)以及电流密度范围(5-20mA/cm²)下含Tl废水高效处理,且不易发生钝化;活性氯以及氧化还原电位在Tl (I)间接氧化Tl (III)过程中扮演重要角色,沉淀分析表明生成的Tl (OH)_3(s)与絮体Fe (OH)_3(am)共沉淀,纤铁矿位点可吸附残留Tl (I).EO-EC一体化技术可满足实际含Tl废水达标处理(<2µg/L)且具有经济可行性.     

Plutonium in sheep faeces as an indicator of deposition on vegetation

In order to study the deposition on vegetation of plutonium arising from the testing of nuclear weapons and discharges from nuclear facilities, sheep faeces were collected from the South-west and North of England. The plutonium content of faeces has been shown to be a reproducible and sensitive indicator of deposition on herbage and, with this technique, plutonium discharged from the Sellafield Works of British Nuclear Fuels LImited can be detected 60 km from the site. On moorland pastures the concentration of ^239+240Pu in faeces, expressed as activity per gram of ash, is roughly equal numerically to the deposit of plutonium on 1 m² of vegetation.Some of the plutonium ingested by a grazing sheep is absorbed and the highest concentrations are found in liver. The liver of a sheep grazing on pasture where the ^239+240Pu concentration in faeces was about 2 pCi (74 mBq) g⁻¹ of ash, was found to contain <1% of the Generalised Derived Limit for mutton and offal, and the meat <0·001%.