Socioeconomic consequences of mercury use and pollution

In the past, human activities often resulted in mercury releases to the biosphere with little consideration of undesirable consequences for the health of humans and wildlife. This paper outlines the pathways through which humans and wildlife are exposed to mercury. Fish consumption is the major route of exposure to methylmercury. Humans can also receive toxic doses of mercury through inhalation of elevated concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury. We propose that any effective strategy for reducing mercury exposures requires an examination of the complete life cycle of mercury. This paper examines the life cycle of mercury from a global perspective and then identifies several approaches to measuring the benefits of reducing mercury exposure, policy options for reducing Hg emissions, possible exposure reduction mechanisms, and issues associated with mercury risk assessment and communication for different populations.     

印染行业清洁生产技术

论述了目前印染行业水污染的现状及原因，指出调整产业结构、应用新工艺、大力提倡节约用水、清沽生产将是印染行业实现可持续发展的必由之路。     

Factors regulating annual mating success and reproductive success in spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularia)

Summary We investigated factors affecting annual mating success (MS) and reproductive success (RS) of spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularia) from 13 years of a 17-year study at Little Pelican Island, Leech Lake, Minnesota. Analyses were restricted to ages 1–3. Mean annual female MS varied from 1.3 to 2.7 mates, and the MS pattern was indistinguishable from random. However, female MS increased with age and was affected by arrival date, territory size, and beach size. Female RS also increased with age, and number of mates and year effects were the most significant explanatory variables in each age. Older female RS was increased by priority on a territory and presence of a previous mate. Territory size and beach size varied with population density and did not predictably affect RS. The strong year affect on RS was associated with annual variation in sex ratio and predation. Males produce only one successful clutch per year, so MS greater than one is a result of nest loss and does not increase RS. Neither male MS nor RS changed with age. Male reproductive failure rate varied by year. Given that a male produced young, the degree of RS was affected by year, arrival date, priority on a territory, territory size, and beach size. In years with early-season predation, late arrivals had higher RS; territory and beach size effects varied by year. Neither the presence, nor degree, of female care was associated with male RS. Male RS was more subject to annual environmental variability than was female RS, probably because of relatively low annual potential RS among males.Offprint requests to: L.W. Oring at the current address     

Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020

This paper presents the 2005 global inventory of anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere component of the work that was prepared by UNEP and AMAP as a contribution to the UNEP report Global Atmospheric Mercury Assessment: Sources, Emissions and Transport (UNEP Chemicals Branch, 2008).It describes the methodology applied to compile emissions data on the two main components of the inventory – the ‘by-product’ emissions and the ‘intentional use’ emissions – and to geospatially distribute these emissions estimates to produce a gridded dataset for use by modelers, and the results of this work.It also presents some initial results of work to develop (simplified) scenario emissions inventories for 2020 that can be used to investigate the possible implications of actions to reduce mercury emissions at the global scale.     

应用时间-活动模式估计儿童个体NOx暴露水平

将时间-活动模式与微环境空气污染物监测相结合估计儿童个体NO_x暴露水平. 分别在北京和青岛两市各选择3所学校监测校园环境污染物,并在每个学校选择10名儿童监测其家庭居室空气中ρ(NO_x)及个体24 h NO_x暴露水平,同时收集其时间-活动信息,采用时间-活动模式估计儿童的个体暴露水平. 交通工具中的NO_x暴露水平可通过校门口空气中ρ(NO_x)和交通工具的污染水平系数(λ)估计.结果表明:利用时间-活动模式模拟的儿童个体24 h NO_x暴露水平为0.041 mg/m3,与调整后的个体暴露实测水平相关性较好(R0.785,P<0.01),差值为(-0.002　6±0.013　0) mg/m3,二者的差异无统计学意义 (t0.139,P>0.05).表明采用时间-活动模式与微环境空气质量监测结果相结合方法估计的儿童NO_x暴露水平与个体实际暴露水平一致.