Freshwater alga Raphidocelis subcapitata undergoes metabolomic changes in response to electrostatic adhesion by micrometer-sized nylon 6 particles

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nylon powders are a type of microplastic (MP) used in personal care products such as cosmetics and sunscreens. To determine the effects of nylon...     

Initial ecological risk assessment of eight selected human pharmaceuticals in Japan.

Eight pharmaceuticals were selected on the basis of their domestic consumption in Japan, the excretion ratio of the parent compound and the frequency of detection in the aquatic environment or wastewater treatment plant effluent. Toxicity tests on these pharmaceuticals were conducted using Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), daphnia (Daphnia magna), and green algae (Psuedokirchneriella subcapitata). Predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) was calculated using lethal or effect concentration 50 (LC50 or EC50) values and no effect concentration (NOEC) obtained in the toxicity tests for these compounds. Predicted environmental concentration (PEC) was also calculated from annual consumption, the excretion rate of the parent compound, and removal rate in the preliminary batch activated sludge treatment performed in this study. Maximum concentrations found in the aquatic environment or sewage effluent in Japan or foreign countries were also used for another calculation of PEC. Initial risk assessment on the selected pharmaceuticals was performed using the PEC/PNEC ratio. The results of initial risk assessment on the eight selected pharmaceuticals suggest neither urgent nor severe concern for the ecological risk of these compounds, but further study needs to be conducted using chronic toxicity tests, including reproduction inhibition and endocrine disruption assessments.     

A comparative study on the autoxidation of dimethyl ether (DME) comparison with diethyl ether (DEE) and diisopropyl ether (DIPE)

The Japanese government is planning to introduce DME as a substituted energy for oil and LNG. Introduction of DME could contribute greatly to both the prevention of global warming and the formation of resource-recycling societies. In these circumstances, a safety assessment of DME is very important when DME is used on a large scale. There is a possibility that prolonged exposure in air induces autoxidation to produce explosive organic peroxides during transportation and storage of DME. Therefore, the reactivity of DME with oxygen and the mechanism of the autoxidation were investigated. Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC) was used to evaluate the thermal stability of DME and DIPE, a known peroxide producers, under adiabatic and various atmospheric conditions. In ARC studies of DME under oxygen, exothermic decompositions were detected although its self-heating rate was low in comparison with DIPE. Oven storage tests were carried out and iodimetry was used to measure the concentration of peroxides produced from DME in comparison with DIPE and DEE. However, no products could be found for DME either by GC/MS or by iodimetry, while some evidence of autoxidation of both DEE and DIPE were obtained from these experiments.     

Effects of tributyltin on the energy metabolism of pen shell (Atrina pectinata japonica)

We examined the effects of tributyltin (TBT) on aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism of pen shell (Atrina pectinata japonica). We exposed pen shells to TBT at nominal concentrations of 0 (control) and 1.0microg/l for 72h under aerobic condition. At the end of the exposure, half of the pen shells in each treatment were wrapped in plastic wrap to simulate exposure to hypoxia and held at 25 degrees C for another 12h. The concentrations of the products of energy metabolism, namely lactate, pyruvate, fumarate and succinate, in adductor muscle were measured. The exposure to TBT under aerobic condition significantly elevated lactate, pyruvate and fumarate concentrations (p<0.001). After subsequent exposure to anaerobic condition, the mean concentration of succinate in the TBT treatment group was 64% of that in the control group, but there were no significant differences. Our results suggest that the energy metabolism of pen shell is disrupted by exposure to TBT.     

Remediation of cadmium-contaminated paddy soils by washing with chemicals: effect of soil washing on cadmium uptake by soybean

We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the effect of soil washing with CaCl(2) on Cd absorption by two soybean cultivars. The results were as follows: (1) Soybean growth was not significantly different in washed and unwashed soils, but the seed Cd concentration for both cultivars decreased significantly, up to 25%, in the washed soils compared with the unwashed soils. (2) In the washed soils, the Cd concentration in the soil solution indicated an obviously lower value from sowing to the flowering stage; however, the change in Cd speciation was not evident in the CaCl(2)-washed soil solution. Consequently, the effect of soil washing using CaCl(2) on Cd-contaminated paddy soils can be expected to continue after a CaCl(2)-washed paddy field is converted to an upland field.     

Designing a purification process for chromium-, copper- and arsenic-contaminated wood

The disposal of chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood is becoming a serious problem in many countries due to increasing levels of contamination by the hazardous elements, chromium, copper and arsenic. The present experiment was conducted as a preliminary step toward one-step solvent extraction of CCA-treated wood. Because chromium, copper and arsenic have different chemical characteristics, it is best to consider them separately prior to designing a one-step extraction process. As a basis, various two-step extraction processes were first designed and tested experimentally to determine feasibility. Among these combinations, the treatment combining oxalic acid as the 1st step and a sodium oxalate solution under acidic conditions (pH 3.2) as the 2nd step was found to be an effective way of extracting CCA elements from treated wood. Extraction efficiency reached 100% for arsenic and chromium and 95.8% for copper after a 3-h sodium oxalate treatment, following a 1-h pre-extraction process with oxalic acid. On the other hand, the same combination under alkaline conditions (pH 11.2) during the 2nd step was ineffective for copper removal, indicating that pH plays an important role in complexation with sodium oxalate solution. The present results suggest that the extraction of CCA elements using a combination of oxalic acid and acidic sodium oxalate solution is a promising basis for application to a one-step extraction method.     

基于Logistic回归的燃气管网风险因素重要度分析方法研究

为确定燃气管网风险评估的关键风险因素,以A省各地市燃气管网为研究对象,基于燃气专家经验确定燃气管线风险等级,提出基于Logistic回归的燃气管网风险因素重要度分析方法。采用样本增强及随机抽样的方式,选取400个均衡样本作为管网评估数据输入,通过因子分析方法对其进行降维,得到3个公共因子并作为一级指标反向构建燃气管网风险评估指标体系;利用有序多分类Logistic回归方法,根据回归系数绝对值大小对风险因素进行重要度排序。研究结果表明：外界环境对燃气管网风险的贡献程度相对较高,管道自身因素和巡检养护次之。研究结果可为城市燃气风险防控提供理论依据和方法参考。     

摇动床生物膜反应器和活性污泥法组合技术处理高浓度有机废水的研究

利用摇动床生物膜反应器(简称摇动床)技术具有的容积负荷高与污泥产量低的优点,在普通活性污泥池的前部填充高性能丙烯酸树脂纤维(Biofringe)填料,研究了摇动床和活性污泥法组合技术处理高浓度有机废水的有效性。结果表明,该组合技术具有很强的有机物去除能力,当进水COD平均质量浓度由1500mg/L上升到2514mg/L时,出水COD的平均去除率基本保持在96%以上;整个运行阶段的出水COD浓度均满足《污水综合排放标准》(GB8978—1996)的二级标准;当进水NH4+-N浓度增加时,NH4+-N的去除率由99.7%降低到76.5%,但是在试验运行的整个阶段,摇动床和活性污泥法组合技术系统都表现出较强的硝化能力;活性污泥池中最高的混合液悬浮固体(MLSS)质量浓度为10625mg/L,最高MLSS约为普通活性污泥法的4倍;运行结束后的污泥产率为0.186,污泥产率仅为普通活性污泥法的50%左右。     

Mixed land-use planning on the periphery of large Asian cities: the case of Nonthaburi Province, Thailand

Throughout Asia, rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has created serious environmental problems, and the development of sustainable urban–rural planning methods is of critical importance. To improve our understanding of mixed urban–rural land uses and provide future practical visions for regional planning, we conducted a case study of the urban fringe of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand. After identifying local irrigation districts as the basic spatial unit for resource circulation, we quantified current material flows of organic wastes generated by households within each district. We then developed two different land-use scenarios for 2020: (1) a high-rise compact and (2) a low-story sprawl development scenario. These scenarios were compared in terms of efficiency of material flows and energy consumption. We found that, based on current infrastructure and technology, the latter scenario was more advantageous in terms of both material input and energy consumption than the former, thereby, identifying positive aspects of urban–rural land-use mixture. Based on these results, we propose that planners should focus on density control measures that take into account bioresource circulation within irrigation districts rather than simply drawing arbitrary land-use zoning lines. To this end, we suggest that the division between agricultural and urban planning departments must be bridged, and that research should take an interdisciplinary approach.     

Towards an international standard: The ISO/DIS 18504 standard on sustainable remediation

Sustainable remediation is the elimination and/or control of unacceptable risks in a safe and timely manner while optimizing the environmental, social, and economic value of the work. Forthcoming International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard on Sustainable Remediation will allow countries without the capacity to develop their own guidance to benefit from work done over the past decade by various groups around the world. The ISO standard has progressed through the committee draft (ISO/CD 18504) and draft international standard (ISO/DIS 18504) stages. The risk‐based approach to managing the legacy of historically contaminated soil and groundwater has been incorporated into policy, legislation, and practice around the world. It helps determine the need for remediation and the end point of such remediation. Remediation begins with an options appraisal that short lists strategies that could deliver the required reduction in risk. A remediation strategy comprises one or more remediation technologies that will deliver the safe and timely elimination and/or control of unacceptable risks. The ISO standard will help assessors identify the most sustainable among the shortlisted, valid alternative remediation strategies. Practitioners presenting case studies claiming to constitute sustainable remediation should now report how they have aligned their work with the new standard. Indicators are used to compare alternative remediation strategies. The simplest metric that allows a characteristic to act as an indicator should be chosen. Weightings indicators can become a contested exercise and should only be undertaken where there is a clear desire for it by stakeholders and a clear need for it in identifying a preferred strategy. The simplest means of ranking alternative remediation strategies should be adopted.