Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Feeding rates and diel vertical migration of copepods near South Georgia: comparison of shelf and oceanic sites

Seventeen Longhurst Hardy Plankton Recorder profiles were taken over a diel cycle in January 1990 to study the feeding of four major copepods over the South Georgia shelf. Ontogenetic changes in vertical migration were followed and feeding cycles determined by gut fluorometry for Calanoides acutus Stage CV, Calanus sinillimus CV and CVI, C. propinquus CV and Rhincalanus gigas CV and CVI. In common with a neighbouring oceanic site visited two weeks later and reported elsewhere, all four species had a diel cycle of feeding and migration. The vertical distributions of C. simillimus (all stages), R. gigas (nauplii) and Euphausia frigida (postlarvae) were similar at both sites, the night being spent within the chlorophyll maximum at 15 to 30 m. However, the biomass dominants, C. acutus and R. gigas, dwelt below the chlorophyll maximum, about 30 m deeper than their oceanic counterparts. Unlike the oceanic site, feeding at the shelf site was not restricted to darkness, but increased 6 to 10 h before nightfall and finished at dawn; the intervening period coincided with sinking and digestion. Daylight feeding may have been induced by the shorter night, lower light levels or greater food requirements at the shelf site, despite planktonic predators being over three times more abundant. Daily ration estimates for R. gigas at both sites were only 2% body carbon per day. These low values contrast with its smaller competirors, whose rations were in the range 5.6 to 27%.     

Applying mathematical programming to reserve selection

During the last 10–15 years heuristic methods have been developed for problems in optimal reserve selection. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that heuristics will find optimal solutions. In recognizing this limitation, analysts have formulated reserve selection problems as set covering problems, for which matrix reduction and integer (0/1) programming can be used to find optimal solutions. In this paper we restate the set covering formulation and review solution techniques. A new 0/1 programming model, which is a generalization of the set covering model, is then presented and applied to a hypothetical reserve selection problem. Objectives of minimizing the number of sites selected and maximizing the number of species represented are addressed. Solutions which characterize the tradeoffs between these objectives provide a rich set of information for planners and decision makers. Applications of mathematical programming to related problems in land use planning and forestry are also discussed.     

Characterizing soils for hazardous waste site assessments

This paper provides a review and justification of the minimum data needed to characterize soils for hazardous waste site assessments and to comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Scientists and managers within the regulatory agency and the liable party need to know what are the important soil characteristics needed to make decisions about risk assessment, what areas need remediation and what remediation options are available. If all parties involved in characterizing a hazardous waste site can agree on the required soils data set prior to starting a site investigation, data can be collected in a more efficient and less costly manner. Having the proper data will aid in reaching decisions on how to address concerns at, and close-out, hazardous waste sites.This paper was prepared to address two specific concerns related to soil characterization for CERCLA remedial response. The first concern is the applicability of traditional soil classification methods to CERCLA soil characterization. The second is the identification of soil characterization data type required for CERCLA risk assessment and analysis of remedial alternatives. These concerns are related, in that the Data Quality Objective (DQO) process addresses both. The DQO process was developed in part to assist CERCLA decision-makers in identifying the data types, data quality, and data quantity required to support decisions that must be made during the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) process. Data Quality Objectives for Remedial Response Activities: Development Process (US EPA, 1987a) is a guidebook on developing DQOs. This process as it relates to CERCLA soil characterization is discussed in the Data Quality Objective Section of this paper.     

Characterization of microbial communities from coastal waters using microarrays

Molecular methods, including DNA probes, were used to identify and enumerate pathogenic Vibrio species in the Chesapeake Bay; our data indicated that Vibrio vulnificus exhibits seasonal fluctuations in number. Our work included a characterization of total microbial communities from the Bay; development of microarrays that identify and quantify the diversity of those communities; and observation of temporal changes in those communities. To identify members of the microbial community, we amplified the 16S rDNA gene from community DNA isolated from a biofilm sample collected from the Chesapeake Bay in February, 2000. The resultant 75 sequences were 95% or more similar to 7 species including two recently described Shewanella species, baltica and frigidimarina, that have not been previously isolated from the Chesapeake. When the genera of bacteria from biofilm after culturing are compared to those detected by subcloning amplified 16S fragments from community DNA, the cultured sample exhibited a strong bias. In oysters collected in February, the most common bacteria were previously unknown. Based on our 16S findings, we are developing microarrays to detect these and other microbial species in these estuarine communities. The microarrays will detect each species using four distinct loci, with the multiple loci serving as an internal control. The accuracy of the microarray will be measured using sentinel species such as Aeromonas species, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio vulnificus. Using microarrays, it should be possible to determine the annual fluctuations of bacterial species (culturable and non-culturable, pathogenic and non-pathogenic). The data may be applied to understanding patterns of environmental change; assessing the health of the Bay; and evaluating the risk of human illness associated with exposure to and ingestion of water and shellfish.     

Erythroid-specific antibodies enhance detection of fetal nucleated erythrocytes in maternal blood

Fetal nucleated erythrocytes (NRBC) in maternal blood are a non-invasive source of fetal DNA for prenatal genetic screening. We compared the effectiveness of three monoclonal antibodies for the separation of fetal cells from maternal blood by flow sorting. Mononuclear blood cells from 49 healthy pregnant women were incubated with antibody to CD 71, CD 36, and/or glycophorin A (GPA), employed singly or in combination with each other. These monoclonal antibodies recognize surface antigens on haematopoietic precursor cells. Successful isolation of fetal cells was defined as detection of Y chromosomal sequences in maternal blood from women carrying male fetuses, with absence of Y sequences when female fetuses were carried. Thus, gender prediction accuracy was used as a measure of fetal cell separation. Using anti-CD 71 to isolate fetal cells, gender prediction was 57 per cent correct; with anti-CD 36, it was 88 per cent correct. Anti-GPA, an erythrocyte-specific antigen, used alone or in combination with anti-CD 71 or 36, improved gender prediction to 100 per cent. We conclude that antibody to GPA improves the retrieval of fetal NRBC from maternal blood, permitting genetic analysis by the polymerase chain reaction.     

Transcervical CVS sample size: Correlation with placental location,cytogenetic findings,and pregnancy outcome

Data from 2907 transcervical CVS cases performed on singleton pregnancies were reviewed retrospectively and villus sample size was correlated with cytogenetic results, placental location, maternal age at the expected date of confinement (EDC), gestational age at the time of sampling, birth weight, gestational age at the time of delivery, and pregnancy outcome. No correlation was noted between villus sample size and maternal age, gestational age at sampling, gestational age at delivery, birth weight, or pregnancy outcome. An inverse correlation between villus sample size and percentage of abnormal cytogenetic findings was statistically significant (X² = 8·53, p <0·01). The percentage of small samples was greater when the placenta was anterior, lateral, or fundal than when the placenta was posterior.     

Interregional burden-sharing of greenhouse gas mitigation in the United States

Emissions trading is anattractive candidate for implementinggreenhouse gas mitigation, because it canpromote both efficiency and equity. Thispaper analyzes the interregional impacts ofalternative allocations of carbon dioxideemission permits within the U.S. Theanalysis is performed with the aid of anonlinear programming model for ten EPARegions and for six alternative permitdistribution formulas. The reason thatvarious alternatives need to be consideredis that there is no universal consensus onthe best definition of equity. Advanceknowledge of absolute and relative regionaleconomic impacts provides policy-makerswith a stronger basis for making thechoice. The analysis yields several usefulresults. First, the simulations indicatethat no matter how permits are allocated,this policy instrument can substantiallyreduce the cost of GHG mitigation for theU.S. in comparison to a system of fixedquotas for each of its regions. Interestingly, the welfare impacts ofseveral of the allocation formulas differonly slightly despite the large differencesin their philosophical underpinnings. Also, the results for some equity criteriadiffer greatly from their application inthe international domain. For example, theEgalitarian (per capita) criterion resultsin the relatively greatest cost burdenbeing incurred by one of the regions of theU.S. with the lowest per capita income.