Twenty-five years of biomonitoring lead in the Frankfurt/Main area

The present study is an example of the historical monitoring of heavy metals. The specific question it aims to explore is: to what extent has the lead content of selected organisms used for biomonitoring in Frankfurt/Main—one of the cities in Germany most heavily affected by automobile traffic—changed as a result of legislation on leaded gasoline?

Data on the lead content of the moss speciesBryum argenteum Hedw. from the years 1974, 1975 and 1978 and data on the lead content of the outer bark of the ash speciesFraxinus excelsior L. from 1973 served as the basis for the repeated measurements. Remeasurement was successful in 76.5% (i.e. 124 trees at 26 growth sites). The study produced the following results:

• ? As was expected, the lead content of the short-term accumulatorBryum argenteum Hedw. was distinctly lowered with a decreasing particulate lead concentration. However, the reduction factor varied greatly between the different growth sites.
• ? On the other hand, the lead content measured in the outer bark layers ofFraxinus excelsior L. has risen markedly during the past two decades. Whereas in 1973 nearly all trees examined displayed very low concentrations of lead (< 38 ppm), only 9.5% were still in this category in 1997 and nearly 30% exhibited high or even unacceptable lead concentrations (< 150 ppm → > 225 ppm). Various factors have to be taken into account to explain this increase. First of all, bark is a long-term accumulator for heavy metals like lead and its enrichment capacity could have increased as the surface becomes rougher over time. Furthermore, lead is most probably leached out of the bark to a lesser degree now than in the 1970s, owing to the reduced concentration of sulphuric acid in the rain. The dramatic growth of automobile traffic in the Frankfurt/Main area during the period covered by the study undoubtedly plays an important role as well.

     

广州市报废机动车回收企业二次污染现状及污染防治对策

界定机动车维修、报废过程中产生的固体废物、废水、土壤污染为机动车二次污染,并通过实地调查、监测分析广州市12家定点报废汽车回收公司,开展机动车二次污染现状研究。研究表明,报废机动车回收过程中对资源化金属的回收利用成效较好,但对用途不大的部件随意渠道转移,对危险废物和严控废物未能较好处理;大多没有完善废水处理设施,废水直接排放;土壤多项特征污染物超标严重。针对广州市机动车二次污染现状,提出了加强法规建设、环境监控、行业管理、清洁生产等防治措施。     

Disability among adults injured in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States

INTRODUCTION: Little population-based information exists about the long-term effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries. METHOD: We analyzed data from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability (NHIS-D) Supplement to estimate the prevalence of crash-related disability among noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. RESULTS: More than 1.2 million adults were living in their homes with the disabling effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries in 1995. The prevalence of crash-related disability was highest for persons in their mid-life years, ages 35-64. Half of the respondents had sustained the injuries more than 5 years before the interview. Forty-one percent of working-aged individuals reported being unable to work because of their disability. CONCLUSIONS: Because crash-related disability is most prevalent during the mid-life years, quality of life and productivity may be affected for decades. These findings highlight the personal and societal burden associated with motor-vehicle crash-related disability in the United States.     

Physiological responses of some tree species under roadside automobile pollution stress around city of Haridwar,India

Studies were carried out to determine the physiological response of few economically important tree species viz., Mango (Mangifera indica), Eucalyptus citriodora, Sagon (Tectona grandis) and Sal (Shorea robusta) to roadside automobile pollution during 2004–2005. By determining some physiological parameters, which included chlorophyll a, and b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, pH and relative water content, impact of automobile exhaust on these species was assessed. The data obtained were further analyzed by using one-way ANOVA and a significant change in all these parameters was found in the leaf samples collected from road side trees, exposed to automobile exhausts in comparison to control. Higher value of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) was recorded for S. robusta (9.02) while the minimum value of APTI was recorded for M. indica (6.76).     

推行无铅汽油对交通道路环境空气的影响分析

通过环境空气铅污染的调查对沈阳市推行无铅汽油，治理铅污染的效果进行分析评价。     

Fuel consumption and gasoline prices: The role of assortative matching between households and automobiles

Analyses of policies to reduce gasoline consumption have focused on two effects, a compositional effect on the fuel economy of the automotive fleet and a utilization effect on how much people drive. However, the literature has missed a third effect: a matching effect, in which policies change how high-utilization households are matched to fuel-efficient vehicles in equilibrium. We show that higher gas prices should lead to stronger assortative matching. Empirical estimates using US micro-level data are consistent with this hypothesis. We find a $0.50 increase in the gas tax would reduce US gas consumption by 0.8% through the matching effect alone, bringing annual environmental benefits of about $1.7 billion.     

Hydrogen infrastructure build-up for automotive applications

Some lessons for the introduction of hydrogen fueled vehicles can be learned from experience gained by the introduction of natural gas fueled vehicles, either in Europe or in Argentina. While the European efforts have failed, at least until today, Argentina has achieved a remarkable market share of about 20% natural gas vehicles since the early 80ies. Beyond a short review on the constituents of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure, the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-example is analyzed to formulate some ‘must be’s’ for the successful introduction of hydrogen refueling infrastructure: Clear concerted signals have to be sent by all important players, the politicians as well as the involved industry from car producers to fuel suppliers. Bi-fueled hybrid vehicles are not seen as a proper tool, as they are forcing neither the user to look for hydrogen nor the supplier to provide hydrogen. After general considerations, various strategies and policies of different countries and manufacturers are reviewed. For instance, the electric hybrid cars as already today introduced by some Japanese manufacturers offer the chance of settling a maintenance infrastructure for electric drive systems already today which can be easily extended to cover full fuel cell drive systems, once they are available.     

汽车电动助力转向装置的安全性探讨

电动助力转向装置是汽车上一种新的助力转向系统装置 ,近年来在国内外发展迅速 ,由于它采用了可编程电子控制装置 ,在带来灵活性的同时也存在着安全隐患。在分析这种产品特殊性的基础上 ,笔者结合电子控制装置的特点 ,指出了事关安全性的因素 ,提出了处理安全性的措施 ,并讨论了几个事关安全性的具体问题。研究结果表明 :现有标准不能够满足电动助力转向装置安全性的需要 ;并提出了对电动助力转向装置进行安全性测评的思想。研究工作对电动助力转向装置的开发以及评价具有参考意义。