Opportunities and constraints for Product-oriented Environmental Management Systems (P-EMS)

Product-oriented Environmental Management Systems (P-EMS) are a logical extension of current, often primarily process- of facility-oriented Environmental Management Systems. The Dutch government promotes P-EMS as part of its product-oriented environmental policies. The idea of P-EMS is to enable producers to make environmentally responsible decisions on product development and product strategies, in collaboration with suppliers and customers. This paper summarises example P-EMS projects in The Netherlands for two segments of industry, namely retail and manufacturing industry. Moreover two other initiatives will be covered that deal with the development of tools to facilitate P-EMS in two other industry sectors (food processing and building). Success factors that emerge from these initial experiences are: focus on partners that have a strong incentive to act, application of screening Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) or user-shells for LCA, and focus on improvements that can be implemented on the short term.     

CHEMISTRY OF COALBED METHANE DISCHARGE WATER INTERACTING WITH SEMI‐ARID EPHEMERAL STREAM CHANNELS1

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to examine the chemistry of Coalbed Methane (CBM) discharge water reacting with semi‐arid ephemeral stream channels in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. The study area consisted of two ephemeral streams: Burger Draw and Sue Draw. These streams are tributaries to the perennial Powder River. Samples were collected bimonthly from three CBM discharge points and seven channel locations in Burger Draw and Sue Draw. Samples were also collected bimonthly from the Powder River above and below the confluence of Burger Draw. Before sample collection, the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured in the field. Samples were transported to the laboratory and analyzed for alkalinity, major cations, and anions. From the measurement of sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg), practical sodium adsorption ratio (SARp) and true sodium adsorption ratio (SARt) were calculated. Results suggest pH and EC of CBM discharge water was 7.1 and 4.3 dS/m, respectively. The CBM discharge water consisted of higher concentrations of sodium and alkalinity compared to other components. The pH of CBM discharge water increased significantly (p = 0.000) in the downstream channel of Burger Draw from 7.1 to 8.84 before it joined with the Powder River. Dissolved calcium concentration of CBM discharge water decreased significantly (p = 0.000) in the downstream channel water. Subsequently, SARp increased approximately from 24 to 29. The SARt also increased significantly (p = 0.001) in the downstream channel water. For instance, SARt of CBM discharge water increased from 32.93 to 45.5 downstream channels after the confluence of Sue Draw with the Burger Draw. The only significant difference in water chemistry above and below the confluence of Burger Draw with the Powder River was pH, which increased from 8.36 to 8.52. The significant increase in SAR values of CBM discharge water in Burger Draw and Sue Draw tributaries suggest a careful monitoring of salinity and sodicity is needed if CBM discharge water is used for irrigation in semi‐arid environments. Results discussed in this study will be useful to downstream water users who depend on water for irrigation.     

Using consequence analysis on some chlorine operation hazards and their possible effects on neighborhoods in central Taiwan

The applications of chlorine have been broadly used in many industrial products, such as bleaching agents, synthetic rubbers, plastics, disinfectants, iron chlorides, fire refractory materials, insecticides, and anti-freezers, etc. According to the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA), more than 30 thousand tons were used in the year 2000. In addition, there were more than 12 reported incidents from 2000 to 2003—mostly on using chlorine as disinfectants (five) and as process agents (four).

This study investigated 15 chlorine operation plants in central Taiwan. These chlorine usages included bleaching agents, disinfectants, iron chloride, synthesizing rubber plastics, and others. Thirteen plants were located in the industrial parks and two were in or near residential zones. The consequence analysis were used three different methods to analyze the worst-case scenarios (WCSs) and alternative release case scenarios (ACSs) in order to compare impact zones for applying various active and passive mitigation systems, such as confined space, scrubber, water-spray, and so no. For two plants in or near residential zones, multi-layers mitigation systems and operation limits should be implemented in order to enforce more stringent protection measures. However, there was no specific regulation for chlorine plants operated at different locations, such as industrial parks or residential zones. In order to reduce chemical accidents and their impacts on public safety, our results suggest that source mitigation/management and warning systems should be adopted simultaneously.     

Socio-economic Comparison Between Traditional and Improved Cultivation Methods in Agroforestry Systems, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

The East Usambara Mountains, recognized as one of the 25 most important biodiversity hot spots in the world, have a high degree of species diversity and endemism that is threatened by increasing human pressure on resources. Traditional slash and burn cultivation in the area is no longer sustainable. However, it is possible to maintain land productivity, decrease land degradation, and improve rural people’s livelihood by ameliorating cultivation methods. Improved agroforestry seems to be a very convincing and suitable method for buffer zones of conservation areas. Farmers could receive a reasonable net income from their farm with little investment in terms of time, capital, and labor. By increasing the diversity and production of already existing cultivations, the pressure on natural forests can be diminished. The present study shows a significant gap between traditional cultivation methods and improved agroforestry systems in socio-economic terms. Improved agroforestry systems provide approximately double income per capita in comparison to traditional methods. More intensified cash crop cultivation in the highlands of the East Usambara also results in double income compared to that in the lowlands. However, people are sensitive to risks of changing farming practices. Encouraging farmers to apply better land management and practice sustainable cultivation of cash crops in combination with multipurpose trees would be relevant in improving their economic situation in the relatively short term. The markets of most cash crops are already available. Improved agroforestry methods could ameliorate the living conditions of the local population and protect the natural reserves from human disturbance.     

BASIN SCALE WATER MANAGEMENT AND FORECASTING USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS1

ABSTRACT: Water scarcity in the Sevier River Basin in south‐central Utah has led water managers to seek advanced techniques for identifying optimal forecasting and management measures. To more efficiently use the limited quantity of water in the basin, better methods for control and forecasting are imperative. Basin scale management requires advanced forecasts of the availability of water. Information about long term water availability is important for decision making in terms of how much land to plant and what crops to grow; advanced daily predictions of streamflows and hydraulic characteristics of irrigation canals are of importance for managing water delivery and reservoir releases; and hourly forecasts of flows in tributary streams to account for diurnal fluctuations are vital to more precisely meet the day‐to‐day expectations of downstream farmers. A priori streamflow information and exogenous climate data have been used to predict future streamflows and required reservoir releases at different timescales. Data on snow water equivalent, sea surface temperatures, temperature, total solar radiation, and precipitation are fused by applying artificial neural networks to enhance long term and real time basin scale water management information. This approach has not previously been used in water resources management at the basin‐scale and could be valuable to water users in semi‐arid areas to more efficiently utilize and manage scarce water resources.     

循环水养殖系统中流化床水处理性能及硝化动力学分析

为综合评价流化床生物滤器的水处理性能,选用玻璃珠和石英砂为生物填料,将两滤器应用于罗非鱼循环水养殖系统,探讨了其对养殖水体中营养盐和有机物的去除效果.结果表明,两滤器经过4周的流水挂膜后,生物膜稳定成熟,通过扫描电镜观察填料表面,发现挂膜前后载体表面发生了显著的变化.在优化工况下,以玻璃珠为填料的滤器对TAN的平均去除负荷达到了(346.8±150.5)g/(m3·d),显著高于以石英砂为填料的滤器,但两滤器对COD、BOD5和PO43--P的去除率无显著差别,去除率稳定于20%~21.4%、50.1%~58.4%和7.9%~31.9%之间,显示出较好的水处理性能,出水水质符合罗非鱼生长要求.最后,基于Monod方程,拟合了实际工况下以玻璃珠为填料流化床生物滤器的硝化动力学方程,为该滤器在循环水养殖系统中的高效运行和应用提供一定的技术支撑.     

长期施肥对红壤稻田耕层土壤碳储量的影响

以红壤性稻田土壤为对象,研究了长期施肥（1990～2006年）对稻田表层土壤碳储量及固碳潜力的影响,讨论了耕层厚度变化对碳储量估算及处理间差异的影响.研究发现,与长期施用化肥相比,有机物的循环利用能显著提高红壤性稻田土壤碳储量,其碳储量为57.7～66.2 t/hm²,比试验前高出18.7～27.2 t/hm²,而长期施用化肥碳储量提高幅度平均为5.4 t/hm².红壤性稻田土壤饱和固碳量为84.0 t/hm²,与目前碳储量相比还有17.8～43.7 t/hm²的固碳潜力.研究证实,土壤碳储量与土壤容重和表层土壤厚度的变化密切相关,以20 cm或23 cm作为统计厚度估算表层土壤的碳储量将分别低估20.6％和11.3％,其中有机物施用处理碳储量低估幅度最大（分别为26.8％和18.9％）;另外,用相同统计厚度进行碳储量估算减小了不同施肥处理间的差异.从稻田土壤碳储量及固碳潜力来考虑,有机物配合化肥施用是红壤稻田较优的施肥方式.     

抗生素药物诺氟沙星对锦鲤的毒性效应

为明确抗生素药物诺氟沙星对锦鲤的毒性效应,采用鱼类毒性试验方法,研究了诺氟沙星(Norfloxacin,NFLX)对锦鲤的急性毒性和亚急性毒性效应.结果表明,当NFLX暴露质量浓度达到1 000 mg/L时,NFLX对锦鲤无急性毒性.NFLK暴露15 d,在1 mg/L、5 mg/L、25mg/L和125 mg/L 4个组中,5 mg/L组锦鲤肝脏SOD活性在6d时达到最大(p＜0.01);125 mg./L组MDA含量在15 d时达到最大值(p＜0.01);25 mg/L、125 mg/L组锦鲤肝脏中MDA含量与暴露时间呈正相关,相关系数分别为0.938 1、0.953 5.各组GST活性和GSH质量比均受到不同程度的诱导,1 mg/L组NFLX可使鱼肝GST与GSH产生适应性反应;5 mg/L组诱导GST与GSH效应最为显著,呈现“钟形”变化趋势,5 mg/L很可能是NFLX对GST活性和GSH质量比影响的一个阈值或转折点.鱼肝GPT与GOT活性变化表现出一定的相似性,均呈现先升高后降低的变化规律,其中5 mg/L组被诱导效应最为显著(p＜0.01).5 mg/L很可能是锦鲤适应NFLX暴露和机体中生物酶发挥作用的一个转折点.比较上述抗氧化和转氨酶指标的敏感性和稳定性发现,在NFLX作用下,锦鲤肝脏中GST、GSH两个指标对NFLX的反应比SOD、MDA、GPT、GOT灵敏,变化规律稳定,更适合评价水环境中NFLX暴露的毒性效应.     

土霉素对小麦种子发芽与幼苗生长发育的生态毒性

研究了土霉素对小麦种子发芽以及早期幼苗生长发育的生态毒性效应.结果表明,土霉素对小麦种子芽长及根长的抑制效应显著(p<0.01),而且它们之间具有良好的剂量-效应关系.根据线性回归方程得出土霉素对小麦种子芽长和根长的半抑制浓度为65.5 mg/L和34.7 mg/L.然而,土霉素对小麦种子的发芽率并没有显著的影响.研究还表明,0.15~2.4 mg/L土霉素暴露21 d后,小麦叶片中的叶绿素含量降低了35.6%~47.3%,叶片及根部的可溶性蛋白含量也均呈显著下降趋势.暴露7 d后,0.15~2.4 mg/L土霉素对小麦叶片和根部SOD与POD活性的抑制效应不显著,但随着暴露时间的延长,土霉素对小麦的SOD与POD酶活性抑制率显著下降;2.4 mg/L土霉素暴露21 d后,小麦根部的SOD活性下降72.3%,说明土霉素对小麦幼苗体内的抗氧化系统具有破坏作用.该实验结果显示,低浓度土霉素长期暴露对小麦幼苗的生长发育具有不良的生态毒性效应.     

生命线工程网络抗震可靠性分析方法的比较研究

生命线工程网络抗震可靠性分析是进行生命线工程系统规划、设计、改造与优化的基础。因此 ,寻找一种高效的适应性强的系统可靠性分析方法对实际工程应用具有重要的意义。本文主要介绍两种高效的网络系统两终端连通可靠性分析方法———递推分解算法和有序二分决策图算法。首先 ,分别对两种算法的原理及实现过程进行了详细的论述和说明 ,并且用c语言编制了二分决策图算法的计算程序。然后 ,利用这两种方法及随机模拟算法对 2 0个以往研究中的经典算例和两个实际工程网络———河南省电力网和上海市浦西供水管网 ,进行了网络系统抗震连通可靠性分析。通过对实例分析结果的比较研究 ,得到了一些经验性的结论 ,以期为优化设计工程网络时选择系统可靠性的分析工具提供参考。研究表明 ,由于递推分解算法具有适应性强和能够求得问题近似解的优点 ,因此有良好的实际工程应用前景。