Water Quality Evaluation and Trend Analysis in Selected Watersheds of the Atlantic Region of Canada

Water quality indices (WQIs) have been developed to assess the suitability of water for a variety of uses. These indices reflect the status of water quality in lakes, streams, rivers, and reservoirs. The concept of WQIs is based on a comparison of the concentration of contaminants with the respective environmental standards. The number, frequency, and magnitude by which the environmental standards for specific variables are not met in a given time period are reflected in WQIs. Further, the water quality trend analysis predicts the behavior of the water quality parameters and overall water quality in the time domain. In this paper, the concept of WQI was applied to three selected watersheds of Atlantic region: the Mersey River, the Point Wolfe River, and the Dunk River sites. To have robust study, two different water quality indices are used: Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI), and British Columbia Water Quality Index (BWQI). The complete study was conducted in two steps. The first step was to organize and process the data into a format compatible with WQI analysis. After processing the input data, the WQI was calculated. The second step outlined in the paper discusses detailed trend analysis using linear and quadratic models for all the three sites. As per the 25 years trend analysis, overall water quality for agriculture use observed an improving trend at all the three sites studied. Water quality for raw water used for drinking (prior to treatment) and aquatic uses has shown improving trend at Point Wolfe River. It is further observed that pH, SO₄, and NO₃ concentrations are improving at Dunk River, Mersey River, and Point Wolfe River sites. To ascertain the reliability and significance of the trend analysis, a detailed error analysis and parametric significance tests were also conducted It was observed that for most of the sites and water uses quadratic trend models were a better fit than the linear models.     

Ethical and legal implications in IVF and prenatal diagnosis in the U.K.

The natural desire for couples to be parents and the medical practitioner's inability to treat most genetic diseases have been responsible for some of the most exciting research into infertility and genetic disorders. This has led in the United Kingdom to the establishment of the Warnock Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilization and its report in 1984, and to a Review of the guidance on Research Use of Fetuses and Fetal Material published in 1989 and known as the Polkinghorne Report. The Warnock Report, among other ethical issues, considers the most fundamental question which has been debated for thousands of years, namely, What is life and when does it begin? More recently, the report has been responsible for new legislation which imposes ethical and legal restrictions on the scientific and medical community. The Polkinghorne Report recommends a voluntary code of practice which is morally and ethically acceptable within our society. We are also fortunate in the U.K. to have a parliamentary structure which allows debate on such important human issues and is prepared to impose ethical restrictions.     

化学品环境管理技术支持体系中的标准和技术规范

分析了化学品环境管理的特点,提出了化学品环境管理技术支持体系的构建原则及基本内容。着重论述了化学品环境管理技术支持体系中化学品测试标准、化学品测试合格实验室标准、新化学物质危害评估标准、现有化学物质风险评价标准和中国现有化学物质名录等5个重要标准和技术规范的意义、作用、主要内容及其相互关系。结合有关标准和技术规范研究的进展,提出了持续性改进的建议。      

地下水环境影响评价导则执行过程中遇到的问题及建议

对中国各地区地下水的水质情况进行了调查,分析了地下水环境管理和保护工作中的问题,指出地下水污染防治工作的重要性、迫切性。对《环境影响评价技术导则地下水环境》(HJ 610-2011)的工作等级划分、环境影响识别、环境现状调查、影响评价及污染防治等内容进行了简要介绍,汇总了评价导则执行后,对各类项目进行地下水评价过程中遇到的困难和问题,并在对各种问题进行分析的基础上,提出了有针对性的解决方法和建议。     

Sources and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from the Spanish northern continental shelf. Assessment of spatial and temporal trends

The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was determined in surface sediments collected at 36 stations along the Spanish Northern continental shelf in March and September 2003, and February 2005. Concentrations of PAHs (Σ13 parent components) were in the range of 22-47528 μg/kg dw, the highest values corresponding to coastal urban-industrial hotspots and decreasing offshore. Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) showed that concentrations of total PAHs were below the threshold effect level (TEC) in 27 stations (81%) and above in 7, two of which (Gijon and Bilbao) were above the probable effect concentration (PEC). The detailed study of diagnostic ratios suggested a rather uniform mixture of petrogenic and pyrolytic PAH sources along the continental shelf, with a slight decrease of the latter moving westwards and offshore. In order to assess the incidence of sediment sampling on the variability of the results, selected stations were also monitored in February and September 2004 and September 2005. The average field variance of the values obtained for each station was 31% that decreased to 23% when the values were normalized to TOC.     

Effectiveness of Voluntary Conservation Agreements: Case Study of Endangered Whales and Commercial Whale Watching

Abstract: The use of voluntary approaches to achieve conservation goals is becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, few researchers have quantitatively evaluated their efficacy. In 1998 industry, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations established a voluntary conservation program for whale watching in the northeast region of the United States, with the intent to avoid collisions with and harassment of endangered whales by commercial and recreational whale‐watching vessels. One important aspect of the program was the establishment of 3 speed zones within specific distances of whales. We wanted to determine the level of compliance with this aspect of the program to gauge its efficacy and gain insights into the effectiveness of voluntary measures as a conservation tool. Inconspicuous observers accompanied 46 commercial whale‐watching trips from 12 companies in 2003 (n= 35) and 2004 (n= 11). During each trip, vessel position and speed were collected at 5‐second intervals with a GPS receiver. Binoculars with internal laser rangefinders and digital compasses were used to record range and bearing to sighted whales. We mapped whale locations with ArcGIS. We created speed‐zone buffers around sighted whales and overlaid them with vessel‐track and speed data to evaluate compliance. Speeds in excess of those recommended by the program were considered noncompliant. We judged the magnitude of noncompliance by comparing a vessel's maximum speed within a zone to its maximum recorded trip speed. The level of noncompliance was high (mean 0.78; company range 0.74–0.88), some companies were more compliant than others (p= 0.02), noncompliance was significantly higher in zones farther from whales (p < 0.001), and operators approached the maximum speed capabilities of their vessel in all zones. The voluntary conservation program did not achieve the goal of substantially limiting vessel speed near whales. Our results support the need for conservation programs to have quantifiable metrics and frequent evaluation to ensure efficacy.     

食物链途径人体健康风险评估的关键内容探讨

食物是人类生存的重要保障,食品安全事关人类生命健康.食品污染始于农田耕地,还包括生产制造、包装、贮存、运输、加工等环节,每个步骤处理不当都可能发生食品安全问题.农田为食物来源的基石,是空气、水体中污染物的汇,随着城市的扩张,人类经济活动导致农田污染加剧.人类从食物中摄取污染物与经口、呼吸、皮肤的途径一样,是人体健康风险评估不可缺少的考量因素之一.我国对食品安全非常重视,2010年1月原卫生部根据《食品安全法》建立《食品安全风险监测管理规定》和《食品安全风险评估管理规定》(试行),这两份文件涵盖了从土壤到餐桌一系列的风险过程.但由于每个过程产生的原因、污染物影响机制均不同,规定离具体实际应用目标还很远.2014年环保部以保护生态环境,保障人体健康为根本,为加强污染场地环境保护监督管理,规范污染场地人体健康风险评估,发布了《污染场地风险评估技术导则》,该文建立了土壤污染造成人体健康风险评价的操作方法.然而导则考虑了经口、皮肤、呼吸及饮用地下水等9种暴露途径和评估模型,唯独缺少经食物链暴露这一重要途径的相关内容.本文以英、美两国食物链途径的场地污染风险评估为依据开展了详细探讨,深入分析了评估程序中关于土地利用方式的分类、目标人群暴露特征、污染物在食物链中传输路径、模型选取及暴露参数等内容,以期为我国制定《食物链暴露途径风险评估导则》提供一定的参考依据和指导方法.     

Proposal of Indicators to Assess Urban Sustainability in Brazil

The research related here focuses on municipal situations where problems of sustainability may be defined and tackled on the basis of bottom-up management procedures with the participation of organized society. The aim is to build management models that may be implemented with reasonable administrative effort and cost. Implementation pursues the target of approaching a sustainable situation in the municipality. Environmental parameters for an ideal municipality with undefined geographical location are presented. For each parameter, a set of indicators is developed that can measure the prospect of sustainability. The indicators are defined in terms of numbers or literal concepts according to the possibility of measurement. Examples of management models are presented, which are able to approach the situation defined as sustainable by the indicators. The basic management tool is the learning curve of targeted communities, which is experimentally developed and applied. The indicators are grouped according to their range of applicability.     

Derivation of Nutrient Guidelines for Streams in Victoria, Australia

Human induced increases to nutrientconcentrations in streams have led to many agenciesdeveloping strategies and criteria for nutrientreduction. National or statewide guidelines aregenerally inappropriate, due to the natural variabilityin stream ecosystems within political boundaries. Thisstudy used an extant aquatic macroinvertebrate-basedregionalisation for the state of Victoria, Australia, asthe basis for defining regions of relatively homogeneousenvironmental character. This enabled the selection ofecologically-based regional reference sites andsubsequent characterisation of the nutrient status ofthese sites. Using an extensive biological and nutrientdata base for streams across the State, we calculated50th and 75th percentile concentrations forreference sites within each region. Using thesepercentiles in conjunction with impact and recoverystudies, we defined nutrient guidelines for each region. Although the nutrient data largely supported thebiological regionalisation, patterns in the nutrient datadid require some minor modifications for the nutrientregions. Relatively unimpacted regions with referencesites in very good-to excellent-condition were assignedguidelines largely based on the 75th percentiles. The more impacted regions, where best availablereference sites were of poorer quality, were assignedguidelines based largely on the 50th percentiles. Professional judgement and known extents of impactsacross each region provided important contributions tothe decision-making process. The derived guidelineconcentrations are comparable to several cited in theliterature and are proposed for use in monitoring,assessment and restoration targets.     

江西省工业园区环境报告书编制导则研究

研究对于江西省工业园区环境信息的公开,提高环境信息公开内容的准确性,实现不同园区间环境业绩的比较,促进工业园区自主环保、积极引导和公众广泛参与环境管理机制的形成具有重要意义.文章介绍了工业园区在全国和江西省经济社会发展中的重要作用,分析江西省工业园区污染物排放现状与趋势以及国内外导则编制研究情况,重点对导则主要技术内容和分类进行说明,分析了导则实施的可行性,提出了实施建议.