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Contamination of Barcelona harbor sediments was assessed by the quantitative determination of butyltins (TBT, DBT and MBT) and surfactant intermediates, namely linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) and nonylphenols (NPs), as markers of urban and industrial wastewater contamination, respectively. Degradation indexes of TBT and LABs were calculated. Tributyltin predominated in the whole area over its degradation products, ranging from 98 to 4702 ng Sn/g. These elevated concentrations reveal a persistent historical contamination and a moderate degradation (BT(deg)). Moreover, the high LAB concentrations (1.2-53.1 microg/g) compared to the relatively low NP levels (3.8-72.0 ng/g) suggest a predominance of urban over industrial wastewater inputs, although a significant correlation (r(2) = 0.82, N = 12, P = 0.001) between LABs and NPs was found. Stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows (CSO) were likely the most possible sources for both surfactant intermediates. The high degradation index values obtained for LABs could indicate an improvement in the wastewater management reducing its recent discharge into the Barcelona harbor area.
Land application of sewage sludge in China is thoroughly reviewed. Operation of sewage sludge disposal is usually expensive and/or easy to contaminate the environment. In China, most sewage sludge has not been treated and disposed of properly, resulting in environmental pollution and potential exposure to humans. In the near future, sewage sludge production in China will increase rapidly together with the dramatic increase of municipal wastewater treatment ratio (treated/produced), implying that the problem of sewage sludge disposal will become more serious and unavoidable. Proper land utilization of stabilized sewage sludge can make a positive contribution to agriculture, forestry, horticulture and city development. Heavy metals, organic pollutants and pathogens concentrated in sewage sludge during wastewater treatment are the main obstacles to land application of sewage sludge. To promote land application of sewage sludge in China, a statewide survey of sewage sludge production and harmful components in sewage sludge should be carried out. Sewage sludge management and technologies for sludge treatment and disposal suitable to Chinese conditions should be paid more attention.
I would like to start this Twenty-Eighth Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture by expressing my gratitude to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) for this unique occasion. I feel particularly honored for this opportunity to address a highly specialized and qualified audience of professionals who are specifically interested in what appears to be a forthcoming worldwide challenge, namely radiological terrorism and managing its potential radiological consequences.
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Guidelines for the handling of cytotoxic drugs and related waste in health care establishments have recently been developed by the WorkCover Authority of NSW in collaboration with the New South Wales College of Nursing. Competencies for accreditation of staff involved in the reconstitution, storage, transport, administration and management of waste related to cytotoxic drug use have also been developed.
Over 2,600 individual mechanical sewage-treatment systems were studied to determine if mandatory maintenance contracts and semiannual inspections with effluent sample collection are adequate to meet discharge standards. The following discharge standards were set: 20 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 20 mg/L for total suspended solids (TSS), and 400 organisms per 100 milliliters for fecal coliform bacteria. In 1997, 67 percent of the individual mechanical sewage-treatment systems discharging in Will County, Illinois, were in violation of at least one discharge standard. The overall cost of management, shared by the homeowners and the county health department, ranged from $350 to $725 per year.
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Water pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) led to revised federal regulations in the United States. The regulations provide for the greater management of potential sources of agricultural contamination and impose additional financial costs on producers. Along with a duty to secure a permit, significant changes address coverage of pollutants, separation of production and land application areas, effluent limitation guidelines, and differentiating agricultural storm water discharges from other discharges. The revised provisions require more producers to secure National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and mandate that large CAFOs develop technology-based effluent discharge limitations involving best management practices. Medium- and small-sized CAFOs need to adopt technology-based effluent discharge requirements employing best professional judgment. For farms raising animals that are not CAFOs, voluntary management practices may be employed to intercept pollutants before they enter waterbodies. Additional educational efforts promoting the implementation of further management practices that address the agricultural impairment of water resources may be needed.
The reuse and recycling of waste paper sludge is increasing rapidly as far as the economical and positive environmental benefits are realised. In this study, primary sludge coming from a large production plant, located in the centre of Italy, was collected and the environmental quality of the sludge was assessed through geotechnical, physical and chemical analysis and leaching tests, as required by the Italian regulation on solid waste recovery. The results suggest that primary sludge from paper industry do not represent a major threat for the environment in regard to the heavy metal content. The use of this sludge for in situ applications appears an interesting avenue for an integrated management of waste from the paper industry.
Considerable quantities of food waste can be generated at a rapid rate in ships, particularly those with large numbers of people onboard. By virtue of the amounts involved and its nature, food waste is potentially the most difficult to manage component of a ship's garbage stream, however, in most sea areas it may be dealt with by the simple expedient of direct discharge to sea. As a consequence, only minimal attention is paid to food waste management by many ship and port operators and advisory bodies, and there is a paucity of information in the available literature. The determination that management of ships' food waste is inconsequential is, however, incorrect in many circumstances. Disposal to sea is not always possible due to restrictions imposed by MARPOL 73/78 and other marine pollution control instruments. Effective management of food waste can be critical for ships that operate in areas where disposal is restricted or totally prohibited.
Differences in environmental priorities within an urban neighborhood of Beirut are analyzed. The explanatory capabilities of five categories of contextual variables are compared: socioeconomic status, locality, health, behavior, and environmental beliefs. Semi-structured interviews with key individuals in the community and residents were first conducted. Four environmental issues of concern were identified. A survey was carried out to identify the relative priority accorded by respondents to these four issues, and to measure variables likely to explain differences of opinion. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted for each of the four problems. The 99% confidence interval (CI) of the odds ratio (OR) was used as a test of significance. Respondents suffering from a respiratory disease (OR = 6.94, 99%CI = 1.54-31.25), those living in less crowded houses (OR = 4.88, 99%CI = 1.38-17.24), and those not living close to the neighborhood's industrial street (OR=5.26, 99%CI = 1.01-27.78) are significantly more likely to rank poor air quality first. Significant associations are found between poor water quality as first priority and nonpresence of a smoker in the household (OR = 6.12, 99%CI = 1.84-20.32) and perception of water salinity as a problem (OR = 7.46, 99%CI = 1.50-37.03). Males (OR = 6.94, 99%CI = 1.02-47.62) and tenants versus owners (OR = 10.49, 99%CI = 1.36-80.61) are significantly more likely to rank the residential-industrial mix first. Socioeconomic variables retain their explanatory capability in the studied neighborhood, despite relatively small income disparities. Behavioral variables, such as smoking, may be causative factors of priorities. Analyzing relative priorities, rather than "concern" or lack of it, reveals more complex patterns of association. Identifying environmental-perception divide lines can help develop a more inclusive and effective participatory environmental management.
Water professionals have often neglected the interrelationship of water and energy, leading to the inefficient use of one or other resource and adverse environmental and/or economic consequences. Bridges between water and energy professionals can and should be strengthened so that the overall objective of improved integrated management of water and energy resources can be achieved.
Road-deposited sediment (RDS) is an important environmental medium for assessing contaminant levels in urban systems. Their atmospheric resuspension has significant implications for human health, and storm water transport can directly impact aquatic biota. Data from 20 RDS samples from Palolo Valley, Oahu, Hawaii, were fractionated into six grain-size classes and analyzed for Pb using a weak HCl (0.5 M) digestion. Data indicate significant Pb contamination in all samples. Median labile Pb concentration (n = 120) was 170 mg/kg, with a range from 4 to 1750 mg/kg. The five sediment fractions < 1000 microm had statistically similar Pb concentrations, but all were significantly greater than the coarsest fraction examined (1000-2000 microm). Silt plus clay ( < 63 microm) was the single most important mass component with 38% of the total sediment stored in this fraction. Mass of sediment < 63 microm combined with a median labile Pb concentration of 222 mg/kg accounted for 51% of the total Pb load stored in road sediments. These findings are significant from an environmental management perspective, and these issues are discussed in light of street sweeper sediment grain size removal efficiencies.
As part of environmental management policies in Europe, separate collection of organic household waste and nonorganic household waste has become increasingly common. As waste is often stored indoors, this policy might increase microbial exposure in the home environment. In this study we evaluated the association between indoor storage of organic waste and levels of microbial agents in house dust. The levels of bacterial endotoxins, mold beta(1-->3)-glucans, and fungal extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) of Aspergillus and Penicillium species were determined in house dust extracts as markers of microbial exposure. House dust samples were collected in 99 homes in The Netherlands selected on the basis of whether separated organic waste was present in the house. In homes in which separated organic waste was stored indoors for 1 week or more the levels of endotoxin, EPS, and glucan were 3.2-, 7.6-, and 4. 6-fold higher, respectively (all P < 0.05), on both living room and kitchen floors than the levels in homes in which only nonorganic residual waste was stored indoors. Increased levels of endotoxin and EPS were observed, 2.6- and 2.1-fold (P < 0.1), respectively, when separated organic waste was stored indoors for 1 week or less, whereas storage of nonseparated waste indoors had no effect on microbial agent levels (P > 0.2). The presence of textile floor covering was another major determinant of microbial levels (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that increased microbial contaminant levels in homes are associated with indoor storage of separated organic waste. These increased levels might increase the risk of bioaerosol-related respiratory symptoms in susceptible people.
Tests are being conducted at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center with the purpose of assessing possible water quality changes and potential biofilm formation in the water distribution system of the International Space Station (ISS) Water Recovery and Management (WRM) System. The Biofilm Life Test and Water Degradation Study (WDS) will be discussed in this article. The Biofilm Life Test examines the potential for biofilm formation in the ISS water distribution plumbing and storage tanks. The test has two independent loops; one simulates the waste water prior to the processing by the ISS Water Processor (WP), and the other simulates the processed (clean) water after the ISS WP. The test setup design incorporates tube lengths and angles, material types, flow rates, and recommended hardware that represent the ISS water distribution system. The WDS purpose is to assess changes in water quality (chemical and microbiological) during stagnant, long-term storage in distribution lines. Test results demonstrate that prior to the operation of the ISS WP, water can be stored in the ISS water distribution lines.
Despite continuous investment and various efforts to control pollution, urban water environments are worsening in large parts of the developing world. In order to reveal potential constraints and limitations of current practices of urban water management and to stimulate proactive intervention, we conducted a material flow analysis of the urban water system in Kunming City. The results demonstrate that the current efficiency of wastewater treatment is only around 25% and the emission of total phosphorous from the city into its receiving water, Dianchi Lake, is more than 25 times higher than its estimated tolerance. With regard to the crisis of water quantity and quality, the goal of a sustainable urban water environment cannot be attained with the current problem-solving approach in the region due to the technical limitations of the conventional urban drainage and treatment systems. A set of strategies is therefore proposed. The urban drainage system in Zurich is used as a reference for a potential best-available technology for conventional urban water management (BAT) scenario in terms of its low combined frequency of sewer overflow.
The establishment of a strong independent regulator appears to be the most successful means to remedy the endemic poor management of water supply and sanitation services. This paper discusses why this is so and illustrates the argument with reference to recent experience in Chile.