On hygienic and ecological approaches in radiation protection

In this paper the problem of substantiation of one of the basic radiation protection ensurance principle is considered: sufficiency of a man radiation safety ensuring for guaranteed ensuring of radiation safety of the environment living components. This paradigm formulated in ICRP recommendations and is often referred to as hygienic or anthropocentric approach to environment radiation protection is laid down the basis of all national, including Russian, regulations in the field of radiation safety. During the last 5-10 years a lot of papers have been published, in which the hygienic principle of environmental safety ensuring is considered as a matter of dispute and the certain logical basis and the quantitative comparative estimations of human exposure doses and most irradiated vulnerable parts of nature doses are given. Change of one of the main radiation protection paradigms will demand for resolution of the enormously difficult and labor-consuming scientific problems. In the present paper, on the basis of UNSCEAR models of critical population groups dose formation and consistent application of conservativeness principle it is shown that for the ground ecosystems today there is no strong reasons for refusal of a hygienic radiation protection principle for benefit of ecological one.     

The principles of radiological quality assessment of water resources

In the paper the main approaches to radiation safety of water objects have been analyzed. It is shown that radiation safety requirements for drinking water, fixed in the Rules and Regulations on radiation safety, do not ensure radiation safety of water objects used for the complex national economy needs. Application of the conservatism principle (choosing of the worst variant) for radiation safety ensuring is considered and proved. On the base of this principle the model is developed comparing the anthropocentric (sanitary--hygienic) with ecological (biota) principles for ensuring safety of water objects. It is proved, that the application of the Water Radiation Safety Rules currently in force, based on the norms of dose quotas, reserved for regulation of nuclear power plants and industry impact, ensures safety of the water ecological systems.     

基于周丛藻类的雅鲁藏布江流域水生态系统健康评价

为评估雅鲁藏布江流域水生态系统的健康状态, 研究于2013年10月、2014年4月和2014年7月, 在雅鲁藏布江流域干流及其4大支流上设置了26个采样点, 先对河流每个点位的海拔、坐标、河道底质类型及构成比例、河岸植被类型、水电工程等环境数据进行收集, 随后采集周丛藻类群落数据, 并在此基础上构建了周丛藻类生物完整性指数(P-IBI)评价指标体系, 结果显示: 调查期间, 雅鲁藏布江流域干支流共观察到周丛藻类7门10纲23目34科70属(种), 硅藻门(35.71%)、绿藻门(32.86%)和蓝藻门(20.00%)为前3个优势门类, 周丛藻类的优势种均属于硅藻门, 该水域属硅藻-绿藻-蓝藻型水体。周丛藻类Shannon-Wiener多样性指数的变幅为4.84—9.41, Pielou均匀度指数的变幅为2.41—4.80, 则表明雅鲁藏布江流域整体为轻污型-清洁型水体。周丛藻类的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Pielou均匀度指数与P-IBI评价指标体系共同说明: 雅鲁藏布江流域干流上下游及其4大支流水生态系统的健康状态优于雅鲁藏布江流域干流中游的健康状态。研究雅鲁藏布江流域水生态系统周丛藻类的群落特征和水环境的健康状态, 一方面能为西藏土著鱼类食性、摄食机制等的研究提供饵料数据基础, 另一方面能对河流水生态系统的健康状况进行科学评价, 从而保障西藏水生态安全。     

基于SPA-MC耦合模型的陕西省水环境生态安全水平动态评价

水环境生态安全与一个区域生态系统的良性循环息息相关.为了对陕西省水环境生态安全水平进行合理评价,结合陕西省水生态现状,基于DPSBR概念模型构建水生态安全水平评价体系,采用SPA-MC(集对分析—马尔科夫链)耦合模型对陕西省2000—2017年水环境安全状况进行了动态评价,并提出适应性建议.结果表明:陕西省2000—2...     

Radiation protection of the environment: anthropocentric and eco-centric principles

The second half of the XX century was dominated in the field of radiation protection of the environment by the anthropocentric concept stated by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). According to this concept "if man is adequately protected by radiological standards then biota are also adequately protected". At the end of the XX--beginning of the XXI centuries in the area of area of radiation protection of nature an ecocentric strategy is beginning to develop where emphasis has swung to the protection of biota in their environment. Inadequacy of ICRP's anthroposentric concept is reported. Issues are discussed such as ecological dosimetry, nonequidosal irradiation of man and biota, criteria for estimating radiation induced changes in biota and man, as well as the need to harmonize permissible exposure doses to man and biota. An urgent need is stressed to develop a single (synthetic) concept of radiation protection which simultaneously ensures protection of human health and biota well-being in their environment. This concept is to be based on the recognition of the integrity of socio-natural ecosystems where man and biota are considered as a unity.     

Assessment of Rarity Category for Higher Aquatic Plants

A spatiotemporal analysis of higher aquatic plant flora in the water bodies of the city of Kyiv (Ukraine) has been used to develop local protection criteria for 22 rare and protected species. These criteria differ considerably from the regional ones due to the significant transformation of the environment in an urban landscape. The rare component of macrophyte flora in the water bodies of the city have become poorer over the past 40–50 years; two species have disappeared from the urban flora, seven species are characterized as critically endangered, five species are endangered, four are vulnerable and at a high extinction risk, and four more species are characterized by a low risk of extinction.     

基于ArcGIS的下辽河平原地下水脆弱性评价及空间结构分析

以下辽河平原为研究区,通过选取1991、2000和2010年3个代表年的相关参数,在DRASTIC模型基础上构建评价指标体系进行地下水脆弱性评价,并以地下水中氮元素浓度为响应指标通过显著性检验,在此基础上借助GS+、Arc GIS和Geoda095i等软件的制图功能和空间统计分析功能,对下辽河平原地下水脆弱性的空间分布特征、变异规律以及空间关联格局进行研究分析,结果表明:11991—2010年下辽河平原地下水脆弱性总体上呈先增后减趋势,空间分布上以沈阳市为中心的地下水高脆弱区向南部沿海方向扩散;21991—2010年研究区地下水脆弱性Moran's I表现为较强正相关现象,且关联程度呈略微下降趋势;31991—2010年研究区地下水脆弱性局部空间自相关和显著性水平均发生了明显的变化;4研究区内地下水脆弱性受结构性因素和随机性因素共同作用,且随机性因素在3个时期内有逐步上升趋势。研究成果反映了研究区地下水脆弱性空间结构的变异规律及驱动机制,为决策者在未来地下水污染防治方面提供相关参考依据。     

应用系统聚类分析的方法评价珠江流域北江水系的水质状况

硅藻被认为是水体环境的良好指示藻类。本文利用着生硅藻结合水体中的物理、化学等因素,以系统聚类分析方法对珠江流域北江水系的8条河流的水质状况进行评价,证明这些河流的水质是清洁的。     

微囊藻毒素与自然水体中细菌VIVIFORM状态的相关性

细菌VIVIFORM状态是直接关系到自然水体水质评价和环境保护的生态现象 ,其形成机理相当复杂 ,但环境胁迫是主要诱因。通过人为改变湖水中的微囊藻毒素 (MC LR)水平 ,对水体中蓝藻毒素与细菌VIVIFORM状态之间的相关性进行了分析。结果表明 ,较高的毒素水平对水体中细菌种群总量没有明显的影响 ,但能刺激VIVIFORM细菌转化成可培养状态 ,从而证实了自然水体中蓝藻毒素与水细菌VIVIFORM状态之间存在直接的相关性。     

Occurrence of the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) in birds’ nests

Occurrence and breeding of Hirudo medicinalis were recorded in birds’ nests in the fishing ponds and water bodies used extensively by anglers in south-eastern Poland, in 4 of 11 studied bird species (Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Cygnus olor, Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Factors important for the distribution and density of this leech were: nest height, pH of the water and oxygen concentration in the water inside the nests, the body-length of the nesting birds. Our data show that (1) H. medicinalis chooses nests as habitats that are safe in water bodies rich in predators (particularly fish) and provide stable feeding conditions; (2) fishing ponds and other water bodies used extensively by anglers in a landscape modified by human pressure can be an important secondary habitat for the medicinal leech. As the nesting activity of some aquatic birds apparently favors the occurrence of H. medicinalis, active protection of aquatic birds and creating sites appropriate for their breeding may be an indirect way for the conservation of the leech in such areas.     

The spectral absorption and scattering properties of dissolved and particulate components in relation to the underwater light field of some tropical Australian fresh waters

SUMMARY. 1. The inherent optical properties (scattering coefficients and absorption coefficients across the photosynthetic waveband) are presented from diverse tropical water bodies (billabongs) in the Alligator Rivers Region of northern Australia.
2. The data are used to interpret observed characteristics of the underwater light field as exemplified by the spectral distribution, and overall rate of attenuation, of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR).
3. Attenuation of PAR, especially in the blue waveband, is caused primarily by intense light absorption by the yellow-brown humic pigments, both soluble and particulate, in the water.
4. It was estimated that in six moderately turbid billabongs, light scattering increased attenuation by an average of 58% above that attributable to absorption alone, whereas in a highly turbid billabong the increase was 111%.
5. A distinguishing feature of the optical character of these billabongs, compared with previously studied water bodies in southern Australia, is the great contribution to light absorption made by the particulate humic material.     

Failla memorial lecture. Risk, research, and radiation protection

Radiation protection concerns the risk of stochastic late effects, especially cancer, and limits on radiation exposure both occupationally and for the public tend to be based on these risks. The risks are determined, mainly by expert committees, from the steadily growing information on exposed human populations, especially the survivors of the atomic bombs dropped in Japan in 1945. Risks of cancer estimated up to the early 1980s were in the range 1 to 5 X 10(-2)/Sv, but recent revisions in the dosimetry of the Japanese survivors and additional cycles of epidemiological information suggest values now probably at the high end of this range. These are likely to require an increase in the values used for radiation protection. A major problem with risk estimation is that data are available only for substantial doses and must be extrapolated down to the low-dose region of interest in radiation protection. Thus the shape of the dose-response curve is important, and here we must turn to laboratory research. Of importance are studies involving (1) dose rate, which affects the response to low-LET radiation and often to high-LET radiation as well; (2) radiation quality, since the shapes of the dose-response curves for high- and low-LET radiation differ and thus the RBE, the ratio between them, varies, reaching a maximum value RBEM at low doses; and (3) modifiers of the carcinogenic response, which either enhance or reduce the effect of a given dose. Radiation protection depends both on risk information, and especially also on comparisons with other occupational and public risks, and on research, not only for extrapolations of risk to low doses but also in areas where human information is lacking such as in the effects of radiation quality and in modifications of response.     

Source Tracking Mycobacterium ulcerans Infections in the Ashanti Region,Ghana

Although several studies have associated Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) infection, Buruli ulcer (BU), with slow moving water bodies, there is still no definite mode of transmission. Ecological and transmission studies suggest Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) typing as a useful tool to differentiate MU strains from other Mycolactone Producing Mycobacteria (MPM). Deciphering the genetic relatedness of clinical and environmental isolates is seminal to determining reservoirs, vectors and transmission routes. In this study, we attempted to source-track MU infections to specific water bodies by matching VNTR profiles of MU in human samples to those in the environment. Environmental samples were collected from 10 water bodies in four BU endemic communities in the Ashanti region, Ghana. Four VNTR loci in MU Agy99 genome, were used to genotype environmental MU ecovars, and those from 14 confirmed BU patients within the same study area. Length polymorphism was confirmed with sequencing. MU was present in the 3 different types of water bodies, but significantly higher in biofilm samples. Four MU genotypes, designated W, X, Y and Z, were typed in both human and environmental samples. Other reported genotypes were only found in water bodies. Animal trapping identified 1 mouse with lesion characteristic of BU, which was confirmed as MU infection. Our findings suggest that patients may have been infected from community associated water bodies. Further, we present evidence that small mammals within endemic communities could be susceptible to MU infections. M. ulcerans transmission could involve several routes where humans have contact with risk environments, which may be further compounded by water bodies acting as vehicles for disseminating strains.     

Effects of ultraviolet radiation and dissolved organic carbon on the survival of subarctic zooplankton

High intensities of ultraviolet radiation are known to be harmful to aquatic biota, especially for species living in shallow, clear water bodies. Zooplankton species from such habitats are good model organisms to study the effect of changes in UV radiation, and how animals deal with this. We tested experimentally the effect of natural UV radiation, which was controlled by different filters and varying concentrations of UV-screening dissolved organic carbon (DOC), on the survival of the cladocerans, Daphnia longispina and D. pulex, and a calanoid copepod, Eudiaptomus graciloides. All species originated from subarctic Fennoscandia where underwater UV intensity is influenced by ozone depletion, changes in DOC and timing of ice break-up. Measured as mortality, all species were affected by both UVB and UVA radiation. Survival was highest and similar between species in the dark controls and photosynthetically active radiation exposures. Under each UV filter, the highest DOC concentration provided significant and best shelter from UV radiation and led to best survival. Variation in survival was observed between species. E. graciloides responded more readily to changes in UV radiation than did the daphnids. In natural environments, species' previous exposure to light and different protection strategies (pigmentation, vertical migration) are probably as important factors controlling the survival of zooplankton as radiation intensity and optical properties of water.     

Cell growth and morphology of Dictyostelium discoideum in space environment.

Two strains of cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, a radiation-sensitive mutant and the parental wild-type strain, were used to investigate the effects of microgravity and/or cosmic radiation on their morphology through the whole life span from spores to fruiting bodies for about 7 days in space shuttle of NASA. We found almost no effect of space environment on amoeba cell growth in both strains. It was also observed that almost the same number and shape of fruiting bodies in space compared to the control experiments on earth. These results suggest that there is little effect of microgravity and space radiation on germination, cell aggregation, cell differentiation and cell morphology in the cellular slime mold.     

Escherichia coli: the best biological drinking water indicator for public health protection

Public health protection requires an indicator of fecal pollution. It is not necessary to analyse drinking water for all pathogens. Escherichia coli is found in all mammal faeces at concentrations of 10 log 9(-1), but it does not multiply appreciably in the environment. In the 1890s, it was chosen as the biological indicator of water treatment safety. Because of method deficiencies, E. coli surrogates such as the 'fecal coliform' and total coliforms tests were developed and became part of drinking water regulations. With the advent of the Defined Substrate Technology in the late 1980s, it became possible to analyse drinking water directly for E. coli (and, simultaneously, total coliforms) inexpensively and simply. Accordingly, E. coli was re-inserted in the drinking water regulations. E. coli survives in drinking water for between 4 and 12 weeks, depending on environmental conditions (temperature, microflora, etc.). Bacteria and viruses are approximately equally oxidant-sensitive, but parasites are less so. Under the conditions in distribution systems, E. coli will be much more long-lived. Therefore, under most circumstances it is possible to design a monitoring program that permits public health protection at a modest cost. Drinking water regulations currently require infrequent monitoring which may not adequately detect intermittent contamination events; however, it is cost-effective to markedly increase testing with E. coli to better protect the public's health. Comparison with other practical candidate fecal indicators shows that E. coli is far superior overall.     

Methodology for an assessment of derived radiation levels for agrocenoses

Radiation protection of agrarian ecosystems should be considered as an integral part of a system for radiation protection of environment, with a special concern to agroecosystems' features. A methodology is proposed for an assessment of maximum permissible doses of radiation impact for agrocenoses based on an unified analysis of available data about effects of radiation in cultivated plants. It is considered as a component of radiation protection system for agricultural ecosystems. Critical doses and dose rates are estimated for crops under different exposure situations. It is shown that doses that could result in decreasing indexes of productivity and survival for main crops below 50% are unlikely up to 170-200 Gy and 15-17 Gy at an acute exposure of dormant seeds and vegetative plants, correspondingly. At chronic exposure, above 10% loss of productivity in crops is not expected at dose rates below 3-10 mGy/h.     

广东土壤科学的发展历程与展望

土壤是农业生产的基础,是人类赖以生存的基石,也是人类食物与生态环境安全的保障。土壤学是解决人口-资源-环境-粮食矛盾的重要学科之一。广东土壤科学发展历史悠久,在食物安全、环境保护、减少贫困、退化土地恢复重建和生态系统稳定性维持等事关全省发展方面取得了许多重要的成绩,但目前我省面临着人均耕地面积少、后备土壤资源匮乏、土壤肥力下降、土壤环境日趋恶化以及水土流失依然严重等问题,因此我省土壤科学研究也将从生产农学和基础土壤发生学拓展到包括高效持续农业生产、土壤变化与全球气候变化相互关系、土壤可持续利用、数字化与信息化土壤、土壤污染监测及其修复等多功能的研究领域。     

Human activities and nitrogen in waters

Shenzhen was a famous typical rapid-urbanization city in China, and this study compares plant species diversity in urban parks from the start of urbanization through 2011. Results show that the plant species biodiversity increased rapidly: the rate changed from 140% to 980% and the average increasing rate was 406.90%, but only 12.59% of plants spread into the park naturally. Shrubs had the highest rate; with change increasing from 20.70% to 43.54%, they replaced trees to become the dominant type. The biodiversity of native plants also increased, but their proportion relative to all species had declined. The homogenization of plant species in the parks increased; more than half of the plant species (62.24%) are located in 5–7 parks at once now, compared with 65.52% of species located in only 2–3 parks at the start of the study. The increase of species was faster than the increase of families; many new species planted belong to a few specific families. The ratio of species to families declined from 0.40 to 0.32. Results indicate that the rapid increase of plant species diversity as well as their homogenization happened in the initial stage of urbanization, and so rapid urbanization might be the major factor in the changes in plant species diversity in municipal parks. Rapid urbanization was an important cause of change in plant species diversity.     

Planetary Interchange of Bioactive Material: Probability Factors and Implications

It is now well-accepted that both lunar andmartian materials are represented in the meteoritecollections. Early suggestions that viable organismsmight survive natural transport between planets havenot yet been thoroughly examined. The concept ofPlanetary Interchange of Bioactive Material (PIBM) ispotentially relevant to the conditions under whichlife originated. PIBM has been also invoked to inferthat the potential danger to Earth from martianmaterials is non-existent, an inference with, however,many pitfalls. Numerous impediments to efficienttransfer of viable organisms exist. In this work, thelethality of space radiation during long transientsand the biasing of launched objects toward materialsunlikely to host abundant organisms are examined andshown to reduce the likelihood of successful transferby orders of magnitude. It is also shown that martianmeteorites studied to date assuredly have beensubjected to sterilizing levels of ionizing radiationin space. PIBM considerations apply to both the solarsystem locale(s) of the origin of life and to theapplicability of planetary protection protocols topreserve the biospheres of planetary bodies, including our own.