环境雌激素对动物的影响与对策

环境雌激素可导致动物性别特征丧失、生殖能力下降,引起性别比例失调,导致种群生存力和资源量下降,并通过食物链的生物放大作用等加强对动物危害,提出环境雌激素预防与控制对策。     

Inventory for energy production in Canada

Publicly available databases are analysed to demonstrate their relevance to life cycle inventory for energy production in the Canadian context. Site specific emissions along with sectoral emissions data are combined with production data to construct an energy production model, which has been applied to air emissions. The allocation procedure leads to reasonable results for coal, natural gas and electricity. The detailed allocation of the inventory among petroleum co-products is outside the scope of this study as it requires incorporating knowledge of physical relationship (unit process) or using economic data.     

Improving Environmental Performance Assessment: A Comparative Analysis of Weighting Methods Used to Evaluate Chemical Release Inventories

Managers, management scholars, regulators, nonprofit organizations, and the media are increasingly using emissions inventory data to measure organizations' environmental performance. Whereas some analysts use total mass emitted, others have applied one or more of the growing number of toxicity-weighting databases aimed at predicting the environmental and health impacts of emissions. Little research is available to guide analysts in selecting among these databases. This article compares 13 methods in terms of their sophistication, complexity, and comprehensiveness. Seven of these methods are then evaluated as to their usefulness in weighting emissions data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) toxic release inventory, and three pair-wise comparisons are conducted. We recommend the U.S. EPA's Risk Screening Environmental Indicators for estimating impacts to human health. We recommend the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical Impacts for estimating impacts to human health and the environment.     

A Large-scale, Multihabitat Inventory of the Phylum Tardigrada in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA: A Preliminary Report

An All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is underway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), with the goal of attempting to identify all species of life in the 2000 km² park. The GSMNP is a hotbed of biodiversity, a U.N. Biosphere Reserve, and one of the largest protected, deciduous forests in the temperate world. We have completed two field seasons of work on the tardigrades in the park (2001–2002). As of July 2003, we have collected 420 samples from soil/decomposed leaf litter, lichens and mosses on trees, and stream sediment and periphyton. A few samples from caves, bird nests, and lichens/mosses on rocks were also collected. Samples were taken from within permanent plots established for the ATBI, representing the major biological communities of the GSMNP. Tardigrades were extracted from samples using centrifugation with Ludox AM™, individually mounted on microscope slides in Hoyer’s medium, and studied with phase contrast and DIC microscopy. We have examined 1524 slides from 60 samples as of July 2003. Prior to our work, only three species of tardigrades had been previously reported from a few samples in the park. We have now recorded 42 species, 8 of which we believe may be new to science. Species richness estimates were calculated using EstimateS 6 software for each of the major tardigrade habitats. Overall, we predict that there are 47 to 76 species in the GSMNP, with generally similar species richness in soil, lichen, moss, and stream habitats. Species richness estimates were also used to determine that the number of tardigrade species was greater in mosses at breast height on trees than in mosses at the base of trees.     

A Comparative Study of Environmental Impacts of Two Delivery Systems in the Business‐to‐Customer Book Retail Sector

China has the highest carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the world. In China, logistics accounts for a significant portion of the total energy use and CO₂ emissions in business‐to‐customer (B2C) retailing. This study focuses on the environmental impacts of B2C delivery in China, focusing on the book retail industry. Mathematical models are proposed based on the practical operations of the “e‐commerce networked delivery” (END) system and the “sustainable networked delivery” (SND) system. The energy consumption and CO₂ emissions per book are then determined and compared for the two systems. Furthermore, we contrast the findings with those of similar studies conducted for other countries and provide explanations for the differences. The results show that (1) in general, in China, the SND system is better than the END system in terms of environmental impacts; (2) the END system in China generates fewer environmental impacts than those in the United States and the United Kingdom, while the SND system in China has greater environmental impacts than that in the United States; and (3) the wide use of vehicles such as electric bicycles that have low energy consumption rates contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts per book in both the END and SND systems in China. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Rethinking Environmental Performance from a Public Health Perspective: A Comparative Industry Analysis

To date the most common measures of environmental performance used to compare industries, and by extension firms or facilities, have been quantity of pollution emitted or hazardous waste generated. Discharge information, however, does not necessarily capture potential health effects. We propose an alternative environmental performance measure that includes the public health risks of toxic air emissions extended to industry supply chains using economic input-output life-cycle assessment. Cancer risk to the U.S. population was determined by applying a damage function to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) as modeled by CalTOX, a multimedia multipathway fate and exposure model. Risks were then translated into social costs using cancer willingness to pay. For a baseline emissions year of 1998, 260 excess cancer cases were calculated for 116 TRI chemicals, dominated by ingestion risk from polycyclic aromatic compounds and dioxins emitted by the primary aluminum and cement industries, respectively. The direct emissions of a small number of industry sectors account for most of the U.S. population cancer risk. For the majority of industry sectors, however, cancer risk per $1 million output is associated with supply chain upstream emissions. Ranking industries by total (direct + upstream) supply chain risk per economic output leads to different conclusions about the relative hazards associated with these industries than a conventional ranking based on emissions per economic output.     

Life Cycle Inventory for Use of Waste Solvent as Fuel Substitute in the Cement Industry - A Multi-Input Allocation Model (11 pp)

Background The Swiss chemical industry produces large amounts of organic waste solvents. Some of these solvents cannot be recovered. A common option for the treatment of such organic waste solvents is the incineration in hazardous waste incinerators. Alternatively, the waste solvents can be used as fuel in cement production. On the one hand, solvent incineration in cement kilns saves fossil fuels such as coal and heavy fuel oil. On the other hand, fuel-bound emissions may change as well. These emission changes can either have a negative or a positive net ecological impact, depending on the chemical nature of the waste solvent used.Goal and Scope The aim of our work was to develop a multi-input allocation model, which allows one to calculate life cycle inventories for specific waste solvents. These LCIs can then be used in further applications, e.g. a comparison of different waste solvent treatment options. Results and Discussion A multi-input allocation model was developed that takes into account the physico-chemical properties of waste solvents such as elementary composition and net calorific value. The model is based on a set of equations and data on fuel mix, fuel composition as well as transfer coefficients for heavy metals. The model calculates “avoided inputs” and “changes in emissions” which arise from substituting fossil fuels with waste solvents. Life cycle inventories can be calculated for specific waste solvents if the elementary composition and the net calorific value are known. The application of the model is illustrated in a case study on four waste solvents. The results show that solvent incineration in cement kilns generally reduces the overall impact of clinker production because fossil fuels are replaced. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the model is especially sensitive to the fuel mix and coal properties, such as net calorific value as well as the content of nitrogen and carbon. The transfer coefficients are also uncertain, but this uncertainty is not relevant as the amount of heavy metal emitted into the atmosphere is small. Conclusions and Outlook The proposed model serves to calculate inventory data for the combustion of liquid alternative fuels such as waste solvents in cement kilns. Although our model represents Swiss cement production conditions, it can be applied to other countries by fitting the most sensitive parameters of fuel mix and coal properties. In case the technology used is very different to the Swiss situation, the transfer coefficients also need to be adapted.     

Development and Application of an Effective Detection Method for Fish Plasma Vitellogenin Induced by Environmental Estrogens

Vitellogenin is a protein induced by estrogens, including environmental chemicals with estrogenic activity. To measure the effects of environmental estogens, we developed an effective and rapid one-step method of detecting and purifying fish plasma vitellogenin using a high-performance anion-exchange chromatography column, POROS-HQ. Vitellogenin in a plasma of estradiol-treated male fish (mummichog and red sea bream) was eluted as a single peak with a retention time of 10 minutes from the column, which gives an almost pure preparation as assessed by SDS-PAGE. The lowest detectable amount of vitellogenin was 2 μg per assay. The method was used to analyze the plasma vitellogenin level of aquacultured red sea breams caught in August, when the spawning season is over, and usually no vitellogenin is detected in either females or males, physiologically. However, the data showed that in addition to a few females, some male fish synthesized vitellogenin, suggesting that some chemicals or unknown factors with estrogenic activity have induced fish in the ocean to produce vitellogenin.     

A Study of Energy Consumption and Exhaust Emissions from Beijing's Civil Vehicles from Years 2008 to 2020

The number of Beijing's civil vehicles is growing rapidly due to the great support of the automobile industry and the Chinese government and the increasing average per capita income of China's people. Exhaust emissions from vehicles have already become the main source of Beijing's air pollution. Based on the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP), this article predicts the energy consumption and exhaust emissions from Beijing's civil vehicles. Also, we estimated the reduction potentials of China's new fuel consumption standards and exhaust pollutants standards that will be implemented from 2008 to 2020. Two scenarios were developed: “Business as Usual” (BAU) and “New Standard” (NS). In the BAU scenario, the Chinese government would do nothing to improve the fuel consumption standards and exhaust pollutants standards in the future. In the NS scenario, the Chinese government would implement more strict fuel consumption standards and exhaust pollutants standards for Beijing's civil vehicles. By comparing the results of the two scenarios for year 2020, the energy consumption will experience a reduction of 7.8%, and the exhaust pollutants CO, HC, NO_X, PM, and the emissions of CO₂ would decrease by 43.3%, 36.4%, 60.3%, 81.2%, and 7.8%, respectively.     

Using Common Boundaries to Assess Methane Emissions: A Life Cycle Evaluation of Natural Gas and Coal Power Systems

There is consensus on the importance of upstream methane (CH₄) emissions to the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of natural gas systems, but inconsistencies among recent studies explain why some researchers calculate a CH₄ emission rate of less than 1% whereas others calculate a CH₄ emission rate as high as 10%. These inconsistencies arise from differences in data collection methods, data collection time frames, and system boundaries. This analysis focuses on system boundary inconsistencies. Our results show that the calculated CH₄ emission rate can increase nearly fourfold not by changing the magnitude of any particular emission source, but by merely changing the portions of the supply chain that are included within the system boundary. Our calculated CH₄ emission rate for extraction through pipeline transmission is 1.2% for current practices. Our model allows us to identify GHG contributors in the upstream supply chain, but also allows us to tie upstream findings to complete life cycle scenarios. If applied to the life cycles of power systems and assessed in terms of cumulative radiative forcing, the upstream CH₄ emission rate can be as high as 3.2% before the GHG impacts from natural gas power exceed those from coal power at any point during a 100‐year time frame.     

Emissions of methane from northern peatlands: a review of management impacts and implications for future management options

Northern peatlands constitute a significant source of atmospheric methane (CH₄). However, management of undisturbed peatlands, as well as the restoration of disturbed peatlands, will alter the exchange of CH₄ with the atmosphere. The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to collate and analyze published studies to improve our understanding of the factors that control CH₄ emissions and the impacts of management on the gas flux from northern (latitude 40° to 70°N) peatlands. The analysis includes a total of 87 studies reporting measurements of CH₄ emissions taken at 186 sites covering different countries, peatland types, and management systems. Results show that CH₄ emissions from natural northern peatlands are highly variable with a 95% CI of 7.6–15.7 g C m^?2 year^?1 for the mean and 3.3–6.3 g C m^?2 year^?1 for the median. The overall annual average (mean ± SD) is 12 ± 21 g C m^?2 year^?1 with the highest emissions from fen ecosystems. Methane emissions from natural peatlands are mainly controlled by water table (WT) depth, plant community composition, and soil pH. Although mean annual air temperature is not a good predictor of CH₄ emissions by itself, the interaction between temperature, plant community cover, WT depth, and soil pH is important. According to short‐term forecasts of climate change, these complex interactions will be the main determinant of CH₄ emissions from northern peatlands. Drainage significantly (p < .05) reduces CH₄ emissions to the atmosphere, on average by 84%. Restoration of drained peatlands by rewetting or vegetation/rewetting increases CH₄ emissions on average by 46% compared to the original premanagement CH₄ fluxes. However, to fully evaluate the net effect of management practice on the greenhouse gas balance from high latitude peatlands, both net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and carbon exports need to be considered.     

Risk Assessment as a Decision-Making Tool for Treatment of Emissions at a New Aluminum Smelter in Iceland: 1. Background and Introduction

Protection of human health and ecosystems is gaining importance in corporate decision- making regarding industrial development. During the design phase for an aluminum smelter in East Iceland, it became necessary to determine whether a wet scrubber system should be installed to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Predictive risk assessment was used to determine whether there would be a consequential difference in the level of risk to human and ecological receptors from constituents in air emissions from the aluminum smelter, either with or without wet scrubbers. Benchmark exposure concentrations were established for avian, mammalian, and plant receptors and were compared to air modeling predictions to develop risk estimates. Benchmark concentrations were derived using plant uptake models for fluoride and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and food-web modeling for birds and mammals. Exposure models were developed for all receptors, and population-level effects were modeled for plant, bird, and mammal receptors. Results indicated that exposures under both scenarios are lower than risk thresholds, and overall risk was lower for a smelter without wet scrubbers. Thus, although mass loading of sulfur dioxide (and other constituents) would be reduced using wet scrubbers, the corresponding risk to ecological receptors would actually be higher because of higher exposure-point concentrations in air.     

A time series analysis of the relationship of ambient temperature and common bacterial enteric infections in two Canadian provinces

The incidence of enteric infections in the Canadian population varies seasonally, and may be expected to be change in response to global climate changes. To better understand any potential impact of warmer temperature on enteric infections in Canada, we investigated the relationship between ambient temperature and weekly reports of confirmed cases of three pathogens in Canada: Salmonella, pathogenic Escherichia coli and Campylobacter, between 1992 and 2000 in two Canadian provinces. We used generalized linear models (GLMs) and generalized additive models (GAMs) to estimate the effect of seasonal adjustments on the estimated models. We found a strong non-linear association between ambient temperature and the occurrence of all three enteric pathogens in Alberta, Canada, and of Campylobacter in Newfoundland-Labrador. Threshold models were used to quantify the relationship of disease and temperature with thresholds chosen from 0 to −10°C depending on the pathogen modeled. For Alberta, the log relative risk of Salmonella weekly case counts increased by 1.2%, Campylobacter weekly case counts increased by 2.2%, and E. coli weekly case counts increased by 6.0% for every degree increase in weekly mean temperature. For Newfoundland-Labrador the log relative risk increased by 4.5% for Campylobacter for every degree increase in weekly mean temperature.     

Evaluation of the Metals Industry's Position on Recycling and its Implications for Environmental Emissions

A healthy debate on the treatment of metals recycling in the life cycle assessment (LCA) community has persisted for more than a decade. While no clear consensus across stakeholder groups has emerged, the metals industry has endorsed a set of recycling “facts” that support a single approach, end‐of‐life recycling, for evaluating the environmental benefits of metals recycling. In this article we draw from research conducted in several disciplines and find that three key tenets of the metals industry capture the theoretical potential of metals recycling from a metallurgical standpoint rather than reflecting observed behavior. We then discuss the implications of these conclusions on environmental emissions from metals production and recycling. Evidence is provided that, contrary to the position of the metals industry, metals are not necessarily recycled at high rates, are recycled only a small number of times before final disposal, and are sometimes limited in recycling potential by the economics of contaminant removal. The analysis concludes that metal recycled from old scrap largely serves as an imperfect substitute for primary metal. As a result, large‐scale displacement of primary production and its associated environmental emissions is currently limited to a few specific instances.     

Endogenous ADP-ribosylation for eukaryotic elongation factor 2: evidence of two different sites and reactions

Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 can undergo ADP-ribosylation in the absence of diphtheria toxin under the action of an endogenous transferase. The investigation which aimed to gain insight into the nature of endogenous ADP-ribosylation revealed that this reaction may be, in some cases, due to covalent binding of free ADP-ribose to elongation factor 2. Binding of free ADP-ribose, and NAD- and endogenous transferase-dependent ADP-ribosylation were suggested to be distinct reactions by different findings. Free ADP-ribose could bind to elongation factor 2 previously subjected to ADP-ribosylation by diphtheria toxin or endogenous transferase. The binding of free ADP-ribose was inhibited by neutral NH2OH, L-lysine and picrylsulfonate, whereas endogenous ADP-ribosyltransferase was inhibited by NAD glycohydrolase inhibitors and L-arginine. The ADP-ribosyl-elongation factor 2 adduct which formed upon binding of free ADP-ribose was resistant to neutral NH2OH, but decomposed almost completely upon treatment with NaOH. The product of endogenous transferase-dependent ADP- ribosylation was partially resistant to NH2OH and NaOH treatment. Moreover, this reaction was reversed in the presence of diphtheria toxin and nicotinamide. Both types of endogenous ADP-ribosylation gave rise to inhibition of polyphenylalanine synthesis. This study thus provides evidence for the presence of two different types of endogenous ADP-ribosylation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2. The respective sites involved in these reactions are distinct from one another as well as from diphthamide, the site of attack by diphtheria toxin.