Environmental risk assessment of antibiotics in the Swedish environment with emphasis on sewage treatment plants

The potential risks associated with antibiotics present in the Swedish environment were assessed using concentrations found in hospital effluent, and sewage treatment waters and sludge, in combination with data on their environmental effects obtained from the literature. For the aqueous environment, measured environmental concentrations and effect/no observed effect concentration ratios were much lower than one in most cases. The only exceptions, where concentrations of the investigated substances were high enough to pose potential risks, were the concentrations of the two fluoroquinolones, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, in the hospital effluent. Treating digested dewatered sludge by heat did not fully eliminate norfloxacin or ciprofloxacin, thus pellets may still contain high amounts of these substances (sub to low mgkg(-1)dw). In leaching tests less than 1% of the amounts of these fluoroquinolones in the sludge or pellets reached the aqueous phase, indicating that their mobility is limited if sludge is used to fertilize soil.     

Study on the use of NADH fluorescence measurements for monitoring wastewater treatment systems

Fluorescence measurement of intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) provides information about the physiological response of microbes towards changing conditions in their environment and has been suggested to be useful for the control of wastewater treatment plants. In this study, the practical usefulness of such measurements was evaluated from batch experiments with a commercially available NADH sensor in a bench scale reactor. The sensor was linear in the NADH concentration, robust, almost maintenance free, and hardly sensitive to floc size distribution. Measured fluorescence intensity proved to depend strongly on the concentration of active heterotrophic biomass. The NADH level was supposed to be dependent on the ratio of electron donor/electron acceptor availability inside the cells; however, neither acetate nor ammonium addition was reflected by the measurement signal.A jump wise NADH signal change was observed at complete oxygen or nitrate depletion as also reflected by bends in the redox curve. In the near zero concentration ranges of oxygen and nitrate (0.1-0.5mg/l) the signal changes only slightly in the opposite direction to the redox trend.     

Swedish experiences of incentives for the protection of nature

In Sweden, the maintenance of biological diversity is considered a key element in the development towards a sustainable society. However, the link between sustainable development and biodiversity is far from clear to everybody. It is an important task to explain this link. A cornerstone of Swedish biodiversity policy is that each sector in society has a sectoral responsibility to ensure that its own activities do not cause any long-term loss of biodiversity (but instead help to maintain it). The concept of sectoral responsibility is an important feature of environmental policy in the context of developing new incentives. Besides ‘traditional’ nature conservation tools — such as the protection of sites, purchasing land and general environmental legislation — new, more market-oriented incentives have emerged during the last few years, e.g. certifications schemes in forestry and eco-labelling in agriculture. These new incentives have developed alongside political processes (parliament, government, agencies etc.) and have been formulated and negotiated by ‘market players’. Environmental NGOs, such as WWF Sweden and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, have often taken the lead role in this process. Another feature of these incentives is that they not only apply to products but also to production; an example of this is in forestry where not just the wood but also forest management are in focus. The national agri-environmental programmes, within the context of the European Union's subsidy programme for environmental measures in agriculture, provide a powerful tool for conserving and enhancing biodiversity. In Sweden at least, there is nowadays complete acceptance for the basic view that it is both desirable and necessary to pay the farmers for their ‘production’ of common benefits such as biodiversity in well-managed pastures and meadows. Market-oriented incentives, such as eco-labelling and certification schemes, have an important role to play and should complement other, more traditional tools such as general environmental legislation and protection of sites.     

A study of the application of digital photogrammetry to slope monitoring systems

This paper reports on a study to develop the technology to monitor the behavior of a slope using the digital camera images of the slope. Specifically, it deals with a monitoring system that allows the highly precise reproduction of slope shape from a number of images taken from various directions. The study explores an analytical method that uses the Moore–Penrose generalized inverse matrix for an equation derived from the geometrical relation between the camera, measurement points and photographed images, obtains the distance between measurement points installed on the target slope by the minimum-norm least-squares solution without setting any control points, and discusses the technology to monitor slope behavior based on the changes in the distance obtained. Furthermore, the precision and accuracy of the measurement values obtained by the proposed technology is quantitatively verified, and its applicability to slope monitoring is examined.     

Earned readiness management for scheduling,monitoring and evaluating the development of complex product systems

How should the development of a complex product system (CPS) be managed in a manner that focuses on process milestones, which is responsive to changes in technology and requirements; based on maturity measures; and applied in an interactive manner, in addition to facilitating timely feedback? This is considered to be an important question in project management. Project management tools and techniques have been inadequate for monitoring technology development in a CPS. If the technologies are not properly matured by a specific period of time, the progress of the project can be in detriment. To address this important gap, the objective of this study is to develop a new maturity-focused methodology for scheduling, monitoring and evaluating the development of a system. We present Earned Readiness Management (ERM) for system scheduling, monitoring and evaluation which was developed and validated using a case study. Future research on ERM is also discussed in this paper.     

A comparison of inspection practices within the construction industry between the Danish and Swedish Work Environment Authorities

Denmark has a 39% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries within construction than Sweden. Although there are only minor differences in the work environment legislation between the countries, there may be differences in how the legislation is enforced. The aim of the study was to describe and compare the inspection practices, within the construction industry, between the Danish and Swedish Work Environment Authorities. A mixed-method approach was employed combining observations of inspections, interviews with inspectors and questionnaire responses from inspected workplaces. The primary role of both Danish and Swedish inspectors was as controllers. A minor role was as experts. A third role of being a sounding board was only identified in a few instances in Sweden. Autonomy-supportive tactics were employed more regularly in Sweden while coercive tactics were more widespread in Denmark. Negative behaviour on behalf of the inspected party was also more widespread in Denmark while positive behaviour was more widespread in Sweden. Questionnaire data revealed that the inspected Swedish companies had a significantly more positive perception of the inspectors and the benefits of the inspections. There were differences in the enforcement practices of the Danish and Swedish inspectors, which may lead to greater adherence to health and safety regulations in Sweden.     

Comparison of underfloor and overhead air distribution systems in an office environment

This study compares thermal environment of two air distribution systems in an office setting. Airflow, heat and mass (water vapor and contaminant gas) transfer in steady-state condition are modeled for an underfloor air distribution system and an overhead air distribution system. The models include a typical cubicle in a large office floor with a chair, a desk with a personal computer on top, and heat sources such as seated person, desktop computer, and lights. For underfloor air distribution system, cool air enters the occupied zone through an inlet located at the floor level supplying a vertical upward inflow. Three different locations of the inlet diffuser are considered. For overhead air distribution, the inlet is located on the ceiling with slower and cooler inflow. Three inlet angles are considered. For both systems, the air return location is on the ceiling at the same place. Distributions of velocity, temperature, relative humidity, and contaminant concentration in various cases for both systems are computed. Thermal comfort factors are assessed for the two systems. The results are compared among cases of each system, as well as between two typical cases of the two systems and to experimental data for an actual office building given in literature. The results provide a detailed understanding of air transport and its consequence on thermal comfort and indoor air quality that are useful for office building air conditioner design. It is found that underfloor system gives better performance than overhead system in contaminant removal and significantly in energy saving while maintaining the same thermal comfort condition.     

In-pipe water quality monitoring in water supply systems under steady and unsteady state flow conditions: a quantitative assessment

Monitoring the quality of drinking water from the treatment plant to the consumers tap is critical to ensure compliance with national standards and/or WHO guideline levels. There are a number of processes and factors affecting the water quality during transmission and distribution which are little understood. A significant obstacle for gaining a detailed knowledge of various physical and chemical processes and the effect of the hydraulic conditions on the water quality deterioration within water supply systems is the lack of reliable and low-cost (both capital and O & M) water quality sensors for continuous monitoring. This paper has two objectives. The first one is to present a detailed evaluation of the performance of a novel in-pipe multi-parameter sensor probe for reagent- and membrane-free continuous water quality monitoring in water supply systems. The second objective is to describe the results from experimental research which was conducted to acquire continuous water quality and high-frequency hydraulic data for the quantitative assessment of the water quality changes occurring under steady and unsteady-state flow conditions. The laboratory and field evaluation of the multi-parameter sensor probe showed that the sensors have a rapid dynamic response, average repeatability and unreliable accuracy. The uncertainties in the sensor data present significant challenges for the analysis and interpretation of the acquired data and their use for water quality modelling, decision support and control in operational systems. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, the unique data sets acquired from transmission and distribution systems demonstrated the deleterious effect of unsteady state flow conditions on various water quality parameters. These studies demonstrate: (i) the significant impact of the unsteady-state hydraulic conditions on the disinfectant residual, turbidity and colour caused by the re-suspension of sediments, scouring of biofilms and tubercles from the pipe and increased mixing, and the need for further experimental research to investigate these interactions; (ii) important advances in sensor technologies which provide unique opportunities to study both the dynamic hydraulic conditions and water quality changes in operational systems. The research in these two areas is critical to better understand and manage the water quality deterioration in ageing water transmission and distribution systems.     

Scoping the potential of monitoring and control technologies to reduce energy use in homes

This scoping study takes a broad look at how information technology-enabled monitoring and control systems could assist in mitigating energy use in residences by more efficiently allocating the delivery of services by time and location. A great deal of energy is wasted in delivering services inefficiently to residents such as heating or cooling unoccupied spaces, overheating/undercooling for whole-house comfort, leakage current, and inefficient appliances. We construct a framework to estimate different categories of inefficient energy services and the result of our initial estimate is that over 39% of residential primary energy is wasted. We next discuss how monitoring and control technologies could manage home energy use to reduce waste. Technologies considered here include programmable thermostats, smart meters and outlets, zone heating, automated sensors, and wireless communications infrastructures. The level of energy services delivered is assumed to remain unchanged, with all energy savings being realized through better management. A final discussion on barriers to adoption of these systems speculates that a lack of consumer awareness of the technologies, high costs due to lack of economies of scale, and difficult user interfaces are currently the major hurdles toward adoption.     

Design concepts adopted in long-term forest monitoring programs in Europe—problems for the future?

Long-term intensive monitoring in Europe is presently proceeding in more than 800 plots, where a number of investigations are carried out according to allegedly standardized protocols. While the potential of the program cannot be denied, certain aspects that are binding for data analysis may be a source of problems for future evaluation of program results. Here it is argued that: (i) current biological response indicators adopted by the program will not permit air pollution effects to be distinguished from effects due to other stressors and/or natural variation; (ii) the sampling strategy adopted to select monitoring sites does not enable European scale estimates of the status of attributes of interest or their changes; and that (iii) the sampling tactic suggested at plot level is ambiguous and cannot provide representative, unbiased estimates at plot scale. This latter point implies consequences when plot–level data are used in models, correlative studies and/or to infer cause–effect relationships.     

地下车库常用两种通风排烟系统对比

介绍了两种通风排烟系统的设计,分析比较了两种通风排烟系统的优缺点,结果表明:相对于传统车库通风系统,采用诱导通风排烟系统可以节省大量运行费用及初投资成本,而且还具有更佳的通风效果。     

A review of phytoestrogens: Their occurrence and fate in the environment

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds with estrogenic activities. Many edible plants, some of which are common in the human diet, are rich in phytoestrogens. Almost all phytoestrogens eaten daily by people were reported partly recovered in urine or feces, which can be regarded as one of the main sources of their occurrence in municipal wastewaters. As they may act as one part of the endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water systems, some phytoestrogens have been monitored and detected in wastewater and other various environments. It is very difficult to monitor numerous unknown EDCs in complex wastewater samples, and it is helpful if some estimation of target EDCs can be done before monitoring. With this in mind, this review will: (1) summarize estrogenic activities or estrogenic potencies of phytoestrogens by different bioassays; (2) summarize daily urinary excretion rates of phytoestrogens by humans, and compare their urinary excretion rates to that of estrone, which suggests that most phytoestrogens may occur in municipal wastewaters; (3) collect and summarize published data on the occurrence and fate of phytoestrogens in various environments.     

Towards a monitoring method and a number of multifaceted and hierarchical biodiversity indicators for urban and suburban parks

In this paper we develop a method for the general monitoring of the biodiversity in (sub)urban parks. The method works along two lines, that of habitat diversity and that of species diversity. On the habitat level we measure the diversity in so called ‘habitat units’. These units are divided in planar, linear and punctual elements. For each category we calculate a Shannon–Wiener diversity index and a saturation index. The latter is the ratio of the diversity index compared to the maximum diversity possible. On the species level we use the species number and diversity index of vascular plants, as measured in random sampling plots of 100 m² (for trees and shrubs) and 4 m² (for herbaceous vegetation). In addition, we also use the species number of butterflies, amphibians and breeding birds. These numbers are compared with the total species number in Flanders, resulting in a saturation index per park for butterflies, amphibians and breeding birds. In this way 20 biodiversity indicators are obtained. The proposed method was applied to the municipal park of Loppem (West-Flanders, Belgium), from which the necessary time budget has been calculated. Since it is the first application of a new method and no reference to other parks is available, the proposed bioindicators have been compared with criteria given in the literature on the selection of biodiversity indicators.     

软土地区基坑开挖监测的实践与应用

软土因其高含水量、高压缩性而工程性能差,给软土地区的基坑开挖提出了更高的要求。通过对某软土基坑开挖的监测实例,探讨了软土基坑开挖的全过程系统监测,及时反馈基坑及周边环境的变形情况,实现信息化施工,以保证基坑稳定和周边环境的安全。     

Rapid free chlorine decay in the presence of Cu(OH)2: chemistry and practical implications

A rapid reaction between free chlorine and the cupric hydroxide [Cu(OH)₂] solids commonly found on pipe walls in premise plumbing can convert free chlorine to chloride and rapidly age Cu(OH)₂ to tenorite (CuO). This reaction has important practical implications for maintaining free chlorine residuals in premise plumbing, commissioning of new copper pipe systems, and maintaining low levels of copper in potable water. The reaction stoichiometry between chlorine and Cu(OH)₂ is consistent with formation of CuO through a metastable Cu(III) intermediate, although definitive mechanistic understanding requires future research. Natural levels of silica in water (0-30 mg/L), orthophosphate, and higher pH interfere with the rate of this reaction.     

Multi-scale strategies for the monitoring of freshwater cyanobacteria: reducing the sources of uncertainty

Cyanobacterial blooms are a frequent phenomenon in eutrophic freshwaters worldwide and are considered potential hazards to ecosystems and human health. Monitoring strategies based on conventional sampling often fail to cover the marked spatial and temporal variations in cyanobacterial distribution and fluctuating toxin concentrations inherent to cyanobacterial blooms. To deal with these problems, we employed a multi-scale approach for the study of a massive Microcystis bloom in Tajo River (Spain) utilizing 1) remote sensing techniques, 2) conventional water sampling and 3) analysis of chemotypical subpopulations. Tajo River at the study area is influenced by high temperatures waters diverted upstream from a nuclear power plant, the presence of a dam downstream and a high nutrient load, which provide optimal conditions for massive cyanobacterial proliferation. MERIS imagery revealed high Chl-a concentrations that rarely fell below 20 μg L⁻¹ and moderate spatiotemporal variations throughout the study period (March-November 2009). Although the phytoplanktonic community was generally dominated by Microcystis, sampling points highly differed in cyanobacterial abundance and community composition. Microcystin (MC) concentrations were highly heterogeneous, varying up to 3 orders of magnitude among sampling points, exceeding in some cases WHO guideline values for drinking and also for recreational waters. The analysis of single colonies by MALDI-TOF MS revealed differences in the proportion of MC-producing colonies among points. The proportion of toxic colonies showed a highly significant linear correlation with total MC: biovolume ratio (r² = 0.9; p < 0.001), evidencing that the variability in toxin concentrations can be efficiently addressed by simple analysis of subpopulations. We propose implementing a multi-scale monitoring strategy that allows covering the spatiotemporal heterogeneities in both cyanobacterial distribution (remote sensing) and MC concentrations (subpopulation analysis) and thereby reduce the main sources of uncertainty in the assessment of the risks associated to bloom events.     

Delineation of Pb contamination pathways in two Pectinidae: The variegated scallop Chlamys varia and the king scallop Pecten maximus

Bioaccumulation of Pb was determined in Chlamys varia and Pecten maximus exposed to ²¹⁰Pb via seawater, food and sediment. Both scallops readily concentrated dissolved Pb with whole-body 7-d concentration factors of 250 ± 40 and 170 ± 70, respectively. In both species, more than 70% of Pb taken up from seawater was strongly retained within tissues (biological half-life > 1.5 month) whereas Pb ingested with phytoplankton was poorly assimilated (< 20%). As P. maximus lives buried in the sediment, this exposure pathway was assessed and showed low bioaccumulation efficiency for sediment-bound Pb (transfer factor < 0.015). Despite the poor transfer efficiency of Pb from food and sediment, the use of a global bioaccumulation model indicated that the particulate pathway (food and/or sediment) constituted the major bioaccumulation route of Pb in both scallops. Whatever the exposure pathway, the digestive gland and kidneys always played a major role in Pb accumulation. In scallop tissues, Pb was predominantly associated with the insoluble subcellular fraction, suggesting a low bioavailability of Pb for scallop consumers.     

Comparison of Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Wastewater Containing Lead and Copper

This paper describes an investigation into the treatment efficiency and capital cost of vertical-flow constructed-wetland filters containing different plant communities and granular media with different adsorption capacities. The media included gravel, sand, granular-activated carbon, charcoal and filtralite (light expanded clay). Lead and copper sulphate were added to a polluted urban beck inflow water to simulate pretreated minewater or highway runoff. The interactions between growth media, microbial and plant composition and the reduction of lead, copper and BOD were investigated. For filters containing traditional media, a breakthrough of copper was recorded during the first nine weeks. After maturation of the biofilm, the wetlands performed well.     

Kinetic investigation of Cu(II) ions photoreduction in presence of titanium dioxide and formic acid

The photoreduction of Cu(II) in presence of an organic species as sacrificial agent has been investigated by many research groups but some controversial results are reported in literature. In this work, the photoreduction process of Cu(II) in presence of formic acid is investigated aiming at clarifying the reaction mechanism and assess the reaction kinetics. The effect of operating conditions such as TiO₂ load, initial concentration of sacrificial agent, pH and ionic strength was studied. The results of the work are: (1) the system reactivity does not depend neither on pH (in the range 2.0-3.5) nor on ionic strength of the solution; (2) formic acid is adsorbed on TiO₂ surface; (3) the nature of anionic species can influence the Cu(II) photoreduction (e.g. the addition of sulphate or phosphates reduces the reaction rates); and (4) FA can be completely mineralized during this photoxidation process; for example, this is observed for a TiO₂ load of 0.1 g/L after a reaction time of about 240 min. A simplified kinetic model is developed to describe the behavior of the system and validated by analysing the data collected during the experimental work.