OPTIMAL MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

The scheduling of maintenance for water distribution systems is a complex task encompassing a wide range of alternatives. The methodology presented in this paper can consider the major piping alternatives of replacing and cleaning, and relining. It also considers the potential of pumping improvements while accounting for the costs of maintenance, failure and operations for a multiple-period planning horizon. To solve the problem a nonlinear optimization model is linked with a network simulation model. The application showed that the procedure can determine solutions in reasonable times.     

Legislation and the motor car

Vehicle legislation for safety and emission control is led by the USA where half the world's cars and one‐third of the world's road deaths are found. The 1975/6 standards will cause confrontations between industry and government in the U.S.A. and have costly implications for the American people. The rest of the world is affected by what happens in the U.S.A. but for language and other reasons fragmented laws are normal with conflicting requirements for manufacturers who supply the many markets. The greatest force for harmonization of legislation may be the enlarged Common Market including, as it does, the four major European Car manufacturing countries. The Common Market Commission may displace WP 29 of the United Nations as the leading law‐making body. Type approval is the compliance system used in Europe, but the growth in scope of safety and other legislation is bringing into focus a weakness of the system which is reducing production efficiency to an alarming degree. American style self‐certification is not acceptable to European governments.     

Effect of dietary and synthetic chelating agents on the intestinal absorption of lead

The effect of a number of dietary and synthetic chelating agents on the intestinal absorption of lead has been examined using the everted sac preparation and the tracer isotope ²⁰³Pb. All the agents examined increased lead transport into the serosal compartment. An explanation of the way in which these agents modify the model to describe lead transport is proposed.     

Changes in zooplankton populations in the White Volta with particular reference to the effect of Abate

The 24‐hour LC 50 of the nauplii of Thermocyclops hyalinus using Abate CE 200 solution was 0.23 ppm., while the 24‐hour LC 50 of both the copepodite and adult stages was 0.2 ppm.

The numbers of drifting zooplanktonic Microcrustacea in the White Volta increased in numbers during the months of March, April, May, June and July in the dry season. The increase in numbers in the post‐sunset samples related to the vertical migration of the zoqplankton in the reservoir upstream. The aerial weekly application of Abate CE 200 solutions at very high lethal concentrations did not seem to affect the Microcrustacea population probably because (a) Microcrustacea drifting into the reservoir from upstream sustained populations in the reservoir; (b) Microcrustacea living at the banks of the reservoir escaped the abate effect flowing downstream; and (c) spraying was done around noon, when the majority of the zooplankton population had migrated to the bottom of the reservoir.     

Forest fires in cork oak (Quercus suber L.) stands in Portugal

Fire and cork can be considered both the most serious problem and the most valuable resource of Portuguese forests. The existence of important areas of burned cork oak stands resulting from severe fire seasons in recent years is an environmental problem which deserves special attention. This paper makes a multidisciplinary survey of the problem of burned cork oak stands focusing on: the dimensions of the problem in Portugal, the remarkable resistance of cork oak to fire, the post‐fire management of cork oak stands, and the economic and ecological effects of fire in cork oak stands. Particular emphasis is given to knowledge gaps in this context.     

Water treatment with silicofluorides and lead toxicity

Toxic metals like lead, manganese, copper and cadmium damage neurons and deregulate neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine (which are essential to normal impulse control and learning). Earlier studies show that — controlling for socio‐economic and demographic factors — environmental pollution with lead is a highly significant risk factor in predicting higher rates of crime, attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity, and learning disabilities. Exposure and uptake of lead has been associated with industrial pollution, leaded paint and plumbing systems in old housing, lead residues in soil, dietary habits (such as shortages of calcium and iron), and demographic factors (such as poverty, stress, and minority ethnicity). We report here on an additional “risk co‐factor” making lead and other toxic metals in the environment more dangerous to local residents: the use of silicofluorides as agents in water treatment. The two chemicals in question — fluosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride — are toxins that, despite claims to the contrary, do not dissociate completely and change water chemistry when used under normal water treatment practices. As a result, water treatment with siliconfluorides apparently functions to increase the cellular uptake of lead. Data from lead screening of over 280,000 children in Massachusetts indicates that silicofluoride usage is associated with significant increases in average lead in children's blood as well as percentage of children with blood lead in excess of 10μg/dL. Consistent with the hypothesized role of silicofluorides as enhancing uptake of lead whatever the source of exposure, children are especially at risk for higher blood lead in those communities with more old housing or lead in excess of 15 ppb in first draw water samples where silicofluorides are also in use. Preliminary findings from county‐level data in Georgia confirm that silicofluoride usage is associated with higher levels of lead in children's blood. In both Massachusetts and Georgia, moreover, behaviors associated with lead nurotoxicity are more frequent in communities using silicofluorides than in comparable localities that do not use these chemicals. Because there has been insufficient animal or human testing of silicofluoride treated water, further study of the effect of silicofluorides is needed to clarify the extent to which these chemicals are risk co‐factors for lead uptake and the hazardous effects it produces.     

Andalusia,Spain: An Assessment of Coastal Scenery

The 1101 km length of the Andalusian coast (Spain) was assessed for coastal scenery at 45 specific locations. Selected areas covered resort (3), urban (19), village (8), rural (10) and remote (5) bathing areas. Scenery was analyzed for physical and human parameters via 26 selected parameters. These parameters were obtained by interviews of >500 people on European beaches. Each parameter was assessed via a one-to-five-point attribute scale, which essentially ranged from presence/absence or poor quality (1), to excellent/outstanding (5). Results were subsequently weighted by interviewing >600 bathing area users (not all 26 parameters have equal weight) and subjected to fuzzy logic mathematics in order to reduce recorder subjectivity. High weighted averages for attributes 4 and 5 (excellent/outstanding) reflected high scenic quality, vice versa for attributes 1 and 2. Sites were classified into five classes ranging from Class 1 sites having top grade scenery to Class 5, poor scenery. Seven sites each were found in Classes 1 and 2; 10 sites each in Classes 3 and 5; 11 sites in Class 4. The finest coastal scenery was found in remote areas whilst urban areas scored mainly as Class 3 or 4. Three out of the ten rural sites had Class 3 and 4 values assigned them whereas the rest scored as Class 1 and 2; village sites invariably had scores within Class 3 and 4. Of the three resort sites investigated, one scored as a Class 1 site, the others as Class 3.