Evaluating the application of a decision support system in identifying adequate wastewater treatment for small communities. A case study: the Fluvia River Basin.

The identification of adequate wastewater treatment for small communities is a complex problem since it demands a combination of data from different sources, such as aspects of the community and landscape, the receiving environment and the available wastewater treatment technologies. The Catalan Water Agency (Agència Catalana de l'Aigua) considered using an EDSS (Environmental Decision Support System) as a tool to help water managers select the most adequate treatment for the urban wastewater of nearly 3,500 small communities in Catalonia (Spain). From that moment, EDSS was applied to all the river basins in Catalonia. In this paper the authors present the results obtained for the 76 small communities located in one of these river basins: the Fluvia River Basin. The characteristics of the community used in the reasoning process of the EDSS, the list of selected wastewater treatment alternatives, the technical environmental justification for the selected treatments and the reasons for discarding, favouring or disadvantaging them are presented. Finally, some results for the Fluvia River Basin are compared with those obtained in other Catalan river basins with different characteristics in order to evaluate which are the significant features in identifying adequate wastewater treatments.     

Hydrologic regionalisation impacts on wet-weather control selection.

Continuous simulation is performed using the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) to evaluate regional differences around the United States in hydrologic and water quality performance of wet-weather controls. Controls are characterised as being limited by peak inflow rate (i.e. any device with little or no storage, such as screens, filters and some proprietary devices) or by storage capacity (e.g., ponds, tanks). For flow-limited devices, results are presented in the form of percentage of annual runoff volume captured (passing through the device) for a given inflow capacity. For storage-limited devices, results are presented in two forms: percentage of annual runoff volume captured as a function of unit basin size and drawdown (drain) time, and as a percentage of total suspended solids captured, for the same two variables. Regional differences are apparent, driven mainly by variations in rainfall patterns around the country.     

Pesticide monitoring programme of the Ministry of Health of Brazil

The structure of the recently introduced Brazilian government programme for monitoring pesticide residues in six major agricultural products is described. Residues found from the analysis of samples of tomatoes and strawberries are discussed in detail. The much greater frequency of detection of pesticide residues, many of which are not approved for use in Brazil, in produce being sold on the domestic market, as opposed to that produced for export, is of major concern. It is perceived that this new monitoring programme will become permanent and be used to underpin enforcement actions that will need to be taken to reduce the numbers of incidents of illegal residues occurring, particularly in fresh fruits and vegetables.     

Temperature and Frequency Dependence of the Ultrasound Velocity in Neutron-Irradiated Quartz Crystals Above 5 K

Neutron-irradiated quartz crystal is one of the interesting materials for the study of the glassy dynamics. The temperature and frequency dependence of the sound velocity in amorphous materials at temperatures above the low-temperature maximum is not well understood. In this paper we present the results of our measurements of the variation of the ultrasound velocity (270 – 650 MHz) in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals with different irradiation doses in temperature range 5 - 35 K. We have found that the temperature dependence of the ultrasound velocity is linear in the sample with a dose < 10 ¹⁹ n/cm² and is sublinear in samples with a dose > 10 ¹⁹ n/cm² . We discuss our results in the framework of the different theoretical approaches. PACS numbers: 61.43. j, 62.65.+k, 63.     

Influence of the shape of fiber cross section on fabric surface characteristics

Fiber cross sections for use in textiles and composites are becoming more and more complex. Shape impacts fiber or filaments properties and therefore the yarn and fabric characteristics. This paper presents the influence of the fiber cross section on the fabric surface characteristics. The material used was polyester staple fibers, of four different shapes: round, scalloped oval, cruciform and hexachannel. All fibers had the same cut length with different fineness. Yarns obtained from these fibers had nominally the same yarn count, torsion value and structure. Plain jersey fabrics were knitted from each of the yarns under identical conditions and then relaxed prior to testing. Friction behavior was evaluated and a roughness-friction criterion developed. An indirect measurement of the real area of contact was obtained in order to provide roughness and friction properties. The influence of fiber cross section on yarn bending rigidity and on the state of the knitted fabric surface was characterized.