Industrial and Agricultural Effects on Water Environment and Its Optimization in Heavily Polluted Area in Taihu Lake Basin, China

The deteriorating water quality in the Taihu Lake Basin has attracted widespread attention for many years, and is correlated with a sharp increase in the quantity of pollutant discharge such as agricultural fertilizers and industrial wastewater. In this study, several factors were selected for evaluating and regionalizing the water environmental capacity by ArcG1S spatial analysis, including geomor- phologic characteristics, water quality goals, water body accessibility, water-dilution channels, and current water quality. Then, the spa- tial optimization of agriculture and industry was adjusted through overlay analysis, based on the balance between industrial space and water environmental capacity. The results show that the water environmental capacity gradually decreases from the west to the east, in contrast, the pollution caused by industrial and agricultural clustering is distributes along Taihu Lake, Gehu Lake and urban districts. The analysis of the agricultural space focuses on optimizing key protected areas of the Taihu Lake Basin, and the shores of Gehu Lake, optimally adjusting the second protected areas of the Taihu Lake Basin, and generally adjusting the urban areas of Changzhou and Wuxi cities. The analysis of industrial space focuses on optimizing the downtowns of Changzhou and Wuxi cities, optimally adjusting key protected areas and second protected areas of the Taihu Lake Basin, and generally adjusting the south and southwest of Gehu Lake. Lastly, some schemes of industrial and agricultural layouts and policies for the direction of industrial and agricultural development were proposed, reflecting a correlation between industry and agriculture and the water environment.

Short-term Effects of Air Pollution on Mortality in a Heavily Polluted Chinese City

Since the London fog in 1952, numerous epidemioLogical studies have revealed that both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollutants is associated with the development of diseases[1]. Up to date, the assessment of air quality on health and air quality standard establishment in developing countries were mainly relied on extrapolation based on the results from long-term cohort studies conducted in Europe and North America.

Spatial correlations between urbanization and river water pollution in the heavily polluted area of Taihu Lake Basin, China

Water pollution in the Taihu Lake Basin has been the focus of attention in China and abroad for a long time, due to its position in the forefront of urban development in China. Based on data gathering and processing from 84 monitoring sections in this heavily polluted area, this study first analyzes spatial patterns of urbanization and the distribution of river water pollution, and then uses the GeoDa bivariate spatial autocorrelation model to investigate the spatial correlation between urbanization and river water pollution at the scale of township units. The results show that urbanization has adverse impacts on water pollution, and the influence varies in different levels of development areas. The urban township units have the highest level of urbanization and highest pollution, but the best water quality; the suburban units have lower level of urbanization, but higher pollution and worse water quality; however the rural units have the lowest level of urbanization and lowest pollution, mainly affected by upstream pollution, but worst water quality. Lastly, urban and rural planning committees, while actively promoting the process of development in the region, should gradually resolve the issue of pollution control lagging behind urban life and urban develop- ment, giving priority to construction of centralized sewage treatment facilities and associated pipeline network coverage in the rural areas and suburban areas.

Rapid control of black and odorous substances from heavilypolluted sediment by oxidation:Efficiency and effects

The control ofblack and odorous substances in sediments is of crucial importance to improve the urban ecological landscape and to restore water environments accordingly.In this study,chemical oxidation by the oxidants NaClO,H2O2,and KMnO4 was proposed to achieve rapid control of black and odorous substances in heavily-polluted sediments.Results indicate that NaClO and KMnO4 are effective at removing Fe(II)and acid volatile sulfides.The removal efficiencies of Fe(II)and AVS were determined to be 45.2%,94.1%,and 93.7%,89.5%after 24-h exposure to NaClO and KMnO4 at 0.2 mmol/g,respectively.Additionally,rapid oxidation might accelerate the release of pollutants from sediment.The release of organic matters and phosphorus with the maximum ratios of 22.1%and 51.2%was observed upon NaClO oxidation at 0.4 mmol/g.Moreover,the introduction of oxidants contributed to changes in the microbial community composition in sediment.After oxidation by NaClO and KMnO4 at 0.4 mmol/g,the Shannon index decreased from 6.72 to 5.19 and 4.95,whereas the OTU numbers decreased from 2904 to 1677 and 1553,respectively.Comparatively,H2O2 showed a lower effect on the removal of black and odorous substances,pollutant release,and changes in sediment microorganisms.This study illustrates the effects of oxidant addition on the characteristics of heavily polluted sediments and shows that chemical oxidants may be an option to achieve rapid control of black and odorous substances prior to remediation of water environments.

Does green governance affect financing constraints?Evidence from China's heavily polluting enterprises

Given the increasing focus on global sustainable development, many enterprises in developing countries such as China participate in green governance and scale up their green investment;however, many enterprises still experience financing difficulties. Our study investigates whether green governance can mitigate corporate financing constraints. Using a sample of Chinese, A-share listed, high-pollution enterprises from 2013 to 2018, we find that corporate green governance practices, including environmental performance and information disclosure, ease corporate financing constraints. This effect is pronounced in areas with high levels of financial development and for stateowned enterprises. This paper not only proposes a channel for alleviating enterprises’ financing constraints but also reveals the importance of industrial transformation and emissions reduction for energy-intensive industries in emerging markets.