Environmental risk assessment on slag and iron-rich matte produced from reducing-matting smelting of lead-bearing wastes and iron-rich wastes

A new process for utilization of hazardous lead-bearing wastes and iron-rich wastes by reducing-matting smelting has been developed.The slag（SG） and the iron-rich matte（IRM） are the main by-products from reducing-matting smelting of lead-bearing wastes and iron-rich wastes.The environmental risk of heavy metals（Cd,Zn,Pb and As） in the main by-products versus the charging material for reducing-matting smelting（CM） has been systematically assessed using leaching toxicity test,the three-stage sequential extraction procedure of European Community Bureau of Reference（BCR） and Hakanson Potential Ecological Risk Index Method（PERI）.The results demonstrate that the ecological risk level of heavy metals for SG and IRM is significantly reduced after the reducing-matting smelting process compared with that for CM.

Adsorption and Desorption Characteristics of Cadmium and Lead in Typical Paddy Soils of Jiangxi Province and Its Environmental Risk Assessment

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the adsorption and desorption characteristics of cadmium and lead in typical paddy soils of Jiangxi Province. [Method] Gleyed paddy soil and waterloggogenic paddy soil were collected from Jiangxi Province and used as experimental materials to investigate single and com- petitive adsorption and desorption behaviors of cadmium and lead by batch equilib- rium method. The environmental risk of the presence of cadmium and lead in paddy soils was assessed using distribution coefficients. [Result] Under equal ratio condi- tions, the adsorption capacity of lead by two types of paddy soils was higher than that of cadmium, and the adsorption rate in waterloggogenic paddy soil was higher than that in gleyed paddy soil. The desorption capacity of cadmium by two types of paddy soils was higher than that of lead, and the desorption rate in gleyed paddy soil was higher than that in waterloggogenic paddy soil. Under competitive condi- tions, the adsorption capacity of cadmium and lead by paddy soils was significantly reduced compared with single ion system, while the desorption rate was remarkably improved. The potential environmental risk of cadmium contamination was greater than that of lead in paddy soils. Moreover, environmental risks of cadmium and lead were reduced with the increase of pH, which increased significantly under the coex- istence state. [Conclusion] In the coexistence of cadmium and lead, cadmium con- tamination should be controlled and avoided compared with lead contamination in paddy soils.

Simulation of Revised Puff Trajectory Model in Regional Atmospheric Environmental Risks

[Objective] The aim was to research application of revised puff trajectory model in atmospheric environmental risks simulation.[Method] In the research,theory of puff trajectory model for pollution diffusion in atmosphere in urban areas was analyzed and CALPUFF,a revised puff trajectory model,was applied in prediction on atmospheric environmental risks in Xining City.[Result] The simple puff trajectory model can not be applied for long-distance transport or in complex terrain and airflow field.In contrast,CALPUFF would be applied in urban areas,and complex terrain or underlying surface.With high resolution ratio,it would depict the beginning condition and detailed distribution of pollutants transport and diffusion.For prediction on atmospheric environmental risks in Xining City,northwest wind dominated in Huangshui Valley;north wind dominated in Beichuan Valley;temperature inversion occurred at high altitude.These had a significant effect on the downwind direction in Xining urban district.The simulation results indicated that puffs usually spread along Huangshui Valley and some non-steady phenomena occurred,such as blocking effect by mountains,deformation of puff by airflow field in ridges and influence of valley wind.[Conclusion] The research is of significance for precise prediction on characters,influence and extent of atmospheric environmental risks in cities.

Effect of Phopshate Fertilizer and Manure on Crop Yield, Soil P Accumulation, and the Environmental Risk Assessment

Phosphorus （P） applied from fertilizer and manure is important in increasing crop yield and soil fertility; however, excessive uses of phosphate fertilizer and manure may also increase P loss from agricultural soils, posing environmental impact. A long term experiment was conducted on a calcareous soil （meadow cinnamon） in Hebei Province, China, from 2003 to 2006 to investigate the effects of phosphate fertilizer and manure on the yield of Chinese cabbage, soil P accumulation, P sorption saturation, soluble P in runoff water, and P leaching. P fertilizer （P2O5） application at a rate of 360 kg ha^-1 or manure of 150 t ha^-1 significantly increased Chinese cabbage yield as compared to the unfertilized control. However, no significant yield response was found with excessive phosphate or manure application. Soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in top soil layer （0-20 cm）, and soluble P in runoff water increased significantly with the increase of phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates, whereas the maximum phosphorus sorption capacity （Qm） decreased with the phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates. Soil Olsen-P and soluble P also increased significantly in the sub soil layer （20-40 cm） with the high P fertilizer and manure rates. It indicates that excessive P application over crop demand can lead to a high environmental risk owing to the enrichment of soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, and the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in agricultural soils.

Study on Environmental Risk and Economic Benefits of Rotation Systems in Farmland of Erhai Lake Basin

This study was designed to find out an optimised planting system of reducing non-point （source） pollution by analyzing the reasons and the factors of influence non-point pollution in farmland of Erhai Lake basin. The results showed that incomes, residual nitrogen in soil, and the loss of nitrogen in surface water in rice-garlic system were higher than those in rice-fava bean system. There were positive correlations between the nitrogen loss of farmland, nitrogen inputs, residual nitrogen in soil, and incomes of farmland. Economic benefits and environment benefits are both appropriate, if the area of rice-garlic system would be reduced to 53% and the area of rice-fava bean system increased to 36% of total cropping area in the investigated watershed. Adjustment of planting structure and introduction of reasonable rotation systems is considered an effective measure of controlling agricultural non-point pollution in watersheds of Erhai Lake.

Reducing environmental risk of nitrogen by popularizing mechanically dense transplanting for rice production in China

The high nitrogen(N)application rates typically used in Chinese cropping systems have led to diminishing returns for yields and have also imposed substantial environmental costs.Here,we estimate that the annual N loss from rice production in China reached approximately 2.6×109 kg from 2011 to 2015,and we demonstrate that adoption of the mechanically dense transplanting technique by producers is an effective method to reduce N loss from rice cropping systems without suffering a yield penalty.

Distribution, Chemical Speciation, and Environmental Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Tailings Soils near Dexing Copper Mine, China

To complement information of heavy metals＇ distribution, chemical speciation, activity and environmental risks in agricultural soils surrounding tailings, a total of 16 samples obtained from the 4 # railings site of Dexing copper mine of China were investigated. The total concentrations of heavy metals Zn, Fe, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Hg, As, Mn, Ag, Co, and Ni were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Chemical speciations of Cu, Cd, and Zn were investigated with the procedures recommended by Tessier（1979）. Two different assessment approaches （GB 15618- 1995 and risk assessment code, RAC ） were employed to estimate heavy metals＇ environmental risks. Results indicated that heavy metals, especially Cu and Cd were in high levels of accumulation in these samples. Chemical speciation analysis results revealed that Cu was mainly in organic matter bound fraction （ORG） and residual fraction （ RES）, and Cd was predominantly in exchangeable fraction （EXC）, while Zn appeared mainly with the RES fraction. Environmental risk analysis results showed that Cd was in ＂heavy＂ pollution level （ classification m ） in almost all samples, which may exert ＂high＂ or ＂very high＂ environmental risks. Whereas, for Cu, one fourth samples showed ＂heavy＂ pollution level, but were located in ＂low＂ or ＂medium＂ environmental risk ranks. For Zn, many samples were grouped in ＂light＂ pollution level （ classification II ）, but were related to ＂ medium＂ and ＂ high＂ environmental risk ranks. These results indicated heavy pollution and high environmental risk of Cd in soils surrounding the 4# tailings site, which should be paid more attention to. Meanwhile, for Cu and Zn, the contrary results obtained by different environmental risk assessment approaches, may suggest that a more scientific, adequate environmental risk assessment criterion should consider both total content and chemical speciation activity of heavy metals.

A Case-control Study of Environmental Risk Factors for Nonsyndromic Cleft of the Lip and/or Palate in Xuzhou,China

In this study, we sought to determine the association between environmental factors and nonsyndromic cleft of the lip and/or palate （NSCLP） to understand the etiology of the disease. A total of 200 NSCLP cases and 327 controls were recruited at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Xuzhou City. We conducted face-to-face interviews with the mothers of both cases and controls. The factors increasing the risk of NSCLP were a positive family history [odds ratio （OR）=56.74], pesticide exposure （OR=8.90）, and indoor decoration pollution （OR= 4.32）. On the other hand, the factors decreasing the risk of NSCLP were a high education level （OR=0.22） and supplementation of folic acid （OR=0.23） and multivitamins （OR=0.16）. Positive family history, pesticide exposure, and indoor decoration pollution are associated with the risk of NSCLP. In contrast, high education level and folic acid and multivitamin supplementation are protective factors against NSCLP.

Environmental Risk Factors for Stomach Cancer in an African Setting about 193 Cases at the CHU Point G in Bamako/Mali

CHU (University Hospital Center) Point G: The department of surgery B is a surgical department of CHU Point G. The department is par excellence a reference department for cases of visceral surgery, cancer surgery, cardiovascular surgery, plastic and endocrinology surgery. As a reminder, the CHU Point G is the largest 3rd level referral hospital in Mali. Aim: To study the environmental risk factors of stomach cancer in the B surgery department of the Point G University Hospital in Bamako. Patients and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study with retrospective collection from January 2008 to June 2018 (126 months). Results: We have identified 380 cases of digestive cancer, including 193 cases of stomach cancer or 50.79% of digestive cancers. The mean age of the patients was 57.21 ± 13 years. Male sex represented 55% (n = 106). Eating habits were dominated by the consumption of tô with potash (cereal paste) with 64.76% (n = 185). The main methods of preserving meat and fish were curing and smoking with 57.51% (n = 111). Chronic smoking was found in 24.35% (n = 47), alcohol + tobacco consumption in 2.59% (n = 5). The low socio-economic class represented 126 cases or 65.38%. Housewives and cultivators were respectively 37.82% (n = 73) and 227.97% (n = 54). 20.20% (n = 39) had a history of epigastric pain. Epigastralgia was the most common functional sign with 84.5% of cases (n = 169). An epigastric mass was found in 72 patients or 37.3%. Adenocarcinoma represented 97.4% (n = 188). Palliative surgery concerned the majority of our patients with 64.8% of patients (n = 79). The postoperative consequences were simple in 28.57% of cases (n = 28), the postoperative morbidity and mortality were respectively 33.61% (n = 41), and 23.77% (n = 29). The overall survival rate after surgery was 10.81% at 2 years and 2.94% at 5 years. This rate was 58.83% at 2 years and 28.50% at 5 years after curative surgery. Conclusion: The risk factors for stomach cancer are many and varied. Some are particularly present in Africa. Delay in diagnosis due to a belief in traditional healers is common in our community.

Analysis of marine ecological compensation for environmental risk caused by chemical spill based on game theory

The problem of marine environmental risk is ultimately the result of game theory between the marine en vironmental managers and the enterprise of potential environmental risk.This paper analyzes the internal economic relationship that whether the"protection"policy is applied between the protection action of marine environmental managers and the chemical enterprise.The result shows that the key factor whether the enterprise adopt the"protec tion"policy or not is the amount of penalty and the government's cost of execution,and the compulsive ecological compensation is obligatory from the angle of stimulating the enterprise of canonical action and adopting the"protec tion"policy.To build the ecological compensation mechanism based on the environmental risk will effectively improve the level of management in sea area and decrease the probability of chemical spill.

Modeling the fate of paddy field pesticide in surface water and environmental risk assessment

The risk of drinking water is greatly concerned because of the large amount of pesticide applied to paddy field and the contamination of drinking water sources due to the runoff. A mathematical model is developed, based on the mass balance, to predict the fate of paddy field pesticides from application, runoff and mixing in a river, taking account of the physical chemical properties and processes of volatilization, degradation, adsorption and desorption. The model is applied to a river basin in Japan to estimate the contaminant level of several popularly used pesticides at the water intakes. The health risk in drinking water induced by each pesticide concerned is estimated and evaluated by comparing with the acceptable daily intake values(ADI) and with that induced by trihalomethanes. An index to evaluate the total risk of all pesticides appearing in water is proposed. The methods for risk management are also discussed.

Multi-hierarchical fuzzy judgment and nested dominance relation of rough set theory-based environmental risk evaluation for tailings reservoirs

Environmental risk assessment of tailings reservoir assessment system is complex and has many index factors.In order to accurately judge surrounding environmental risks of tailings reservoirs and determinate the corresponding prevention and control work,multi-hierarchical fuzzy judgment and nested dominance relation of rough set theory are implemented to evaluate them and find out the rules of this evaluation system with 14 representative cases.The methods of multi-hierarchical fuzzy evaluation can overall consider each influence factor of risk assessment system and their mutual impact,and the index weight based on the analytic hierarchy process is relatively reasonable.Rough set theory based on dominance relation reduces each index attribute from the top down,largely simplifies the complexity of the original evaluation system,and considers the preferential information in each index.Furthermore,grey correlation theory is applied to analysis of importance of each reducted condition attribute.The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed safety evaluation system and the application potential.

Environmental risk factors in children with cerebral palsy in Jiamusi,China

Most current studies focus on statistics of the incidence, etiology, and rehabilitative treatment of cerebral palsy. However, very few studies focus on the environmental risk factors for this syndrome In the present study, a total of 202 children with cerebral palsy in the Jiamusi district of China were selected as the case group, and 404 children were randomly selected for the control group. The survey focused on environmental factors during pregnancy, which included indoor pollution as the most dangerous factor （odds ratio = 2.432, 95% confidence interval = 1.172-5.047; P = 0.017）, followed by use of high-radiation mobile phones, more than 5 hours of watching television per day, and cooking with a marble kitchen platform during pregnancy. Results demonstrated that environmental risk factors play a role in the development of cerebral palsy in children.

THE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK EVENTS IN THE PAST 30 YEARS IN SHENYANG CITY

The index of Risk Frequency (RF) and other relative indices are used to analyze the temporal and spatial patterns of environmental riskevents in the past 30 years in Shenyang city. The results show that thereexists significant difference of the RFs between periods of 1966-1977 and1978-1991 (t=7.353**, t0.01=2.807). During the past 30 years, there areno significant changes of the spatial patterns of the environmental risk,while the proportions of environmental risk among the districts are extremely different. In Shenyang city, there exists a series of high riskenterprises, and the chemical industry is the one with highest risk.

Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemical Projects——A Case Study of a Polystyrene Production Project

Taking a polystyrene production project as an example, according to Technical Guidelines for Environmental Risk Assessment of Con- struction Projects （HJ/T169-2004）, we firstly identity the risk of substances and production process to determine the major source of danger, and then conduct source analysis and consequence prediction of the maximum credible accident, finally assess the environmental risk of the project and propose main risk management measures. The results reveal that the environmental risk of the project is acceptable, and it is suggested that some dsk prevention and mitigation measures as well as contingency plans should be established.

Case Study of Marine Ecological Compensation Criteria Based on Environmental Risk

This paper forecasted and identified the environmental risks and ecological effect caused by chemical spill by simulating the xylene spill in Xiamen waters. The evaluation objects of ecological damage include four parts ： marine ecosystem services, sea water quality, marine biological resources （plankton, benthos, nekton, etc. ）, and beach habitat. The ecological compensation criterion was confn-med as 1.73 million Yuan per year in the short term and 8.09 million Yuan in the long term. And an ecological compensation mode was suggested to be that if the chemical spill does not occur this year, the compensation will return to the enterprise next year; while if chemical spill occurs, the compensation will not be returned. The encouragement mechanism ＂returning compensation if no spill＂ might motivate enterprises to improve the environmental risk management and avoid the risks.

Thoughts of a travelling ecologist 14. Structure-function conflation in environmental risk assessment and monitoring

Recently,I attended a conference organised by the European Food Safety Authority in the beautiful and prosperous Italian city of Parma.The overall topic of the conference was risk assessment,and the program included a section on aspects of environmental risk assessment.In various areas,including the evalution of the effects of pesticide applications,invasive organisms or genetically modified plants(Arpaia et al.,2014)preparing an environmental risk assessment is an obviously relevant exercise.

Systematized Literature Review on Spatial Analysis of Environmental Risk Factors of Malaria Transmission

Malaria is still the major parasitic disease in the world, with approximately 438,000 deaths in 2015. Environmental risk factors (ERF) have been widely studied, however, there are discrepancies in the results about their influence on malaria transmission. Recently, papers have been published about geospatial analysis of ERF of malaria to explain why malaria varies from place to place. Our primary objective was to identify the environmental variables most used in the geospatial analysis of malaria transmission. The secondary objective was to identify the geo-analytic methods and techniques, as well as geo-analytic statistics commonly related to ERF and malaria. We conducted a systematized review of articles published from January 2004 to March 2015, within Web of Science, Pubmed and LILACS databases. Initially 676 articles were found, after inclusion and exclusion criteria, 29 manuscripts were selected. Temperature, land use and land cover, surface moisture and vector breeding site were the most frequent included variables. As for geo-analytic methods, geostatistical models with Bayesian framework were the most applied. Kriging interpolations, Geographical Weighted Regression as well as Kulldorff’s spatial scan were the techniques more widely used. The main objective of many of these studies was to use these methods and techniques to create malaria risk maps. Spatial analysis performed with satellite images and georeferenced data are increasing in relevance due to the use of remote sensing and Geographic Information System. The combination of these new technologies identifies ERF more accurately, and the use of Bayesian geostatistical models allows a wide diffusion of malaria risk maps. It is known that temperature, humidity vegetation and vector breeding site play a critical role in malaria transmission;however, other environmental risk factors have also been identified. Risk maps have a tremendous potential to enhance the effectiveness of malaria-control programs.

An analysis of environmental risks in Sichuan Province to relocate the textile industry from east China

The trend of transferring eastern textile industry to western regions in China is increasingly obvious.As for Sichuan Province,it is a chance to promote economic development and upgrade the textile industry through the incident compared with the other western regions.This paper analyzes the risk to environment in Sichuan Province when accepting the transfer and puts forwards relevant measures to this point.

Companies and Sustainable Development:The Adequacy of Environmental Impact Assessment for the Management of Environmental Risks

The choice of the environmental risk management instrument to be used within the scope of corporate governance in companies is of paramount importance to avoid or mitigate the triple environmental responsibility to which they are exposed.In this sense,the following research problem arises:The Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA),an instrument of the National Environment Policy and a model of environmental risk management adopted by some companies,proves to be efficient,effective and effective for the fulfillment of the duty to protect the environmental balance and,therefore,for sustainable development?The present study aims to elucidate this research problem.To this end,analyzes were carried out on risk and environmental damage,from a perspective of the socio-environmental function of companies today;the need for a new posture by companies in view of the reflexes of environmental risks in business activity;and the question of the adequacy or inadequacy of the EIA as an instrument of the National Environment Policy and as a model for managing environmental risks and damages,in the pursuit of sustainable development.The method of approach used was the deductive one,and the research was carried out using the method of bibliographic procedure,through which research was carried out on books,scientific articles and legislation.The result points out the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the EIA for the management of environmental risks and,thus,for the fulfillment of the duty to protect the environmental balance by companies.