Linking Numerical Water Quality Models in an Environmental Information System for Integrated Environmental Assessments

Decision makers involved in prevention of water contamination often lack the technical knowledge of water quality evaluation or the comprehension of complex software for environmental information management required to make effective decisions. Providing information about the environment is not an easy task due to its complex structure, relationships, and dynamic processes. Because environmental models play an important role in environmental decision support systems, the integration of models into user-friendly integrated information systems is a key factor in the support of such users. This paper presents an environmental information system which supports water protection of Coatzacoalcos River in Mexico, having as a main building block water quality assessments supported by mathematical modeling through the two-dimensional Saint Venant and Advection-Diffusion-Reaction equations to calculate the river hydrodynamics and the contaminant transport, respectively. The mathematical modeling solution yields appropriate results representing the river contaminant distribution when compared with field measurements. But the direct use of these models by decision makers is difficult at best, meaning they are not likely to be used in making practical decisions. The system described in this paper integrates these models, and several other tools, into a seamless, user-centered application, improving model usability, initial configuration, and results visualization.

Surface water quality and potential health risk assessments in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan section of Xiangjiang River, China

The Changsha-Xiangtan-Zhuzhou City Group is a heavy industrial district and accepted as the serious pollution area in the Xiangjiang River basin.In this study,7 metals(Pb,Hg,Cd,As,Zn,Cu and Se)and the river water quality parameters including pH,dissolved oxygen(DO),Escherichia coli(E.coli),potassium permanganate index(CODMn),dichromate oxidizability(CODCr),five-day biochemical oxygen demand(BOD5),ammonia nitrogen(NH4+-N),total nitrogen(TN),total phosphorus(TP)and fluoride(F)in 18 sampling sites of the Changsha-Xiangtan-Zhuzhou section are monthly monitored in 2016,which is the year to step into the second stage of the“Xiangjiang River Heavy Metal Pollution Control Implementation Plan”.It is found that E.coli,TN and TP are the main pollutants in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan section,and the pollution of heavy metal is not serious but As with potential risk to local people especially children should be concerned.In addition,Xiangtan city is mainly featured with heavy metal pollution,while Zhuzhou and Changsha city are both featured with other pollutants from municipal domestic sewage.

Indices of Water Quality and Pesticide Monitoring Survey in Lake of Western Cote d’Ivoire and Its Human Risk Assessment

The aims of the work were to study the current quality of the water in Lake DOHOU used for drinking water supply through several physical, chemical analyses and using water quality indices (WQI). In addition, the question was whether the populations are at risk after drinking water of lake following a reduction of 50% and 75% in the median and maximum values of pesticides. Thus, the results of the pesticide monitoring program were incorporated into probabilistic human health risk assessment exercises. Water samples were collected over a period of one year. Pesticides were subjected to solid phase extraction and then analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectroscopy. The other parameters were measured according to conventional methods. The results showed that the most frequently detected pesticides were aldicarb (79%), simazine (79%) and monolinuron (44%). They also showed the mean values of concentrations exceeding 1.5 μg/L. Metoxuron detected at a frequency of 29% showed the maximum average concentration (13.46 μg/L). Nearly 98% of the sampling points had at least one substance with an average concentration above the quality standard (0.1 μg/L) and 80% did not meet the total concentration standards. Cumulative risk quotient estimates after 50% or 75% abatement for frequently identified pesticides were greater than unity when extreme?values for adults and children were considered. To determine the suitability of water for aquatic life, drinking water consumption and drinking water production, the water quality index (WQI), the heavy metal pollution (HPI) and the heavy metal evaluation (HEI) were calculated. The poor quality of the water was mainly related to pesticides, organic matter and microbiological parameters. Most of the nutrients and metals studied were often below the standards of drinking water and aquatic life. The Water Quality Index (WQI) has shown that water quality is degrading for these three modes of use and ranges from poor to marginal. The coupling of monitoring data with probabilistic estimates of human risks could be used by the Ivorian authorities to propose effective pollution management plans.

Projection pursuit cluster model and its application in water quality assessment

One of the difficulties frequently encountered in water quality assessment is that there are many factors and they cannot be assessed according to one factor, all the effect factors associated with water quality must be used. In order to overcome this issues the projection pursuit principle is introduced into water quality assessment, and projection pursuit cluster(PPC) model is developed in this study. The PPC model makes the transition from high dimension to one-dimension. In other words, based on the PPC model, multifactor problem can be converted to one factor problem. The application of PPC model can be divided into four parts: (1) to estimate projection index function Q(); (2) to find the right projection direction ; (3) to calculate projection characteristic value of the i th sample z-i, and (4) to draw comprehensive analysis on the basis of z-i. On the other hand, the empirical formula of cutoff radius R is developed, which is benefit for the model to be used in practice. Finally, a case study of water quality assessment is proposed in this paper. The results showed that the PPC model is reasonable, and it is more objective and less subjective in water quality assessment. It is a new method for multivariate problem comprehensive analysis.

ArcGIS-Based Rural Drinking Water Quality Health Risk Assessment

Aiming at the unsafe of water quality which is the core problem in rural drinking water safety, the study col-lected 221 water samples of rural drinking water sources in Ya'an and detected the concentrations of the car-cinogen and the non-carcinogen. Based on the analysis of water environment characteristics and the identifi-cation of water environment health risk source of Sichuan Ya’an City, which includes seven counties and a district and is the typical region of the western margin of Sichuan Basin, this study calculated and analyzed the carcinogenic risk (R) and non-carcinogenic risk (hazard index, HI) by applying the health risk model recommended by the US National Research Council of National Academy of Science. Then, taking advan-tage of the geo-statistic spatial analysis function of ArcGIS, this study analyzed the assessment result data (R and HI), selected the proper interpolation approach and educed R and HI spatial distribution maps of the study area. R and HI of the single factor and integrate factors were evaluated and thus obtained the following conclusions: For one thing, the cancerous risk indexes of the vast majority of water sources (about 94%) is the level of 10-7 and it belong to the safety extension. The main carcinogen in the water sources are As, Cr6+ and Pb, their concentrations are in the ranges of 0.004-0.01, 0.005, 0.01mg/l respectively and such water source mainly distributed in Yucheng district and Mingshan county. For another, the non-cancerous hazard indexes of the vast majority of water sources (about 98%) is also less than the limit value 1 and will not harm the local residents. The health risk of non-carcinogen comes mainly from As and fluoride, their concentra-tions are in the ranges of 0.004-0.01 and 0.1-4.2mg/l respectively. The results of the integrate factors health risk assessment showed that the total cancerous risk were still at the level of 10-6, only 12 drinking water source investigation sites (5%) exceeded the drinking water management standard value of EPA (the limit value is 10-6);the total non-cancerous hazard indexes are still in the range of 10-2-10-1, and will not harm the local residents either, only 18 drinking water source investigation sites (8%) exceeded the drinking water management standard value of EPA(the limit value is 1).The densely populated areas such as Yucheng Dis-trict, Tianquan County, Yingjing County and Shimian County are where the four contaminating materials, i.e., As, Cr6+, Pb and fluoride should be monitored with emphasis. Study results disclosed the health risk control indexes of source water quality of the studied area and thus provided the scientific basis for the water quality control of water sources. This study had worked efficiently in practice. Compared with the same kind of methods which had been found, the paper had the outstanding results for the health risk assessment of the rural drinking water safety.

A mathematical model for environmental risk assessment in manufacturing industry

Environmental conscious manufacturing has become an important issue in industry because of market pressure and environmental regulations. An environmental risk assessment model was developed based on the network analytic method and fuzzy set theory. The "interval analysis method" was applied to deal with the on site monitoring data as basic information for assessment. In addition, the fuzzy set theory was employed to allow uncertain, interactive and dynamic information to be effectively incorporated into the environmental risk assessment. This model is a simple, practical and effective tool for evaluating the environmental risk of manufacturing industry and for analyzing the relative impacts of emission wastes, which are hazardous to both human and ecosystem health. Furthermore, the model is considered useful for design engineers and decision maker to design and select processes when the costs, environmental impacts and performances of a product are taken into consideration.

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.

Drinking water quality & health risk assessment of secondary water supply systems in residential neighborhoods

Secondary water supply systems(SWSSs)are important components of the water supply infrastructure that ensure residents’drinking water safety.SWSSs are characterized by long detention time,warm temperature,and unreasonable management,which may trigger the deterioration of water quality and increase risks.In this study,drinking water quality index(DWQI)and health risk assessment(HRA)were selected and modified to quantitatively assess the water quality and health risks of SWSSs in residential neighborhoods.In total,121 seasonal water samples were selected.It was observed that the water quality was excellent with the DWQI of 0.14±0.04,excluding one sample,which was extremely poor owing to its excessive total bacterial count.The HRA results revealed that the health risks were low:negligible non-carcinogenic risk for any population;negligible and acceptable carcinogenic risk for children aged 6–17 and adults.However,samples revealed higher carcinogenic risk(7.63×10−5±3.29×10−6)for children aged 0–5,and arsenic was the major substance.Summer samples had poor water quality and higher health risks,which called for attention.To further investigate the water quality and health risks of SWSSs,monthly sampling was conducted during summer.All 24 water samples were qualified in Chinese standard(GB 5749-2022)and characterized as excellent quality.Their HRA results were consistent with the seasonal samples’and the health risks were mainly concentrated in May.Overall,our study provides a suitable framework for water quality security,advice for managers,and references for administrators in other cities.

Risk assessment model of tunnel water inrush based on improved attribute mathematical theory

Tunnel water inrush is one of the common geological disasters in the underground engineering construction.In order to effectively evaluate and control the occurrence of water inrush,the risk assessment model of tunnel water inrush was proposed based on improved attribute mathematical theory.The trigonometric functions were adopted to optimize the attribute mathematical theory,avoiding the influence of mutation points and linear variation zones in traditional linear measurement functions on the accuracy of the model.Based on comprehensive analysis of various factors,five parameters were selected as the evaluation indicators for the model,including tunnel head pressure,permeability coefficient of surrounding rock,crushing degree of surrounding rock,relative angle of joint plane and tunnel section size,under the principle of dimension rationality,independence,directness and quantification.The indicator classifications were determined.The links among measured data were analyzed in detail,and the objective weight of each indicator was determined by using similar weight method.Thereby the tunnel water inrush risk assessment model is established and applied in four target segments of two different tunnels in engineering.The evaluation results and the actual excavation data agree well,which indicates that the model is of high credibility and feasibility.

Health Risk Assessment of Employees Exposed to Chlorination By-products of Recreational Water in Large Amusement Parks in Shanghai

Objective Chlorination is often used to disinfect recreational water in large amusement parks;however,the health hazards of chlorination disinfection by-products(DBPs)to occupational populations are unknown.This study aimed to assess the exposure status of chlorinated DBPs in recreational water and the health risks to employees of large amusement parks.Methods Exposure parameters of employees of three large amusement parks in Shanghai were investigated using a questionnaire.Seven typical chlorinated DBPs in recreational water and spray samples were quantified by gas chromatography,and the health risks to amusement park employees exposed to chlorinated DBPs were evaluated according to the WHO's risk assessment framework.Results Trichloroacetic acid,dibromochloromethane,bromodichloromethane,and dichloroacetic acid were detected predominantly in recreational water.The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of the five DBPs did not exceed the risk thresholds.In addition,the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of mixed exposure to DBPs were within the acceptable risk limits.Conclusion Typical DBPs were widely detected in recreational water collected from three large amusement parks in Shanghai;however,the health risks of DBPs and their mixtures were within acceptable limits.

Risk-based water quality decision-making under small data using Bayesian network

A knowledge-based network for Section Yidong Bridge,Dongyang River,one tributary of Qiantang River,Zhejiang Province,China,is established in order to model water quality in areas under small data.Then,based on normal transformation of variables with routine monitoring data and normal assumption of variables without routine monitoring data,a conditional linear Gaussian Bayesian network is constructed.A "two-constraint selection" procedure is proposed to estimate potential parameter values under small data.Among all potential parameter values,the ones that are most probable are selected as the "representatives".Finally,the risks of pollutant concentration exceeding national water quality standards are calculated and pollution reduction decisions for decision-making reference are proposed.The final results show that conditional linear Gaussian Bayesian network and "two-constraint selection" procedure are very useful in evaluating risks when there is limited data and can help managers to make sound decisions under small data.

Metagenomic Shotgun Sequencing Provides Prevalence Data for Pathogens, and Source-Tracking Indices Useful in Public Health Risk Assessment of Environmental Waters

State-approved membrane filtration (MF) techniques for water quality assessments were contrasted with metagenomic shotgun sequencing (MSS) protocols to evaluate their efficacy in providing precise health-risk indices for surface waters. Samples from a freshwater receiving pond (ABI-1002) and two upstream storm water ditches (ABI-1003) and (ABI-1004) yielded alarmingly high Fecal coliform MF densities of 220, >2000 and >2000 CFU/100ml respectively. The indicator, Enterococcus bacteria exceeded allowable limits in all but the equipment control (ABI-1001). Using MSS, the relative numerical abundance of pathogenic bacteria, virulence and antibiotic resistance genes revealed the status and potential pollution sources of each ditch. High levels of Shigella sp. (0 (ABI-1001), 4945 (ABI-1002), 55,008 (ABI-1003), and 2221 (ABI-1004) genomic reads/100ml) correlated with virulence genes and antibiotic resistance genes found in fecal samples for ABI1003 and not ABI1004. Traditional culture methods (TCM) showed possible fecal contamination in two of the four samples, and no contamination in the others. MSS clearly distinguished between fecal and environmental bacteria contamination sources, and pinpointed actual risks from pathogens. Our data underscore the potential utility of MSS in precision risk assessment for public and biodiversity health and tracking of environmental microbiomes shifts by field managers and policy makers.

Human health ambient water quality criteria for 13 heavy metals and health risk assessment in Taihu Lake

Heavy metals are widely concerning because of their toxicity,persistence,non-degradation and bioaccumulation ability.Iluman health ambient water quality criteria(AWQC)are specific levels of chemicals that can occur in water without harming human health.At present,most countries do not consider the effects of aquatic vegetables in deriving human health AWQC.Therefore,the intake of aquatic vegetables(Brasenia schreberi)was added to the derivation of human health AWQC and a health risk assessment for 13 heavy metals in Taihu Lake.The human health AWQC(consumption of water,fish and aquatic vegetables)values of 13 heavy metals ranged from 0.04(Cd)to 710.87μg/L(Sn),and the intake of B.schreberi had a very significant effect on the human health AWQC for Cu,with a more than 62-fold difference.The hazard quotients of As(2.8),Cd(1.6),Cr(1.4)and Cu(4.86)were higher than the safe level(HQ=1),indicating that As,Cd,Cr and Cu in Taihu Lake posed a significant health risk.Sensitivity analysis showed that the contribution rate of B.schreberi intake to the human health risk from Cu was 91.6%,and all results indicated that the risk of Cu in B.schreberi to human health should be of particular concern.This study adds the consideration of aquatic vegetable consumption to the traditional method of human health AWQC derivation and risk assessments for the first time,and this approach can promote the development of risk assessments and water quality criteria.

Applying PP Model Based on RAGA in Water Environment Quality Evaluation

Projection Pursuit (PP) model is a technique of falling high dimension. Real coding based on Accelerating Genetic Algorithm (RAGA) is a method of optimum. Through combining the PP model and RAGA, the paper applies the model in the water environment quality evaluation. The writer takes the water quality evaluated indexes of each sample as projection direction and turns high dimension data into low dimension projection value. Thus, the writer achieves on evaluating the grade of water samples and its optimum order. Based on this, the writer overcomes the jamming of weights calculated on fuzzy synthesize judge and gray system valuation. The paper can provide a new thought for water environment quality evaluation and other falling high dimension and optimum issue.

Modelling of water quality of Minjiang estuary

In order to establish economic development region at Mawei districtwhich is nearby downstream of Minjiang river and to answer the question of impact of economic development on water quality of Minjiang estuary, the analyses of hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics of Mawei reach of Minjiang tidal river, a two-dimensional mathematical model has been established and simulation of water quality was studied. The results show that the flushing time of a conservative pollutant during dry and raining period are 12 and 7 days respectively from Mawei to Minjiang mouth, the decay rate constants of BOD and NH3-N are 0.1 to 0.4 and 0.18 to 0.45 d-1 respectively. The capacity of dilution and assimilation for pollutants is larger.

Meteoroid and Space Debris Risk Assessment for Satellites Orbiting the Earth/Moon

Interplanetary meteoroids and space debris can impact satellites orbiting the Earth or spacecraft traveling to the Moon.Targeting China Space Station(CSS),7 satellites selected from the constellation of Beidou Navigation Satellite System Phase III(BDS-3),and 3 spacecraft orbiting the Moon,we have adopted in the paper the Meteoroid Engineering Model 3,Divine-Staubach meteoroid environment model,and Jenniskens-McBride meteoroid steam model to analyze the meteoroid environment with the mass range of 10–6~10 g.Orbital Debris Engineering Model 3.1 space debris model is used to analyze the orbital debris environment faced by these satellites.The flux of space debris with a size larger than 100μm is compared with that of the meteoroids.The results show that the space debris flux encountered by China Space Station is much higher than that of the meteoroids with sizes in the above range.And quite the opposite,the meteoroids flux impacting the 7 satellites from the BDS-3 is higher.Upon adopting the double-layer Whipple protection measure,the catastrophic collision flux of these satellites encountering meteoroids is about 10–6 times of that without protection,or even less,implying that the Whipple protection effectively guarantees the safety of the satellites in orbit.Besides,it is also found that the flux of the high-density meteoroid population encountered by each satellite is greater than that of the low-density population,whereas the impact velocity is lower for each satellite.These results can aid the orbit selection and the protection design for satellites and spacecraft.

Study on Risk Assessment Method of Informal Landfill

At present,there are a large number of informal landfills to be treated all over the country. Under the condition of limited treatment funds,it is necessary to prioritize the treatment of informal landfills. In this paper,the pollution risk of waste dump,surrounding soil,groundwater and surface water is analyzed,and a set of comprehensive risk assessment method system of informal landfill is established,which could provide reference for decision making department deciding landfill disposal.

Assessing the Impact of Petrol Service Stations on Selected Physico-Chemical Water Quality Parameters within Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria

This study assessed the impact of petrol service stations on physico-chemical water quality in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State. This threw light on the extent of damage and alteration of water quality in Port Harcourt metropolis as a result of the proliferation of petrol service stations especially the condition of ground and nearby surface water. This serves as a useful tool to government and regulatory authorities for planning especially due to lack of central water supply system in Port Harcourt metropolis. The parameters studied were sampled, measured and analyzed using in situ and other standard methods. Remarkable results above permissible limits of interest for physicochemical parameter analysis revealed pH values from 4.6 to 6.8, electrical conductivity from 0.002 µS/cm to 0.42 µS/cm, salinity from 3 ppm to 4050 ppm, and temperatures from 19.9˚C to 32.6˚C. Total dissolved solids (TDS) varied from 7 ppm to 1000 ppm, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from 0.167 mg/L to 2.167 mg/L, chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 0.257 mg/L to 3.253 mg/L, and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations from 1.70 mg/L to 4.30 mg/L. Specifically, water samples from NNPC Filling Station (Choba) and Eneka Pond displayed “Poor” water quality with WQI values of 112.003 and 112.076, respectively. Similarly, ALLTEC Filling Station (Eneka) and TOTAL Filling Station (Rumuomasi) had “Poor” water quality with WQI values of 173.707 and 180.946, respectively. In contrast, Excelsis Filling Station (Akpajo) demonstrated “Good” water quality with a WQI of 85.2072, while Total Filling Stations (Slaughter) and Choba River revealed “unsuitable for drinking” water quality with WQI values of 552.461 and 654.601, respectively. Slaughter River also indicated very poor water quality with a WQI of 442.024. The physicochemical and nutrient analyses of the water samples showed that activities of the filling stations within the study area may have polluted groundwater in the environment posing poor aesthetics and great health risk to consumers of the water bodies. The findings underscore the need for immediate remediation efforts and stricter regulatory measures to protect water quality. The study concluded that surface and groundwater near petrol service stations in Port Harcourt are unfit for drinking and irrigation purposes without adequate treatment.

Assessment of Effects of Qinshan Nuclear Power Station on the Ecological Environment and Water Quality of its Adjacent Waters after its Running

On the basis of the data of biological and nonbiological factors collected respectively from 1989 to 1990 and from 1995 to 1996 in the waters nearby the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, the ecological environment and water quality of the waters are analyzed and assessed in the paper. The results show: (a) the surveyed area has the typical ecological characteristics of high tidal range estuary, rich nutrients and low biological productivity, (b) tide, runoff and offshore seawater intrusion are the key factors which result in seasonal and annual changes of various biological and non-biological factors, (c) the risking of seawater eutrophication index is resulted from enormous amount of the discharges of industrial and domestic sewage, (d) because the survey area is located in a high tidal-range estuary, thermal effluent from cooling system does not induce significant temperature changes, ( e) the first stage project of Qinshan nuclear power station has no notable impacts on the ecological environment in

Environmental Risk Imposed by Diverted Flood Waters on Water and Soils in Emergency Retention Basins

Emergency retention basins (ERB) are diked enclosures alongside rivers into which water from the main river channel is diverted during extreme floods. If the basins are operated during extreme flooding, two negative environmental impacts may occur: 1) contamination of the soils due to their transport by suspended sediments to the basin and 2) depletion of dissolved oxygen in the basin water. A computer-based methodology is presented which was used to assess the environmental risk exhibited by the operation of an ERB system proposed for the Elbe River in Germany. The August 2002 extreme flood event was used as a test case. For such a flood, the results showed that there is a 77% risk that dissolved oxygen levels fall below 2 mg/L in the water and a 48% chance of exceeding the inspection value of 500 mg zinc/kg in the soil.