河流健康状况的表征及其评价

河流健康状况评价是河流管理和河流生态系统监控的基础。阐述了河流健康状况的内涵,尝试从理化参数、生物指标、形态结构、水文特征、河岸带状况5个方面表征河流的健康状况;并从预测模型法和多指标评价法角度对河流无脊椎动物预测和分类系统(RIVPACS)、澳大利亚河流评价计划(AUSRIVAS)、生物完整性指数(IBI)、RCE清单、溪流状态指数(ISC)、河流生态环境调查(RHS)、河流健康计划(RHP)等河流健康状况的评价方法进行评述;在探讨美国、英国、澳大利亚、南非等国家河流健康状况评价开展情况的基础上,指出我国迫切需要构建一套适合国情的河流健康状况评价体系,从河流健康角度评价国内主要河流的生态环境质量,并为广泛开展的河流恢复项目提供基础数据和决策依据。     

Distance as a predominant factor in the utilisation of health services in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana

The research primarily aims at testing a model, adapted from existing models, on the influence of distance on the use of health services in the Kumasi metropolis, an expanding urban centre in Ghana. Primary data, collected between August 2000 and February 2001, were used for the study. The data were analysed using a multiple regression model and compound bar graphs. A sample of 250, drawn through systematic random and stratified procedures, was used for the cross-sectional retrospective survey. Data were collected through formal interview schedules, after preliminary observational survey. The survey has established three principal findings. First, distance shows a strong inverse relationship with the utilisation of health services in the metropolis. Second, travel time and transport cost, variables that are related to distance, exhibit a weak negative and positive associations respectively with the use of health services. Third, the vulnerable groups of women, the aged, the sickly, the illiterate and the poor are not affected by distance decay in the utilisation of health services. Finally, independent variables that are statistically significant in influencing utilisation, alongside distance, are education, service cost, quality of service and health status. Recommendations for locational modelling of health services at the deprived periphery, an introduction of an insurance scheme to facilitate health care use, and recommendations for further research have been made.     

A temporal analysis of the association between breast cancer and socioeconomic and environmental factors

Although some biological factors have been confirmed to increase the risk of breast cancer, they only account for a small portion of the overall incidence in females. Women’s socioeconomic status and hazardous exposures to potential breast cancer carcinogens could modify their risks of breast cancer. From a public health perspective, it is important to understand what socioeconomic and environmental factors are associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer and how they vary geographically, temporally, and among different populations. Using an integrated approach, this study examines the associations between the incidence rate of invasive breast cancer and socioeconomic characteristics and environmental risks over time in Illinois for two periods: 1999–2003 and 2009–2013. Based on data from the US Census, ACS, and EPA, this study builds two sets of regression models to investigate the associations. The findings reveal that compared to environmental risks, socioeconomic factors are much more significant factors associated with the risk of breast cancer. The significant explanatory variables differ somehow between the two periods, yet with some agreement. Among the environmental risk variables examined, two toxic carcinogens, ethylene oxide and benzene were associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer for each time period respectively.     

Researching the geography of health and health care: Connecting with the Third World

In the context of doing research on the geography of health and health care, ‘connecting’ takes on multiple meanings. First, there are the connections between research topics although the political and socio-economic realities of the various geographical contexts can lead to foci on different aspects and social and geographic processes. There are then the connections between researchers from developed and developing countries who share an interest in the geography of health and health care, who perhaps transfer or refine research methods to look at the different contexts and even different topics. Finally, in this context, there are the connections between researchers and the IGU Commission on Health, Environment and Development (HED) promoted by the HED for the past eight years through its activities. This paper uses examples from the literature and the activities of HED to illustrate these various connections. It argues that if the geography of health and health care is to continue to develop, these three sets of connections must continue to grow and strengthen. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An approach for assessing soil health: a practical guide for optimal ecological management

How to integrate environmental geographic information and biodiversity data combined with management measures to effectively assess soil health is still an unresolved problem. This paper suggests an approach for systematically estimating soil quality and guiding ecological management. First, canonical correspondence analysis is used to predict the distributions of plant species or microorganism communities, principle pollutants and environmental variables from which spatial and environmental data are extracted by the geographic information system (GIS). Secondly, geostatistical methodologies are then used to estimate and quantify the spatial distribution characteristic of the species and pollutants and to create maps of spatial uncertainty and hazard assessment through ArcGis technology. Finally, redundancy analysis provides a suggestion about better management strategy and environmental factor for improving soil health and biodiversity. The combination of these methods with “3S” techniques as an assessment approach effectively meets the challenges for estimation and management in different soil environments.     

Normal and lognormal data distribution in geochemistry: death of a myth. Consequences for the statistical treatment of geochemical and environmental data

All variables of several large data sets from regional geochemical and environmental surveys were tested for a normal or lognormal data distribution. As a general rule, almost all variables (up to more than 50 analysed chemical elements per data set) show neither a normal or a lognormal data distribution. Even when different transformation methods are used more than 70 % of all variables in every single data set do not approach a normal distribution. Distributions are usually skewed, have outliers and originate from more than one process. When dealing with regional geochemical or environmental data normal and/or lognormal distributions are an exception and not the rule. This observation has serious consequences for the further statistical treatment of geochemical and environmental data. The most widely used statistical methods are all based on the assumption that the studied data show a normal or lognormal distribution. Neglecting that geochemcial and environmental data show neither a normal or lognormal distribution will lead to biased or faulty results when such techniques are used. Received: 21 June 1999 · Accepted: 14 August 1999     

Permeable homes: A historical political ecology of insects and pesticides in US public housing

This paper traces changes in the political ecology of insects and chemicals in US public housing since Congress founded public housing in 1937. Drawing upon the literature of critical geographies of home, urban political ecology, and medical history, it argues that the constitution of “public” and “private” space within public housing was deeply entangled with pest control practices there. Prior to 1945, reformers treated the housing as a commons, in part compelled by the mobility of bedbugs and the pesticide used to combat them, both of which were seen as serious health threats. Managers were also motivated by social welfare ideologies, while residents eagerly assisted with communal control policies in order to achieve freedom from the health insults of bedbugs. Following 1945, however, new synthetic pesticides like DDT seemed to stay safely within one apartment unit, encouraging housing managers to abandon community-oriented pest control practices. Meanwhile, curtailed budgets, particularly after the Housing Act of 1949, left the infrastructure of public housing to decay, rendering units more physically permeable even as managers neglected the communities there. The new pesticides nearly eradicated bedbugs, but tenacious populations of German cockroaches blossomed thanks to the permeable buildings and synthetic pesticides. Residents grew increasingly resistant to pesticide use as they observed that cockroach populations went unabated. The paper serves as a case for applying political ecology frameworks to domestic spaces, and also argues that housing quality and domestic pesticide use are not merely private responsibilities but should be regarded as environmental justice issues.     

城市饮用水源地水环境健康风险评价及风险管理

环境健康风险评价是环境科学的一个新兴研究领域,在简要介绍水环境健康风险评价基本方法的基础上,建立了健康风险评价模式,并根据深圳市主要饮用水源地水质监测资料,进行分析与评价。研究结果表明:(1)深圳市7个主要水库由基因毒物质所产生的健康风险的数量级为1 0-5~1 0-4,而由躯体毒物质所产生的健康风险的数量级为1 0-11~1 0-10,因此,基因毒物质为优先控制污染物;(2)对于Cr、As、Cd这三种基因毒物质,这7个水库的优先控制污染物是Cr;(3)对于躯体毒物质,所有水库的优先控制污染物是氨;(4)饮用水源各类污染物所致健康危害的个人年总风险小于国际辐射防护委员会(ICRP)推荐的最大可接受值,但超过瑞典环保局、荷兰建设和环境部推荐的最大可接受水平。目前环境健康风险评价还没有包括在常规环境评价工作中,建议在今后的评价工作中应该逐步开展这方面的工作,以提高供水安全。     

鄱阳湖平原地下水重金属含量特征与健康风险评估

鄱阳湖平原作为长江中下游平原的重要组成部分,随着城镇化进程的快速推进,由于工矿业污染物、农村生活污水和农业生产废水向地下水的过量排放,农村地下水污染程度和范围不断扩大,为了解鄱阳湖平原地下水重金属污染状况,本研究在大量的水文地质调查和水化学样品测试基础上,分析该区地下水中重金属Cu、As、Cr、Hg、Pb、Cd含量特征,利用美国环境保护署(USEPA)的健康风险评价模型对鄱阳湖平原地下水重金属进行健康风险评价。研究区171个地下水样品中Cd、Cu、Hg、As、Pb、Cr等6种重金属元素含量变化幅度大,其中Hg、Cd和As平均值超过《地下水环境质量标准》(GB/T14848—2017)Ⅲ类标准,结果表明鄱阳湖平原地下水水质受人为影响大,局部地下水存在严重的污染。致癌物健康风险评价结果显示,Cr、As和Cd的平均个人年健康风险值均大于可接受风险值,Cr的健康风险值最大,是主要的致癌因子,As次之,Cd最低;非致癌物质健康风险结果显示,Hg、Pb和Cu的健康风险水平表现为Hg>Pb>Cu,属于可忽略风险。区域饮水途径上的健康风险主要来自致癌物质,总体上男性健康风险大于女性的健康风险。鄱阳湖平原地下水水质污染状况研究及治理监管工作提供理论依据,为其他区域地下水重金属的监测和质量控制提供参考和借鉴。     

Mobility of aqueous contaminants at abandoned mining sites: insights from case studies in Sardinia with implications for remediation

Public awareness of environmental health issues has increased significantly in recent years, creating the need for detailed scientific studies that can identify potential environmental problems. This paper reports the results of hydrogeochemical surveys carried out in Sardinia, an Italian region with a long mining history. When mining operations in Sardinia ceased, actions for limiting the potential adverse effects of mine closure on the water system were not undertaken. Drainages from flooded mines and seeps from mining residues left on the ground are the main mining-related sources of contamination in Sardinia. Due to the proximity of mining sites to water resources and land that is within reach of animals and humans, the major risks to human health are associated with the direct discharge of contaminated waters into the streams and soils located down-gradient of the abandoned mines. Results of hydrogeochemical surveys carried out under different seasonal conditions showed that the dispersion of toxic and harmful elements (As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn) increases during the rainy season, especially under high runoff conditions. These results should help regional and national authorities to address present environmental regulations, particularly those regarding the quality of water resources. Furthermore, the results might be useful elsewhere for planning remediation actions at abandoned mining sites. Lessons learned by past mining in Sardinia indicate that correct disposal and management of mining residues should be mandatory from the beginning of exploitation and processing at each active mine. This would allow reduction of the environmental risks as well as the cost of remediation.     

An objective analysis of the relationship between quality of life and socio-economic characteristics in Kumasi,Ghana

Increasing urbanisation and the growth of urban areas in cities in developing countries present major challenges for local governments, policy makers and urban planners even though the phenomenon offers opportunities. Studies focusing on the quality of life (QoL) help in assessing objectively, urban conditions which inform urban policy and planning. Using Kumasi as a case study, this paper investigates the relationship between quality of life and socio-economic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, educational background, household income and housing type. To this end, the paper uses data from 500 households to examine the relationship between urban dwellers socio-economic characteristics and quality of life index in Kumasi. Findings indicated that objective QoL varied considerably with some of the socio-economic variables (household income and housing type) in the study area and these variables contributed significantly to the objective quality of life in Kumasi. The paper concludes that there are six (6) dimension of quality of life in Kumasi.     

Orthogonal Variance Structures in Lake Water Quality Data and Their Use for Geo-chemical Classification of Dimictic, Glacial/Boreal Lakes

The accumulating volumes of data collected within environmental monitoring programs facilitate the use of exploratory statistical methods of data analysis as a supplement to traditional methods of characterizing lake water quality. When principal component analysis and multidimensional scaling are applied to a matrix containing approximately 24000 samples of lake water quality variables pH, alkalinity, conductivity, hardness, color, Secchi depth and total phosphorus concentration, it is found that the total matrix variance can be approximately reproduced in an orthogonal two-dimensional base with transformations of hardness and color as best principal component representatives. This base is suggested as an empirical lake classification standard where the variance structure of subset lake populations (such as single lakes) can be referenced to the water quality standard of the generic population. Since the principal axes of the base exclusively contain inorganic and organic related variables respectively, the combined inorganic/organic characteristics of the lake can be expressed with the hardness and color variables alone. With the data matrix being large enough to produce high significance levels, and with variable ranges wide enough to represent a majority of dimictic, glacial/boreal lakes, the analysis results should be valid in many lakes throughout the world.     

Determinants of utilisation of health services by women in rural and urban areas in Ghana

The paper examines the factors that influence the utilisation of health services by women in the rural and urban areas in Ghana. The systematic sampling procedure was used to draw the sample from women aged 18 and above with diverse backgrounds from Ahafo-Ano South district, representing the rural districts and Kumasi metropolis, representing the urban districts. The research instruments used for data collection were the questionnaire and formal interviews. Multiple regression was the main tool for analysis. The research reveals that the key factors that impact significantly on the utilisation of health services by women in the Ahafo-Ano South district are, distance, income and family size (number of children) while for Kumasi metropolis they are education, distance and marital status. Whereas it is clear that distance is a common problem facing women in both rural and urban areas in Ghana in the utilisation of health services, marital status and number of children have emerged as contrasting factors influencing utilisation of health services by women in rural and urban Ghana. Recommendations to improve utilisation include the location of maternal and child health services within easy reach in the rural areas, intensification of family planning education in the rural areas, the empowerment of women through access to formal education and vocational training for income generation activities and the full implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). A model of utilisation of health services by women in the rural and urban areas has emerged.     

Environmental geochemistry in disaster response and planning

Large volumes of solid, gaseous, or liquid materials that are of potential concern from an environmental or public health perspective are commonly produced by natural or anthropogenic disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, urban fires, landslides, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, windstorms, industrial spills, and terrorist attacks. Geochemical processes play key roles in the environmental and health impacts of these materials. Yet, process-focused environmental geochemistry expertise and characterization methods are often underutilized in disaster response and planning. In part, the scientific studies needed for detailed process characterization are difficult to plan and implement while the events are still underway, and delayed responses can miss key transient processes and byproducts. Further, emergency responders are focused primarily on identifying the types, amounts, and health hazards of contaminants produced by the event, thus the responders do not have the time or the need to collect the full range of appropriate geological, geochemical, microbiological and other data necessary to understand the full range of physical and chemical processes that influence contamination from these extreme events. A thorough characterization and understanding of geochemical and environmental processes that occur during specific disasters can be used to better anticipate effects of and plan for similar future disasters. A broad spectrum of environmental geochemistry capabilities can be applied to help emergency response authorities and the public health community in their initial hazardous materials assessments immediately following disasters.     

After the war: Prospects for the health of the poor in Luanda,Angola

There is a dearth of published literature on health care systems in Angola. Like many Sub-Saharan African countries. Angola is experiencing rapid urbanization. An analysis of the health status, environmental health conditions and health-related behaviour of the urban poor in Luanda, Angola is provided.Although data are patchy and rarely disaggregated to reveal severe conditions in the shanty towns, a grave picture emerges. An average infant mortality rate of 104 per 1000 with malaria and intestinal infections the main causes of death in under ones reflects the poor environmental conditions which are worsening as urbanization continues at a rapid rate.Use of health services is limited with, for example of% of women giving birth at home, mainly unassisted, and only 28% of children covered by measles immunization (as validated by card).A discussion of existing health strategies, programmes and their constraints is set in the context of the future possibilities of the ending of the 15 year war and the introduction of structural adjustment policies.     

The impact of energy consumption on environment and public health in China

Fossil energy consumption is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of environmental pollution and decline in public health. This paper tests for the long-run and short-run relationship among energy consumption, environment pollution and public health using the autoregressive-distributed lag approach in China for the period 1985–2014. The study used energy consumption variables (i.e., the proportion of coal consumption, that of oil and clean energy, abbreviated as PCC, POIL and PCE, respectively), environmental pollution ones (i.e., SO₂ emissions, abbreviated SO₂, soot and dust emissions,), two health proxies (i.e., the proportion of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases mortality, abbreviated as PCD and PRD, respectively). These variables were selected due to vital importance in China. The overall results indicate that there was co-integration relationship under the study with statistically significantly positive relationship between environmental pollution and energy consumption, public health and environmental pollution in the short and long run. Comparing the long-run and short-run coefficients of energy use variable with respect to SO₂ and soot indicates that the long-run coefficients are the same as the short-run. The long-run coefficients of soot and dust emissions with respect to PCD and PRD, respectively, are higher than the short-run coefficients. This implies that environment pollution level is found to worsen with respect to fossil energy use presently and over time, while public health level descending with reference to soot and dust emission over time in China. The Granger causality results suggested a unidirectional Granger causality between energy use and environment pollution, environment pollution and public health. The results emphasized the importance of energy transformation and sustainable development policies that help to adjust the structure of energy consumption and to improve public health level.     

The changing geography of morbidity and mortality in post-communist Poland

In general, the health of Poles improved markedly in the thirty years after the Second World War, but there was some deterioration after 1989 before improvement resumed. Only in the case of cancer is there an upward trend and so Poles are now healthier than they have been at any time in the past. However there are sharp regional variations well exemplified by the incidence of tuberculosis, where there appears to be some correlation with poorer housing and atmospheric pollution. High death rates in Lodz (consistently the highest in the country at the voivodship level between 1989 and 1996), may also be linked with environmental pollution as well as the ageing of the population. Variations between town and country are small, but Poland shows up in a poor light when compared with other European countries. These are important issues for the administration and financing of the welfare services. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

In poor health: Supermarket redlining and urban nutrition

Over the past 100 years, ethnic minorities and the poor have become increasingly concentrated and isolated in low-income urban neighborhoods. While the demographic changes in cities are well documented, the parallel history of urban retailing is less well known. Little research has been done on changes in urban food retailing, particularly as they concern the urban poor. As the residential character of urban neighborhoods changed during the 20th century, so did the amenities available in those neighborhoods. The low point for urban retailing was in the 1980s, when cities experienced a net loss of supermarkets even as, nationally, store openings exceeded closings. The trend toward fewer, bigger stores located outside cities has continued to the present. Some critics have referred to this disinclination of large chains to locate in cities as `supermarket redlining'. Changes in food availability are a key element in the changing social conditions of the urban poor and, as good nutrition is critical for good health, a contributing factor in the decline of urban health. This paper will examine changes in urban retail food availability, the impact these changes have had on the health status of the urban poor, strategies utilized by the urban poor to address inadequate access to quality food sources, and the role of supermarkets in distressed communities.     

环境因素对路基沉降影响的分析

在秦沈线的路基沉降观测过程中，发现在上部填土荷载恒定不变的情况下，不同区段、路基的不同平面位置上测得的沉降过程曲线，有的发生陡降，有的发生较大沉降后产生回弹，在详细分析了沉降过程曲线、地下水位变化曲线等资料的基础上，发现上述异常现象是抽取地下水和冻融作用这两个环境因素所致，抽取地下水会引起沉降猛增，而冻融作用使沉降发生往复变化，本文较为详细地阐述了这两个环境因素影响沉降过程的方式，并且就抽取地下水对沉降的影响作了一些量化的分析。     

生物地球化学的概念与方法——DNDC模型的发展

生物地球化学作为一个学科包含4个概念,即生物地球化学量、流、群和场.这4个概念从不同角度描述了生命与其环境的关系.生物地球化学量探索生命及其无机环境在元素丰度上的相似性,这种相似性决定了生命体对环境化学状态的依赖性.生物地球化学流描写化学元素在生态系统中的迁移,此迁移导致了生命体与环境间的物质和能量交换.生物地球化学群描述化学元素在迁移转化时的复杂组合关系及其生物效应.生物地球化学场是生态系统中控制生物地球化学反应的各种环境营力的总和.生物地球化学模型即是这一综合力场及其对化学元素迁移转化影响的数学描述,DNDC模型即基于这些概念发展起来.DNDC模型可用来预测陆地生态系统中碳和氮的生物地球化学行为,该模型已被一些国家用来预测农业土壤的长期肥力和温室气体排放.