Environmental geology problems in the Tyrrhenian coastal area of Santa Marinella, province of Rome, central Italy

 The Tyrrhenian resort of S. Marinella (central Italy) is subjected to significant anthropogenic pressures during the summer vacation period, a common situation all along the Italian coast. Located 65 km NW of Rome on the southern slopes of the Tolfa Mountains, S. Marinella is built on a gently sloping, E–W trending belt which is cut by 14 N–S oriented ephemeral streams that discharge into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The low to medium permeability turbiditic sandstones which outcrop along this belt belong to the Late Cretaceous Pietraforte unit. Three environmental problems are addressed in this study. The first problem is related to the high water supply demand during the summer months which has forced local residents to dig a large number of wells. Extensive pumping from these wells has caused salt-water intrusion into the Pietraforte, thus compromising the domestic use of the groundwater. The second problem consists of the illegal dumping of urban solid waste, material that represents a hazard during significant rain events as well as a possible cause of groundwater contamination. The final issue addressed concerns the flooding potential of the 14 ephemeral streams that cross the inhabited area of S. Marinella, a risk which is highlighted by the disastrous flood which occurred on 2 October 1981 and during the period of the Roman Emperor Settimio Severo (205 A.D.). Some suggestions are proposed to mitigate and contain the effects of these problems. Received: 7 November 1995 / Accepted: 5 December 1996     

含煤层地质环境下地震波场的数值模拟

本文对含低速煤层地质环境下弹性波场多波多分量地震资料进行了二维数值模拟研究,对人工边界反射进行了有效处理,频散效应得到了有效的压制,对几种不同激发与观测排列方式下的弹性波资料进行了模型计算与分析。     

岩溶区集中式饮用水源地水质评价与保护——以毕节市倒天河水库和利民水库为例

采用SPSS软件，对2003年01月至2004年12月期间，倒天河水库和利民水库逐月水质监测数据进行数理统计分析，结果表明毕节市饮用水水质污染有较明显的季节变化和空间差异；且不同污染物对水体污染的贡献率各不相同，总磷和粪大肠菌群所占份额最大，方差累积贡献率达77％。在此基础上，利用加权综合污染指数对水体水质污染现状进行综合评价，结果显示倒天河水库和利民水库，水质污染总体较轻．饮用水水质符合《地表水环境质量标准（GB3838—2002）》中Ⅲ类水质标准；最后提出加大水环境保护的建议。     

Effect of some additives on synthesis of zeolite from coal fly ash

Hydrothermal conversion of fly ash into zeolites was conducted and the effects of the addition of sodium halide and waste solutions produced after zeolitization of fly ash, as well as the adjustment of the Si/Al ratio prior to synthesis process on the formation and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of zeolite product were evaluated. Both the addition of NaCl and NaF ameliorated the crystallinity and CEC of synthesized zeolite, but NaF had a better improvement effect. Na⁺ was considered to enhance the crystallization of zeolite, while F⁻ favored the dissolution of fly ash. The type of zeolite formed depended on the Si/Al ratio of the starting material prior to the nucleation and crystallization of zeolite. The adjustment of the Si/Al ratio of fly ash by addition of Na₂SiO₄ and Al(OH)₃ changed the type and CEC of zeolite. Waste solutions contained large amount of Si and little Al due to the formation of a zeolite named NaP1 in zeolite terminology with the Joint Committee of Powder Diffraction Standard (JCPDS) code of 39-0219. The alkalinity decreased largely. As a result, the CEC value of zeolite products synthesized with waste solution as alkali source decreased. The supplementation of new alkali to adjust the alkalinity of waste solution could enhance the CEC of synthesized product. It was concluded that: (1) addition of sodium halide and adjustment of the Si/Al ratio prior to synthesis can improve the quality of zeolite; (2) waste solutions produced following the zeolitization of fly ash can be reused as an alkali source in the activation of fly ash; zero-emission of waste solution in the synthesis of zeolite from fly ash is possible.     

Plerospheres and their role in reduction of emitted fine fly ash particles

Particles, less than PM10 in size, emitted from the stack of pulverized coal-fired power plants are of environmental concern since they can easily enter the human respiratory track. These fine particles are examined by Scanning Electron Microscope/Electron Dispersive Spectrometry （SEM/EDX）. Plerospheres are found in fly ash and are particles containing smaller particles formed during combustion of coal. The large plerospheres 〉50 μm mostly are present in ESP fly ash, indicating that they are effectively capturing fine particles and reducing their stack emission.     

Heavy metal contents in soil of major towns in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

A total of 63 soil samples from 3 different soil profiles （urban, suburban and industrial areas） in major towns in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia were analyzed for the total concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni and Cr. The soil samples were subjected to acid digestion and the concentrations of total metals extracted were measured or flame atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry. According to the result of this study, Pb and Zn concentrations in urban soils are much higher than those of industrial and suburban soils. Total concentrations of Cu and Cr in industrial soil samples are high compared to other two soil profiles and Ni concentrations in the suburban area are slightly higher those of urban and industrial soils. Since Malaysia has not yet to come up with her own soil maximum allowable limit, the heavy metal concentrations were compared with the Dutch maximum allowable limit. The results indicated that the median of heavy metals values in the three different soil profiles is still below the Dutch system limit. From the maximum allowable value obtained from the Dutch system, a contamination/pollution （C/p） index for each site was calculated for the set of these five heavy metals. An advantage of using this method is to make a differentiation between pollution （C/p〉1） and contamination （C/p〈1） status in soils as well as being able to characterize each status into 5 different categories （slight, moderate, severe, very severe and excessive）.     

Elements pollution in the extremely high tumor risk residents in Chaoshan littoral, southern China

Background ＆ aim： To investigate and analyze the elements pollution in the extremely high tumor risks residents in the Chaoshan littoral, southern China. Methods： 19 elements including Cr, Mn, Ni, Sr, Pb, Zn, Co, Sn, Th, Tl, Se, Hg, Cu, Mo, Cd, Sb, U, Ge, As, and Al were measured from 145 hair samples of residents from the high-risk Nanao Island （mortality of cancer 173-156/106 in recent 30 years）, Shantou high-risk village （mortality of cancer 230.4/106 in recent three years）, and two controls Shanwei （mortality of cancer 32/106 in 1970s） and Meizhou Hakka （incidence of cancer 103/106 ） using AAS, AFS, ICP-MS methods collaborated with Beijing University. And 21 samples of water, 18 samples office from the Nanao Island, Shantou high-risk village, and other low-risk controls were measured using the same methods. Results： The element analysis showed that levels of CD, PB in the Shantou high-risk village were the highest, Hg, MN, SR, SB, TH, U on the Nanao Island were the highest in hairs. Conclusions： It is indicated that there occurred elements pollution among the local high-risk population.     

Boron isotopic geochemistry of karst groundwater in Guiyang City, China

Boron has two stable isotopes （^10B and ^11B） with relative abundances of about 20% and 80%, respectively. Boron isotopic ratios in natural materials show a huge range of variations, from -70‰ to ＋60‰, when expressed with the classical δ^11B notation. Most of these isotopic variations occur at the surface of the Earth. Hence, boron isotopic composition can be used as a sensitive tracer in geochemical study, for instance, to identify the different sources of contamination and factors controlling the salinity of groundwater. During the last decade, boron isotopes have been used to discriminate between the influences of seawater intrusion and anthropogenic discharge. But few of those researches can precisely identify the different sources of contamination. We measured the boron concentrations and boron isotopic ratios of groundwater samples collected in Guiyang City, as well as the major ions. The results indicate that the major ion composition of the groundwater in the investigated area is mainly controlled by the interactions between water and the dominant rock i.e. carbonates. All the water compositions are characterized by high concentrations of Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, HCO3^-, SO4^2-, and NO3^-, which are the dominant contaminants. Both dissolved boron concentrations and isotopic ratios show large variations among the ground waters, from 2 μg/L to 90 μg/L and from -6‰ to ＋26‰, respectively. The boron concentrations and isotopic ratios indicate that the river across the studied city has been seriously contaminated by urban discharge. Boron concentrations of fiver water samples varied from 20 μg/L to 140 μg/L, with an average δ^11B value of ＋2.0‰. Using boron isotopic compositions and different geochemical indices allowed us to clearly identify and distinguish the two major sources of contamination, agricultural activity and urban wastewater. Both of the two sources are characterized by high boron concentrations but their boron isotopic compositions significantly differ.