Geochemical Atlas of Slovakia and examples of its applications to environmental problems

Results of comprehensive geochemical mapping and thematic studies of the Slovak territory (rocks, soils, stream sediments, groundwaters, biomass, and radioactivity) in the first half of the 1990s led to several new research programmes in Slovakia, within the frame of which new methodologies for geochemical data evaluation and map visualization were elaborated. This study describes the application and elaboration of data from the Geochemical Atlas of the Slovak Republic at national and regional levels. Based on the index of environmental risk (I_ER = ΣPEC/PNEC), the level of contamination for the geological component of the environment in Slovakia was evaluated. Approximately 10.5% of Slovakia’s territory was characterized as being environmentally disturbed to highly disturbed. In the areas where environmental loadings have accumulated, 14 regions where environmental risks existed due to high element concentrations were defined. The model calculations of health risk estimates based on the databases of the Geochemical Atlas for groundwater and soils indicate that the possible risk occurrence of carcinogenic diseases from groundwater arsenic contents is high in more than 10% of Slovakia, whereas the chronic risk is negligible. To determinate the background and threshold levels a combined statistical–geochemical approach was developed and applied as an example for groundwater at the national level as well as for single groundwater bodies. The results of statistical method application for the whole groundwater body (GBW) were compared with the background values for anthropogenically non-influenced areas in GBW. Final background value took into account time variations and spatial distribution of the element in GBW. Furthermore, based on the database from the Geochemical Atlas for groundwater, groundwater bodies potentially at qualitative risk were delineated for the whole of Slovakia. From a total of 101 groundwater bodies 17 were characterized as being at risk and 22 as being at possible risk.     

四川德阳地区农田生态系统重金属健康风险评价

环境健康风险评价是定量描述环境中污染物对人体产生健康危害的风险的重要方法。文中结合国内外健康风险评价理论,利用美国环保总署健康风险评价模型,计算了四川德阳地区居民经呼吸(大气颗粒物)、食入(粮食)、饮用(饮用水)和皮肤接触途径摄入重金属而引起的健康风险。研究结果显示:德阳地区所有市县的非致癌风险指数都大于1,表明存在一定的风险。绵竹和旌阳区的风险最高,二者的非致癌风险指数分别达到7.76和4.36。从不同暴露途径的贡献来看,主要是经食物暴露的贡献,各市县都达到了90%以上。虽然计算结果存在一定的不确定性,但对研究区进行风险管理具有重要的参考价值。     

大型底栖动物在水生态系统健康评价中的应用

大型底栖动物是维系水生态系统结构和功能的重要组成部分,也是影响水生态系统健康与功能的重要水生生物指标。随着中国对基于流域完整性水生态管理的日益重视,水生态系统健康的研究也更加深入,因而底栖动物的研究在深度和广度上均有所提高。概述了近年来国内外底栖动物的主要研究方向、影响因素及其分析方法。结果表明：在研究方向上,由于底栖动物对水生态系统变化的响应具有明显的空间尺度效应,因而以不同尺度空间上的自然环境、生境条件和水质等因子为分界,分析其对底栖动物多样性及其群落结构的重要影响。综合分析各种影响因素,流域内人类活动所造成的水环境因子变化或生境受损可直接影响底栖动物物种组成和种群特征。对底栖动物的研究方法可分为模型分析法和生物指数评价法两类,在应用中可侧重不同模型和指数的特点进行针对性选择。     

我国海洋生态调查指南编制说明

海洋生态调查的主要目的是了解海洋生态系统基本的群落结构和生态功能及其重要影响因素,掌握生态系统健康状况,把握其变化趋势。基于生态系统健康理论建立我国海洋生态调查的基本框架体系,编制了我国海洋生态调查指南。根据目前的技术设备、实用方法和经费限制,确定最能反映我国海洋生态系统特征的生态要素和评价内容,并规定了相应的调查和评价方法。与《海洋调查规范海洋生物调查》和《海洋监测规范》比较,该指南具有3个显著特点：①调查要素不仅包括海洋生物和海洋环境等自然要素,还包括人为活动要素,充分考虑我国近海生态系统的高强度开发利用的特点;②从生态系统的结构、功能和压力3个方面建立起海洋生态系统健康评价的核心框架体系;③提出生态压力的量化指标,定量评估人类活动对生态系统的压力。     

Locational specificities of fertility transition in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has one of the lowest fertility rates among poor countries of the world. The fertility decline which began in the 1950s has held steady during the last four decades, despite low levels of economic development. Widespread use of contraception is the primary cause of the fertility decline. However, there is no one single homogenous body of people that can be characterized as a ‘modern’ contracepting population through which new methods of family planning have spatially diffused. There is evidence that the overall fertility decline began even before the establishment of the modern family planning program in Sri Lanka. Our analysis showed four broad regional regimes of fertility transition with considerable social and place-to-place differences in method-specific rates of contraception among them. Non-modern ‘traditional techniques’ of contraception which are widely used are an important part of fertility regulation. Sterilization is the most common method of modern contraception in all regions. Less than a tenth of the protected couples use methods such as the pill and the IUD; moreover, these methods are often discontinued after initial use. Traditional methods are an important part of the contraceptive mix in Sri Lanka, and it would be inadvisable to discourage the use of such practices. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The wollongong lead study: an investigation of the blood lead levels of pre‐school children and their relationship to soil lead levels

The Wollongong Lead Study was undertaken in 1989–90 by the Pollution Task Force of Healthy Cities Illawarra and the Health Promotion Unit of the Illawarra Area Health Service. It was done in response to community concern in the Port Kembla area about the health effects of known high atmospheric lead levels, which result from the emissions from the Electrolytic Refining & Smelting Pty Ltd (now Southern Copper) smelter. It followed procedures similar to those used in the extensive and long‐term studies of the consequences of emissions from the lead smelter at Port Pirie in South Australia and concentrated on the highest risk group identified by the Port Pirie work, namely very young children (mainly 1–3 years). This paper reports the aspects of the study related to soil‐blood level relationships.

Two areas were compared: a southern area near the smelter; and a northern area near Bellambi which was used as a control because it is not usually affected by air pollution from the industrial zone at Port Kembla. A total of 164 soil samples and 83 blood samples were collected from the southern area, together with 79 soil samples and 30 blood samples from the northern area. Soil lead levels were not high by world standards in either region. The southern area had greater levels than the northern area. While there was no apparent pattern in the northern area, soil lead levels rose significantly towards the smelter at Port Kembla. Blood lead levels were also higher in the southern area. Here they rose from the south towards the industrial area generally, rather than peaking near the smelter. In the northern area there was no pattern apparent. Soil levels were significantly correlated with blood levels (significance level >0.05) and explained 29 per cent of the variation in the blood data. Soil lead levels can be used, therefore, as a general indicator of likely high blood lead levels in young children. Seven children (8%) in the southern area and two children (7%) in the northern area had blood lead levels above the NH&MRC recommended level of concern (25 μg/dL).     

IPCC AR6报告解读：气候变化与人类健康

IPCC近期发布了第六次评估报告（AR6）第二工作组（WGII）报告《气候变化：影响、适应和脆弱性》,其中第7章“健康、福祉和不断变化的社区结构”评估了气候变化对人类健康和福祉的当前影响以及未来风险,提出了应对气候变化的解决方案和适应策略。报告明确指出,气候变化对气候敏感传染病和慢性非传染性疾病,以及精神心理健康等的威胁正在增加,并表现出复合暴露和连锁事件的风险,且预计未来风险还会随着全球变暖而进一步加剧。实施积极和有效的气候变化适应措施并快速采取行动,将会在很大程度上减少和避免气候变化导致的健康风险,但不会完全消除所有风险。报告凸显了气候变化健康影响的严重性和紧迫性,未来需要加大对健康领域适应气候变化的科技创新、规划、行动和资金支持。     

Mortality in England during the 1783–4 Laki Craters eruption

1783/4 has been recognised as a mortality crisis year in the population history of England. This demographic incident coincides with the Laki Craters eruption, Iceland, which began in June 1783 and fumigated many parts of Europe with volcanic gases and particles. Many reports and proxy climate records implicate the volcanic cloud in meteorological anomalies, including notably hot 1783 summer conditions in England and a severe subsequent winter. We present here a detailed analysis of the geographical and temporal trends in English mortality data, and interpret them in the light of the climatological records and observations of the pollutant cloud. We show that there were two distinct crisis periods: in August-September 1783, and January-February 1784, which together accounted for ~20,000 extra deaths. In both cases, the East of England was the worst affected region. Possible causes for the two crisis periods are considered and we conclude that the timing and magnitude of the winter mortality peak can be explained by the severe cold of January 1784. The late summer mortality followed 1–2 months after the very hot July of 1783 and may also have been related to the weather, with the time lag reflecting the relatively slow spread of enteric disease or the contraction of malaria. However, it is hard to explain the entire late summer anomaly by these high temperature causes. We therefore consider that fine acid aerosol and/or gases in the volcanic haze may also have contributed to the unusual August-September mortality. Given that complex radiative and dynamical effects of the volcanic cloud are implicated in the climatic anomalies in 1783–4, it is likely that the Laki Craters eruption did play a role in the English mortality crises of the same period.Editorial responsibility: R. Cioni     

Arsenic contamination of groundwater: Mitigation strategies and policies

Contamination of groundwater by arsenic from natural geochemical sources is at present a most serious challenge in the planning of large-scale use of groundwater for drinking and other purposes. Recent improvements in detection limits of analytical instruments are allowing the correlation of health impacts such as cancer with large concentrations of arsenic in groundwater. However, there are at present no known large-scale technological solutions for the millions of people—mostly rural—who are potentially affected in developing countries. An overall framework of combating natural resource degradation is combined with case studies from Chile, Mexico, Bangladesh and elsewhere to arrive at a set of strategic recommendations for the global, national and local dimensions of the arsenic crisis. The main recommendations include: the need for flexibility in the elaboration of any arsenic mitigation strategy, the improvement and large-scale use of low-cost and participatory groundwater quality testing techniques, the need to maintain consistent use of key lessons learned worldwide in water supply and sanitation and to integrate arsenic as just one other factor in providing a sustainable water supply, and the following of distinct but communicable tracks between arsenic-related developments and enhanced, long-term, sustainable water supplies.

Environmental prognostics: is the current use of biomarkers appropriate for environmental risk evaluation?

Environmental Prognostics is proposed as an integrated explanatory framework for adverse changes in whole systems, from cells to animals to ecosystems. The aim is to develop such frameworks for the evaluation of "health of the environment" and prediction of consequences resulting from future environmental events based on integrating the reactions of biomarkers for cellular and physiological processes, through conceptual, statistical and computational modelling. These are urgently needed to synthesise complex information on environmental chemistry and injurious effects of pollutants into predicted harmful impact on health of sentinel animals.