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Pollution
Kinds of Pollution Terms modified by Pollution Selected AbstractsINFLUENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC POLLUTION ON MACROPHYTOBENTHOS OF THE AVACHA BAY (SOUTHEAST KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA)JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2000N.G. Klotchkova Most industrial and agricultural enterprises of the Kamchatsky district are situated along the coast of the Avacha Bay and its river drainage. Intensive water pollution resulted in extreme deterioration of the bay's ecology. The destruction of macrophytobenthos under the influence of pollution was investigated. Materials were regularly collected at the same sampling sites in different seasons of the year from 1988 up to 1999. Analysis of our data allowed us to determine directions of long-term changes of species composition and macrophytobenthos structure, speed of degradation of different types of vegetational communities and reasons for all these processes. The Avacha Bay's flora consisted of more than 160 species up to 1970s, including species belonged to 104 genera, 47 families, 23 orders, 3 divisions (30 Chlorophyta, 48 Phaeophyta, 82 Rhodophyta). Flora of the internal part of the bay differed from that of the bay's mouth and consisted of 143 and 146 species, respectively. Presently, the whole flora of the bay (internal part+ throat) includes only 94 species. Along the urban coast 18 poly- and mesosaprobious species are found only. They are characterized by small sizes, low productivity and short life cycles. Most of them are ephemeral with a primitive morphology. The responsive reaction of algae to pollution resulted in decreases in size and weight of the thalli, and appearance of anomalies of development. Laminaria bongardiana was used as a bioindicator. The changes of weight and sizes of its plants allow us to determine degree of the pollution in different parts of the coast of the Avacha Bay. [source] APPENDIX: THE PLAUSIBILITY OF AGB POLLUTIONMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2009Article first published online: 26 JAN 2010 [source] ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION AND HOSPITAL VISITS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES IN THE ELDERLY IN SYDNEY USING BAYESIAN STATISTICAL METHODSAUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF STATISTICS, Issue 3 2009Hiep Duc Summary Using generalized linear models (GLMs), Jalaludin,et al. (2006;,J. Exposure Analysis and Epidemiology,16, 225,237) studied the association between the daily number of visits to emergency departments for cardiovascular disease by the elderly (65+) and five measures of ambient air pollution. Bayesian methods provide an alternative approach to classical time series modelling and are starting to be more widely used. This paper considers Bayesian methods using the dataset used by Jalaludin,et al.,(2006), and compares the results from Bayesian methods with those obtained by Jalaludin,et al.,(2006) using GLM methods. [source] AUSTRALIA'S SMOKE CITY: AIR POLLUTION IN NEWCASTLEAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Nancy Cushing air pollution; climate change; coal trade; Newcastle; smoke abatement The City of Newcastle has been viewed as marginal to the main narratives of Australian history, despite its contribution to industrial development being likened in importance to that of a Pittsburgh or Birmingham. A focus on visible air pollution makes it possible to reposition Newcastle as the centre of environmental innovation, largely because of the knowledge gathered by Novocastrians about smoke abatement in the Anglo-American industrial cities upon which it modelled itself. The reduction of smoke in Newcastle since World War II is attributed partially to the City Council activities, but also to the displacement of pollution elsewhere, both within Australia and to the Asian cities to which coal is exported. [source] Metalworking exposures and persistent skin symptoms in the ECRHS II and SAPALDIA 2 cohortsCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 5 2009Maria C. Mirabelli Background:, Diseases of the skin are important and often preventable conditions occurring among workers with dermal exposures to irritant and sensitizing agents. Objective:, We conducted this analysis to assess the associations between metalworking exposures and current and persistent skin symptoms among male and female participants in two population-based epidemiologic studies. Methods:, We pooled data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II (ECRHS II) and the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Disease in Adults 2 (SAPALDIA 2), two prospective cohort studies in Europe. Each participant completed interviewer-administered questionnaires to provide information about symptoms and exposures related to selected occupations, including metalworking, during the follow-up periods. We assessed associations between skin symptoms and the frequency of metalworking exposures among 676 ECRHS II/SAPALDIA 2 respondents. Results:, Current skin symptoms were reported by 10% of metalworkers and were associated with frequent use, defined as four or more days per week, of oil-based metalworking fluids [prevalence ratio (PR): 1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25,2.49)] and organic solvent/degreasing agents (PR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.21,3.50). Conclusions:, Skin symptom prevalence is associated with increasing frequency of oil-based metalworking fluid and degreasing agent use. Our findings justify assessing strategies for reducing the frequency of metal-related exposures. [source] Female Adolescents and Their Sexuality: Notions of Honour, Shame, Purity and Pollution during the FloodsDISASTERS, Issue 1 2000Sabina Faiz Rashid This paper explores the experiences of female adolescents during the 1998 floods in Bangladesh, focusing on the implications of socio-cultural norms related to notions of honour, shame, purity and pollution. These cultural notions are reinforced with greater emphasis as girls enter their adolescence, regulating their sexuality and gender relationships. In Bangladeshi society, adolescent girls are expected to maintain their virginity until marriage. Contact is limited to one's families and extended relations. Particularly among poorer families, adolescent girls tend to have limited mobility to safeguard their ,purity'. This is to ensure that the girl's reputation does not suffer, thus making it difficult for the girl to get married. For female adolescents in Bangladesh, a disaster situation is a uniquely vulnerable time. Exposure to the unfamiliar environment of flood shelters and relief camps, and unable to maintain their ,space' and privacy from male strangers, a number of the girls were vulnerable to sexual and mental harassment. With the floods, it became difficult for most of the girls to be appropriately `secluded'. Many were unable to sleep, bathe or get access to latrines in privacy because so many houses and latrines were underwater. Some of the girls who had begun menstruation were distressed at not being able to keep themselves clean. Strong social taboos associated with menstruation and the dirty water that surrounded them made it difficult for the girls to wash their menstrual cloths or change them frequently enough. Many of them became separated from their social network of relations, which caused them a great deal of anxiety and stress. Their difficulty in trying to follow social norms have had far-reaching implications on their health, identity, family and community relations. [source] Pollution by conspecifics as a component of intraspecific competition among Aedes aegypti larvaeECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Stéphanie Bédhomme Abstract., 1. The role of pollution by conspecifics in the costs associated with larval intraspecific competition was investigated for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). 2. The growth of larval A. aegypti mosquitoes reared in clean water and water in which another larva had previously grown was compared; this procedure eliminates interactions through food consumption between competitors and allows the effects of other processes to be expressed. 3. A cost of growing in polluted water was found: this cost was expressed as an increase in developmental time and a reduction of adult longevity when starved, starved adult dry weight, and wing length. 4. Contrary to previously reported results of an experiment allowing for competition for food, these costs were not expressed in a sex-specific manner and were independent of the sex of the polluter. 5. It was thus demonstrated that competition arises from both resource depletion and other effects that result in deterioration of the environment, with chemical pollution of the environment being the most likely cause. [source] Degradation of alkanes by bacteriaENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 10 2009Fernando Rojo Summary Pollution of soil and water environments by crude oil has been, and is still today, an important problem. Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds. Among them, alkanes constitute the major fraction. Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons of different sizes and structures. Although they are chemically very inert, most of them can be efficiently degraded by several microorganisms. This review summarizes current knowledge on how microorganisms degrade alkanes, focusing on the biochemical pathways used and on how the expression of pathway genes is regulated and integrated within cell physiology. [source] Using Kaizen to Reduce Waste and Prevent PollutionENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002Conrad Soltero First page of article [source] Air Pollution from Secondary Aluminum Production: Determining the Applicability of MACT RequirementsENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Mario G. Cora EPA's Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule for secondary aluminum production is intended to substantially reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants. It may also impose significant costs on affected facilities. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Nanomaterials and the environment: The views of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (UK)ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2010M.H. Depledge [source] Predicting intra-urban variation in air pollution concentrations with complex spatio-temporal dependencies,ENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 6 2010Adam A. Szpiro Abstract We describe a methodology for assigning individual estimates of long-term average air pollution concentrations that accounts for a complex spatio-temporal correlation structure and can accommodate spatio-temporally misaligned observations. This methodology has been developed as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air), a prospective cohort study funded by the US EPA to investigate the relationship between chronic exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. Our hierarchical model decomposes the space--time field into a "mean" that includes dependence on covariates and spatially varying seasonal and long-term trends and a "residual" that accounts for spatially correlated deviations from the mean model. The model accommodates complex spatio-temporal patterns by characterizing the temporal trend at each location as a linear combination of empirically derived temporal basis functions, and embedding the spatial fields of coefficients for the basis functions in separate linear regression models with spatially correlated residuals (universal kriging). This approach allows us to implement a scalable single-stage estimation procedure that easily accommodates a significant number of missing observations at some monitoring locations. We apply the model to predict long-term average concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from 2005 to 2007 in the Los Angeles area, based on data from 18 EPA Air Quality System regulatory monitors. The cross-validated IR2 is 0.67. The MESA Air study is also collecting additional concentration data as part of a supplementary monitoring campaign. We describe the sampling plan and demonstrate in a simulation study that the additional data will contribute to improved predictions of long-term average concentrations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pollution of carbonate soils in a Mediterranean climate due to a tailings spillEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2002M. Simón Summary The retention walls in a pond containing the residues from the pyrite mine of Aznalcóllar (southern Spain) broke open on 25 April 1998, spilling approximately 6 × 106 m3 of polluted water and toxic tailings, which affected some 55 km2. Drying and aeration of the tailings resulted in oxidation, forming an acidic solution with high pollutant contents, the effects of which were studied in a calcareous soil. The infiltration of this solution markedly affected only the first 12 mm of the soil, where strong acidification caused the weathering of the carbonates, and where the fine mineral particles were hydrolysed. The SO42, ions in the acidic solution precipitated almost entirely at this depth, forming gypsum, hydroxysulphates and complex sulphates. The Fe3+ ions also precipitated there, mainly in amorphous or poorly crystallized forms, adsorbing to As, Sb, Tl and Pb dissolved in the acidic solution. The Al3+ ions, though partly precipitating in the acidic layer, accumulated mostly where the soil pH exceeded 5.5 (12,14 mm in depth). They did so primarily as amorphous or poorly crystallized forms, adsorbing to Cu dissolved in the acidic solution. The Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions accumulated mainly at pH > 7.0 (19,21 mm in depth), being adsorbed chiefly by clay mineral. After 15 months, only the first 20 mm of the soil were acidified by the oxidation of the tailings and most of the pollutants did not penetrate deeper than 100 mm. Consequently, the speed of the cleanup of the toxic spill is not as important as a thorough removal of tailings together with the upper 10 cm of the soil. [source] Worldwide status of burbot and conservation measuresFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 1 2010Martin A Stapanian Abstract Although burbot (Lota lota Gadidae) are widespread and abundant throughout much of their natural range, there are many populations that have been extirpated, endangered or are in serious decline. Due in part to the species' lack of popularity as a game and commercial fish, few regions consider burbot in management plans. We review the worldwide population status of burbot and synthesize reasons why some burbot populations are endangered or declining, some burbot populations have recovered and some burbot populations do not recover despite management measures. Burbot have been extirpated in much of Western Europe and the United Kingdom and are threatened or endangered in much of North America and Eurasia. Pollution and habitat change, particularly the effects of dams, appear to be the main causes for declines in riverine burbot populations. Pollution and the adverse effects of invasive species appear to be the main reasons for declines in lacustrine populations. Warmer water temperatures, due either to discharge from dams or climate change, have been noted in declining burbot populations at the southern extent of their range. Currently, fishing pressure does not appear to be limiting burbot populations world-wide. We suggest mitigation measures for burbot population recovery, particularly those impacted by dams and invasive species. [source] Geostatistical Simulation for the Assessment of Regional Soil PollutionGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2010Marc Van Meirvenne Regional scale inventories of heavy metal concentrations in soil increasingly are being done to evaluate their global patterns of variation. Sometimes these global pattern evaluations reveal information that is not identified by more detailed studies. Geostatistical methods, such as stochastic simulation, have not yet been used routinely for this purpose in spite of their potential. To investigate such a use of geostatistical methods, we analyzed a data set of 14,674 copper and 12,441 cadmium observations in the topsoil of Flanders, Belgium, covering 13,522 km2. Outliers were identified and removed, and the distributions were spatially declustered. Copper was analyzed using sequential Gaussian simulation, whereas for cadmium we used sequential indicator simulation because of the large proportion (43%) of censored data. We complemented maps of the estimated values with maps of the probability of exceeding a critical sanitation threshold for agricultural land use. These sets of maps allowed the identification of regional patterns of increased metal concentrations and provided insight into their potential causes. Mostly areas with known industrial activities (such as lead and zinc smelters) could be delineated, but the effects of shells fired during the First World War were also identified. En los estudios de contaminación de suelos as escala regional, es práctica común la implementación de inventarios de concentraciones de metales pesados en el suelo con el fin de evaluar sus patrones globales de variación espacial. A veces dichas evaluaciones de patrones globales proporcionan información que no son aparentes en estudios realizados a escalas más detalladas. En este contexto, a pesar del potencial analítico que poseen, los métodos geostadísticos como la simulación estocástica han recibido poca atención. Los autores del presente artículo proponen llenar este vacío aplicando métodos geostadísticos para el análisis de dos bases de datos: 14,674 observaciones de cobre (Cu) y 12,441 observaciones de cadmio (Cd). Los datos corresponden a la capa superior de suelo en un área de 13,522 km2 en Flandes, Belgica. Tras la remoción de los valores extremos (outliers) y la desaglomeración de las distribuciones, los autores analizan los datos vía dos procedimientos: a) una Simulación Secuencial Gausiana (SGS) para los datos de cobre, y b) una Simulación Secuencial Indicador (SIS). La diferencia en el tratamiento analítico para ambos metales obedece a la considerable proporción (43%) de datos censurados de cadmio. Los mapas resultantes de valores estimados fueron complementados con mapas que ilustran la probabilidad de exceder los umbrales críticos para uso agrícola de la tierra. Esta serie de mapas permitió la identificación de patrones regionales de concentraciones crecientes de metales y proporciono claves importantes acerca de sus posibles causas. Los patrones hallados coinciden con áreas donde se realizan actividades industriales (como fundiciones de plomo y zinc), pero también con la distribución espacial de casquillos de balas disparadas durante la Primera Guerra Mundial. [source] Discussion of "Natural Attenuation: A Feasible Approach to Remediation of Ground Water Pollution at Landfills?," by Thomas H. Christensen, Poul L. Bjerg, and Peter Kjeldsen, Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation, v. 20, no. 1, pages 69,77, Winter 2000.GROUND WATER MONITORING & REMEDIATION, Issue 3 2000Michael A. Apgar No abstract is available for this article. [source] Impact of Regional Geology on Water Arsenic in Ground Water Studied: Mercury Pollution from Dentistry AlleviatedGROUND WATER MONITORING & REMEDIATION, Issue 2 2000Article first published online: 22 FEB 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Air Pollution and Daily Emergency Department Visits for Headache in Montreal, CanadaHEADACHE, Issue 3 2008Mieczyslaw Szyszkowicz PhD Background., Many studies have indicated that weather can trigger headache. Here we propose a new methodological approach to assess the relationship between weather, ambient air pollution, and emergency department (ED) visits for this condition. Objective., To examine the associations between ED visits for headache and selected meteorological and air pollution factors. Design and Methods., A hierarchical clusters design was used to study 10,497 ED visits for headache (ICD-9: 784) that occurred at a Montreal hospital between 1997 and 2002. The generalized linear mixed models technique was applied to create Poisson models for the clustered counts of visits for headache. Results., Statistically significant positive associations were observed between the number of ED visits for headache and the atmospheric pressure for all and for female visits for 1-day and 2-day lagged exposures. The percentage increase in daily ED female visits was 4.1% (95% CI: 2.0, 6.2), 3.4% (95% CI: 1.4, 5.6), and 2.2% (95% CI: 1.4, 5.6) for current day, 1-day and 2-day lagged exposure to SO2, respectively, for an increase of an interquartile range (IQR) of 2.4 ppb. The percentage increase was also statistically significant for current day and 1-day lagged exposure to NO2 and CO for all and for female visits. Conclusions., Presented findings provide support for the hypothesis that ED visits for headache are correlated to weather conditions and ambient air pollution , to atmospheric pressure and exposure to SO2, NO2, CO, and PM2.5. An increase in levels of these factors is associated with an increase in the number of ED visits for headache. [source] Pollution and the immune response: atopic diseases , are we too dirty or too clean?IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1 2000D. Diaz-Sanchez First page of article [source] Deadly Household Pollution: A Call to ActionINDOOR AIR, Issue 1 2006Article first published online: 12 JAN 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Technical issues affecting the implementation of US Environmental Protection Agency's proposed fish tissue-based aquatic criterion for selenium,INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007A Dennis Lemly Abstract The US Environmental Protection Agency is developing a national water quality criterion for selenium that is based on concentrations of the element in fish tissue. Although this approach offers advantages over the current water-based regulations, it also presents new challenges with respect to implementation. A comprehensive protocol that answers the "what, where, and when" is essential with the new tissue-based approach in order to ensure proper acquisition of data that apply to the criterion. Dischargers will need to understand selenium transport, cycling, and bioaccumulation in order to effectively monitor for the criterion and, if necessary, develop site-specific standards. This paper discusses 11 key issues that affect the implementation of a tissue-based criterion, ranging from the selection of fish species to the importance of hydrological units in the sampling design. It also outlines a strategy that incorporates both water column and tissue-based approaches. A national generic safety-net water criterion could be combined with a fish tissue,based criterion for site-specific implementation. For the majority of waters nationwide, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permitting and other activities associated with the Clean Water Act could continue without the increased expense of sampling and interpreting biological materials. Dischargers would do biotic sampling intermittently (not a routine monitoring burden) on fish tissue relative to the fish tissue criterion. Only when the fish tissue criterion is exceeded would a full site-specific analysis including development of intermedia translation factors be necessary. [source] Stream Macroinvertebrate Community Affected by Point-Source Metal PollutionINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Hideyuki Doi Abstract The impacts of mining activities on aquatic biota have been documented in many stream ecosystems. In mining streams, point-source heavy metal pollution often appears in the stream. We hypothesize that this pollution is toxic to macroinvertebrates owing to high concentrations of metals and therefore affects macroinvertebrate community structure. We investigated macroinvertebrate community structure in mountain streams, including heavy metal-polluted sites and neutral-pH streams, to determine the relationship between community structure and environmental factors such as low pH and heavy metal concentrations. Based on multidimensional scaling ordination, the macroinvertebrate community at heavy metal pollution sites was remarkably different from that at the other sites. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry revealed high concentrations of aluminum and iron in surface water at the polluted sites. Macroinvertebrate community structure at the metal pollution sites was significantly different from that at other sites in the same stream and in neutral-pH streams. Thus, point-source metal pollution may reduce the density and diversity of in situ macroinvertebrates. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] INDIAN OCEAN COUNTRIES: Deal to Stop PollutionAFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 4 2010Article first published online: 4 JUN 2010 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Pollution and Cost in the Coke-Making Supply Chain in Shanxi Province, ChinaJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3-4 2002Applying an Integrated System Model to Siting, Transportation Trade-Offs Summary An integrated system trade-off model has been developed to assess costs and pollution associated with transportation in the coke-making supply chain in Shanxi Province, China. A transportation-flow, cost-minimization solver is combined with models for calculating coke-making plant costs, estimating transportation costs from a geographic information system road and rail database, and aggregating coke-making capacity among plants. Model outputs of economic cost, nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, and transport distributions are visualized using an Internet-based graphic user interface. Data for the model were collected on survey trips to Shanxi Province as well as from secondary references and proxies. The modularity and extensibility of the system trade-off model facilitate introduction of new data sets in order to examine various planning scenarios. Scenarios of coke-making plant aggregation, rail infrastructure improvement, and technology transfer were evaluated using the model. Costs and pollution emissions can be reduced by enlarging coke-making plants near the rail stations and closing down other plants. Preferential minimization of transportation costs gives a lower total cost than simply minimizing plant costs. Therefore, policy makers should consider transportation costs when planning the reallocation of coke-making capacity in Shanxi Province. Increasing rail-transport capacity is less effective than aggregating plant capacity. On the other hand, transfer of low-pollution truck technology results in a large emission reduction, however, reflecting the importance of truck transportation in the Shanxi Province coke-making industry. [source] Ecophysiological Response of Plants to Combined Pollution from Heavy-duty Vehicles and Industrial Emissions in Higher HumidityJOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2006Hong-Xia Cui Abstract Pollution can be aggravated in industrial areas if traffic exhausts are mixed with industrial emissions under high humidity conditions. Plants growing in such environments may suffer from severe stress. The impact of vehicle emissions on urban vegetation in an industrial area in Qingdao, China, was investigated by studying seven plant species at visible, physiological and chemical levels. The traits of plant species in certain environmental conditions were compared between a clear area, Badaguan (BDG), and polluted area, Roadside (RS). We found that foliar sulfur uptake for all species was not significantly high at RS compared with BDG, although the sulfur content of atmosphere and surface soils at RS were much higher than those at BDG. For Ailanthus altissima Swingle, the content of foliar pigment and net photosynthesis rate (PN) decreased by 20%. Meanwhile, leaves became incrassate and no visible leaf damage was noted, suggesting this species could adapt well to pollution. A 50% decrease in PN occurred in Hibiscus syriacus L., but there was no statistical change in content of chlorophyll a and b and water uptake. Also, thickened leaves may prevent the pollutant from permeation. Foliar water content was still at a low level, although a water compensation mechanism was established for Fraxinus chinensis Rosb. reflected by low water potential and high water use efficiency. More adversely, a 65% decrease in PN happened inevitably with the significant decomposition of photosynthetic pigments, which exhibited visible damage. We also noted in one evergreen species (Magnolia grandiflora L.) that water absorption driven by low water potential should be helpful to supply water loss induced by strong stomatal transpiration and maintain normal growth. Furthermore, photosynthetic pigment content did not decline statistically, but supported a stable net assimilation. Two herbaceous species, Poa annua L. and Ophiopogon japonicus Ker-Gawl., were very tolerant to adverse stress compared to other woody species, especially in assimilation through a compensatory increase in leaf area. A more remarkable decline in PN (decrease 80%) was noted in the exotic but widespread species, Platanus orientalis L., with serious etiolation and withering being exhibited on the whole canopy. Our results suggested, special for woody species, that most native species are more tolerant to pollution and therefore should to be broadly used in a humid urban industrial environment with heavy-duty vehicle emissions. (Managing editor: Ya-Qin Han) [source] A Noncooperative Quantity-Rationing Theory of Transboundary PollutionJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 3 2010SUDHIR A. SHAH We study a remedy for the problem caused by international transfrontier pollution. Our results are derived from the analysis of a noncooperative game model of the determination of emissions in a quantity-rationing setting. We model the emission capping negotiations using the best response dynamic process and provide natural conditions under which the process has a unique and globally asymptotically stable stationary point. We then analyze the link between type profiles and the stationary points of the negotiation process to derive various comparative statics results and the type-contingent ordering of emission allocations. These results are used to study the investment strategies that nations can use prior to the negotiations in order to manipulate the equilibrium emission caps. [source] Regulated Firms with Transboundary Pollution: Does International Competition Improve Efficiency?JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 3 2003Isabelle Péchoux We consider a model of strategic trade and environmental policies with transboundary pollution. A regulated monopoly produces in each country and emits pollution. Under complete information, opening borders leads to a reallocation of the production from the large country to the small one. Total production increases, leading to an increase in the total level of pollution. The creation of a common market sometimes leads to a deterioration of total welfare. Under asymmetric information, the international competition generated by the common market decreases the informational rents of the firms, thereby reinforcing the potential gain to open markets to international competition. [source] Pedophiles and Cyber-predators as Contaminating Forces: The Language of Disgust, Pollution, and Boundary Invasions in Federal Debates on Sex Offender LegislationLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2002Mona Lynch As a distinct class of criminals, sex offenders stand out as being particularly subject to the new "risk management" penal strategies that, according to a number of scholars, have come to dominate punishment rhetoric and practices in recent years. Nonetheless, the criminal justice policymaking that targets sex offenders appears to have a more emotionally based underside. In this paper, I examine the emotional drive that appears to undergird contemporary sex offender lawmaking, suggesting that a significant force propelling the current panoply of sex offender containment strategies is a constellation of emotional expressions of disgust, fear of contagion, and pollution avoidance, manifested in a legislative concern about boundary vulnerabilities between social spheres of the pure and the dangerous. To do so, I analyze the lawmaking discourse of U. S. legislators as they debated four proposed legislative bills directed at sex offenders during the late 1990s. [source] Exposure to cadmium-contaminated soils increases allergenicity of Poa annua L. pollenALLERGY, Issue 10 2010R. Aina To cite this article: Aina R, Asero R, Ghiani A, Marconi G, Albertini E, Citterio S. Exposure to cadmium-contaminated soils increases allergenicity of Poa annua L. pollen. Allergy 2010; 65: 1313,1321. Abstract Background:, Pollution is considered as one main cause for the increase of allergic diseases. Air pollutants may cause and worsen airway diseases and are probably able to make pollen allergens more aggressive. Previous studies looked at traffic-related air pollution, but no data about the effects of polluted soils on pollen allergens are available. We aimed to assess the effects of plant exposure to cadmium-contaminated soil on allergenicity of the annual blue grass, Poa annua L, pollen. Methods:,Poa plants were grown in soil contaminated or not contaminated (control) with cadmium. At flowering, mature pollen was analyzed by microscopy, to calculate the percentage of pollen grains releasing cytoplasmic granules, and by proteomic techniques to analyze allergen proteins. Allergens were identified by sera from grass pollen,allergic patients and by mass spectrometry. Results:, Pollen from Cd-exposed plants released a higher amount of allergenic proteins than control plants. Moreover, Cd-exposed pollen released allergens-containing cytoplasmic grains much more promptly than control pollen. Group 1 and 5 allergens, the major grass pollen allergens, were detected both in control and Cd-exposed extracts. These were the only allergens reacting with patient's sera in control pollen, whereas additional proteins strengthening the signal in the gel region reacting with patient's sera were present in Cd-exposed pollen. These included a pectinesterase, a lipase, a nuclease, and a secretory peroxydase. Moreover, a PR3 class I chitinase-like protein was also immunodetected in exposed plants. Conclusion:, Pollen content of plants grown in Cd-contaminated soils is more easily released in the environment and also shows an increased propensity to bind specific IgE. [source] Genomic pattern of adaptive divergence in Arabidopsis halleri, a model species for tolerance to heavy metalMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 9 2009CLAIRE-LISE MEYER Abstract Pollution by heavy metals is one of the strongest environmental constraints in human-altered environments that only a handful of species can cope with. Identifying the genes conferring to those species the ability to grow in polluted areas is a first step towards a global understanding of the evolutionary processes involved and will eventually improve phytoremediation practices. We used a genome-scan approach to detect loci under divergent selection among four populations of Arabidopsis halleri growing on either polluted or nonpolluted habitats. Based on a high density of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers (820 AFLP markers, i.e. ~1 marker per 0.3 Mb), evidence for selection was found for some markers in every sampled population. Four loci departed from neutrality in both metallicolous populations and thus constitute high-quality candidates for general adaptation to pollution. Interestingly, some candidates differed between the two metallicolous populations, suggesting the possibility that different loci may be involved in adaptation in the different metallicolous populations. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||