Search results for "Environmental engineering"
showing 10 items of 2674 documents
A novel approach to predict aquatic toxicity from molecular structure
2008
The main aim of the study was to develop quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for the prediction of aquatic toxicity using atom-based non-stochastic and stochastic linear indices. The used dataset consist of 392 benzene derivatives, separated into training and test sets, for which toxicity data to the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis were available. Using multiple linear regression, two statistically significant QSAR models were obtained with non-stochastic (R2=0.791 and s=0.344) and stochastic (R2=0.799 and s=0.343) linear indices. A leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation procedure was carried out achieving values of q2=0.781 (scv=0.348) and q2=0.786 (scv=0.350), respecti…
Infection risks of city canal swimming events in the Netherlands in 2016.
2018
Introduction Swimming events in city canals are gaining popularity in the Netherlands, even though canal water is usually not officially designated for recreational use. Knowledge regarding the risk of infection after swimming in canals is limited. An outbreak was reported in 2015 following a canal swimming event in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Local governments were concerned about the health risks of such events. In order to assess the safety of canal swimming, the Public Health Service (PHS) prospectively investigated two city canal swimming events in 2015. In 2016, we repeated this study, aiming to prospectively determine the risks of infection during two urban swimming events, the Utrecht…
A simple algorithm to estimate evapotranspiration from DAIS data: Application to the DAISEX campaigns
2005
DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.03.027; The knowledge of evapotranspiration is of great interest in many applications such as assessing irrigation water use. In this paper, a methodology is presented to estimate evapotranspiration using the surface energy balance model S-SEBI (Simplified Surface Energy Balance Index) and the evaporative fraction. The method is applicable under the assumptions of constant atmospheric conditions and sufficient wet and dry pixels over the image. The model uses remotely sensed parameters such as albedo, MSAVI (Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) and surface temperature and emissivity images. The methodology has been applied over the Barrax test site, located in…
Risk factors for gastroenteritis associated with canal swimming in two cities in the Netherlands during the summer of 2015: A prospective study
2017
Urban canal swimming events are popular in the Netherlands. In 2015, two city canal swimming events took place, in Utrecht (Utrecht Singel Swim, USS) and in Amsterdam (Amsterdam City Swim, ACS). This prospective study characterizes the health risks associated with swimming in urban waters. Online questionnaires were sent to 160 (USS) and 2,692 (ACS) participants, with relatives of participants who did not swim completing the questionnaire as a control. Swimming water specimens and stool specimens of diarrheic participants in the ACS group were analysed. A total of 49% of USS and 51% of ACS swimmers returned their questionnaires. Nine percent of USS swimmers and 4% of non-swimmers reported g…
Radionuclides in wastewater treatment plants: monitoring of Sicilian plants.
2015
Three Sicilian wastewater treatment plants were monitored to assess the occurrence and the behaviour of radionuclides. Two sampling campaigns (screening and long-term) were carried out during which liquid and solid samples have been analysed. It was found that 131I mostly occurred in the samples analysed during the screening campaign (43% of the analysed samples contained 131I). High 131I specific activity was found in the mixed liquor, recycled sludge and dehydrated sludge samples. This finding was mainly due to the tendency of 131I to be associated with solid particles. During the long-term sampling campaign an influence of the sludge retention time (SRT) on the 131I behaviour was found. …
Simultaneous retrieval of global scale Vegetation Optical Depth, surface roughness, and soil moisture using X-band AMSR-E observations
2019
Abstract The radiative transfer scheme implemented for the retrieval of soil moisture from passive microwaves is a function of scattering, polarization mixing and attenuation effects of soil and vegetation. Theses factors are usually represented by Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD), vegetation scattering albedo, and surface roughness parameter, along with soil moisture. The VOD is the degree to which vegetation attenuates the microwave radiation. It has generally the dominant effect from vegetation, whereas scattering is negligible and close to zero. The surface roughness (which varies in space but not much in time) is until recently, often assumed to be a global constant. In this work, we att…
MAIN CONCLUSIONS OF THE EC-HUMICS PROJECT: “EFFECTS OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES ON THE MIGRATION OF RADIONUCLIDES: COMPLEXATION AND TRANSPORT OF ACTINIDES”
2000
The Origin of Heavy Metals and Radionuclides Accumulated in the Soil and Biota Samples Collected in Svalbard, Near Longyearbyen
2017
Abstract Heavy metals and radioactive compounds are potentially hazardous substances for plants, animals and humans in the Arctic. A good knowledge of the spatial variation of these substances in soil and primary producers, and their sources, is therefore essential. In the samples of lichen Thamnolia vermicularis, Salix polaris and Cassiope tetragona, and the soil samples collected in 2014 in Svalbard near Longyearbyen, the concentrations of the following heavy metals were determined: Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Hg, as well as the activity concentrations of the following: K-40, Cs-137, Pb-210, Pb-212, Bi-212, Bi-214, Pb-214, Ac-228, Th-231 and U-235 in the soil samples. The differences in th…
The Use of Moss Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. as Bioindicator of Radionuclide Contamination in Industrial Areas of Upper Silesia
2017
Abstract Mosses are good bioaccumulators of radionuclides and from the 60 of the last century, they are used as bioindicators of radioactive contamination in the environment. Concentration of impurities in moss represent the accumulation in mosses during the past 2-3 years. As a result, the moss composition analysis provides information on an average contamination within a few vegetation seasons. During our survey the measurements of radionuclide activity concentrations in P. schreberi transplanted from places relatively clean to heavily contaminated areas of Upper Silesia were carried out. An increase in the radionuclides activity concentrations in P. schreberi transplants may indicate not…
Assessment of Gamma Dose Rate at Mine Waste Dump
2013
Abstract Exploitation of coal deposits in Upper Silesia is associated with production of large quantities of waste deposited at dumps. The tested samples from five dumps showed different radioactivity from each other. Radioactivity measurements made it possible to analyze the degree of risk with the factors specified by UNSCEAR such as radium equivalent activity Raeq, internal Ein and external Eex occupancy factor. There is a raised level of radiation in dumps as compared with outside dump areas. In the study area, however, there is no risk associated with elevated levels of radiation in relation to standards established by the Council of Ministers of the ionizing radiation dose limits.