Impacts of industrial agglomeration on industrial pollutant emissions: Evidence found in the Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration in western China.

Industrial agglomeration does not only promote economic and social prosperity of urban agglomeration, but also increases industrial pollution, which poses a health risk to the general public. The Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration in western China is characterized by industrial agglomeration and serious industrial pollution. Based on the county panel data of the Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration in western China from 2010 to 2018, a research of the impacts of industrial agglomeration on industrial pollutant emissions was conducted by using spatial analysis technology and spatial econometric analysis. The results indicate that industrial agglomeration is an important factor leading to an increase in industrial pollutant emissions. In addition, population density, economic level, and industrial structure are also important factors that lead to the increase in industrial pollutant emissions. However, technological level has led to the reduction in industrial pollutant emissions. Furthermore, industrial pollutant emissions are not only affected by the industrial agglomeration, population density, economic level, industrial structure, and technological level of the county but also by those same factors in the surrounding counties, owing to the spatial spillover effect. Joint development of green industries and control of industrial pollutant emissions is an inevitable result for the Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration in western China.

Decomposition analysis of industrial pollutant emissions in cities of Jiangsu based on the LMDI method.

Cities are faced with various kinds of pollution issues in the process of economic development, among which industrial pollution has become the most terrifying environmental issue in recent years, so that industrial pollution control should be emphasized. Finding out the key factors influencing industrial pollutant emissions is the basis of taking corresponding measures. Previous studies only focused on one pollutant without a comparative analysis of the contribution of influencing factors to multiple pollutants. Therefore, this study aims to identify the key influencing factors of industrial pollutants in Nanjing, Suzhou, Xuzhou, and Taizhou in Jiangsu Province during the years 2008-2018 by using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. The results from decomposition indicate the following. (1) Emission intensity (EI) and energy efficiency (EE) are negative factors for decreasing industrial pollutant emissions, while the economic output (EO) and population (P) are positive factors for increasing industrial pollutant emissions. (2) Emission intensity has the most significant influence to industrial wastewater in decreasing emissions; energy efficiency makes the biggest contribution to industrial solid waste in decreasing emissions, economic output and population contribute the most to industrial solid waste in increasing emissions. (3) Nanjing has the highest contribution rate of emission intensity and population, and the contribution rate of energy efficiency and economic output to Taizhou is the highest. Identifying the key driving factors of different pollutants can serve as evidence and guidance for urban environmental governance, therefore reducing emissions ulteriorly, and achieving sustainable development.

Peroxidases from an invasive Mesquite species for management and restoration of fertility of phenolic-contaminated soil.

Phenolics drive the global economy, but they also pose threats to soil health and plant growth. Enzymes like peroxidase have the potential to remove the phenolic contaminants from the wastewater; however, their role in restoring soil health and improving plant growth has not yet been ascertained. We fractionated efficient peroxidases (MPx) from leaves of an invasive species of Mesquite, Prosopis juliflora, and demonstrated its superiority over horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in remediating phenol, 3-chlorophenol (3-CP), and a mixture of chlorophenols (CP-M), from contaminated soil. MPx removes phenolics over a broader range of pH (2.0-9.0) as compared with HRP (pH: 7.0-8.0). In soil, replacing H2O2 with CaO2 further increases the phenolic removal efficiency of MPx (≥90% of phenol, ≥ 70% of 3-CP, and ≥90% of CP-M). MPx maintains ~4-fold higher phenolic removal efficiency than purified HRP even in soils with extremely high contaminant concentration (2 g phenolics/kg of soil), which is desirable for environmental applications of enzymes for remediation. MPx treatment restores soil biological processes as evident by key enzymes of soil fertility viz. Acid- and alkaline-phosphatases, urease, and soil dehydrogenase, and improves potential biochemical fertility index of soil contaminated with phenolics. MPx treatment also assists the Vigna mungo test plant to overcome toxicant stress and grow healthy in contaminated soils. Optimization of MPx for application in the field environment would help both in the restoration of phenolic-contaminated soils and the management of invasive Mesquite.

Interspecific variation in the diets of herbivores in an industrial environment: implications for exposure to fluoride emissions.

Atmospheric fluorides (gaseous and particulate) are deposited on, and absorbed by, vegetation. Ingested fluoride accumulates in calcified tissues of vertebrates, and if it is excessive, it may lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis. The prevalence, form and severity of the effects vary greatly between species. Foraging strategy can be an important determinant of fluoride exposure in herbivores, because foliar fluoride concentrations vary between plant species, for example, according to vertical and lateral position in the vegetation. We combined microhistological analysis of diet and analysis of foliar fluoride levels to examine interspecific variation in dietary fluoride exposure of macropodid marsupials (swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor, red-necked wallaby Notamacropus rufogriseus and eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus), in the buffer zone of an aluminium smelter in Victoria, Australia. Dietary niche differentiation between species was evident. The swamp wallaby and the red-necked wallaby were browsers or mixed feeders, depending on the classification system used. The eastern grey kangaroo was a grazer, consuming almost entirely grasses. However, foliar fluoride did not vary significantly between the main plant groups consumed. Our results indicate that interspecific variation in diet at this site is unlikely to explain variation in fluoride exposure.