The Empirical Relationship between Mining Industry Development and Environmental Pollution in China.

This study uses a vector autoregression (VAR) model to analyze changes in pollutants among different mining industries and related policy in China from 2001 to 2014. The results show that: (1) because the pertinence of standards for mining waste water and waste gas emissions are not strong and because the maximum permissible discharge pollutant concentrations in these standards are too high, ammonia nitrogen and industrial sulfur dioxide discharges increased in most mining industries; (2) chemical oxygen demand was taken as an indicator of sewage treatment in environmental protection plans; hence, the chemical oxygen demand discharge decreased in all mining industries; (3) tax reduction policies, which are only implemented in coal mining and washing and extraction of petroleum and natural gas, decreased the industrial solid waste discharge in these two mining industries.

Using growth and decline factors to project VOC emissions from oil and gas production.

Projecting future-year emission inventories in the oil and gas sector is complicated by the fact that there is a life cycle to the amount of production from individual wells and thus from well fields in aggregate. Here we present a method to account for that fact in support of regulatory policy development. This approach also has application to air quality modeling inventories by adding a second tier of refinement to the projection methodology. Currently, modeling studies account for the future decrease in emissions due to new regulations based on the year those regulations are scheduled to take effect. The addition of a year-by-year accounting of production decline provides a more accurate picture of emissions from older, uncontrolled sources. This proof of concept approach is focused solely on oil production; however, it could be used for the activity and components of natural gas production to compile a complete inventory for a given area.

Hydraulic fracturing: paving the way for a sustainable future?

With the introduction of hydraulic fracturing technology, the United States has become the largest natural gas producer in the world with a substantial portion of the production coming from shale plays. In this review, we examined current hydraulic fracturing literature including associated wastewater management on quantity and quality of groundwater. We conclude that proper documentation/reporting systems for wastewater discharge and spills need to be enforced at the federal, state, and industrial level. Furthermore, Underground Injection Control (UIC) requirements under SDWA should be extended to hydraulic fracturing operations regardless if diesel fuel is used as a fracturing fluid or not. One of the biggest barriers that hinder the advancement of our knowledge on the hydraulic fracturing process is the lack of transparency of chemicals used in the practice. Federal laws mandating hydraulic companies to disclose fracturing fluid composition and concentration not only to federal and state regulatory agencies but also to health care professionals would encourage this practice. The full disclosure of fracturing chemicals will allow future research to fill knowledge gaps for a better understanding of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on human health and the environment.

Marcellus Shale Drilling's Impact on the Dairy Industry in Pennsylvania: A Descriptive Report.

Unconventional natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania has accelerated over the past five years, and is unlikely to abate soon. Dairy farming is a large component of Pennsylvania's agricultural economy. This study compares milk production, number of cows, and production per cow in counties with significant unconventional drilling activity to that in neighboring counties with less unconventional drilling activity, from 1996 through 2011. Milk production and milk cows decreased in most counties since 1996, with larger decreases occurring from 2007 through 2011 (when unconventional drilling increased substantially) in five counties with the most wells drilled compared to six adjacent counties with fewer than 100 wells drilled. While this descriptive study cannot draw a causal association between well drilling and decline in cows or milk production, given the importance of Pennsylvania's dairy industry and the projected increase in unconventional natural gas drilling, further research to prevent unintended economic and public health consequences is imperative.

A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2013.

This paper presents the findings of our fourth annual horizon-scanning exercise, which aims to identify topics that increasingly may affect conservation of biological diversity. The 15 issues were identified via an iterative, transferable process by a team of professional horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and a journalist. The 15 topics include the commercial use of antimicrobial peptides, thorium-fuelled nuclear power, and undersea oil production.

Peak nothing: recent trends in mineral resource production.

The Hubbert-type analysis used to analyze the production history of oil is applied here to other raw materials. Many resources commonly thought of as being close to "peaking" such as lithium, helium, copper, and the rare earth elements, show no evidence of logistic behavior at any point in their production histories. Although many resources have exhibited logistic behavior in the past, many now show exponential or superexponential growth. In most cases, the transition has occurred in the last ten to twenty years.

Evaluación de impacto ambiental en concesiones minerales causados por la actividad minera aurífera aluvial en el sector: Tres islas - Tambopata - Madre de Dios / Environmental impact assessment of mineral concessions caused by alluvial gold mining activity in the sector: Three islands - Tambopata - Madre de Dios

Con el fin de Evaluar el impacto ambiental ocasionado por la extracción aurífera en la comunidad Nativa de Tres Islas en la provincia de Tambopata Región de Madre de Dios, se ha investigado la relación la actividad minera aurífera aluvial y su grado de impacto al medio ambiente, para lo cual se ha descrito los procesos de extracción minera. Para la evaluación del impacto ambiental se utilizó la matriz de Leopold, se ha determinado que las actividades producidas por el método de succión de sólidos (chupadera) ocasionan un mayor grado de impacto al medio ambiente, así como los suelos donde se desarrolla la minería.

With the purpose of Evaluating the environmental impact and the deforestation level caused by the auriferous extraction in the Native Community of Tres Islas in the province o Tambopata, Madre de Dios region, it has been investigated the relationship between the activity of mining gold and their destructive grade of impact to the environment in the Sector of Tes Islas - Tambopata - Madre de Dios, for that which has been described the processes of mining extraction. To evaluation the environmental impact, we use the Leopold matrix, it has been determined that they activities taken place by the method of "Chupadera" they cause a bigger deforestation grade that the systems: Handmade of "canaleta" and raft - it dredges. The results are preoccupies, should take measures that they assure the good managed of the environment, as well as the soils where the mining activity are developed.

[Main results of scientific researches in oil industry].

Clinical and hygienic research was carried out in major oil extracting, oil processing and petrochemical enterpirses. Complex of industrial hazards results in occupational diseases of mild and medium severity, in increase of occupationally mediated diseases. The article covers sanitary and epidemiologic evaluation of oil processing and petrochemical products, technical documentation certificates for these products are obtained.

Industrial bioconversion of renewable resources as an alternative to conventional chemistry.

There are numerous possibilities for replacing chemical techniques with biotechnological methods based on renewable resources. The potential of biotechnology (products, technologies, metabolic pathways) is for the most part well known. Often the costs are still the problem. Biotechnological advances have the best chances for replacing some fine chemicals. While the raw material costs are less of a consideration here, the environmental benefit is huge, as chemical-technical processes often produce a wide range of undesirable/harmful by-products or waste. In the case of bulk chemicals (<1 US dollar/kg) the product price is affected mainly by raw material costs. As long as fossil raw materials are still relatively inexpensive, alternatives based on renewable resources cannot establish themselves. Residues and waste, which are available even at no cost in some cases, are an exception. The introduction of new technologies for the efficient use of such raw materials is currently being promoted. The utilisation of residual wood, plant parts, waste fat, and crude glycerol, for example, provides great potential. For industrial chemicals (2-4 US dollars/kg), process and recovery costs play a greater role. Here, innovative production technologies and product recovery techniques (e.g. on-line product separation) can increase competitiveness.

Oil production and groundwater quality in the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer, Texas.

Chloride concentrations and chloride/bromide ratios from 198 water wells in the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer were compiled, mapped, and evaluated within the context of regional geology and land use. The study area occupies eight counties in west-central Texas, within which oil production and agriculture are predominant land uses. Samples from 49 wells had chloride concentrations above the 250 mg/l secondary drinking water standard, 22 samples had greater than 500 mg/l chloride, and 9 samples exceeded 1000 mg/l chloride. Of the 22 samples above 500 mg/l chloride, 10 had relatively low chloride/bromide ratios of less than 300, consistent with oilfield brine, and 2 had ratios above 2000, consistent with groundwater impacted by evaporite dissolution. The remaining ten samples had chloride/bromide ratios ranging from 300 to 2000, consistent with partial mixing of unimpaired groundwater with evaporite-laden water. There were no significant correlations between chloride concentration and well depth, inconsistent with contaminants originating at the land surface. Results of this study suggest that evaporite dissolution and oilfield brine locally impact the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer, but the problem is not regionally pervasive.

Chemicals from biotechnology: molecular plant genetics will challenge the chemical and the fermentation industry.

Industrial biotechnology has evolved as a significant manufacturing tool for products like fuel-grade ethanol, organic acids and bulk amino acids, but most items are still speciality products for food and pharmaceutical applications. Current development projects within the chemical industry, including lactic acid and 1,3-propanediol based polymers and plastics, indicate that new biotechnological processes and products may soon approach the market place, clearly targeted at the leading petrochemical bulk outlets. This is flanked by a strategic shift by the major chemical companies in to "life sciences"-pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and the seed business as well as biotech fine chemicals. The recent tremendous achievements in molecular plant genetics and transgenic crop breeding will boost agrobiotechnology, agriculture and renewable raw materials as compelling projects for chemistry and biotechnology. New plant-based production routes may challenge established chemical and biochemical domains, but at the same time open new horizons to valuable feedstocks, intermediates and end-products.

[Occupational problems of serpentine asbestos in industry (history and trends)]. / Gigienicheskie problemy khrizotil-asbesta v promyshlennosti (istoriia i perspektivy).

The article presents summarized data of long-standing research of work conditions, asbestosis occurrence, and epidemiology of malignancies in "URALASBEST" enterprises extracting and utilizing asbestos. The research served as a base to elaborate and put into practice a complex of sanitary, technical, medical and biologic measures in various asbestos enterprises. Those measures lowered occupational morbidity due to asbestos. Considering the experience accumulated, the authors set prospects for further studies on "Asbestos and Health" problem.

South African asbestos: production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993.

Production and export figures of South African asbestos were analyzed over 1959-1993. They show stable sales of chrysotile. Those of crocidolite and amosite reached their peaks in the mid-1970s, after which trade fell drastically, crocidolite to 5% of its earlier peak and amosite to nil. Factors responsible for these virtual collapses were health issues, stricter legislation in First World countries, and litigation. In 1992, 21 countries continued to import crocidolite, although in reduced quantities. In the early 1960s, Europe and North America were the major recipients of South African asbestos. By 1989-91, these regions were surpassed by the Far East, which took over 90% of chrysotile and 70% of amosite. For crocidolite at that time, the Middle East took nearly 40%, Europe 28%, and Africa 21%. This implies that the newly importing countries can confidently expect an increase in asbestos-related disease and death well into the twenty-first century, even if the trade ceased now.