Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Xiujuan Yang, Bijun Cheng, Yi Gao, Hongmei Zhang, Liangpo Liu
Summary: This study analyzed the contamination status of heavy metals in soil and maize near coal mines, and evaluated the associated human health risk. The results showed that nickel was the most severely polluted heavy metal, and its concentration in maize exceeded the risk control standard in China. The exposure to heavy metals in soil and maize posed health risks to residents, especially children. Ingestion of heavy metals had the highest health risk, followed by dermal contact and inhalation. Arsenic and chromium in soil, and chromium and nickel in maize had the greatest impact on human health risk.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Haiwei Zhang, Fei Zhang, Jia Song, Mou Leong Tan, Hsiang-te Kung, Verner Carl Johnson
Summary: The study analyzed the pollution characteristics and sources of heavy metal elements in the Zhundong mining area in Xinjiang for the first time, as well as evaluating the health risks and influencing factors using Monte Carlo simulation. Results showed that coal combustion, transportation, and atmospheric dust were significant sources of heavy metal pollution in the area. The research contributes to better soil management, remediation, and pollution control in Xinjiang's mining areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Helga Jordao, Antonio Jorge Sousa, Amilcar Soares
Summary: In this study, we aimed to assess the uncertainty of deep convolutional neural network models in predicting geological domains, and compared Monte Carlo Dropout and Bayesian neural networks for evaluation. The results showed that Monte Carlo Dropout reflects the uncertainty in geological interpretations, while Bayesian neural networks are better suited for representing uncertainty regarding the unknown.
NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Spela Brglez, Jiri Jaromir Klemes
Summary: This study aims to comprehensively assess the risk of exposure to toxic hydrogen sulfide concentrations on swine farms through the use of a generalized linear model and risk assessment tools. It identifies key variables influencing hydrogen sulfide concentrations and reveals that certain combinations of variable values may result in lethal hydrogen sulfide concentrations.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Haolan Liao, Changxu Li, Yongyou Nie, Jing Tan, Kui Liu
Summary: Remanufacture unlocks residual values by prolonging product lifecycle. Quality uncertainty impacts and effects of carbon trading mechanism are quantified. Increasing environmental regulation stringency moderately can enhance comprehensive benefits.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nico Dalla Libera, Daniele Pedretti, Giulia Casiraghi, Abel Marko, Leonardo Piccinini, Paolo Fabbri
Summary: Stochastic multicomponent reactive transport modeling is a useful tool for quantifying the probability of arsenic concentrations exceeding critical thresholds in groundwater. The study in a shallow alluvial aquifer near Venice revealed that initial geochemical conditions are a major source of uncertainty in arsenic concentrations. The simulation results showed a decrease in the fraction of aquifer volume with high arsenic concentrations over time, as well as an increase in PNE with different target thresholds.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mengxi Ren, Liugen Zheng, Jie Hu, Xing Chen, Yanhai Zhang, Xianglin Dong, Xiangping Wei, Hua Cheng
Summary: The pollution process of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mining areas, especially coal mining areas, has been accelerated due to coal chemical production and accumulation of gangue. This study analyzed the concentrations, composition, spatial distribution, and sources of PAHs in surface soil, and evaluated their potential carcinogenic risks. The results showed high PAH concentrations in contaminated areas, with coking, oil and biomass combustion, and vehicle emissions and coal combustion being the main sources. The cancer risk for both adults and children in contaminated areas was five times higher than that in uncontaminated areas.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Andrea P. Ortiz-Espinoza, Arturo Jimenez-Gutierrez, Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi, Nikolaos K. Kazantzis, Vasiliki Kazantzi
Summary: The need for developing inherently safer process design options has been emphasized by the fatal consequences of industrial incidents. This study compared different safety metrics in evaluating the risk associated with a given process design, aiming to track design changes and improve process safety. The research highlighted the importance of understanding the performance and reliability of safety indices for continuous improvement and refinement.
PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Qiang Zhai, Tong Li, Yizhi Liu
Summary: This study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a prototype wave energy converter system, and analyzed uncertainties and sensitivities to variations in life cycle impacts, input data, method choices, and key issues. Results showed reasonable uncertainties in LCA due to input variations, with ionizing radiation and human health having the largest confidence intervals. Future installation locations and impact assessment methods were found to influence results significantly. Careful consideration of input data quality and method choices can help reduce instability and improve overall reliability of LCA results.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kai-Qi Li, Zhen-Yu Yin, Ning Zhang, Yong Liu
Summary: This study proposes a novel data-driven method based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to model the mechanical responses of frozen soil. The LSTM model can accurately capture the stress-strain responses of the frozen soil. Uncertainty analysis using LSTM-MCD reveals that the model can evaluate the mechanical responses of frozen soil with 95% confidence intervals. This study provides insights into the advantage of data-driven models with uncertainty in predicting mechanical behaviors of frozen soils.
COLD REGIONS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ziting Peng, Yuke He, Zhiqiang Guo, Qian Wu, Shuyi Li, Zhenzhou Zhu, Nabil Grimi, Juan Xiao
Summary: This study investigated the arsenic contamination in 10 edible seaweeds from the coast of Hainan Island in South China Sea. The results showed significant variations in total arsenic concentrations among different seaweed species, as well as differences in the proportion of arsenic species. Brown seaweeds had the highest total arsenic concentration, while green seaweeds had the lowest. The consumption of certain seaweed species posed potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to residents based on human health risk assessment.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
RamyaPriya Ramesh, Manoj Subramanian, Elango Lakshmanan, Anbarasu Subramaniyan, Gowrisankar Ganesan
Summary: This study assessed the general hydrochemistry of groundwater in different geological formations of southern India and its relation to uranium, as well as estimated the health risks posed to humans due to consumption of groundwater with uranium. The deterministic method overestimated the actual risk compared to probabilistic risk assessment. The probabilistic approach is much superior as it exhibits variability in values, highlighting the urgent need for supplying treated water to the community to reduce risks to humans.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Molly Asher, Nik Lomax, Karyn Morrissey, Fiona Spooner, Nick Malleson
Summary: This study uses Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to update a COVID-19 model with the most recent data, improving its predictions and reducing uncertainties. The findings highlight the importance of incorporating up-to-date observations in infectious disease modelling, especially for policy development.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ali Beryani, Kelsey Flanagan, Maria Viklander, Godecke-Tobias Blecken
Summary: This study in Sweden investigated the presence and concentrations of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in stormwater from a highway bridge catchment. The results showed that certain OMPs, such as BPA, alkylphenols, PAHs, and certain fractions of PHCs, could be problematic for freshwater. However, alkylphenol ethoxylates, low molecule weight PAHs, and lighter fractions of PHCs did not pose a significant environmental risk. The study also identified correlations between certain OMPs and water parameters, highlighting the need for more reliable data acquisition and analysis in future monitoring programs.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Ning Tian, Jian Chen, Ningxi Zhou, Peng Lan, Jinsong Huang
Summary: This study proposes a direct Monte-Carlo simulation approach to assess the reliability of tunnel structures after being affected by adjacent excavations. Parametric analysis shows that the variability of soil parameters, the cross-correlation, and the probability distribution types have significant effects on tunnel reliability, with the variability of elastic modulus being the most influential factor.