In this study, integrated pollution control (IPC) is viewed as an approach which seeks the most cost-effective way of reducing the overall risk to human health and the environment from all pollutants in all environmental media. It does this by simultaneously taking into account all pollutant discharges, all available control options, the transport of all pollutants in the environment following discharge, and the resulting risk to human health and environment. The purpose of this study is to determine whether it is technically feasible to implement the IPC approach. IPC is considered technically feasible if a methodology capable of selecting a pollution control strategy under an IPC framework can be developed and if the methodology is reliable - i.e., the assumptions underlying the model are valid, and adequate data are available. A typical IPC methodology involves identifying pollutant sources and pollution control options, tracing the pollutants through the environment, determining risks to human health and the environment resulting from the ambient pollutant concentrations, and identifying the most cost-effective pollution control alternative. In this study, three submodels - pollution control and cost, pollution transport, and risk assessment - are used to provide information for the first three steps of the IPC methodology. An IPC model which integrates information provided by the three submodels and selects the most cost-effective control strategy from a given set of pollution control alternatives is developed. The model is applied to a case-study which involves a hypothetical coal-fired power plant situated in a realistic physical setting. Rather than identifying the most cost-effective solution for the case-study, the purpose here is to demonstrate what is involved in the implementation of the IPC approach through a simplified example. Specifically, the study systematically documents the limitations of the approach, which result from the unavailability of data, the inadequacy of modeling techniques, and difficulty in dealing with value based issues. The author's sense of the likelihood that these limitations can be overcome is presented. The study resulted in some general observations which reflect on the applicability of IPC to pollution control. For instance, the observation is made that to increase the reliability of the IPC model, the pollution transport and risk assessment models need significant development, with particularly extensive efforts required in the risk assessment area in terms of both data development and modeling. The study concludes that, at the present time, development of IPC is not at a point where it can be implemented with confidence. However, the author contends that despite its limitations, and irrespective of whether or not IPC can ever be implemented, the approach can be used as a valuable tool for analyzing environmental systems in that it reveals issues that might be lost if the system is analyzed component by component. / Ph. D.

No description available.

The aim of this study was to develop a suitable monitoring protocol for mediated amperometric whole-cell biosensors for in situ assessment of heavy metals in soil. E. coli 8277, Pseudomonas 9773, Pseudomonas 9046 and Pseudomonas 8917 were screened as biosensor catalysts to select the sensitive biosensor configurations to heavy metals. A new protocol was developed for monitoring heavy metals in defined solution, soil pore water, and in situ in soil. This study also demonstrated the applications of mediated amperometric bacterial biosensors for in situ assessing the bioavailability and toxicity of heavy metals in freshly spiked soils or historically contaminated soils, and mixture toxicities of heavy metals. It was found that the biosensors incorporating selected bacterial strains were appropriately sensitive to copper, but less sensitive to Zn, Pb, and Hg, compared to Microtox assay. The advantage of the mediated amperometric bacterial biosensor system is its in situ application in soils. The present study demonstrated that soil pore water does not accurately reflect conditions of soil ecosystem, and that in situ bioassays are more reliable for determining the bioavailability and toxicity of heavy metals. This is the first reported use of disposable whole cell biosensors for in situ heavy metal bioavailability and toxicity assessment. The biosensor protocol developed here can be adapted to allow the incorporation of dfferent bacterial biocatalysts for applications in soil quality assessment, screening of sites for contamination ‘hot spots’, and the evaluation of soil degradation or rehabilitation from metal pollution. Mediated amperometric bacterial biosensors are not analyte specific, their response reflecting the metabolic impact of the combined chemical and physical properties of the environment to which they are exposed. In assessing the toxicity of soil samples from fields using these biosensors, it is vital to get appropriate control soil samples. The conditions of soil samples also need to be well defined. The sensitivity of the mediated amperometric whole-cell biosensors to heavy metals need to be further improved. Investigations are also required to determine how the natural conditions affect the application of the biosensor system in the field.

The purpose of this thesis is to compare policy instruments with respect to cost efficiency, income distribution effects, technological change and violation incentives. The policy instruments under study are quota, charge and permit market system. The analysis is applied to Gotland, an island in the Baltic where the content of nitrate in drinking water is high. As in many other agricultural districts, the source of pollution is farmers’ use of nitrogen. According to the results, a permit market performs best with respect to cost efficiency and income distribution effects. The empirical calculations show that a permit market system may amount to half the cost of the most expensive alternative. All three policy instruments are found to encourage technological change, although to different degrees. In most instances the incentives for technological adjustments are highest for the charge and permit market systems. The incentives to violate regulations may be the smallest under a permit market system. But they can also be higher and of the same magnitude as under a charge system. The main reason for this variation is that the occurrence of illegal use of nitrogen affects the marketclearing price of permits. This, in turn, may reduce the economic incentives to violate regulations of a permit market system. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 1989

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes special report study entitled: Insolation CAD modelling. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

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Lic.-avh. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Tekn. högsk., 2006. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 1991. / "May 1991." Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-219).