15 Environment (pollution, heaHh protection, safety)

Q6/06?01 Sheoina the Gamma Curtain Perera, J. Nuclea; Engineering Int., Sep. 1996, 41, (506), 31-34. Eariv 19% saw the start uo in Ukraine and Belarus of the Gamma-l oiiot radiation early warning sy’stem, the first phase of the Gamma Curtain, a network of monitors stretching from the Black Sea to the Baltic to enable rapid detection of any future nuclear accidents. In setting up the system, the experience of monitoring around Chernobyl was invaluable, and has implications for the West as well.

96106702 Sick buiidlng ??yndrome - Acouatlc aspecta Butt, T. Indoor Built Environ., Jan.-Feb. 1996, 5, (l), 44-59. Discusses a report on a case where low frequency n&e centred around 7 Hz was found to occur in sever1 office rooms. Symptoms resulting from exposure lo infrasound are typical of sick building syndrome.

96106703 Single-atags flue gas desulfurlration at a fosall fuel-fired power plant Pfeiffer, J. and Ziehe, H. (Assigned to) VEAG Vereinigte Energiewerke Ag, Germany, GER. Pat. DE.19,502,636, Feb. 1996. A process where limestone-containing scrubbing solution is recirculated after being made up to appropriate strength with the addition of limestone slurry based on the suiphur dioxide concentration in the flue gases. The method prevents changes in quality of the gypsum produced.

96106704 The skim and burial piough: A new Implement for reclamation of radloactlvely contaminated land Roed, J. er al., J. Environ. Radioactivity, 1996, 33, (2), 117-128. Radionuciides accidentally released to the atmosphere in severe nuclear accidents can give rise to widespread radioactive contamination of land. If no remedial action is taken, the contamination may constitute a long-term external radiation hazard. Similarly, agricultural and dairy produce from the contaminated land may be a source of internal radiation. A newly developed agricultural implement named the ‘skim and burial’ piough has been built and tested and shown to be an effective countermeasure against both of these potential hazards but without the disadvantages of some other land reciamatlon methods. The results are that radiation levels at the soil surface are greatly reduced, the contamination becomes much less avaiia- bie for plant uptake and in most cases there is little or no effect on soil quality.

96106705 Small air lone and Indoor air auailtv Martinac, 1. AIRAH J., Mar. 1996, 50, (3), 17-2i. - The paper claims that variations in the indoor concentrations of small ions may-&se some of the discomfort and health problems reported in sick buildings. Refers to research carried out at the Royal Institute of Technoi- ogy, Stockholm, which established that mechanical ventilation had a sig- nificant effect on small ion levels.

96106706 Solid waste incineration - An evaluation related to enviromentai problems Monte, A. and Vaiie, G. Termotecniu, May 1996, (4), 67-70. Describes the best-known incineration systems for solid waste from the standpoint of environmental protection.

96106707 Speclation of “‘Cs and %r In discharges from the pulp Industry and the marine recipient ~;c+sss~, M. et al., J. Environ. Radioactivity, Jul.-Aug. 1996, 32, (l),

The concentrations and size distribution pattern of radionuciides in waste- water discharges from a pulp industry located at the Oslo fjord, Nonvay, have been studied.

Q6lQ6706 The state of the Russian environment Bridges, 0. and Bridges, J. W. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Cower House, Crofi Road, Aldershot, Hunts, GUll 3HR, UK, f35.00, $59.95, May 1996, 250 pp. An examination of the present environmental situation in Russia, this book identifies trends which are developing as the shift to a capitalist economy gathers pace - the dichotomy between the need for a major industrial reconstruction and the need to improve the country’s environmental state. The environmental consequences are very great if major mistakes are lo be avoided in the Russian Federation or elsewhere. Among the problems examined are radioactive contamination, agricultural and industnai poiiu- tion, energy and transport.

96lQ6709 Statistical analysis of Indoor bacterial air concen- tratlon and comparison of four RCS blotest samplers Straja, S. and Leonard, R. T. Environment Int., 1996, 22, (4), 389-404. The bacterial air concentration expressed as number of colony-forming units per m3 is widely used as a microbiological parameter in indoor air quality assessments. The paper presents a study case for an office area performed by four independent teams using four identical air-sampling Instruments.

QSlQ67lQ Strategies for enhancing the commercial vlablllty of CdTe-based photovoltalcs Ebers

! acher, C. et al., So[nr Energy Materials & Solar Cells, Jun. 1996,

41, 6 7-653. Environmental, health and safety issues related lo the handling and dispo- sal of end-of-life thin-film cadmium teiiuride photovoitaic modules were examined to determine their potential impacts on the commercialization of this new product.

96lQ67ll Study of the role of anthropogenic aerosole on the radiation balance of the atmosphere. Dust partlcles compen- sate greenhouse effect Ten Brink, H. M. ECN-C Report C-098, Netherlands Energy Res. Foun- dation, Petten, Netherlands, 1995, 22 pp. A report on the effect of aerosols (primarily formed in the combustion of coal and oil) on the changes in the atmospheric radiation balance.

96106712 Sulfur content of flue gases emltted by coal-burn- Ing power plants and capture of sulfur in clinker and flyash Boschan, E. et al., Energiagazdalkodas, 1996, 37, (2), 49-51. (In Hungarian) Discusses the removal of suiphur content of flue gases emitted by coai- burning power plants in Hungary.

QYQ6713 carbon

Sulfur dloxide capture by calcium contalnlng

Macias-Perez, M. C. et al., Coal Sci Technol., 1995, 24, 1831-1834. SO, retention for unloaded calcium samples decreases with temperature, indicating a physical sorption process, while calcium added lo activated carbons considerably increases SO, retention at higher temperatures. The retention increases linearly with calcium content, and the surface of the CaO particles seems to be a factor controlling SO, retention. The limiting aspect is that the amount of calcium introduced by impregnation in the activated carbons seems to reach a maximum independent of the concen- tration of the impregnation solution used.

96106714 Survey of radon in houses In an area strongly affected by mining actlvlty Wysocka, M. er al., Environ. Geochem. Health, 1995, 481-487. Discusses the measurement of airborne Rn in 87 residences in the Upper Siiesia Coal Basin, Poland.

96106715 Technological enhancement of natural radionuclides In the marine environment ~7~~~aid, P. et al., J. Environ. Radioactivity, Jul.-Aug. 1996, 32, (l),

This review summarizes aspects of technologically enhanced radioactivity in the UK marine environment, considers briefly related investigations in western Europe and then discusses some models for the kinetics of series decay and ingrowth which can be applied to technological inputs of series members to the marine environment and to their differential elemental biogeochemistries

96106716 Technologically enhanced radioactlvlty: An overvlew Baxter, M. S. J. Environ. Radioactivity, Jul.-Aug. 1996, 32, (l), 3-17. Man first increased his radiation exposure above the natural baseline when he began cave-dwelling and mining and working metals and minerals. Since then the understandine of technoioeicaiiv enhanced radioactivitv and of the associated exoosure-oathwavs has in&eased to the oresent’state which is described bi UN&EAR (1993, Sources and effect; of ionizing radiation, UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Report to the General Assembly, UN, New York) as ‘sketchy’ and ‘not sufficient to enable reliable estimates’. This review of present-day knowi- edge suggests that many non-nuclear industries are indeed capable of gen- erating significant critical group or collective exposures or both.

96106717 Temporal varlatlon analysis of plutonium baseline concentration In surface air from selected sites in the contlnen- tal US Pan, V. and Stevenson, K. A. J. Environ. Radioactivity 1996, 32, (3), 239-257. The temporal variation of plutonium concentrations in surface air was assessed for the US Deoartment of Enerev’s monitorine sites near Rich- land, Washington and Chicago, Illinois uF&g historical &tabases from the Bateile Pacific Northwest Laboratory and the Argonne National Labora- tory-East.

96106716 A test and demonstration unit for concentrating sulfur dioxide from flue gas Dunn, J. P. et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 1996, 35, (4), 1409-1416. Describes the develo ment of a bench-scale system lo continuously sepa- rate and concentrate ti 0, from flue gas. The separation is accomplished due lo the relative adsorption strengths of SO, and water on a synthetic mordenite, a phenomenon known as roiiup.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts November 1996 467