USEPA

Experience in the field indicates that some targeted populations have rejected the notion that the ritualistic use of Mercury is harmful to their health if it is used in accordance with established traditional practices.  Upon closer examination, however, it appears that many of these religious adherents have rejected the message about the negative health impacts of mercury exposure because they did not trust the messenger and/or were offended by certain language and characterizations used in communications with them.

The proposed paper will discuss some of the successes and failures Public Health officials have experienced in attempting to reach out to practitioners of the Orisha Tradition Religions (Yoruba, Santeria, Lukumi, Candomble, Obeah, Voudoun, Espiritismo, Palo Mayombe, Curanderismo) regarding the use of Mercury in certain rituals and homeopathic preparations.  These successes and failures will be analysed in terms of the cultural content and tone of the outreach/education materials and the subsequent level of interest and acceptance of them by members of the target audience. 

For purposes of comparison and analysis of approach, the paper will closely examine the structure, and content of the following documents in order to enhance the understanding of how the targeted audiences responded to them:

• The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s: “Task Force on Ritualistic Uses of Mercury Report”, 
• The United Nations Environmental Programmes Chemicals Division’s (UN/UNEP/CH):  Global Mercury Assessment Report 
• The author’s paper: The Use of Elemental Mercury (Azogue/Vidajan) In Traditional Practices: Is It Time For The Orisha Community To Consider Action? Which was delivered to the 8th World Congress of Orisha Tradition and Culture in Havana, Cuba.

The paper will discuss some of the unique cultural characteristics of the Orisha Tradition Religions in the Diaspora that must be taken into account when preparing sensitive health education and health alert materials targeted to them.  Additionally, the paper will discuss approaches that can be taken to ensure that the health message is clearly heard by those that may be putting themselves at risk by voluntary exposure to Mercury.
  “Task Force on Ritualistic Uses of Mercury Report”. United Stated Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Emergency and Remedial Response. Washington, DC 20460.
(OSWER 9285.4-07) (EPA/540-R-01-005)
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/action/community/mercury.pdf

  “Global Mercury Assessment Report”: http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/Report/Final%20Assessment%20report.htm UNEP Chemicals / 11-13, chemin des Anémones CH-1219 Châtelaine, Genève Switzerland / Phone: +41 22 917 1234 / Fax: +41 22 797 3460 / E-mail: chemicals@unep.ch / Website: http://www.chem.unep.ch/

The concentration of any disinfectant is a major parameter which is used to evaluate the quality of water. Chlorine is the most common disinfecting agent used during water treatment and its distribution through networks. In this study, the hydraulic simulation of chlorine decay is performed for an existing and operational Mild Steel (MS) pipe network as well as a new pipe material Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Poly-Ethylene (UHMWPE) as an alternate for the purpose of comparing the water quality performance of both materials. The results show that the initial chlorine concentration required to be added to the water tank to sustain a minimum allowable concentration in the network is found to be almost double for MS pipe system as compared to UHMWPE. However, the decay pattern for MS pipes is found to be irregular and varying whereas it is smooth and almost linear in nature for UHMWPE pipe system. The research proves to be useful for selection of an economical and efficient pipe material.

Wang, LK and Wang, MHS (2022). Green innovations in flotation, protein separation, flue gas reuse, new process systems, sulfide precipitation, chromium removal, and tannery waste treatment. In: “Evolutionary Progress in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM)”, Wang, LK and Tsao, HP (eds.), 4 (7E), STEAM-VOL4-NUM7E-JULY2022. ISBN 978-0-9890870-3-2. 119 pages. July 2022, Lenox Institute Press, Massachusetts, USA. https://doi.org/10.17613/6va8-xg37  .........ABSTRACT:  This publication reviews the technical information from UNIDO, USEPA and LIWT, and covers the following subjects concerning the leather tanning industry: industry description, subcategories, tannery operations, pollutants, effluent discharge limitations, Best Practical Control Technology Achievable (BPCTA), Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (BATEA), current waste treatment systems, environmental problems, process improvements, new process equipment, innovative process systems, independent PC WW Treatment System, DAF, DAFF, combined DAF-DAFF, dissolved protein analysis and removal, BPCTA and BATEA examples, dissolved carbon dioxide flotation (DCDF), carbonation, flue gas recycle, GHG reduction, ferrous sulfide precipitation process for removing toxic sulfides, ferrous sulfide sludge recycle for removing toxic chromium (III) , physicochemical sequencing batch reactor (PC-SBR); biological flotation aerobic-anoxic contact stabilization process, membrane biological flotation reactor (MFBR), tannery effluent discharge limitations, and glossary. This publication is one of the authors' memoirs. The researchers around the world are invited to investigate the green innovations explored by LIWT for further improvement.

This paper compares the performance of four mobile source dispersion models: SLINE 1.0, SAREA 1.0, SLSM, and CALINE4. The generic version of each model is used in this study. Idaho Falls 2008 data are used to predict the downwind concentrations. The data points from Day-2 and Day-5 are chosen for further analysis under unstable and stable conditions. Statistical indicators are calculated using predicted and observed concentrations to intercompare the performance of each model. The sensitivity analysis is also performed to determine the variation of independent input variables affecting the predicted concentrations. This study uses the Sensitivity Index Method to identify the sensitivity of each variable for each model. The simulations were executed for each input to calculate predicted concentrations and calibration residuals by adjusting the variables in the considered range. The results show that the model input shows varying sensitivity. The SLINE 1.0 model has a high correlation between the observed and predicted values when compared to the other models. CALINE4 is performing better when compared to SLSM under stable conditions. Overall, this study identifies that the performance of the SLINE 1.0 has increased when the initial vertical dispersion coefficient expression is revised from that used by Madiraju and Kumar (2021).

Wang, LK and Wang, MHS (2022). Hazardous wastewater treatment in petroleum refining industry using best available flotation and filtration technologies. In: “Evolutionary Progress in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM)”, Wang, LK and Tsao, HP (eds.), 4 (7G), STEAM-VOL4-NUM7G-JULY2022. pp.75-136 pages. July 2022., Lenox Institute Press, Massachusetts, USA.
https://doi.org/10.17613/4c75-xf40  ----------ABSTRACT:  This publication introduces the interrelationships among the different processes and a specific effluent flow model for predicting current industrial flow on a refinery by refinery basis. The wastewaters generated by the industry are diverse and complex, representing a full range of hazardous organic and inorganic substances, such as volatile organics, semivolatile organics, pesticides, cyanides, arsenic, and many heavy metals. Wastewater characteristics of refinery effluents from the oil-water separator are researched and compiled. Special emphasis is placed on the introduction of in-plant control technologies for reduction of wastewater volume and pollutant loading, preliminary treatment of sour water, primary treatment for oil-water separation and the best available end-of-pipe treatment processes, such as high rate dissolved air flotation (DAF) and flotation-filtration (DAFF), and many others. This publication also covers: (a) The effectiveness of treatment technologies for hazardous substances; (b) The concept and practice of zero discharge in the industry; (c) The method for determination of toxic substances effluent limitation; (d) The case histories involving the use of DAF and DAFF for waste treatment in the petroleum refining industry; (e) Recommendation of the Best Practicable Control Technology Currently Achievable (BPT) for developing countries; and (f) Recommendation of the Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (BAT) to all industrial countries.

The use of the Pollution Prevention (P2) approach reduces financial costs along with waste management, cleanup, and environmental costs including health problems and environmental damage. Conservation of the environment by protecting natural resources is one of the advantages of the P2 approach. P2 activities help households, businesses, and communities to handle the waste. Outcomes of pollution prevention activities are knowledge-based, behavioral, health-related, or environmental, which includes decreased exposure to toxins, conservation of natural resources, decreased release of toxins to the environment, and cost savings. This study discusses the P2 approaches involving energy efficiency, energy savings, stormwater management, waste reduction, greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions, and wastewater reduction applied to local schools, restaurants, hospitals, and the industrial sector in Ohio. Several assessments were performed focusing on energy, greywater reuse, food waste diversion from landfill, and styrofoam waste reduction. Four assessments are discussed in this paper to illustrate the P2 approaches undertaken by addressing the National Emphasis Areas (NEAs) mentioned by the USEPA. The results indicated total savings over $0.66 million US dollars (USD) and 6,120 MWh of energy reduction of 505 MTCO2e greenhouse gases, water usage reduction of 722,700gallons/year, and a reduction of 12,392lbs. of styrofoam waste to the environment for the eighteen assessments performed under the P2 project.