Risk Perception of Heavy Metal Soil Contamination by High-Exposed and Low-Exposed Inhabitants: The Role of Knowledge and Emotional Concerns

Soil contaminated with heavy metals is a salient example of environmental risk. Consumption of vegetables cultivated in contaminated soil or direct ingestion of soil by small children can damage health. In contrast to other kinds of pollution or risks such as air pollution or exposure to ozone, the individual risk concerning soil contamination is highly dependent on the way one is exposed to the local source of risk. Thus, we wanted to know if risk perception varies according to the level of exposure. A quasi-experimental, questionnaire-based study was conducted in a community in northwest Switzerland, where the soil is widely contaminated. The level of contamination varies with the distance from the source of the contamination, a metal processing plant. We investigated the perception of risk of heavy-metal-contaminated soil by inhabitants with high-exposure levels (N= 27) and those with low-exposure levels (N= 30). Both groups judged the risk for oneself similarly whereas the low-exposure group, when compared to the high-exposure group, judged perceived risk for other affected people living in their community to be higher. Besides this exposure effect, risk perception was mainly determined by emotional concerns. Participants with higher scores in self-estimated knowledge tended to provide low-risk judgments, were less interested in further information, showed low emotional concern, and thus displayed high risk acceptance. In contrast, actual knowledge showed no correlation with any of theses variables. Judgments on the need for decontamination are determined by risk perception, less application of dissonance-reducing heuristics and commitment to sustainability. The desire for additional information is not affected by missing knowledge but is affected by emotional concerns.     

Variability and Uncertainty Analysis of the Cross‐Contamination Ratios of Salmonella During Pork Cutting

The transfer ratio of bacteria from one surface to another is often estimated from laboratory experiments and quantified by dividing the expected number of bacteria on the recipient surface by the expected number of bacteria on the donor surface. Yet, the expected number of bacteria on each surface is uncertain due to the limited number of colonies that are counted and/or samples that can be analyzed. The expected transfer ratio is, therefore, also uncertain and its estimate may exceed 1 if real transfer is close to 100%. In addition, the transferred fractions vary over experiments but it is unclear, using this approach, how to combine uncertainty and variability into one estimate for the transfer ratio. A Bayesian network model was proposed that allows the combination of uncertainty within one experiment and variability over multiple experiments and prevents inappropriate values for the transfer ratio. Model functionality was shown using data from a laboratory experiment in which the transfer of Salmonella was determined from contaminated pork meat to a butcher's knife, and vice versa. Recovery efficiency of bacteria from both surfaces was also determined and accounted for in the analysis. Transfer ratio probability distributions showed a large variability, with a mean value of 0.19 for the transfer of Salmonella from pork meat to the knife and 0.58 for the transfer of Salmonella from the knife to pork meat. The proposed Bayesian model can be used for analyzing data from similar study designs in which uncertainty should be combined with variability.     

牡蛎壳污染的治理思路及资源化综合利用对策——以福建省惠安县为例

通过对惠安县牡蛎生产及牡蛎壳污染情况的调查,分析了牡蛎壳污染的主要危害,提出了牡蛎壳综合治理的基本思路,即强化管理、集中储埋、鼓励利用;以及资源化利用的对策建议:(1)积极探索牡蛎壳资源化综合开发利用途径;(2)抓紧制定中长期开发利用计划。     

Predicting psychological ripple effects: the role of cultural identity, in-group/out-group identification, and attributions of blame in crisis communication

Incidents of intentional food contamination can produce ripple effects in consumers such as reduced trust and increased anxiety. In their postcrisis communication, food companies often direct the blame at the perpetrator in an effort to mitigate potential losses and regain consumer trust. The attempt to placate consumers may, in itself, potentially create psychological ripple effects in message readers. This study examined the interacting influence of two message characteristics: identity of the perpetrator of the crime (in-group/out-group membership), and the attribution of blame (reason why the perpetrator committed the crime), with message receiver characteristic (cultural identity) on psychological ripple effects such as blame, trust, anxiety, and future purchase intention. Results indicated that although group membership of the perpetrator was not significant in predicting outcomes for the organization, the attribution communicated in the message was. American message receivers blamed the organization more and trusted it less when personal dispositional attributions were made about the perpetrator. Asian message receivers blamed the organization more and trusted it less when situational attributions were made about the perpetrator. Lowered trust in the company and increased anxiety correlated with lower purchase intent for both American and Asian message receivers. Implications for crisis message design are discussed.     

跨界地下水国际立法的发展趋势及对我国的启示

跨界地下水国际立法经过漫长的发展历程,目前呈现出一些新的发展趋势,主要体现为:软法性文件推进着跨界地下水国际立法议程,在该议程中水资源一体化管理的理念逐渐得到体现和遵循,跨界地下水专门性立法和跨界含水层管理机构的建立也受到前所未有的重视。鉴于此,我国应尽快将跨界地下水的开发、利用和保护纳入立法议程,并在相关国际、国内立法中遵循一体化管理的原则。同时,针对跨界含水层的特殊性和复杂性,我国应进行跨界专门性地下水立法,并建立专门的跨界含水层管理机构,以此促进跨界地下水资源的可持续利用和生态环境的保护。     

Robustness of bayesian factor analysis estimates

This paper presents the result of a study of the robustness of posterior estimators of the factor loading matrix, the factor scores, and the disturbance covariance matrix (the main model parameters) in a Bayesian factor analysis with respect to variations in the values of the parameters of their prior distributions (the hyperparameter). We adopt the ε - contamination model of Berger and Berliner(1986) to generate prior distributions whose hyper-paramters reflects small variations in the elements of the uncontaminated hyperparameters, and we use directional derivatives to examine the variation of the uncontaminated estimators with respect to changes in the values of the hyperparameters, in the directions of the main model parameters. Several matrix norms are used to measure the closeness of the resulting values. We illustrate the results with a numerical example.     

具有混合边界条件的地下水污染模型的特征有限元方法

本文研究了地下水污染理论中的一类带混合边界条件的非线性耦合方程组的特征有限元方法，构造模型的特征有限元全离散格式，且利用椭圆投影，建立了计算格式在Ｈ＾１模下的最佳阶误差估计，并给出了数值算例及结果分析。     

The Impact of Dietary Changes Among the Inuit of Nunavik (Canada): A Socioeconomic Assessment of Possible Public Health Recommendations Dealing with Food Contamination

Inuit populations meet a large portion of their food needs by eating country food in which pollutants are concentrated. Despite the fact that they contain pollutants, the consumption of country food has many health, social, economic, and cultural benefits. A risk determination process was set up in order to help regional health authorities of Nunavik to deal with this particular issue. Based on Nunavik health authorities' objectives to encourage the region's inhabitants to change their dietary habits, and on both the risks and the benefits of eating country food, several management options were developed. The options aimed at reducing exposure to contaminants by either substituting certain foods with others that have a lower contaminant content or by store-bought foods. This article aims at assessing the potential economic impact of these risk management options before being implemented. Relevant economic data (aggregate income and monetary outlays for the purchase of food and equipment required for food production by households) were collected and identified to serve as a backdrop for the various replacement scenarios. Results show that household budgets, and the regional economy, are not significantly affected by the replacement of contaminated foods with the purchase of store-bought meat, and even less so if the solution involves replacing contaminated foods with other types of game hunted in the region. When financial support is provided by the state, the households can even gain some monetary benefits. Results show that public health authorities' recommended changes to dietary habits among the Inuit of Nunavik would not necessarily involve economic constraints for Inuit households.     

广州市部分市售食品金属污染情况初探

通过对广州市部分市售食品重金属含量检测结果的分析,分析比较了几大类市售食品的金属与重金属污染状况。研究发现市售水产品中,尤其是软体动物——贝类中铅、镉污染相对严重,而米面制品中油条的铝含量超标率依旧较高。本研究为食品安全监管部门明确了食品金属污染监测范围,有助于提高食品安全监管的针对性。     

Estimation of Human Exposure from Fish Contaminated with Dioxins and Furans Emitted by a Resource-Recovery Facility

Ingestion of contaminated fish can be an important human exposure pathway for dioxins and furans emitted from waste incineration plants. A new method for calculating fish contamination resulting from dioxin and furan emissions has been developed to overcome some of the problems of those currently used. The method is based on evidence that the major determinant of fish dioxin and furan uptake is sediment concentrations. Only two steps are necessary to calculate fish tissue levels. Step 1: Calculation of the concentration of dioxins and furans in particulate matter entering the lake or pond, and hence, the resulting sediment concentration. Step 2: Calculation of fish concentrations utilizing fish-to-sediment ratios for the various dioxin and furan isomers.