Environmental Pollution ; prevention & control ; Metals, Heavy

Compared with the recycle of post-consumer medical equipments in medical institutions, the treatment of post-consumer home medical equipments (HME) should be consummated in the field of academic research, policy and regulatory plus corresponding supporting industries. The HME industry situation and its classification, main components and properties are reviewed in this paper. The merits and demerits of various pollution control techniques in the recycle of post-consumer medical equipments are analysed. For instance, the source control techniques to improve the property of raw materials, the end treatment technique to recycle the HME and regenerate energy are also discussed. Further, the development prospect of pollution control technique in the recycle of HME and the challenges must face up to are also probed.
Environmental Pollution ; prevention & control ; Equipment and Supplies ; standards ; Industry

Benzene, as a major indoor pollutant, has received widespread attention. In order to better control indoor benzene pollution and protect people's health, the limit value of benzene in the"Standards for indoor air quality (GB/T 18883-2022)'' was reduced from 0.11 mg/m³ to 0.03 mg/m³. This study reviewed and discussed the relevant technical contents of the determination of benzene limit value, including the exposure status of benzene, health effects, and derivation of the limit value. It also proposed prospects for the future direction of formulating indoor air benzene standards.
Humans ; Air Pollution, Indoor/prevention & control* ; Benzene/analysis* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Environmental Pollutants ; China ; Environmental Monitoring

Benzene, as a major indoor pollutant, has received widespread attention. In order to better control indoor benzene pollution and protect people's health, the limit value of benzene in the"Standards for indoor air quality (GB/T 18883-2022)'' was reduced from 0.11 mg/m³ to 0.03 mg/m³. This study reviewed and discussed the relevant technical contents of the determination of benzene limit value, including the exposure status of benzene, health effects, and derivation of the limit value. It also proposed prospects for the future direction of formulating indoor air benzene standards.
Humans ; Air Pollution, Indoor/prevention & control* ; Benzene/analysis* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Environmental Pollutants ; China ; Environmental Monitoring

OBJECTIVES: This study presents a scientific basis for the establishment of an environmental health contingency plan for dealing with accidental coastal oil spills and suggests some strategies for use in an environmental health emergency. METHODS: We reviewed the existing literature, and analyzed the various fundamental factors involved in response strategies for oil spill. Our analysis included data derived from Hebei Spirit oil spill and used air dispersion modeling. RESULTS: Spill amounts of more than 1,000 kl can affect the health of residents along the coast, especially those who belong to vulnerable groups. Almost 30% of South Korean population lives in the vicinity of the coast. The area that is at the highest risk for a spill and that has the greatest number of people at risk is the stretch of coastline from Busan to Tongyeong. The most prevalent types of oil spilt in Korean waters have been crude oil and bunker-C oil, both of which have relatively high specific gravity and contain volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and metals. In the case of a spill of more than 1,000 kl, it may be necessary to evacuate vulnerable and sensitive groups. CONCLUSIONS: The government should establish environmental health planning that considers the spill amount, the types of oil, and the distance between the spot of the accident and the coast, and should assemble a response team that includes environmental health specialists to prepare for the future oil spill.
*Accidents ; Decision Support Techniques ; *Disaster Planning ; *Environmental Health ; Environmental Monitoring ; Environmental Pollution/*prevention & control ; *Petroleum ; Population Dynamics ; Risk Assessment

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the environmental and technical efficiencies of China's industrial sectors and provide appropriate advice for policy makers in the context of rapid economic growth and concurrent serious environmental damages caused by industrial pollutants.

METHODSA data of envelopment analysis (DEA) framework crediting both reduction of pollution outputs and expansion of good outputs was designed as a model to compute environmental efficiency of China's regional industrial systems.

RESULTSAs shown by the geometric mean of environmental efficiency, if other inputs were made constant and good outputs were not to be improved, the air pollution outputs would have the potential to be decreased by about 60% in the whole China.

CONCLUSIONBoth environmental and technical efficiencies have the potential to be greatly improved in China, which may provide some advice for policy-makers.

Plastic film has become an important agriculture production material in recent years. Over the past three decades, the amount and application area of plastic film have increased steadily, and in 2014, which are 1.4 million tons and more than 180 million hm² respectively. It plays a key role for ensuring the supply of agricultural goods in China. Meanwhile, plastic film residual pollution becomes more and more serious, and in some regions, the amount of plastic film residues has reached over 250 kg/hm². In part of the Northwest region, soil structure of farmland has been destroyed by plastic film residues and then crop growth and farming operations were suppressed. It is recognized as a good choice to replace plastic film with biodegradable plastic film, an effective measure to solve the plastic film residue pollution. Now, it is in a critical stage of study and assessment of biodegradable plastic film in China and fortunately some biodegradable plastic films show effects in the production of potatoes, peanuts and tobacco. Overall, a series of challenges has still been faced by the biodegradable plastic film, mainly including improving the quality of biodegradable plastic products, such as tensile strength, flexibility, improving the controllability of rupture and degradation, enhancing the ability of increasing soil temperature and preserving soil moisture, and to satisfy the demand of crops production with mulching. In addition, it is essential to reduce the cost of the biodegradable film and promote the application of biodegradable film on large-scale. With the development of biodegradable plastic technology and agricultural production environment, the application of the biodegradable film will have a good future.
Agriculture ; Biodegradable Plastics ; Biotechnology ; China ; Environmental Pollution ; prevention & control ; Soil ; Temperature

The formulation and revision of the detection methods of indoor air quality standards is an important, rigorous and delicate endeavor. The standards for indoor air quality (GB/T 18883-2022) were issued by the State Administration of Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration on July 11, 2022, and implemented on February 1, 2023 by replacing indoor air quality standards (GB/T 18883-2002). The revised standard specifies hygienic requirements for physical, chemical, biological and radioactive indicators in indoor air and the corresponding test methods. This article interpreted the revision background, drafting principles, main indicators and methods, as well as the revision basis of the standards. Recommendations for the implementation of the standards are also proposed.
Humans ; Air Pollution, Indoor/prevention & control* ; Environmental Monitoring ; Reference Standards ; China ; Air Pollutants/analysis*

The formulation and revision of the detection methods of indoor air quality standards is an important, rigorous and delicate endeavor. The standards for indoor air quality (GB/T 18883-2022) were issued by the State Administration of Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration on July 11, 2022, and implemented on February 1, 2023 by replacing indoor air quality standards (GB/T 18883-2002). The revised standard specifies hygienic requirements for physical, chemical, biological and radioactive indicators in indoor air and the corresponding test methods. This article interpreted the revision background, drafting principles, main indicators and methods, as well as the revision basis of the standards. Recommendations for the implementation of the standards are also proposed.
Humans ; Air Pollution, Indoor/prevention & control* ; Environmental Monitoring ; Reference Standards ; China ; Air Pollutants/analysis*

Environmental Pollution ; prevention & control ; Health Education ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Iatrogenic Disease ; prevention & control ; Medical Laboratory Personnel ; psychology