Japan's decision to discharge nuclear wastewater into the sea on April 13, 2021 has aroused worldwide discussions recently. This paper establishes a tripartite evolutionary game model to explore the ...evolutionary stable strategies (ESSs) of Japan, other countries, and international environmental protection organization (IEPO). The results show: i) The choice of Japan is closely related to the treatment cost of nuclear wastewater. When Japan chooses the non-discharge strategy, other countries will always choose the acceptance strategy, while IEPO will trade off between its credibility and international assistance. When Japan chooses the discharge strategy, the choice of other countries depends on the difference of litigation compensation and cost, while that of IEPO is determined by the comparison of the litigation compensation and credibility with the litigation cost. ii) The treatment cost of nuclear wastewater, negative externalities of marine environment, litigation compensation, international assistance from IEPO, and the proximity coefficient between Japan and other countries are critical factors influencing both evolutionary results and trajectories, while the international assistance from other countries and initial willingness only affect evolutionary trajectories. This paper also puts forward policy implications for the three stakeholders to promote Japan's non-discharge strategy so as to protect the marine environment and human health from the unprecedented damage.
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•Japan's choice is closely related to the treatment cost of nuclear wastewater.•When Japan chooses the non-discharge strategy, other countries will always choose acceptance while IEPO will trade off between credibility and international assistance.•When Japan chooses the discharge strategy, other countries' choice depends on the difference of litigation compensation and cost, while IEPO's choice is determined by the comparison of litigation compensation and credibility with litigation cost.•Key parameters affecting evolutionary results and trajectories are identified.
•An approach enhances management of WWTPs-induced river contamination.•An index is defined to characterize risk status level of treatment plants cluster.•The approach is applied to a cluster of ...treatment plants along the Pearl River.•Performance of the proposed model is compared with TOPSIS.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) rarely eliminate emerging contaminants from effluents they discharged into waterways, and therefore, represent significant contaminations sources with deleterious environmental risks. This paper presents a VIKOR-based model to assess the contamination risk posed by a cluster of WWTPs. A risk index was defined via building a membership function embodying the performance degrees of WWTPs and risks levels within the framework of fuzzy set theory. The proposed approach was tested using a case study of WWTPs cluster along the Pearl River. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to investigate the robustness of the model. The results confirmed the ability of the proposed approach to reveal the risk level of a given treatment point. Further, the comparison with a TOPSIS scheme as well as sensitivity analysis results substantiate the consistency, accuracy, and reliability of the proposed approach. It is therefore bounds to improve the decentralized management of WWTPs-induced river contamination.
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Sediments provide habitat and food for benthos, and phthalates (PAEs) have been detected in numerous river and marine sediments as a widely used plastic additive. PAEs in sediments is not only toxic ...to benthos, but also poses a threat to pelagic fish and human health through the food chain, so it is essential to comprehensively assess the contamination of sediments with PAEs. This paper presents a critical evaluation of PAEs in sediments, which is embodied in the analysis of the sources of PAEs in sediments from multiple perspectives. Biological production is indispensable, while artificial synthesis is the most dominant, thus the focus was on analyzing the industrial and commercial sources of synthetic PAEs. In addition, since the content of PAEs in sediments varies, some factors affecting the content of PAEs in sediments are summarized, such as the properties of PAEs, the properties of plastics, and environmental factors (sediments properties and hydrodynamic conditions). As endocrine disruptors, PAEs can produce toxicity to its direct contacts. Therefore, the effects of PAEs on benthos immunity, endocrinology, reproduction, development, and metabolism were comprehensively analyzed. In addition, we found that reciprocal inhibition and activation of the systems lead to genotoxicity and apoptosis. Finally, the paper discusses the feasible measures to control PAEs in wastewater and leachate from the perspective of source control, and summarizes the in-situ treatment measures for PAEs contamination in sediments. This paper provides a comprehensive review of PAEs contamination in sediments, toxic effects and removal strategies, and provides an important reference for reducing the contamination and toxicity of PAEs to benthos.
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•Phthalates in sediments derive from biological production and artificial synthesis.•The content of phthalates is affected by its properties and environmental factors.•Toxicity mechanisms of phthalates to benthos are reviewed.•Source control and in-situ treatment can effectively reduce phthalates contamination.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical that has been identified by some jurisdictions as an environmental concern. In 2010, Canada concluded that this substance posed a risk to the environment ...and human health, and implemented actions to reduce its concentrations in the environment. To support these activities, a multimedia analysis of BPA in the Canadian environment was conducted to evaluate spatial and temporal trends, and to infer mechanisms influencing the patterns. BPA was consistently detected in wastewater and biosolids across Canadian wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in landfill leachate. In addition, BPA concentrations were significantly higher in surface water downstream compared to upstream of WWTPs in three of five urban areas evaluated. However, application of biosolids to Canadian agricultural fields did not contribute to elevated BPA concentrations in soil, earthworms, and European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) plasma one and two years post-treatment. Spatial trends of BPA concentrations in surface water and sediment are influenced by human activity, with higher concentrations typically found downstream of industrial sources and WWTPs in urban areas. BPA was detected in bird plasma at locations impacted by WWTPs and landfills. However, spatial trends in birds were less clear and may have been confounded by metabolic biotransformation. In terms of temporal trends, BPA concentrations in surface water decreased significantly at 10 of 16 monitoring sites evaluated between 2008 and 2018. In contrast, recent temporal trends of BPA in six sediment cores were variable, which may be a result of biotransformation of the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A to BPA. Overall, our study provides evidence that Government of Canada actions have been generally successful in reducing BPA concentrations in the Canadian environment. Our results indicate that long-term monitoring programs using surface water are more effective than other media for tracking and understanding future environmental trends of BPA.
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•Wastewater discharge impacts spatial patterns of BPA in Canadian environment•Canadian actions generally successful in reducing environmental concentrations•Surface water recommended for monitoring future trends of BPA in the environment
Trace element pollution is a potential threat to the reproduction of sea turtles. Hainan Island was previously the most important nesting ground of green sea turtles in China before they disappeared ...approximately 36 years ago. The Chinese government has encouraged restoration work on historical nesting grounds, and it is necessary to evaluate the status of these sites before conducting habitat restoration. This study analyzed the concentrations of seven trace elements in the surface sediments of 13 historical nesting grounds in Hainan. The average concentrations were 19.47 (Cr), 4.67 (Ni), 6.99 (Cu), 0.08 (Cd), 16.68 (Pb), 0.02 (Hg), and 5.27 (As) mg/kg, which were lower than the first-grade limit values of the GB (18668–2002) national standard in China. The concentrations were close to the background value, except for the relatively high Cd value. The potential ecological risk was ranked as Cd > Hg > As > Cu > Pb > Cr. The spatial distribution of trace element contamination in Hainan was uneven, with high potential ecological risk levels of Cd and Hg contamination in Longwan’gang, Shimeiwan, Yazhou Qu, and Fushicun. Marine mariculture, wastewater discharge, and fishing boats are the main sources of trace element contamination in Hainan. We recommend strengthening the control of Hg and Cd contamination sources, monitoring trace elements in relevant/interest areas, and the environmental protection department should curb local residents from directly discharging mariculture wastewater and domestic sewage into the sea.
This paper examines and projects the water use and wastewater generation during and after the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in China, and discussed the water use/wastewater generation pattern changes among ...different sectors. Existing studies on the impact of pandemic spread-prevention measures on water consumption and wastewater treatment during the pandemic are reviewed. The water use and wastewater discharge in China through the COVID-19 period are then projected and analyzed using Multivariate Linear Regression. The projection is carried out for years 2019–2023 and covers an (estimated) full process of pre-pandemic, pandemic outbreak, and recovery phase and provides essential information for determining the complete phase impact of the COVID-19. Two scenarios, i.e. the recovery scenario and the business as usual scenario, are set to investigate the water use and wastewater generation characteristics after the pandemic. The results imply that in both scenarios, the water use in China shows a V-shaped trend from 2019 to 2023 and reached a low point in 2020 of 5,813✕108 m3. The wastewater discharge shows an increasing trend throughout the COVID period in both scenarios. The results are also compared with the water consumption and wastewater generation during the SARS-CoV-1 period. The implication for policymakers is the possible increase of water use and wastewater discharge in the post COVID period and the necessity to ensure the water supply and control of water pollution and wastewater discharge.
•The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the water sector are reviewed.•Water use and wastewater discharge throughout the COVID-19 period are projected.•Water use in China shows a V-shaped trend from 2019 to 2023.•Wastewater discharge shows an increasing trend throughout the COVID period.•Water use and wastewater discharge during the SARS and the COVID-19 are compared.
Water is essential for the sustainable development of human society. With the largest population and rapid economic development, water usage and treatment in China have grown tremendously in the past ...decades. In order to prevent water pollution, the standards for wastewater effluent discharge in China have been gradually developed and implemented since 1973. After the rapid development during over 40 years, numerous milestones have been achieved in terms of infrastructure coverage, standard and policy system establishment, and technological innovations. In this article, we reviewed the development history and the current status of the wastewater treatment in China, including the generation of wastewater, the construction of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the overall treatment performance of WWTPs, as well as the developments in effluent discharge standards. In addition, we highlighted the challenges lying ahead in the aspects of influent concentration, sludge disposal and water reclamation. Based on the achievement and foundation built in the past, the new era of wastewater treatment of China is on the way, in which water reclamation, wastewater treatment in rural areas and resource/energy recovery from sludge are becoming the main tasks.
•The development history of wastewater treatment in China is reviewed.•The development process of wastewater discharge standards of China is summarized.•The treatment performance of WWTPs is evaluated according to discharge standards.•The future challenges in wastewater treatment of China is highlighted.•The main objectives in the new era of wastewater treatment in China is identified.
The Japanese government's decision to discharge nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea on April 13, 2021 has aroused widespread concern around the world. The ...Japanese people, especially the fishermen, have expressed their long and strong dissatisfaction with this decision. Motivated by this background, this paper discusses an evolutionary game considering the impact of participants' emotions to explore the evolutionary stable strategies of both the Japanese government and Japanese fishermen. The results show that (i) the evolutionary stability strategies of the two sides of the game are different under different emotion combinations. Under the optimism of the fishermen, the fishermen's decision making is irrational, and the equilibrium strategy of the game between the two sides is not conducive to fishermen. (ii) The emotions of the players will not only affect their own strategic choices but also affect the strategic choice intentions of other players. (iii) Reducing the cost of nuclear wastewater treatment is currently the most feasible way to reduce the probability of the Japanese government's discharge policy. Under the premise that the government chooses to discharge, no matter what the fishermen's emotions are, it is the fishermen's dominant strategy to strive for more subsidies for their own interests. The abovementioned findings can provide a decision-making reference for the Japanese government to formulate discharge strategies and for Japanese fishermen to protect their rights and interests.
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•Emotions affect the strategic choices of game players.•When there is emotional influence, irrational choices will occur.•A player’s emotions affect the strategies of all players in the system.•The equilibrium strategy of the game is not conducive to optimistic fishermen.•Useful political insights for the Japanese government/fishermen are given.
Municipal wastewater discharge into the adjacent seas is the most common practice of final wastewater disposal in coastal cities worldwide. To mitigate serious water pollution, treatment of municipal ...wastewater has advanced rapidly in China's coastal cities since 2005. However, because of differential nutrient removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment, ratios between different nutrients in wastewater can change significantly after being treated, which imposes a bottom-up effect for the growth of phytoplankton in receiving waters. In this study, we had characterized temporal changes of TN, TP and NH3–N discharges and their ratios in municipal wastewater in China's coastal cities during 2006–2015. Results showed that in 2015, a total of 296 Gg of TN, 37 Gg of TP, and 256 Gg of NH3–N were discharged into nearshore waters by municipal wastewater. Much higher TP and NH3–N removal efficiencies (82% and 92%, respectively) than TN (63%) in wastewater treatment were observed, which had increased TN/TP and TN/NH3–N mass ratios by about twice and five times, respectively, in the effluents relative to the influents. As the percentage of municipal wastewater being treated increased, significant increases in TN/TP and TN/NH3–N ratios in the total municipal wastewater discharge into nearshore waters had occurred. Simple correlation analysis showed that differences in nutrient ratios in municipal wastewater discharge in coastal cities might be related with the spatial variations of nutrient ratios in nearshore waters. Our results suggest that a long-term strategy for municipal wastewater management in coastal cities should not merely focus on the reduction of nutrient discharge, but also consider more balanced nutrient regimes to maintain aquatic biodiversity in nearshore waters.
•Rapid improvement in wastewater treatment in China’s coastal cities has reduced nutrient discharges to nearshore waters.•Higher TP and NH3-N removals than TN in wastewater treatment increased TN/TP and TN/NH3-N ratios in effluent.•Continuous increase in TN/TP and TN/NH3-N ratio in total municipal wastewater discharge was observed from 2006 to 2015.•Municipal wastewater discharges might influence spatial variations of nutrient ratios in nearshore waters.
Large amounts of wastewater discharge have emerged as a burden in the process of industrialization and urbanization. In this study, a dynamic wastewater-induced input-output model is developed to ...systematically analyze the related situation. The developed model is applied to Guangdong Province, China to analyze its prominent characteristics from 2002 to 2015. Combining input-output analysis, ecological network analysis and structural decomposition analysis, the developed model reveals issues of direct and indirect discharges, relationships among various discharges, and driving forces of wastewater discharges. It is uncovered that Primary Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing dominate the system because of significant temporal and spatial variations in wastewater discharge. In addition, Manufacturing of paper, computer and machinery and Services are the key industries responsible for large amounts of wastewater discharge and unhealthy source-discharge relationships. The largest wastewater discharge occurred in 2005 and indirect wastewater discharge is the main form. Furthermore, final demand is found to be the biggest driving force of wastewater discharge. Finally, a three-phase policy implementation system implemented in stages proposes solutions to wastewater problems.
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•Developing a wastewater-induced input-output model for Guangdong province, China.•Proposing a three-phase policy implementation system for discharge mitigation.•Dynamic wastewater-induced environmental and economic analyses are analyzed.•Final demand is the largest driving force of wastewater discharge.
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