The state of India's environment has been deteriorating steadily over the past two decades. Ambient standards of air, water and soil pollution are routinely exceeded with potentially disastrous consequences. Recognising the seriousness of the problem, the Indian government has recently introduced a series of measures which concentrate on practical aspects of implementation. | However, there are few studies available which can guide the formulation of policies in terms of the most appropriate choice of instruments which can contain pollution and protect India's environment. | That is the central purpose of this pioneering study - namely, to assess the efficacy of alternative instruments for pollution abatement based both on theoretical explorations and real-life case studies. The authors begin by reviewing the existing policy regime and analysing its impact on the quality of air and water in India's cities and rivers respectively. They then proceed to assess the choice of instruments for pollution control by linking economic and environmental systems.

What laws, processes, and institutions exist to protect the American environment? To what degree do they succeed, and where do they fall short? This important new book concisely describes and evaluates America's pollution control system. It concludes, "For all its accomplishments... the pollution control regulatory system is deeply and fundamentally flawed." The authors, analysts with RFF's Center for Risk Management, examine the fragmented tangle of statutes, regulatory bodies, and programs designed to control environmental degradation in the United States. CRM Director Davies and Mazurek employ carefully chosen criteria such as pollution reduction, economic efficiency, and responsiveness to social values in order to judge the effectiveness of the various instruments -- and the system as a whole -- in protecting the environment. Their description of the system is concise and clear, and their selection of criteria is an important contribution to program evaluation. The book also compares U.S. performance with that of other countries. The authors' goal is a critical understanding of pollution regulation in the United States, thus laying the groundwork for improving it. Regulating Pollution emerges from a major research project undertaken by RFF's Center for Risk Management with support from the Andrew W. Mellon and Smith Richardson foundations. The three-year project constitutes the first in-depth, systematic evaluation of U.S. pollution control efforts.

A study on the factors influencing nitrogen removal in waste water stabilization ponds was undertaken in an eight-pond series in Werribee, Australia. Nitrogen species including Kjeldahl nitrogen, total ammonia nitrogen, nitrite and nitrate were monitored monthly from March 1993 to January 1994. At the same time, pH, temperature, chlorophylla content and dissolved oxygen were also recorded. Highest nitrogen removal occurred during the period with highest levels of chlorophylla content and dissolved oxygen, but the rate of nitrogen removal was not related to temperature and pH. Enhanced photosynthetic activities resulting from an increased phytoplankton abundance due to prolonged detention time caused an increase in dissolved oxygen, and created an optimum condition for nitrification to occur. In this process, ammonia was oxidized to nitrite and nitrate which were subsequently reduced to elemental nitrogen. Apart from nitrification-denitrification which was the major nitrogen removal pathway in the study system, algal uptake of ammonium, nitrate and nitrite as nutrient sources also contributed to the nitrogen removal. The role of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the treatment process in waste stabilization ponds was discussed.

The arboreal mites and epiphytes in young Scots pine forests (plant association Leucobryo-Pinetum) polluted by a copper smelting works at Głogów, were investigated. The concentration of heavy metals in Scots pine bark and epiphytes increased towards the pollution source. Copper was accumulated mainly by algae, but lead was accumulated mainly by lichens; these epiphytes accumulated more heavy metals than tree bark. A high concentration of heavy metals was harmful to mites, especially to Oribatida, and to lichens, but algae tolerated these pollutants. The number of oribatid species decreased towards the pollution source, along with the increasing concentrations of heavy metals in tree bark and epiphytes. Among mites, the following categories were distinguished: a) sensitive to heavy metals, b) sensitive to a high concentration but tolerant of small concentrations and c) tolerant of these metals. The mites inhabited mainly the lower section of trees.

Atmospheric transparency over Qena/Egypt has been studied for direct solar radiation values, which were calculated from global and diffuse solar radiation measurements. The monthly mean of the instantaneously transparency coefficient has been analyzed in clear-, cloudy-, and mixed days. In general, the value of the transparency coefficient was found to decrease towards the sunset hours, owing to the high aerosol content expected in the afternoon time. The clouds deplete significantly the solar energy passed through them and then lead to an obvious decreasing in the transparency coefficient. A try to calculate the transparency coefficient has been done with the aid of the more available global solar radiation measurements. The results are in a good agreement with those obtained for direct solar radiation. The relation between the daily average of the transparency coefficient and the corresponding mean diffuse fraction has been investigated. High correlations were found between them in all months and empirical formulae were obtained.

In the late 1980s, citrus plantations in the area of Villarreal (Spain) showed injuries similar to those previously reported for boron and fluorine toxicity. The area was affected by the disposal of industrial wastewater, mainly from ceramic industries. Conjunctive uses of surface water, groundwater and wastewater for irrigation had taken place. A survey was conducted at 25 orchards to assess leaves and soil for their boron, fluorine, lead, nickel and zinc contents. Wastewater and groundwater were also analyzed to corroborate the presence of these pollutants. The results showed that both boron and fluorine contents were greater than those reported as excess at the most part of the orchards included in the study. Heavy metals toxicity effects were not confirmed. Boron pollution was attributed to industrial wastewater spills and fluorine contamination from atmospheric pollution.

Sandy soils, in the border area of Belgium and the Netherlands (the Kempen region), are heavily contaminated by atmospheric deposition of cadmium and zinc from nearby smelters. Groundwater contamination by leaching from these low retention soils is subject of study. There are reports of high cadmium and zinc concentrations in groundwater in the area, but in most cases the direct sources are unknown. In an attempt to predict present or future risk of groundwater contamination by soil leaching, metal binding processes (retardation) were studied that are specific for these soil types under the existing acidifying conditions. From four fields nine contaminated profiles were sampled and analyzed for cadmium and zinc. Average concentrations of 131μg g⁻¹ zinc and 1.6μg g⁻¹ cadmium with maximum values of 2989μg g⁻¹ respectively 16.3μg g⁻¹ were found. In addition pH and contents of organic matter, aluminium, iron, and manganese were determined. The relative importance of these soil parameters for metal retardation is derived from the profiles. The data show that organic matter is the most important soil component for binding cadmium and zinc. Adsorption of cadmium and zinc on aluminium, iron and manganese (hydr) oxides appears to be of minor importance at low pH (<5.5).

A study was carried out recently to determine the pollution level of waters in the Karachi harbour and adjoining backwaters. Nine locations were selected, four in the backwaters, two on the seaside, and three in the main navigable channel. Four of these locations were deliberately selected to coincide with those of a previous study conducted in 1982 by Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) so that the values for the concentration of different pollutants could be compared. Analysis was conducted for pH, bicarbonates, Total Solids, Volatile matter in Total Solids, Chlorides, Sulphates, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium and Potassium.The results indicate that the composition of sea water as far as the concentration of above constituents is concerned has not changed much since the time of the PCSIR study, viz 1982, except that the organic matter concentration has increased. The reasons for this increase in organic loading and its possible impact are discussed in this paper.