Environmental impact and adaptation study of pig farming relocation in China

Under the guidance of agri-food and water resources policies, some pig farms in China have gradually shifted their production from the Constrained Zone with a dense population and sensitive environment to the Potential Zone with richer feed resources and large environmental capacity. To evaluate whether the relocation is consistent with sustainable consumption and production, the study took the Key Zone with large pig production and supply as comparison object, constructed a life cycle assessment (LCA) model of pig production in the Constrained, Key, and Potential zones. The environmental impacts caused by the production of 1 ton of pork in these zones were 24.67 PE, 20.11 PE, and 20.44 PE, respectively, indicating that raising pigs in the Key and Potential zones is more environment-friendly than that in the Constrained Zone. Therefore, the relocation of pig farms from the Constrained Zone to the Potential Zone was found to be suitable for protecting water resources and environmental quality. Additionally, the Key Zone can maintain and even increase the existing breeding scale without transferring farms to the Potential Zone. LCA results showed that pork production has significant impacts on cancer risk, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial eutrophication, and terrestrial acidification. Additionally, a majority of the environmental impacts result from crop and pig production, which are key processes in improving the pork supply chain. The soybean import ratio and feed conversion ratio are important indicators for reducing environmental impacts.Statement of noveltyTo evaluate whether pig farm relocation in China is consistent with sustainable consumption and production, a life cycle assessment (LCA) model of pig production in the Constrained, Key, and Potential zones was conducted. According to the results, relocating farms from the Constrained Zone to the Key and Potential zones was more environment-friendly. The Key Zone can maintain and even increase the existing breeding scale without transferring the farms to the Potential Zone. LCA results showed that the majority of the environmental impacts result from crop and pig production. Thus, further guidance and education can be provided to farmers in the Potential and Key zones. In addition, sensitivity analysis indicated that large-scale farms should reduce the feed conversion ratio to reduce environmental impacts.     

近岸海域富营养化评价方法的研究进展和比较

富营养化是沿海经济和社会发展面临的主要环境问题,近些年基于科学研究成果与经验,国外近岸海域富营养化评价方法已有长足进步,与之相比,中国现行方法仍处于初级阶段。通过文献资料分析,总结了奥斯陆-巴黎委员会、赫尔辛基委员会、欧盟水框架指令、美国海洋和大气管理局等富营养化评价方法的特点,并在应用范围、评价指标体系、标准、数据要求、程序及结果等方面进行了比较。针对中国目前近岸海域监测现状提出建议,为建立适合中国近岸海域富营养化特点的评价方法提供借鉴和参考。     

淮河污染浅析

淮河治污一直是各级环保部门较为关注的问题。本文从淮河污染源排放、水资源利用、产业结构以及农村面源污染方面对淮河流域污染成因进行了初步探讨,并根据线性模型对淮河水质进行了验证和预测,同时提出了一些污染治理建议。     

江苏省快速城镇化的资源环境影响及压力测算研究

通过测算江苏省城镇化每增长一个百分点引起的资源消耗与环境污染物产排放变化量,分析城镇化发展的边际资源环境效应。结果表明,1996年—2010年期间,城镇化每增长一个百分点带来的城镇生活用水量、城镇生活污水排放量、COD产生量、NH3-N产生量、NOx排放量、CO2排放量、垃圾产生量仍呈上升趋势,而城镇化每增长一个百分点带来的COD、NH3-N排放量和SO2排放量由"十五"的增加逐步转为"十一五"的减少。提出,江苏省应选择有特色的城镇化发展道路,合理把握城镇化发展速度和节奏,重视城镇化发展质量,促进城镇与环境协调发展。     

Life cycle impact assessment of home energy management systems (HEMS) using dynamic emissions factors for electricity in Finland

Decarbonising the European economy is a long-term goal in which the residential sector will play a significant role. Smart buildings for energy management are one means of decarbonisation, by reducing energy consumption and related emissions. This study investigated the environmental impacts of smart house automation using life cycle impact assessment. The ReCiPe method was selected for use, in combination with dynamic emissions factors for electricity in Finland. The results indicated that a high level of technology deployment may be counter-effective, due to high electricity consumption by the sensor network, automation system and computing devices. The results also indicated that number of inhabitants per household directly affected the environmental impacts of home automation. A single-person household saw its environmental impacts increase by 15%, while those of a five-person household increased by 3% in the worst-case scenario. The manufacturing phase contributed the major share of environmental impacts, exceeding the use phase in multiple categories. These findings indicate that finding the sweet spot in which technology can promote decarbonisation will be crucial to achieving the goal of a low‑carbon economy.     

Use of a non-planning driving background change methodology to assess the land-use planning impact on the environment

The implementation of land-use planning (LUP) impacts on the environment and may degrade regional environmental quality due to the changes in land-use patterns. To minimize the environmental impact of non-LUP driven (NPD) land-use background changes (LUBC), we propose an NPD land-use background change (NPD-LUBC) methodology to improve the LUP environmental impact assessment (LUPEA) process. With the application of the state-impact-state (SIS) framework and spatial information technologies including remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS), the methodology was tested on the eastern Chinese city of Lianyungang. The results indicate that (1) our proposed methodology is capable of distinguishing the environmental impact in implementing a target LUP, i.e. a LUP scheme to be assessed, from those driven by NPD-LUBC; (2) the prediction of NPD Land-use pattern simulated through the discrimination of NPD forces provides the basic data to support the LUPEA using our proposed methodology; (3) SO₂, PM₁₀, and COD emitted into the atmosphere and water are the major pollutants considered in the LUPEA of the city; and (4) despite the positive impacts of the comprehensive land-use change under the direction of target LUP, the implementation of LUP would have negative impacts on the regional environment in the entire study area and in individual counties/districts respectively in 2020. Our proposed methodology provides a new and operable way for the areas with data to simulate NPD land-use pattern and predict the individual indicator values for the assessment.     

Some international activities in environmental health monitoring and surveillance

Environmental health monitoring and surveillance include activities such as collection of information on the production and use of chemicals; preparation of inventories of waste discharges; measurement of physical, chemical and biological agents in air, water and food, at work place and at home; epidemiological investigations, and collection and analysis of environmental, and health statistical data. There are two main objectives of these activities: estimation of human exposure to potentially harmful environmental factors and timely detection of adverse health effects; and the assessment of environmental conditions in relation to established guidelines and standards. Environmental health monitoring and surveillance projects initiated, organized and implemented by the Specialized Agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system include monitoring of air and water quality and of food and animal feed contamination; pilot projects on air pollution exposure assessment and biological monitoring; and ionizing radiation surveillance. Principles of environmental and health monitoring in occupational environment, and of monitoring and surveillance of environmental health effects are outlined. Two examples are provided of national environmental health surveillance systems.Revised and up-dated text of a paper presented at the World congress on Environmental Health in Development Planning, Mexico City, November 1979.Formerly Manager, Environmental Health Criteria and Standards, and Chief Central Unit, International Programme on Chemical Safety, Division of Environmental Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.     

Quantifying net water consumption of Norwegian hydropower reservoirs and related aquatic biodiversity impacts in Life Cycle Assessment

Compared to conventional energy technologies, hydropower has the lowest carbon emissions per kWh. Therefore, hydropower electricity production can contribute to combat climate change challenges. However, hydropower electricity production may at the same time contribute to environmental impacts and has been characterized as a large water consumer with impacts on aquatic biodiversity. Life Cycle Assessment is not yet able to assess the biodiversity impact of water consumption from hydropower electricity production on a global scale. The first step to assess these biodiversity impacts in Life Cycle Assessment is to quantify the water consumption per kWh energy produced. We calculated catchment-specific net water consumption values for Norway ranging between 0 and 0.012 m³/kWh. Further, we developed the first characterization factors for quantifying the aquatic biodiversity impacts of water consumption in a post-glaciated region. We apply our approach to quantify the biodiversity impact per kWh Norwegian hydropower electricity. Our results vary over six orders of magnitude and highlight the importance of a spatial explicit approach. This study contributes to assessing the biodiversity impacts of water consumption globally in Life Cycle Assessment.     

Environmental economic impact assessment in China: Problems and prospects

The use of economic valuation methods to assess environmental impacts of projects and policies has grown considerably in recent years. However, environmental valuation appears to have developed independently of regulations and practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA), despite its potential benefits to the EIA process. Environmental valuation may be useful in judging significance of impacts, determining mitigation level, comparing alternatives and generally enabling a more objective analysis of tradeoffs. In China, laws and regulations require the use of environmental valuation in EIA, but current practice lags far behind. This paper assesses the problems and prospects of introducing environmental valuation into the EIA process in China. We conduct four case studies of environmental economic impact assessment (EEIA), three of which are based on environmental impact statements of construction projects (a power plant, a wastewater treatment plant and a road construction project) and one for a regional pollution problem (wastewater irrigation). The paper demonstrates the potential usefulness of environmental valuation but also discusses several challenges to the introduction and wider use of EEIA, many of which are likely to be of relevance far beyond the Chinese context. The paper closes with suggesting some initial core elements of an EEIA guideline.     

江苏省“十一五”环境质量状况及成因分析

结合江苏省“十一五”期间环境质量状况及变化情况,综合分析了环境空气、水环境、声环境质量及污染物排放状况.“十一五”期间,江苏省经济总量以13.5％的平均速度增长,社会、经济的快速发展给全省环境质量带来巨大的胁迫压力,资源能源消耗迅速攀升,“三废”产生总量持续增长;而由于加大了节能减排和环境治理投入力度,采取了一系列措施...     

Comparative environmental impact and efficiency assessment of selected hydrogen production methods

The environmental impacts of various hydrogen production processes are evaluated and compared, considering several energy sources and using life cycle analysis. The results indicate that hydrogen produced by thermochemical water decomposition cycles are more environmentally benign options compared to conventional steam reforming of natural gas. The nuclear based four-step Cu–Cl cycle has the lowest global warming potential (0.559 kg CO₂-eq per kg hydrogen production), mainly because it requires the lowest quantity of energy of the considered processes. The acidification potential results show that biomass gasification has the highest impact on environment, while wind based electrolysis has the lowest. The relation is also investigated between efficiency and environmental impacts.     

The application of Geographical Information Systems to determine environmental impact significance

This paper presents a new methodology for impact assessment—SIAM (Spatial Impact Assessment Methodology)—which is based on the assumption that the importance of environmental impacts is dependent, among other things, on the spatial distribution of the effects and of the affected environment. The information generated by the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in impact identification and prediction stages of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used in the assessment of impact significance by the computation of a set of impact indices. For each environmental component (e.g., air pollution, water resources, biological resources), impact indices are calculated based on the spatial distribution of impacts. A case study of impact evaluation of a proposed highway in Central Portugal illustrates the application of the methodology and shows its capabilities to be adapted to the particular characteristics of a given EIA problem.     

Assessing the impact of environmental regulation on pollution abatement and collaborative emissions reduction: Micro-evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

Given the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China, environmental problems have gradually become major constraints that hinder its sustainable economic development. Moreover, China's pollution abatement and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been severely affected by pressures coming from domestic environmental appeals and international environmental diplomacy. By using integrated data from the Chinese Industrial Enterprise and the Chinese Enterprise Environmental Survey and Reporting databases, this study constructs comprehensive indicators of pollutant discharge intensity and carbon emissions index at the enterprise level and uses the panel fixed effect model, Kaya identity, and mediation effect model to assess the effects of environmental regulations on pollution abatement and collaborative emissions reduction from the micro-perspective. Results show that these regulations can abate the pollution emissions of Chinese industrial enterprises and verify the effectiveness of environmental policies. These regulations can also efficiently reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of enterprises through pollution abatement. In other words, environmental regulations facilitate a collaborative emissions reduction of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from enterprises. Such collaborative emissions reduction effect is also influenced by the energy structure and consumption of enterprises. This paper presents empirical evidence and policy basis for further improving China's environmental regulation policy system and achieving coordinated progress in China's economic development and environmental governance.     

Environmental assessment of water,chemicals and effluents in leather post-tanning process: A review

The leather industry has significant consumption of water and chemicals and generates liquid effluents with a high pollution load. This study aims to contribute to the advance of liquid effluents, water, and chemicals management in tanneries since the assessment of these environmental issues for each step of the post-tanning process remains unknown. Forty-three post-tanning formulations were obtained from scientific papers, catalogs from chemical manufacturers and tanneries, and their data were analyzed. Results showed an average chemical consumption of 360.2 kg per ton of shaved leather. Retanning and fatliquoring steps are the largest chemical consumers. The average water demand of this process is 8.6 cubic meters per ton of shaved leather, with washing responsible for the highest consumption. The raw wastewater is poorly biodegradable, with high conductivity and elevated concentration of salts. The results obtained in this study contribute to reduce the environmental impacts of leather post-tanning, guiding future studies aiming to optimize this process.     

An integrated environmental and health performance quantification model for pre-occupancy phase of buildings in China

To comprehensively pre-evaluate the damages to both the environment and human health due to construction activities in China, this paper presents an integrated building environmental and health performance (EHP) assessment model based on the Building Environmental Performance Analysis System (BEPAS) and the Building Health Impact Analysis System (BHIAS) models and offers a new inventory data estimation method. The new model follows the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and the inventory analysis step involves bill of quantity (BOQ) data collection, consumption data formation, and environmental profile transformation. The consumption data are derived from engineering drawings and quotas to conduct the assessment before construction for pre-evaluation. The new model classifies building impacts into three safeguard areas: ecosystems, natural resources and human health. Thus, this model considers environmental impacts as well as damage to human wellbeing. The monetization approach, distance-to-target method and panel method are considered as optional weighting approaches. Finally, nine residential buildings of different structural types are taken as case studies to test the operability of the integrated model through application. The results indicate that the new model can effectively pre-evaluate building EHP and the structure type significantly affects the performance of residential buildings.     

洪泽湖流域生态环境问题及治理对策

分析了洪泽湖水环境和污染源特征,针对存在的氮磷超标导致湖体富营养化、生态退化以及入境客水污染等主要环境问题,提出制订入湖河流TN标准、控制污染物排放总量、修复湖泊生态、治理客水和强化水质监控等措施,为有效地改善洪泽湖水环境质量,遏制湖泊富营养化趋势提供科学支撑。     

基于支持向量机的水环境质量综合评价

提出了基于支持向量机的水环境质量综合评价方法。给出了数据规范化处理及学习样本生成的具体方法,采用“一对一”(1-v-1)的多类别分类算法,使用k-fold交叉验证优化参数。对湖泊水环境富营养化程度的综合评价结果表明,该方法简便、客观,具有较强的实用性。     

黄河流域水质和工业污染源研究

为科学评价黄河流域的水质状况及工业企业污染源现状,根据黄河流域2018—2019年地表水和饮用水水源地水质监测数据,建立了综合反映流域水环境质量和可定量分析排名的城市水质指数;利用大数据技术分析工业企业水污染物排放数据,研究建立了企业环境信用动态评价体系。研究结果表明:2018—2019年,黄河流域城市水环境质量得到一定程度的改善,城市地表水环境质量优和良等级数量从17个增加到19个,饮用水水源地优等级城市数量从7个增加到11个;但黄河流域中游地区水污染问题较为严重,需要重点加强水污染控制。水质污染主要以点源工业污染为主,COD和氨氮排放量较多,COD和氨氮年日均排放浓度平均值分别为51.1、3.1 mg/L,工业废水处理率偏低;山西、陕西、河南等"高"风险企业数量较多,分别达到3 047、1 630、1 442家。建议加强黄河流域上下游、左右岸、干支流协同配合,加大水污染防治工作的深度和力度。     

Review and environmental impact assessment of green technologies for base courses in bituminous pavements

This paper provides a critical review of different approaches applied in the Belgian asphalt sector in order to reduce the environmental impact of bituminous road construction works. The focus is on (1) reusing reclaimed asphalt pavement, (2) reducing the asphalt production temperature, and (3) prolonging the service life of the pavement. Environmental impact assessment of these methods is necessary to be able to compare these approaches and understand better the ability to reduce the environmental impact during the life cycle of the road pavement. Attention should be drawn to the possible shift in environmental impact between various life cycle stages, e.g., raw material production, asphalt production, or waste treatment. Life cycle assessment is necessary to adequately assess the environmental impact of these approaches over the entire service life of the bituminous pavement. The three approaches and their implementation in the road sector in Flanders (region in Belgium) are described and the main findings from life cycle assessment studies on these subjects are discussed. It was found from the review that using reclaimed asphalt pavement in new bituminous mixtures might yield significant environmental gains. The environmental impact of the application of warm mix asphalt technologies, on the other hand, depends on the technique used.