Managers’ attitudes towards safety measures in the commercial road transport sector

Safety measures and related costs and benefits have been widely discussed and analysed in academic circles and by the authorities and industrial sectors. The study reported in this paper addresses these aspects from a cognitive based perspective. Risk management is about dealing with the conflict between production and safety. Enterprises which spend too much on safety will meet bankruptcy, and those not concerned with safety measures will meet with severe accidents and related damage. Inspired by James Reason’s theoretical framework, managers (n = 106) of commercial transport enterprises were asked about their attitudes towards safety management, what factors have contributed and their belief that further effort and investments in health, environment and safety (HES) measures will pay off. One half of the managers perceive HES work as too expensive and approximately one quarter assess mandatory HES work as compromising their competitiveness. One third of the managers do not find further safety measures than those already implemented necessary or remunerative. They claim that there are no other alternative ways of doing their activities and that there are no technical measures available that could meet outstanding safety challenges. Managers do acknowledge HES work as important for the reputation of the enterprise. The factor analysis gave five HES attitude factors: (I) concerned with formalities, (II) HES work improves health, environment and safety, (III) HES work is ineffective, (IV) HES regulation is appropriate, and (V) HES work can be improved.     

Do salmon farms increase the concentrations of mercury and other elements in wild fish?

Earlier assessments have suggested that salmon farms may act as a source of mercury (Hg) and other elements in local marine environments. In this study, we measured 30 elements in the livers of demersal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and pelagic saithe (Pollachius virens) caught in association with salmon farms (farm associated [FA]; n = 75) or at reference locations (control; n = 80) in three regions throughout the latitudinal extent of Norway (59-70° N). Concentrations of most elements (24 of 30) were higher (20-70%) in cod compared to saithe. In particular, Hg was 6.8 times higher in cod than saithe. Nine elements were significantly different between FA saithe and control saithe, but only four (Hg, U, Cr and Mn) were highest in FA saithe, and this pattern was only detected consistently across all locations for Hg. Thirteen elements differed in concentration between FA cod and control cod, but only three elements (U, Al and Ba) were higher in FA cod than controls, and this pattern was only detected consistently across all locations for Al. After controlling for a set of potentially confounding variables, the estimated concentrations of Hg in saithe livers were ～80% higher in FA fish compared to controls. In contrast, Hg concentrations were ～40% higher in control cod compared to FA cod. Our results do not support the notion that salmon farms in general increase the concentrations of potentially harmful elements in wild fish, and the distribution of Hg and other elements in cod and saithe in Norwegian coastal waters may be more influenced by habitat use, diet, geochemical conditions and water chemistry.     

Depletion of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during sewage sludge composting

Sewage and sewage sludge is known to contain pharmaceuticals, and since sewage sludge is often used as fertilizer within agriculture, the reduction of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) Citalopram, Sertraline, Paroxetine, Fluvoxamine and Fluoxetine during composting has been investigated. Sewage sludge was spiked with the SSRIs before the composting experiment started, and the concentration of the SSRIs in the sludge during a 21 day composting period was measured by liquid phase microextraction (LPME) and high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. All the SSRIs had a significant decrease in concentration during the composting process. The highest reduction rates were measured for Fluoxetine and Paroxetine and the lowest for Citalopram. In addition three out of four known SSRI metabolites were found in all the samples, and two of them showed a significant increase in concentration during the composting period.     

瑞典中部梅拉伦湖早期富营养化的沉积物证据及重金属污染

梅拉伦湖是瑞典中部100多万居民的供水源和娱乐区,有重大的环境影响.为了建立评估目前的营养水平和重金属污染水平的背景资料,分析了取自湖泊的沉积岩心.从硅藻推断的湖水磷浓度表明,20世纪前南比约克盆地(梅拉伦湖东部的一个盆地)中的营养物水平比以前假定的(约6ugTP/L)要高(10～20μgTP/L).从3个盆地(南比约克盆地、伊斯塞尔盆地以及艾斯雪盆地)获得的稳定性同位素和铅浓度分析结果表明,19世纪以及早些时候由于汇水盆地广泛开展的金属生产和加工,特别是在贝里斯拉根地区,使得该湖泊受到污染.在20世纪关闭了采矿和金属工厂之后该湖泊的铅污染形势有了相当大的好转过去的采矿业所造成的铅污染比20世纪末汽车尾气排放、矿石然料燃烧以及现代生产所造成的污染要严重.     

The IPPC directive and technique qualification at offshore oil and gas installations

The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC 2008/1/EC) directive emphasises the use of a permit system to protect the environment as a whole from unwanted emissions in the specified industrial activities. The directive advocates the implementation of Best Available Techniques (BAT). Today, it is essential to select appropriate techniques, especially when an operating company is functioning in an environmentally sensitive area. On these grounds, companies encounter challenges to fulfill the IPPC guidelines as well as to qualify techniques for a specific purpose. The situation is challenging when applying new techniques or in the case of where a technique is considered new. However, technique qualification provides the evidence that BATs function within specific limits for an intended use whilst delivering an acceptable level of confidence. This paper explains how the concept of the Best Qualified Techniques (BQTs) is implemented using BAT approach. It also discusses a framework for broadening the BAT concept to include BQTs, drawing upon case studies of the offshore oil and gas industry.     

Implications of climate and land-use change for landscape processes,biodiversity, ecosystem services,and governance

This introduction to the Special Issue summarizes the results of 14 scientific articles from the interdisciplinary research program Ekoklim at Stockholm University, Sweden. In this program, we investigate effects of changing climate and land use on landscape processes, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, and analyze issues related to adaptive governance in the face of climate and land-use change. We not only have a research focus on the 22 650 km² Norrström catchment surrounding lake Mälaren in south-central Sweden, but we also conduct research in other Swedish regions. The articles presented here show complex interactions between multiple drivers of change, as well as feedback processes at different spatiotemporal scales. Thus, the Ekoklim program highlights and deals with issues relevant for the future challenges society will face when land-use change interacts with climate change.     

Perfluorinated and chlorinated pollutants as predictors of demographic parameters in an endangered seabird

Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological effects of such substances on natural populations are not known. In endangered lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus fuscus) on the Norwegian Coast, the blood concentrations of PFCs were as high as legacy organochlorines (OCs), and here we examined whether PFCs show associations similar to those of OCs to factors potentially affecting population growth, by evaluating relationships between contaminant concentrations and demographic parameters (reproductive performance and the probability of adults returning between breeding seasons). PFCs were not adversely associated with demographic parameters, while the most persistent OCs; notably PCB and p,p′-DDE, were adversely associated with early chick survival, and adult return rate. This study thus suggests that when the concentrations of PFCs and OCs are of similar magnitude in a gull population, OCs are more likely to cause adverse ecological effects.     

Metal oxides remove hydrogen sulfide from landfill gas produced from waste mixed with plaster board under wet conditions

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a major odorant in landfills. We have studied H2S production from landfill residual waste with and without sulfur-containing plaster board, including the influence of the water content in the waste. The laboratory experiments were conducted in 30-L polyethylene containers with a controlled water level. We also studied how different materials removed H2S in reactive layers on top of the waste. The organic waste produced H2S in concentrations of up to 40 parts per million (ppm) over a period of 80 days. When plaster board was added, the H2S concentration increased to 800 ppm after a lag period of approximately 40 days with a high water level, and to approximately 100 ppm after 50 days with a low water level. The methane (CH4) concentration in the initial experiment was between 5 and 70% after 80 days. The CH4 concentration in the second experiment increased to nearly 70% in the container with a high water level, slowly declining to approximately 60% between days 20 and 60. The CH4 concentrations during the experiments resembled normal landfill concentrations. Metallic filter materials were very efficient in removing H2S, whereas organic filter materials showed poor H2S removal.