International Legal Instruments and Regional Environmental Protection

Efficient environmental protection requires global, as well as regional ecological strategies. During the last decade numerous attempts at regional and global environmental protection have been made. But industrial environmental protection is still, above all, a national matter. National emission limit values and international technological standards still neglect to a large extent the regional aspects of pollution prevention. Recent normative texts (international standards, European directives) can be seen as the first step to filling this gap. They represent different evolutionary stages on the way from merely technocentric to regionally integrated environmental protection. We investigate the potential of some of these normative texts to operationalise regional environmental strategies. For this purpose we will provide a framework for evaluation centred on the following questions: ? Is the installation/project/organisation perceived as part of its specific environment? ? Can local immission standards be developed on the basis of a functional classification of ecosystems? ? Are methods of integrated ecological evaluation supported? The framework will be applied to examine the European directives on Environmental Impact Assessment and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control and two ISO (International Standardisation Organisation) standards on Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001 and 14004) with regard to basic requirements for operationalising integrated regional environmental protection.     

Heavy metals in source-separated compost and digestates

The production of compost and digestate from source-separated organic residues is well established in Europe. However, these products may be a source of pollutants when applied to soils. In order to assess this issue, composts, solid and liquid digestates from Switzerland were analyzed for heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) addressing factors which may influence the concentration levels: the treatment process, the composition, origin, particle size and impurity content of input materials, the season of input materials collection or the degree of organic matter degradation.Composts (n = 81) showed mean contents being at 60% or less of the legal threshold values. Solid digestates (n = 20) had 20–50% lower values for Cd, Co, Pb and Zn but similar values for Cr, Cu and Ni. Liquid digestates (n = 5) exhibited mean concentrations which were approximately twice the values measured in compost for most elements. Statistical analyses did not reveal clear relationships between influencing factors and heavy metal contents. This suggests that the contamination was rather driven by factors not addressed in the present study.According to mass balance calculations related to Switzerland, the annual loads to agricultural soils resulting from the application of compost and digestates ranged between 2% (Cd) and 22% (Pb) of total heavy metal loads. At regional scale, composts and digestates are therefore minor sources of pollution compared to manure (Co, Cu, Ni, Zn), mineral fertilizer (Cd, Cr) and aerial deposition (Pb). However, for individual fields, fertilization with compost or digestates results in higher heavy metal loads than application of equivalent nutrient inputs through manure or mineral fertilizer.     

Spatial mapping of city-wide PBDE levels using an exponential decay model

Passive air samplers (PAS) consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed at 6 outdoor air monitoring stations in different land use categories (commercial, industrial, residential and semi-rural) to assess the spatial distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Brisbane airshed. Air monitoring sites covered an area of ~1143 km(2) and PAS were allowed to accumulate PBDEs in the city's airshed over three consecutive seasons commencing in the winter of 2008. The average sum of five (∑(5)) PBDEs (BDEs 28, 47, 99, 100 and 209) levels were highest at the commercial and industrial sites (12.7 ± 5.2 ng PUF(-1)), which were relatively close to the city center and were a factor of 8 times higher than residential and semi-rural sites located in outer Brisbane. To estimate the magnitude of the urban 'plume' an empirical exponential decay model was used to fit PAS data vs. distance from the CBD, with the best correlation observed when the particulate bound BDE-209 was not included (∑(5)-209) (r(2) = 0.99), rather than ∑(5) (r(2) = 0.84). At 95% confidence intervals the model predicts that regardless of site characterization, ∑(5)-209 concentrations in a PAS sample taken between 4-10 km from the city centre would be half that from a sample taken from the city centre and reach a baseline or plateau (0.6 to 1.3 ng PUF(-1)), approximately 30 km from the CBD. The observed exponential decay in ∑(5)-209 levels over distance corresponded with Brisbane's decreasing population density (persons/km(2)) from the city center. The residual error associated with the model increased significantly when including BDE-209 levels, primarily due to the highest level (11.4 ± 1.8 ng PUF(-1)) being consistently detected at the industrial site, indicating a potential primary source at this site. Active air samples collected alongside the PAS at the industrial air monitoring site (B) indicated BDE-209 dominated congener composition and was entirely associated with the particulate phase. This study demonstrates that PAS are effective tools for monitoring citywide regional differences however, interpretation of spatial trends for POPs which are predominantly associated with the particulate phase such as BDE-209, may be restricted to identifying 'hotspots' rather than broad spatial trends.     

Visibility-related fatalities related to construction equipment

The construction industry annually experiences one of the highest fatality rates among the industrial sectors in the United States. The factors that contribute to this reputation include the nature of the work, human behavior, the tools and equipment involved, and also the compact work zones. Industrial fatalities are investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). While OSHA groups the causes of fatalities into a few general categories, too little information is gleaned to effectively target specific problem areas.To improve safety performance in the construction industry, it is necessary to understand the underlying causes of accidents. With targeted analysis, patterns emerge and causal factors can be identified. These findings may then be used to form the basis for recommendations that will help to improve construction worker safety. Little research has been conducted in this area.Research was conducted that isolated fatalities in which vision or lack of good visibility was the principle factor or contributing cause. The objective of examining the details surrounding these fatalities was to uncover the contributing factors and to identify the agents that compromised visibility. The study identified 659 fatality accidents from a data pool of 13511 OSHA-investigated cases. It was discovered that blind spots, obstructions and lighting conditions were the most common factors contributing to vision-related fatalities. This research also analyzed the specific conditions associated with particular pieces of construction equipment.     

Evaluation of Online Information Sources on Alien Species in Europe: The Need of Harmonization and Integration

Europe is severely affected by alien invasions, which impact biodiversity, ecosystem services, economy, and human health. A large number of national, regional, and global online databases provide information on the distribution, pathways of introduction, and impacts of alien species. The sufficiency and efficiency of the current online information systems to assist the European policy on alien species was investigated by a comparative analysis of occurrence data across 43 online databases. Large differences among databases were found which are partially explained by variations in their taxonomical, environmental, and geographical scopes but also by the variable efforts for continuous updates and by inconsistencies on the definition of “alien” or “invasive” species. No single database covered all European environments, countries, and taxonomic groups. In many European countries national databases do not exist, which greatly affects the quality of reported information. To be operational and useful to scientists, managers, and policy makers, online information systems need to be regularly updated through continuous monitoring on a country or regional level. We propose the creation of a network of online interoperable web services through which information in distributed resources can be accessed, aggregated and then used for reporting and further analysis at different geographical and political scales, as an efficient approach to increase the accessibility of information. Harmonization, standardization, conformity on international standards for nomenclature, and agreement on common definitions of alien and invasive species are among the necessary prerequisites.     

Multilevel water,biodiversity and climate adaptation governance: evaluating adaptive management in Lesotho

In many cases in which climate change affects natural resources, impacts are uncertain and adaptation to climate change often involves collective action problems at the local level, which are embedded in multilevel governance regimes. Adaptive management (AM) is an emerging approach to deal with such uncertainty and complexity by promoting multilevel institutions that are robust to change and able to learn. Much of the literature evaluating AM in multilevel governance regimes, however, focuses only on the adherence to certain structural features said to make AM successful, leaving aside the question whether AM actually produces desired outcomes. This paper evaluates AM in multilevel regimes also in terms of the outcomes they produce. To this end, we first apply the Management and Transition Framework (MTF) in order to describe three multilevel regimes in Lesotho. For each regime we then observe whether it adheres to the structure features of AM. Finally, we evaluate the extent to which the outcomes, natural resource management projects, are conducive to Ostrom's (1990) ‘design principles’ for sustainable common-pool resource management. We find that, though no ideal ‘adaptive regime’ is found in Lesotho, the results confirm the AM hypotheses that decentralised decision-making, open information sources, and plurality of user interests lead to improved outcomes. Conversely, elements of the climate regime are found not to be adaptive. Our findings also confirm the appropriateness of AM as a governance approach to climate adaptation.     

Comprehensive study of endocrine disrupting compounds using grab and passive sampling at selected wastewater treatment plants in South East Queensland, Australia

Chemical (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS) and biological (E-Screen assay) analyses were used to determine the concentrations of 15 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and estrogen equivalent (EEq) in grab and passive samples from five municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in South East Queensland, Australia. EEq concentrations derived by E-Screen assays for the grab samples were between 108-356 ng/L for the influents and < 1-14.8 ng/L for the effluents with the exception of one effluent sample which was at 67.8 ng/L EEq. The EDC concentrations and EEq values for the passive samples were several times lower than those of the grab samples: a decrease probably caused by, but not limited to biofouling, low flow rate, biodegradation and temperature which can progressively reduce the uptake of compounds into the sampler. At this stage, grab sampling is the most reliable method for field monitoring; nevertheless, passive sampler is a useful sampling tool but the method requires more research to ensure that the information obtained can be interpreted appropriately. Although alkylphenols and phthalates were detected at higher concentrations in the wastewater samples as compared to natural hormones, the environmental risk may be negligible as their estrogenic potencies are several orders of magnitude lower than that of the natural estrogens. In most wastewater samples, the natural estrogens contributed to 60% or more of the EEq value. Removal efficacy of most estrogenic and xenoestrogenic compounds from the conventional activated sludge or biological nutrient removal (BNR) WWTPs monitored in this study was in the range of 80-> 99%. The efficiency of the WWTPs in removing estrogenic activity was > 95%. The EEqs of the E-Screen and those calculated from the results of extensive chemical analyses using the estradiol equivalency factors were comparable for most of the WWTPs samples.     

Investigations into the PCDD contamination of topsoil,river sediments and kaolinite clay in Queensland,Australia

Recent findings of elevated PCDDs from an unknown source in the coastal marine environment of Queensland, Australia has instigated further investigations into the distribution of, and environments associated with the PCDD contamination. This study presents data for OCDD concentrations in the coastal, mountainous and inland environment of Queensland. Additionally, full 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) profiles from different land-use types and environments in the coastal region were analysed. Distinct east–west gradients were detected in topsoil collected from various bushland regions with elevated OCDD concentrations confined to the coastal region. However, PCDD/F results from topsoil and river sediments collected in the Queensland coastal region suggest that elevated OCDD concentrations cannot be attributed to any of the environments, land-use or industry types investigated. PCDD/F congener profiles from select samples were remarkably similar to those previously described in marine sediments collected along the entire Queensland coastline. In addition, kaolinite clay samples from Queensland exhibited elevated OCDD concentrations, and PCDD/F profiles in these samples were similar to those detected in kaolinite clays elsewhere. Natural formation processes have been hypothesised as the source of elevated PCDDs in Queensland and other locations, where similar PCDD/F profiles and the general lack of anthropogenic sources are evident. This study presents additional data supporting this hypothesis and provides further information that may assist in the identification of the processes involved in the natural formation of PCDDs.