Domestic or imported? An assessment of carbon footprints and sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia

The distance between where food is produced and consumed is increasing, and is often taken as evidence of an unsustainable global food system. Seafood is a highly traded commodity yet seafood sustainability assessments do not typically consider the impacts of the movement of products beyond the fishery or farm. Here we use life cycle assessment to examine the carbon footprint of the production and distribution of select seafood products that are consumed in Australia and determine differences in the sustainability of imports and their domestically produced counterparts. We found that the distance food is transported is not the main determinant of food sustainability. Despite the increased distance between production and consumption, carbon footprints of meals from imported seafood are similar to meals consisting of domestically produced seafood, and sometimes lower, depending on the seafood consumed. In combining LCA with existing seafood sustainability criteria the trade-offs between sustainability targets become more apparent. Carbon ‘footprinting’ is one metric that can be incorporated in assessments of sustainability, thereby demonstrating a broader perspective of the environmental cost of food production and consumption.     

Strategic Environmental Assessment： A New Tool for Ecological Urbanization of Coastal Cities in China

Recently, there has been growing concerns about environmental issues related to urbanization in China. The intense natural resources utilization and increasing population has brought great pressure, especially in coastal areas, consequently affecting the sustainable development of coastal cities. In 2002, Environmental Impact Assessment Act （EIA Act） was enacted in China. Environmental impact assessment targeted at planning, one level of strategic environmental assessment （SEA）, thus became a legislative requirement. This paper considers SEA to be one of the important approaches not only to control coastal pollution, but also to conserve coastal ecosystems and finally to achieve sustainable development during urbanization, thus it will be a set an example for other areas of China. The experience of SEA in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China, illustrates the potentials of SEA. This paper first briefly introduces the concept and potentials of SEA, then compares two SEA cases and a project EIA case in Xiamen, and finally identifies the key characteristics of SEA.     

Biological degradation of some organic compounds involved in the paper industry

An evaluation of the biodegradation by aerobic microorganisms was investigated for some organic compounds occurring in paper manufacturing technology. Lines of biodegradation for nine organic compounds, as a percentage removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), were detected over seven days incubation. The results of the biodegradability test clearly revealed that some of the organic compounds under investigation were highly biodegradable while others ranked from fairly biodegradable to non-biodegradable. Significant biodegradation results were recorded as COD removal, for anti-coating ester (95.0 percent), Basoplast 200D (85.3 percent) and Basoplast PR 8050 (87.6 percent). The bleaching agent (formamidin-sulfinic acid), Ukanol BSA and Solidurit KM demonstrated moderate biodegradation with results of 62.1 percent, 76.2 percent and 69.8 percent, respectively. Poor biodegradation results for Hedifix M/35 (12.7 percent), Basazol Orange (34.9 percent) and Basazol Brown (29.0 percent) were recorded. Accordingly, appropriate precautions should be taken into consideration when applying these compounds to paper manufacturing processes.     

Planning for Biodiversity: the Role of Ecological Impact Assessment

Abstract:  Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the process of identifying potential environmental effects of proposed development and the required mitigation measures. It is one of the most widely used planning tools today, but its ability to promote biodiversity conservation is largely unexplored. We studied the ecological component of the Israeli EIA system by reviewing a representative sample of 52 environmental impact statements (EISs) produced since 1995 and their corresponding guidelines issued by the Ministry of the Environment. Quality of both EISs and guidelines was determined using a simple scoring approach. Lack of quantitative data, meaningful analyses, and ecosystem perspective was apparent throughout. Many EISs failed to perform field surveys and their qualitative nature hampered meaningful impact prediction. Most EISs concentrated on aesthetic mitigation measures and did not assess their feasibility and likely success. Most of these flaws reflect poor standards rather than true scientific limitations. Guideline quality scores were the most important factor determining the quality of EISs; second was the involvement of an ecological consultant in preparing the EIS. We found a decreasing trend of EIS quality scores over time. Improvements in EIA procedures, particularly in ecological guidelines and the incorporation of ecological consultation, are important for upgrading ecological impact assessment so that the potential of EIA to advance biodiversity conservation can be realized.     

宁波市地表水重金属污染现状和健康风险评价

为评价中国华东沿海城市地表水重金属的污染现状和潜在生态风险,以宁波为例,在城区地表水中采集了255个水样,检测了6种重金属(Cd、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb和Zn)的含量水平,计算了重金属的健康风险指数和致癌风险指数.结果表明,宁波市地表水中重金属平均浓度的大小顺序为:ZnPbCrNiCdCu;有3种重金属超过国标GB 3838-2002中的Ⅴ类限值,且严重顺序为CdPbCr,电镀废水、金属加工废弃物、交通污染物、染料和涂料废物是主要污染源.70%以上的地表水存在健康风险,镇海区和海曙区风险最高,3种潜在风险最大的重金属及顺序为:CdCrPb.地表水对成年人和未成年人的致癌风险指数平均值分别达到临界值的17 600倍和24 800倍,且95%以上因Cr引起,人口密集的商业区致癌风险指数接近全市平均水平的2倍.宁波市地表水重金属污染严重,相关部门应当足够重视.     

铀矿区周边水体典型核素污染特征及风险评价

为研究铀矿区周边水体中典型放射性核素分布特征及其潜在的健康风险,对该地区周边浅层地下水及河水中放射性活度浓度进行分析测定.运用改进内梅罗综合污染指数法和健康风险评价模型对放射性污染及不同年龄段人群健康风险进行评估.结果表明,地下水与河水中放射性核素²³⁸U、²²⁶Ra、²³²Th活度浓度（地下水：0.012~0.102,0.013~0.036,0.002~0.033Bq/L,河水：0.001~0.066,0.013~0.034,0.001~0.013Bq/L）均未超过WHO饮用水水质准则规定的标准限值,但远远高于江西省水体背景值.河水中各核素活度浓度随水流流向呈递减趋势,地下水中各核素空间分布无明显规律性特征.河水中综合污染指数高于地下水,最高值分别为9.21和6.83,属严重污染和中度污染.健康风险评价结果表明,幼儿和少儿致癌风险要高于成人,幼儿终身致癌风险均超过ICRP最大可接受风险值5.0×10^-5,少儿和成年超标率为33.3%和16.7%,即使未超标但也高于USEPA推荐可忽略风险水平10^-6,具有潜在致癌风险.各核素致癌风险水平呈现为²²⁶Ra > ²³²Th > ²³⁸U,因而对于铀矿区周边饮用水中²²⁶Ra和²³²Th要更加重视研究.     

连云港近岸海域2011~2016年环境变化研究

依据2011年2月~2016年1月在连云港近岸海域进行的19个季节航次海洋环境综合调查结果,分析探讨了该海域主要海水要素的季节变化趋势和相关性,结合历史资料阐述和评价了海域的营养状态水平、环境质量现状及变化趋势,对存在的环境问题进行了分析.结果表明：研究海域水质状况总体良好;水质评价结果显示无机氮（DIN）是海域内最主要的环境污染因子,且DIN含量近年来有逐渐增加的趋势,年均值已经超过二类海水水质标准;此外其他环境污染因子是活性磷酸盐（DIP）、化学需氧量（COD）和油类.调查期间研究海域处于富营养化状态,潜在富营养化分析显示氮磷比值（N/P）有逐渐增加的趋势;绝大多数季节的有机污染状况为轻度污染状态.研究结论对科学、系统的认识和评估连云港近海生态环境现状及预测未来生态环境变化趋势具有重要的参考价值,对连云港近海海洋生态环境的可持续发展具有十分重要的科学意义和实际应用价值     

上海市大气污染对感冒疾病相对危险度的影响

探讨上海市主要大气污染PM₁₀、PM_2.5、NO₂和O₃的日平均浓度变化以及上海市大气污染对感冒疾病的影响.本文汇总了2008年1月1日~2010年12月31日上海市大气污染、气象要素,以及感冒日就诊人数数据,采用时间序列的Possion半参数广义相加模型,通过平滑样条函数控制长期趋势、"星期几效应"及气象因素等混杂因素的影响,分析上海市大气污染物与居民健康的暴露-反应关系,并按年龄进行分层分析,定量评估上海市大气污染对感冒日就诊人数的影响及滞后效应.结果表明,上海市大气污染物PM₁₀、NO₂、O₃、PM_2.5浓度每增加一个IQR,感冒疾病发生的相对危险度为1.0240（1.0233~1.0246）、1.0206（1.0201~1.0212）、0.9393（0.9384~0.9402）、1.0080（1.0069~1.0086）,大气污染物PM₁₀、NO₂、O₃、PM_2.5浓度每增加10 μg·m^-3,感冒日就诊人数分别增加0.5%、1.0%、-2.0%、0.2%.在多污染模型中,在引入其他污染物后,NO₂和PM_2.5的结果较单污染模型是基本减小的,PM₁₀和O₃的结果是基本增大的.上海市大气污染对感冒疾病的发生有影响.