Mapping of tritium emissions using absorption vapour samplers

Püspökszilágy Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (RWTDF) is a typical near-surface engineered repository designated to store low- and intermediate-level wastes from various institutes, research facilities and hospitals in Hungary. Two automatic combined ¹⁴C–tritium sampling units installed at the facility sample the air 2 m above surface. The one installed near the vaults detects tritium (T) activities two orders of magnitude higher than the far reference sampling unit. To localize the T emissions, 19 small absorption vapour samplers filled with silica gel were settled onto the ground surface. After the saturation of the silica gel, the water was recovered and its T concentration was measured with a low-background liquid scintillation counter. The absorption vapour samplers are cheap, simple and easy-to-use. We present the samplers and the T distribution map constructed from the data, which helps to localize the T emission.     

Use of genetic,climatic, and microbiological data to inform reintroduction of a regionally extinct butterfly

Species reintroductions are increasingly used as means of mitigating biodiversity loss. Besides habitat quality at the site targeted for reintroduction, the choice of source population can be critical for success. The butterfly Melanargia russiae (Esper´s marbled white) was extirpated from Hungary over 100 years ago, and a reintroduction program has recently been approved. We used museum specimens of this butterfly, mitochondrial DNA data (mtDNA), endosymbiont screening, and climatic‐similarity analyses to determine which extant populations should be used for its reintroduction. The species displayed 2 main mtDNA lineages across its range: 1 restricted to Iberia and southern France (Iberian lineage) and another found throughout the rest of its range (Eurasian lineage). These 2 lineages possessed highly divergent wsp alleles of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. The century‐old Hungarian specimens represented an endemic haplotype belonging to the Eurasian lineage, differing by one mutation from the Balkan and eastern European populations. The Hungarian populations of M. russiae occurred in areas with a colder and drier climate relative to most sites with extant known populations. Our results suggest the populations used for reintroduction to Hungary should belong to the Eurasian lineage, preferably from eastern Ukraine (genetically close and living in areas with the highest climatic similarity). Materials stored in museum collections can provide unique opportunities to document historical genetic diversity and help direct conservation.     

Climate Change and Local Pollution Effects – An Integrated Approach

Few studies on measures for mitigation of damage caused by man-made emissions to the environment have tried to consider all major effects. We illustrate the importance of an integrated approach by estimating costs and benefits of a proposed energy saving program for Hungary, originally designed to reduce CO2 emissions. The dominant benefit of implementing the program is likely to be reduced health damage from local pollutants. Also reduced costs of material damage and to a lesser extent vegetation damage contribute to make the net benefit considerable. Compared to the reduction in these local and regional effects, the benefits from reducing greenhouse gases are likely to be minor. Since local effects in general occur much earlier after measures have been implemented than effects of increased emissions of greenhouse gases, inclusion of local effects makes evaluation of climate policy less dependent on the choice of discount rate. In our opinion, similar results are likely for many measures originally designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases particularly in some areas in developing countries with high local pollution levels. Main uncertainties in the analysis, e.g. in the relationships between damage and pollution level, are discussed.     

Dilemmas of regional planning in Hungary

The author provides an account of Hungarian regional policy and planning during the last 40 years, describing a socialist state trying to escape from a centrally planned economy. The paper discusses the consequences of the reforms and the problems of conflict resolution which resulted. The author argues that central planning will continue to be necessary in the future, and that there is a need to strengthen the co‐ordinative role of regional plans.     

A health risk assessment for fluoride in Central Europe

Like many elements, fluorine (which generally occurs in nature as fluoride) is beneficial to human health in trace amounts, but can be toxic in excess. The links between low intakes of fluoride and dental protection are well known; however, fluoride is a powerful calcium-seeking element and can interfere with the calcified structure of bones and teeth in the human body at higher concentrations causing dental or skeletal fluorosis. One of the main exposure routes is via drinking water and the World Health Organisation currently sets water quality guidelines for the element. In Central Europe, groundwater resources that exceed the guideline value of 1.5 mg l⁻¹ are widespread and effects on health of high fluoride in water have been reported. The aim of the current project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to aid the identification of areas where high-fluoride waters and fluorosis may be a problem; hence, where water treatment technologies should be targeted. The development of the GIS was based upon the collation and digitisation of existing information relevant to fluoride risk in Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia assembled for the first time in a readily accessible form. In addition, geochemistry and health studies to examine in more detail the relationships between high-fluoride drinking waters and health effects in the population were carried out in Moldova and Ukraine demonstrating dental fluorosis prevalence rates of 60–90% in adolescents consuming water containing 2–7 mg l⁻¹ fluoride.     

Local economic situation,local environmental mobilization and local government environmental policy in Hungary

Studies of advanced capitalist societies have shown that relatively wealthy localities with organized environmental groups are able to avoid unattractive facilities. The aim of this article is to ask whether the same logic applies in Hungary, a middle-income ‘transition’ society. The focus is not on the formal legal powers of local governments but on some of the influences on local government environmental policy. Drawing on a survey of mayors, notaries and environmental officials in 600 local government units in Hungary (from Budapest to villages), it explores the relation between environmental group mobilization, environmental group influence and environmental policy. It is shown that there are systematic differences in environmental group mobilization between settlements of different types, and that these differences, together with differences in local economic situation, explain the differing levels of perceived influence of environmental groups on policy. The localities where perceived environmental group influence is greatest are identified and shown to be places where there are higher education institutions and a tradition of ‘civic culture’, or where the local government is using the environment as an asset as part of an economic development strategy. It is concluded that similar processes to those found in advanced capitalist societies exist in Hungary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies,deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

This paper focuses on the embeddedness of energy poverty – understood as the inability to secure a socially and materially necessitated level of energy services in the home – in the socio-technical legacies inherited from past development trajectories, as well as broader economic and institutional landscapes. Using Hungary as an example, we explore the recent expansion of energy poverty across different demographic and income groups. While much of the mainstream literature focuses on cases where energy poverty affects distinct social groups and issues, our analyses examine the systemic implications of a form of deprivation that involves a much wider range of social and spatial strata. We develop a framework that highlights the different ways in which inadequate access to energy services has resulted in the emergence of new political reconfigurations among a variety of actors, while prompting the articulation of household strategies with far-reaching structural consequences.