A systemic health risk assessment for the chromium cycle in Taiwan

Health risk assessment (HRA) has been recognized as a useful tool for identifying health risks of human activities. In particular, this method has been well applied to spatially defined units, such as a production plant, a treatment facility, and a contaminated site. However, the management strategies based on the risk information will be more efficient if the comprehensive picture of total risks from all kinds of sources is depicted. In principle, the total risks can be obtained when all risk sources are assessed individually. Apparently, this approach demands huge amount of efforts. This study develops a methodology that combines substance flow and risk estimation to facilitate examination of risk in a systemic way and provide comprehensive understanding of risk generation and distribution corresponding to flows of substances in the anthroposphere and the environment. Substance flow analysis (SFA) and HRA method is integrated to produce a systemic risk assessment method, from which substance management schemes can be derived. In this study, the chromium cycle in Taiwan is used as an example to demonstrate the method, by which the associated substance flow in the economy and the risk caused by the substance in the environmental system is determined. The concentrations of pollutants in the environmental media, the resultant risks and hazard quotients are calculated with the widely-used CalTOX multimedia model.     

Environmental monitoring and radioecology: a necessary synergy

Environmental monitoring primarily aims through sampling or by the use of direct detection equipment to quantify the levels of radioactive substances and ionising radiation resulting from human activities and natural sources in the different compartments of the environment. Its objectives are very practical and include the quantification of the environmental sources of ionising radiation and the verification of compliance with regulatory requirements and permit limits for industrial, research and medical activities, as stated by their specific licence. Radioecology is a multidisciplinary science, which attempts to understand and to quantify the behaviour of radionuclides in the environment and the processes ruling their transport through natural and agricultural ecosystems to various receptors such as plants, animals and humans. A second facet of this science covers the assessment of the radiological dose to and effects on man and its environment from present, past or future, even hypothetical, nuclear activities. Despite their different immediate objectives, environmental monitoring and radioecology are complementary. Many examples illustrate the connections between these two approaches. For instance, transfer parameters generated by radioecological studies are necessary to estimate through models the radiological exposure of population, derive from the contamination level measured in a bio-indicator the quantity of radioactivity released from a nuclear installation, or identify potentially important pathways to be monitored. On the other hand, monitoring data will confirm important pathways suggested by radioecological modelling and provide site-specific data for the estimation of model parameters or actual data sets for the validation of transfer models.     

Integration of environmental and human health risk assessment for industries using hazardous materials: a quantitative multi criteria approach for environmental decision makers

Environmental management, for which environmental and human health risk assessment is the first stage, is a requirement for industries both before construction and during operation in order to sustain improved quality of life in the ecosystem. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose an approach that integrates environmental and human health risk assessment for industries using hazardous materials in order to support environmental decision makers with quantitative and directive results. Analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy logic are used as tools to handle problems caused by complexity of environment and uncertain data. When the proposed approach is implemented to a scenario, it was concluded that it is possible to define risk sources with their risk classes and related membership degrees in that classes which enable the decision maker to decide which risk source has priority. In addition, they can easily point out and rank the factors contributing those risk sources owing to priority weights of them. As a result, environmental decision makers can use this approach while they are developing management alternatives for unfounded and on-going industrial plants using hazardous materials.     

三峡库区江段潜在水环境污染风险评价研究

三峡库区的水环境安全不仅关系到库区周边省市用水安全,更与长江流域的生态安全以及整个中国的可持续发展密切相关.基于压力-状态-响应(PSR)模型,综合考虑风险源危险性、风险受体敏感性以及区域环境风险可接受水平等因素构建水环境污染风险分级评价指标体系与量化方法,运用冷热点格局分析等空间统计方法,以行政区为单元综合评价三峡库区潜在水环境污染风险分布状况.结果表明:(1)云阳县风险源数量最多,万州区风险受体数量最多,但重庆主城区及周边地区高风险污染源和高敏感受体分布最为密集,且区域环境风险可接受水平最低.(2)研究区县区级风险源危险性和风险受体敏感性指标统计结果均呈集聚分布格局,热点区域集中在库区上游重庆主城区及周边地区,且该区域风险可接受水平表现为冷点区域,而在其它区域基本呈现为均衡的分布格局,未形成明显的热点或冷点区域.(3)库区水污染高风险江段包括九龙坡区、渝北区、沙坪坝区、渝中区和南岸区等5个县区,中风险江段包括长寿区、北培区、江北区、大渡口区、涪陵区、石柱县和巴东县等7个县区,低风险江段主要分布在库区上游的江津区和库区腹地及下游区域.最后,针对不同区域潜在水污染风险分布特征,从产业优化布局、预警与应急能力建设以及企业污废水处理技术升级等方面提出风险管控的相关建议.     

Regional risk assessment for contaminated sites part 1: vulnerability assessment by multicriteria decision analysis

As highlighted in the EU Soil Communication, local contamination is one of the main soil threats and it is often related to present and past industrial activities which left a legacy of a high number of contaminated sites in Europe. These contaminated sites can be harmful to many different receptors according to their sensitivity/susceptibility to contamination, and specific vulnerability evaluations are needed in order to manage this widely spread environmental issue. In this paper a novel comprehensive vulnerability assessment framework to assess regional receptor susceptibility to contaminated site is presented. The developed methodology, which combines multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques and spatial analysis, can be applied to different receptors recognized as relevant for regional assessment. In order to characterize each receptor, picked parameters significant for the estimation of the vulnerability to contaminated sites have been selected, normalized and aggregated by means of multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques. The developed MCDA methodology, based on the Choquet integral, allows to include expert judgments for the elicitation of synergic and conflicting effects between involved criteria and is applied to all the geographical objects representing the identified receptors. To test the potential of the vulnerability methodology, it has been applied to a specific case study area in the upper Silesia region of Poland where it proved to be reliable and consistent with the environmental experts' expected results. The vulnerability assessment results indicate that groundwater is the most vulnerable receptor characterized by a wide area with vulnerability scores belonging to the highest vulnerability class. As far as the other receptors are concerned, human health and surface water are characterized by quite homogeneous vulnerability scores falling in the medium-high vulnerability classes, while protected areas resulted to be the less vulnerable receptor with only one protected area falling in the medium vulnerability class. The vulnerability assessment results will support the regional risk assessment for the ranking of potentially contaminated sites at regional scale.     

Lead isotopes in environmental sciences: a review

Lead (Pb) isotopic analyses proved to be a very efficient tool for tracing the sources of local and global Pb pollution. This review presents an overview of literature published on the use of Pb isotopic analyses of different environmental matrices (atmospheric aerosols, lichens, tree rings, peat deposits, lake, stream, marine sediments, soils, etc.). In order to gain more insight, the isotopic compositions of major sources of Pb in the environment as determined by several authors are described in detail. These include, above all, the former use of leaded gasoline, coal combustion, industrial activities (e.g., metallurgy) and waste incineration. Furthermore, this review summarises analytical techniques (especially ICP-MS) used for the determination of Pb isotopes in environmental samples.     

Eco-efficiency in logistics: a case study on distribution network design

Sustainability demands that managers deliberate effects on stakeholders and the environment alongside traditional profitability measures. This paper presents a case study suggested by the managers of a distribution firm that seeks to balance environmental impact with cost in an industrial distribution network configuration decision incorporating product returns, which is currently taking place. While this can be modelled using mathematical programming, nonlinear terms in the objective functions as well as the likeliness that a large number of combinations of binary decision variables result suggest that this will not be able to be relied upon for a solution. For this reason, we propose a heuristic that aims at finding the Pareto-efficient frontier, which managers can use to deliberate the best solution balancing cost and environmental impact, according to the relative trade-offs of various possible configurations. We illustrate this heuristic on the Italian region of Liguria, and further explore trade-offs juxtaposing the regions of Lombardi and Sicily. Lastly, various extensions for enhanced product recovery opportunities for returns are suggested.     

Regional risk assessment for contaminated sites Part 2: Ranking of potentially contaminated sites

Environmental risks are traditionally assessed and presented in non spatial ways although the heterogeneity of the contaminants spatial distributions, the spatial positions and relations between receptors and stressors, as well as the spatial distribution of the variables involved in the risk assessment, strongly influence exposure estimations and hence risks. Taking into account spatial variability is increasingly being recognized as a further and essential step in sound exposure and risk assessment. To address this issue an innovative methodology which integrates spatial analysis and a relative risk approach was developed. The purpose of this methodology is to prioritize sites at regional scale where a preliminary site investigation may be required. The methodology aimed at supporting the inventory of contaminated sites was implemented within the spatial decision support sYstem for Regional rIsk Assessment of DEgraded land, SYRIADE, and was applied to the case-study of the Upper Silesia region (Poland).The developed methodology and tool are both flexible and easy to adapt to different regional contexts, allowing the user to introduce the regional relevant parameters identified on the basis of user expertise and regional data availability. Moreover, the used GIS functionalities, integrated with mathematical approaches, allow to take into consideration, all at once, the multiplicity of sources and impacted receptors within the region of concern, to assess the risks posed by all contaminated sites in the region and, finally, to provide a risk-based ranking of the potentially contaminated sites.     

Regional risk assessment for contaminated sites part 2: ranking of potentially contaminated sites

Environmental risks are traditionally assessed and presented in non spatial ways although the heterogeneity of the contaminants spatial distributions, the spatial positions and relations between receptors and stressors, as well as the spatial distribution of the variables involved in the risk assessment, strongly influence exposure estimations and hence risks. Taking into account spatial variability is increasingly being recognized as a further and essential step in sound exposure and risk assessment. To address this issue an innovative methodology which integrates spatial analysis and a relative risk approach was developed. The purpose of this methodology is to prioritize sites at regional scale where a preliminary site investigation may be required. The methodology aimed at supporting the inventory of contaminated sites was implemented within the spatial decision support sYstem for Regional rIsk Assessment of DEgraded land, SYRIADE, and was applied to the case-study of the Upper Silesia region (Poland). The developed methodology and tool are both flexible and easy to adapt to different regional contexts, allowing the user to introduce the regional relevant parameters identified on the basis of user expertise and regional data availability. Moreover, the used GIS functionalities, integrated with mathematical approaches, allow to take into consideration, all at once, the multiplicity of sources and impacted receptors within the region of concern, to assess the risks posed by all contaminated sites in the region and, finally, to provide a risk-based ranking of the potentially contaminated sites.     

Comparing environmental issues in Cuba before and after the Special Period: balancing sustainable development and survival

Following the Earth Summit in 1992, Cuba designed and implemented a variety of programs, administrative structures, and public awareness activities to promote sound environmental management and sustainable development. This came shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union and the strengthening of the US blockade in 1990, which resulted in a 35% drop in Cuban GDP. This period, referred to as the Special Period, witnessed a decrease in many environmentally damaging activities both by choice and by necessity, but also resulted in many decisions to resuscitate the Cuban economy. The purpose of this work was to compare and rank the environmental risks Cuba faced before and during the Special Period (1990-2000) using two Comparative environmental risk assessments (CERAs). To do so, an ecosystem integrity risk assessment matrix was constructed with 42 risk end points. The matrix assessed the risk posed by 17 problem areas including air pollution, water contamination, solid waste sites, pesticides and ecosystem degradation. The risks were calculated using five criteria: area affected, vulnerability of affected population, severity of impact, irreversibility of effect and uncertainty. To construct this matrix, both literature reviews and expert interviews in Cuba were conducted in 2000. The results showed a general decrease in risk scores during the Special Period. Before the Special Period, high risks were posed by: terrestrial degradation and industrial wastewater and sludge, followed by freshwater degradation, surface water stressors, and pesticides. After the Special Period, industrial wastewater and sludge and pesticides were no longer high-risk areas, but municipal wastewater and marine coastal degradation ranked higher than previously. Also, the risk endpoints most stressed after 1990 were affected by activities controlled by the government, such as mining and tourism, and lack of infrastructure. Therefore, the claims that public environmental education is the main pathway to sustainable development in Cuba seem uninformed and other management practices should be evaluated.     

Environmental radiological impact associated with non-uranium mining industries: a proposal for screening criteria

Niobium, phosphate, coal and gold mining facilities have been selected as case studies with the aim of identifying possible sources of radiological impact during and after cessation of industrial operations. The results have shown that acid drainage, as well as chemical processing of mineral ores, constitute relevant impact indicators for present-day and future scenarios. The possible use of solid wastes abandoned at the end of the operations represents a long-term radiological concern. Therefore, it is necessary that Brazilian legislation for environmental licensing be revised taking into account the potential environmental and radiological impacts caused by these industries and establishing remedial procedures for waste storage areas in the existing sites. The indicators developed and procedures carried out can be used in screening for decisions on the adoption of regulatory requirements for practices at such types of installations.     

Applying DOE's Graded Approach for assessing radiation impacts to non-human biota at the INL

In July 2002, The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a new technical standard entitled A Graded Approach for Evaluating Radiation Doses to Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota. DOE facilities are annually required to demonstrate that routine radioactive releases from their sites are protective of non-human receptors and sites are encouraged to use the Graded Approach for this purpose. Use of the Graded Approach requires completion of several preliminary steps, to evaluate the degree to which the site environmental monitoring program is appropriate for evaluating impacts to non-human biota. We completed these necessary activities at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) using the following four tasks: (1) develop conceptual models and evaluate exposure pathways; (2) define INL evaluation areas; (3) evaluate sampling locations and media; (4) evaluate data gaps. All of the information developed in the four steps was incorporated, data sources were identified, departures from the Graded Approach were justified, and a step-by-step procedure for biota dose assessment at the INL was specified. Finally, we completed a site-wide biota dose assessment using the 2002 environmental surveillance data and an offsite assessment using soil and surface water data collected since 1996. These assessments demonstrated the environmental concentrations of radionuclides measured on and near the INL do not present significant risks to populations of non-human biota.     

The EU sustainable energy policy indicators framework

The article deals with indicators framework to monitor implementation of the main EU (European Union) directives and other policy documents targeting sustainable energy development. The main EU directives which have impact on sustainable energy development are directives promoting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, directives implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and atmospheric pollution reduction policies and other policy documents and strategies targeting energy sector. Promotion of use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements are among priorities of EU energy policy because the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements has positive impact on energy security and climate change mitigation. The framework of indicators can be developed to establish the main targets set by EU energy and environmental policies allowing to connect indicators via chain of mutual impacts and to define policies and measures necessary to achieve established targets based on assessment of their impact on the targeted indicators representing sustainable energy development aims. The article discusses the application of indicators framework for EU sustainable energy policy analysis and presents the case study of this policy tool application for Baltic States. The article also discusses the use of biomass in Baltic States and future considerations in this field.     

Linking empirical estimates of body burden of environmental chemicals and wellness using NHANES data

Biomonitoring of industrial chemicals in human tissues and fluids has shown that all people carry a “body burden” of synthetic chemicals. Although measurement of an environmental chemical in a person's tissues/fluids is an indication of exposure, it does not necessarily mean the exposure concentration is sufficient to cause an adverse effect. Since humans are exposed to multiple chemicals, there may be a combination effect (e.g., additive, synergistic) associated with low-level exposures to multiple classes of contaminants, which may impact a variety of organ systems. The objective of this research is to link measures of body burden of environmental chemicals and a “holistic” measure of wellness. The approach is demonstrated using biomonitoring data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Forty-two chemicals were selected for analysis based on their detection levels. Six biological pathway-specific indices were evaluated using groups of chemicals associated with each pathway. Five of the six pathways were negatively associated with wellness. Three non-zero interaction terms were detected which may provide empirical evidence of crosstalk across pathways. The approach identified five of the 42 chemicals from a variety of classes (metals, pesticides, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as accounting for 71% of the weight linking body burden to wellness. Significant interactions were detected indicating the effect of smoking is exacerbated by body burden of environmental chemicals. Use of a holistic index on both sides of the exposure-health equation is a novel and promising empirical “systems biology” approach to risk evaluation of complex environmental exposures.     

规划项目大气环境影响评价要点及案例研究

由于规划项目涉及面广、不确定性强、行业多样等特点,目前还没有针对规划环评的通用方法。虽然很多适用于建设项目环境影响评价的方法可以直接用于规划环评,但二者之间仍存在着很大的不同。结合规划项目的环境影响评价特点与评价要求,参考国内现有行业标准规范与新发布的大气评价导则技术要求,提出了规划项目大气环境影响评价的基本工作流程和4个工作要点,并通过具体案例应用,分别从基础资料收集与分析、环境影响预测方案制定、规划方案的比选及环境承载力的测算给出具体说明与实施方法。通过预测评价分析及方案比选,对规划选址、发展规模、规划布局、产业结构以及区域规划发展方式等进行综合分析,最终针对规划项目的污染控制及规划方案提出调整建议,为今后规划环境影响评价工作提供依据和技术参考。     

基于空间替代的环境规制产业结构效应研究

由于具有很强的外部效应,区域性是环境问题的主要特征之一。一个大的经济体内部差别化的环境保护政策容易导致环境敏感型产业在地区间的迁移,这一过程将引致地区之间产业结构的变迁。相对发达地区实行更加积极的环境保护措施,在产业的选择上限制污染型产业的发展,这势必将对原有污染型产业产生影响,加大环境保护投资、转行或者外迁是该区域内企业可能的选择。在环境政策不够严厉,产业的选择更为多样的地区,宽松的环境政策甚至是地方政府招商引资的一个优惠条件,则污染型产业是其发展的可能选择。本文通过对2003—2012年中西部19个省份11个污染型制造业工业总产值占全国比例结构的变迁进行实证检验,结果显示环境规制有非常明显的产业结构空间效应,存在对污染型制造业西迁的促进作用。区域差别性的环境政策确实突出了中西部地区的比较优势,使得环境污染密集型产业向西迁徙,实现了污染产业从中国东部向西部的空间替代。从空间的整体上看,也更有助于全面认识中国的产业升级现象。如果为了缩小地区发展差距,通过环保规制差异促进中西部地区的发展,而不是严格按照功能区进行分类环境保护和要素的自由流动,在这一过程中反映出来的产业结构变迁也是不健康的,东部地区的产业升级中的要素替代作用,尤其是技术进步的作用,无疑就会被夸大。看似中西部地区可能重新步入先发展后治理的老路,受到污染损害的仅是国家的另一片地区,但是由于中西部地区属于环境脆弱区和重要的水源上游,最终受伤害的将会是我们整个国家。     

Discrete-choice experiments valuing local environmental impacts of renewables: two approaches to a case study in Portugal

Despite the often mentioned environmental benefits associated with transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, their use for electricity production has non-negligible negative environmental impacts. The most commonly mentioned in surveys concern different types of landscape impacts, impacts on the fauna and flora, and noise. These impacts differ by size and location of plants, and by source of energy, rendering the policy decision complex. In addition, there are other welfare issues to take into consideration, as positive and negative environmental impacts are not evenly distributed among population groups. This paper proposes to compare the welfare impacts of renewable energy sources controlling for the type of renewable as well as the specific environmental impact by source. To this end, two discrete-choice experiments are designed and applied to a national sample of the Portuguese population. In one case, only individual negative impacts of renewables are used, and in another case, the negative impacts interact with a specific source. Results show the robustness of discrete-choice experiments as a method to estimate the welfare change induced by the impacts of renewable energy sources. Overall, respondents are willing to pay to reduce the environmental impacts, thus making compensation for local impacts feasible. Moreover, the estimations reveal that respondents are significantly sensitive to the detrimental environmental effects of specific renewable energy sources, being willing to pay more to use these sources of energy relative to others.     

Radioactivity from coal-fired power plants: A review

The radioactivity contents of coal and of the different types of ash formed during its combustion are reviewed. Also, the radiological impact of coal-fired plants and the plant features causing this impact are discussed. The depletion or enrichment of radionuclides in the different types of ash is interpreted in terms of the combustion temperature, the size of ash particles and the chemical forms of the radionuclides. The volatilization-condensation process as the postulated mechanism of radionuclide enrichment is also discussed.Past studies of the release of radionuclides from coal-fired plants are compared and the environmental pathways of the radionuclides are highlighted. Individual and collective radiation doses calculated for various coal-fired plants are evaluated and the importance of the different pathways to man is outlined.     

Industrial pollution discharges from the West African region

Information on the type and quantity of industrial pollutants from major land-based sources entering the marine environment through direct coastal discharges or indirectly through rivers, as well as on the present status of industrial waste management (treatment and disposal) practices, are provided for the West African region. Most of the data utilized in this analysis were collected by six UNIDO experts who visited the eighteen countries of the West African region during the period of January through August 1980. Industrial operations were visited and information was collected from the various ministries involved with industrial development and environmental protection. Estimates of the mass of pollutants discharged to the ocean were based upon production rates used in conjunction with actual measurements made by the industries located in the countries visited; studies reported in the literature; and an extrapolation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Effluent Standards for various industrial sectors. The West African region was divided into five zones closely approximating the major currents of the Atlantic Ocean. The estimated pollution discharged by the industrial sector was calculated for each of the zones by adding the contribution from each country assigned to a zone.     

城市化对周边土壤资源与环境的影响

城市化快速发展对土壤资源产生巨大压力。因而对粮食安全与环境生态健康带来严峻挑战，作为一种非再生性自然资源，土壤的各种功能在城市化过程中强烈的人为活动影响下转化，演变和消失，那么，寻求城市化过程中土壤资源的可持续利用，在环境友好的模式下协调土壤自然生态与社会经济发展，最大限谋发挥土壤生态，生产和社会，经济功能，也是城市化快速发展的重要前提，也是最终实现可持续城市目标的基础。