Using sediment quality guidelines for dredged material management in commercial ports from Spain

Dredged material contamination was assessed in different commercial ports from Spain: Port of Cádiz and Huelva, South West; Bilbao and Pasajes, North; Cartagena and Barcelona, East; Coru?a, North West. Sediment from different locations of these ports was sampled and was characterized following the Spanish recommendations for dredged material management. This characterization included grain size distribution, organic matter content and concentration of the chemical compounds included in the list of pollutants and hazardous substances (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn; PCB congeners IUPAC number 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180; PAHs were also analyzed). The results were compared to the limit values of Spanish Action Levels that define the different categories for assessment and management. A set of empirically derived sediment quality guidelines (SQG) was used to assess the possible toxicity of the dredged materials and to improve the use of the chemical approach to characterize dredged material for its management.     

Sustainable management of construction site big visual data

Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operation and Ownership (AECOO) team up in a multi-disciplinary collaborative system to create buildings and infrastructure. The participating disciplines have reached a state in which traditional methods and forms of input data introduce entropy that compromises sustainable construction in larger projects. It became difficult to reach planned optimum project duration and costs this way. New approaches based on the systematic digitalization of the building lifecycle, from design to demolition, can solve the problem by involving the concepts of building information modeling (BIM) systems and big data. Previous research on BIM and big data only studied the potential for construction performance. In addition to extending research into systems’ thinking and technical sustainability of big visual data, this paper extends our previous work in the area by introducing a new conceptual and technical framework for sustainable management of construction site big visual data.     

基于AHP-Fuzzy的循环经济技术综合评价方法研究

国家将制定重点领域循环经济技术清单,引导和发展循环经济。在此背景下,本文针对循环经济技术的筛选,开展了综合评价方法的实证研究,结果显示该技术属于一级循环经济技术,并在资源节约与废弃物减排方面具有显著效益,表明本文构建的综合评价方法实现了对备选循环经济技术的综合评价、分级和排序,可以为企业、国家选择循环经济技术提供参考。     

Present to future sediment transport of the Brahmaputra River: reducing uncertainty in predictions and management

The Brahmaputra River in South Asia carries one of the world’s highest sediment loads, and the sediment transport dynamics strongly affect the region’s ecology and agriculture. However, present understanding of sediment conditions and dynamics is hindered by limited access to hydrological and geomorphological data, which impacts predictive models needed in management. We here synthesize reported peer-reviewed data relevant to sediment transport and perform a sensitivity analysis to identify sensitive and uncertain parameters, using the one-dimensional model HEC-RAS, considering both present and future climatic conditions. Results showed that there is considerable uncertainty in openly available estimates (260–720 Mt yr^?1) of the annual sediment load for the Brahmaputra River at its downstream Bahadurabad gauging station (Bangladesh). This may aggravate scientific impact studies of planned power plant and reservoir construction in the region, as well as more general effects of ongoing land use change and climate change. We found that data scarcity on sediment grain size distribution, water discharge, and Manning’s roughness coefficient had the strongest controls on the modelled sediment load. However, despite uncertainty in absolute loads, we showed that predicted relative changes, including a future increase in sediment load by about 40 % at Bahadurabad by 2075–2100, were consistent across multiple model simulations. Nevertheless, for the future scenarios we found that parameter uncertainty almost doubled for water discharge and river geometry, highlighting that improved information on these parameters could greatly advance the abilities to predict and manage current and future sediment dynamics in the Brahmaputra river basin.     

An applied methodology for stakeholder identification in transdisciplinary research

In this paper we present a novel methodology for identifying stakeholders for the purpose of engaging with them in transdisciplinary, sustainability research projects. In transdisciplinary research, it is important to identify a range of stakeholders prior to the problem-focussed stages of research. Early engagement with diverse stakeholders creates space for them to influence the research process, including problem definition, from the start. However, current stakeholder analysis approaches ignore this initial identification process, or position it within the subsequent content-focussed stages of research. Our methodology was designed as part of a research project into a range of soil threats in seventeen case study locations throughout Europe. Our methodology was designed to be systematic across all sites. It is based on a snowball sampling approach that can be implemented by researchers with no prior experience of stakeholder research, and without requiring significant financial or time resources. It therefore fosters transdisciplinarity by empowering physical scientists to identify stakeholders and understand their roles. We describe the design process and outcomes, and consider their applicability to other research projects. Our methodology therefore consists of a two-phase process of design and implementation of an identification questionnaire. By explicitly including a design phase into the process, it is possible to tailor our methodology to other research projects.     

A general methodology for structuring models to predict the long-term migration of radionuclides from catchments

In the present paper a generic model for predicting the long-term migration of radionuclides and heavy metals from catchments is described. The model subdivides the catchment into a number of homogeneous, infinitesimal sub-catchments and integrates the radionuclide contributions from such sub-catchments to calculate the total flux of contaminant. It relates the radionuclide behaviour to the statistical distribution of the pollutant partition coefficient on the "ensemble" of sub-catchments. The methodology was validated for 90Sr and 137Cs by using data for water contamination in some European rivers. Values of migration parameters for Pu, Tc, I and Cd isotopes were obtained.     

Quality of currently available methodology for monitoring viruses in the environment

A variety of methods have been proposed, developed, and evaluated for detecting viruses, especially human enteric viruses, in water, wastewater, and other environmental samples, and continued developments and improvements have led to simpler and more reliable methodology. However, the use of currently available methods is still limited primarily to special circumstances, such as investigation of waterborne disease outbreaks, research studies on virus reductions by water and wastewater treatment processes and systems, especially reuse systems, and research monitoring and surveying of natural and treated waters. Widespread and routine virus monitoring is still not possible due to technical limitations and deficiencies of present detection methods and their relatively high cost. Although continued development of new methods and further improvement of existing methods is desirable, it is perhaps more important that current methods be systematically evaluated in carefully designed collaborative (round-robin) studies and quality assurance tests. Until virus detection methods are further improved and systematically evaluated, the establishment of virus standards for such materials as water and edible shellfish requiring routine monitoring appears to be unjustified.     

Plutonium solubility in sediment pore waters

Using in situ porous cup samplers, dissolved Pu concentrations have been measured over a year in the pore waters from two contrasting sites in the valley of the River Esk, North West England. In saltmarsh sediments, dissolved Pu represents approximately 1 part in 10(6) of the total inventory. The Pu concentration in solution is in the range 1.1-3.5 mBq l-1, varying by a factor of 3 in the course of the year. Most of the changes in dissolved Pu coincide with changes in dissolved Fe and Mn concentrations, with Pu being low in the summer months when Fe and Mn are high. Nevertheless, there are a number of factors which make it unclear as to whether these patterns might be related to seasonal redox changes in the saltmarsh. At the highly organic, reducing reedbed site, the proportion of Pu in solution is typically around 1 part in 10(3), proportionately much higher than in the saltmarsh, giving concentrations ranging between 9.0 and 28.5 mBq l-1, and are apparently maintained by complexation to dissolved organic matter. There is no obvious seasonal pattern at the reedbed site nor is there any relation to any of the dissolved species measured (Fe, Mn, Na, DOC).     

Energy rating methodology for light-duty vehicles: geographical impact

The aim of this paper was to describe a new energy dependency score methodology and its consequent application to cars sold in twelve regions: Europe (EU-28) and eleven specific countries worldwide (Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and USA). This methodology was developed as a potential tool to inform consumers of their choice impact on the country’s economy. This methodology is based on primary energy assessments and origins for each energy pathway associated with a gasoline-, diesel-, natural gas (used for H₂ production)- or electricity (balanced with country electricity mix)-powered vehicle. An energy dependency index was attributed to the best-case (100 % endogenous production) and worst-case (0 % endogenous production) scenarios and consequently weighted with vehicle fuel consumption. This enabled obtaining an energy dependency index (10–0). This index could be assigned to an environmental and social index to provide a sustainability index and therefore complement a road vehicle environmental rating system, providing a combined index rating. Internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrid vehicles (that have oil products as energy source) rate the lowest for almost all locations, with the exception of regions that are energy independent (Norway, Saudi Arabia or Russia). Electric vehicles rank higher when comparing to the other technologies analyzed for all locations in this study. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle shows generally a rank in an intermediate place, except for Japan where it scores lower than all other technologies.     

Chemical speciation of metals in sediment elutriates

Surface sediments from two localities in Lake Ontario (Hamilton Harbour and Portsmouth Harbour in Kingston, Ontario) were elutriated with lake water. The distribution of chemical species of metals (Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Mn, Cd, and Zn) and nutrients (N and P) was investigated in the elutriates and in the lake water by using the computer program geochem and separation by Chelex 100 resin. The concentration of Mn in the water increased from 10^?6.44M to 10^?5.09M during the elutriation of Lake Ontario sediments. The concentrations of other investigated metals were smaller and different in each of the elutriates. Both methods, the calculations by geochem and the separation by Chelex 100, showed that only Mn was present in the four elutriates as a free ion. However, the chemical speciation of other metals by these two methods was only partially similar. All four sediments released significant quantities of NH₃ which was associated in the elutriates mainly with H. The pH of the lake water decreased from 8.4 to 7.5 during the elutriation.     

Determining sediment quality for regulatory proposes using fish chronic bioassays

Sediment quality assessments for regulatory purposes (i.e. dredged material disposal) are characterized by linking chemical and acute ecotoxicological data. The design of chronic bioassays that incorporate more sensible endpoints than acute tests is discussed to address sediment quality for environmental quality assessment and regulatory proposes. The chronic tests use juveniles of commercial species of fish Sparus aurata and Solea senegalensis, to assess sediment toxicity in samples collected along different littoral areas in the North and the South of Spain. The organisms were exposed during 60 days and sublethal endpoints were selected including biomarkers of exposure to metals (metallothioneins - MTs) and to organic contaminants (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity - EROD activity) and biomarkers of effect (histopathology in different tissues, gill and liver). A Multivariate Analysis Approach was conducted in order to associate these biological responses with sediment metal concentration from the ports and with chemical residues in biological tissues exposed to sediments under laboratory conditions.     

A toxicity assessment of soils sampled from the Balapan site of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site

Toxicity of soils sampled from the area of the “Chagan” explosion (the Balapan site of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan) were assayed with the use of biological tests and physicochemical analysis. Soils from the most part (2.56 km² out of 4 km²) of the area studied were found to be toxic. Soil aqueous extracts toxicity substantially resulted from ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr effects. The soil toxicity assessment with the use of biological test—an increase Chlorella vulgaris Beijer. biomass production after 24 exposure of soil aqueous extracts in 63% cases are in agree with conclusions on the degree of radioactive contamination based on Basic Sanitary Rules of Radiation Safety (BSRRS-99). The IAEA safety norms were found to be quite stricter than the results of the biological test.     

Mapping of the geogenic radon potential in France to improve radon risk management: methodology and first application to region Bourgogne

In order to improve regulatory tools for radon risk management in France, a harmonised methodology to derive a single map of the geogenic radon potential has been developed. This approach consists of determining the capacity of the geological units to produce radon and to facilitate its transfer to the atmosphere, based on the interpretation of existing geological data. This approach is firstly based on a classification of the geological units according to their uranium (U) content, to create a radon source potential map. This initial map is then improved by taking into account the main additional parameters, such as fault lines, which control the preferential pathways of radon through the ground and which can increase the radon levels in soils. The implementation of this methodology to the whole French territory is currently in progress. We present here the results obtained in one region (Bourgogne, Massif Central) which displays significant variations of the geogenic radon potential. The map obtained leads to a more precise zoning than the scale of the existing map of radon priority areas currently based solely on administrative boundaries.     

A spatial risk assessment methodology to support the remediation of contaminated land

When soil and groundwater contaminations occur over large areas, remediation measures should be spatially prioritized on the basis of the risk posed to human health and in compliance with technological and budget constraints. Within this scope, the application of human health risk assessment algorithms in a spatially resolved environment raises a number of methodological and technical complexities. In this paper, a methodology is proposed and applied in a case study to support the entire formulation process of remediation plans, encompassing hazard assessment, exposure assessment, risk characterisation, uncertainty assessment and allocation of risk reduction measures. In the hazard assessment, it supports the selection of Contaminants of Concern (CoC) with regard to both their average concentrations and peak concentrations, i.e. hot spots. In the exposure assessment, it provides a zoning of the site based on the geostatistical mapping of contaminant. In the risk characterisation, it generates vector maps of Risk Factors on the basis of the risk posed by multiple substances and allows the interrogation of most relevant CoC and exposure pathways for each zone of the site. It also supports the Monte Carlo based probabilistic estimation of the Risk Factors and generates maps of the associated uncertainty. In the risk reduction phase, it supports the formulation of remediation plans based on the stepwise spatial allocation of remediation interventions and the on-time simulation of risk reduction performances. The application of this methodology is fully supported by an easy-to-use and customized Geographical Information System and does not require high expertise for interpretation. The proposed methodology is the core module of a Decision Support System (DSS) that was implemented in the DESYRE software aimed at supporting the risk-based remediation of megasites.     

Assessing and managing sediment contamination in transitional waters

Sediment contamination remains a global problem, particularly in transitional waters such as estuaries and coastal lagoons, which are the recipients of chemicals from multiple near- and far-field sources. Although transitional waters are highly productive ecosystems, approaches for assessing and managing their sediment contamination are not as well developed as in marine and fresh waters. Further, although transitional waters remain defined by their variable and unique natural water quality characteristics, particularly salinity, the biota inhabiting such ecosystems, once thought to be defined by Remane's “paradox of brackish water”, are being redefined. The purpose of the present paper is to build on an earlier but now dated (> 12 years old) review of methods to assess sediment contamination in estuaries, extending this to all transitional waters, including information on integrative assessments and on management decision-making. The following are specifically discussed: chemical assessments; bioindicators; biomarkers; and, biological surveys. Assessment and management of sediment contamination in transitional waters need to be focused on ecosystem services and, where appropriate and possible, be proactive rather than reactive when uncertainty has been suitably reduced.     

Design methodology for active disassembly based on the decapitated head method

Due to the characteristic that shape memory materials can quickly return to their original shape and have large deformation, such materials can be used as the connection in active disassembly devices. However, existing active disassembly devices typically require two moulding steps and complicated machining processes that result in high manufacturing cost. The active disassembly device based on the proposed decapitated head method has only one moulding step and lower manufacturing cost. Its disassembly mode is local damage disassembly, which can decrease the active disassembly cost and improve disassembly efficiency. This paper describes the active disassembly theory and the design methodology based on the decapitated head method, and then analyses the design criteria and feasibility of this method with a real case study.     

A particle swarm optimization methodology to design an effective air quality monitoring network

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Good air quality is highly essential to the well-being of mankind, all living organisms and the environment. The quality of air is degrading at a...     

Strategies for coastal ecosystem management in India

Present paper highlights various coastal issues and management strategies in India for effective environmental management for the sustainable development. The priorities for coastal management were selected based on the available date and material related to various international and national conferences. On the basis of secondary data, various strategies are suggested for the prioritized issues. These strategies include institutional strengthening, capacity building, policy plan, management plans for areas highly degraded, education and awareness; all these issues are discussed under the ecosystem-based management framework which gives better direction and is crucial for India??s costal management.     

A review of the water resources management for the Brantas River basin: challenges in the transition to an integrated water resources management

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper reviews an integrated approach involving the representative stakeholders in the development and management of water available in the Brantas...     

A process-based model for the partitioning of soluble, suspended particulate and bed sediment fractions of plutonium and caesium in the eastern Irish Sea

A dynamic model of plutonium behaviour in the marine environment has been developed, representing the oxidation state distribution and partitioning of plutonium between the soluble, colloidal, suspended particulate and seabed sediment fractions. With simple re-parameterisation, this model can also be applied to (137)Cs. The model, which is calibrated and validated against field data, has been used to predict concentrations of Pu(alpha) and (137)Cs in both water and seabed sediments from the vicinity of the Sellafield Ltd. reprocessing plant in Cumbria, UK. The model predicts that sediment reworking and transport are the key environmental processes as the Sellafield Pu(alpha) and (137)Cs discharge continues to decline. Inventory calculations generated by the model are consistent with previous estimations. For a hypothetical post-discharge scenario, the concentrations of these radionuclides in both seawater and surface sediments are predicted to decrease sharply, concurrent with a downward vertical migration of the activity retained in sediments.