Using expectations of gain to bound the benefits from contaminated land remediation

Current risk-based decision-making techniques for prioritising contaminated land for clean-up have been criticized within Hungary for their failure to consider remediation benefits. A cost-benefit or risk-benefit approach is required to ensure that scarce resources for remediation are used efficiently. Problems arise because the credibility of non-market valuation information in Hungary is low, yet estimates of the value of non-market goods are required if cost-benefit approaches to decision-making are to be used effectively. This paper suggests using multiple techniques to bound 'true' values of non-market goods in order to enhance the potential use of environmental valuation information. A dichotomous-choice contingent valuation survey and a property-owner valuation survey were carried out in the vicinity of a hazardous waste site on the edge of Debrecen, Hungary. The aim of the study was to explore the potential for using these techniques to measure the benefits from contaminated site remediation in Hungary. The two surveys provide lower and upper bounds on expected benefits from clean-up aggregated results indicate that remediation benefits range from US$2.59 million to US$12.4 million.     

Interactive valuation: the social construction of the value of ecological services

Two different perspectives mark the discourse about the valuation of ecological services: a positivistrealist perspective, emphasising the use of objective scientific procedures to discover true values of ecological services truth is seen as the basis for social change; and a constructivist perspective, emphasising value as emerging from interaction. Value is an agreement and hence effective in social change. This paper examines the implications of the latter for valuation. It first analyses the current dominant practice of environmental valuation in terms of its epistemological assumptions. It then examines how a constructivist perspective colours the expectation of societal effectiveness of environmental valuation. Both themes reflect debated issues in ecological economics (e.g. O'Connor, 1998). 'Double hermeneutics' refers to the capacity to make sense on the basis of the sense-making of others. Environmental valuation in economics attempts a sort of 'triple hermeneutics': economists make sense of how people value the environment, in order to influence the sense-making of policy-makers and the general public. This paper argues that environmental valuation alternatively can be carried out as a constructivist procedure that reduces triple to single hermeneutics. Environmental valuation aims at societal change through internalisation of the costs of ecological services. Knowledge of the 'real' costs is expected to influence behaviour. Our analysis calls for the wider use of an alternative approach 'interactive valuation'. That is, the people whose behaviour incurs environmental costs are assisted to use environmental valuation methods themselves in order experientially to learn to internalise the environmental costs of their activities. It is not the researcher or expert who analyses and learns, so that he/she can transfer the learning to others, but the 'others' themselves who analyse and learn. In practice, this means that scientific valuators are not limited to discovering 'real', objective values, but also engage in developing tools for discovery learning by people themselves. The paper elaborates concrete experiences in the analysis and development of farming systems.     

Economic valuation for sustainable development in the Swedish coastal zone

The Swedish coastal zone is a scene of conflicting interests about various goods and services provided by nature. Open-access conditions and the public nature of many services increase the difficulty in resolving these conflicts. "Sustainability" is a vague but widely accepted guideline for finding reasonable trade-offs between different interests. The UN view of sustainable development suggests that coastal zone management should aim at a sustainable ecological, economic, and social-cultural development. Looking closer at economic sustainability, it is observed that economic analyses about whether changes in society imply a gain or a loss should take into account the economic value of the environment. Methods used for making such economic valuation in the context of the Swedish coastal zone are briefly reviewed. It is noted that the property rights context matters for the results of a valuation study. This general background is followed by a concise presentation of the design and results of four valuation studies on Swedish coastal zone issues. One study is on the economic value of an improved bathing water quality in the Stockholm archipelago. The other studies are a travel cost study about the economic value of improved recreational fisheries in the Stockholm archipelago, a replacement cost study on the value of restoring habitats for sea trout, and a choice experiment study on the economic value of improved water quality along the Swedish westcoast.     

The internalisation of environmental costs: implementing the Polluter Pays principle in the European Union

This paper frames the problem of implementing 'the polluter pays' in the European Union as a social-political process in which conflicts emerge and must be resolved between competing interests, between people holding different value systems and different principles of judgement, and also between different representations of future states and different visions of the world. 'The polluter pays' is a principle for internalising external costs and assigning liability. Its application may seem to entail a need for monetary valuation of damages. This allows environmental impacts and protection questions to be formulated as optimal resource use problems through the extension of traditional cost-benefit analysis techniques. However, reasons such as uncertainty, distributional concerns, and diversity of ethical positions make monetary valuation difficult or inappropriate. Decision support techniques are then sought that do not depend exclusively on monetisation, such as multicriteria and deliberative methods. The process of 'internalisation' of environmental damages is thus expressed through broad societal adjustments. Procedures need to be found that are socially legitimate and effective in the sense that the stakeholders can accept it as dealing adequately with their concerns. This is a collective 'internalisation': we are all polluters; we all pay – shouldering the clean up burdens, the institutional adjustments, the worries and the risks – in more or less unequal shares. The burden distribution will inevitably be a matter of controversy.     

A framework for the social valuation of ecosystem services

Methods to assess ecosystem services using ecological or economic approaches are considerably better defined than methods for the social approach. To identify why the social approach remains unclear, we reviewed current trends in the literature. We found two main reasons: (i) the cultural ecosystem services are usually used to represent the whole social approach, and (ii) the economic valuation based on social preferences is typically included in the social approach. Next, we proposed a framework for the social valuation of ecosystem services that provides alternatives to economics methods, enables comparison across studies, and supports decision-making in land planning and management. The framework includes the agreements emerged from the review, such as considering spatial–temporal flows, including stakeholders from all social ranges, and using two complementary methods to value ecosystem services. Finally, we provided practical recommendations learned from the application of the proposed framework in a case study.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0555-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Ecosystems,Ecological Restoration,and Economics: Does Habitat or Resource Equivalency Analysis Mean Other Economic Valuation Methods Are Not Needed?

Coastal and other area resources such as tidal wetlands, seagrasses, coral reefs, wetlands, and other ecosystems are often harmed by environmental damage that might be inflicted by human actions, or could occur from natural hazards such as hurricanes. Society may wish to restore resources to offset the harm, or receive compensation if this is not possible, but faces difficult choices among potential compensation projects. The optimal amount of restoration efforts can be determined by non-market valuation methods, service-to-service, or resource-to-resource approaches such as habitat equivalency analysis (HEA). HEA scales injured resources and lost services on a one-to-one trade-off basis. Here, we present the main differences between the HEA approach and other non-market valuation approaches. Particular focus is on the role of the social discount rate, which appears in the HEA equation and underlies calculations of the present value of future damages. We argue that while HEA involves elements of economic analysis, the assumption of a one-to-one trade-off between lost and restored services sometimes does not hold, and then other non-market economic valuation approaches may help in restoration scaling or in damage determination.     

Assumptions in ecosystem service assessments: Increasing transparency for conservation

Conservation efforts are increasingly supported by ecosystem service assessments. These assessments depend on complex multi-disciplinary methods, and rely on a number of assumptions which reduce complexity. If assumptions are ambiguous or inadequate, misconceptions and misinterpretations may arise when interpreting results of assessments. An interdisciplinary understanding of assumptions in ecosystem service science is needed to provide consistent conservation recommendations. Here, we synthesise and elaborate on 12 prevalent types of assumptions in ecosystem service assessments. These comprise conceptual and ethical foundations of the ecosystem service concept, assumptions on data collection, indication, mapping, and modelling, on socio-economic valuation and value aggregation, as well as about using assessment results for decision-making. We recommend future assessments to increase transparency about assumptions, and to test and validate them and their potential consequences on assessment reliability. This will support the taking up of assessment results in conservation science, policy and practice.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01379-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Economic impacts of urban air pollution: valuation for Mumbai, India

Urban air pollution is on the rise in many cities of the world. There are associated health impacts that affect urban residents, especially the poor. By doing economic valuation, it is possible to draw the attention of citizens, policy-makers and, of course, researchers to the extent of damage and the value of it. In this paper, such a valuation is done using time-series data for the suburb of Mumbai called Chembur and cross-sectional data for several wards. We value mortality and morbidity from air pollution using the above data. It is shown that the pollution in Mumbai can lead to high health costs. In general the average cost amounts 0.26% of income due to highly subsidised treatment and poverty. However, 5% of patients who suffer severe attacks may pay as much as much as 19% of their income. Workdays lost are of equal importance to health expenditures. Distributional aspects of the damage are such that children and senior citizens are affected most.     

Exploring the therapeutic potential of omega-3 fatty acids in depression

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Omega-3 fatty acids have been acknowledged for their number of holdings on an individual’s health. Not only in physical valuation but also in...     

Reconciling different approaches to environmental management

Environmental management is often regarded as the domain of the natural scientist with decision criteria developed within strict methodological boundaries. The argument is put forward that economic criteria have tried to emulate scientific methodology to the exclusion of important socio-economic factors. Concern over the monetary valuation of the environment has lead to calls for cost-effectiveness as the safe alternative. However, this approach is shown to be no different from cost-benefit analysis in its conception of value and therefore an inadequate response to the concerns driving the original criticism of environmental economics. Both socio-economic and scientific perspectives are necessary in the formulation of environmental policy. This then requires individual researchers to be open-minded in their work, rather than relying on institutional groupings of mono-disciplinary individuals to carry the responsibility for interdisciplinary research.     

The economic benefits of fulfilling the World Health Organization’s limits for particulates: A case study in Algeciras Bay (Spain)

Algeciras Bay is an important industrial and port zone in the south of Spain whose pollution by particulate matter surpasses the threshold levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its 2005 Guide on Air Quality. This study analyses the mortality avoided and the economic benefit which would be derived from a reduction of the pollution of PM2.5 and PM10 to the levels recommended by the WHO in Algeciras Bay in the period 2005-2015. The analysis carried out shows that the industrial zones, such as Los Barrios and San Roque, are those which have greater levels of pollution and in which the relative risk is greater. The calculations for Algeciras Bay between 2000 and 2015 show 182 deaths which would be avoided if the particulate matter pollution were reduced to the levels recommended by the WHO. Likewise, the economic valuation which this impact has on health is carried out through two concepts: the cost of illness and the Value of Statistical Life (VSL). The result shows that the economic benefit that would come out with the cost of illness valuation is 5,329,110€ and from the VSL is 414,787,113€.

Implications: PM_2.5 has a greater concentration in industrial localities and is linked to the industrial activity. When the particulate matter pollution is reduced to the levels recommended by the WHO in an industrialised area such as Algeciras (Spain), 182 deaths which would be avoided. The result shows that the economic benefit that would come out with the cost of illness valuation is 5,329,110€ and from the value of statistical life is 414,787,113€.     

A Critical Commentary on A Morbidity Study

The approach, methods, data, and results set out by Crocker et al.¹ in their study of the effect and valuation of air pollution on human morbidity are examined in detail. It is found that there are severe deficiencies in both method and data which make the results of extremely doubtful value for the purposes of policy formulation.     

Trichloroacetic acid in the environment

Suppositions that the trichloroacetic acid (TCA, CCl3C(O)OH) found in nature was a consequence solely of the use of chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents prompted this critical review of the literature on its environmental fluxes and occurrences. TCA is widely distributed in forest soils (where it was rarely used as an herbicide) and measurements suggest a soil flux of 160 000 tonnes yr(-1) in European forests alone. TCA is also produced during oxidative water treatment and the global flux could amount to 55 000 tonnes yr(-1) (from pulp and paper manufacture, potable water and cooling water treatments). By contrast, the yields of TCA from chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents are small: from tetrachloroethene 13 600 tonnes yr(-1) and from 1,1,1-trichloroethane 4300 tonnes yr(-1) on a global basis, at the atmospheric burdens and removal rates typical of the late 1990s. TCA is ubiquitous in rainwater and snow. Its concentrations are highly variable and the variations cannot be connected with location or date. However, there is no significant difference between the concentrations found in Chile and in eastern Canada (by the same analysts), or between Malawi and western Canada, or between Antarctica and Switzerland, nor any significant difference globally between the concentrations in cloud, rain and snow (although local enhancement in fog water has been shown). TCA is present in old ice and firn. At the deepest levels, the firn was deposited early in the 19th century, well before the possibility of contamination by industrial production of reactive chlorine, implying a non-industrial background. This proposition is supported by plume measurements from pulp mills in Finland. TCA is ubiquitous in soils; concentrations are very variable but there are some indications that soils under coniferous trees contain higher amounts. The concentrations of TCA found in plant tissue are region-specific and may also be plant-specific, to the extent that conifers seem to contain more than other species. TCA is removed from the environment naturally. There is abundant evidence that soil microorganisms dehalogenate TCA and it is lost from within spruce needles with a half-life of 10 days. There is also recent evidence of an abiotic aqueous decarboxylation mechanism with a half-life of 22 days. The supposedly widespread effects of TCA in conifer needles are not shown in controlled experiments. At concentrations in the needles of Scots pine similar to those observed in needles in forest trees, changes consequent on TCA treatment of field laboratory specimens were almost all insignificant.     

Estimate of the uncertainty in measurement for the determination of mercury in seafood by TDA AAS

An approach for the estimate of the uncertainty in measurement considering the individual sources related to the different steps of the method under evaluation as well as the uncertainties estimated from the validation data for the determination of mercury in seafood by using thermal decomposition/amalgamation atomic absorption spectrometry (TDA AAS) is proposed. The considered method has been fully optimized and validated in an official laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, in order to comply with national and international food regulations and quality assurance. The referred method has been accredited under the ISO/IEC 17025 norm since 2010. The approach of the present work in order to reach the aim of estimating of the uncertainty in measurement was based on six sources of uncertainty for mercury determination in seafood by TDA AAS, following the validation process, which were: Linear least square regression, Repeatability, Intermediate precision, Correction factor of the analytical curve, Sample mass, and Standard reference solution. Those that most influenced the uncertainty in measurement were sample weight, repeatability, intermediate precision and calibration curve. The obtained result for the estimate of uncertainty in measurement in the present work reached a value of 13.39%, which complies with the European Regulation EC 836/2011. This figure represents a very realistic estimate of the routine conditions, since it fairly encompasses the dispersion obtained from the value attributed to the sample and the value measured by the laboratory analysts. From this outcome, it is possible to infer that the validation data (based on calibration curve, recovery and precision), together with the variation on sample mass, can offer a proper estimate of uncertainty in measurement.     

Selected ion chromatograms and tandem mass spectrometry for detection of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in diesel exhaust

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) measurements are essential for scientists and engineers who investigate these anthropogenic compounds. Diesel engines contribute to the problem, so analysts are measuring PAHs from these sources. However, diesel exhaust presents special problems for precise analytical measurements. The exhaust matrix is very complex; consequently, PAH detection sensitivity deteriorates, especially for trace PAHs in the exhaust. Yet, these are conditions and amounts that exist in real samples. Nonetheless, selected ion chromatogram (SIC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) techniques improve trace PAH detection; ion trap technology makes both mass techniques possible. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate SIC and MS/MS for applications to measure PAHs in diesel exhaust samples. The signal-to-noise ratio for accurate quantitation improves, relative to traditional mass techniques, because these techniques ignore or eliminate interfering components. On a VF-5MS chromatographic column, these techniques improve sensitivity and reproducibility. They produce a superior limit of detection in the useful range for PAH samples extracted from actual engine exhaust, 10-30 pg for the smaller PAHs and 1-6 ng for the larger PAHs. The results with SIC and MS/MS are reproducible, so analysts can report PAH amounts with defined statistical confidence intervals. SIC and MS/MS improve detection for trace PAHs in convoluted diesel exhaust samples.     

Valuation of commercial central Himalayan medicinal plants

This study estimates the national-level annual volume and value of commercial medicinal plant harvest in Nepal. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires administered to local medicinal plant traders (n=149) in 15 districts in Nepal and regional wholesalers (n=53) in India. The annual trade volume is estimated to range from 7000 to 27 000 tons, with 14 500 tons harvested in the case year 1997-1998. The corresponding annual export value, calculated using regional wholesaler purchasing prices in the main markets in India, is estimated at US dollars 7-30 million, with a value of US$16 million in 1997-1998. Around 10% of rural households are involved in commercial harvesting. Lower ecological zones dominate supplies in both volume and value terms; herbs constitute the most important life form in value terms. Around 36% of volume and 51% of value derive from destructive harvesting. It is argued that annual volume and value figures are likely to be conservative estimates. The implications of findings for Himalayan medicinal plant conservation and trade are briefly discussed.     

Trends in the enantiomeric composition of polychlorinated biphenyl atropisomers in human breast milk

For the precise estimation of the risk to human health caused by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), it is important to discuss enantiomer fraction value (EF value) because it is reported that behaviors such as stability and toxicity of enantiomers are quite different in human body. Among POPs, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is known as one of the most persistent compounds in human breast milk samples. The main exposure source of PCB for human body is mostly from food especially in seafood. The contamination of fish and shellfish has been a serious problem for the Japanese, who consume a large amount of fish in their diet. PCBs have 19 congeners which are chlorine-substituted in 3- or 4- ortho positions are known to have enantiomers. In this study, we analyzed PCB 183 (2,2′,3,4,4′,5′,6-hepta CB) in human breast milk and fish samples enantioselectively and revealed the time trends of the EF value. Though EF value of PCB 183 in fish samples sustained close to racemate (EF?=?0.5) from 1982 to 2012, that in breast milk increased over time. This fact indicates that (+)-PCB-183 has greater bioaccumulation potential than (-)-PCB-183 in human body; therefore, the toxicity of (+)-PCB-183 should be emphasized.     

Long-Term Trends in Ambient Lead Levels at Five Locations in New Jersey

The authors conducted a survey based on conjoint choice experiments in Milan, Italy, about mortality risk reductions delivered by hypothetical private behaviors and public programs, and used it to estimate the value of a prevented fatality (VPF) when the cause of death is cancer. Their estimate of the VPF is €4.2 million. The VPF is about €1 million larger when the risk reduction is delivered by a public program, but further analyses reveal that it is so only when the respondent believes that public programs are effective at reducing this particular type of mortality risk. This estimate of the VPF is higher than generic European Union–wide figures recommended by the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment) for environmental policy analyses, and is comparable to other VPFs that are appropriate for Italy, hazardous waste regulations, and enforcement-based cleanup programs. The authors use their VPF to compute the benefits of addressing leaking landfills, illegal disposal of hazardous wastes, and poor hazardous waste management practices in the provinces of Naples and Caserta in southern Italy. The authors also examine the importance of the discount rates, since the mortality benefits of remediation begin in 20 yr and are assumed to continue over 30 yr.

Implications: Cost-benefit analysis that includes monetized nonmarket goods and services such as adverse health and premature mortality effects has become a standard tool in project appraisal and policy decision-making. The authors' estimates of the mortality benefits of cleaning up hazardous waste sites in a region of southern Italy are much larger than previous calculations that relied on the guidelines by DG Environment, raising concerns that using one VPF for all member countries of the European Union, and/or VPF figures estimated in a private risk reduction setting, might considerably underestimate the benefits of cleanup policies.     

Effects of experimental terbuthylazine exposure on the cells of Dicentrarchus labrax (L.)

The effects of acute exposure to the herbicide terbuthylazine (3.55, 5.01 and 7.08 mg l(-1)) on the cells of farmed European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax L., were investigated by means of light and electron microscopy. In gills of treated fish, the number of chloride cells (CCs) and rodlet cells (RCs) increased significantly within 24 h and 48 h, respectively; the intestine showed the largest increase in RCs linked to treatment and exposure time. In kidney, 24 h exposure induced a significant increase in RCs and the number and global area of macrophage aggregates (MAs). Treated fish displayed cellular and/or ultrastructural alterations in all the organs examined. In the gills necrosis, lamellar and cellular oedema, epithelial lifting, telangectasia, and fusion of secondary lamellae were encountered. The liver presented myelin-like figures, cytoplasmic rarefaction and acute cell swelling of hepatocytes. In both organs, the severity of damage was dose-dependent. In RCs of gills, the intestine and kidney of exposed sea bass, high cytoplasmic vacuolization, myelin-like figures, cristolysis and varying degrees of rodlet degeneration were observed. Extensive rodlet expulsion occurred in the gut lumen. Exposure to terbuthylazine also affected the renal tubular epithelial cells, which exhibited 'blebs'. Damage to the intestinal epithelial cells was also observed.     

Blood lead levels among populations differentially exposed to vehicular exhaust in Rohtak, India

In the absence of local industrial sources of lead, leaded gasoline has been suggested as the major source of lead in the urban atmosphere of Rohtak town, situated near Delhi metropolitan city and with a high vehicular density. Blood lead levels were measured in 42 male volunteers from within the Rohtak area with varying degrees of exposure to vehicular exhaust. The occupationally exposed group with a daily exposure of 10-12 h in automobile workshops was found to have the highest levels of blood lead (mean value 21.26 microg dl(-1)) followed by roadside population (mean value 14.91 microg/dl(-1)). This group of people had a daily exposure of 8-10 h in their business establishments, situated at a distance of less than 5 to about 10 ft (< 1.5-c. 3.0 m) from the road with an average traffic density of 8000 vehicles day(-1). Urban residents were found to have higher blood lead levels (mean value 9.85 microg/dl(-1)) than the rural ones (mean value 3.34 microg/dl(-1)). The values were found to increase correspondingly with the increase in age and smoking habits within the particular categories of volunteers. The levels found in the present study are comparable to those reported from other major cities of India, but well within the tolerable limits as recommended by the European Economic Community.