Reducing the harms associated with risk assessments

Risk assessments are the intellectual products of dedicated public health and environmental professionals. Like many other products, risk assessments carry with them the potential for both good and harm. This paper briefly examines some of the harms to which risk assessments have contributed, and then suggests that the legal “duty to warn” doctrine offers a logical and practical way to reduce some of these harms. The paper suggests concepts that could be incorporated into warnings accompanying every formal risk assessment as routine “boiler plate” addenda, just as other potentially harmful products, such as lawn mowers and cook stoves, are accompanied by warnings. Finally, the paper briefly examines the “Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Environmental Professionals” (promulgated by the National Association of Environmental Professionals) and shows that the suggested warnings are consistent with recommended practices for environmental professionals.     

The Netherlands' environmental policy for the North Sea and Wadden Sea

The water quality management of The Netherlands' part of the North Sea (57 000 km² continental shelf of which 7600 km² is territorial sea to 12 miles) and the Wadden Sea (a wetland area behind the northern coastal islands), is described on the basis of recent scientific studies and governmental policy documents. The links with international conventions and treaties are mentioned. The overall water quality in these areas has significantly deteriorated over the last century, notably since the post-war industrial revival, due to a great number of emissions of heavy metals and organochlorine substances. A dramatic decline of seals and porpoises has occurred. However, over the last few years some emissions have been reduced. A national ecological research programme for the North Sea is developing. Monitoring is concentrated on levels of pollutants as well as on effects upon biota. Baseline standards are now being developed as references for further action against pollution. If the recent trend towards improvement is to continue, it requires that the increased economic activities (notably the mining of oil and gas, petrochemical production, and incineration and dumping of chemical wastes) be kept sufficiently under control. A need is felt for a continued rational harmonization and planning of all activities on the North Sea. An even more stringent planning is required for the Wadden Sea which is now an international nature reserve under the Wetland Convention and is eligible for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO-MAB-programme. The river Rhine as greatest polluter of the North Sea and Wadden Sea urgently needs a clean-up.     

The creation of an historical meteorological database for environmental dose assessment

The focus of this study is to develop wind data for the SavannahRiver Site (SRS) between 1955 and 1961 to be used in an assessment of estimates of atmospheric dispersion and downwindrisk at the Savannah River Site. In particular, a study of theuncertainties of radioiodine dosimetry from the late 1950sprovides the underlying motivation for developing historicalwindroses at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Wind measurement towers did not exist at the SRS until theearly 1970s. Three relatively simple methods were used to createa 1955–1961 meteorological database for the SRS for a dosereconstruction project. The winds were estimated from onsitemeasurements in the 1990s and National Weather Service (NWS)observations in the 1990s and 1950s using (1) a linear regressionmethod, (2) a similarity theory approach, and (3) a simplestatistical differences method. The criteria for determining success were based on (1) howwell the mean values and standard deviations of the predictedwind speed agree with the known SRS values from the 1990s, (2) the shape of the predicted frequency distribution functions forwind speed, and (3) how closely the predicted windroses resembledthe SRS windrose for the 1990s. The linear regression model's wind speed distribution functionwas broad, flat, and skewed too much toward higher wind speeds.The similarity theory approach produced a wind speed distributionfunction that contained excess predicted speeds in the range 0–1.54 m s^-1 (0–3 kts) and had `excluded' bins caused bypredictions being made from integer values of knots in the NWSdata. The distribution function from the mean difference methodwas smooth with a shape like a Weibull distribution with a shapeparameter of 2 and appearedto resemble closely the SRS 1992–1996 distribution.The wind directions for all three methods of approach weresuccessfully based on the mean difference method. It wasdifficult to discern differences among the wind roses produced bythe three methods so the wind speed distribution functions needto be examined in order to make an informed choice for dose reconstruction.     

One common way — The strategic and methodological influence on environmental planning across Europe

In the last decades the European Union exerted influence on precautionary environmental planning by the establishment of several Directives. The most relevant were the Habitat-Directive, the EIA-Directive, the SEA-Directive and the Water Framework Directive. Comparing these EU policies in the area of environmental precaution it becomes obvious that there is a lot of common ground. Thus, the conclusion seems likely that the European Union, in doing so, has intended to establish general planning concepts through introducing several methodological steps indicated by the regulations. The goal of this article is firstly to point out, which are the common planning principles, converted by methodological elements and secondly examine the consideration of these planning concepts by the implementation and application in the member states. In this context it is analysed whether the connections and divergences between the directives lead to significant differences in the implementation process. To this aim the directives are shortly introduced and significant steps of the processes regulated by them are outlined. In the second steps the national legal implementation in the Alpine states and its consequences for the practical application are discussed. The results show a heterogeneous application of the EU principles. Within the comparative view on the four directives influence and causalities between the national implementation and the practical application were identified, which can be simplified as four types. Since a coherent strategic and methodological concept for improving environmental precaution planning from part of the EU is noticeable, more unity and comparability within the implementation is desirable, particularly in areas with comparable habitats such as the alpine space. Beyond this the trade-off between the directives poses an important task for the future.     

An inquiry into the potential of scenario analysis for dealing with uncertainty in strategic environmental assessment in China

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) inherently needs to address greater levels of uncertainty in the formulation and implementation processes of strategic decisions, compared with project environmental impact assessment. The range of uncertainties includes internal and external factors of the complex system that is concerned in the strategy. Scenario analysis is increasingly being used to cope with uncertainty in SEA. Following a brief introduction of scenarios and scenario analysis, this paper examines the rationale for scenario analysis in SEA in the context of China. The state of the art associated with scenario analysis applied to SEA in China was reviewed through four SEA case analyses. Lessons learned from these cases indicated the word “scenario” appears to be abused and the scenario-based methods appear to be misused due to the lack of understanding of an uncertain future and scenario analysis. However, good experiences were also drawn on, regarding how to integrate scenario analysis into the SEA process in China, how to cope with driving forces including uncertainties, how to combine qualitative scenario storylines with quantitative impact predictions, and how to conduct assessments and propose recommendations based on scenarios. Additionally, the ways to improve the application of this tool in SEA were suggested. We concluded by calling for further methodological research on this issue and more practices.     

A quantitative methodology for indexing environmental sensitivity and pollution potential

A methodology for rating the suitability of sites forthe location of industrial facilities is formulated and appliedto the case of a coal-fired power plant location. The methodologycomprises two major interlinked components: the environmentalplant location indexing component, which involves theidentification, scaling and weighting of environmentalsensitivity factors; and the impact analysis component, whichinvolves the superimposition of the pollution generation impactsof an industrial facility on spatially gridded zones of variousenvironmental sensitivities. For each rectangular areal unitdefined by a square grid, the Unit Pollution Potential Index isdetermined by the severity and distribution of key environmentalsensitivity factors and the coverage of superimposed pollutanteffects as determined by contaminant fate and transport models.For any alternative site of a planned facility, the summation ofthe unit indices over the area of influence of the facilityprovides the quantitative Pollution Index, which can be used as abasis for comparison of alternative sites for planned facilities.For this paper, this methodology is applied to the hypotheticalcase of the siting of a coal-fired power plant in thenortheastern region of the United States, in which threealternative sites are considered. The three sites: A, B and Cyielded indices of 47.83, 47.91 and 47.6, respectively, indicatingthat site C is the most suitable for siting the power plant.     

长春市地表水环境状况分析与治理对策探讨

随着经济的发展和人口的增长,长春市生活污水和工业废水排放量不断增加,由于经济,技术等各方面原因,废水达标排放率和污水集中处理率均较低,造成了水环境的严重污染。为了改善长春市地表水环境质量,本文在进行了系统诊断的基础上,对水质现状进行了评价与分析,并提出了治理对策。     

The siting puzzle: Balancing economic and environmental gains and losses

Traditional approaches to the siting of potentially hazardous but regionally necessary facilities are often ineffective and lead to drawn-out legal disputes ultimately satisfactory to none of the parties. Research at MIT over the last decade has indicated five factors that may solve the siting puzzle. Application of these principles do not guarantee that a decision will not be disputed but may enhance the possibility of a wise and durable agreement.     

Framework for integration of urban planning, strategic environmental assessment and ecological planning for urban sustainability within the context of China

Sustainable development or sustainability has been highlighted as an essential principle in urban master planning, with increasing recognition that uncontrollable urbanization may well give rise to various issues such as overexploitation of natural resources, ecosystem destruction, environmental pollution and large-scale climate change. Thus, it is deemed necessary to modify the existing urban and regional administrative system so as to cope with the challenges urban planning is being confronted with and realize the purpose of urban sustainability. This paper contributed to proposing a mechanism which helps to make urban planning with full consideration of issues with respect to sustainable development. We suggested that the integration of urban planning, SEA and ecological planning be a multi-win strategy to offset deficiency of each mentioned political tool being individually applied. We also proposed a framework where SEA and ecological planning are fully incorporated into urban planning, which forms a two-way constraint mechanism to ascertain environmental quality of urban planning, although in practice, planning and SEA processes may conditionally be unified. Moreover, as shown in the case study, the integration of the three political tools may be constrained due to slow changes in the contextual factors, in particular the political and cultural dimensions. Currently within the context of China, there may be three major elements which facilitate integration of the three political tools, which are (1) regulatory requirement of PEIA on urban planning, (2) the promotion or strong administrative support from government on eco-district building, and (3) the willingness of urban planners to collaborate with SEA experts or ecologists.     

中俄界河--黑龙江水环境分析与评价

采用“有机污染综合评价法”对黑龙江干流上、中游江水水质进行分析评价,分析与评价结果表明,黑龙江总体水质较好,主要污染物为高锰酸盐指数。     

乌鲁木齐市餐饮业油烟污染的调查及防治初探

通过对乌鲁木齐市20家餐饮业油烟污染的调查分析,结果表明,乌鲁木齐市餐饮业油烟污染严重,并提出了防治措施。     

JSEM: A Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Indicators

There are two issues in indicator development that have not been adequately addressed: (1) how to select an optimal combination of potentially redundant indicators that together best represent an endpoint, given cost constraints; (2) how to identify and evaluate indicators when the endpoint is unmeasured. This paper presents an approach to identifying and evaluating combinations of indicators when the mathematical relationships between the indicators and an endpoint may not be quantified, a limitation common to many ecological assessments. The approach uses the framework of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which combines path analysis withmeasurement models, to formalize available informationabout potential indicators and to evaluate their potential adequacy for representing an endpoint. Unlike traditional applications of SEM which require data on all variables, our approach – judgement-based SEM (JSEM) – can utilize expert judgement regarding the strengths and shapes of indicator-endpoint relationships. JSEM is applied in two stages. First, a conceptual model that relates variables in a network of direct and indirect linkages is developed, and is used to identify indicators relevant to an endpoint. Second, an index of indicator strength – i.e., the strength of the relationship between the endpoint and a set of indicators – is calculated from estimates of correlation between the modeled variables, and is used to compare alternative sets of indicators. The second stage is most appropriate for large, long-term assessments. Although JSEM is not a statistical technique, basing JSEM on SEM provides a structure for validating the conceptual model and for refining the index of indicator strength as data become available. Our main objective is to contribute to a rigorous and consistent selection of indicators even when knowledgeabout the ability of indicators to represent an endpoint is limited to expert judgement.     

Availability and Assessment of Fixing Additives for The in Situ Remediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils: A Review

The use of low-cost and environmental safety amendments for the in situ immobilization of heavy metals has been investigated as a promising method for contaminated soil remediation. Natural materials and waste products from certain industries with high captive capacity of heavy metals can be obtained and employed. Reduction of extractable metal concentration and phytotoxicity could be evaluated and demonstrated by the feasibility of various amendments in fixing remediation. In this review, an extensive list of references has been compiled to provide a summary of information on a wide range of potentially amendment resources, including organic, inorganic and combined organic-inorganic materials. The assessment based on the economic efficiency and environmental risks brought forth the potential application values and future development directions of this method on solving the soil contamination.     

乌鲁木齐市水磨河水质状况评价与污染成因分析

利用单因子指数法和综合污染指数法,对乌鲁木齐市水磨河4个监测断面水质情况进行了评价。结果表明:搪瓷厂泉为超标水体;七纺桥为Ⅴ类水体,达到农业灌溉用水要求;联丰桥断面、米泉桥断面为劣Ⅴ类水体,没有达到农业灌溉用水要求。生活源和工业源化学需氧量、氨氮等污染物的排入对水体产生了严重影响,造成水体重污染。     

河南省五城市环境空气PM_(10)手工标准方法与自动监测法比对分析

在焦作、安阳、开封、三门峡、信阳5个城市开展PM_(10)手工标准方法和自动监测法比对实验,并用相关性和相对偏差对比对结果进行分析和评价。结果表明:12015年5个城市采集的PM_(10)手工和自动监测值均具有良好的相关性。22015年5个城市采集的PM_(10)手工和自动监测值的相对偏差为-19.1%~9.68%;负偏差数据占总数据量的75%。3PM_(10)手工和自动监测值|RD|平均值在中浓度下最小,高浓度下最大,低浓度介于二者之间,说明在高浓度和低浓度时PM_(10)的监测数据质量尤其值得关注。