Human health risk assessment of lead,manganese and copper from scrapped car paint dust from automobile workshops in Nigeria

The economic downturn in Nigeria and Structural Adjustment Programme led to the flooding of Nigerian market with imported used automobiles. Most of these vehicles needed refurbishing and reworking. The present study is a human health risk assessment of metal exposure resulting from reworking of imported used vehicles in Nigeria. Scrap paint dusts from 56 Japanese made cars were collected from 8 different mechanic villages (workshops A–H] in Southeastern Nigeria. Scrap paints were homogenized, mixed, divided into fine particles and digested by standard method. The filtrates were assayed of lead, manganese and copper with atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Workshop B has the highest concentration of Pb (4.26 ± 0.93). Manganese in workshops A and F were (3.31 ± 0.85) and (3.04 ± 0.47) respectively and were higher than the levels from workshops C, B, D, G and H. Copper in workshop D (7.11 ± 0.21) was significantly greater than the other workshops. The highest hazard quotient (HQ) through ingestion, inhalation and dermal exposures in adults were 9.44E−05 (workshop B), 4.20E−01 (workshop B) and 1.08E−05 (workshop D) respectively. The highest values for HQ through ingestion, inhalation and dermal in children were 8.82E−04, 7.61E−01 and 2.86E−05 all in workshop B respectively. For children, the highest carcinogenic risk levels were 7.05E−08, 6.09E−05 and 2.29E−10 for ingestion, inhalation and dermal exposures respectively. In adults, the carcinogenic risk levels were 7.55E−09, 3.39E−05 and 8.67E−10 for ingestion, inhalation and dermal exposures respectively. Chronic exposure to scrap car paint dusts may be of significant public health importance in Nigeria as this may add to the body burden of some heavy metals.

     

Challenges of linking scientific knowledge to river basin management policy: AquaTerra as a case study

The EU Project AquaTerra generates knowledge about the river-soil-sediment-groundwater system and delivers scientific information of value for river basin management. In this article, the use and ignorance of scientific knowledge in decision making is explored by a theoretical review. We elaborate on the 'two-communities theory', which explains the problems of the policy-science interface by relating and comparing the different cultures, contexts, and languages of researchers and policy makers. Within AquaTerra, the EUPOL subproject examines the policy-science interface with the aim of achieving a good connection between the scientific output of the project and EU policies. We have found two major barriers, namely language and resources, as well as two types of relevant relationships: those between different research communities and those between researchers and policy makers.     

Emerging contaminants migration from pipes used in drinking water distribution systems: a review of the scientific literature

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Migration of emerging contaminants (ECs) from pipes into water is a global concern due to potential human health effects. Nevertheless, a review of...     

Seveso: from pollution to regulation

The first part of the paper analyses the Seveso accident, which occurred in 1976 in northern Italy. It focuses mainly on sociological and organisational aspects, pointing to the lack of preparation and the improvisation in response from the company and the public authorities. Despite such inadequacies and despite all suffering, community recovery was finally accomplished. Yet, to some extent, this local success in recovery was achieved by exporting part of the problem. In this sense Seveso is representative of high technology industry, where successful consumer satisfaction has so far been sustained by the 'externalising' of its environmental costs and also social problems. The second part of the paper analyses and discusses the 'Seveso Directive', whose approval was accelerated by the Seveso accident. This establishes European legislation on major accident hazards, of which an essential feature is publicity about industrial operations.     

Himalayan alpine ecohydrology: An urgent scientific concern in a changing climate

Climate change is projected to have important impacts on snow and vegetation distribution in global mountains. Despite this, the coupling of ecological shifts and hydrological processes within alpine zones has not attracted significant scientific attention. As the largest and one of the most climatically sensitive mountain systems, we argue that Himalayan alpine ecohydrological processes require urgent scientific attention because up to 1.6 billion people rely on water supplies from the mountains. We review studies from global mountain systems to highlight the importance of considering ecohydrological impacts within Himalayan alpine zones (4100–6000 m.a.s.l), explaining mechanisms for interactions between snow and dwarf plants. Our findings highlight the paucity of monitoring stations within Himalayan alpine systems. We suggest that it is likely that alpine ecological shifts will impact hydrological processes, but we found that specific mechanisms and functional relationships are missing for Himalayan systems, so the strength and direction of ecohydrological relationships is currently unknown. We advocate for more purposeful and widespread monitoring efforts below glaciers and above the treeline, calling for new experiments to query the role of small plants within the Himalayan alpine hydrological system. We outline the need for community engagement with alpine ecohydrological experiments, and we explain how new snow and vegetation products derived from remote sensing observations have the potential to improve scientific understanding of the interacting effects of warming and ecohydrological factors in this sensitive region.     

Convergences and divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge contribute to inform carnivore conservation

There is increasing recognition that diverse knowledge systems can work in mutually enriching ways and that Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can enhance biodiversity conservation. However, studies using scientific knowledge and ILK in a complementary manner, and acknowledging convergent and especially divergent insights have remained limited. In this study, we contrasted proxies of abundances and trends of threatened and conflict-prone carnivores (caracal, cheetah, jackal, lion, leopard, spotted hyaena, striped hyaena) derived separately from scientific knowledge and ILK. We conducted camera trapping, track surveys and semi-structured interviews with local pastoralists from northern Kenya. We found convergences highlighting the need for conservation action and divergences suggesting scientific ecological sampling limitations or underlying socio-psychological phenomena. Overall, our study shows that complementing scientific knowledge and ILK as separate sources of information and opening up space for discrepancies can enrich our understanding of the status and trends of carnivores, as well as recognizing human-carnivore relationships.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01443-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

环境保护科技进步贡献率的测算方法及预测研究

以单位产值排污当量为目标函数，人力资本、环保投入、政策影响为投入变量，运用科技进步计量测算模型，对江苏省1980～2000年科技进步在控制环境污染中的贡献份额进行定量分析，并据此对“十五”期间科技进步贡献率进行预测。     

生态修复:从民事法律责任到行政法律义务

生态修复是救济生态环境损害的方式,或体现为民事法律责任,或体现为行政法律义务.作为民事法律责任的生态修复体现了以环境权为权源通过民事法律规范以司法途径救济生态环境损害的救济方式,作为行政法律义务的生态修复体现了"行政命令+行政处罚+代履行"的生态环境损害救济方式.将生态修复作为民事法律责任是目前的主流做法,但将生态修复...     

Use of scientific inputs for environmental policymaking: the RAINS model and the Sulfur Protocols

This article discusses the use of Integrated Assessment Models for supporting the decision-making process in environmental issues. In particular, we discuss the case of sulphur emissions and the RAINS model, used in the process of negotiation of the Oslo Protocol (signed in June 1994), in relation to new targets for sulphur emissions reductions. To illustrate how scientific tools are not simply 'neutral' we discuss the particular case of Spain during the international negotiations leading to the final Protocol. The use of models as providers of scientific inputs for policy processes has grown during recent years. They are an aid to the policy-makers who may not know in depth all the issues on which they have the responsibility of taking decisions. We argue that these tools may indeed be helpful in their technical contribution but they can also have unrecognized consequences, depending on the way in which they are used in the policy-making process. They can also be used as a means to export cultural and technological patterns to late-comers from pioneer countries in the field of environmental policy. We conclude by proposing the post-normal science approach to deal with the complexity of environmental issues and to design more effective methods for policy formation.