Balancing environmental and industry sustainability: A case study of the US gold mining industry

Mandatory insurance requirements and/or mitigation fees (royalties) for mining companies may help reduce environmental risk exposure for the federal government. Mining is examined since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory reveals that this sector produces more hazardous waste than any other industrial sector. Although uncommon, environmental expense can exceed hundreds of millions of dollars per development. Of particular concern is the potential for mines to become unfunded Superfund sites. Monte Carlo simulation of risk exposure is used to establish a plausible range of unfunded federal liabilities associated with cyanide-leach gold mining. A model is developed to assess these costs and their impact on both the federal budget and corporate profitability (i.e., industry sustainability), particularly if such costs are borne by offending firms.     

Binational management of hazardous waste: The maquiladora industry at the US-Mexico border

Foreign-owned industry in the form of assembly plants, termed maquiladora, has become very important in Mexico to the extent that it represents the second largest source of foreign exchange and is a valuable source for employment and regional development. The economic prosperity gained from the rapid growth of the maquiladora industry has been accompanied by increased environmental and human health risks associated with generation of hazardous waste. Diversification of industry has resulted in the predomination of those sectors that likely use hazardous substances. The Mexicali-Calexico border region was selected to demonstrate the potential for environmental and health risks associated with the generation of hazardous waste. Estimates for the generation of hazardous waste were obtained from 34 maquiladora plants in Mexicali, represented by the electronic and electrical equipment and parts, mechanical and transportation equipment, and toys and sporting equipment sectors. Repeated detection of volatile organic compounds in the New River at the US-Mexico border suggests that hazardous waste from the printed circuit board industry in Mexicali is not being disposed of in a proper manner. Potential adverse health effects, such as carcinogenic and mutagenic responses associated with the detected volatiles, are discussed. US and Mexico national legislation and the Binational Environmental Agreement were examined for their adequacy to ensure proper management of hazardous waste generated by the maquiladora industry. Environmental policy options are presented that focus on: (1) increased environmental accountability of US parent companies for their maquiladora assembly plants in Mexico; and (2) more integration between US Customs and border states with the US Environmental Protection Agency to improve the binational management of hazardous waste generated by the maquiladora industry.     

The impact of ISO 14001 on corporate environmental performance: a study of Swedish manufacturing firms

The debate concerning the environmental effectiveness of environmental management systems (EMS) based on ISO 14001 is still open and scholars have called for further studies that can explain the contrasting evidence in previous research. As a response, this study aims to contribute knowledge about the effects of ISO 14001-based EMS by presenting fact-based environmental data. The study focuses on changes in performance over a period of 12 years and includes both firms with an EMS (66 firms) and firms without one (50 firms). Consideration is given to the improvement efforts in the firms before EMS adoption making it possible to neutralize any selection effects where better environmental performance precedes ISO 14001 adoption. Analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for six different environmental areas. No statistically significant differences between certified and non-certified firms concerning the change in the rate of improvement could be found in any of the six areas. However, it can be suspected that EMS adoption has positive effects on energy use and waste production whereas the non-adopting firms seem to perform better concerning air emissions. These mixed results mirrors previous research, which is rather worrying considering the worldwide popularity of EMS based on ISO 14001 in industry.     

Chemical Warfare Materiel: Unique Regulatory Issues

In those states that have not included CWM as hazardous materials in their RCRA programs, the RCRA requirements for management of hazardous waste would not strictly apply to any of the CWM. The Army has historically implemented procedures requiring that chemical warfare agents be managed as RCRA hazardous waste regardless of the concentration, physical form, or configuration of the agent. Such application of strict hazardous waste requirements to management of potentially nonhazardous CWM can result in remedial costs well out of proportion to potential human health and environmental benefits. Recent development of chronic toxicity values for the CWM has opened the door for development of cleanup and waste management standards for waste streams or media containing small residual amounts of CWM. Implementation of this health-based approach to management of CWM remediation wastes may, in part, help to reduce potentially unnecessary hazardous waste management costs for the nonhazardous CWM.     

Green shipping practices in the shipping industry: Conceptualization, adoption, and implications

There have been increasing concerns about the adverse impacts on the environment caused by cargo movement in international trade. Different stakeholders ranging from shippers and carriers to government bodies and international communities have expressed worries about the environmental impacts brought by shipping related activities. The pollution and waste created in the shipping processes have imposed environmental burdens and accelerated resource depletion. The situation is set to worsen in the face of intensifying trade globalization, which has contributed to sustained growth in international shipping activities. To help protect the environment, many shipping firms have taken the initiative to find ways to lessen the environmental damage of their operations while enhancing their performance. The objective of this study is to examine the environmental awareness and the environmental measures taken in the shipping industry. We propose a conceptual framework for evaluating green shipping practices and develop several propositions stating the conditions under which shipping firms would behave in an environmentally responsible manner. We conclude with managerial and policy implications of the conceptual framework to promote green shipping practices in the shipping industry.     

“十四五”时期危险废物污染防治思路探讨

"十三五"时期,我国环境质量改善和生态文明建设取得显著进展,"十四五"时期生态环境保护面临的形势和任务仍然严峻艰巨,亟须正确识别当前的环境形势以及未来的重大环境问题,制定针对性的规划。本文概述了"十三五"期间我国危险废物污染防治取得的进展和成效,并分析了当前危险废物环境风险防控面临的废物产生量大且持续增加、环境风险高、利用处置短板凸显、综合利用风险防控不足等突出问题,从制度优化、科学管理和技术支撑等重点任务、重大工程方面,提出"十四五"环境保护危险废物污染防治规划思路,为编制"十四五"危险废物污染防治规划提供参考。     

Regional planning acceptance by residents of Northern New York,USA

This study compares the effectiveness of two regional planning agencies in terms of public support for various planning activities. The Adirondack Park Agency and the Temporary State Commission on Tug Hill have fundamentally different approaches to planning. The Adirondack Park Agency has implemented a restrictive regulatory program with little citizen participation by Adirondack residents. The Tug Hill Commission has implemented an advisory and coordinating program with an emphasis on public input. Residents of two towns in each region were surveyed to determine environmental concern and support for regional planning activities. Respondents from both regions favored a planning agency that incorporates citizen input; controls air, water, and toxic waste pollution; and develops recreation areas. They strongly opposed an agency that regulates private land-use. Basic demographic characteristics and levels of environmental concern were similar in all four towns, but receptivity to various planning activities was consistently greater among residents of the Tug Hill Region. Paired comparisons of the four towns demonstrated no differences between towns of the same region and significant differences between towns of different regions. Public support for regional planning is greater in the Tug Hill Region than in the Adirondack Park.     

Environmental performance indicators: an empirical study of Canadian manufacturing firms

The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the importance of measurement and use of environmental performance indicators (EPIs) within manufacturing firms. Two research questions are investigated: (i) To what extent are firm characteristics associated with the importance of measurement of various categories of EPIs? (ii) To what extent are firm characteristics associated with global and specific uses of EPIs? More specifically, this paper examines four uses of EPIs (i.e. to monitor compliance, to motivate continuous improvement, to support decision making, and to provide data for external reporting) as well as four characteristics of firms, namely environmental strategy, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 compliance, size, and ownership. This study contributes to the environmental management accounting literature by collecting and analyzing empirical evidence that provides a better understanding of the associations among firm characteristics and EPIs.     

A case study of intra-community conflict as facility impact

Through a qualitative case study, this paper describes the everyday experience of conflict as a serious impact of noxious facilities. It describes intra-community conflict over two existing waste facilities (a regional landfill and a low-level hazardous waste facility) in Ryley, Alberta, Canada. Twenty-seven in-depth face-to-face interviews and one focus group reveal deep conflict presented as frustration, anger, social isolation and strained social relations between locals who ‘support’ the facilities as a means of bolstering the local economy and those who do not (mainly long-time resident farmers). Although the type of hazard exposure (i.e. existing facilities) is important for explaining why conflict developed and became entrenched, it is argued that the nature of community, and in particular differences in ways of life, are also critical determinants. The findings are compared to theory and other case studies concerning why social conflict develops over technological hazards. Implications for environmental impact assessment and environmental appeals are discussed, as well as compensation as one avenue for equitably reducing conflict.     

Animal Burrowing Attributes Affecting Hazardous Waste Management

/ Animal burrowing is critical to the formation of soils and contributes to the interface between geological materials and organic life. It also influences the management of hazardous materials at nuclear waste facilities and elsewhere. For example, residues and waste products from the production of nuclear weapons are released onto the ground surface and within engineered burial structures. Soil bioturbation has exposed radionuclides and other hazardous materials to wind and rain, thereby risking inhalation and injury to humans and wildlife on and off site. Soil bioturbation can expand soil depths and spatial distributions of the source term of hazardous waste, potentially increasing chronic exposures to wildlife and humans over the long term. Ample evidence indicates that some of the large quantities of hazardous materials around the world have been released from soil repositories, where they have also contaminated and harmed biota. Key burrowing parameters influencing these outcomes include the catalog of resident species, and their abundance, typical burrow volumes (void space created by soil displacement), burrow depth profiles, maximum depth of excavation, constituents and structural qualities of excavated soil mounds, and proportion of the ground covered by excavated soil. Other important parameters include rate of mound construction, depth of den chambers, and volume of burrow backfill. Soil bioturbation compromised the integrity of some hazardous waste management systems using soil, but the environmental impact remains largely unknown. Designers and operators of waste management facilities, as well as risk assessors, need to understand how burrowing animals influence hazardous waste storage.KEY WORDS: Burrowing; Environmental impact; Radioactivity; Risk; Soil bioturbation; Hazardous waste     

Environmental accounting for waste management: A study of local governments in Australia

Local governments in Australia, especially in large urban areas, have faced a challenge of the growing quantity of waste generated and the diminishing space for waste disposal in recent years. The central government has demonstrated the importance of developing strategies to make full environmental costs and impacts of waste disposal and material recovery accountable for waste management decision-making. However, research into this field is limited. This paper investigates environmental accounting practices in local government waste management. From a survey conducted with local government authorities in New South Wales (NSW) Australia, it is found that overall the level of direct waste flow and activity accounting is higher than the level of hidden and external environmental cost accounting, though local governments tend to identify and use more physical information associated with waste flows and activities than relevant monetary information. External environmental impacts of waste disposal are often overlooked and show the lowest level of practices. The survey results also indicate that urban local governments have taken more environmental information into account than rural local governments, but such difference is not significant between local governments of different sizes. The complexity of waste technical services and operations is confirmed to have a positive and significant effect on the level of environmental accounting for waste management across local governments surveyed.     

Restoration,stewardship, environmental health,and policy: understanding stakeholders' perceptions

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the health of humans and the environment, restoration of contaminated or otherwise degraded lands, and in long-term stewardship of public lands. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether governmental agencies and the public hold similar views about the meanings of these concepts, making policy decisions about restoration and stewardship difficult. In this paper, I explore how the public conceptualizes restoration and stewardship by examining the relative rating of several attributes of restoration, stewardship, environmental health, ecological health, environmental restoration, and ecological restoration. People were interviewed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, near the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. The ratings of attributes of environmental health and ecological health reported in this paper can be used to understand how the public understands these concepts. The attributes rated most highly by the subjects were more similar to definitions in the scientific literature for these terms than they were to those used by the Department of Energy. For environmental health, the highest rating related to human sanitation, while for ecological health the highest rating was for maintaining functioning ecosystems. Reduction of exposure to hazardous substances was rated the second highest for both environmental and ecological health. The wise use of natural resources, preservation of natural resources, and hazardous waste site cleanup were rated the highest attributes of stewardship. These data suggest that both expert and nonexpert perceptions about restoration and stewardship should be incorporated into environmental management decisions.     

发达国家和地区危险废物名录管理实践

危险废物名录制度是危险废物环境管理的基础。2016年6月14日,环境保护部、国家发改委、公安部联合公布了《国家危险废物名录》(2016年版),对2008年版危险废物名录进行了调整。本文介绍了主要发达国家和地区危险废物名录制度的基本情况,对其优缺点进行了对比分析,以期为更好的理解新版危险废物名录提供参考。主要发达国家和地区的危险废物名录管理体系具有以下优点:一是完善的危险废物豁免排除制度加强了企业和管理部门的责任意识。二是危险废物和一般固体废物共享分类体系便于对废物的统筹管理,废物代码内容翔实,增加了名录的可操作性。三是基于不同处理责任主体进行分类,避免了名录方式或列举方式造成的"漏分"现象。四是根据环境风险实行分级管理,重点突出。同时存在几点不足:一是鉴别程序繁琐,降低了危险废物处置效率;二是存在部分行业产生的废物遗漏、同类危险废物分类过细等问题;三是部分国家危险废物分类过于笼统,不利于企业对危险废物种类及属性的识别。     

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EVALUATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL IN LAND1

Since the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 there has been a rapidly growing public concern over widespread contamination of the environment with hazardous wastes. In recent years scientific findings on the ecological effects of various hazardous substances have posed several important questions. What exactly are hazardous wastes? Can these substances be disposed of in a technically feasible, economical, and safe way with assurance that they have been permanently eliminated from the ecosystem? What compositional alterations or movements of the hazardous wastes occur in water, soil, or air systems? What effect will these wastes have on the water, soil, or air systems? What effect will these wastes have on the water, soil, or air properties? Consequently, a University of Louisville study has developed a relevant definition of hazardous wastes for the Environmental Engineering profession together with priority of concern rating systems to delineate the degree of environmental impact imposed on a total ecosystem by a hazardous waste and the feasibility of disposing of hazardous substances at specific landfill sites. It is felt that refinements of the priority of concern rating systems offered here may provide a sound basis from which procedural decisions may be structured to establish future national hazardous waste disposal sites.     

A Paradigm of International Environmental Law: The Case for Controlling the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of “acceptable” waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community—and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.     

Failing to Site Hazardous Waste Facilities Voluntarily: Implications for the Production of Sustainable Goods

A current approach to the process of siting hazardous waste facilities is to seek 'willing host' communities that will not oppose but rather voluntarily accept risky facilities. Voluntary siting strategies have been put forward as the solution to hazardous waste location problems, and there have indeed been a small number of siting successes achieved voluntarily. This paper argues that, despite claims about voluntary processes, there are indications that few 'willing host' sites will be found in response to the many that are proposed. Instead, it suggests that the limited success of siting attempts, voluntary or otherwise, signals a new phase in hazardous waste management, a shift in focus from where to site a facility to whether a good is worth producing at all if its wastes are not siteable. A characteristic of this phase is the growing influence that the disposal potential of the generated waste can have on future management decisions to produce a good. In practice, siting failure may be one of the critical turning points on the road to sustainable production. It can accomplish what technology and environmental assessments have generally been unable to do: foresee the sustainability of a good. In this way, siteability can be seen as one indicator of sustainable production. A good can be considered sustainable if the wastes associated with its production are siteable.     

基于物联网的杭州市危险废物智能监管平台设计与应用

为满足危险废物监管各种业务管理工作的需求,开展物联网技术在危险废物产生、转移、处置等过程中应用的研究,设计基于物联网技术的危险废物智能监管平台,建成由管理部门门户、产废单位门户、运输单位门户、处置单位门户等四大门户统领,危废监督管理系统、电子联单系统、GIS监控管理系统、污泥刷卡转运管理系统、危废视频监控系统、固废超市管理系统等六大系统组建的统一管理平台,在传统管理模式的基础上,以业务需求结合先进的物联网、移动互联、二维码、NFC、GPS等技术,创新性地形成"移动端电子联单模式、GPRS监管预警模式、IC卡刷卡转运模式、固废超市微循环管理模式"四大管理模式,实现涉危单位内部微循环管理,转运过程多手段监控,让危险废物从最初产生到最终处置的全过程业务流程呈现精细化、实时化的全闭环管理,实现对危险废物从"摇篮"到"坟墓"的全过程跟踪,并以此为基础建立一支业务处理迅速、信息统计分析及时、办事高效、危废监管全面的信息化管理队伍,为环保部门真实、细致、及时、动态地掌握危险废物的转移情况提供技术手段,为领导决策提供辅助支持。     

Comparative assessment of solar photovoltaic panels based on metal-derived hazardous waste,resource depletion,and toxicity potentials

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells are used to resolve energy security and climate change problems. Although PV panels have long physical lifetimes, they would be eventually replaced by new ones with higher energy efficiency and then changed to waste. Depending on the types of PV cells, waste PV panels have different environmental impact potentials due to different contents of substances. This study assesses and compares hazardous waste, resource depletion, and toxicity potentials from metals in three types of PV modules (i.e., polycrystalline silicon (Si), amorphous Si, and CIGS (copper/indium/gallium/di-selenite) PVs) on per-watt electricity generation basis. Hazardous waste potentials are examined by using metal leachability tests, and resource depletion and toxicity potentials are evaluated by using life cycle impact assessment methods. The polycrystalline Si and CIGS PVs have hazardous waste potentials due to lead (Pb) and cadmium/selenium, respectively, whereas the amorphous Si PV does not. The polycrystalline Si PV has the highest resource depletion potential due primarily to silver; the CIGS PV has the next highest due primarily to selenium; and the amorphous Si PV had the lowest, which is derived primarily from tin and copper. For toxicity potentials, overall the amorphous Si PV had lower potentials, derived primarily from barium/copper/nickel/zinc, than the polycrystalline Si and CIGS PVs of which the toxicity potentials were primarily form copper/lead/nickel/silver and copper/mercury/molybdenum/nickel/silver, respectively. Therefore, waste polycrystalline Si and CIGS PV panels should be recycled and managed with priority, and PV technology development needs to be directed to amorphous Si PV from the material perspective.     

Implications of environmental program planning for siting a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain,Nevada, USA

The US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to conduct site characterization studies at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine if the location is a suitable site for a nuclear waste repository. In lieu of traditional environmental review in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the DOE is relying on an environmental assessment (EA) mandated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 as the cornerstone of its environmental program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Because of statutory restrictions, the EA is not based on comprehensive baseline information. Neither does it address fundamentals of environmental analysis such as ecological integrity and assessment of cumulative impacts. Consequently, the present environmental program for Yucca Mountain reflects decisions made without complete information and integrated environmental review. The shortcomings of the program risk compromising the natural integrity of Yucca Mountain and invalidating future assessment of the ability of a nuclear waste repository located at the site to protect the environment. Significant improvements are needed in the repository siting program before it can serve as a model of how society can evaluate the long-term environmental consequences of advanced technologies, as has been suggested.     

GIS, modeling, and politics: on the tensions of collaborative decision support

A tension exists at the heart of efforts to support collaboration with GIS. Many scholars and practitioners seek to support two separate objectives: (1) problem solving and (2) the exploration of diverse problem understandings. GIS applications designed for problem solving often pre-define the problem space by structuring the kind of information that can be considered or the way in which the problem is conceptualized. In doing so, they necessarily privilege particular perspectives and understandings of the problem while marginalizing others. As a result, these initiatives undermine their second objective. This is problematic in the context of contentious environmental decisions which have broad-reaching impacts on people with diverse perspectives and interests. In such contexts, I argue that equitable collaboration is impossible without first emphasizing the exploration of diverse problem understandings. I support this argument theoretically by turning to the literatures on collaborative planning and spatial decision support, and empirically in my analysis of a case study of an effort to construct a GIS for supporting collaborative water resource management in rural Idaho. Reflecting upon the case, I provide a set of recommendations to those seeking to better negotiate the tensions of supporting collaboration with GIS in the context of contentious environmental and natural resource decisions.