Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) of landfills—a systemic approach: initial application towards a legal landfill assessment

Assessing landfills in terms of sustainable development (SD) is a difficult task. Landfills might, for example, remain reactive for hundreds or even thousands of years, a fact that conflicts with the fundamental SD principle of inter-generative equity. The Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) is a comprehensive assessment approach that aims at assessing the potential of a system to hinder or support SD from a systemic perspective. In this paper, we present an initial operationalization of this approach for a pragmatic legal landfill assessment and its application to assess two prototypic Swiss landfills as part of a pilot study. Thereby, the six generic criteria of SPA are specified using 18 Functional Key Variables (FKVs), such as “control of pollutant release” or “resilience to intended human impacts.” The first results from the pilot study indicate that SPA and its generic criteria provide a purposeful guiding framework for achieving a systemic and comprehensive SD assessment that seems (i) to be feasible for practical application, (ii) sensitive for relevant SD issues, and (iii) transparent for the addressees of the assessment results.     

A retrospective evaluation of 316(b) mitigation options using a decision analysis framework

Choosing the best 316(b) mitigation option is a daunting task. Decision analysis (DA) provides an objective framework that can be used to choose among several mitigation strategies where there are multiple objectives and numerous uncertainties. This paper has two objectives: (1) to illustrate the use of the DA framework for making a 316(b) decision (using the Chalk Point Power Station as a case study); and (2) to show that DA is also useful for quantifying the benefits of a previous decision. The Chalk Point case, resolved in 1990, centered around the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts of a cooling water intake structure (CWIS) as a result of fish and blue crab losses associated with impingement and entrainment. Barrier nets and fishery enhancement programs were used to mitigate the losses. We compare the costs and benefits of the mitigation options actually employed to those of other options. The costs and benefits were estimated numerically using standard DA methods. Valuations and probabilities were derived largely by professional judgment based upon the original Chalk Point 316(b) studies and ongoing monitoring. DA indicated that the optimal strategy and expected utility were functions of the weighting of environmental benefits relative to cost.     

316(b) and Quad Cities Station,Commonwealth Edison Company

Quad Cities Station is a 1630 MW_e dual reactor facility located on the Upper Mississippi River approximately 30 miles north of Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois. As designed, the Station utilizes river water at the rate of 2270 cfs in an open-cycle mode of operation. From the 316(b) perspective, numerous agencies and intervenors expressed major concern regarding the potential adverse impacts of open-cycle entrainment and impingement effects on the River’s highly valued and diverse fishery. As a result, the fishery has been monitored continuously since 1971 through field surveys directed at measurements of community composition and relative abundance, as well as fish impingement surveys of the Station’s intake. From 1972 to 1983 the Station operated in a closed-cycle or partial closed-cycle mode.Regulatory relief and intervenor approval for open-cycle operation were not granted until 1984, following several years of intensive studies directed at entrainment/impingement and methods to reduce impingement. Beginning in 1978, the freshwater drum was selected as the indicator species most likely to manifest changes in population characteristics potentially resulting from open-cycle operation. Population levels (numbers and biomass), growth, fecundity, sex ratios and survival were all monitored to determine if compensatory responses occurred within the population following increases in impingement under open-cycle operation. Included in the agreement that allowed the return to open-cycle operation was a commitment to construct and operate a fish production facility to mitigate for potential impacts.After 14 years of monitoring under open-cycle operation, there have been no measurable changes in the local fishery and, specifically, none within the freshwater drum population. Naturally occurring environmental conditions have more profound influences on this dynamic and resilient fishery than operation of a large generation facility. Station operation is relatively constant from year to year and impingement monitoring may actually be the most accurate monitoring activity. Fluctuations in annual impingement projections are reflections of conditions within the river and the fishery’s response to them. Increases or decreases in fish numbers impinged at the Station in any given year are primarily due to fluctuations in the fishery and the effects of existing environmental variables and not to Station operation. The fishery fluctuations are reflections of conditions within the river and the fishery’s response to them.     

Assessment of 316(b) impacts on Ohio River fish populations

Cooling water intake systems have the potential to adversely impact aquatic organisms though entrainment and impingement (impacts referenced under 316(b) of the Clean Water Act), yet the loss of individual fish does not necessarily mean that a population will suffer a significant decrease in number. The results of utility sponsored studies on Ohio River fish populations provide strong evidence of positive changes in the fishery due to water quality improvements. Despite these improvements, a simulation is needed to determine if a reduction in 316(b) fish losses would result in higher or similar fish population levels. Electrofishing data collected at seven power plant locations from 1981 to 1998 will be used for the population assessments. Potential 316(b) impacts on Ohio River fish populations will be modeled using site specific 316(b) data and a Leslie matrix model. The theoretical maximum population for various fish species, with and without 316(b) impacts, will be compared and the probabilistic risk that fish populations will fall below the threshold for species survival will be assessed. Historically, EPA has allowed 316(b) to be implemented on a case-by-case basis, however, the utilities believe that the first step in assessing potential adverse environmental impacts is to assess the condition of the affected fish populations.     

Multiattribute utility analysis for addressing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act

We believe that the fundamental issues associated with implementing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act are whether or not it requires a balancing of objectives and if it does, how that balancing should be done. If balancing is required, we recommend the use of multiattribute utility analysis (MUA). MUA is a formal, analytic approach for evaluating and comparing options for decisions with multiple objectives. It differentiates the two types of judgments needed for public policy decisions: (1) value judgments, which indicate what people want to happen as the result of a decision and their willingness to make tradeoffs, and (2) scientific judgments, which indicate what scientists or other technical specialists think is likely to happen based on the option that is chosen. MUA provides an approach for deciding what is an ‘adverse environmental impact’ and what is ‘best technology available’ based on site-specific considerations that can be consistently applied to all cooling water intakes. To illustrate the first step of a collaborative MUA process, we present a preliminary hierarchy of objectives constructed during a 1-day meeting held with regulators, electric utilities, and environmental groups to address the renewal of SPDES permits for four power plants operating on the Hudson River.     

Potential impacts of 316(b) regulatory controls: on economics,electricity reliability,and the environment

Nearly half of the utility-owned steam electric generating capacity in the United States is cooled by once-through cooling systems. These plants withdraw cooling water primarily from surface water bodies. Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. At present, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet promulgated implementing regulations governing intake structures; however, the agency is required by a Consent Decree to develop such regulations. EPA has introduced several draft tiered regulatory framework approaches that, depending on site-specific factors, may impose various regulatory burdens on affected utilities. Potential new requirements could range from compiling and submitting existing data to demonstrate that existing conditions at each unit represent BTA to retrofitting plants with closed-cycle cooling systems (primarily cooling towers). If the final regulations require installation of cooling towers or implementation of other costly plant modifications, utilities may elect to close some generating units rather than invest the funds necessary to upgrade them to meet the Section 316(b) requirements. Potentially, some regions of the country may then have a higher proportion of closed units than others. This may raise concerns over the reliability of electricity supply in those regions. If a significant number of plants are converted from once-through cooling systems to cooling towers, the environment will face secondary adverse impacts, such as additional fuel usage, air emissions, and water evaporation, and utilities will need to construct additional generating capacity. This paper describes a study that Argonne National Laboratory had proposed to conduct for the US Department of Energy to explore some of the potential outcomes of EPA’s Section 316(b) regulatory process and associated effects on economics, electricity supply reliability, and the environment.     

Evaluation of multi-metric bioassessment as an approach for assessing impacts of entrainment and impingement under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act

Over the past two decades, biological assessment has been widely adopted as a tool for comprehensive monitoring of ambient water quality, and increasingly it is used for management and regulation. Presently, biocriteria are central to the pre-decisional draft regulatory framework the US Environmental Protection Agency is developing under a consent decree to implement Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. With the increasing integration of multi-metric bioassessment and biocriteria into environmental regulation, it becomes important to critically review the performance of the methods to ensure they are robust and reliable tools for determining water body impairment. This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to bioassessment, focusing on issues that derive from recent advances in theoretical and applied ecology. Two critically important insights into the structure and function of ecosystems are: (1) the dynamic character of ecosystems; and (2) the significance of context and scale. Ecological dynamics produce spatio-temporal variability, which presents significant challenges to the development of biological criteria. This challenge is highlighted by the large percentage of sites potentially affected by arbitrary decisions sometimes made in setting biocriteria thresholds. Multi-metric bioassessment has not taken adequate account of the multi-scaled nature of ecological systems. Consideration of spatial scale will be especially important as multi-metric bioassessment methods originally developed in streams are adapted to larger, more open systems such as large rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, and for regulation of cooling water intake structures.     

铁锰复合氧化物吸附去除五价锑性能研究

对比研究了铁锰复合氧化物(FMBO)、羟基氧化铁(FeOOH)和二氧化锰(MnO₂)吸附去除五价锑(Sb(V))的性能.结果表明FMBO对Sb(V)具有很好的吸附性能,在pH=5.0的条件下,最大吸附容量达到1.05 mmol·g^-1,略高于FeOOH (0.82 mmol·g^-1)及远高于MnO₂ (0.43 mmol·g^-1);采用Freundlich模型可以很好地描述Sb(V)在FMBO的吸附行为(R² = 0.98).就吸附动力学而言,假二级动力学可很好地描述Sb(V)在FMBO (R² = 0.93)和MnO₂表面的吸附过程(R² = 0.96),而Sb(V)在FeOOH表面的吸附过程可用Elovich模型拟合 (R² = 0.94).Sb(V)的吸附量随着pH值的升高而降低;磷酸盐显著抑制了Sb(V)的吸附,而硫酸盐和碳酸盐影响不大.提高体系离子强度可促进Sb(V)在FMBO表面的吸附,推断Sb(V)在FMBO表面形成内层络合物后被吸附去除.     

Screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup: a case study

A screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup has been carried out. The purpose was to identify ‘hot-spots', that is parts of the life-cycle that are important to the total environmental impact. The system investigated includes agricultural production, industrial refining, packaging, transportation, consumption and waste management. Energy use and emissions were quantified and some of the potential environmental effects assessed. Packaging and food processing were found to be hot-spots for many, but not all, of the impact categories investigated. For primary energy use, the storage time in a refrigerator (household phase) was found to be a critical parameter.     

Safer alternatives assessment: the Massachusetts process as a model for state governments

In 2006 the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute conducted a study to determine if states could identify safer alternatives to five chemicals of concern. The chemicals investigated included di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium, lead and perchloroethylene. First, the Institute developed a methodology for assessing alternatives to these five chemicals that allowed it to quickly determine priority uses and alternatives to assess and to research the pertinent decision criteria, which included performance, technical, financial environmental and human health parameters. The methodology included important feedback from stakeholders in the state, which helped to focus and enhance the value of the work. Second, the Institute implemented the methodology over a ten month period. Based on the activities conducted by the Institute, safer alternatives were identified for each of the priority uses associated with the five chemicals studied. This report summarizes the methodology employed and provides examples of the results for one of the five chemicals, namely DEHP. The experience of the Institute and the information contained in this report indicates that alternatives assessment was a useful approach to organizing and evaluating information about chemicals and alternatives.     

Regional efforts to mitigate climate change in China: a multi-criteria assessment approach

The task of mitigating climate change is usually allocated through administrative regions in China. In order to put pressure on regions that perform poorly in mitigating climate changes and highlight regions with best-practice climate policies, this study explored a method to assess regional efforts on climate change mitigation at the sub-national level. A climate change mitigation index (CCMI) was developed with 15 objective indicators, which were divided into four categories, namely, emissions, efficiency, non-fossil energy, and climate policy. The indicators’ current level and recent development were measured for the first three categories. The index was applied to assess China’s provincial performance in climate protection based on the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Empirical results show that the middle Yangtze River area and southern coastal area perform better than other areas in mitigating climate change. The average performance of the northwest area in China is the worst. In addition, climate change mitigation performance has a negative linear correlation with energy self-sufficiency ratio but does not have a significant linear correlation with social development level. Therefore, regional resource endowments had better be paid much more attention in terms of mitigating climate change because regions with good resource endowments in China tend to perform poorly.     

A multiple-criteria environmental impact assessment for the plastic injection molding process: a methodology

This paper proposes a multiple-criteria methodology for evaluating environmental impacts in the plastic injection molding process (PIMP) and incorporates the findings of an empirical study conducted in Hong Kong. The paper identifies and explains various indicators of environmental impact assessment and establishes a multiple-criteria rating matrix. It then elaborates on the implementation of a pilot program and discusses the relevance of the methodology inside and outside of the work environment. Results show that the methodology provides manufacturers with a feasible means to assess their environmental performance and perform benchmarking analysis. The methodology can also be modified and applied in different industry sectors.     

Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) of landfills – a systemic approach: theoretical considerations

Implementing sustainable development (SD) requires operationalizing this rather vague guiding principle in a socio-technological context. This paper refers to a notion of SD that stresses approaching SD from a systemic perspective. We first present the Function-Structure-Context Framework to appraise if and how systemic characteristics are considered in assessments. The latter framework includes a functional, structural, and contextual dimension, as well as the interdependencies of these dimensions. We then analyze four currently applied landfill assessment methods with respect to this framework: i.e., MCEA (Modified Cost Effectiveness Analysis), LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), RA (Risk Assessment), and TVA (Swiss Technical Ordinance Waste). With respect to the analyzed methods, we can reveal that each of them focuses on specific systemic dimensions in its assessment step, whereas none refers to the whole range of dimensions and interdependencies of the framework presented. We then propose the so-called Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) as an alternative comprehensive SD assessment approach, which has the potential to integrate the results of the other methods for achieving a systemic SD assessment.     

Contexualising the tool development process through a knowledge brokering approach: The case of climate change adaptation and agriculture

This article applies a ‘knowledge brokering’ approach to contextualise the development of an integrated computer modelling tool into the real world policy context of adaptation of agriculture to climate change at the EU level. In particular, the article tests a number of knowledge brokering strategies described and theorised in the literature, but seldom empirically tested. The article finds that while the policy context can be used to identify a theoretically informed knowledge brokering strategy, in practice a strategy's ‘success’ is more informed by practical considerations, such as whether the tool development process is knowledge or demand driven. In addition, in practice the knowledge brokering process is found to be dynamic and messy, which is not always apparent in the literature. The article goes on to question the perception that there is always a need (or a desire) to bridge the gap between researchers and policy makers in the tool development process. Rather than a problem of design and communication, the science policy interface may be characterised more by a high level of competition between researchers and research organisations to have their tool legitimised by its use in the policy making process.     

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR): biometric and Doppler assessment

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a common complication in pregnancy and influences morbidity and mortality at all stages of life. Historically, the management of IUGR has been dependent on antenatal biophysical testing and umbilical artery Doppler studies. With recent Doppler studies of the fetal central circulation, including intracardiac flows and the ductus venosus, better timing of delivery to minimize morbidity may be possible. This review will provide the reader with tools to diagnose IUGR, more accurately date the IUGR pregnancy with poor dating criteria, and better assess the condition of the IUGR fetus. A brief review of animal models of IUGR is presented to demonstrate research directions for answering human clinical questions and potentially carrying therapeutic intervention from the bench to the bedside. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustainability assessment of a farm in the Chianti area (Italy)

In the study of agricultural systems, where land fertility and environmental conditions are primary factors, it is essential to consider both the efficiency and the environmental sustainability of processes. Emergy analysis, introduced by H.T. Odum [Science 242 (1988) 1132], is an approach developed at the interface between thermodynamics systems ecology. It was here used to obtain sustainability indicators and to assess the efficiency of a complex agricultural system, a farm in the Chianti area.The results for different crops were compared with Italian averages to obtain an idea of the long-term sustainability of this agricultural system. The cultivation of all the crops on the farm, except grapes, was more efficient and had less impact on the environment than the Italian standards. The Chianti grapes were compared not only with the Italian average but also with grapes of similar high quality, ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ and ‘Nobile di Montepulciano’, both grown in the same region. The production of grapes in the Chianti vineyard was more efficient and had an intermediate environmental impact, in the emergy sense, with respect to the other two systems.The proportion of emergy inputs to the farm that are local or renewable is quite high. Thus the emergy analysis demonstrated that the Chianti farm has a relatively good long-term sustainability considering both the whole system, and its individual crops.     

蚌埠市臭氧污染评价及一次持续性污染过程分析

利用2015年1月—2018年12月近4年的国控点大气污染物监测数据和同期气象观测数据,分析评价了蚌埠市近地面O_3污染的变化趋势及特征,并结合HYSPLIT后向气流轨迹模式及中尺度天气和预报模式(WRF-Chem)模拟预报结果,探讨了一次持续性O_3污染过程中,其他污染物、气象因素及外来传输对近地面O_3浓度的影响.同时,结合蚌埠市2015—2017年环境统计数据,分析了本地污染物排放对本地生成O_3的影响.结果表明:2015—2018年,蚌埠市近地面O_3-8 h第90百分位数由128μg·m~(-3)增长至177μg·m~(-3),呈逐年上升趋势;O_3-8 h超标率由2.28%增长至18.88%,以O_3为首要污染物的污染天数占全年污染天数的百分比由4.08%增长至50.83%,O_3成为影响蚌埠市环境空气质量的主要污染物之一.O_3污染过程期间,蚌埠市近地面以1～3 m·s~(-1)小风为主,O_3在NNW、E、SE、SSE、S方向超标较为明显.在京津冀及周边区域、长三角的中北部区域出现O_3连片污染的情况下,蚌埠市地面受偏东风、东南风和西北风影响,存在较为明显的外来污染传输过程.2015—2017年,蚌埠市工业企业数量由420家减少至257家,区域废气污染物中氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘和挥发性有机物排放量均大幅减少;机动车净增10.78万辆,机动车源排放在区域污染物排放总量中占比较大,且有逐年增加的趋势.由此可见,区域性的O_3污染及前体物输送是蚌埠市近年来O_3污染持续恶化的最主要原因,而在本地污染物(含前体物)排放量明显减少的情况下,本地机动车源排放量所占比例快速攀升,为本地O_3生成提供了大量前体物.今后,蚌埠市在O_3污染管控工作中应格外关注外源性、事件性的O_3污染及前体物输入,同时还应考虑控制本地机动车规模的快速增长.