Bioaerosol exposure assessment in the workplace: the past, present and recent advances

Louis Pasteur described the first measurements of airborne microorganisms in 1861. A century later, the inhalation of spores from thermophilic microorganisms was shown to induce attacks of farmers' lung in patients with this disease, while endotoxins originating from Gram-negative bacteria were identified as causal agents for byssinosis in cotton workers. Further epidemiological and toxicological studies have demonstrated inflammatory, respiratory, and pathogenic effects following exposure to bioaerosols. Exposure assessment is often confounded by the diversity of bioaerosol agents in the environment. Microorganisms represent a highly diverse group that may vary in toxicity. Fungi and bacteria are mainly quantified as broad groups using a variety of viable and nonviable assessment methods. Endotoxins and β(1 → 3)-glucans are mainly measured by their activity in the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay, enzymes by immuno-chemical methods and mycotoxins by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Few health-based occupational exposure limits (OELs) are available for risk assessment. For endotoxins, a health-based OEL of 90 endotoxin units m(-3) has been proposed in the Netherlands. A criteria document for fungal spores recently proposed a lowest observed effect level of 100,000 spores m(-3) for non-pathogenic and non-mycotoxin producing species based on inflammatory respiratory effects. Recent developments in bioaerosol assessment were presented at the Organic Dust Troms? Symposium including molecular biological methods for infectious agents and organisms that are difficult to cultivate; studies of submicronic and hyphal fragments from fungi; the effect of biodiversity of microorganisms in asthma studies; and new/improved measurement methods for fungal antigens, enzymes and allergens. Although exposure assessment of bioaerosol agents is complex and limited by the availability of methods and criteria, the field is rapidly evolving.     

Small wonders, big future: the development of environmental nanotechnology

Nanotechnology--the engineering of atomic-scale devices and systems--is set to become one of the major industries of the 21st century. Environmental applications are emerging as a key area of interest. But alongside the benefits, there are concerns that nanotechnologies could bring new risks to the environment and human health. Are nanotechnologies friend or foe? And how can analysts contribute to the debate?     

Linking the UN SDGs and environmental assessment: Towards a conceptual framework

Linking UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental Assessment (EA)—for mutual benefit—is an emerging topic within research and practice. Thus, knowledge and models of how to make the link are rather undiscovered and novel. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of linkages between the SDGs and EA in theory and practice. The output of the article is a framework for determining the level of integration of the SDGs and EA. In the framework, three main forms of integration are distinguished: non-integration, partial integration, and radical integration, and covering six levels of integration. A research agenda is proposed to strengthen the framework and to explore potentials and implications of the integration of the two concepts.     

Follow-up to environmental impact assessment: Learning from the Canadian Government experience

The environmental impact assessment procedure for Canadian federal government projects is briefly described. In the non-legislated Canadian system, follow-up to assessments is one of the major means of encouraging and improving the implementation of environmental impact assessment and the quality of environmental work done around development projects. The results of a study on the status of follow-up in the Canadian Government are presented. Factors that limit and that are conducive to follow-up are discussed. The effectiveness of follow-up depends as much on the circumstances surrounding a project and the concerned parties as on the follow-up techniques used; both of these aspects can be addressed in the planning and management of follow-up and of environmental impact assessment overall. Areas for improving the management of follow-up are identified and discussed: planning of follow-up activities, coordination of concerned parties, generation of clear understandings, information management, resource allocation, and maintenance of credibility. A method for planning follow-up activities for specific projects is presented.     

Advancing strategic environmental assessment in the offshore oil and gas sector: Lessons from Norway,Canada, and the United Kingdom

Abstract: Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for offshore oil and gas planning and development is utilized in select international jurisdictions, but the sector has received limited attention in the SEA literature. While the potential benefits of and rationale for SEA are well argued, there have been few empirical studies of SEA processes for the offshore sector. Hence, little is known about the efficacy of SEA offshore, in particular its influence on planning and development decisions. This paper examines SEA practice and influence in three international offshore systems: Norway, Atlantic Canada and the United Kingdom, with the intent to identify the challenges, lessons and opportunities for advancing SEA in offshore planning and impact assessment. Results demonstrate that SEA can help inform and improve the efficacy and efficiency of project-based assessment in the offshore sector, however weak coordination between higher and lower tiers limit SEA's ability to influence planning and development decisions in a broad regional environmental and socioeconomic context.     

Thermal anomaly mapping from night MODIS imagery of USA, a tool for environmental assessment

A method is presented for elevation, latitude and longitude decorrelation stretch of multi-temporal MODIS MYD11C3 imagery (monthly average night land surface temperature (LST) across USA and Mexico). Multiple linear regression analysis of principal components images (PCAs) quantifies the variance explained by elevation (H), latitude (LAT), and longitude (LON). The multi-temporal LST imagery is reconstructed from the residual images and selected PCAs by taking into account the portion of variance that is not related to H, LAT, LON. The reconstructed imagery presents the magnitude the standardized LST value per pixel deviates from the H, LAT, LON predicted. LST anomaly is defined as a region that presents either positive or negative reconstructed LST value. The environmental assessment of USA indicated that only for the 25 % of the study area (Mississippi drainage basin), the LST is predicted by the H, LAT, LON. Regions with milled climatic pattern were identified in the West Coast while the coldest climatic pattern is observed for Mid USA. Positive season invariant LST anomalies are identified in SW (Arizona, Sierra Nevada, etc.) and NE USA.     

Conceptualizing strategic environmental assessment: Principles,approaches and research directions

Increasing emphasis has been placed in recent years on transitioning strategic environmental assessment (SEA) away from its environmental impact assessment (EIA) roots. Scholars have argued the need to conceptualize SEA as a process designed to facilitate strategic thinking, thus enabling transitions toward sustainability. The practice of SEA, however, remains deeply rooted in the EIA tradition and scholars and practitioners often appear divided on the nature and purpose of SEA. This paper revisits the strategic principles of SEA and conceptualizes SEA as a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional assessment process. It is suggested that SEA can be conceptualized as series of approaches operating along a spectrum from less to more strategic – from impact assessment-based to strategy-based – with each approach to SEA differentiated by the specific objectives of SEA application and the extent to which strategic principles are reflected in its design and implementation. Advancing the effectiveness of SEA requires a continued research agenda focused on improving the traditional SEA approach, as a tool to assess the impacts of policies, plans and programs (PPPs). Realizing the full potential of SEA, however, requires a new research agenda — one focused on the development and testing of a deliberative governance approach to SEA that can facilitate strategic innovations in PPP formulation and drive transitions in short-term policy and initiatives based on longer-term thinking.     

Integrating environmental impact assessment with master planning: lessons from the US Army

The US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires agencies to consider environmental impacts in the early stages of planning and decision-making. Despite this mandate, agencies typically conduct EIA for projects, rather than for earlier and more strategic decisions, such as plans. This research investigated the extent to which a large federal agency, the US Army, has integrated NEPA analyses with master planning for their installations. Using in-depth case studies of 16 installations, we investigated how and why EIA was (or was not) integrated with planning, and identified the factors that promote or impede integration. Typically, integration has been regarded as concurrence, meaning that the EIA and planning processes are conducted together. Results of this research show, however, that integration can occur, even if the NEPA documents and master plans are not concurrently prepared. In this sense, integration can be viewed as the influence of the EIA process on agency planning and decision-making. Results also indicate that regulations are only one factor, and that several other factors influence the extent of integration, such as agency leadership and organizational incentives. Lessons from this study can help improve both the integration and the substantive implementation of EIA.     

The environmental impact assessment in Chile: Overview,improvements, and comparisons

In this study, we carried out a comparative analysis of the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system using evaluation criteria compared against three countries to allow for an objective evaluation within the growing demand of society for a more creditable and trustable EIA system.A total of 18 evaluation criteria were selected from the literature, and four new criteria for comparing EIA systems were proposed. The Chilean EIA system was compared to that of Brazil, Spain, and Canada using the following four evaluation criteria categories: EIA Legislation (four criteria), EIA Administration (four criteria), EIA Process (eleven criteria), and After EIA (three criteria). A Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis for assessing similarity among the EIA systems of Chile, Canada, and Spain was performed: the similarity being 88%. A Principal Component Analysis shows that only 13 of the selected 22 criteria contribute to the variability of the selected EIA systems. The main strengths of the Chilean EIA system are the existence of Specialized Environmental Courts for the resolution of disputes and Appeal options before execution. The identified weaknesses are an EIA system with high centralization at the national level, the absence of consideration of project alternatives, no requirement for scoping, and that the process of Strategic Environmental Assessment is not binding.Modifications to the Environmental Impact Assessment System Regulation are proposed by authors as feasible improvements particularly in relation to, Decentralization of the EIA system, Alternatives for design, Scoping incorporation, Register of reviewers of baseline information, and the public information process and post-evaluation.The method used seeks out to serve as guidance for countries with similar environmental and social contexts, as well as environmental legislation improvement needs.     

Human health risk assessment of environmental and dietary exposure to natural radionuclides in the Catalan stretch of the Ebro River, Spain

This study was aimed at assessing the levels of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po concentrations as well as gross alpha and beta activities in environmental monitors from the Catalan stretch of the Ebro River (Spain), potentially influenced by the presence of sediments with high concentrations of ²³⁸U and its decay chain daughters in the Flix reservoir. The chronic daily intake of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po through ingestion and inhalation of soils was evaluated, and the derived non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were characterized. The low concentration of radioisotopes in soils resulted in a negligible annual effective dose. The levels of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po were determined in various groups of highly consumed food (fish and seafood, vegetables, fruits, and rice), and their dietary intake was calculated. The annual effective dose for the adult people from food intake was estimated in 3.3 × 10^???2 mSv, mostly due to ²¹⁰Po. Overall, the current radioactivity levels in the Catalan stretch of the Ebro River should not mean any additional health risk for the population living nearby. However, an integral assessment of the risks derived from exposure to other pollutants (e.g., metals and organochlorine compounds) jointly with radionuclides could be of great interest.     

Power and environmental assessment: Introduction to the special issue

The significance of politics and power dynamics has long been recognised in environmental assessment (EA) research, but there has not been sustained attention to power, either theoretically or empirically. The aim of this special issue is to encourage the EA community to engage more consistently with the issue of power. The introduction represents a ground-clearing exercise intended to clarify the terms of the debate about power in the EA field, and to contribute to the development of a research agenda. Research trends in the field are outlined, and potential analytic and normative lines of inquiry are identified. The contributions to this special issue represent contrasting conceptual and methodological approaches that navigate the analytical and normative terrain of power dynamics in EA. Together, they demonstrate that power cannot be removed from EA policy or practices, and is a necessary research focus for the development of the field.     

Morphological abnormalities in frogs from a rice-growing region in NSW, Australia, with investigations into pesticide exposure

Three frog species (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, Limnodynastes fletcheri and Litoria raniformis) were surveyed in rice bays of the Coleambally Irrigation Area (CIA), NSW, Australia, during the rice-growing seasons of 2005/2006 and 2006/2007. A total external morphological abnormality index of 7.0% was observed in frogs of the CIA (n?=?1,209). The types and frequencies of abnormalities were typical of reports from agricultural areas with ectrodactyly being the most common aberration. A relatively low abnormality index of 1.2% was observed in L. raniformis (n?=?87) compared to indices of 7.1% and 8.2% observed in L. fletcheri (n?=?694) and L. tasmaniensis (n?=?428), respectively. No conclusive evidence was found of unnaturally high rates of intersex, gonadal maldevelopment or unbalanced sex ratios in any species. Rice bay surface waters differed significantly in mean pesticide concentrations of atrazine and metolachlor on farms growing rice and corn compared to farms with rice as the sole crop. However, the similar abnormality indices observed in recent metamorphs emerging from these two farm types provided no evidence to suggest a link between larval exposure to the measured pesticides and developmental malformations.     

Sampling over time: developing a cost effective and precise exposure assessment program

Studies requiring ambient exposure assessments invariably ask: How often should measurements be taken? Answer to such questions is dictated by budgetary considerations as well as spatial and temporal variability in the data. For example, do we obtain measurements during all seasons, all months within seasons, weeks within months and days within weeks? On one hand, we can obtain a one-time snapshot sample and regard it as representing the "true" mean exposure. On the other hand, we may obtain a large number of measurements over time and then average these in order to represent this "true" mean exposure. The former estimate is the least expensive but may also be the least precise while the latter, may be very precise but prohibitively costly. In this paper, we demonstrate how a pilot study can be undertaken with a potentially promising and feasible sampling plan for the full-scale study. By applying the statistical methodology of variance component analysis (VCA) to the pilot study data and exploiting mathematical relationship between the variance of the overall mean exposure and posited variance components, we can develop a sampling design with decreased sampling costs and/or increased precision of the mean exposure. Our approach was applied to determine sampling design choices for an on-going study that aimed at assessing ambient particulate matter exposure. We conclude that a pilot study followed by the VCA analysis may often lead to sampling design choices that offer considerable cost savings and, at the same time, promise to provide relatively precise estimates of the mean exposure for the subsequent full-scale study.     

Occupational and indoor air exposure to persistent organic pollutants: a review of passive sampling techniques and needs

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and related compounds such as PCBs, brominated flame retardants, organochlorine pesticides and PAHs is regarded as an important environmental risk factor for humans. Recently concerns about POPs resulted in the international protocol called the Stockholm Convention on POPs. Air quality standards (indoor, outdoor and occupational) for PAHs and other POPs will also be applied in the EU in the future. This will bring requirements for monitoring, to check for compliance and to reduce human exposures to POPs. This can occur from point sources and in various microenvironments, indoors, outdoors and in workplaces. Monitoring can be undertaken either by an active (pumped) method or using a passive (diffusive) air sampling (PAS) device. To date, PAS for POPs have mainly been used as integrating (long-term) samplers for ambient (outdoor) air. However, there are several reasons to develop PAS for monitoring of POPs in occupational and indoor environments. We discuss the potential advantages, limitations and developments needed, so that PAS can be used reliably and routinely indoors and in occupational settings for POPs.     

Health impact assessment of air pollution using a dynamic exposure profile: Implications for exposure and health impact estimates

In both ambient air pollution epidemiology and health impact assessment an accurate assessment of the population exposure is crucial. Although considerable advances have been made in assessing human exposure outdoors, the assessments often do not consider the impact of individual travel behavior on such exposures.Population-based exposures to NO₂ and O₃ using only home addresses were compared with models that integrate all time-activity patterns—including time in commute—for Flanders and Brussels. The exposure estimates were used to estimate the air pollution impact on years of life lost due to respiratory mortality.Health impact of NO₂ using an exposure that integrates time-activity information was on average 1.2% higher than when assuming that people are always at their home address. For ozone the overall estimated health impact was 0.8% lower. Local differences could be much larger, with estimates that differ up to 12% from the exposure using residential addresses only. Depending on age and gender, deviations from the population average were seen.Our results showed modest differences on a regional level. At the local level, however, time-activity patterns indicated larger differences in exposure and health impact estimates, mainly for people living in more rural areas. These results suggest that for local analyses the dynamic approach can contribute to an improved assessment of the health impact of various types of pollution and to the understanding of exposure differences between population groups.     

Thermal terrain modeling of spatial objects, a tool for environmental and climatic change assessment

The aim of the current research effort is to include biophysical multi-temporal data and more specifically land surface temperature (LST) in the terrain modeling process that traditionally was based only on digital elevation data processing. The terrain partition framework (spatial objects) is defined by the borderlines of prefecture authorities of Greece. Each object is represented by a set of attributes derived from the digital elevation data, and objects are organized into clusters on the basis of their terrain dependent representation. Finally, the terrain is segmented to regions on the basis of the multi-temporal LST data, each region presenting a different thermal signature. The thermal regions are used in the spatial objects parametric representation and a new index is devised (LST climatic index) expressing the biophysical suitability of spatial objects at moderate resolution scale.     

Urban and suburban aerosol in Yokohama, Japan: a comprehensive chemical characterization

This article analyses elemental composition of suspended particulate matter (SPM) samples collected monthly from 1999 to 2005 at two locations in Yokohama, Japan. Microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy was employed to measure Mg, Al, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Cs, Ba, Pb, and Bi. Water-soluble ions (Na^?+?, NH₄ ^?+?, K^?+?, Ca^2?+?, Cl^???, NO₃ ^???, and SO₄ ^2???) and carbonaceous mass (elemental and organic carbon) were detected using ion chromatograph and CHN analyzer, respectively. The results indicate that the composition of SPM on one of the sites is determined by automobile emissions and on the other by industrial combustions. The impact of the emission regulations for automobiles in large Japanese cities, which were enacted during 2002 and 2003, on the SPM composition of the samples is also studied.