Credible Enforcement Policies Under Illegal Fishing: Does Individual Transferable Quotas Induce to Reduce the Gap Between Approved and Proposed Allowable Catches?

In general, approved Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are higher than proposed TACs by the scientific assessment and reported landings approved are higher than approved TAC. We build a simple enforcement agency’s behavior model that generates—as a rational behavior—those two facts. The model has two ingredients. First, there exists illegal fishing generated by an imperfect enforcement technology; second, the enforcement agency cannot commit on announced penalties. We show that lack of commitment increases the potential benefits for national enforcement agency of deviating from proposal (scientific optimal) quotas. Although the enforcement agency wants to announce a low quota target to induce a low level of illegal harvest, it will find optimal to revise the quota announced in order to reduce penalties and improve fishermen welfare. Therefore, agencies find it optimal to approve higher quotas than that proposed by the scientific advice. Our main result is to show that when full compliance is not possible, and national agencies cannot commit, the introduction of Individual Transferable Quotas increases the potential benefits for agencies of deviating from the optimal proposed TAC by the scientific advised.     

Evaluation of chelating and cytoprotective activity of vanillin against the toxic action of mercuric chloride as an alternative for phytoremediation

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Mercury is widely found in nature, however, in low concentrations, but anthropological activities have increased its concentration considerably. This causes...     

Sequential determination and chemical speciation analysis of inorganic As and Sb in airborne particulate matter collected in outdoor and indoor environments using slurry sampling and detection by HG AAS

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this work, fast sequential determination and chemical speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic and antimony in airborne particulate matter...     

Emergency drills for agricultural drought response: a case study in Guatemala

Drills are an important element of disaster management, helping to increase preparedness and reduce the risk of real‐time failure. Yet, they are not applied systematically to slow‐onset disasters such as a drought, which causes damage that is not instantly apparent and thus does not solicit immediate action. This case study evaluates how drills inform institutional responses to slow‐onset disasters. It spotlights Guatemala, a country where drought has severe impacts on livelihoods and the food security of small farmers. By implementing part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food's institutional response plan for drought, it explores how drills can help to detect issues in emergency response and to foster an institutional focus on improvements in preparedness. The results reveal that drills alone do not trigger institutional improvements if unsupported by a wider strategy that seeks to enhance capacities and protocols. These findings are valuable, however, in making problems transparent and in creating the space for discussion.     

Genetic biomonitoring of an urban population exposed to mutagenic airborne pollutants

Biomonitoring studies have increased as a consequence of risks and effects to human health on exposure to environmental contaminants, mainly air pollutants. Genetic biomarkers are useful tools for the early assessment of exposure to occupational and environmental pollution. The objective of the present study was to investigate genotoxic effects on people residing and/or working downwind from an oil refinery in southern Brazil and the mutagenic activity of airborne particulate matter (PM10). Samples of peripheral blood and buccal mucosa cells were evaluated using the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) and the micronucleus (MN) assay, respectively. PM10 samples were collected in the target site and the organic matter extraced with dichloromethane was assessed for mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay. The exposed group (n = 37) was compared to a reference group (n = 37) of subjects living in an urban area with limited traffic and industrial influence, located far from the main industrial areas. All PM10 organic extracts showed mutagenic positive responses and the effect decreased in the presence of S9 mix indicating that the predominant compounds present were direct-acting mutagens. The responses of YGs strains are consistent with aromatic amines and nitroarenes being present in the PM10 extracts. The group in the area under the influence of the oil refinery (exposed group) showed significantly higher DNA damage in lymphocytes than the reference group. The MN frequencies in buccal mucosa were very low for both groups and no difference between groups was observed. No association was found between age and tobacco smoking habit and level of DNA damages measured by the comet assay. The results indicate that the comet assay was a sensitive tool to detect DNA damage in subjects under the influence of an oil refinery, with marked genotoxic activity in the atmospheric environment.     

Determination of trace triazine and chloroacetamide herbicides in tile-fed drainage ditch water using solid-phase microextraction coupled with GC-MS

Solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was used to analyze two triazine (atrazine and simazine) and three chloroacetamide herbicides (acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor) in water samples from a midwest US agricultural drainage ditch for two growing seasons. The effects of salt concentration, sample volume, extraction time, and injection time on extraction efficiency using a 100-mum polydimethylsiloxane-coated fiber were investigated. By optimizing these parameters, ditch water detection limits of 0.5 microgL(-1) simazine and 0.25 microgL(-1) atrazine, acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor were achieved. The optimum salt concentration was found to be 83% NaCl, while sample volume (10 or 20 mL) negligibly affected analyte peak areas. The optimum extraction time was 40 min, and the optimum injection time was 15 min. Results indicated that atrazine levels in the ditch water exceeded the US maximum contaminant level for drinking water 12% of the time, and atrazine was the most frequently detected among studied analytes.     

Residual tembotrione and atrazine in carrot

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a vegetable crop that is grown throughout the year across various regions of Brazil in rotation or in succession to other cultures. Herbicide residual effect has emerged as a concern, because of the possibility of carryover. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tembotrione and atrazine residues – in mixture and isolated – on carrot planted in succession to corn. The experiment was designed in randomized blocks with five replications. Treatments consisted of tembotrione (50.4 g ha^?1), tembotrione (100.8 g ha^?1), tembotrione + atrazine (50.4 g ha^?1+ 2 L ha^?1), tembotrione + atrazine (100.8 g ha^?1+ 2 L ha^?1), and atrazine (2.00 L ha^?1) applied eight months before carrot seeding, plus a control treatment with no herbicide application. Investigated variables were shoot dry mass, productivity, and classification of carrot roots. The presence of atrazine and tembotrione decreased dry mass in the area, and only tembotrione reduced total root productivity. Thus, there is a carryover effect to tembotrione application that reduces the dry matter accumulation of shoot and total productivity, and an atrazine + tembotrione (100.8 g ha^?1) mixture reduces the total productivity after application of these herbicides to soil.     

A step forward using QuEChERS (Quick,Easy, Cheap,Effective, Rugged,and Safe) based extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry—levels of priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in wild and commercial mussels

A new and fully validated QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methodology was developed and subsequently implemented for the quantification of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild (from Matosinhos Beach, Portugal) and commercial (from Ria de Arousa, Spain) mussels. The method proved to be robust, precise, and accurate, with recoveries ranging from 89.2 to 111.8 %. Total sums of 16 PAHs were 52.91 and 37.58 ng/g of wet weight for wild and commercial specimens, respectively. The three- to four-ring PAHs were the most abundant, and a mixture of petrogenic and pyrolytic sources were suspected to occur in both origin areas. Although the contamination levels were below the European regulated limits, specifically for commercial mussels (this despite wild specimens are also consumed), care should be taken in terms of human health, since we are still not aware of the low-dose versus long-term effects, even more in high-risk population groups.     

Comparative analysis of trace contaminants in leachates before and after a pre-oxidation using a solar photo-Fenton reaction

Sanitary landfill leachates are a complex mixture of high-strength organic and inorganic persistent contaminants, which constitute a serious environmental problem. In this study, trace contaminants present in leachates were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector before and after a pre-oxidation step using a solar photo-Fenton process. More than 40 organic compounds were detected and identified as benzene (0.09?±?0.07 mg?L^-1), trichlorophenol (TCP) (0.18?±?0.12 mg?L^-1), phthalate esters (Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) (DBP: 0.47?±?0.01 mg?L^-1; BBP: 0.36?±?0.02 mg?L^-1; DEHP: 0.18?±?0.01 mg?L^-1), among others. Toluene, pentachlorophenol, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, and Di-n-octyl phthalate were never detected in any of the samples. After the photo-Fenton treatment process, TCP decreased to levels below its detection limit, benzene concentration increased approximately three times, and DBP concentration decreased about 77 % comparatively to the raw leachate sample. The solar photo-Fenton process was considered to be very efficient for the treatment of sanitary landfill leachates, leading to the complete elimination of 24 of the detected micropollutants to levels below their respective detection limits and low to significant abatement of seven other organic compounds, thus resulting in an increase of the leachate biodegradability.     

The map of conflicts related to environmental injustice and health in Brazil

This article discusses the experience of the map of conflicts related to environmental injustices and health in Brazil and its potential contribution to international movements for environmental justice. Inventories and maps of environmental injustices are important instruments of struggle against injustice and racism, since they increase the visibility of populations, whose lives are threatened. The Brazilian map is published online since 2010 and was an initiative of FIOCRUZ, a public health and academic institution, and the NGO FASE, in cooperation with the Brazilian Network of Environmental Injustice (RBJA), created in 2001. Environmental justice arised in Brazil as a field of reflection and mobilization, and as a rallying point to identify the struggle of several groups and entities, such as rural and urban grassroots movements, indigenous peoples, traditional populations, and peasants affected by different hazards and risks, as well as environmentalists, trade unions, and scientists. Currently, the map has 570 emblematic environmental conflicts in all regions of Brazil. Many economic activities are causing the conflicts such as mining expansion, oil and gas extractions, infrastructure (roads, mega-dams), agribusiness, and pesticide pollution, often with the support of governmental institutions.