137Cs in marine samples from the Brazilian southeastern coastal region

The present work presents the results of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in seawater, fish and sediments samples collect in 11 sampling points, crossing the Brazilian Southeastern coastal region, from Vitória (ES) to Santos (SP), on a routine basis from 1997 to 2002. This monitoring program was carried out by the Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN/MCT), in cooperation with the Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira (IEAPM/Brazilian Navy), aiming at determining artificial radionuclides in marine samples. Additionally to the ¹³⁷Cs results, ⁹⁰Sr concentrations in fish samples from 1998 to 2002 are also reported.The ¹³⁷Cs in seawater follows a lognormal distribution, with a geometric mean of 1.8 Bq m^-3 and a geometric standard deviation of 1.4 (n=54), decay corrected to June/2002. For ¹³⁷Cs levels in fish samples a geometric mean of 0.19 Bq kg⁻¹ and a geometric standard deviation of 2.9 (n=39), decay corrected to June/2002, with a range of 0.03 to 1.7 Bq kg⁻¹, were obtained. Based on the ¹³⁷Cs mean concentration in fish as well as in seawater, a transfer factor of 1 × 10² was calculated, which is quite in agreement with the recommended value found in the Safety Report Serie 19.     

Monitoring the quality of the marine environment

As part of the monitoring program from Instituto Hidrográfico, since 1981 sediment and water samples have been collected from four different estuarine areas located along the continental coast of Portugal. The concentrations of different parameters were measured in the water and sediment samples. After normalization, the concentrations of chromium, mercury, lead and zinc in the sediments from the different areas were compared.     

The Water Quality Of The CÉrtima River Basin (Central Portugal)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the water quality of the Cértima River basin (Central Portugal). For that purpose, surface water samples were collected in March, May and July 2003, at 10 selected sampling sites, and were analysed for physicochemical parameters, namely temperature, conductivity, pH, total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), Kjeldahl nitrogen and total phosphorus. Results revealed an acceptable water quality during the spring season. Maxima of 64 mg dm⁻³ for BOD₅, 39 mg dm⁻³ for Kjeldahl nitrogen, and 5.2 mg dm⁻³ for total phosphorus, were recorded during summer, indicating a significant degradation of the water quality in a river stretch located downstream of the town of Mealhada. These values, which did not comply with the objectives of minimum quality for surface waters prescribed by the Portuguese legislation, were related to domestic wastewater discharges and runoff waters from a cattle farm. Besides their effects on the middle stretch of the river, these pollution sources were the most likely cause of the high nutrient load in downstream waters, and thus may have a major impact on the trophic status of Pateira de Fermentelos, a sensitive wetland area located in the lower Cértima basin.     

From Environmental Ethics to Nature Conservation Policy: Natura 2000 and the Burden of Proof

Natura 2000 is a network of natural sites whose aim is to preserve species and habitats of relevance in the European Union. The policy underlying Natura 2000 has faced widespread opposition from land users and received extensive support from environmentalists. This paper addresses the ethical framework for Natura 2000 and the probable moral assumptions of its main stakeholders. Arguments for and against Natura 2000 were analyzed and classified according to “strong” or “weak” versions of the three main theories of environmental ethics – anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. Weak (intergenerational) anthropocentrism was found to underlie the Natura 2000 network itself and the positions of environmentalists, while strong (traditional) anthropocentrism pervaded the positions of economic developers. Land users seemed to fall somewhere between weak and strong anthropocentrism. The paper discusses the relation between ethics and different attitudes towards Natura 2000, highlighting some of the implications for the network’s ongoing implementation. It is shown that Natura 2000 achieves a strong reversal of the burden of proof from conservation to economic development and land use change under anthropocentrism. It is argued that the alleged theoretical divide between anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism in relation to the burden of proof does not seem to hold in practice. Finally, it is predicted that the weak versions of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism, are likely to converge extensively in respect to nature conservation policy measures.“Charting the depths of law and policy disputes yield an understanding of ethical differences.” Paul B. Thompson (2002, p. 189).     

Wind power projects in Brazil: challenges and opportunities increasing co-benefits and implications for climate and energy policies

The purpose of this article is to analyze the challenges to, and opportunities for, increasing sustainable development (SD) co-benefits delivered by clean development mechanism (CDM) wind power projects in northeastern Brazil and the resulting implications for climate and energy policies. Five methodological phases were met: First, a documentary research was conducted in the main CDM database; second was a literature review, creating the analytical framework and a survey questionnaire needed to assess the SD co-benefits from the projects; third, documentary research was used to enable ex-ante analysis of the SD co-benefits proposed in the CDM Project Design Documents (PDDs); fourth, survey allowed for the analysis of SD co-benefits perceived by project entrepreneurs (ex-post analysis); and finally, a comparison between the ex-ante and ex-post analyses was completed. The results show the importance of carrying out SD co-benefit studies after the implementation of CDM projects in order to learn lessons for new mechanisms of climate governance. The lowest SD co-benefits were water management improvement in the project influence area, soil pollution prevention, health and safety improvements and technology transfer. The greatest opportunities for increasing SD co-benefits come from the environmental licensing process and the strengthening of Corporate Social Responsibility. The greatest challenges are new technology development, stakeholders’ engagement and SD co-benefit audits. We conclude that the improvement of multi-level climate and energy governance plays a key role in increasing SD co-benefits.

     

Rapid adaptation to crisis events: Insights from the bait crisis in the Maine lobster fishery

Climate change, overfishing, and other anthropogenic drivers are forcing marine resource users and decision makers to adapt—often rapidly. In this article we introduce the concept of pathways to rapid adaptation to crisis events to bring attention to the double-edged role that institutions play in simultaneously enabling and constraining swift responses to emerging crises. To develop this concept, we draw on empirical evidence from a case study of the iconic Maine lobster (Homarus americanus) industry. In the Gulf of Maine, the availability of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) stock, a key source of bait in the Maine lobster industry, declined sharply. We investigate the patterns of bait use in the fishery over an 18-year period (2002–2019) and how the lobster industry was able to abruptly adapt to the decline of locally-sourced herring in 2019 that came to be called the bait crisis. We found that adaptation strategies to the crisis were diverse, largely uncoordinated, and imperfectly aligned, but ultimately led to a system-level shift towards a more diverse and globalized bait supply. This shift was enabled by existing institutions and hastened an evolution in the bait system that was already underway, as opposed to leading to system transformation. We suggest that further attention to raceways may be useful in understanding how and, in particular, why marine resource users and coastal communities adapt in particular ways in the face of shocks and crises.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01617-8.     

Global variability of food waste chemical composition and its consequences on the production of biofuels and chemical compounds

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The use of food waste (FW) for the production of biofuels and value-added compounds is growing worldwide. However, the significant chemical...     

Removal of Hg2+ ions by adsorption using (TiO2@MnO2)-NPs nanocomposite

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Waste water contaminated with inorganic mercury is considered a serious environmental problem, mainly due to the hazardous effects this contaminant...     

Change in the antimicrobial resistance profile of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from soil after exposure to herbicides

The extensive use of pesticides represents a risk to human health and to the environment. This study aimed to investigate if the exposure to atrazine and diuron, two herbicides widely used in Brazil, could induce changes in the susceptibility profile to aztreonam, colistin and polymyxin B antimicrobials in isolates of P. aeruginosa obtained from soil samples by using the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. Three isolates had an increase of MIC to aztreonam after exposure to both herbicides and one isolate did not show any MIC change. The MexAB-OprM efflux pump has already been upregulated in these isolates and the herbicides atrazine and diuron did not increase MexAB-OprM overexpression. Therefore, the decrease in aztreonam susceptibility was not directly related to this pump, suggesting that probably other mechanisms should be involved.     

Composites Produced from Natural Rubber and Chrome-Tanned Leather Wastes: Evaluation of their In Vitro Toxicological Effects for Application in Footwear and Textile Industries

A new composite has been developed from natural rubber and chrome-tanned leather waste for use in footwear and textile industries. The contribution of this material to environmental quality and sustained development should be highligh because chrome tanned leather wastes, a major environmental problem, can be recycled. However, the safety of this new material for human use is questionable, as it is already well reported in the literature that chromium, particularly in its hexavalent oxidation state, can be genotoxic and carcinogenic to living beings. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro biocompatibility of this composite material for possible use in the footwear and textile industries, through cytotoxicity, cell adhesion, and genotoxicity tests. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to measure both concentrations of total and hexavalent chromium. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the composite exhibits low levels of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, and possesses favorable properties for initial cell adhesion. Furthermore, it was verified that the composites released low concentrations of chromium and that the predominant species released would be trivalent chromium. The results of the present study open the possibility of the incorporation of solid residues of tanned leather into chromium without necessarily the chromium contained in these residues influences the toxicity and genotoxicity of this new material.