Documentation of cumulative impacts in environmental impact statements

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations in the United States require federal agencies to apply an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in decision-making related to their actions. One aspect requires an examination of direct, indirect and cumulative impacts (CIs). Historically, cumulative impact assessment (CIA) has been given limited attention in EIA and resultant environmental impact statements (EISs), not because of its lack of importance, but owing to limitations in methodologies and procedures, including documentation consistency. The objectives of this study were to identify deficiencies in the documentation of CIs and CIA in EISs and to formulate appropriate recommendations (potential solutions) related to such deficiencies. The study involved the systematic review of 33 EISs (11 each from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration). The results indicate that improvements have been made in documentation practices since 1990; however, inconsistencies and inadequacies still exist. Therefore, the following recommendations were developed: (1) CIs should be reported in a separate part of the “Environmental Consequences” section, and they should be addressed for each pertinent environmental resource; (2) a summary of CIs should be included; (3) any CIs considered not significant should be mentioned plus the reason(s) for their non-significance; (4) spatial and temporal boundaries addressed within the CIA process should be defined for pertinent environmental resources; and (5) utilized guidelines and methodologies should be described.     

PICTURE OR PLACE? A MULTIPLE SORTING STUDY OF LANDSCAPE

Previous research has often used photographs as a tool for examining preference for landscape and in clarifying an understanding of what is aesthetically pleasing. Implicit in their use is the assumption that they will be regarded by the participants asrepresentingthe places shown. The present study demonstrates that there is a theoretical and empirical distinction between evaluations of pictures and evaluations of the places they represent, and thus future research needs to distinguish between evaluating thecontentof the photograph and theplacesrepresented in them. Using a sorting task, 41 participants sorted 20 photographs of local places, which they knew, in a free sort and a directed sort. The directed short instructed the participants to think about the places in the photographs, and to sort the items according to their knowledge of those place. Analysis of the first sort showed that items were grouped according to the content of the photograph, focusing on land form and the presence of water. The second sort showed that the items were grouped according to memories and sense experiences other than just the visual information presented in the photographs. The results showed that the participants conceptualise photographs differently according to whether they are asked to evaluate the photograph or the place represented by the photograph. Landscape evaluation research therefore needs to be clear aboutwhatis being evaluated, picture or place.     

Biological nitrification/denitrification of high sodium nitrite (navy shipyard) wastewater

In the hydroblasting of ships' boiler tubes, a wastewater high in nitrite (as high as 1200 mg litre(-1)) is produced by the US Navy. This research has evaluated the use of a suspended-growth biological system to treat this wastewater by denitrification. Two biological treatment configurations were evaluated (direct denitrification versus nitrification/denitrification) with nitrification/denitrification producing better nitrite removal efficiencies (54 to 62% versus 40%, respectively). The introduction of metals (cadmium, chromium, lead, copper and iron) in concentrations typical for this wastewater did not inhibit the nitrite removal efficiencies. The influent metal concentrations ranged from 0.02 mg litre(-1) for cadmium to 22 mg litre(-1) for iron and the metal removal efficiencies ranged from 4.8% for cadmium to 50% for copper. Increasing sludge age resulted in improved nitrite removal efficiencies (52%, 57% and 74% for sludge ages of 4, 6 and 8 days, respectively). The resulting biokinetic constants were similar to those reported by others for lower influent concentrations of nitrite or nitrate (Ygs=0.02 mg/mg; Ygn=0.16 mg/mg; Yb=0.8 mg/mg; and b=0.006 h(-1)).     

Quantifying the human contribution to losses in the chemical industry

Accidents in the chemical industry may have serious effects on the well-being of a number of people, whether in terms of life or limb or in economic terms. Evidence supports the view that the human element may make a significant contribution to such losses but no attempts have been made to clarify the potential involvement of such factors in process safety. Thus no current risk assessment technique attempts to take into account the entire range of human factors which may influence losses. The development of a preliminary technique for this purpose is described, and its future development and potential applications discussed.