End-of-Life Vehicles management: Italian material and energy recovery efficiency

Each European Member State must comply with Directive 2000/53/EC recycling and recovery targets by 2015, set to 85% and 95%, respectively. This paper reports a shredder campaign trial developed and performed in Italy at the beginning of 2008. It turns out to be the first assessment about the critical aspects belonging to the Italian End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) reverse supply chain involving 18 dismantling plants, a shredder plant and 630 ELV representatives of different categories of vehicles treated in Italy during 2006. This trial aims at improving the experimental knowledge related to ELVs added waste, pre-treatment, part reuse, recycling and final metal separation and car fluff disposal. Finally, the study also focuses on the calculation of the effective Italian ELV recycling rate, which results equal to 80.8%, and auto shredder residue (ASR) characterization. According to the results obtained in this work, ASR still contains up to 8% of metals and 40% of polymers that could be recovered. Moreover, physical-chemical analysis showed a Lower Heat Value of almost 20,000 kJ/kg and revealed the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals, mineral oils, PCBs and hydrocarbons.     

Indicators of waste management efficiency related to different territorial conditions

The amount of waste produced and the control of separate collection are crucial issues for the planning of a territorial Integrated Waste Management System, enabling the allocation of each sorted waste fraction to the proper treatment and recycling processes. The present study focuses on assessing indicators of different waste management systems in areas characterized by different territorial conditions. The investigated case study concerns the municipalities of Emilia Romagna (northern Italy), which present a rather uniform socioeconomic situation, but a variety of geographic, urban and waste management characteristics. A survey of waste generation and collection rates was carried out, and correlated with the different territorial conditions, classifying the municipalities according to altitude and population density. The best environmental performances, in terms of high separate collection rate, were found on average in rural areas in the plain, while the lowest waste generation was associated with rural hill towns.     

Benthic foraminiferal response to trace element pollution—the case study of the Gulf of Milazzo, NE Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The response of benthic foraminiferal assemblages to trace element pollution in the marine sediments of the Gulf of Milazzo (north-eastern Sicily) was investigated. Since the 1960s, this coastal area has been a preferred site for the development of two small marinas and a commercial harbour as well as for heavy industry. Forty samples collected in the uppermost 3–4 cm of an undisturbed layer of sediment in the littoral environment were used for this benthic foraminiferal analysis. The enrichment factors (EFs) of selected trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were also calculated. Changes both in benthic foraminiferal assemblages and in some trace elements concentrations have provided evidence that the gulf’s littoral zone can be subdivided into three sectors characterised by environmental changes in the marine ecosystem. In the sector unpolluted, close to the Milazzo Cape, foraminiferal assemblages exhibit high values of species richness and foraminiferal density while trace element concentrations and their EFs are very low. Here, the highest densities of Miliolids and epiphytic species are present. On the contrary, in the sector polluted, from the marinas to the crude oil refinery, foraminiferal density and species diversity are low, and assemblages are dominated, albeit with very low densities, by species that tolerate stressed environmental conditions, such as LOFAs, agglutinants and Ammonia spp. Here, the highest trace elements concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu and related EFs were detected. Eastwards, in the sector moderately polluted, foraminiferal populations are quite poor. They are characterised by low values of species richness and foraminiferal densities, nevertheless trace element concentrations become lower than in the other sectors and their EFs are often below 1. Deformed foraminifera, with percentages up to 7.14 %, were found in all three of the sectors. Differences in benthic foraminiferal assemblages, coupled with results from statistical analysis, indicate that anthropogenic trace element pollution could be considered as one of the most important causes of the modifications of foraminiferal assemblages in the study area.     

Towards the harmonization between National Forest Inventory and Forest Condition Monitoring. Consistency of plot allocation and effect of tree selection methods on sample statistics in Italy

In the frame of a process aiming at harmonizing National Forest Inventory (NFI) and ICP Forests Level I Forest Condition Monitoring (FCM) in Italy, we investigated (a) the long-term consistency between FCM sample points (a subsample of the first NFI, 1985, NFI_1) and recent forest area estimates (after the second NFI, 2005, NFI_2) and (b) the effect of tree selection method (tree-based or plot-based) on sample composition and defoliation statistics. The two investigations were carried out on 261 and 252 FCM sites, respectively. Results show that some individual forest categories (larch and stone pine, Norway spruce, other coniferous, beech, temperate oaks and cork oak forests) are over-represented and others (hornbeam and hophornbeam, other deciduous broadleaved and holm oak forests) are under-represented in the FCM sample. This is probably due to a change in forest cover, which has increased by 1,559,200 ha from 1985 to 2005. In case of shift from a tree-based to a plot-based selection method, 3,130 (46.7 %) of the original 6,703 sample trees will be abandoned, and 1,473 new trees will be selected. The balance between exclusion of former sample trees and inclusion of new ones will be particularly unfavourable for conifers (with only 16.4 % of excluded trees replaced by new ones) and less for deciduous broadleaves (with 63.5 % of excluded trees replaced). The total number of tree species surveyed will not be impacted, while the number of trees per species will, and the resulting (plot-based) sample composition will have a much larger frequency of deciduous broadleaved trees. The newly selected trees have—in general—smaller diameter at breast height (DBH) and defoliation scores. Given the larger rate of turnover, the deciduous broadleaved part of the sample will be more impacted. Our results suggest that both a revision of FCM network to account for forest area change and a plot-based approach to permit statistical inference and avoid bias in the tree sample composition in terms of DBH (and likely age and structure) are desirable in Italy. As the adoption of a plot-based approach will keep a large share of the trees formerly selected, direct tree-by-tree comparison will remain possible, thus limiting the impact on the time series comparability. In addition, the plot-based design will favour the integration with NFI_2.     

Errors in ozone risk assessment using standard conditions for converting ozone concentrations obtained by passive samplers in mountain regions

Passive samplers are often employed to measure ozone concentrations in remote areas such as mountain forests. The potential ozone risk for vegetation is then assessed by calculating the AOT40 exposure index (accumulated hourly ozone concentration exceedances above 40 ppb, i.e. AOT40 = Σ([O(3)] - 40)Δt for any hourly ozone concentration [O(3)] > 40 ppb). AOT40 is customary calculated on the basis of ozone concentrations expressed as a volumetric mixing ratio, while lab sheets normally report ozone concentrations from passive samplers in mass units per cubic metre. Concentrations are usually converted from mass units to ppb using a standard conversion factor taking SATP (Standard Ambient Temperature and Pressure) conditions into account. These conditions, however, can vary considerably with elevation. As a consequence, the blanket application of a standard conversion factor may lead to substantial errors in reporting and mapping ozone concentrations and therefore in assessing potential ozone risk in mountain regions. In this paper we carry out a sensitivity analysis of the effects of uncertainties in estimations of air temperature (T) and atmospheric pressure (P) on the concentration conversion factor, and present two examples from two monitoring and mapping exercises carried out in the Italian Alps. We derived P and T at each site from adiabatic lapse rates for temperature and pressure and analysed the magnitude of error in concentration estimations. Results show that the concentration conversion is much more sensitive to uncertainties in P gradient estimation than to air temperature errors. The concentration conversion factor (cf) deviates 5% from the standard transformation at an elevation of 500 m asl. As a consequence, the standard estimated AOT40 at this elevation is about 13% less than the actual value. AOT40 was found to be underestimated by an average between 25% and 34% at typical elevations of mountain forest stands in the Italian Alps when a correct conversion factor for transforming ozone concentrations from μg m(-3) to ppb is not applied.     

Bioavailability and degradation of phenanthrene in compost amended soils

Bioavailability in soil of organic xenobiotics such as phenanthrene is limited by mechanisms of diffusion of the xenobiotics within soil micropores and organic matter. The agricultural utilization of compost may reduce the risk connected to organic xenobiotic contamination by means of: (i) a reduction of the bioavailable fraction through an increased adsorption and (ii) an enhanced degradation of the remaining bioavailable fraction through an inoculum of degrading microorganisms. Aim of this work is to test this hypothesis by assessing the effects of compost amendment on the bioavailability and degradation of phenanthrene in soil. Experiments were carried out in both sterilized and non-sterilized conditions, and chemical and microbiological analyses were carried out in order to determine the extent of degradation and bioavailability and to monitor the evolution of the soil micro flora in time. Bioavailability was assessed in sterilized microcosms, in order to assess the physical effects of compost on aging processes without the influence of microbial degradation. Results showed that bioavailability is significantly reduced in soils amended with compost, although no differences were found at the 2 doses of compost studied. In non-sterilized soils the amount of phenanthrene degraded was always higher in the amended soils than in the non-amended one. Microbiological analyses confirmed the presence of a higher number of phenanthrene degraders in the amended soils and in samples of compost alone. These results suggest that compost induces the degradation in soils of easily degradable compounds such as phenanthrene, when the proper bacteria are in the compost; more resistant xenobiotics may instead be trapped by the compost organic matter, thus becoming less available.     

Estimates of ozone AOT40 from passive sampling in forest sites in South-Western Europe

Weekly-fortnightly ozone (O3) concentrations measured by passive sampling at 81 forest monitoring plots in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland over the period 2000-2002 were used to estimate the cumulative exposure index AOT40. The estimation method is based on a deterministic model which describes the O3 daily profile as a function of relative altitude (the difference between the altitude of the site and the lowest altitude within a 5 km radius) and the time of the day. Estimated AOT40 values (AOT40(e)) were evaluated against co-located automatic measurement stations and with 14 independent automatic stations located throughout Italy whose weekly mean O3 values were used to simulate passive samplers. AOT40 can be predicted by modelling passive sampling data (R2: 0.90; P<0.0001, SE of estimates: 3271 ppb h), although considerable deviations can occur for individual sites. Estimated AOT40 shows a distinct, significant latitudinal and altitudinal gradient. Taking the 3-year average as a whole, exceedance of critical level of 5000 ppb h occurs at 77-100% of the monitored sites, respectively.     

A multidisciplinary study on the effects of climate change in the northern Adriatic Sea and the Marche region (central Italy)

An integrated analysis of recent climate change (including atmosphere, sea and land), and social reaction and adaptation, was conducted in central Italy and the northern portion of the Adriatic Sea. The collected environmental data included meteorological, oceanographic, and river gauges stations, covering the time period 1961–2009. Social data included 800 questionnaires and interviews carried out on selected samples of residents, decision-makers, and emergency managers. The trend analysis of air temperature data detailed an overall increase in all seasons, whereas rainfall data showed decrease in winter, spring, and summer, and increase in autumn, influencing river flow changes. Marine data showed a warming of the water column after the year 1990, particularly relevant in the cold season. Surface salinity increased in spring and summer and strongly decreased in autumn and also in winter (due to the spreading over the basin of the increased autumnal river runoff). These changes, combined with anthropogenic effects, appear to influence the northern Adriatic marine environment and ecosystems. Impacts in the coastal areas are also evident inland; the analysis of Aridity index, and potential water deficit, suggests negative impacts in terms of soil deterioration and agricultural productivity, particularly in the area near the coastline. At the same time, the analysis of social data revealed awareness among local residents of these impacts and associated risks connected to climate change. Yet, this awareness is not currently translated into preventive and protective actions; among the main reasons for this delay is also ineffective information exchange among citizens, public administrators, and the scientific community.     

Trends in the exploitation of South Atlantic shark populations

Approximately 25% of globally reported shark catches occur in Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries. Strong declines in shark populations have been detected in the North Atlantic, whereas in the South Atlantic the situation is less clear, although fishing effort has been increasing in this region since the late 1970s. We synthesized information on shark catch rates (based on 871,177 sharks caught on 86,492 longline sets) for the major species caught by multiple fleets in the South Atlantic between 1979 and 2011. We complied records from fishing logbooks of fishing companies, fishers, and onboard observers that were supplied to Brazilian institutions. By using exploratory data analysis and literature sources, we identified 3 phases of exploitation in these data (Supporting Information). From 1979 to 1997 (phase A), 5 fleets (40 vessels) fished mainly for tunas. From 1998 to 2008 (phase B), 20 fleets (100 vessels) fished for tunas, swordfishes, and sharks. From 2008 to 2011 (phase C), 3 fleets (30 vessels) fished for multiple species, but restrictive measures were implemented. We used generalized linear models to standardize catch rates and identify trends in each of these phases. Shark catch rates increased from 1979 to 1997, when fishing effort was low, decreased from 1998 to 2008, when fishing effort increased substantially, and remained stable or increased from 2008 to 2011, when fishing effort was again low. Our results indicate that most shark populations affected by longlines in the South Atlantic are currently depleted, but these populations may recover if fishing effort is reduced accordingly. In this context, it is problematic that comprehensive data collection, monitoring, and management of these fisheries ceased after 2012. Concurrently with the fact that Brazil is newly identified by FAO among the largest (and in fastest expansion) shark sub‐products consumer market worldwide.