Role of waste management with regard to climate protection: a case study.

According to the Kyoto Protocol and the burden-sharing agreement of the European Union, Austria is required to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the years 2008 to 2012 in order to achieve an average reduction of 13%, based on the level of emissions for the year 1990. The present contribution gives an overview of the history of GHG emission regulation in Austria and identifies the progress made towards the realization of the national climate strategy to attain the GHG emission targets. The contribution uses Austria as an example of the way in which proper waste management can help to reduce GHG emissions. The GHG inventories show that everything must be done to minimize the carbon input due to waste deposition at landfill sites. The incineration of waste is particularly helpful in reducing GHG emissions. The waste-to-energy by incineration plants and recovery of energy yield an ecologically proper treatment of waste using state-of-the-art techniques of a very high standard. The potential for GHG reduction of conventional waste treatment technologies has been estimated by the authors. A growing number of waste incinerators and intensified co-incineration of waste in Austrian industry will both help to reduce national GHG emissions substantially. By increasing the number and capacity of plants for thermal treatment of waste the contribution of proper waste management to the national target for reduction of GHG emissions will be in the range of 8 to 14%. The GHG inventories also indicate that a potential CO2 reduction of about 500 000 t year(-1) is achievable by co-incineration of waste in Austrian industry.     

Simultaneous monitoring of profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in contaminated air with semipermeable membrane devices and spruce needles

Gaseous emissions of combusted electronic scrap, PVC, carpet and wood were monitored for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by simultaneous use of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and shoots of spruce needles (Picea abies). It was found that phenanthrene, acenaphthylene and fluorene were the dominating PAHs in all samples. SPMDs and needles mainly sequestered PAH associated with the vapor phase. Particle-bound PAHs were only detected in small amounts, at which the needles tended to uptake more of these compounds in comparison to the SPMDs. Nevertheless, the logarithm of the concentrations of PAHs analyzed in both passive samplers after the same sampling period exhibited a significant linear correlation with correlation coefficients larger than 0.8073. SPMDs and spruce needles can complement each other in passive air sampling for compounds with a preference to the gas phase rather than aerosols.     

Learning for change: an educational contribution to sustainability science

Transition to sustainability is a search for ways to improve the social capacity to guide interactions between nature and society toward a more sustainable future and, thus, a process of social learning in its broadest sense. Accordingly, it is not only learning that is at issue but education and educational science, of which the latter is about exploring the preconditions of and opportunities for learning and education—whether individual or social, in formal or informal settings. Analyzing how educational science deals with the challenge of sustainability leads to two complementary approaches: the ‘outside-in’ approach sees the idea of sustainability influencing educational practice and the way the relationship of learning and teaching is reviewed, theoretically as well as within the social context. In an ‘inside-out’ approach, an overview is given of how educational science can contribute to the field of sustainability science. An examination of the literature on education and sustainability shows that, while sustainability features prominently in one form or another across all sectors, only little work can be found dealing with the contributions of educational science within sustainability science. However, as sustainability is a concept that not only influences educational practices but also invites disciplinary contributions to foster inter- and transdisciplinary research within the sustainability discourse, the question remains as to how and to what extent educational science in particular can contribute to sustainability science in terms of an ‘inside-out’ approach. In this paper, we reconstruct the emergence of education for sustainable development as a distinctive field of educational science and introduce and discuss three areas of sustainability research and throw into relief the unique contribution that educational science can make to individual action and behavior change, to organizational change and social learning, and, finally, to inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration.     

Polymorphism of mannose phosphate isomerase in North Sea and Baltic Sea populations of the amphipods Gammarus zaddachi and G. salinus

Genetic variation at the mannosephosphate isomerase (MPI) locus was examined in the euryhaline sibling species Gammarus zaddachi Sexton and G. salinus Spooner. Both crustacean amphipods share identical enzyme mobilities, following electrophoresis on vertical starch gels. The MPI locus turned out to be highly polymorphic; it is encoded by 6 alleles in G. zaddachi and 7 alleles in G. salinus. Geographic variation of allelic diversity was studied in samples from 9 G. zaddachi and 10 G. salinus populations, primarily obtained from Baltic Sea and North Sea sites. Patterns of inter- and intraspecific heterogeneity are described. Differences in allelic composition exist between Baltic and North Sea samples of G. salinus. In G. zaddachi, levels of polymorphism are higher in North Sea populations than in those from Baltic Sea areas. The significance of these findings is discussed in the light of previous biochemical genetic investigations on the population structure of the two amphipods considered.     

HERA: a Supermicroscope for Investigating the Structure of the Proton

   HERA, a high energy particle collider at the Deutsches Elektronensychrotron DESY in Hamburg, allows investigation of the structure of the proton with a spatial resolution of 10 cm, corresponding to about 1/1000 of its diameter. This view deep into the inner properties of matter is obtained from the scattering of high-energy electrons or positrons from high-energy protons. With its 6.3 km circumference, HERA can be regarded as a gigantic electron microscope. The high energies available at HERA allow a wealth of further studies on the properties of elementary particles and their interactions. After a brief review of earlier experiments, the article describes the concept of HERA and the detectors H1 and ZEUS, with which the scattering events are analyzed, as well as some of the physics results.     

Molecular prenatal diagnosis of Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome is reliable and efficient

Smith–Lemli–Opitz (RSH) syndrome (SLOS, OMIM 270400) is a relatively common, autosomal recessive disorder of cholesterol biosynthesis with a broad spectrum of phenotypic abnormalities caused by mutations of the 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase gene (DHCR7) on chromosome 11. Prenatal diagnosis can be established by detection of elevated 7-dehydrocholesterol or of SLOS-causing mutations in the DHCR7 gene. We report here our experience with molecular prenatal diagnosis of SLOS. Mutation analysis of the DHCR7 gene was performed in chorionic villus samples of 13 pregnancies of couples with a family history of SLOS and known SLOS genotypes. This approach is accurate and reliable. If facilities for biochemical analysis are not available, or in cases with ambiguous biochemical patterns, molecular prenatal diagnosis is an attractive, alternative option. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Haloacetic acids,phytotoxic secondary air pollutants

Haloacetic acids are atmospheric oxidation products of airborne C₂-halocarbons which are important solvents and propellants. Levels of trichloroacetate (TCA) in conifer needles from mountain ranges in Germany (Black Forest, Erzgebirge) and from two sites in Finland are compared; TCA is present in conifer needles at concentrations up to 0.7 μmol/kg, MCA up to 0.2 μmol/kg. At the Finnish sites, TCA-concentrations and branch degeneration symptoms of Scots pine are correlated. Monochloroacetate (MCA) has been determined in needle samples from Southern Germany in concentrations exceeding its phytotoxicity threshold towards photoautotrophic organisms. Data on atmospheric chloroacetate levels in Germany are also given; ambient air levels of chloroacetic acids range from about 2 pmol/m³ (TCA) to 390 pmol/m³ (MCA). TCA and dichloroacetic acid (DCA) arise from atmospheric oxidation of airborne C₂-chlorocarbons, while the source of MCA is not yet known; several tentative pathways are suggested.     

The impact of domestic wood burning on personal, indoor and outdoor levels of 1,3-butadiene, benzene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde

The aim of this study was to quantify personal exposure and indoor levels of the suspected or known carcinogenic compounds 1,3-butadiene, benzene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in a small Swedish town where wood burning for space heating is common. Subjects (wood burners, n = 14), living in homes with daily use of wood-burning appliances were compared with referents (n = 10) living in the same residential area. Personal exposure and stationary measurements indoors and at an ambient site were performed with diffusive samplers for 24 h. In addition, 7 day measurements of 1,3-butadiene and benzene were performed inside and outside the homes. Wood burners had significantly higher median personal exposure to 1,3-butadiene (0.18 microg m(-3)) compared with referents (0.12 microg m(-3)), which was also reflected in the indoor levels. Significantly higher indoor levels of benzene were found in the wood-burning homes (3.0 microg m(-3)) compared with the reference homes (1.5 microg m(-3)). With regard to aldehydes, median levels obtained from personal and indoor measurements were similar although the four most extreme acetaldehyde levels were all found in wood burners. High correlations were found between personal and indoor levels for all substances (r(s) > 0.8). In a linear regression model, type of wood-burning appliance, burning time and number of wood replenishments were significant factors for indoor levels of 1,3-butadiene. Domestic wood burning seems to increase personal exposure to 1,3-butadiene as well as indoor levels of 1,3-butadiene and benzene and possibly also acetaldehyde. The cancer risk from these compounds at exposure to wood smoke is, however, estimated to be low in developed countries.