Indirect assessment of economic damages from the Prestige oil spill: consequences for liability and risk prevention

The social losses arising from the Prestige oil spill exceed the compensation granted under the IOPC (International Oil Pollution Compensation) system, with losses estimated at 15 times more than the applicable limit of compensations. This is far above the level of costs for which those responsible for hydrocarbons spills are liable. The highest market losses correspond to sectors of extraction, elaboration and commercialisation of seafood. However, damages to non-commercial natural resources could constitute an outstanding group of losses for which further primary data are needed: these losses would only be compensable under the current system by means of a refund for cleaning and restoration costs. Results show that, in Europe, the responsibility for oil spills in maritime transport is limited and unclear. The consequence of this is net social losses from recurrent oil spills and internationally accepted incentives for risky strategies in the marine transport of hydrocarbons.     

Spatial and temporal trends of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in wild mussels from the Cantabrian coast (N Spain) after the Prestige oil spill

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels were determined in tissues of wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected at 17 stations along the Cantabrian coast (N Spain), from Navia (Asturias) to Fuenterrabía (Basque Country), in order to assess the extent of the environmental impact caused by the Prestige oil spill (November 13, 2002). Six sampling campaigns were carried out in April, June and November in 2003 and 2004. The comparison of PAH data with those obtained earlier in 2000 showed a widespread pyrolytic and petrogenic contamination and allowed an estimation, for the first time, of the background pollution in the region and identification of the chronic hotspots. The spatial distribution found in the first samples after the oil spill revealed the eastern area as the most affected due to the continuous arrival of fuel slicks since early summer 2003. Several stations in this area showed increased total PAH concentrations of up to 15 times the pre-spill levels, which did not recover until April 2004, more than one year after the accident. Molecular parameters within the aliphatic and aromatic fractions were determined to assess the presence of Prestige oil in these samples.     

The multidimensionality of behavioural defences against brood parasites: evidence for a behavioural syndrome in magpies?

Studies of antiparasite defences against cuckoo parasites have largely neglected the possibility that behavioural components of host defence may correlate giving rise to a behavioural syndrome. Furthermore, the different contribution of the host’s sex in nest defence has traditionally been disregarded. Here, we studied magpie (Pica pica) mobbing behaviour towards dummies of great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) and non-harmful hoopoes (Upupa epops) and egg rejection of parasite eggs in a population of colour-banded magpies. We predicted a positive correlation between the intensity of nest defence and egg rejection within each sex and that females respond more intensely than males to the threat of brood parasitism as they undertake incubation. Magpie males, but not females, defended their nests more intensely in those nests in which cuckoo model eggs were rejected. Individual magpies did significantly differ in their baseline level of nest attentiveness; however, there were no individual differences once pair identity was considered. Males and females defended their nests more intensely when it was exposed to the presence of a great spotted cuckoo dummy. Males, but not females, were more prone to appear at their nests, and females, but not males, were more prone to defend more intensely when their nests were challenged by a parasite threat. Our results thus agree with the view that mobbing behaviour and egg rejection in magpies may actually constitute a pseudosyndrome and highlight the necessity to integrate interindividual variation and the sex of the host in studies of the evolution of host defences.     

Design and performance evaluation of a photocatalytic reactor for indoor air disinfection

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Since COVID-19 pandemic, indoor air quality control has become a priority, and the development of air purification devices effective for disinfecting...     

Phytotoxicity of fuel to crop plants: influence of soil properties,fuel type,and plant tolerance

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of fuel-contaminated soils on the germination, survival, and early growth of six crop plants, viz. Brassica oleracea, Trifolium repens, Lactuca sativa, Avena sativa, Pisum sativum, and Zea mays, grown on Cambisol A and B horizons contaminated with gasoline and diesel (0%, 1.25%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10%, w/w). Fuel toxicity was more evident in the B horizon than in the A horizon, and diesel was more toxic than gasoline, probably due to the higher evaporation rate of the latter. Fuels affected the germination and survival of small-seeded plants to a higher extent, reflecting the importance of the seed coat and nutrient reserves for successful plant development in fuel-contaminated soils. In general, root growth was more strongly affected than shoot growth, and plant biomass was more strongly affected than elongation, leading to a less plant branching in the presence of fuel. The findings of this study can be useful for selecting the least fuel-tolerant species as soil contamination bioindicator and for determining the risks of fuel contamination. Due to the low residence time of gasoline components in soil, this phytotoxicity test resulted in an unsuitable bioassay to assess gasoline toxicity.     

Direct and indirect generation of waste in the Spanish paper industry

The paper industry has a relatively high degree of reliance on suppliers when compared to other industries. Exploring the role of the paper industry in terms of consumption of intermediate inputs from other industries may help to understand how the production of paper does not only generate waste by itself but also affects the amount of waste generated by other industries. The product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful analytical tool to examine and assess environmental impacts over the entire life cycle of a product “from cradle to grave” but it is costly and time intensive. In contrast, Economic Input Output Life Cycle Assessment Models (IO-LCA) that combine LCA with Input–Output analysis (IO) are more accurate and less expensive, as they employ publicly available data. This paper represents one of the first Spanish studies aimed at estimating the waste generated in the production of paper by applying IO-LCA. One of the major benefits is the derivation of the contribution of direct and indirect suppliers to the paper industry. The results obtained show that there was no direct relationship between the impact on output and the impact on waste generation exerted by the paper industry. The major contributors to waste generation were the mining industry and the forestry industry.     

The effect of sodium chloride on the two-step kinetics of the nitrifying process.

Sodium chloride affects the transformation rate of several compounds in bioreactors. Most authors report a decrease in microorganism activity at increasing salt concentrations. In this work, a kinetic model that relates sodium chloride concentration with the rates of each step of the nitrification process is proposed; thus, the effect of sodium chloride concentration (0 to 60 g/L) on the nitritation and nitratation rates was separately studied. To carry out the independent study of each step, a combination of the respirometric method with sodium azide, an inhibitor of the nitratation step, was performed. The dot-blot hybridization technique with 16S rRNA-targeted probes was used to determine the ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacterial fraction, then it was possible to relate the culture's function with its biological composition. Rates of both steps were linearly reduced at increasing salt concentrations: the nitratation rate was more affected than the nitritation rate. Simulations carried out in a nitrifying sequencing batch reactor indicate that nitrite might accumulate at high salt concentrations. Sodium chloride exerts a reversible inhibition on ammonia oxidation and nitrite oxidation.