Local air quality management as a risk management process: assessing, managing and remediating the risk of exceeding an air quality objective in Great Britain

Air quality is managed in Great Britain via an effects-based, risk management process designed to provide a dynamic solution to public health issues associated with elevated concentrations of seven specified air pollutants. This paper is concerned with an examination and evaluation of the process of Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) in Great Britain from the late 1980s to date as a risk management process. The statutory basis of LAQM process is provided by the Environment Act 1995. The Act provides a framework in which national and local actions are required to identify and remediate areas of poor air quality. Within this framework, the implementation of the process at national and local levels is considered, leading to an identification and assessment of risks in the formulation and implementation of air quality management policy and practice. Local Authorities began the process of Review and Assessment in 1999 and the first round of the process concluded in 2001. Following this, some 129 Local Authorities declared one or more Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). The Review and Assessment elements of the framework were subjected to an evaluation in 2001 and the essential elements of it were confirmed as fit for purpose. The evaluation led to a confirmation of the process of LAQM but also a simplification based on the experience of Round 1. Now, a two step process is required comprising of an Updating and Screening Assessment and, where a risk of exceeding an Air Quality Objective (AQO) is identified, a Detailed Assessment follows. The Government has identified a time scale for Review and Assessment through to 2010 and also introduced the requirement of a regular Progress Report in order that a Local Authority is able to address routine matters of air quality management. The risks inherent in epidemiological or scientific uncertainty are factored into the LAQM process at an early stage of the process and, by identifying the risks and subjecting them to regular review, the process provides a 'level playing field' across spatial and temporal scales. Whilst the process of LAQM described in this paper has been developed for Great Britain, the generic elements of the process are applicable to other countries challenged by air pollution problems which require both national and local action to resolve them.     

Operator competence and capacity - Lessons from the Montara blowout

The blowout of the Montara H1 well in the Timor Sea off the northwest coast of Australia in August 2009 was the first such incident in Australian offshore waters for 25 years. This article seeks to draw lessons for management of complex hazardous activities from these events by analysing critical decisions regarding well control barriers. Concepts such as trial and error learning, sensemaking and the need for multiple barriers are used to demonstrate why the organisation was blind to the developing problems and hence why lack of technical competence alone is not sufficient to explain the events that occurred. Three organisational improvements are proposed - providing active supervision, improved technical integrity assurance and better use of risk assessment. The article concludes with an appeal for changes in regulatory policy regarding safety to include organisational issues in addition to the traditional technical focus.     

Biological invasions: recommendations for U.S. policy and management.

The Ecological Society of America has evaluated current U.S. national policies and practices on biological invasions in light of current scientific knowledge. Invasions by harmful nonnative species are increasing in number and area affected; the damages to ecosystems, economic activity, and human welfare are accumulating. Without improved strategies based on recent scientific advances and increased investments to counter invasions, harm from invasive species is likely to accelerate. Federal leadership, with the cooperation of state and local governments, is required to increase the effectiveness of prevention of invasions, detect and respond quickly to new potentially harmful invasions, control and slow the spread of existing invasions, and provide a national center to ensure that these efforts are coordinated and cost effective. Specifically, the Ecological Society of America recommends that the federal government take the following six actions: (1) Use new information and practices to better manage commercial and other pathways to reduce the transport and release of potentially harmful species; (2) Adopt more quantitative procedures for risk analysis and apply them to every species proposed for importation into the country; (3) Use new cost-effective diagnostic technologies to increase active surveillance and sharing of information about invasive species so that responses to new invasions can be more rapid and effective; (4) Create new legal authority and provide emergency funding to support rapid responses to emerging invasions; (5) Provide funding and incentives for cost-effective programs to slow the spread of existing invasive species in order to protect still uninvaded ecosystems, social and industrial infrastructure, and human welfare; and (6) Establish a National Center for Invasive Species Management (under the existing National Invasive Species Council) to coordinate and lead improvements in federal, state, and international policies on invasive species. Recent scientific and technical advances provide a sound basis for more cost-effective national responses to invasive species. Greater investments in improved technology and management practices would be more than repaid by reduced damages from current and future invasive species. The Ecological Society of America is committed to assist all levels of government and provide scientific advice to improve all aspects of invasive-species management.     

Development of a multi-factor model for predicting the effects of ambient ozone on the biomass of white clover

Results are presented from the UN/ECE ICP Vegetation (International Cooperative Programme on effects of air pollution on natural vegetation and crops) experiments in which ozone(O(3))-resistant (NC-R) and -sensitive (NC-S) clones of white clover (Trifolium repens cv. Regal) were exposed to ambient O(3) episodes at 14 sites in eight European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The plants were grown according to a standard protocol, and the forage was harvested every 28 days for 4-5 months per year by excision 7 cm above the soil surface. Biomass ratio (NC-S/NC-R) was related to the climatic and pollutant conditions at each site using multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs). Twenty-one input parameters [e.g. AOT40, 7-h mean O(3) concentration, daylight vapour pressure deficit (VPD), daily maximum temperature] were considered individually and in combination with the aim of developing a model with high r(2) and simple structure that could be used to predict biomass change in white clover. MLR models were generally more complex, and performed less well for unseen data than non-linear ANN models. The ANN model with the best performance had five inputs with an r(2) value of 0.84 for the training data, and 0.71 for previously unseen data. Two inputs to the model described the O(3) conditions (AOT40 and 24-h mean for O(3)), two described temperature (daylight mean and 24-h mean temperature), and the fifth input appeared to be differentiating between semi-urban and rural sites (NO concentration at 17:00). Neither VPD nor harvest interval was an important component of the model. The model predicted that a 5% reduction in biomass ratio was associated with AOT40s in the range 0.9-1.7 ppm x h (microl l(-1) h) accumulated over 28 days, with plants being most sensitive in conditions of low NO(x), medium-range temperature, and high 24-h mean O(3) concentration.     

Mineralization,metabolism and formation of non-extractable residues of 14C-labelled organic contaminants during pilot-scale composting of municipal biowaste

Use of municipal biowaste for composting instead of its disposal has become a major source of concern as regards contamination by hazardous substances. To elucidate the hazard potential of compost application, municipal biowaste was amended with 14C-labelled model substances (pyrene, simazine) and incubated in a pilot-scale composting simulation system. A mass balance incorporating the mineralization, metabolism and sorption of the two model substances was established over a period of 370 days. The results are quite different for the two chemicals, reflecting their intrinsic properties: more than 60% of the applied 14C-simazine resulted in non-extractable residues (NER). Silylation experiments indicated that the formation of NER from simazine and its metabolites was due to both physical entrapment in the matrix and chemical binding. The mineralization and formation of NER represented the major pathways of disappearance for pyrene during one year of composting, accounting for 60 and 26% of initially applied 14C-activity, respectively. Mineralization occurred delayed after the thermophilic phase. As regards remobilization, release of pyrene from NER during composting could be excluded, whereas simazine, data were inconclusive in this respect.     

EuroBionet: a pan-European biomonitoring network for urban air quality assessment

EuroBionet, the 'European Network for the Assessment of Air Quality by the Use of Bioindicator Plants', is an EU-funded cooperative project currently consisting of public authorities and scientific institutes from 12 cities in 8 countries. In 2000, the bioindicator plants tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum Bel W3), poplar (Populus nigra 'Brandaris'), spiderwort (Tradescantia sp. clone 4430), Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum italicum) and curly kale (Brassica oleracea acephala) were exposed to ambient air at 90 monitoring sites according to standardised methods. Visible injuries and growth parameters were assessed and the accumulation of toxic substances in leaves determined. The exposure of tobacco resulted in a gradient with low levels of ozone-induced foliar injury in N and NW Europe, and medium to high values in the southern and central regions. The results of heavy metal and sulphur analyses in rye grass samples generally showed low to very low sulphur and low to medium heavy metal concentrations in leaves. In some cities, however, local hot spots of heavy metal contamination were detected. Analyses of the PAH contents in curly kale leaves gave low to medium values, with locally elevated levels at traffic-exposed sites.     

Are indigenous forest reserves sustainable? An analysis of present and future land-use trends in Bosawas,Nicaragua

SUMMARY

In recent years, indigenous tenure over forest lands has emerged as a means to conserve forests while recognizing indigenous rights. There is concern, however, that indigenous reserves may not be an appropriate policy tool for sustained forest conservation. Our research examined how recognition of indigenous common-property rights has controlled agricultural expansion and conserved forests in Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. We used satellite imagery with empirical data gathered in the field on land-use institutions, population pressures, and land-use practices to compare whether indigenous communities under territorial management or public management are better able to (1) control the ‘fast threat’ of frontier expansion and (2) address the long-term ecological threats posed by indigenous land-use practices and institutional changes in the region. Our findings are that indigenous residents who share common-property rights over their territories are better able to control agricultural expansion than are indigenous residents living on public lands. With respect to the long-term threats to the region, a series of simulations of possible land-use pressures demonstrate that the enforcement of territorial boundaries and further development of indigenous forest management rules will prove crucial in determining land-use capacity and deforestation over the next 50 years.     

Ecological drivers of group living in two populations of the communally rearing rodent, Octodon degus

Intraspecific variation in sociality is thought to reflect a trade-off between current fitness benefits and costs that emerge from individuals' decision to join or leave groups. Since those benefits and costs may be influenced by ecological conditions, ecological variation remains a major, ultimate cause of intraspecific variation in sociality. Intraspecific comparisons of mammalian sociality across populations facing different environmental conditions have not provided a consistent relationship between ecological variation and group-living. Thus, we studied two populations of the communally rearing rodent Octodon degus to determine how co-variation between sociality and ecology supports alternative ecological causes of group living. In particular, we examined how variables linked to predation risk, thermal conditions, burrowing costs, and food availability predicted temporal and population variation in sociality. Our study revealed population and temporal variation in total group size and group composition that covaried with population and yearly differences in ecology. In particular, predation risk and burrowing costs are supported as drivers of this social variation in degus. Thermal differences, food quantity and quality were not significant predictors of social group size. In contrast to between populations, social variation within populations was largely uncoupled from ecological differences.     

Behavior of potentially toxic elements from stoker-boiler fly ash in Interior Alaska: paired batch leaching and solid-phase characterization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Despite significant investigation of fly ash spills and mineralogical controls on the release of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from fly ash,...