Regional or global WEEE recycling. Where to go?

If we consider Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management, we can see the development of different positions in developed and developing countries. This development started with the movement of WEEE from developed countries to the developing countries. However, when the consequences for health and the environment were observed, some developing countries introduced a ban on the import of this kind of waste under the umbrella of the Basel Convention, while some developed countries have been considering a regional or global WEEE recycling approach. This paper explores the current movements between Source and Destination countries, or the importers and exporters, and examines whether it is legal and why illegal traffic is still rife; how global initiatives could support a global WEEE management scheme; the recycling characteristics of the source an destination countries and also to ascertain whether the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been established between the different stakeholders involved in WEEE management.Ultimately, the Full Extended Producer Responsibility is presented as a possible solution because the compensation of the environmental capacity for WEEE recycling or treatment could be made by the contribution of extra responsibility; and also generating an uniform standard for processing WEEE in an environmentally sound manner could support the regional or international solution of WEEE and also improve the performance of the informal sector.     

Sequential electrochemical treatment of dairy wastewater using aluminum and DSA-type anodes

Dairy wastewater is characterized by a high content of hardly biodegradable dissolved, colloidal, and suspended organic matter. This work firstly investigates the performance of two individual electrochemical treatments, namely electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO), in order to finally assess the mineralization ability of a sequential EC/EO process. EC with an Al anode was employed as a primary pretreatment for the conditioning of 800 mL of wastewater. A complete reduction of turbidity, as well as 90 and 81 % of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal, respectively, were achieved after 120 min of EC at 9.09 mA cm^?2. For EO, two kinds of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) electrodes (Ti/IrO₂-Ta₂O₅ and Ti/IrO₂-SnO₂–Sb₂O₅) were prepared by the Pechini method, obtaining homogeneous coatings with uniform composition and high roughness. The ^·OH formed at the DSA surface from H₂O oxidation were not detected by electron spin resonance. However, their indirect determination by means of H₂O₂ measurements revealed that Ti/IrO₂-SnO₂–Sb₂O₅ is able to produce partially physisorbed radicals. Since the characterization of the wastewater revealed the presence of indole derivatives, preliminary bulk electrolyses were done in ultrapure water containing 1 mM indole in sulfate and/or chloride media. The performance of EO with the Ti/IrO₂-Ta₂O₅ anode was evaluated from the TOC removal and the UV/Vis absorbance decay. The mineralization was very poor in 0.05 M Na₂SO₄, whereas it increased considerably at a greater Cl^? content, meaning that the oxidation mediated by electrogenerated species such as Cl₂, HClO, and/or ClO^? competes and even predominates over the ^·OH-mediated oxidation. The EO treatment of EC-pretreated dairy wastewater allowed obtaining a global 98 % TOC removal, decreasing from 1,062 to <30 mg L^?1.     

Climate change vulnerability of the US Northeast winter recreation– tourism sector

Winter recreation is an important part of the cultural identity of the Northeast United States and is a multibillion dollar contributor to the regional economy. This study examined the vulnerability of the two largest winter recreation industries, snowmobiling and alpine skiing, to four climate change scenarios for the twenty-first century. Under all scenarios, natural snow became an increasingly scarce resource. The diminished natural snow pack had a very negative impact on the snowmobile industry. As early as 2010–2039, 4 to 6 of the 15 snowmobile study areas were projected to lose more than half of the current season. Reliable snowmobile seasons (>50 days) were virtually eliminated in the region under the A1Fi scenarios by 2070–2099. The large investment in snowmaking substantially reduced the vulnerability of the ski industry and climate change posed a risk to only 4 of the 14 ski areas in 2010–2039, where average ski seasons declined below 100 days and the probability of being open for the entire Christmas–New Year’s holiday declined below 75%. Conversely, by 2070–2099 only four ski study areas had not reached these same economic risk criteria. In order to minimize ski season losses, snowmaking requirements are projected to increase substantially, raising important uncertainties about water availability and cost. Climate change represents a notable threat to the winter recreation sector in the Northeast, and the potential economic ramifications for businesses and communities heavily invested in winter tourism and related real estate is sizeable.     

The evolution of sociality in small,carnivorous marsupials: the lek hypothesis revisited

One of the few mammal species reported to have a mating system of lek promiscuity is the tree-hollow nesting marsupial, the agile antechinus, Antechinus agilis. Past conclusions about its mating system have been based on seasonal changes in social group size, sex-specific nest switching and space use. Thermoregulation has also been suggested as an explanation for variation in social behaviour in this species and its relatives. We tested predictions of the lekking and thermoregulation hypotheses to explain sociality in cavity nesting antechinuses using published data, and new data on brown and subtropical antechinuses. We found that across four species, social group size is negatively correlated with daily minimum temperature, but not with timing of breeding. Females have a matrilineal fission–fusion social system, which continues during the brief mating season, and males range increasingly further throughout their lives, contacting as many females as possible in nests. Males show no indication of fission–fusion sociality. All evidence in species other than A. agilis, and some data on A. agilis, indicate a mating system of scramble polygyny, and not lek promiscuity. We conclude that across species, thermoregulation is the main reason for seasonal variation in nesting group size in both sexes.     

Predictors of occupancy trend across spatial scale

Many explorations of extinction probability have had a global focus, yet it is unclear whether variables that explain the probability of extinction at large spatial extents are the same as those at small spatial extents. Thus, we used nearly annual presence-absence records for the most recent 40 years of a 110-year data set from Palenque, Mexico, an area with ongoing deforestation, to explore which of >200 species of birds have probabilities of extirpation that are likely to increase. We assessed associations between long-term trends in species presence (i.e., detection in a given year) and body size, geographic range size, diet, dependence on forest cover, taxonomy, and ecological specialization. Our response variable was the estimated slope of a weighted logistic regression for each species. We assessed the relative strength of each predictor by means of a model ranking scheme. Several variables associated with high extinction probability at global extents, such as large body size or small geographic range size, were not associated with occurrence of birds over time at our site. Body size was associated with species loss at Palenque, but occurrence trends of both very large and very small species, particularly the latter, have declined, or the species have been extirpated. We found no association between declining occurrence trend and geographic range size, yet decline correlated with whether a species depends on forest (mean occupancy trend =-0.0380, 0.0263, and 0.0186 for, respectively, species with high, intermediate, or low dependence on forest) and with complex combinations of diet and foraging strata (e.g., occurrence of canopy insectivores and terrestrial omnivores has increased, whereas occurrence of mid-level frugivores and terrestrial granivores has decreased). Our findings emphasize that analyses of local areas are necessary to explicate extirpation risk at various spatial extents.     

An ethical dimension to sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated areas

Experience after the Chernobyl accident has shown that restoration strategies need to consider a wide range of different issues to ensure the long-term sustainability of large and varied contaminated areas. Thus, the criteria by which we evaluate countermeasures need to be extended from simple cost-benefit effectiveness and radiological protection standards to a more integrated, holistic approach, including social and ethical aspects. Within the STRATEGY project, the applicability of many countermeasures is being critically assessed using a wide range of criteria. Attention is being given to issues such as practicability, feasibility, capacity and environmental side-effects, as well as social factors such as public perceptions of risk, communication of information and the need for dialogue and consultation with affected communities, and ethical aspects such as informed consent and the fair distribution of costs and doses. Although such socio-ethical factors are now the subject of a substantial field of research, there has been little attempt to integrate them in a practical context for decision makers. Within this paper, we specifically consider the ethical aspects of restoration strategies and suggest practical means by which these can be taken into account in the decision making process, introducing a value matrix. The paper covers two critical areas: evaluation of individual countermeasures, and use of the matrix to ensure transparent and systematic consideration of values in selection of a restoration strategy.     

The Effects of Air Pollution on Exposed Cotton Fabrics

This report covers the results of one-year exposure studies of cotton fabrics exposed at different environmental sites in the metropolitan St. Louis, Mo., and Chicago, III. areas. The 12 sites range from heavy industrial to essentially rural. The data presented definitely establish a relationship between air pollution and accelerated degradation of cotton fabrics. The data include strength retention of several cotton fabrics and air pollution data, as determined by periodic measurement of dustfall, suspended particulate matter, sulfation, and sulfur dioxide.     

Relation of fish and shellfish distributions to habitat and water quality in the Mobile Bay estuary, USA

The Mobile Bay estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico provides a rich habitat for many fish and shellfish, including those identified as economically and ecologically important. The National Estuary Program in Mobile Bay has focused on restoration of degraded estuarine habitat on which these species depend. To support this effort, we used statistical techniques of ordination, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis to relate distributions of individual fish and shellfish species and species assemblages to two dozen water quality and habitat variables in a geo-referenced database. Species appeared to respond to dominant gradients of low to high salinity and upland to offshore habitat area; many of the 15 communities identified via cluster analysis showed aggregated spatial distributions that could be related to habitat characteristics. Species in the Mobile River Delta were distinct from those in other areas of the estuary. This analysis supports habitat management in the Mobile Bay estuary; however, due to mobility of organisms among sampling locations and the dynamic environmental conditions in estuaries, we conclude that the analyses presented here are most appropriate for an evaluation of the estuary as a whole.     

Effect of light and turbulent mixing on the growth of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Skeletonema costatum</Emphasis> (Bacillariophyceae)

Skeletonema costatum was grown in an outdoor mesocosm to test the hypothesis that fluctuations in irradiance brought about by changes in mixing time and depth can reduce diatom growth and biomass in the turbulent mixed layer. The light environment and mixing regime within the mesocosm were comparable to those in shallow lakes and coastal waters. Experiments showed no significant differences for 24-h mean and 7-day mean chlorophyll a and carbon-specific growth for mixed depths of 1 m and 3 m, and mixing times between 4 min and 65 min. Fluctuations in irradiance brought about by turbulent mixing had no significant effect on specific growth. The relationship between mixed depths and critical depths for S. costatum was therefore independent of fluctuations in irradiance in the turbulent mixed layer. The results indicated that to control growth of S. costatum mixed depths would have to exceed photic depths by a factor of 15, instead of the conventionally accepted factor of 5. Thus, it is likely that artificial mixing of shallow (<10 m) eutrophic waters will be more effective in controlling slow-growing summer biomass than fast-growing spring blooms dominated by diatoms.Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin     

Foodweb modeling for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Twelvemile Creek Arm of Lake Hartwell,South Carolina,USA

PCBs from the Sangamo-Weston Superfund Site near Clemson, South Carolina, USA, were released into the Twelvemile Creek Arm of Lake Hartwell until the early 1990s. Monitoring data have shown that while PCB concentration in sediments declined since 1995, PCB concentrations in fish have remained elevated, e.g., largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) concentrations have ranged from 5 to 10 ppm. The EPA aquatic ecosystem model AQUATOX was applied to this system to better characterize foodweb dynamics that lead to biomagnification of PCBs. The model was calibrated with observed fish biomass data. Simulated PCB loading over a 12-year period provided a reasonable fit to observed PCB data in fish. The model demonstrated that contaminated labile detritus loaded to the system was incorporated into the foodweb rather than deposited, thereby maintaining the PCB concentrations in fish while concentrations in the sediment declined. A dominant PCB pathway was from detritus to daphnia to shad to largemouth bass. Fish PCB concentrations showed moderate sensitivity to toxicant parameters; model runs incorporating uncertainty in these parameters predicted recovery (<2 ppm PCB) for all species in the range of years from 2008 to 2013. The high sensitivity of the model to parameters related to growth strongly affected PCB concentrations in fish and should be considered in future AQUATOX applications.