Estimating the economic burden from illnesses associated with recreational coastal water pollution--a case study in Orange County, California

A cost-of-illness framework was applied to health and income data to quantify the health burden from illnesses associated with exposure to polluted recreational marine waters. Using data on illness severity due to exposure to polluted coastal water and estimates of mean annual salaries and medical costs (adjusted to 2001 values) for residents of Orange County, California, we estimated that the economic burden per gastrointestinal illness (GI) amounts to 36.58 dollars, the burden per acute respiratory disease is 76.76 dollars, the burden per ear ailment is 37.86 dollars, and the burden per eye ailment is 27.31 dollars. These costs can become a substantial public health burden when millions of exposures per year to polluted coastal waters result in hundreds of thousands of illnesses. For example, exposures to polluted waters at Orange County's Newport and Huntington Beaches were estimated to generate an average of 36,778 GI episodes per year. At this GI illness rate, one can also expect that approximately 38,000 more illness episodes occurred per year of other types, including respiratory, eye, and ear infections. The combination of excess illnesses associated with coastal water pollution resulted in a cumulative public health burden of 3.3 million dollars per year for these two beaches. This paper introduces a public health cost variable that can be applied in cost-benefit analyses when evaluating pollution abatement strategies.     

Increased bioavailability of metals in two contrasting agricultural soils treated with waste wood-derived biochar and ash

Recycled waste wood is being increasingly used for energy production; however, organic and metal contaminants in by-products produced from the combustion/pyrolysis residue may pose a significant environmental risk if they are disposed of to land. Here we conducted a study to evaluate if highly polluted biochar (from pyrolysis) and ash (from incineration) derived from Cu-based preservative-treated wood led to different metal (e.g., Cu, As, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Zn) bioavailability and accumulation in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). In a pot experiment, biochar at a common rate of 2 % w/w, corresponding to ～50 t ha^?1, and an equivalent pre-combustion dose of wood ash (0.2 % w/w) were added to a Eutric Cambisol (pH 6.02) and a Haplic Podzol (pH 4.95), respectively. Both amendments initially raised soil pH, although this effect was relatively short-term, with pH returning close to the unamended control within about 7 weeks. The addition of both amendments resulted in an exceedance of soil Cu statutory limit, together with a significant increase of Cu and plant nutrient (e.g., K) bioavailability. The metal-sorbing capacity of the biochar, and the temporary increase in soil pH caused by adding the ash and biochar were insufficient to offset the amount of free metal released into solution. Sunflower plants were negatively affected by the addition of metal-treated wood-derived biochar and led to elevated concentration of metals in plant tissue, and reduced above- and below-ground biomass, while sunflower did not grow at all in the Haplic Podzol. Biochar and ash derived from wood treated with Cu-based preservatives can lead to extremely high Cu concentrations in soil and negatively affect plant growth. Identifying sources of contaminated wood in waste stream feedstocks is crucial before large-scale application of biochar or wood ash to soil is considered.     

Using long-term data for a reintroduced population to empirically estimate future consequences of inbreeding

Inbreeding depression is an important long-term threat to reintroduced populations. However, the strength of inbreeding depression is difficult to estimate in wild populations because pedigree data are inevitably incomplete and because good data are needed on survival and reproduction. Predicting future population consequences is especially difficult because this also requires projecting future inbreeding levels and their impacts on long-term population dynamics, which are subject to many uncertainties. We illustrate how such projections can be derived through Bayesian state-space modeling methods based on a 26-year data set for North Island Robins (Petroica longipes) reintroduced to Tiritiri Matangi Island in 1992. We used pedigree data to model increases in the average inbreeding level (F ) over time based on kinship of possible breeding pairs and to estimate empirically N_e/N (effective/census population size). We used multiple imputation to model the unknown components of inbreeding coefficients, which allowed us to estimate effects of inbreeding on survival for all 1458 birds in the data set while modeling density dependence and environmental stochasticity. This modeling indicated that inbreeding reduced juvenile survival (1.83 lethal equivalents [SE 0.81]) and may have reduced subsequent adult survival (0.44 lethal equivalents [0.81]) but had no apparent effect on numbers of fledglings produced. Average inbreeding level increased to 0.10 (SE 0.001) as the population grew from 33 (0.3) to 160 (6) individuals over the 25 years, giving a ratio of 0.56 (0.01). Based on a model that also incorporated habitat regeneration, the population was projected to reach a maximum of 331–1144 birds (median 726) in 2130, then to begin a slow decline. Without inbreeding, the population would be expected stabilize at 887–1465 birds (median 1131). Such analysis, therefore, makes it possible to empirically derive the information needed for rational decisions about inbreeding management while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty.     

The potential of vehicle and road infrastructure interventions in fatal bicyclist accidents on Swedish roads—What can in-depth studies tell us?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of fatal crashes with bicyclists on Swedish roads in rural and urban areas and to investigate the potential of bicycle helmets and different vehicle and road infrastructure interventions to prevent them. The study has a comprehensive approach to provide road authorities and vehicle manufacturers with recommendations for future priorities.

Methods: The Swedish Transport Administration’s (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used for case-by-case analysis of fatal cycling accidents (2006–2016) on rural (n?=?82) and urban (n?=?102) roads. The database consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. The potential of helmet use and various vehicle and road infrastructure safety interventions was determined retrospectively for each case by analyzing the chain of events leading to the fatality. The potential of vehicle safety countermeasures was analyzed based on prognoses on their implementation rates in the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Results: The most common accident scenario on rural roads was that the bicyclist was struck while cycling along the side of the road. On urban roads, the majority of accidents occurred in intersections. Most accidents involved a passenger car, but heavy trucks were also common, especially in urban areas. Most accidents occurred in daylight conditions (73%). Almost half (46%) of nonhelmeted bicyclists would have survived with a helmet. It was assessed that nearly 60% of the fatal accidents could be addressed by advanced vehicle safety technologies, especially autonomous emergency braking with the ability to detect bicyclists. With regard to interventions in the road infrastructure, separated paths for bicyclists and bicycle crossings with speed calming measures were found to have the greatest safety potential. Results indicated that 91% of fatally injured bicyclists could potentially be saved with known techniques. However, it will take a long time for such technologies to be widespread.

Conclusions: The majority of fatally injured bicyclists studied could potentially be saved with known techniques. A speedy implementation of important vehicle safety systems is recommended. A fast introduction of effective interventions in the road infrastructure is also necessary, preferably with a plan for prioritization.     

Suicide by crashing into a heavy vehicle: Focus on professional drivers using in-depth crash data

Objective: Road traffic suicides typically involve a passenger car driver crashing his or her vehicle into a heavy vehicle, because death is almost certain due to the large mass difference between these vehicles. For the same reason, heavy-vehicle drivers typically suffer minor injuries, if any, and have thus received little attention in the research literature. In this study, we focused on heavy-vehicle drivers who were involved as the second party in road suicides in Finland.

Methods: We analyzed 138 road suicides (2011–2016) involving a passenger car crashing into a heavy vehicle. We used in-depth road crash investigation data from the Finnish Crash Data Institute.

Results: The results showed that all but 2 crashes were head-on collisions. Almost 30% of truck drivers were injured, but only a few suffered serious injuries. More than a quarter reported sick leave following their crash. Injury insurance compensation to heavy-vehicle drivers was just above €9,000 on average. Material damage to heavy vehicles was significant, with average insurance compensation paid being €70,500. Three out of 4 truck drivers reported that drivers committing suicide acted abruptly and left them little opportunity for preventive action.

Conclusions: Suicides by crashing into heavy vehicles can have an impact on drivers’ well-being; however, it is difficult to see how heavy-vehicle drivers could avoid a suicide attempt involving their vehicle.     

Source attribution and quantification of benzene event emissions in a Houston ship channel community based on real-time mobile monitoring of ambient air

A mobile laboratory equipped with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) operated in Galena Park, Texas, near the Houston Ship Channel during the Benzene and other Toxics Exposure Study (BEE-TEX). The mobile laboratory measured transient peaks of benzene of up to 37 ppb_v in the afternoon and evening of February 19, 2015. Plume reconstruction and source attribution were performed using the four-dimensional (4D) variational data assimilation technique and a three-dimensional (3D) micro-scale forward and adjoint air quality model based on mobile PTR-MS data and nearby stationary wind measurements at the Galena Park Continuous Air Monitoring Station (CAMS). The results of inverse modeling indicate that significant pipeline emissions of benzene may at least partly explain the ambient concentration peaks observed in Galena Park during BEE-TEX. Total pipeline emissions of benzene inferred within the 16-km² model domain exceeded point source emissions by roughly a factor of 2 during the observational episode. Besides pipeline leaks, the model also inferred significant benzene emissions from marine, railcar, and tank truck loading/unloading facilities, consistent with the presence of a tanker and barges in the Kinder Morgan port terminal during the afternoon and evening of February 19. Total domain emissions of benzene exceeded corresponding 2011 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) estimates by a factor of 2–6.

Implications:?Port operations involving petrochemicals may significantly increase emissions of air toxics from the transfer and storage of materials. Pipeline leaks, in particular, can lead to sporadic emissions greater than in emission inventories, resulting in higher ambient concentrations than are sampled by the existing monitoring network. The use of updated methods for ambient monitoring and source attribution in real time should be encouraged as an alternative to expanding the conventional monitoring network.     

Leaching behaviour of different scrap materials at recovery and recycling companies: Full-, pilot- and lab-scale investigation

Scrap material recovery and recycling companies are confronted with waste water that has a highly fluctuating flow rate and composition. Common pollutants, such as COD, nutrients and suspended solids, potentially toxic metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and poly chlorinated biphenyls can exceed the discharge limits. An analysis of the leaching behaviour of different scrap materials and scrap yard sweepings was performed at full-scale, pilot-scale and lab-scale in order to find possible preventive solutions for this waste water problem. The results of these leaching tests (with concentrations that frequently exceeded the Flemish discharge limits) showed the importance of regular sweeping campaigns at the company, leak proof or covered storage of specific scrap materials and oil/water separation on particular leachates. The particulate versus dissolved fraction was also studied for the pollutants. For example, up to 98% of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons, poly chlorinated biphenyls and some metals were in the particulate form. This confirms the (potential) applicability of sedimentation and filtration techniques for the treatment of the majority of the leachates, and as such the rainwater run-off as a whole.