Fukushima fallout in Northwest German environmental media

Traces of short- and long-lived fallout isotopes (¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) were found in environmental samples collected in Northwest Germany (rain water, river sediment, soil, grass and cow milk) from March to May 2011, following the radioactivity releases after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. The measured concentrations are consistent with reported concentrations in air, amount of rainfall and expected values applying simple radioecological models. The [¹³⁴Cs]/[¹³⁷Cs] ratio reported for air (about 1) allows for discrimination between “recent” and “old” ¹³⁷Cs. Expected ¹³⁶Cs values fell below the detection limits of the instrumentation, despite large sample masses and long counting times.     

How Should Support for Climate-Friendly Technologies Be Designed?

Stabilizing global greenhouse gas concentrations at levels to avoid significant climate risks will require massive “decarbonization” of all the major economies over the next few decades, in addition to the reduced emissions from other GHGs and carbon sequestration. Achieving the necessary scale of emissions reductions will require a multifaceted policy effort to support a broad array of technological and behavioral changes. Change on this scale will require sound, well-thought-out strategies. In this article, we outline some core principles, drawn from recent social science research, for guiding the design of clean technology policies, with a focus on energy. The market should be encouraged to make good choices: pricing carbon emissions and other environmental damage, removing distorting subsidies and barriers to competition, and supporting RD&D broadly. More specific policies are required to address particular market failures and barriers. For those technologies identified as being particularly desirable, some narrower RD&D policies are available.     

Biological responses of workplace particles and their association with adverse health effects on miners

Epidemiological research has demonstrated the relationship between exposure to quartz dust and an elevated risk of pneumoconiosis and possible elevated risk of cancer. The current study was designed to evaluate the biological responses of workplace particles containing crystalline silica using an in vitro cell test. Respirable particle samples were sampled from four tin mines, where the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for pneumoconiosis was 51.6 and SMR for lung cancer was 2.2 in dust-exposed miners. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are considered as the target cells for primary dust effects. The samples were then measured at 15, 30, 60 and 120 microg particle per 10(6) AM for cytoxicity with the release of glucuronidase, lactate dehydrogenase, for reactive oxygen damage with H(2)O(2) release, and for ability to induce fibrosis using the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Pure quartz (DQ12) and corundum were used as controls. The results showed the samples from tin mines caused a higher cytoxicity when compared to corundum, yet lower when compared to quartz. However, reactive oxygen species release (148-177 nmol/3 x 10(5) AM in high concentration of 120 microg/10(6) AM) induced by the samples were significantly higher than that induced by quartz (57 nmol/3 x 10(5) AM) and corundum (62 nmol/3 x 10(5) AM). Furthermore, particle samples induced higher TNF-alpha secretion than corundum, the samples from Limu tin mine induced much higher TNF-alpha levels than that induced by DQ12 quartz. The results from the in vitro tests help elucidate the degree of hazard of dust particles in tin mines. The in vitro reaction patterns of AM also constitute a powerful tool to monitor biological and pathogenic responses of humans following dust particle exposure.     

Using Goals in Environmental Management: The Swedish System of Environmental Objectives

In Sweden, environmental policy is essentially carried out through a system of environmental objectives adopted by Parliament in the late 1990s. This system contains principles, objectives, interim targets, strategies, and follow-up mechanisms, which together provide a solid ground for increased efficiency and improved prioritization in environmental policies. Despite the ambitious approach of the Swedish Parliament, the system of environmental objectives suffers from certain shortcomings. Some of the objectives are imprecise and difficult to evaluate, and there are no rules or principles that may be used to solve goal conflicts and to prioritize between different objectives. As a consequence, the environmental objectives tend to differ in their degrees of operationalizability, and the priority-setting between different objectives is often unclear.*Rskr. denotes a written communication (from the Swedish Parliament to the Swedish Government) of a Parliamentary decision. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

Point- and nonpoint-source pesticide contamination in the Zwester Ohm catchment, Germany

Reducing pesticide loads in surface waters implies identifying the pathways responsible for the pollution. The current study documents the pesticide contamination of the river Zwester Ohm, a 4917-ha catchment in Germany with 41% of the land used for crop production. Discharges and concentrations of 19 pesticides were measured continuously at three locations for 15 mo. The load detected at the outlet of the catchment amounted to 9048 g a.i. The losses represent 0.22% of the pesticides applied by the farmers. The contamination showed a seasonal pattern following the pesticide application times. The wastewater treatment plant system (WWTPS) in the catchment (two wastewater treatment plants [WWTP], 14 combined sewer overflows (CSO), four CSO tanks) emits during dry weather periods purified sewage and during storm events sewage mixed with stormwater runoff into the river. The contribution by the WWTPS to the pesticide load was defined as point-source pollution (PSP). The load was dominated by PSP with at least 77% of the total pollution. No significant interdependencies between intrinsic properties of the pesticides, hydrometeorological factors, and the loads occurring in the stream could be found. Therefore, it is not possible to predict PSP for other catchments based on the results from this study. Whereas 65% of the total load entered the river via the WWTP, a portion of 12% was attributed to the CSO. The study points out that the influence of CSO on PSP should be taken into account in future catchment studies in areas with comparable agricultural structure.