Test of aerobic TCE degradation by willows (Salix viminalis) and willows inoculated with TCE-cometabolizing strains of Burkholderia cepacia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widespread soil and groundwater pollutant and clean-up is often problematic and expensive. Phytoremediation may be a...     

Effect of risk aversion on prioritizing conservation projects

Conservation outcomes are uncertain. Agencies making decisions about what threat mitigation actions to take to save which species frequently face the dilemma of whether to invest in actions with high probability of success and guaranteed benefits or to choose projects with a greater risk of failure that might provide higher benefits if they succeed. The answer to this dilemma lies in the decision maker's aversion to risk—their unwillingness to accept uncertain outcomes. Little guidance exists on how risk preferences affect conservation investment priorities. Using a prioritization approach based on cost effectiveness, we compared 2 approaches: a conservative probability threshold approach that excludes investment in projects with a risk of management failure greater than a fixed level, and a variance‐discounting heuristic used in economics that explicitly accounts for risk tolerance and the probabilities of management success and failure. We applied both approaches to prioritizing projects for 700 of New Zealand's threatened species across 8303 management actions. Both decision makers’ risk tolerance and our choice of approach to dealing with risk preferences drove the prioritization solution (i.e., the species selected for management). Use of a probability threshold minimized uncertainty, but more expensive projects were selected than with variance discounting, which maximized expected benefits by selecting the management of species with higher extinction risk and higher conservation value. Explicitly incorporating risk preferences within the decision making process reduced the number of species expected to be safe from extinction because lower risk tolerance resulted in more species being excluded from management, but the approach allowed decision makers to choose a level of acceptable risk that fit with their ability to accommodate failure. We argue for transparency in risk tolerance and recommend that decision makers accept risk in an adaptive management framework to maximize benefits and avoid potential extinctions due to inefficient allocation of limited resources. El Efecto de la Aversión de Riesgo sobre la Priorización de Proyectos de Conservación     

Blei- und Cadmiumbelastung Zähne als Indikatoren der Blei- und Cadmiumbelastung des Menschen

The levels of lead and cadmium were determined in deciduous teeth of children from different areas of Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. The children were born in 1968–1973 and 1979–1986. The levels of lead and cadmium in deciduous teeth show a significant decrease within this time interval. Lead decreases about 50 %, cadmium about 60 %. Since tooth lead and tooth cadmium may be used as indicators of the lead and cadmium body burden, the results of this study indicate a significant decrease of population exposure to lead and cadmium in West-Germany during the past 20–25 years, which is a consequence of pollution control and the increasing use of unleaded fuel.     

Radioaktive Isotope in Sedimenten

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection investigated several natural and artificial radioactive isotopes in the sediments of rivers in the Erzgebirge by means of gamma radiation spectrometry. The regional distribution of the isotopes and their relation to former uranium mining is described. The significantly high differences of their concentrations in different river sections are discussed. A dependence of the activity concentrations on temporal peaks in mining activities is illustrated by the example of a sediment profile. The behavior of artificial radioactive isotopes, such as¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs after the reactor accident in Tschernobyl is characterized. All measurements were evaluated from the radiological point of view and critically assessed.     

Networks of recyclable material waste-picker’s cooperatives: An alternative for the solid waste management in the city of Rio de Janeiro

The objective of this study is to discuss the role of networks formed of waste-picker cooperatives in ameliorating problems of final disposal of solid waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since the city’s main landfill will soon have to close because of exhausted capacity. However, it is estimated that in the city of Rio de Janeiro there are around five thousand waste-pickers working in poor conditions, with lack of physical infrastructure and training, but contributing significantly by diverting solid waste from landfills. According to the Sustainable Development Indicators (IBGE, 2010a, IBGE, 2010b) in Brazil, recycling rates hover between 45% and 55%. In the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, only 1% of the waste produced is collected selectively by the government (COMLURB, 2010), demonstrating that recycling is mainly performed by waste-pickers. Furthermore, since the recycling market is an oligopsony that requires economies of scale to negotiate directly with industries, the idea of working in networks of cooperatives meets the demands for joint marketing of recyclable materials. Thus, this work presents a method for creating and structuring a network of recycling cooperatives, with prior training for working in networks, so that the expected synergies and joint efforts can lead to concrete results. We intend to demonstrate that it is first essential to strengthen the waste-pickers’ cooperatives in terms of infrastructure, governance and training so that solid waste management can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in the city of Rio de Janeiro.