Determination of BTEX by GC–MS in Air of Offset Printing Plants: Comparison between Conventional and Ecological Inks

The use of inks containing organic solvents by the offset printing process implies in the release of volatile organic compounds to the work environment. Many of these compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylene isomers (well known by the acronym BTEX) are extremely toxic. In this study, the BTEX concentrations were determined in two different printing plants that use distinct types of inks: the conventional and the so-called ecological, which is manufactured based on vegetal oil. Concentration ranges were 43–84, 15–3,480, 2–133, 5–459, and 2–236 μg m^?3 for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m?+?p-xylene, and o-xylene, respectively, for the conventional printing plant. At the ecological printing plant, concentration ranges were below limit of detection (<LD)-31, <LD-618, <LD-1,690, <LD-10,500, <LD-3,360 μg m^?3 for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m?+?p-xylene, and o-xylene, respectively. BTEX concentrations are lower at the ecological printing environment than in the conventional, where mineral oil-based inks are used. However, the worker who cleans the printing matrices is exposed to high concentrations of ethylbenzene and xylenes, due probably to the cleaning product’s composition (containing high amounts of BTEX). Although the BTEX concentrations found in both printing work environments were below the limits considered by the Brazilian Law for Activities and Unhealthy Operations (NR-15), the exposure to such vapors characterizes risk to the workers’ health for some of the evaluated samples, mainly the personal ones.     

Is Denser Greener? An Evaluation of Higher Density Development as an Urban Stormwater‐Quality Best Management Practice1

Abstract: A simple spreadsheet model was used to evaluate potential water quality benefits of high‐density development. The question was whether the reduced land consumed by higher density development (vs. standard suburban developments) would offset the worse water quality generated by a greater amount of impervious surface in the smaller area. Total runoff volume and per acre loadings of total phosphorous, total nitrogen, and total suspended solids increased with density as expected, but per capita loadings and runoff decreased markedly with density. For a constant or given population, then, higher density can result in dramatically lower total loadings than more diffuse suburban densities. The model showed that a simple doubling of standard suburban densities [to 8 dwelling units per acre (DUA) from about 3 to 5 DUA] in most cases could do more to reduce contaminant loadings associated with urban growth than many traditional stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and that higher densities such as those associated with transit‐oriented development could outperform almost all traditional BMPs, in terms of reduced loadings per a constant population. Because higher density is associated with vibrant urban life, building a better city may be the best BMP to mitigate the water quality damage that will accompany the massive urban growth expected for the next several decades.     

Sustainability Appraisal of Water Governance Regimes: The Case of Guanacaste,Costa Rica

Sustainability appraisals produce evidence for how well water governance regimes operate and where problems exist. This evidence is particularly relevant for regions that face water scarcity and conflicts. In this study, we present a criteria-based and participatory sustainability appraisal of water governance in a region with such characteristics—the dry tropics of NW Costa Rica. Data collection included 47 interviews and three stakeholder workshops. The appraisal was conducted through a collaborative and iterative process between researchers and stakeholders. Out of the 25 sustainability criteria used, seven posed a significant challenge for the governance regime. We found challenges faced by the governance regime primarily clustered around and were re-enforced by failing coordination related to the use, management, and protection of groundwater resources; and inadequate leadership to identify collective goals and to constructively deliberate alternative ways of governing water with diverse groups. The appraisal yielded some positive impact in the study area, yet we found its application provided only limited strategic information to support broader problem-solving efforts. Insights from this study suggest key starting points for sustainable water governance in the Central American dry tropics, including investing in increasingly influential collective organizations that are already active in water governance; and leveraging policy windows that can be used to build confidence and disperse more governing authority to regional and local governing actors that are in-tune with the challenges faced in the dry tropics. We conclude the article with reflections on how to produce research results that are actionable for sustainable water governance.     

Automated Calibration of the METRIC‐Landsat Evapotranspiration Process

A remaining challenge to applying satellite‐based energy‐balance algorithms for operational estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is the calibration of the energy‐balance model. Customized calibration for each image date is generally required to overcome biases associated with radiometric accuracy of the image, uncertainties in aerodynamic features of the landscape, background thermal conditions, and model assumptions. The CIMEC process (calibration using inverse modeling at extreme conditions) is an endpoint calibration procedure where near extreme conditions in the image are identified where the ET can be estimated and assigned. In the Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration (METRIC?) energy‐balance model, two endpoints represent the dry and wet ends of the ET spectrum. Generally, user‐intervention is required to select locations in the image to produce best accuracy. To bring the METRIC and similar processes into the domain of less experienced operators, a consistent, reproducible, and dependable statistics‐based procedure is introduced where relationships between vegetation amount and surface temperature are used to identify a subpopulation of locations (pixels) in an image that may best represent the calibration endpoints. This article describes the background and logic for the statistical approach, how the statistics were developed, area of interest requirements and assumptions, adjustment for dry conditions in desert climates, and implementation in a common image processing environment (ERDAS Imagine).     

Regional geology and radon variability in buildings

Radon concentrations in dwellings vary by more than two orders of magnitude. Predicting where and when concentrations are likely to be high requires studying the variability of the contributors to radon in buildings. Among common sources, geological factors (water supply and substrate) are the most variable, whereas building materials are much less variable. Ventillation variation among houses is generally responsible for radon variations comparable to those introduced by building materials, but it is more significant at lower ventilation rates. In some regions with relatively high proportions of houses with elevated radon concentrations, mappable geological factors are associated with most cases of high radon concentrations. However, a priori identification of rock types likely to be implicated is likely to be successful in only a few cases.     

Dilemmas and advances in corporate social responsibility in Brazil. The work of the Ethos Institute

This article discusses the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazil from the perspective of the Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility. The Institute is a not‐for‐profit, non‐governmental organization, that has played a leading role in the Brazilian CSR effort. In Brazil, CSR initiatives have a long tradition of philanthropy, a consequence of the country's great social inequalities. The increased attention to corporate social responsibility has paralleled growing concern about sustainable development and the intensifying activities of pressure groups (consumers, customers, investors, NGOs, labour unions, the media, among others) that have been increasing since the 1990s as natural resources are progressively becoming exhausted, social tensions rising and environmental conditions deteriorating worldwide. This article identifies problems and obstacles to the growth of corporate social responsibility in Brazil, as well as advances and alternatives for CSR and towards creating conditions for the country to be internationally competitive and sustainable in the financial, social and environmental areas.     

产业的可持续性挑战

考虑到当前主要的环境和社会问题,很明显我们人类所面临的最大挑战就是使人类文明具有可持续性 .这不仅仅是实现持续发展的问题,而是要实现一种具有可持续性的社会模式 .这就给产业提出了环境、社会、经济和政治方面的挑战,要求产业必须降低资源消耗、更公平地分配商品和服务、减少南北方国家之间的生态债 .同时还必须共享经济和政治权力,用"星球化"代替全球化 .     

Elephants, fire, and frost can determine community structure and composition in Kalahari Woodlands.

Fire, elephants, and frost are important disturbance factors in many African savannas, but the relative magnitude of their effects on vegetation and their interactions have not been quantified. Understanding how disturbance shapes savanna structure and composition is critical for predicting changes in tree cover and for formulating management and conservation policy. A simulation model was used to investigate how the disturbance regime determines vegetation structure and composition in a mixed Kalahari sand woodland savanna in western Zimbabwe. The model consisted of submodels for tree growth, tree damage caused by disturbance, mortality, and recruitment that were parameterized from field data collected over a two-year period. The model predicts that, under the current disturbance regime, tree basal area in the study area will decline by two-thirds over the next two decades and become dominated by species unpalatable to elephants. Changes in the disturbance regime are predicted to greatly modify vegetation structure and community composition. Elephants are the primary drivers of woodland change in this community at present-day population densities, and their impacts are exacerbated by the effects of fire and frost. Frost, in particular, does not play an important role when acting independently but appears to be a key secondary factor in the presence of elephants and/or fire. Unlike fire and frost, which cannot suppress the woodland phase on their own in this ecosystem, elephants can independently drive the vegetation to the scrub phase. The results suggest that elephant and fire management may be critical for the persistence of certain woodland communities within dry-season elephant habitats in the eastern Kalahari, particularly those dominated by Brachystegia spiciformis and other palatable species.