Wasserrahmenrichtlinie — Fortschritte und Defizite

Background

The water protection policy of the European Union sits on new footings since the end of 2000: The Water FrameworkDirective (WFD). By replacing, merging and renewing all parts of the European water protection policy from the 1970s, the WFD provides a consistent, transparent and comprehensive concept of what water management should be in the Europe of the coming decades. The new directive is aimed at a holistic approach towards integrated water protection. It sets ambitious high-quality goals to achieve a good status for European lakes and rivers primarily in ecological terms, gives details about the essential processes as well as instruments, and includes everything into a strict time schedule.

Aim

This article adresses progress and shortcomings at the implementation of the WFD in general and with reference to two selected case studies (Rivers Elbe and Upper Danube).

Results and Discussion

After introducing the WFD, its aims and exceptions, a policy summary and background document ‘Environmental objectives und the Water Framework Directive’ and the use of Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for single ‘priority substances’ as well as ‘hazardous priority components’ is discussed. The initial characterization undertaken by the German states revealed that only about 14% of all surface waters are considered to meet the WFD objectives by the year of 2015. Approximately 60% of the water bodies assessed are at risk of failing the WFD objectives, if not systematic efforts are made to improve the quality. Screenings of sources and paths of exposure for ‘priority substances’ and ‘priority hazardous substances’ according WFD identified one distinct pollution source for surface waters: ‘Historical pollution from sediments’. Because of industrial emissions in the past several river catchment areas are expected to fail the standards demanded by the WFD, due to a risk of remobilization of contaminants from sediments. This holds true for the Rhine river with high loads of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) as well as for Elbe river, where contaminated sediments can be a severe problem. Therefore, integration of sediments into the holistic river basin management approach and their consideration within the ‘programmes of measures’ scheduled for 2009 is highly recommended. At present, a comprehensive weight-of-evidence study verifies whether the observed fish decline at the Upper Danube. River is caused by ecotoxicological hazard potentials of contaminated sediments.

Outlook

Combined investigations of sediment contamination and mobility as well as acute and mechanism specific biotests in effect directed analyses/weight-of-evidence studies show grent potential for the assessment of chemically polluted rivers and should be included into the ‘programmes of measures’ within future management concepts.

     

Comparison of methods used to calculate typical threshold values for potentially toxic elements in soil

The environmental quality of land can be assessed by calculating relevant threshold values, which differentiate between concentrations of elements resulting from geogenic and diffuse anthropogenic sources and concentrations generated by point sources of elements. A simple process allowing the calculation of these typical threshold values (TTVs) was applied across a region of highly complex geology (Northern Ireland) to six elements of interest; arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and vanadium. Three methods for identifying domains (areas where a readily identifiable factor can be shown to control the concentration of an element) were used: k-means cluster analysis, boxplots and empirical cumulative distribution functions (ECDF). The ECDF method was most efficient at determining areas of both elevated and reduced concentrations and was used to identify domains in this investigation. Two statistical methods for calculating normal background concentrations (NBCs) and upper limits of geochemical baseline variation (ULBLs), currently used in conjunction with legislative regimes in the UK and Finland respectively, were applied within each domain. The NBC methodology was constructed to run within a specific legislative framework, and its use on this soil geochemical data set was influenced by the presence of skewed distributions and outliers. In contrast, the ULBL methodology was found to calculate more appropriate TTVs that were generally more conservative than the NBCs. TTVs indicate what a “typical” concentration of an element would be within a defined geographical area and should be considered alongside the risk that each of the elements pose in these areas to determine potential risk to receptors.     

Development of a MSW classification system for the evaluation of mechanical properties

To date, sparse information is available on the mechanical properties of municipal solid waste and the results of published work are often hard to compare due to differences in waste composition and therefore properties. To allow comparison, a unified classification system for waste is deemed crucial. Existing classification systems are presented and discussed. For a geotechnical classification, mechanical properties, size, shape and degradability potential of waste components have to be taken into account. A new and improved classification system for waste components is proposed, which complies with the requirements of a geotechnical classification system. It classifies waste components based on: (1) their material engineering properties (e.g., shear, compressive and tensile strength), (2) a size distribution of the components, (3) the component shape (reinforcing, compressible and incompressible), and (4) the degree of degradability. The proposed classification system is applied to data from the literature and methods for presenting classification information are demonstrated. Further work required to develop a full classification system for waste bodies is highlighted.     

Enhancement of gasworks groundwater remediation by coupling a bio-electrochemical and activated carbon system

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Here, we show the electrical response, bacterial community, and remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater from a gasworks site using a...     

Consumer Attitudes Towards Alternatives to Piglet Castration Without Pain Relief in Organic Farming: Qualitative Results from Germany

In order to avoid the occurrence of boar taint, castration of piglets without pain relief is a common practice in pork production. Due to increasing animal welfare concerns, the practice will be banned in organic agriculture from 2012 and alternative methods will have to be implemented. An important factor for the successful implementation of such alternatives is consumers’ acceptance of the methods, as consumers’ daily buying decisions are crucial to the further development of the organic pork sector. Thus, this paper explores organic consumers’ attitudes towards piglet castration without pain relief and three alternative methods and examines which aspects of these alternatives are important to consumers of organic products. The analysis of nine focus group discussions in Germany conducted in fall 2009 and involving a total of 89 participants, shows that castration without pain relief in organic farming was unacceptable for participants. Animal welfare, food safety, taste, and costs were principal aspects that participants used to assess the three alternatives. Participants had mainly favorable attitudes towards castration with anesthesia and analgesia. Although participants had some concerns regarding the fattening of boars (taste), there was openness towards this alternative due to its perceived naturalness. Immunocastration was seen quite critically because participants feared that this alternative might lead to (hormone) residues in meat. Overall, the results suggest that fattening of boars and castration with anesthesia and analgesia could be acceptable alternatives to consumers of organic pork.     

Immunoassays as high-throughput tools: Monitoring spatial and temporal variations of carbamazepine, caffeine and cetirizine in surface and wastewaters

Carbamazepine (CBZ), caffeine and cetirizine were monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) in surface and wastewaters from Berlin, Germany. This fast and cost-efficient method enabled to assess the spatial and temporal variation of these anthropogenic markers in a high-throughput screening. CBZ and cetirizine were detected by the same antibody, which selectively discriminates between both compounds depending on the pH value used in the incubation step. To our best knowledge, this is the first dual-analyte immunoassay working with a single antibody.The frequent sampling with 487 samples being processed allowed for the repeated detection of unusually high concentrations of CBZ and caffeine. ELISA results correlate well with the ones obtained by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Caffeine concentrations found in surface waters were elevated by combined sewer overflows after stormwater events. During the hay fever season, the concentrations of the antihistamine drug cetirizine increased in both surface and wastewaters.Caffeine was almost completely removed during wastewater treatment, while CBZ and cetirizine were found to be more persistent. The maximum concentrations of caffeine, CBZ and cetirizine found in influent wastewater by LC-MS/MS were 470, 5.0 and 0.49 μg L⁻¹, while in effluent wastewater the concentrations were 0.22, 4.5 and 0.51 μg L⁻¹, respectively. For surface waters, concentrations up to 3.3, 4.5 and 0.72 μg L⁻¹ were found, respectively.     

Sustainability research and practices in enforced residential institutions: collaborations of ecologists and prisoners

Enforced institutional settings such as penitentiaries provide environments to raise awareness, carry out research, and implement and assess practices for sustainable living. Institutions where residence is enforced due to health, recreational, military, or legal reasons (e.g., assisted living centers, summer camps, army bases, prisons) house people who may lack scientific training but have time and need for intellectual stimulation that can be filled by supervised research. These institutions have stable populations, structured social organization, and measurable inputs and outputs of materials and energy to carry out sustainable practices in tasks that affect regional resources such as groundwater quality and landfill use. We report on three examples at a corrections center resulting from partnerships among visiting academic ecology researchers, sustainability practitioners, corrections administrators, and prisoners: (1) research on how to sustainably “farm” moss for the horticulture trade to reduce harvesting pressure on wild moss populations; (2) a vermiculture and thermophilic composting system to reduce the kitchen waste; and (3) a monthly seminar series at the prison. Over 26 months: (1) participants developed methods to optimize moss growth; (2) landfill-bound waste and particulate flow rate destined for wastewater treatment decreased by 50%, to less than 50% of permit limits; (3) resulting compost (ca. 5000 kg) fertilized institutional vegetable gardens; (4) water quality improved so that the prison could return funds allocated to upgrade the prison’s water quality. The lectures encouraged intellectual exchange among researchers, convicts, and guards. Researchers derived new perspectives and broader impacts for their work. This can be a model for other correctional facilities and other enforced residential institutions (ERIs). Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Three-dimensional density-dependent flow and multicomponent reactive transport modeling of chlorinated solvent oxidation by potassium permanganate

A popular method for the treatment of aquifers contaminated with chlorinated solvents is chemical oxidation based on the injection of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄). Both the high density (1025 gL^− 1) and reactivity of the treatment solution influence the fate of permanganate (MnO₄) in the subsurface and affect the degree of contaminant treatment. The MIN3P multicomponent reactive transport code was enhanced to simulate permanganate-based remediation, to evaluate the pathways of MnO₄ utilization, and to assess the role of density contrasts for the delivery of the treatment solution. The modified code (MIN3P-D) provides a direct coupling between density-dependent fluid flow, solute transport, contaminant treatment, and geochemical reactions. The model is used to simulate a field trial of TCE oxidation in a sandy aquifer that is underlain by an aquitard. Three-dimensional simulations are conducted for a coupled reactive system comprised of ten aqueous components, two mineral phases, TCE (dissolved, adsorbed, and NAPL), reactive organic matter, and including ion exchange reactions. Model parameters are constrained by literature data and a detailed data set from the field site under investigation. The general spatial and transient evolution in observed concentrations of the oxidant, dissolved TCE, and reaction products are adequately reproduced by the simulations. The model elucidates the important role of density-induced flow and transport on the distribution of the treatment solution into NAPL containing regions located at the aquifer–aquitard interface. Model results further suggest that reactions that do not directly affect the stability of MnO₄ have a negligible effect on solution density and MnO₄ delivery.     

Synthetic TiO2 nanoparticle emission from exterior facades into the aquatic environment

We present direct evidence of the release of synthetic nanoparticles from urban applications into the aquatic environment. We investigated TiO₂ particles as these particles are used in large quantities in exterior paints as whitening pigments and are to some extent also present in the nano-size range.TiO₂ particles were traced from exterior facade paints to the discharge into surface waters. We used a centrifugation based sample preparation which recovers TiO₂ particles between roughly 20 and 300 nm. Analytical electron microscopy revealed that TiO₂ particles are detached from new and aged facade paints by natural weather conditions and are then transported by facade runoff and are discharged into natural, receiving waters. Microscopic investigations are confirmed by bulk chemical analysis. By combining results from microscopic investigations with bulk chemical analysis we calculated the number densities of synthetic TiO₂ particles in the runoff.