Allowing for MSD prevention during facilities planning for a public service: an a posteriori analysis of 10 library design projects.

Research was conducted to identify an ergonomics-based intervention model designed to factor in musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) prevention when library projects are being designed. The first stage of the research involved an a posteriori analysis of 10 recent redesign projects. The purpose of the analysis was to document perceptions about the attention given to MSD prevention measures over the course of a project on the part of 2 categories of employees: librarians responsible for such projects and personnel working in the libraries before and after changes. Subjects were interviewed in focus groups. Outcomes of the analysis can guide our ergonomic assessment of current situations and contribute to a better understanding of the way inclusion or improvement of prevention measures can support the workplace design process.     

Sustainable coastal resources management: principles and practice

Coastal zones are currently experiencing intense and sustained environmental pressures from a range of driving forces. Responsible agencies around the globe are seeking ways of better managing the causes and consequences of the environmental change process in coastal areas. This article discusses the basic principles underpinning a more integrated approach to coastal management, as well as the obstacles to its implementation in both developed and developing countries. The fulfilment of the goal of sustainable utilisation of coastal resources via integrated management is likely to prove to be difficult. Any successful strategy will have to encompass all the elements of management from planning and design through financing and implementation. An interdisciplinary analytical and operational approach is also required, combined with a more flexible and participatory institutional structure and emphasis to account for multiple stakeholders and resource demands. As historical and institutional perspectives as well as socio-economic and cultural contexts are also important, two case studies (based on UK and Vietnamese experiences) are presented in order to identify arguments and examine these aspects in more detail.     

EU sustainable development indicators: An overview

The European Union's commitment to sustainable development at the 1992 Earth Summit resulted in an EU‐wide sustainable development strategy, adopted in Gothenburg in 2001. This article presents an overview of the set of sustainable development indicators (SDIs) recently adopted by the European Commission to monitor, assess and revise the strategy. It provides a critical assessment of the current status of the indicator set, and reviews the main policy trends in the areas of the strategy through a brief analysis of headline indicators, placing energy and climate change issues in a broader perspective. Finally, the article compares the energy SDIs to the recent inter‐agency energy indicators for sustainable development (EISD), underlining their similarities as well as their different priorities and objectives. The article concludes that further research is needed to improve the SDI set and further explore the linkages between themes.     

PM2.5 characterization of primary and secondary organic aerosols in two urban-industrial areas in the East Mediterranean

Primary and secondary organic aerosols in PM_2.5 were investigated over a one-year campaign at Zouk Mikael and Fiaa, Lebanon. The n-alkanes concentrations were quite similar at both sites (26-29 ng/m³) and mainly explained by anthropogenic emissions rather than natural ones. The concentrations of total Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were nearly three times higher at Zouk Mikael (2.56 ng/m³) compared to Fiaa (0.95 ng/m³), especially for indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene linked to the presence of the power plant. A characteristic indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene/(indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene + benzo[g,h,i]perylene) ratio in the range 0.8-1.0 was determined for heavy fuel oil combustion from the power plant. Fatty acids and hopanes were also investigated and were assigned to cooking activities and vehicular emissions respectively. Phthalates were identified for the first time in Lebanon with high concentrations at Zouk and Fiaa (106.88 and 97.68 ng/m³ respectively). Moreover, the biogenic secondary aerosols revealed higher concentrations in summer. The total terpene concentration varied between 131 ng/m³ at Zouk Mikael in winter to 469 ng/m³ at Fiaa in summer. Additionnally, the concentrations of the dicarboxylic acids especially for adipic and phthalic acids were more influenced by anthropogenic sources.The analysis of molecular markers and diagnostic ratios indicated that the sites were strongly affected by anthropogenic sources such as waste open burning, diesel private generators, cooking activities, road transport, power plant, and industrial emissions. Moreover, results showed different pattern during winter and summer seasons. Whereas, higher concentrations of biogenic markers were clearly encountered during the summer period.     

Characterisation and seasonal variations of particles in the atmosphere of rural, urban and industrial areas: Organic compounds

Atmospheric aerosol samples(PM_(2.5–0.3), i.e., atmospheric particles ranging from 0.3 to2.5 μm) were collected during two periods: spring–summer 2008 and autumn–winter 2008–2009, using high volume samplers equipped with cascade impactors. Two sites located in the Northern France were compared in this study: a highly industrialised city(Dunkirk) and a rural site(Rubrouck). Physicochemical analysis of particulate matter(PM) was undertaken to propose parameters that could be used to distinguish the various sources and to exhibit seasonal variations but also to provide knowledge of chemical element composition for the interpretation of future toxicological studies. The study showed that PM2.5–0.3concentration in the atmosphere of the rural area remains stable along the year and was significantly lower than in the urban or industrial ones, for which concentrations increase during winter.High concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), dioxins, furans and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls(DL-PCBs), generated by industrial activities, traffic and municipal wastes incineration were detected in the samples. Specific criteria like Carbon Preference Index(CPI) and Combustion PAHs/Total PAHs ratio(CPAHs/TPAHs) were used to identify the possible sources of atmospheric pollution. They revealed that paraffins are mainly emitted by biogenic sources in spring–summer whereas as in the case of PAHs, they have numerous anthropogenic emission sources in autumn-winter(mainly from traffic and domestic heating).     

Uranium transport around the reactor zone at Bangombé and Okélobondo (Oklo): examples of hydrogeological and geochemical model integration and data evaluation

The sites at Bangombé and Okélobondo (Oklo) in Gabon provide a unique opportunity to study the behaviour of products from natural nuclear reactions in the vicinity of reactor zones which were active around two billion years ago. The Commission of the European Communities initiated the Oklo Natural Analogue Programme. One of the principal aims was to study indications of present time migration of elements from the reactor zones under ambient conditions. The hydrogeological and hydrochemical data from the Oklo sites were modelled in order to better understand the geochemical behaviour of radionuclides in the natural system, by using independent models and by comparing the modelling outcome. Two modelling approaches were used: M3 code (hydrochemical mixing and mass balance model), developed by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) and HYTEC (reactive transport model) developed by Ecole des Mines de Paris.Two different reactor zones were studied: Bangombé, a shallow site, the reactor being at 11 m depth, and OK84 at Okélobondo, situated at about 450 m depth, more comparable with a real repository location. This allowed the validation of modelling tools in two different sedimentary environments: one shallow, with a more homogeneous layering situated in an area of meteoric alteration, and the other offering the opportunity to study radionuclide migration from the reaction zone over a distance of 450 m through very heterogeneous sedimentary layers.The modeling results indicate that the chemical reactions retarding radionuclide transport are very different at the two sites. At Bangombé, the decomposition of organic material consumes oxygen and at Okélobondo the oxygen is consumed by inorganic reactions resulting, in both cases, in uranium retardation. Both modelling approaches (statistic with M3 code and deterministic with HYTEC code) could describe this situation.The goal of this exercise is to test codes which can help to describe and understand the processes taking place at the sites, validate the models with in situ data, and thus build confidence in the tools used for future site characterization. Ultimately, this allows identifying and selecting processes and parameters that can be used as input into repository performance assessment calculations and modelling exercises.