Report: New guidelines for characterization of municipal solid waste: the Portuguese case

This report proposes a new set of guidelines for the characterization of municipal solid waste. It is based on an analysis of reference methodologies, used internationally, and a case study of Valorsul (a company that handles recovery and treatment of solid waste in the North Lisbon Metropolitan Area). In particular, the suggested guidelines present a new definition of the waste to be analysed, change the sampling unit and establish statistical standards for the results obtained. In these new guidelines, the sampling level is the waste collection vehicle and contamination and moisture are taken into consideration. Finally, focus is on the quality of the resulting data, which is essential for comparability of data between countries. These new guidelines may also be applicable outside Portugal because the methodology includes, besides municipal mixed waste, separately collected fractions of municipal waste. They are a response to the need for information concerning Portugal (e.g. Eurostat or OECD inquiries) and follow European Union municipal solid waste management policies (e.g. packaging waste recovery and recycling targets and the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfill).     

137Cs in marine samples from the Brazilian southeastern coastal region

The present work presents the results of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in seawater, fish and sediments samples collect in 11 sampling points, crossing the Brazilian Southeastern coastal region, from Vitória (ES) to Santos (SP), on a routine basis from 1997 to 2002. This monitoring program was carried out by the Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN/MCT), in cooperation with the Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira (IEAPM/Brazilian Navy), aiming at determining artificial radionuclides in marine samples. Additionally to the ¹³⁷Cs results, ⁹⁰Sr concentrations in fish samples from 1998 to 2002 are also reported.The ¹³⁷Cs in seawater follows a lognormal distribution, with a geometric mean of 1.8 Bq m^-3 and a geometric standard deviation of 1.4 (n=54), decay corrected to June/2002. For ¹³⁷Cs levels in fish samples a geometric mean of 0.19 Bq kg⁻¹ and a geometric standard deviation of 2.9 (n=39), decay corrected to June/2002, with a range of 0.03 to 1.7 Bq kg⁻¹, were obtained. Based on the ¹³⁷Cs mean concentration in fish as well as in seawater, a transfer factor of 1 × 10² was calculated, which is quite in agreement with the recommended value found in the Safety Report Serie 19.     

Monitoring the quality of the marine environment

As part of the monitoring program from Instituto Hidrográfico, since 1981 sediment and water samples have been collected from four different estuarine areas located along the continental coast of Portugal. The concentrations of different parameters were measured in the water and sediment samples. After normalization, the concentrations of chromium, mercury, lead and zinc in the sediments from the different areas were compared.     

Rapid and Low-Cost Method for Evaluation of Nutrient Release from Controlled-Release Fertilizers Using Electrical Conductivity

Methods to determine nutrient release rates of coated fertilizers usually rely on chemical analyses, which often are time-consuming and/or expensive. Our goal was to develop an innovative and rapid low-cost method to evaluate nutrient release from polymer coated MAP or urea using conductometry. The release in water is determined by measuring the electric conductivity (EC) over time, with intervals dependent on release rates. In the case of soluble salt fertilizers, EC can be immediately determined and converted to a concentration using a calibration curve. In the case of urea, an additional step is needed to convert the neutral urea into ammonium. The release rates in water were assessed for a range of commercial and laboratory-coated fertilizers. A validation test demonstrated strong agreement with the release determined using analytical techniques. The EC method hence offers an easy way to quickly evaluate the time course of release of nutrients from controlled-release fertilizers.     

Using a noise monitoring station in a small quarry located in an urban area

Mining plays an important role in Brazilian exports. On the other hand, large urban centers like São Paulo, with approximately 21 million inhabitants, also demand an increasing domestic consumption of natural resources, such as construction aggregate. There are many quarries located in the surroundings of urban centers in Brazil, competing with the growth of urbanized areas. Such proximity leads to a series of conflicts involving quarries and surrounding communities, where the increase in noise levels is highlighted. Operations in quarries, in general, are intermittent. Noisier equipment, such as drilling rigs and primary crushers, operates only a few hours during the day, while other operations, such as screening and secondary and tertiary crushing, are more constant. This paper presents a study carried out in a quarry located near São Paulo, where in addition to conventional short term noise measurements at surrounding receptors, one noise monitoring station was installed, allowing to identify the noisiest moments during the quarry operating time. Through data transmitted by wireless technology, it was possible to follow the noise variations emitted from mining activities in real time and observe the noisiest events that were recorded for events that exceeded the established standards. A mobile application associated to this monitoring station facilitated the quarry’s manager and employees to access immediately the monitoring information. Therefore, by using this system, it was possible to evaluate the effectiveness of noise reduction measures already taken and indicate what steps still need to be held.     

Management of sludge from fish ponds at the edge of the Itaparica Reservoir (Brazil): an alternative to improve agricultural production

Sludge generated in intensively managed tilapia fingerling breeding ponds near the Itaparica Dam in the semi-arid Brazilian northeastern region was tested as a soil conditioner to produce lettuce in an effort to mitigate the present environmental impact of the deposition of this sludge, thereby giving it a productive destiny. A greenhouse experiment was performed by mixing the sludge with a Haplic Planosol topsoil, a characteristic soil of the region, so that the sludge corresponded to 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of the mixture (substrate). The experiment was set up as a randomized block design with five blocks, each with three pots (5-kg substrate per pot) of the five sludge proportion treatments. One lettuce plant was transplanted into each pot, maintained under greenhouse conditions, and harvested 35 days after transplanting. Sludge, soil, and the substrates were evaluated for nutrient concentration and physical characteristics. Green and dry weights, stem diameter, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations in the aboveground parts of the lettuce plants were determined. Sludge incorporation into the substrate improved its chemical and physical characteristics. The lettuce plants grew best in the substrate with 75% sludge, increasing its biomass production by 50% and more than doubling its nitrogen uptake.     

Assessment of the hunting of mammals using local ecological knowledge: an example from the Brazilian semiarid region

The hunting of wild animals remains a common activity in various parts of the world, especially in rural communities with poor socioeconomic conditions. To investigate patterns of mammal hunting, this study adopted a rural community located in semiarid Brazil as a model to test whether variables such as perceived abundance, activity period (day or night) and animal biomass could influence the consumption potential of mammal taxa. For this study, a checklist/interview technique using 32 photographs of mammals recorded in the region and two photographs of species that did not occur in the region, which acted as “control” species, was used, in addition to other visual stimuli and free lists. All species presented in the photographs, with the exception of the “control” species, were recognized as occurring in the region. Fourteen species were cited as being those most hunted locally. The species cited as most hunted had an average perceived abundance higher than the group of the least-hunted species. However, there was no significant relationship between hunting of a species and its locally perceived abundance. No significant difference in hunting pressure between diurnal and nocturnal species was found, nor was a relationship between animal biomass and hunting pressure observed. Our findings suggest that perceived abundance is an important factor for choosing a resource fauna, but other factors such as intended use, meat flavor and vulnerability to hunting, among others, may influence the potential use of a species.     

The Influence of Landscape Patterns on the Bird Diversity of Four Urban Parks

In our study, we aimed to investigate the influence of landscape patterns on the diversity of birds in four urban parks. The parks are located in a region that has a high value of regional biodiversity and is also highly urbanized (Jundiai, state of São Paulo [SP], in Southeastern Brazil). Using a set of aerial photos, the surrounding landscape was divided into two regions (rings) and corresponding landscape metrics were calculated. The presence of bird species was recorded monthly over a one‐year period and classified according to selected ecological criteria. The land cover of the areas surrounding each park was primarily buildings and residences. Bird diversity was significantly correlated with the presence/proximity of water bodies. We state that the potential of the parks to harbor bird species is not negligible. Managing the area surrounding a park to increase the percentage of forested area and the size of forest fragments is as crucial as managing the core park area, especially for improving its attractiveness for new bird species.     

Service quality evaluation in the context of a technology laboratory

The intent of this research is to investigate how the customers of a technological control laboratory for civil construction materials perceived the quality of the services delivered by the lab, specifically in regard to the service of concrete compression testing. The popular SERVQUAL scale, a multidimensional instrument used to capture customer expectations and perceptions, was used as a model for the application of a survey. Exploratory factor analyses were employed to evaluate customers’ perceptions and experiences of service quality in regard to the dimensions and accompanying attributes of the SERVQUAL scale. Twenty attributes, which were grouped within five dimensions (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Responsiveness, and Empathy), were identified, explaining 80.417% of the variance between customer expectations and perceptions and characterizing these dimensions on a modified SERVQUAL scale. Analysis of the results allowed us to identify discrepancies in perceived service quality compared with customers’ expectations. Most of the identified gaps between expectations and perceptions resulted in negative values.