Taking full advantage of modelling to better assess environmental risk due to xenobiotics—the all-in-one facility MOSAIC

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the European Union, more than 100,000 man-made chemical substances are awaiting an environmental risk assessment (ERA). Simultaneously, ERA of...     

Lung function among residents from the largest coal region in Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coal mining and burning activities in coal-fired power plants are among the most polluting activities in developing countries. In Brazil, the Candiota...     

Occurrence and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and cocaine in the urban drainage channels of Santos beaches (São Paulo,Brazil): a neglected,but sensitive issue

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In some Brazilian coastal cities, it is common to observe ‘black tongues’ in beaches, i.e. a mixture of urban runoff and untreated...     

Extracted and farmed shrimp fisheries in Brazil: economic, environmental and social consequences of exploitation

This paper analyses shrimp caught from the wild and farmed shrimp in Brazil, focusing on production, amounts exported and earnings, with comparisons drawn to all of South America and the world in general. We show that wild caught shrimp still comprises the majority of what is produced and exported in Brazil, although aquaculture has been taking a relevant role in the internal and external scenario, reaching similar levels of extraction in recent years. Despite some fluctuations in the amount of extracted shrimp, Brazil increased its production from 15,000 tons in 1950 to 80,000 in 2004. The money earned with shrimp product exportation, which includes farmed shrimp as well, followed a similar tendency. Shrimp aquaculture began late in Brazil, in 1974, and grew slowly until 1995, initiating an accelerated growing process; current estimates assume 50,000 people are employed in this activity, producing about 76,000 tons of shrimp every year. Although still incipient in relation to the world shrimp farmed production, Brazil has been assuming a relevant role in South America, yielding 44% of its total production, in 2004. Despite the importance of shrimp to the country, no studies have been conducted to explore the interrelations between the environmental and social consequences of such unplanned aquaculture growth or uncontrolled wild shrimp fishing. Based on previous observations, conflicts exist between different fishing scales. However, the consequences of shrimp farming on society (displacement from their lands, changes in the life quality, etc.) have not yet been explored. Both activities, shrimp exploitation and aquaculture, deserve better control and structure toward sustainable shrimp fishing and farming. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Environmental requirements for furniture industry: the case study of Brazilian Southeast industry

Despite more than 20 years of economic progress, especially in emerging economies like Brazil, the gap between developed and developing countries is still large, and environment problems have risen significantly. In this context, this paper aims to make the Brazilian furniture production cleaner, analyzing the environmental requirements considered by the micro and small enterprises (SMEs) in made-to-order furniture industry during the product development process (PDP). Another attempt was to identify the internal and external factors that led to the incorporation of these requirements. In this regard, a comprehensive review of eco-design concept that consists of composing environmental requirements into the PDP, through methods, tools, guidelines and techniques, was carried out. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and in loco observations, analyzing each activity of the PDP and the environmental requirements on 18 SMEs in Brazil. The outcomes show that the economic factors determine the way in which the enterprises respond to the environmental issues and how adequate their companies according to laws and regulations. Moreover, the small number of qualified professionals in this field lead to difficulties to structure the sector, in other words, to produce with less environment impact.     

Photochemically-assisted electrochemical degradation of landfill leachate

In this work, the treatment of landfill leachates by a photoelectrochemical procedure is reported. When applied to untreated leachates the photochemical system was significantly hindered on account of the characteristic dark coloration of the samples. At this condition the degradation process was essentially electrochemical permitting typical color and COD removal of about 50% and 20%, respectively. When a previous chemical precipitation process was applied aiming the elimination of colored species (mainly humic substances) the decolorization and COD removal was extended to 90% and 60%, respectively. Considering the extremely complex character of the leachates and its usual resistance to conventional degradation processes the result reported here attest the high potentiality of photoelectrochemical processes to remediation of recalcitrant residues.     

Effect of Casting Process Conditions on Mechanical Properties and Water Solubility of Films Made from Wolf Fruit and Its Optimization

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Biodegradable films based on wolf fruit flour were prepared by the casting process using glycerol as a plasticizing agent. The influence that the process...     

Optimization of a pressurization methodology for extracting pore-water

Sediment toxicity can be assessed by conducting pore-water toxicity assays with standard water column organisms. Several methods have been developed for sampling pore-water. Centrifugation and pressurization methods are recommended when large volumes of pore-water are required to perform toxicity assays. Nevertheless, these methods involve sediment transportation and storage in laboratory, which can alter sediment toxicity. Therefore, an extraction method for large volumes that could be employed in the field site would be highly desirable. This study aimed to optimize and further evaluate an existing sediment pressurizing device with low construction costs, easy to carry and operate in the field, and presenting minimal chemical reactivity. The latter characteristic was achieved by lining the device interior with Teflon, by using large pore filters (50 microm), and by using an inert gas (nitrogen). Pore-water extraction efficiency and the toxicities of pore-water samples obtained by pressurization and by refrigerated centrifugation were compared. An artificial sediment (70% sand, 20% kaolin and 10% alpha-cellulose) spiked with an alcohol (phenol), a surfactant (SDS), a metal (copper), an organophosphate pesticide (parathion), and a natural sediment contaminated with acid mine drainage, were assayed for toxicity using Microtox assays. Sediment pressurization was found to be as efficient to extract pore-water as centrifugation, being more cost effective and adequate for field use.     

Watershed management program on Santiago Island,Cape Verde

The Watershed Management Program (WMP) was put into operation in early 1985 on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, with the stated purpose, “to develop and protect the soil and water resources of the Program-designated watersheds … to stabilize the natural environment and increase agricultural production potential in the Program area.” The approach to soil and water conservation in the program has been to build erosion and flood control structures (engineering approach) and plant trees (biological approach) to decrease rill and gully erosion, trap sediment behind control structures, provide flood protection, increase infiltration, increase fuelwood and fodder production, and increase water supplies for irrigation. There have been many successes resulting from specific management activities, but flawed approach or implementation in a few key areas has acted to impede the program's complete success, including lack of a scientific basis for evaluating its impact on soil and water conservation; poor design, placement, and maintenance of some major hydraulic structures; inadequate intervention in stabilizing farmlands or education of farmers and landowners in the need for and benefits of agroforestry; and incomplete integration of engineering and biological approaches.