Joint management of energy and environment

According to the Kyoto Protocol, by 2012 Norwegian emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced by about six per cent lower than the 1996 level. In order to achieve this target, the Norwegian Government intends to give greater priority to energy efficiency measures, renewable energy sources and the use of heat pumps.Even though Energy Management should be integrated in EMS, empirical data indicates that it is not. Energy Management is separated from EMS in Norwegian industry. Focusing on the quality of the energy consumed, facilitates the utilization of wasted, low temperature energy sources. However, empirical data indicate that energy intensive food companies do not emphasize the portion of renewable energy sources they consume, or the quality of their energy consumption. This paper discusses integration of Energy Management into EMS. Better integration of existing energy and environmental schemes represents a CO₂ reduction potential that may be realised at short-term, net cost savings. This paper argues for the joint management of energy with the environment.     

Geographical associations between aluminium in drinking water and death rates with dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Norway

Comparisons of maps and correlation and regression analysis indicate a geographical association between aluminium (Al) in drinking water and registered death rates with dementia (coded from death certificates as the underlying or a contributory cause of death) in Norway. High levels of Al in drinking water are in most cases related to acid precipitation. In general, correlations between aggregate environmental measurements and mortality are a weak source of evidence for risk factors for disease, however, and interpretations regarding cause-and-effect relationships should therefore be made with great care. The major uncertainty probably relates to the use of registered death rates with dementia as a measure of incidence rates of Alzheimer's disease. The dementia rates are correlated with population density, and it is possible that the association between AI and dementia might be due to differences in diagnosis and reporting of dementia. Thus, the present study can only be regarded as introductory, and further epidemiological studies are needed to help elucidate the role of AI in Alzheimer's disease. The results provide little evidence of an association between AI in drinking water and Parkinson's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.     

Effects of Stonewalled Terracing Techniques on Soil-Water Conservation and Wheat Production Under Mediterranean Conditions

A field plot experiment was conducted in the Palestinian Autonomous Areas to study the effect of stonewalled terracing on soil and water conservation as compared to the nonterraced areas. Effects of the wheat canopy were considered as a second treatment. The experiment was undertaken over a period of two seasons (2000 and 2001). The results of the experiment found that the mean soil erosion was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the terraced plots than in those that were nonterraced (182 kg/ha and 3525 kg/ha during the first season, 1769 kg/ha and 5057 kg/ha during the second season for terraced and nonterraced plots, respectively). A similar trend was observed with respect to runoff in areas under the same treatments. The wheat canopy showed lower, but not significant runoff and erosion in most of the cases for both seasons. Due to better soil and water conservation, the terraced plots obtained significantly higher total plant dry matter than nonterraced plots (1570 and 630 kg/ha in 2000, 2545 and 889 kg/ha in 2001 for terraced and nonterraced treatment, respectively). The runoff coefficient was 20% and 4% for the nonterraced and terraced plots, respectively. Rainstorms with intensity ≥4 mm/hand rainfall ≥10 mm are more likely to cause runoff and erosion.     

Organisational safety indicators: Some conceptual considerations and a supplementary qualitative approach

This article discusses the extent to which indicators can represent organisational qualities in relation to safety and how a qualitative approach called the Operational Safety Condition (OSC) method can be a supplement and help improve safety. In light of the recent Safety Science debate on safety indicators, we suggest that it is difficult to capture organisational conditions using indicators, although they are indisputably important when identifying the risk of accidents. Safety climate and risk analysis approaches are discussed as methods that can build and assess indicators in relation to organisational safety quality. OSC and similar qualitative approaches can capture the complexity of organisational conditions, aid organisational learning at a double loop level and offer a tool for risk management.     

Modelling crayfish population dynamics using catch data: A size-structured model

In this study we explore a rather unique time series (1979–2002) of catch data of the crayfish Astacus astacus in Lake Steinsfjorden (SE Norway) in combination with temperature data and data on Canadian pondweed Elodea canadensis coverage. In 1977, E. canadensis was for the first time observed in the lake. Over the following years, the plant established dense covers over large parts of the shallow areas, excluding the crayfish from these areas and causing a sudden drop in population size. A size-structured model with bi-stability including a range of observed stage-specific life-cycle attributes (e.g. growth, fecundity, fertility, sex-ratio), population specific parameters and density-dependant (shelters, cannibalism, unspecified predators, competition between individuals, catch, number of traps) as well as density independent factors (temperature and Elodea coverage) were constructed to evaluate the various drivers for the population dynamics, and as a predictive tool for assessing the effects of future changes. Our model revealed that the decline primarily was due to density-dependant effect of the Elodea expansion with reduced number of hides and thus increased risk for predation and cannibalism, but also that temperature played an important role related to recruitment. The model should be relevant for crayfish stock management in general, and by demonstrating the major role of temperature, it is also relevant for predicting population responses under a changing climate. The model should also be applicable to other crustaceans and species with discrete growth and late maturation.     

A first evaluation of the usefulness of feathers of nestling predatory birds for non-destructive biomonitoring of persistent organic pollutants

In previous studies, feathers of adult predatory birds have been evaluated as valid non-destructive biomonitor matrices for persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In this study, we assessed for the first time the usefulness of nestling raptor feathers for non-destructive biomonitoring of POPs. For this purpose, we collected body feathers and blood of nestlings from three avian top predators from northern Norway: northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). We were able to detect a broad spectrum of legacy POPs in the nestling feathers of all three species (Σ PCBs: 6.78-140ng g(-1); DDE: 3.15-145ng g(-1); Σ PBDEs: 0.538-7.56ng g(-1)). However, these concentrations were lower compared to other studies on raptor species, probably due to the aspect of monitoring of nestlings instead of adults. Besides their analytical suitability, nestling feathers also appear to be biologically informative: concentrations of most POPs in nestling feathers showed strong and significant correlations with blood plasma concentrations in all species (p<0.050; 0.775相似文献   

Fish consumption reduces transfer of BDE47 from dam to murine offspring

Fish and seafood are important contributions to a healthy diet, but also contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Discrepancies have been found between intake and accumulated levels of POPs, where fish consumers have had similar levels of POPs to the general population. Similarly fish oil consumption has been found to reduce accumulation of POPs. This study examined the accumulation of BDE47 or PCB153 in mice fed diets with different nutritional composition, using female mice with pre-weanling pups exposed through gestation and lactation. A fish-based diet was compared to a standard casein-based rodent diet. All diets had low background levels of environmental contaminants and were spiked with BDE47 or PCB153 to levels representing a realistic (∼0.004 μmol kgbw⁻¹ d) or a high dietary exposure (∼1.3 μmol kgbw⁻¹ d). Accumulation of BDE47 or PCB153 in offspring tissues after 18 d lactation reflected the maternal exposure levels. However, the pups of dams fed a fish-based diet had consistently lower BDE47 accumulation in liver, fat and stomach than pups from casein-fed dams. Similarly the pups of dams fed a high dose of PCB153 in a fish diet also accumulated less PCB153 than pups of the dams fed a casein diet, although not significant. In conclusion, the fish based diets seemed to reduce transfer of BDE47 and PCB153 from dams to pups. The study highlights that in-depth knowledge about nutritional impact on toxicokinetics is of great interest to vulnerable consumers.     

Norway's role in international collaboration towards rehabilitation of Andreeva Bay

Andreeva Bay is one of the largest and most hazardous nuclear legacy sites in northwest Russia. The site is the location of large amounts of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and radioactive wastes and the risks associated with the site have precipitated an extensive international collaborative effort towards securing and rehabilitating the site. Given the location and proximity of the site, Norway has and continues to contribute in a number of ways towards this effort. Norway's activities in relation to rehabilitative efforts at Andreeva Bay are focused on both infrastructural and remediative initiatives as well as regulatory collaboration with Russia towards ensuring effective and safe operations during handling and removal of SNF and radioactive materials. This article describes Norway's role within international efforts in the context of the rehabilitation of Andreeva Bay and outlines previous activities and Norway's future direction with respect to the site.     

Radioecological consequences of a potential accident during transport of spent nuclear fuel along an Arctic coastline

This article presents results pertaining to a risk assessment of the potential consequences of a hypothetical accident occurring during the transportation by ship of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) along an Arctic coastline. The findings are based on modelling of potential releases of radionuclides, radionuclide transport and uptake in the marine environment. Modelling work has been done using a revised box model developed at the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. Evaluation of the radioecological consequences of a potential accident in the southern part of the Norwegian Current has been made on the basis of calculated collective dose to man, individual doses for the critical group, concentrations of radionuclides in seafood and doses to marine organisms. The results of the calculations indicate a large variability in the investigated parameters above mentioned. On the basis of the calculated parameters the maximum total activity (“accepted accident activity”) in the ship, when the parameters that describe the consequences after the examined potential accident are still in agreement with the recommendations and criterions for protection of the human population and the environment, has been evaluated.     

What if Dutch investors started worrying about flood risk? Implications for disaster risk reduction

Regional Environmental Change - Increasingly, roles and responsibilities of the public sector in flood risk management are receiving attention in research and policy. Part of the debate suggests...