Incorporating sustainable development concerns into an urban regeneration project: how politics can defeat procedures

It is often thought that new procedural arrangements can help embed sustainable development as a policy goal into policy practice. This is the hope of tools such as environmental assessment, sustainability audits and sustainability indicators. Using a case study of urban regeneration in the London Borough of Southwark, this paper critically examines these claims. It shows how sustainable development was sidelined as a policy goal during the evaluation of the Master Plan for the area, the appraisal of individual projects for funding under the Single Regeneration Budget and the development of two local sustainability indicator projects. In each case the local political circumstances were key factors in shaping policy practice and outcomes. This leads to a re-evaluation of such procedural policy tools, emphasizing the importance of local governance contexts.     

First report on the uptake of automobile catalyst emitted palladium by European eels (Anguilla anguilla) following experimental exposure to road dust.

Following the introduction of automobile catalysts in the middle of the 1980s in Germany there is an increasing emission of the platinum-group-metals platinum, palladium (Pd) and rhodium. Still, it remains unclear if these metals are bioavailable for aquatic animals and to which extent they become accumulated by the aquatic biosphere. Because of analytical problems in detecting Pd in small biological samples the present investigation concentrates on the bioavailability of this metal. To answer the question of a Pd uptake by aquatic organisms experimental studies were conducted with European eels maintained in water containing road dust at a concentration of 10 kg/100 l. Following an exposure period of four weeks, samples of liver and kidney were analysed by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis after co-precipitation of Pd with mercury. These experiments revealed an uptake of traffic related Pd by European eels which showed a mean liver Pd concentration of 0.18 +/- 0.05 ng/g (wet wt.), whereas the Pd concentration in the kidney ranged below the detection limit. Thus, in this study we can demonstrate for the first time that automobile catalyst emitted Pd is bioavailable for aquatic animals.     

Einfluss organischer Substanz auf die Reproduktion, Biomasse und Akkumulation hydrophober Schadstoffe in Lumbriculus variegatus

Background, aim, and scope Sediment-Water Toxicity Tests are an important instrument for the environmental risk assessment of native, contaminated sediments within the European Water Framework Directive. Thus, it must be guaranteed to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic adverse effects. The content of particulate (POC) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon can affect the mobility of sediment pollutants. Different studies demonstrated that the DOC-content can influence the bioavailability of contaminants and can directly affect aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of increasing sediment organic matter on reproduction and growth of the benthic oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus. Furthermore, the accumulation factors of the hydrophobic substances 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorphenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE), 2´, 3, 4, 4´, 5´-Hexachlorbiphenyl (PCB 138) und 2, 2´, 4, 4´, 5, 5´-Hexachlorbiphenyl (PCB 153) were calculated considering the TOC-content and the uptake route (water-only exposure or sediment ingestion). Materials and methods The test was performed according to the OECD Guideline 225 (2007) using artificial sediment with different peat concentrations. The effect of an increasing TOC-concentration was studied in three different testmodifications with and without spiked sediment. The nominal concentration of the contaminants in spiked sediment was 50?µg/kg. Results The results showed maximum accumulation factors of 13 for both, PCB 138 and 153 and 11 for p,p'-DDE in sediments with low organic carbon content. With increasing peat content accumulation factors decreased. Thereby the ingestion of sediment was the main exposure route. Moreover preponderantly negative correlations between the organic carbon content in unspiked sediments and reproduction as well as growth of the testorganisms were detected. In combination with the test substances reproduction and growth increased with increasing organic carbon content. Discussion Hence it can be assumed that organic matter, especially humic substances, directly effected the testorganisms in the tests without spiked sediment. Due to the decrease of accumulation factors in spiked sediment with increasing TOC-content it might be possible that the availability of humic substances was reduced by conglomeration with the tested chemicals. Conclusions Therefore the possible influence of dissolved organic matter on the testorganism should be considered when assessing the results of toxicity tests and bioaccumulation studies with Lumbriculus variegatus. Recommendations and perspectives To receive detailed information about a critical DOC-concentration influencing the testorganisms further investigations about the amount of organic matter in the sediment and the DOC-concentration in the overlaying water are recommended.