New view of environmental health: Toward an environmental research policy for international strategies

We are witnessing a growing concern with the global dimension of many environmental issues, reflected in the increase in the number and significance of international environmental organizations. Yet there is no internationally applicable strategy for environmental research which is management oriented. A new type of research policy, which integrates ideas derived from environmental and human ecology, is required in order to deal with cultural and ecological diversity and their interactions as reflected in the ecology of landscapes. The newly defined concept of environmental health is proposed to fill this gap. This concept integrates the latest developments in landscape evolutionary ecology and environmental health, bringing out a conflict between making the environment conducive to human health and increasing the available options for supporting the essential biological and ecological processes of the environment. Lessons derived from the evolution of human environments are used in order to illustrate how health may become un umbrella for developing an environmental research policy, which could also serve as a catalyst for international environmental projects.     

Fed-batch and batch operating mode analysis of a stirred anaerobic sequencing reactor with self-immobilized biomass treating low-strength wastewater

This work presents an analysis of a stirred anaerobic sequencing discontinuous reactor with different substrate feeding strategies resulting in batch, fed-batch/batch and fed-batch operating modes. The reactor, containing granulated biomass, was fed with approximately 2.0L of synthetic domestic wastewater with Chemical Oxygen Demand of nearly 500 mg/L per cycle and operated at 30 degrees C and 50 rpm. Three feeding strategies with a total cycle time of 6 h, including 30-min settling, were adopted: batch mode with a fill cycle of 6 min, a fed-batch/batch mode with fill cycles of 60, 120 and 240 min and fed-batch mode with a fill cycle of 320 min. The system attained average non-filtered and filtered substrate removal efficiency of 78 and 84%, respectively, for all operating conditions, presenting good stability, solid retention and no granule break-up. A first order kinetic model with a residual organic matter concentration was proposed to analyze the influence of the feeding strategy on the performance during a cycle and bicarbonate alkalinity and total volatile acids concentration profiles were also quantified in order to verify the transient stability behavior.     

Analysis of heavy metal distribution in superficial estuarine sediments (estuary of Bilbao, Basque Country) by open-focused microwave-assisted extraction and ICP-OES

Open-focused microwave-assisted extraction and ICP-OES determination of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn from surface sediments of the estuary of Bilbao (Basque Country, North of Spain) was carried out. All the samples were collected at three different tributaries of the estuary (Asua, Galindo and Nerbioi-Ibaizabal) every two months during 1999. The digestion procedure was proposed from the conclusions of a fractionated factorial design, and the precision and accuracy of the method was verified using a certified reference sediment (RTC008-050). The results of the analysis were statistically treated by means of principal component analysis and correlation analysis. The principal component analysis of sediment data (32 samples × 9 metals) indicated different patterns of contamination regarding the tributary and sampling station. The two main patterns observed were a steady increment of the metal concentration along all the campaigns in the samples collected in the Galindo River and a seasonal variation in the Nerbioi-Ibaizabal River, with higher metallic content during summertime and lower content during wintertime.     

Potential of microalgae as biopesticides to contribute to sustainable agriculture and environmental development

The loss of yields from agricultural production due to the presence of pests has been treated over the years with synthetic pesticides, but the use of these substances negatively affects the environment and presents health risks for consumers and animals. The development of agroecological systems using biopesticides represents a safe alternative that contributes to the reduction of agrochemical use and sustainable agriculture. Microalgae are able to biosynthesize a number of metabolites with potential biopesticidal action and can be considered potential biological agents for the control of harmful organisms to soils and plants. The present work aims to provide a critical perspective on the consequences of using synthetic pesticides, offering as an alternative the biopesticides obtained from microalgal biomass, which can be used together with the implementation of environmentally friendly agricultural systems.     

Development of processes for environmental protection based on self-propagating reactions

The possibility of exploiting self-propagating reactions for environmental protection is discussed in this paper. In particular, results obtained at the laboratory scale and related to the fixation and consolidation of high level radioactive wastes, the recycling of silicon sludge and aluminum dross produced by semiconductor industries and aluminum foundries, the treating and recycling of a highly toxic solid waste from electrolytic zinc plants, and the degradation of chlorinated aromatics, are examined with particular emphasis on the latter case. Specifically, the self-propagating destruction of hexachlorobenzene and 2-(2-4-dichlorophenoxy)-propanoic acid with calcium hydride as reductive substrate is demonstrated. In fact, the heat liberated by the reactions involved is large enough to guarantee the self-sustaining character of the process within a wide range of reactants compositions. Moreover, no residual chlorinated organic compounds were found in the final solid product. Some reactor engineering aspects, as well as other significant future scientific and technological issues, are also addressed in view of large-scale applicability of processes based on self-propagating reactions. To date, the batch reactor technology seems to be more easily applicable, although the use of continuous reactors is not excluded in the next future.     

Study of the presence of fluorine in the recycled fractions during carbothermal treatment of EAF dust

Carbothermal treatment tests of electric arc furnace dusts (EAFD) using the Waelz kiln process were carried out in pilot-scale for the production of zinc oxide. The association of halides in the EAFD, and the recycled products, such as zinc oxide fumes and high-grade iron contents fractions were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. XRD reveals the presence of chlorine and fluorine in the dusts in the form of KCl, NaCl and CaF2. An ultra-pure fraction of zinc was obtained after the Double Leaching Waelz Oxide (DLWO) process was performed on the zinc oxide fumes. The halide contents were reduced to approximately 100 ppm Cl and 700 ppm F. The rest of these elements are in the form of CaF2. About 65% F is volatilised as lead and zinc fluorides, 15% is expected in the magnetic fractions and 20% in non-magnetic fractions as CaF2 and MnF2, respectively.     

Deriving fuel-based emission factor thresholds to interpret heavy-duty vehicle roadside plume measurements

Remote sensing devices have been used for decades to measure gaseous emissions from individual vehicles at the roadside. Systems have also been developed that entrain diluted exhaust and can also measure particulate matter (PM) emissions. In 2015, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reported that 8% of in-field diesel particulate filters (DPF) on heavy-duty (HD) vehicles were malfunctioning and emitted about 70% of total diesel PM emissions from the DPF-equipped fleet. A new high-emitter problem in the heavy-duty vehicle fleet had emerged. Roadside exhaust plume measurements reflect a snapshot of real-world operation, typically lasting several seconds. In order to relate roadside plume measurements to laboratory emission tests, we analyzed carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxides of nitrogen (NO_X), and PM emissions collected from four HD vehicles during several driving cycles on a chassis dynamometer. We examined the fuel-based emission factors corresponding to possible exceedances of emission standards as a function of vehicle power. Our analysis suggests that a typical HD vehicle will exceed the model year (MY) 2010 emission standards (of 0.2 g NO_X/bhp-hr and 0.01 g PM/bhp-hr) by three times when fuel-based emission factors are 9.3 g NO_X/kg fuel and 0.11 g PM/kg using the roadside plume measurement approach. Reported limits correspond to 99% confidence levels, which were calculated using the detection uncertainty of emissions analyzers, accuracy of vehicle power calculations, and actual emissions variability of fixed operational parameters. The PM threshold was determined for acceleration events between 0.47 and 1.4 mph/sec only, and the NO_X threshold was derived from measurements where after-treatment temperature was above 200°C. Anticipating a growing interest in real-world driving emissions, widespread implementation of roadside exhaust plume measurements as a compliment to in-use vehicle programs may benefit from expanding this analysis to a larger sample of in-use HD vehicles.

Implications: Regulatory agencies, civil society, and the public at large have a growing interest in vehicle emission compliance in the real world. Leveraging roadside plume measurements to identify vehicles with malfunctioning emission control systems is emerging as a viable new and useful method to assess in-use performance. This work proposes fuel-based emission factor thresholds for PM and NOx that signify exceedances of emission standards on a work-specific basis by analyzing real-time emissions in the laboratory. These thresholds could be used to prescreen vehicles before roadside enforcement inspection or other inquiry, enhance and further develop emission inventories, and potentially develop new requirements for heavy-duty inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs, including but not limited to identifying vehicles for further testing.     

Chemistry of the postpharyngeal gland secretion and its implication for the phylogeny of IberianCataglyphis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Summary A comparative morphological and chemical study of six endemic species ofCataglyphis from the Iberian Peninsula:C. ibericus, C. rosenhaueri, C. hispanicus, C. humeya, C. velox andC. floricola and the Moroccan speciesC. bombycinus is described. The morphological study relied primarily on genitalia characteristics, whereas the chemical study concentrated on the postpharyngeal gland constituents. Cladograms based on the morphological and chemical data were performed using Ward's method. The dendrogram based on morphological features revealed that the IberianCataglyphis can be classified into three species groupsalbicans, altisquamis andemmae. The same pattern occurred when the dimethylalkanes constituents of the postpharyngeal gland were utilised as character states, with a slight displacement of species within thealtisquamis group. However, when the complete hydrocarbon blend was utilised major discrepancies in the dendrograms occurred.Cataglyphis velox proved to be very similar toC. bombycinus, whereasC. floricola clustered with the other two species of thealtisquamis group. Based on the geographical distribution and paleontological data (Tinaut 1993) it is assumed thatC. floricola recently invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Based on the chemical findings we postulate that chemical character displacement occurred inC. floricola as a result of its sympatry withC. velox after the former colonized the Iberian Peninsula. We further discuss the possible reason for the different dendrograms obtained when only the dimethylalkanes are considered and its implication for the communicative role of the postpharyngeal gland secretion in these ants.     

全球经济一体化给职业安全卫生事业带来新的机遇和挑战

最近我在国际劳工组织与芬兰职业卫生研究所共同出版的亚太地区职业安全卫生新闻通讯上看到此文,想把它介绍给广大读者,跟作者联系,他表示同意,并感到很高兴。Alberto Lopez-Valcarcel先生在文章中指出,一个企业至少应具备三个要素:创新能力、产品质量以及生产能力。同时他提出的下述观点值得得每一位职业安全卫生工作者认真思考:在这个全球一体化的时代、一     

Taxing Meat: Taking Responsibility for One’s Contribution to Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic use in animal farming is one of the main drivers of antibiotic resistance both in animals and in humans. In this paper we propose that one feasible and fair way to address this problem is to tax animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics. We argue that such tax is supported both by (a) deontological arguments, which are based on the duty individuals have to compensate society for the antibiotic resistance to which they are contributing through consumption of animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics; and (b) a cost-benefit analysis of taxing such animal products and of using revenue from the tax to fund alternatives to use of antibiotics in animal farming. Finally, we argue that such a tax would be fair because individuals who consume animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics can be held morally responsible, i.e. blameworthy, for their contribution to antibiotic resistance, in spite of the fact that each individual contribution is imperceptible.