Radioactivity concentration in liquid and solid phases of scale and sludge generated in the petroleum industry

Scales and sludge generated during oil extraction and production can contain uranium, thorium, radium and other natural radionuclides, which can cause exposure of maintenance personnel. This work shows how the oil content can influence the results of measurements of radionuclide concentration in scale and sludge. Samples were taken from a PETROBRAS unit in Northeast Brazil. They were collected directly from the inner surface of water pipes or from barrels stored in the waste storage area of the E&P unit. The oil was separated from the solids with a Soxhlet extractor by using aguarras at 90+/-5 degrees C as solvent. Concentrations of 226Ra and 228Ra in the samples were determined before and after oil extraction by using an HPGe gamma spectrometric system. The results showed an increase in the radionuclide concentration in the solid (dry) phase, indicating that the above radionuclides concentrate mostly in the solid material.     

Eucalyptus ESTs related to genes for oxidative stress

Oxidative stress generating active oxygen species has been proved to be one of the underlying agents causing tissue injury after the exposure of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plants to a wide variety of stress conditions. The objective of this study was to perform data mining to identify favorable genes and alleles associated with the enzyme systems superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidases, and glutathione S-transferase that are related to tolerance for environmental stresses and damage caused by pests, diseases, herbicides, and by weeds themselves. This was undertaken by using the eucalyptus expressed-sequence database (https//forests.esalq.usp.br). The alignment results between amino acid and nucleotide sequences indicated that the studied enzymes were adequately represented in the ESTs database of the FORESTs project.     

Integrated Assessment of Abatement Strategies to Improve Air Quality in Urban Environments, the USIAM Model

Planning effective strategies to combat air pollution in amajor city such as London requires integration ofinformation on atmospheric concentrations and where theyexceed prescribed air quality standards, detailed data onemissions and potential measures to reduce them includingcosts, and a good understanding of the relativecontributions of different emission sources to pollutantconcentrations plus the remaining background. The UrbanScale Integrated Assessment Model (USIAM) is designed as atool to integrate such information, and to explore andassess a variety of potential strategies for improving airquality. It is based on the same principles as theAbatement Strategies Assessment Model (ASAM) that has beenused in the UN Economic Commission for Europe. To startwith the USIAM model is being developed with respect to theparticulate PM₁₀ only, and in particular the primaryparticulate contribution. The secondary particulate istreated as part of the background superimposed on theprimary particulate concentrations; this may need to betreated more specifically at a later stage, particularlywith respect to nitrate formation over the city. The USIAMmodel therefore sets out to examine a selection of severeepisode conditions as well as long-term annual averageconcentrations, and aims to find strategies that aresuccessful in eliminating exceedance of the prescribedtarget concentrations. By ranking different options forabatement of emissions, for example in terms of cost orease of implementation, the USIAM model can also select andprioritise different potential strategies.     

A disclosure of social and environmental results/economy resulting from the implementation of reverse logistics and final disposal of the post‐consumption product: The case of computer peripherals industry

This research was conducted with the objective of determining and evidencing the social and environmental/economic results from the implementation of a reverse logistics program providing for the recycling, reuse, and, when necessary, final, environmentally correct disposal of post‐consumption products and product wastes by a multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals with an operation based in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The reverse logistics process (logisticareversa, or, in this paper, LR) was intended to meet the objectives and principles of the regulatory framework defined in the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) in Brazil. A single case study was carried out. The results showed that after the adoption of the solid waste management policy, the study company no longer disposed of 1,413,552 kilograms (kg) of materials classified as mixed iron, polystyrene, cardboard, toner powder, and plastic in landfills. The LR process made a profit in two companies: the company surveyed made, in Brazilian reais (R), R$ 9,188,185.51, and the company contracted to carry out the process made, R$ 411,325.97. This latter profit is called by us the “social profit.” The measurement of the environmental/economic, social, and financial results by internalizing the expenses of the LR program into the costs of production shows that reuse and recycling better meets the needs of society and the company than landfilling these post‐consumption materials. Furthermore, the use of cost accounting allows the verification of other goals not indicated in the current model, such as the generation of employment, income, mitigation of environmental problems, and the profit earned by the company contracted to implement the LR process. We also conclude that cost accounting makes it possible to obtain necessary information for decision makers, who are seeking to neutralize environmental impacts and promote sustainable development, thus harmonizing the economic, social, and environmental aspects, to understand the impacts of the LR process.     

An analysis of university sustainability reports from the GRI database: an examination of influential variables

In the business context, many papers have examined whether certain variables can affect sustainability disclosure practices. However, research on universities has mainly been addressed to explore the extent of sustainability information reported with little focus on determining the factors that may affect it. This paper analyzes the influence exerted by some variables concerning the extent of information reported in the university sustainability reports included in this study. To accomplish this task, data were collected using a content analysis of the university sustainability reports extracted from the GRI sustainability disclosure database. The findings reveal that sustainability disclosure practices by universities are explained by different factors, among which are institutionalization, geographical region, external assurance and leadership. Such results are supported jointly by the underpinnings of the institutional and legitimacy theories in response to coercive and mimetic pressures and by the need to improve reputation in society.     

The spatiotemporal expression pattern of trypsinogen and bile salt-activated lipase during the larval development of red porgy (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagrus pagrus</Emphasis>, Pisces,Sparidae)

A restoration programme was introduced in the Mondego Estuary (Portugal) to recover seagrass beds of Zostera noltii endangered by eutrophication. A long-term survey of 10 years was used to assess the development of the processes involved, focusing one of the key species (Cyathura carinata, Isopoda). The mitigation measures implemented since 1998 (nutrient loading reduction, freshwater circulation improvement and seagrass bed protection) enhanced water quality and seagrass recovery, thus preventing the development of macroalgal blooms. C. carinata was resilient to the occurrence of floods and macroalgal blooms, although both events caused dispersion of individuals. This isopod was not much influenced by the changes occurring in the estuary, showing an unalterable population structure during the entire study period. After 1998, its density and biomass became more stable at an inner unvegetated sand flat area, where this isopod was most abundant; its population slightly increased in a bare mud flat at the middle section of the estuary; but it could not establish successfully in a downstream Z. noltii bed, contrarily to other common estuarine species. Apart from other unknown reasons, the disrupted balanced between trematodes and their hosts, caused by the eutrophication processes, may have an important role in the discontinuity of C. carinata at the Z. noltii bed. If the intertidal areas become fully restored to the original seagrass coverage, high prevalence and intensity trematodes may prevent this isopod and other crustaceans from recovering within the intervened areas, by enhancing host mortality and recruitment failure. In order to avoid this kind of situation, it may be necessary to survey the levels of parasite infestation within the target hosts and safeguard areas where crustaceans present healthy populations.     

Non-invasive measurement of the physiological stress response of wild rabbits to the odour of a predator

Summary. Stress has been widely studied in different mammals, but the physiological stress reaction that the odour of a predator could induce in preys has not received much attention. Besides, not all the animals would respond to the same extent to a known stressor. We developed an experimental procedure with eleven na?ve European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in order to determine the individual physiological response to the olfactory detection of a potential predator. The rabbits were housed singly in small enclosures with a concrete burrow system and food and water were available ad libitum. The animals followed a control trial, without odour, and an experimental trial where we confronted the rabbits with fox (Vulpes vulpes) odour. Furthermore, another sample of eleven rabbits followed a control procedure subjected to the same housing and handling procedures but without facing the predator odour. In order to assess the physiological response we analysed the concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites in the faeces of the rabbits. Therefore, everyday faecal samples were collected and analysed with an enzyme immunoassay in order to measure the corticosterone metabolites (CM), particularly, those metabolites with a 5α-3β, 11β-diol structure. After validating the assay for wild rabbits, we found that the simulated presence of a predator (fox odour) in the enclosure resulted in an increase in faecal CM concentrations. However, the stressor did not affect all the animals in the same way. We found a general increase in the individual differences. In particular, males experienced a higher increase than females, though the overall response was similar for both sexes. To our knowledge this is one of the first attempts to analyse the assessment of the risk of predation by means of non-invasive methods.     

Differences in photosynthetic pigment signatures between phytoneuston and phytoplankton communities in a coastal lagoon of Baja California

In order to understand the relationships between the dynamics of phytoplankton populations in the surface microlayer (MIL) and in the water column below (SSW), this study used high-performance liquid chromatography-derived pigment markers in samples from a coastal lagoon of Baja California (Estero de Punta Banda, EPB) under summer (October 2003) and winter (December 2003) conditions. Photosynthetic pigment signatures of phytoplankton at the air–sea interface (phytoneuston) and subsurface measurements were related to bottom-up (temperature, salinity, nutrient concentrations) and top-down factors (zooplankton abundance). Slicks and scum layers were observed in the inner part of the lagoon and coincided with greater stratification of layers just below the sea surface and lower wind intensities. In general, spatial variability in pigment markers and ancillary data was very high and resulted in non-significant differences between MIL and subsurface samples when different regions of EPB or sampling dates were compared. However, different patterns were found between pigments and environmental factors of MIL and SSW samples when the relative numbers of stations with positive and negative differences (ΔX = X _MIL−X _SSW) were computed. For each survey, pigment markers of phytoneuston and phytoplankton samples were not necessarily correlated. Further analysis revealed that those markers (19′-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin, prasinoxanthin, divinil-chlorophyll a) corresponded to picophytoplankton groups (haptophyte, prasinophyte, and prochlorophyte). On both dates, the MIL was enriched in 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a marker for a type 4 haptophyte) and fucoxanthin (marker for bacillariophytes, haptophytes, and crysophytes) and depleted in peridinin (marker for dinophytes). Different zooplankton grazers accumulated in the MIL (loricate tintinnids) and in SSW (copepod nauplii).     

Seasonality of contamination, toxicity, and quality values in sediments from littoral ecosystems in the Gulf of Cádiz (SW Spain)

To seasonally evaluate littoral contamination, toxicity and quality values of sediments from the Gulf of Cádiz, we measured chemical concentrations and conducted toxicity tests in winter and summer and linked these results by means of multivariate analysis. Sediment samples were subjected to two separate, replicated sediment toxicity tests (Microdeutopus gryllotalpa amphipod survival, and Ruditapes philippinarum clam reburial), and to comprehensive sediment chemistry analyses (grain size, organic carbon, 14 heavy metals, and the surfactant linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS)). Only sediments associated with an untreated urban discharge were toxic and related to high levels of surfactant LAS, Ag, and Pb. Multivariate analysis indicated that variables and chemicals associated with geochemical matrix and background levels (specific surface, Fe, Zn, Cu, V, Ni, and Co), chemicals associated with untreated urban discharge sources, and toxicity effects showed no seasonal variability. Only copper concentrations showed seasonal differences, being toxic during the winter and not toxic during summer. Multivariate analysis permits us to derive sediment quality values (SQVs); in terms of concentrations at or below which biological effects were not measured (mg kg(-1) dry sediment), are: LAS, 2.6; lead, 66.8; silver, 0.78; copper, 69.6.