Consumers’ willingness to pay an environmental fee for e-waste recycling in Vietnam: integrating the theory of planned behaviour and the norm activation model

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - E-waste is becoming a concern due to its toxic content and serious pollution effect. Many studies have focused on the detrimental impacts of...     

Occurrence of antimicrobials in animal manure-amended soils around the breeding farms: The case of the Saigon River (southern Vietnam)

The excessive use of antimicrobials in animal rearing and the associated environmental hazards have become a pressing issue. Animal agriculture is often viewed as a significant contributor to environmental degradation due to the residues of antimicrobials. It is a common practice to use livestock waste as a soil enhancer in farming. Despite some research into antimicrobials, there is room for more comprehensive data regarding these pollutants in animal farming environments. A handful of earlier studies have identified antimicrobials in animal waste. This research undertook the task of examining and evaluating soils amended with animal waste (from chickens, cows, and pigs) for the presence of seven specific antimicrobials. The antimicrobials under scrutiny included trimethoprim (TRI), ormethoprim (ORM), ofloxacin (OFL), norfloxacin (NOR), tetracycline (TET), chlortetracycline (CTE), and tylosin (TLS). Soil samples were collected from areas surrounding breeding farms located upstream of the Sai Gon River. These samples were then subjected to laboratory analysis, which involved solid-phase extraction using ultrasonic waves and the application of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) to identify the antimicrobials. TRI, which had the highest average concentration (2.603–91.304 μg/kg), and OFL, with the second highest average concentration (1.815–15.832 μg/kg), were detected in all soil samples amended with manure. CTE, with the third highest average concentration, was found in soils amended with cow and pig waste (1.625–15.486 μg/kg). ORM and TE, with lower average concentrations (0.595–1.318 μ and 11.537–13.569 μg/kg, respectively), were only detected in soils amended with chicken waste, while NOR was only found in soils amended with cow waste. These findings indicate that the use of antimicrobials in animal farming can negatively impact the soil ecosystem. Consequently, these results can contribute to the creation of guidelines for monitoring antimicrobial residues in agricultural ecosystems.     

Spatial Variations in Fish Abundance in the Mekong Delta

Russian Journal of Ecology - For the first time, the density of fish population has been quantitatively assessed in the Mekong River delta in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The...     

Return migration after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster: the impact of institutional and individual factors

This paper explores two groups of factors, individual and institutional, that have influenced return migration since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan on 11 March 2011. Based on an analysis of statistical data on evacuees, a questionnaire completed by 289 people who migrated, and 19 semi-structured interviews with disaster-affected people, the research found (apropos of institutional factors) that while the lifting of the government's evacuation order has had no immediate effect on return decisions, the termination of monetary compensation and housing subsidies has had a significant bearing on them. As for individual factors, a strong sense of attachment to home and the possession of property, job obligations, and having family members in the home location are key determinants of return decisions. Moreover, the paper suggests that there could be differing opinions among Japanese government officials and evacuees regarding radiation exposure risk and the degree to which infrastructure and social services have been rehabilitated.     

Indoor pesticide application practices and levels in homes of Bangkok Metropolitan Region

This study investigated the indoor application practices of pesticides in different homes located in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). A multi-stage stratified-judgmental sampling was applied to select 280 representative households in BMR for an in-depth questionnaire survey. We found about 71% of these households having mosquitoes as their main indoor nuisance. An inventory on the types and active ingredients was obtained through a shop-shelf survey. Among 22 available commercial products, 12 different active ingredients were observed with the pyrethroid containing pesticides are the most common. The stepwise regression analysis was conducted to reveal the statistical association between indoor levels of total pyrethriods (in the air and on the floor surface of homes) and the household application practices such as the overlap time period since the last application, application and storage locations, and frequency of applications, for instances.     

Assessment of plastic waste generation and its potential recycling of household solid waste in Can Tho City, Vietnam

Plastic solid waste has become a serious problem when considering the disposal alternatives following the sequential hierarchy of sound solid waste management. This study was undertaken to assess the quantity and composition of household solid waste, especially plastic waste to identify opportunities for waste recycling. A 1-month survey of 130 households was carried out in Can Tho City, the capital city of the Mekong Delta region in southern Vietnam. Household solid waste was collected from each household and classified into ten physical categories; especially plastic waste was sorted into 22 subcategories. The average household solid waste generation rate was 281.27 g/cap/day. The compostable and recyclable shares respectively accounted for high percentage as 80.74% and 11%. Regarding plastic waste, the average plastic waste generation rate was 17.24 g/cap/day; plastic packaging and plastic containers dominated with the high percentage, 95.64% of plastic waste. Plastic shopping bags were especially identified as the major component, accounting for 45.72% of total plastic waste. Relevant factors such as household income and household size were found to have an existing correlation to plastic waste generation in detailed composition. The household habits and behaviors of plastic waste discharge and the aspects of environmental impacts and resource consumption for plastic waste disposal alternatives were also evaluated.     

Community exposure to arsenic in the Mekong river delta, Southern Vietnam

We examined the daily inorganic arsenic (i-As) intake from drinking water and rice in 45 households (75 individuals) in the An Giang province, Southern Vietnam. The daily i-As intake ranged from 28-102 μg d(-1), equivalent to the daily dose of 0.6-1.9 μg d(-1) kg((body wt))(-1). Increased As concentrations were observed in human hair in the study location. Approximately 67% (n = 44), 42% (n = 28), and 15% (n = 10) of the hair samples had As levels exceeding 1, 3, and 10 μg g(-1), respectively. The total As concentrations in female and male hair correlated well with the total daily i-As intake. Measurement of As concentrations in the hair of people who were consuming or had previously consumed As from contaminated sources may help predict the onset of negative health effects. We suggested an application of the Bayes's theorem to calculate the probability that an individual in a population will acquire a negative health effect, given that the concentration of arsenic in the subject's hair has been determined.     

Evaluation of energy intensity of transport service sectors in Vietnam

This research analyses energy intensity of transport service sectors in Vietnam and its changing trend in the past years using IO tables and LMDI decomposition method. Energy consumption of 38 economic sectors in 2007, 2012 and 2018 is determined, of which transport service sectors were the second largest energy consumer (17.71 Mtoe), occupied 18.5% of total energy consumed in Vietnamese economy in 2018. In terms of energy intensity, a rising trend is seen in all transport service sectors, of which four most important transport services including bus and other road passenger transport, freight transport service by road and pipeline, waterway shipping freight and aviation passenger reached 0.62 kgoe/USD, 0.72 kgoe/USD, 0.60 kgoe/USD and 0.62 kgoe/USD in 2018, respectively. The ineffective structural change and ineffective energy intensity change are the reasons behind the upward trend in these sectors. Using Leontief inverse, the study also unveils how demanded on transport services by other economic sectors in terms of energy and how much energy embodied in all inputs of any economic sector. In order to keep the energy intensity stable and gradually decreasing, the recommendations are focused on effectiveness in structural changes and improvements in energy efficiency.

     

Concentrations,profiles, emission inventory,and risk assessment of chlorinated benzenes in bottom ash and fly ash of municipal and medical waste incinerators in northern Vietnam

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Concentrations and congener profiles of seven di- to hexachlorinated benzenes (CBzs) were characterized in bottom ash and fly ash samples collected...