Developing REDD+ policies and measures from the bottom-up for the buffer zones of Amazonian protected areas

A key activity in Phase 1 of REDD+—the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) forestry mitigation mechanism—is the development of policies and measures (PAMs) to define where and how emissions reductions and carbon stock enhancements and conservation will be achieved. This paper provides contextual data and information for the development of PAMs specifically for the buffer zones of protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon, sites where REDD+ has the potential to generate considerable social and ecological co-benefits. The study sites are the buffer zones of two national parks, Yanachaga-Chemillen (YChNP) in central Peru and Manu (MNP) in the south-east. Data were collected through smallholder household surveys (n?=?200), covering livelihood strategies, land use practices and preference rankings of five REDD+ criteria. The findings suggest that PAMs in buffer zones could realistically achieve an additional ~10?% conservation of remaining forest and between 25 and 70?% additional reforestation of non-forest areas on private lands. The paper argues that in areas where agricultural co-operatives exist, such as MNP, these should be engaged in national REDD+ PAMs and supported by an international NGO; in areas where smallholders operate individually, such as YChNP, international NGOs may be best placed to gain local trust and thereby raise participation rates. The environmental effectiveness of REDD+ conservation PAMs could be greater in areas of intense agricultural production, yet financial and technical support for reforestation may offer the most effective avenue for carbon mitigation in these areas.     

Fate of atrazine in switchgrass–soil column system

Atrazine, a broad-leaf herbicide, has been used widely to control weeds in corn and other crops for several decades and its extensive used has led to widespread contamination of soils and water bodies. Phytoremediation with switchgrass and other native prairie grasses is one strategy that has been suggested to lessen the impact of atrazine in the environment. The goal of this study is to characterize: (1) the uptake of atrazine into above-ground switchgrass biomass; and (2) the degradation and transformation of atrazine over time. A fate study was performed using mature switchgrass columns treated with an artificially-created agricultural runoff containing 16 ppm atrazine. Soil samples and above-ground biomass samples were taken from each column and analyzed for the presence of atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites. Levels of atrazine in both soil and plant material were detectable through the first 2 weeks of the experiment but were below the limit of detection by Day 21. Levels of deethylatrazine (DEA) and didealkylatrazine (DDA) were detected in soil and plant tissue intermittently over the course of the study, deisopropylatrazine (DIA) was not detected at any time point. A radiolabel study using [¹⁴C]atrazine was undertaken to observe uptake and degradation of atrazine with more sensitivity. Switchgrass columns were treated with a 4 ppm atrazine solution, and above-ground biomass samples were collected and analyzed using HPLC and liquid scintillation counting. Atrazine, DEA, and DIA were detected as soon as 1 d following treatment. Two other metabolites, DDA and cyanuric acid, were detected at later time points, while hydroxyatrazine was not detected at all. The percentage of atrazine was observed to decrease over the course of the study while the percentages of the metabolites increased. Switchgrass plants appeared to exhibit a threshold in regard to the amount of atrazine taken up by the plants; levels of atrazine in leaf material peaked between Days 3 and 4 in both studies.     

Optimization of analytical methods to improve detection of erythromycin from water and sediment

Analytical methods to improve the detection of erythromycin in water and sediment were developed to optimize for erythromycin's recovery of extractable and bound residues from the aquatic environment. The objective of this study was to determine optimal recovery of erythromycin from water and sediment to improve its detection in environmental samples through solid-phase extraction (SPE) and sediment-extraction methods. SPE methods examined included previously reported methods for macrolide and sulfonamide antibiotics with erythromycin recoveries ranging from 75.5 % to 94.7 %. Extraction of erythromycin was performed from sand employing various solvents and buffers to determine the best method for extraction from two sandy loam pond sediments. Various extraction times were also examined, and all extraction procedures were performed in duplicate. The greatest recovery of ¹⁴C-erythromycin in the Iowa sediment was 84 % using 0.3 M ammonium acetate at pH 4.2: acetonitrile (15:85, v/v) solution. The Oklahoma sediment yielded the greatest recovery of ¹⁴C-erythromycin at 86.7 % with 0.3 M ammonium acetate at pH 7: acetonitrile (30:70, v/v) with a 60-minute shake time. The present results demonstrate improved extraction methods for enhancing the accuracy of erythromycin detection from environmental samples.     

The Clean Air Act: New Enforcement and Liability Provisions

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 establish new criminal and civil liability provisions that can potentially impose substantial fines and penalties. This article reviews the Act's new enforcement and liability provisions. The authors recommend that because of the new enforcement tools available to the federal government, the regulated community should implement effective self-auditing and compliance programs at facilities to help reduce the risk of criminal liability.     

Physical impact of waterjet‐based sediment remediation on benthic organisms

Adding activated carbon to sediments has been shown to be an effective means of reducing the bioavailability of certain contaminants. The current state of the practice is to mechanically mix activated carbon to a target concentration of 3 percent at depths of approximately 30 cm using a rotovator or similar construction equipment. Waterjets have been used to cut hard material using a mixture of water and an abrasive. If activated carbon is substituted for the abrasive, waterjets have the potential to use surface injection as a replacement for mechanical mixing during sediment remediation. A perceived benefit of waterjet‐based sediment remediation is that there may be a reduced potential for benthic organism mortality related to amendment delivery. A set of waterjet parameters were identified that have the potential to achieve amendment placement goals, and a series of waterjet tests were conducted to evaluate the potential impact on the benthic community. The tests included mortality testing using a swimming macroinvertebrate and a burrowing invertebrate, benthic artifacts such as shells, and craft foam as a surrogate for living organisms. The results indicated that the immediate survivability was typically greater than 50 percent, and that empirical relationships between two variables (waterjet nozzle diameter and the water column height between the nozzle and the target) and the depth of cut in the foam could be established. Data are not available in the literature for direct comparison of organism survivability immediately after mechanical mixing, but the results of this study provide motivation for the further evaluation of waterjets on the basis of the low observed mortality rates. Future waterjet work may address field‐scale characterization of mixing effectiveness, resuspension potential, technical feasibility, and cost. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Optimization of analytical methods to improve detection of erythromycin from water and sediment

Analytical methods to improve the detection of erythromycin in water and sediment were developed to optimize for erythromycin's recovery of extractable and bound residues from the aquatic environment. The objective of this study was to determine optimal recovery of erythromycin from water and sediment to improve its detection in environmental samples through solid-phase extraction (SPE) and sediment-extraction methods. SPE methods examined included previously reported methods for macrolide and sulfonamide antibiotics with erythromycin recoveries ranging from 75.5 % to 94.7 %. Extraction of erythromycin was performed from sand employing various solvents and buffers to determine the best method for extraction from two sandy loam pond sediments. Various extraction times were also examined, and all extraction procedures were performed in duplicate. The greatest recovery of (14)C-erythromycin in the Iowa sediment was 84 % using 0.3 M ammonium acetate at pH 4.2: acetonitrile (15:85, v/v) solution. The Oklahoma sediment yielded the greatest recovery of (14)C-erythromycin at 86.7 % with 0.3 M ammonium acetate at pH 7: acetonitrile (30:70, v/v) with a 60-minute shake time. The present results demonstrate improved extraction methods for enhancing the accuracy of erythromycin detection from environmental samples.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of toe board energy-absorbing material for foot,ankle, and lower leg injury reduction

Objective: Since 2000, numerous improvements have been made to the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Incorporated (NASCAR®) driver restraint system, resulting in improved crash protection for motorsports drivers. Advancements have included seats, head and neck restraints (HNRs), seat belt restraint systems, driver helmets, and others. These enhancements have increased protection for drivers from severe crash loading. Extending protection to the driver's extremities remains challenging. Though the drivers’ legs are well contained for lateral and vertical crashes, they remain largely unrestrained in frontal and frontal oblique crashes.

Method: Sled testing was conducted for the evaluation of an energy-absorbing (EA) toe board material to be used as a countermeasure for leg and foot injuries. Testing included baseline rigid toe boards, tests with EA material–covered toe boards, and pretest positioning of the 50th percentile male frontal Hybrid III anthropomorphic test device (ATD) lower extremities. ATD leg and foot instrumentation included foot acceleration and tibia forces and moments.

Results: The sled test data were evaluated using established injury criteria for tibial plateau fractures, leg shaft fractures, and calcaneus, talus, ankle, and midfoot fractures.

Conclusion: A polyurethane EA foam was found to be effective in limiting axial tibia force and foot accelerations when subjected to frontal impacts using the NASCAR motorsport restraint system.     

Functional outcomes of motor vehicle crash thoracic injuries in pediatric and adult occupants

Objective: Characterization of the severity of injury should account for both mortality and disability. The objective of this study was to develop a disability metric for thoracic injuries in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) and compare the functional outcomes between the pediatric and adult populations.

Methods: Disability risk (DR) was quantified using Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores within the National Trauma Data Bank for the most frequently occurring Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2–5 thoracic injuries. Occupants with thoracic injury were classified as disabled or not disabled based on the FIM scale, and comparisons were made between the following age groups: pediatric, adult, middle-aged, and older occupants (ages 7–18, 19–45, 46–65, and 66+, respectively). For each age group, DR was calculated by dividing the number of patients who were disabled and sustained a given injury by the number of patients who sustained a given injury. To account for the effect of higher severity co-injuries, a maximum AIS adjusted DR (DR_MAIS) was also calculated for each injury. DR and DR_MAIS could range from 0 to 100% disability risk.

Results: The mean DR_MAIS for MVC thoracic injuries was 20% for pediatric occupants, 22% for adults, 29% for middle-aged adults, and 43% for older adults. Older adults possessed higher DR_MAIS values for diaphragm laceration/rupture, heart laceration, hemo/pneumothorax, lung contusion/laceration, and rib and sternum fracture compared to the other age groups. The pediatric population possessed a higher DR_MAIS value for flail chest compared to the other age groups.

Conclusion: Older adults had significantly greater overall disability than each of the other age groups for thoracic injuries. The developed disability metrics are important in quantifying the significant burden of injuries and loss of quality life years. Such metrics can be used to better characterize severity of injury and further the understanding of age-related differences in injury outcomes, which can influence future age-specific modifications to AIS.     

Adsorption of arsenic(V) onto fly ash: a speciation-based approach

Arsenic (As) poses a significant water quality problem and challenge for the environmental engineers and scientists in the world. The large volume of coal fly ash produced around the world is a potentially significant anthropogenic source of arsenic. Currently the leaching behavior of arsenic from fly ash is not well understood. Batch methods were used in this study to investigate arsenic leaching using a raw ash, and arsenic adsorption using a clean, washed ash. Experimental results indicated that pH had a significant effect on arsenic leaching or adsorption. Between pH 3 and 7, less arsenic was in the dissolved phase. When pH was less than 3 or greater than 7, increasing amounts of arsenic were leached or desorbed from fly ash. The leaching and adsorption behavior of arsenic was interpreted with the speciation of surface sites and arsenic. In a new approach, a speciation-based model was developed to quantify the arsenic adsorption as a function of pH and surface acidity parameters. This work is important in offering insight into the leaching mechanism of arsenic from coal fly ash, and providing a robust model based upon specific, measurable parameters to quantify arsenic adsorption by other solid media in addition to fly ash.