A Practical Look at Environmental Audits

Company self-auditing has become an increasingly attractive option for both government and industry in achieving compliance with environmental laws. For government, it can diminish the need for continual compliance inspections, and, for industry, it can prevent substantial liability. However, auditing can be conducted in a number of ways, and it is important for company management to be aware of its options before selecting a particular approach. This is particularly true of companies with relatively limited resources for such a project. The following article describes some of the more basic options to be considered In identifying an optimal auditing strategy. It also discusses factors which may make one strategy preferable to another. The article concludes with the interesting observation that, in some cases, a formal audit may be neither necessary nor desirable.     

Thallium in the hydrosphere of south west England

Thallium is a highly toxic metal whose environmental concentrations, distributions and behaviour are not well understood. In the present study we measure the concentrations of Tl in filtered and unfiltered samples of rain, tap, river, estuarine and waste waters collected from south west England. Dissolved Tl was lowest (<20 ng L⁻¹) in tap water, rain water, treated sewage and landfill effluents, estuarine waters, and rivers draining catchments of sandstones and shales. Concentrations up to about 450 ng L⁻¹ were observed in rivers whose catchments are partly mineralized and where metal mining was historically important, and the highest concentration (∼1400 ng L⁻¹) was measured in water abstracted directly from an abandoned mine. Compared with other trace metals measured (e.g. As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn), Tl has a low affinity for suspended particles and undergoes little removal by conventional (hydroxide precipitation) treatment of mine water.     

Equity trade‐offs in conservation decision making

Conservation decisions increasingly involve multiple environmental and social objectives, which result in complex decision contexts with high potential for trade‐offs. Improving social equity is one such objective that is often considered an enabler of successful outcomes and a virtuous ideal in itself. Despite its idealized importance in conservation policy, social equity is often highly simplified or ill‐defined and is applied uncritically. What constitutes equitable outcomes and processes is highly normative and subject to ethical deliberation. Different ethical frameworks may lead to different conceptions of equity through alternative perspectives of what is good or right. This can lead to different and potentially conflicting equity objectives in practice. We promote a more transparent, nuanced, and pluralistic conceptualization of equity in conservation decision making that particularly recognizes where multidimensional equity objectives may conflict. To help identify and mitigate ethical conflicts and avoid cases of good intentions producing bad outcomes, we encourage a more analytical incorporation of equity into conservation decision making particularly during mechanistic integration of equity objectives. We recommend that in conservation planning motivations and objectives for equity be made explicit within the problem context, methods used to incorporate equity objectives be applied with respect to stated objectives, and, should objectives dictate, evaluation of equity outcomes and adaptation of strategies be employed during policy implementation.     

Impact of financial development and technological innovation on the volatility of green growth—evidence from China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - China’s green growth has shown a trend of fluctuation year by year. Simultaneously, Chinese local governments have pursued simple economic...     

Quest for communicating sustainability: Gb-Quest as a learning tool for effecting conceptual change

Abstract

The overall purpose of this study was to assess whether interaction with a regionally based computer simulation software tool, Gb-Quest, was an effective tool for learning about sustainability. A questionnaire was administered to 189 participants, before and after attending a workshop on Gb-Quest. Factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the three scales used in this study. Seven variables were identified and were examined for group differences (gender, age, and whether or not they were Canadian born). In particular, younger individuals and males were more likely to endorse the view that the earth is being destroyed by humans. In addition, Canadian-born individuals were more likely to endorse the consumption of environmentally friendly products, but less likely to be supportive of development and using public transportation. We also examined change for each of the variables and found that Gb-Quest had an effect on all of them. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for future research.     

Mixing and boundary interactions of 30° and 45° inclined dense jets

60° inclined dense jets had been recommended for brine discharges from desalination plants to achieve a maximum mixing efficiency. However, the terminal rise associated with 60° is relatively high and thus the angle may be too large for disposal in shallow coastal wasters. In this study, we investigate the mixing behavior of dense jets discharging at smaller angles of 30° and 45° in a stationary ambient. Combined Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) were used as the measurement approaches that captured the velocity and concentration fields, respectively. Based on the experimental results, the characteristic geometrical features of the inclined dense jets, including the location of the centerline peak and the return point where the dense jet returns to the source level, etc., are quantified. The mixing and diluting behaviors are also revealed through the analysis of the axial and cross-sectional velocity and concentration profiles. In addition to the free inclined discharges, the present study also examines the effect of the proximity to the bed. Through the comparison of the results between two experimental series with distinct z ₀/D but overlapping z ₀/L _M , the latter is identified as the deciding factor for the boundary influence.     

我国环境管理体制问题及其对策探讨

分析和讨论了我国现行环境保护管理体制中主要存在的问题,结合对一些发达国家环境管理发展经验的分析比较,从我国的国情出发,提出了与市场经济新体制相适应的我国环境保护管理体制建设问题的几点建议。     

Simultaneous removal of Congo red and cadmium(II) from aqueous solutions using graphene oxide–silica composite as a multifunctional adsorbent

Graphene oxide is a very high capacity adsorbent due to its functional groups and π?π interactions with other compounds. Adsorption capacity of graphene oxide, however, can be further enhanced by having synergistic effects through the use of mixed-matrix composite. In this study, silica-decorated graphene oxide (SGO) was used as a high-efficiency adsorbent to remove Congo red (CR) and Cadmium (II) from aqueous solutions. The effects of solution initial concentration (20 to 120 mg/l), solution pH (pH 2 to 7), adsorption duration (0 to 140 min) and temperature (298 to 323 K) were measured in order to optimize the adsorption conditions using the SGO adsorbent. Morphological analysis indicated that the silica nanoparticles could be dispersed uniformly on the graphene oxide surfaces. The maximum capacities of adsorbent for effective removal of Cd (II) and CR were 43.45 and 333.33 mg/g based on Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms displayed the highest values of Q_max for CR and Cd (II) adsorption in this study, which indicated monolayer adsorption of CR and multilayer adsorption of Cd (II) onto the SGO, respectively. Thermodynamic study showed that the enthalpy (ΔH) and Gibbs free energy(ΔG) values of the adsorption process for both pollutants were negative, suggesting that the process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. This study showed active sites of SGO (π-π, hydroxyl, carboxyl, ketone, silane-based functional groups) contributed to an enormous enhancement in simultaneous removal of CR and Cd (II) from an aqueous solution, Therefore, SGO can be considered as a promising adsorbent for future water pollution control and removal of hazardous materials from aqueous solutions.     

Contaminants and their effects on estuarine and coastal organisms in the United Kingdom in the late twentieth century

The biological effects of contaminants in British estuaries and coastal waters have been studied for over 100 years. Until the 1970s. the major pollution impact on estuarine organisms was probably caused by poorly treated sewage which led to severe oxygen deficits and consequent asphyxiation of many water-breathers. However, since the introduction of improved sewage treatment in the last 30 years, a number of continuing impacts have come to light which represent true toxic effects of micro-contaminants. Sublethal changes observed in various bioassays and biomarkers are widespread in both fish and invertebrates, and in the most urbanised and industrialised estuaries, these effects are probably having impacts at the population and community levels. For example, there is good evidence to show that tributyltin from some antifouling paints has not only affected the sexuality and reproductive success of individual estuarine and coastal molluscs, but has also damaged some benthic communities of which molluscs are but a part. Although there are data to show that some contaminant concentrations are now declining, we do not yet have enough data in most cases to decide whether organisms have also begun to recover. This paper reviews the entire field of contaminant effects in UK estuarine and marine waters, focusing especially on the years 1985-2000, and makes some recommendations for future research and monitoring programmes.     

Source of lead in humans from Broken Hill mining community

This paper documents the first precise lead isotope measurements for men, women and children from the same family in an attempt to determine the source of lead in their blood. The subjects reside in one of the world's largest lead mining cities, Broken Hill, NSW, Australia. Biological and environmental samples have been compared using isotopic compositions and lead contents. Adult males have isotopic profiles (or compositions) which appear to be related to their occupations. Adult females have low blood leads (<10 g dL^–1) and their main source of lead is not from the mine dumps around which the city is built but probably from a mixture of petrol, food and perhaps water. The blood lead contents in children from 1 to 14 years old vary and are partly dependent on age. There is a moderate correlation of blood lead and isotopic compositions (r = 0.73) indicating that a significant component of blood lead derives from the mine dumps in children with elevated blood leads. Some children with blood leads <20 g dL^–1, however, also have a dominant component of mine lead in their blood