Analysis of injury events with fuzzy cognitive maps

Issues related to health and safety at work, such as accidents at work, are one of the most important areas of action for global social policy. This paper presents a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) approach to explore the importance of the relevant factors in industrial plants. For this purpose, industrial plants are described in terms of factors that affect injury risk and the causal relationships involved.In this work, the injuries in an Italian refinery have been studied. The company in this account has a system for monitoring and controlling the machinery but has a large number of minor injuries at work. The causes of these injuries have been found in human behaviours. To analyse the injuries, it is necessary to investigate what individual-level concerns are involved in the perception of risk. For this investigation, an FCM permits us to build a schema of the perception of risk. The resulting analysis of all of these schemas has allowed us to define a method that generically permits a determination of the causes for each type of injury. In fact, it has been possible to determine that factors such as poor attention and concentration or fatigue are the main causes of injuries at work.In light of the results obtained, managers can define appropriate control procedures to diminish the occurrences of the injuries.     

Conifer needles as passive biomonitors of the spatial and temporal distribution of DDT from a point source

Needles of two conifer species, Picea abies and Pinus nigra, were used as passive samplers for monitoring air contamination by sampling at increasing distances from a suspected point source of DDT. Needle concentrations declined with increasing distance downwind of the point source allowing to identify spatial and temporal trends of accumulation. This suggested that conifer needles are effective biomonitors of contamination levels in areas characterized by the presence of semi-volatile substances. Differences in uptake were apparent between the species. Needle morphology and structure were studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM) as were dimensional parameters (surface area, volume). The results suggest that the concentrations depend on a mechanism involving the inner structure of the needles, specifically the number and accessibility of resin channels rather than their surface area. Pine needles have more channels with greater accessibility than spruce. The results suggest that spruce is more suitable for short term measurement while pine for determining long term cumulative exposure.     

Environmental Risks of Pesticides Versus Genetic Engineering for Agricultural Pest Control

Despite the application of 2.5 million tons ofpesticides worldwide, more than 40% of all potentialfood production is lost to insect, weed, and plantpathogen pests prior to harvest. After harvest, anadditional 20% of food is lost to another group ofpests. The use of pesticides for pest control resultsin an estimated 26 million human poisonings, with220,000 fatalities, annually worldwide. In the UnitedStates, the environmental and public health costs forthe recommended use of pesticides total approximately$9 billion/yr. Thus, there is a need for alternativenon-chemical pest controls, and genetic engineering(biotechnology) might help with this need. Diseaseand insect pest resistance to various pests has beenslowly bred into crops for the past 12,000 years;current techniques in biotechnology now offeropportunities to further and more rapidly improve thenon-chemical control of disease and insect pests ofcrops. However, relying on a single factor, like theBacillus thuringiensis toxin that has beeninserted into corn and a few other crops for insectcontrol, leads to various environmental problems,including insect resistance and, in some cases, athreat to beneficial biological control insects andendangered insect species. A major environmental andeconomic cost associated with genetic engineeringapplications in agriculture relates to the use ofherbicide resistant crops (HRC). In general, HRCtechnology results in increased herbicide use but noincrease in crop yields. The heavy use of herbicidesin HRC technology pollutes the environment and canlead to weed control costs for farmers that may be2-fold greater than standard weed control costs. Therefore, pest control with both pesticides andbiotechnology can be improved for effective, safe,economical pest control.     

POEMS: A Case Study of an Italian Wine-Producing Firm

Over the last decade, researchers paid much attention to concepts such as Design for Environment, Extended Producer Responsibility, Responsible Chain Management, and Eco-design. Many management tools and standards (such as EMAS, ISO 14001, LCA, EPD, Ecolabel) have been developed to support companies in the evaluation and management of their environmental performance and to pursue continual environmental improvement. The more recent development of the aforesaid fields looks at interorganizational environmental management. Such an approach can complement the more traditional intraorganizational corporate environmental management approaches and tools. A typical example of this new trend is the Product Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS), which represents the natural evolution of the above-mentioned tools, combining the features of EMS, EPD and Ecolabel. Although the structure of the POEMS is still not standardized, many experimental applications have yet been carried out in Europe. In developing a POEMS, a company needs to determine all of the environmental impacts caused at all life-cycle stages of the product and, ideally, to reduce all of them through a continual commitment. The aim of the present study was to perform a survey of the developed POEMS models and to analyze their peculiarities and drawbacks in the application to Small and Medium Enterprises. A case study regarding an Italian winery company is presented. The study analyzes the structure and the activities of the examined firm, in order to estimate direct and indirect environmental impacts following a life-cycle approach. The chosen functional unit is a 0.75-L bottle of red wine. The article also suggests some solutions to improve the environmental performances of the firm’s products.     

The role of a steel plant in north-west Italy to the local air concentrations of PCDD/Fs

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are ubiquitous contaminants, mainly released into the environment during combustion processes (point sources), but also from other sources (traffic, uncontrolled combustion).This study aims at investigating the contribution of a steel plant in NW Italy (700 000 tons of steel year⁻¹) to the air concentrations of PCDDs/PCDFs at local level, through the analysis of measured, modelled and literature data. The study was carried out in an area of 600 km², using air quality data measured by the institutional monitoring network, data obtained from AERMOD simulations and literature data.The measured air concentrations were consistent with literature values for similar areas, and both the homologue profiles and PCA analyses showed a clear distinction between the monitoring stations and the source profiles.All the previous results were confirmed by the air dispersion model (AERMOD), that predicted PCDD/F air concentrations due to the steel plant from four to two orders of magnitude lower than those measured in the monitoring stations, highlighting the presence of other sources.This study outlines the limited influence of the source in the local PCDD/F air concentrations and at the same time the usefulness of a joint analysis of measured, literature and calculated data to correctly evaluate the role of a source to the local pollution. The study also highlights the usefulness of AERMOD as a complementary tool to define the correct placement of monitoring stations and to locate those areas expected to have the highest air concentrations deriving from a source.     

Resource Consumption and Environmental Impacts of the Agrofood Sector: Life Cycle Assessment of Italian Citrus-Based Products

Food production and consumption cause significant environmental burdens during the product life cycles. As a result of intensive development and the changing social attitudes and behaviors in the last century, the agrofood sector is the highest resource consumer after housing in the EU. This paper is part of an effort to estimate environmental impacts associated with life cycles of the agrofood chain, such as primary energy consumption, water exploitation, and global warming. Life cycle assessment is used to investigate the production of the following citrus-based products in Italy: essential oil, natural juice, and concentrated juice from oranges and lemons. The related process flowcharts, the relevant mass and energy flows, and the key environmental issues are identified for each product. This paper represents one of the first studies on the environmental impacts from cradle to gate for citrus products in order to suggest feasible strategies and actions to improve their environmental performance.

Residues behavior of some fungicides applied on two greenhouse tomato varieties different in shape and weight

The degradation of 12 fungicides (azoxystrobin, cymoxanil, cyproconazole, cyprodinil, fenarimol, fludioxonil, iprovalicarb, mepanipyrim, penconazole, pyrimethanil, tolclofos-methyl, triadimenol), commonly used in pest management strategies on Sardinian greenhouse tomato crops was studied. A different residue behaviour was observed between the studied cultivar. On the smaller, a "cherry" type tomato, field data showed an initial residue mostly higher than the "beefsteak" tomato. In any case, except for penconazole, all pesticide residues were below their maximum residue levels (MRLs) reaching the pre-harvest interval (PHI). On both cultivar, triadimenol and cymoxanil residues completely disappeared reaching their PHI, while iprovalicarb, fenarimol, and fludioxonil disappeared in a time of 17 to 24 days. On the contrary, azoxystrobin, cyproconazole, cyprodinil, penconazole, tolclofos-methyl, mepanipyrim, and pyrimethanil showed a long persistence on both tested cultivar and may have residual problems due to an accumulation effect if repeated field treatments will be performed. The first group of molecules according to their rapid degradation could be used in low pesticide-input management in order to obtain tomatoes with low or no detectable residues.     

From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: a case-study in the south of Italy

In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a 'support tool', to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a 'knowledge base' for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distributed to producers to determine the life cycle of different protected crops (tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, melons and zucchinis), and obtain information on greenhouse usage (e.g. tunnel vs. pavilion). Ecoprofiles of products in the district were also estimated, to identify supply chain elements with the highest impact in terms of global energy requirements, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, water consumption and waste production. These results of this study enable selection of the 'best practices' and ecodesign solutions, to reduce the environmental impact of these products. Finally, sensitivity analysis of key LCA issues was performed, to assess the variability associated with different parameters: vegetable production; water usage; fertiliser and pesticide usage; shared greenhouse use; substitution of plastics coverings; and waste recycling.     

Degradation of cyprodinil,fludioxonil, cyfluthrin and pymetrozine on lettuce after different application methods

Degradation of two fungicides (cyprodinil and fludioxonil) and two insecticides (cyfluthrin and pymetrozine) applied on iceberg and romaine lettuce under field conditions with different methods (portable mistblower and chemigation) was studied field data showed that both distribution methods and lettuce cultivar affect the degradation trends of examined pesticides. In these trials the residues of all active ingredients after pre-harvest time were less than fifty's maximum residue levels; the values in the romaine cultivar were generally higher than those in iceberg lettuce. After pre-harvest time residues of pesticides applied on romaine lettuce by portable motor sprayer were always higher than those obtained by the chemigation system.     

Lignin/Poly(ε-Caprolactone) Blends with Tuneable Mechanical Properties Prepared by High Energy Ball-Milling

Polymer blends between lignin, a natural, widely available, no-cost material, and Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), a biodegradable polymer, have been prepared using the ‘clean’, friendly to the environment, technique of the High Energy Ball Milling (HEBM). Two kinds of lignin have been used, Straw lignin, obtained through the Steam Explosion process (SE lignin), and/or Lignosulphonated one (LS lignin). The tensile mechanical tests have shown that, at certain specific compositions, the blends, in particular those with both SE and LS lignin, have good mechanical properties. In particular, by varying the blend composition it is possible to obtain materials with tuneable properties, therefore useful for different applications. Dynamic-Mechanical-Thermal Analysis (DMTA) reveals substantial immiscibility of the blends. Experiments of UV irradiation show that lignin acts as an UV stabilizer for PCL. The effect is higher with SE lignin, likely due to its low molecular weight, which allows the short lignin chains to diffuse more easily within the amorphous regions of PCL.