The ISO 14001 EMS Implementation Process and Its Implications: A Case Study of Central Japan

/ This study aims to investigate the ISO 14001 implementation process and its implications for regional environmental management. The region of Central Japan (known as Chubu in Japanese, which literally means center) was chosen for this case study. The study focuses on selected issues such as the: (1) trends and motives of private firms in the implementation of an ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS); (2) obstacles during system implementation; (3) role of the system in enhancing environmental performance within the certified organization; and (4) relation between the major stakeholders, local citizens, governments, and firms after adopting the system. To achieve these objectives, a questionnaire survey was mailed to all certified firms in the region. A 58% response was achieved overall. The results show that the main aims behind the adoption of ISO 14001 by firms in the Chubu region are to improve the environmental aspects within the enterprises and to enhance the employees' environmental awareness and capacity. The results have also shown that the ISO 14001-based EMS has had a great effect on a firm's environmental status as certified firms have claimed that natural resources such as fuel, water, and paper consumption have been more efficiently managed after adopting the system. Implementation of the system causes the firms to consider the role of the local people and the government in more effectively involving the local people in the firm's daily environmental activities. It also helps to enhance the environmental awareness among the local people. Adopting the system also promotes a better relation within the enterprises affiliated to the same group, such as more attention given by the parent firms (head offices) towards other firms working for the same group, or branches-mainly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)-in the field of EMS. Finally, the results show that firms give serious consideration to their final products' impacts on the environment. In other words, attention is given to life cycle analysis (LCA) among certified firms.     

Freight transport and non-driving work duties as predictors of falling asleep at the wheel in urban areas of Crete

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the impact of subjective reports of drowsy driving and non-driving duties on the falling asleep responses and road crash involvement of professional drivers in Crete. An attempt was also made to elucidate other driving parameters, such as freight transportation, which could be potential predictors of risky driving, after controlling for lifestyle patterns. METHOD: A sample of 317 professional drivers was studied through personal interviews. The interview questionnaire included items about sleep and fatigue as contributing factors to falling asleep probability and crash risk. In addition, the drivers reported the type of freight they carried in their last trip, as well as practices such as smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The first logistic regression analysis showed that the most significant predictors of falling asleep at the wheel were transportation of fruits/vegetables and livestock, non-driving hours of work, insufficient hours of sleep, and smoking. The second logistic regression analysis revealed all the previous items as powerful factors of crash probability, including the transportation of express freight and freezer. IMPACT: The findings of the current study are discussed as they pertain to directions for future studies and for the development of fatigue countermeasures.     

Climate change and changes in global precipitation patterns: what do we know?

The objective of this paper is to synthesize the large literature recording changing patterns of precipitation in the observed data, thus indicating that climate change is already a reality. Such a synthesis is required not only for environmental researchers but also for policy makers. The key question is the broad picture at major regional and continental levels. Some interesting conclusions for this survey are emerging. For example, the review shows increased variance of precipitation everywhere. Consistent with this finding, we observe that wet areas become wetter, and dry and arid areas become more so. In addition, the following general changing pattern is emerging: (a) increased precipitation in high latitudes (Northern Hemisphere); (b) reductions in precipitation in China, Australia and the Small Island States in the Pacific; and (c) increased variance in equatorial regions. The changes in the major ocean currents also appear to be affecting precipitation patterns. For example, increased intensity and frequency of El Ni?o and ENSO seem associated with evidence of an observed "dipole" pattern affecting Africa and Asia, although this time series is too short so far. But the changing pattern calls for renewed efforts at adaptation to climate change, as the changing precipitation pattern will also affect the regional availability of food supply.     

Use of cement dust in the manufacture of vitrified sewer pipes

Waste by-pass cement dust was added in different percentages ranging from 2% to 10% to a standard mix for sewer pipes manufacture, as a substitute for expensive feldspar. It was found that a mix consisting of 45% kaolin, 36% ball clay, 9% grog and 10% by-pass dust and fired at a temperature of 1300 degrees C for 4 h yielded samples that meet the standards. It was possible to reach a water absorption of 4%, a modulus of rupture of 7.8 MPa and a resistance to acids and alkalis conforming with standard values. A test pipe was fabricated by vacuum extrusion using the suggested composition and was found to withstand a hydraulic pressure of 14 MPa for one minute without the appearance of any cracks.     

Element mobility during metasomatism of granitic rocks in the Saint-Chély d'Apcher area (Lozère,France)

This paper summarises the behaviour of major and trace elements during hydrothermal alteration processes in the Vareilles albite deposit, Saint-Chély d' Apcher area (Lozère, France). Sampling focused mainly on fine- to medium-grained two-mica granite facies surrounding albitite veins in two open pits. The primary chemical variability inherent in sampling parent rock and analytical uncertainties can seriously affect element mobility calculations. Here we present a simple model that allows to discriminate between magmatic and alteration effects and to make a proper evaluation of the chemical changes that have caused the alteration. For this reason, a range of unaltered granites and albitites were sampled to evaluate the degree of parent rock heterogeneity. Duplicate measurements were performed by epithermal neutron activation analysis (ENAA) to obtain a reliable mean concentration for trace elements and to evaluate results reproducibility. ENAA measurements are completed by analysis of major elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The enrichment or depletion of an element during alteration, relative to its concentration in fresh parent rock, can be calculated on the basis of the assumed immobility of some elements during the process. In this study, we have assumed Ta as immobile element on the basis for his inert behaviour. The distinct differences in chemical change between altered and unaltered granite suggest the need to consider alteration event as an important parameter in evaluating granitic rocks for nuclear waste disposal.     

Hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19: therapeutic promises,current status,and environmental implications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The outbreak of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected the entire world with its infectious spread and...     

Factors influencing the vertical distribution of microplastics in the beach sediments around the Ras Rakan Island,Qatar

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging environmental problem, particularly in the marine environment, and nations are concerned about this issue....     

Leaching characteristics of the fine fraction from an excavated landfill: physico-chemical characterization

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Leaching of fine fraction (<10 mm) obtained from landfill mining activities in an Estonian landfill was done. On-site excavation...     

Assessment of mammal reproduction for hunting sustainability through community‐based sampling of species in the wild

Wildlife subsistence hunting is a major source of protein for tropical rural populations and a prominent conservation issue. The intrinsic rate of natural increase. (r_max) of populations is a key reproductive parameter in the most used assessments of hunting sustainability. However, researchers face severe difficulties in obtaining reproductive data in the wild, so these assessments often rely on classic reproductive rates calculated mostly from studies of captive animals conducted 30 years ago. The result is a flaw in almost 50% of studies, which hampers management decision making. We conducted a 15‐year study in the Amazon in which we used reproductive data from the genitalia of 950 hunted female mammals. Genitalia were collected by local hunters. We examined tissue from these samples to estimate birthrates for wild populations of the 10 most hunted mammals. We compared our estimates with classic measures and considered the utility of the use of r_max in sustainability assessments. For woolly monkey (Lagothrix poeppigii) and tapir (Tapirus terrestris), wild birthrates were similar to those from captive populations, whereas birthrates for other ungulates and lowland‐paca (Cuniculus paca) were significantly lower than previous estimates. Conversely, for capuchin monkeys (Sapajus macrocephalus), agoutis (Dasyprocta sp.), and coatis (Nasua nasua), our calculated reproductive rates greatly exceeded often‐used values. Researchers could keep applying classic measures compatible with our estimates, but for other species previous estimates of r_max may not be appropriate. We suggest that data from local studies be used to set hunting quotas. Our maximum rates of population growth in the wild correlated with body weight, which suggests that our method is consistent and reliable. Integration of this method into community‐based wildlife management and the training of local hunters to record pregnancies in hunted animals could efficiently generate useful information of life histories of wild species and thus improve management of natural resources.