Auditing the Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Planning Projects

This paper presents the results from a post-auditing study-a comparison of the predictions of environmental impacts of projects made in environmental statements prior to developmentwith those that actually occurred upon or after development. The purpose of post-auditing is to provide an analysis of prediction performance in environmental impact assessment and thus to improve future practice by learning from experience. By means of a combination of site visits, interviews and document scrutiny, 865 predictions from 28 UK projects granted planning permission were examined. Of these, 488 (56%) were auditable, of which 383 (79%) were deemed 'accurate' or 'nearly accurate' and 105 (21%) 'inaccurate'. The remaining 377 (44%) predictions were not auditable, the main reasons being lack of data, vague or ambiguous predictions and time dependency.There were only six unpredicted impacts. The study reveals some encouraging findings, but also a number of discouraging ones, which indicate the need to increase both enthusiasm for, and implementationof, post-auditing activities. Several suggestions are made to help achieve these objectives.     

Superfund site remediation by landfilling—overview of landfill design,operation, closure,and postclosure issues

This article discusses the appropriateness of using landfills as part of remediating hazardous chemical and Superfund sites, with particular emphasis on providing for true long‐term public health and environmental protection from the wastes and contaminated soils that are placed in the landfills. On‐site landfilling or capping of existing wastes is typically the least expensive approach for gaining some remediation of existing hazardous chemical/Superfund sites. The issues of the deficiencies in US EPA and state landfilling approaches discussed herein are also applicable to the landfilling of municipal and industrial solid “nonhazardous” wastes. These deficiencies were presented in part as “Problems with Landfills for Superfund Site Remediation” at the US EPA National Superfund Technical Assistance Grant Workshop held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2003. They are based on the author's experience in investigating the properties of landfill liners and the characteristics of today's landfills, relative to their ability to prevent groundwater pollution and to cause other environmental impacts. Discussed are issues related to both solid and hazardous waste landfills and approaches for improving the ability of landfills to contain wastes and monitor for leachate escape from the landfill for as long as the wastes in the landfill will be a threat. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Expansion of Calamagrostis villosa in sub-alpine Nardus stricta grassland: Cessation of cutting management or high nitrogen deposition?

Calamagrostis villosa has recently expanded in Nardus stricta-dominated sub-alpine grassland of the Giant Mountains (Krkono?e/Karkonosze, the Czech Republic). To investigate whether this expansion has been promoted by high nitrogen deposition or by the cessation of agricultural management, grassland plots dominated by C. villosa were manipulated with four treatments: control (Con), fertilised (Fer), cut (Cut) and cut–fertilised (Cut–Fer). NH₄NO₃ was used at the rate of 30 kg N ha^?1 and fertilisation and cutting were performed once a year after data collection in late July between 2000 and 2006.Plant species composition (analysed by RDA) was significantly influenced by cutting but not by fertilisation. Cutting reduced the cover, biomass, sward height and tiller density of C. villosa. Seedlings of N. stricta and panicles of C. villosa were recorded only in plots with cutting management.To investigate the effect of treatments on the spread of C. villosa, grassland sods dominated by N. stricta were transplanted into the experimental plots. Six years later, the density and cover of C. villosa spreading into the N. stricta sods were highest in Fer treatment.C. villosa was recognised as a defoliation-sensitive species and this sensitivity cannot be overcome by an increase in N supply. Recent expansion of C. villosa in the sub-alpine grassland can by explained by a long-term succession after the cessation of agricultural management and an increase in the N availability in recent decades.     

Hierarchical workplace romance: an experimental examination of team member perceptions

Using a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design and data from 158 subjects, this study assessed the effects of three romance participant characteristics and respondent gender on reactions to working with team members involved in a hierarchical workplace romance. The romance participant characteristics included: (a) marital status of the team leader (married versus single); (b) marital status of a coworker (married versus single); and (c) gender of the team leader–coworker dyad (male–female versus female–male). Significant effects were found for team leader marital status, coworker marital status, and gender of the respondent. This study also examined attributions of blame and attributions of motive (job‐related, ego, or love) to the romantic couple for engaging in the workplace romance. Results indicated that the team leader was more frequently attributed blame, yet attribution of blame was affected by the marital status of both the team leader and the coworker. Both the team leader and the coworker were most frequently attributed an ego motive for the involvement. Implications for work teams and managerial policies are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Surface Roughness of a Rubber Soling Material Determines the Coefficient of Friction on Water-Lubricated Surfaces

For more than a decade, evidence has been accumulating that points to the fact that the microscopic roughness of the footwear soling surface is a major determinant of slip-resistance on lubricated surfaces, but conclusive experimental proof has been lacking. This article describes an experiment in which five pairs of shoes were soled with the same rubber compound. Four of the pairs were abraded by different grades of grit to produce a range of roughness values. The coefficient of friction (CoF) of the five solings was then measured repeatedly by the walking traction method on wet surfaces including glazed wall tiles, vinyl asbestos coated with the wax floor polish, and both sides of a sheet of float glass. The Kruskal-Wallis statistical test proved beyond doubt that the soling roughness is a major factor in determining the CoF of this rubber soling material; p < 10⁻⁵. Nearly all of the grip was due to surface roughness of the soling material on these atypically smooth floors, although the surface roughness of the floors also had a significant effect on CoF; p < 0.003. Float glass is shown to be a promising reference floor material for the measurement of CoF of footwear; there was no statistical difference between results for the two sides of the glass sheet. Float glass could be used in the development of a standard CoF test method because new sheets of glass from the same manufacturer are identical and extremely smooth. The specification of CoF values for solings/floors combinations in lubricated conditions is of little value unless associated with roughness measurements and knowledge of how wear will affect the surface roughness of the sole. This article reports the first evidence that any specification of flooring by measuring CoF based on dry surfaces could lead to an increase in the number of injuries caused by slipping on the wet surfaces. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd     

Epidemiology of alcohol and drug screening among pedestrian fatalities in the United States, 2014–2016

Objective: U.S. pedestrian fatalities increased by 25% between 2010 and 2015. Risk factors include distractions, the built environment, urbanization, economic variables, and weather conditions. Of interest is the role of alcohol and drugs in premature death among pedestrians. This study sought to explore the prevalence of substance use screenings among pedestrian fatalities in the United States between 2014 and 2016.

Methods: Data were collected from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System provided by the NHTSA. Pedestrian crash variables included demographics as well as information regarding alcohol or drug testing status. Frequency and cross-tabulation tables were constructed to assess the prevalence of screening by person, place, and time. Log-linear analyses were completed to explore age, race, and sex differences. A 3-year examination period was used to control for yearly fluctuations and to incorporate an increasing trend in cases.

Results: Pedestrian fatalities accounted for 84% of all deaths among vulnerable road users during the examination period. Those most at risk were white males between the ages of 45 and 64. Over all states, 74.7% of fatalities were tested for alcohol and 67.1% were tested for drugs; further, 66.5% of cases were tested for both alcohol and drugs and 24.8% were tested for neither substance. Cases screened for both alcohol and drugs ranged from 2.9% in North Carolina to 95.7% in Nevada and those testing for neither substance ranged from a high of 68.9% in Indiana to a low of 1.1% in Maryland. Log-linear regression revealed significant differences in alcohol screening by age and race but not by sex. Differences in drug screening were not identified for any demographic variable. Fatalities tested for alcohol were significantly more likely to be tested for drugs; only 8.2% were screened solely for alcohol and 0.05% were screened for drugs alone.

Conclusions: Preventive strategies become more important as pedestrian crashes and fatalities increase. Risk reduction in the form of policy change, alterations to the built environment, or interdisciplinary approaches to injury prevention is dependent upon best evidence supported in part by more deliberate and consistent screening.     

Simple molecular method to distinguish the identity of Calanus species (Copepoda: Calanoida) at any developmental stage

Diagnostic morphological characteristics of copepods of the genus Calanus are restricted largely to minor variations in secondary sex characteristics. This presents a persistent problem in the identification of individuals to species level, especially for immature stages. We have developed a simple molecular technique to distinguish between the North Atlantic Calanus species (C. helgolandicus, C. finmarchicus, C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus) at any life stage. Using the polymerase chain-reaction (PCR), the mitochodrial large subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was amplified from individual copepods preserved in ethanol. Subsequent digestion of the amplified products with the restriction enzymes DdeI and VspI, followed by electrophoretic separation in 2% agarose (Metaphor, FMC Ltd), produced a characteristic pattern for each species. The versatility of the method is demonstrated by the unambiguous identification to species of any life stage, from egg to adult, and of individual body parts. Received: 11 May 1998 / Accepted: 5 August 1998     

Taxonomic revisions in the marine biflagellate fungi: The ultrastructural evidence

The ultrastructure of the genera Althornia, Aplanochytrium, Japonochytrium, Schizochytrium and Thraustochytrium is described, and all are regarded as members of the new order Thraustochytriales Sparrow. Species considered are Althornia crouchii, Aplanochytrium kerguelensis, Hyalochlorella marina, Japonochytrium sp., Schizochytrium aggregatum, Thraustochytrium kinnei and T. striatum. All but H. marina are, on ultrastructural evidence, related genera, and some speculative suggestions are made about possible interrelationships both between the species discussed, between the Thraustochytriales and Labyrinthulales, and between these two and other major taxa.