Risk assessment of environmental chemicals

This article is a summary from eleven important symposia. In these meetings, critical facts were discussed which are the necessary basis for the important legislation about toxic substances in Europe, in the U.S.A. and in Japan. This review article should also be of some help to the readers of “Chemosphere” for direct contacts with the experts mentioned. It is therefore an informative and coordinative survey, in which chemical and ecotoxicological details are largely omited.     

Does employee safety influence customer satisfaction? Evidence from the electric utility industry

ProblemResearch on workplace safety has not examined implications for business performance outcomes such as customer satisfaction.MethodIn a U.S. electric utility company, we surveyed 821 employees in 20 work groups, and also had access to archival safety data and the results of a customer satisfaction survey (n = 341).ResultsIn geographically-based work units where there were more employee injuries (based on archival records), customers were less satisfied with the service they received. Safety climate, mediated by safety citizenship behaviors (SCBs), added to the predictive power of the group-level model, but these two constructs exerted their influence independently from actual injuries. In combination, two safety-related predictor paths (injuries and climate/SCB) explained 53% of the variance in customer satisfaction.DiscussionResults offer preliminary evidence that workplace safety influences customer satisfaction, suggesting that there are likely spillover effects between the safety environment and the service environment. Additional research will be needed to assess the specific mechanisms that convert employee injuries into palpable results for customers.Impact on IndustryBetter safety climate and reductions in employee injuries have the potential to offer payoffs in terms of what customers experience.     

The perception of aquaculture on the Swedish West Coast

Efforts are on the way on the Swedish West Coast to develop the capacity for cultivation of marine resources, notably of kelps. Given that this is a region of great natural and national heritage, public opposition to marine developments has been identified as a possible risk factor. This survey thus sought to shed light on awareness levels, perceptions of different types of aquaculture and on reactions to a scenario depicting future aquaculture developments on the West Coast. When asked about their general opinions of aquaculture, respondents tended to be favourable though a majority chose neutral responses. On the whole, respondents were favourable to the depicted scenario. Finally, it was found that the high-awareness group tended to be more supportive than the low or medium-awareness groups, hinting at the benefits of increasing awareness to reduce public aversion and to support a sustainable development of aquaculture on the Swedish West Coast.