Deconstruction of annoyance due to air pollution by multiple correspondence analyses

Annoyance caused by air pollution is a matter of public health as it can cause stress and ill-health and affect quality of life, among other burdens. The aim of this study is to apply the multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) technique as a differential tooling to explore relationships between variables that can influence peoples’ behaviour concerning annoyance caused by air pollution. Data were collected through a survey on air pollution, environmental issues and quality of life. Face-to-face survey studies were conducted in two industrialized urban areas (Vitoria in Brazil and Dunkirk in France). These two regions were chosen as their inhabitants often report feeling annoyed by air pollution, and both regions have similar industrial characteristics. The results showed a progressive correspondence between levels of annoyance and other active variables in the “air pollution” factor group: as the levels of annoyance increased, the levels of the other qualitative variables (importance of air quality, perceived exposure to industrial risk, assessment of air quality, perceived air pollution) also increased. Respondents who reported feeling annoyed by air pollution also thought that air quality was very important and were very concerned about exposure to industrial risks. Furthermore, they often assessed air quality as horrible, and they could frequently perceive air pollution by dust, odours and decreased visibility. The results also showed a statistically significant association between occurrence of allergies and high levels of annoyance.

     

The electro-oxidation of tetracycline hydrochloride in commercial DSA® modified by electrodeposited platinum

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) electro-oxidation by commercial DSA® and commercial DSA® modified by platinum electrodeposition was...     

Genotoxicity,oxidative stress,and inflammatory response induced by crack-cocaine: relevance to carcinogenesis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Crack-cocaine is a cocaine by-product widely consumed by general population in developing countries. The drug is low cost and is associated with more...     

Evaluating the impact of extreme temperature based indices in the 2003 heatwave excessive mortality in Portugal

This paper analyses the impact of the 2003 European heatwave on excessive human mortality in Portugal, a country that presents a relatively high level of exposure to heatwave events. A total of 2399 excessive deaths are estimated in continental Portugal, which implies an increase of 58% over the expected deaths. When these values are split by gender, it is seen that women increase (79%), was considerably higher than that recorded for men (41%). The increment of mortality due to this heatwave was detected for all the 18 districts of the country, but its magnitude was significantly higher in the inner districts close to the Spanish border. When we split by gender all districts reveal significant mortality increments for women, while the impact in men's excess deaths is not significant over 3 districts. Several temperature derived indices were used and evaluated in their capacity to explain, at the regional level, the excessive mortality (ratio between observed and expected deaths) by gender. It is shown that the best relationship is found for the total exceedance of extreme days, an index combining the length of the heatwave and its intensity. Both variables hold a linear relationship with r = 0.79 for women and a poorer adjustment (r = 0.50) for men. Additionally, availability of mortality data split by age also allowed obtaining detailed information on the structure of the population in risk, namely by showing that statistically significant increments are concentrated in the last three age classes (45–64, 65–74 and 75 or more). The use of air conditioning systems in some Portuguese hospitals had a major impact on the decrease (up to 40%) in excessive mortality values. A finer approach is relevant for prevention strategies, since it allows to identify better the target population of any preventive strategy regional and national authorities may be interested to implement.     

Occupational safety conditions of bus drivers in Metro Manila,the Philippines

The study looks into the occupational safety and working conditions among bus drivers in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Quantitative data were collected through survey interviews of 95 bus drivers using the stratified sampling technique. Results showed that bus drivers worked an average of 16?h/day and were engaged in risky driving behaviors such as over-speeding and road racing in order to reach their quota for the day. Fifty-nine percent experienced work-related accidents, with a mean of three accidents. The most common accident was hitting another vehicle followed by side swipe. The accidents were blamed on other drivers, followed by vehicle defect, inattentiveness and tiredness/micro-sleep or sudden involuntary sleep while driving. The most common health symptoms experienced by the bus drivers were fatigue, back pain, and cough and colds. This study underlines the need for an occupational health and safety program for bus drivers in the Philippines.     

Importance of legislation for maintaining forests on private properties in the Brazilian Cerrado

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper evaluates compliance with environmental laws in the municipality of Sorriso and the impact of changing legislation on vegetation. To verify...     

Juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) DNA strand breaks and lipid peroxidation response following 17beta-estradiol two mode of exposures

Juvenile Dicentrarchus labrax L. (sea bass) were exposed to water diluted 17beta-estradiol (E2) (200 ng/L and 2000 ng/L) and treated with intraperitoneal (i.p) injection E2 (0.5 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg) during 10 days in order to study its genotoxicity and peroxidative damage, measured as gill, blood, liver and kidney DNA integrity decrease using DNA strand breaks assay as well as liver, gill and kidney lipid peroxidation (LPO) respectively. Juvenile sea bass gill DNA integrity was significantly decreased for all E2 exposure conditions. However, no differences were detected either between different exposure routes or tested concentrations. Blood DNA integrity was significantly decreased by E2 5 mg/kg as well as by both water diluted E2 exposure conditions. The highest E2 dose (5 mg/kg) also promoted liver DNA integrity decrease. Liver and gill LPO significantly increased at the highest E2 i.p treatment. An increasing trend of gill and liver LPO, though statistically insignificant, was observed in D. labrax exposed to water diluted E2 in both tested concentrations. The current results demonstrated that DNA damage in juvenile sea bass is affected by the E2 exposure conditions, such as water diluted E2 versus i.p E2 injection since i.p E2 injection promoted higher genotoxicity effect, in terms of affected organs than water diluted E2. Moreover, the organ sensitivity to E2 was different, since gill showed more susceptibility than blood, liver and kidney. Concerning kidney LPO and DNA integrity no differences were found between treated and controls juvenile sea bass groups.     

Environmental management in Brazil: is it a completely competitive priority?

Current studies indicate a need to integrate environmental management with manufacturing strategy, including topics like cross-functional integration, environmental impact, and waste reduction. Nevertheless, such studies are relatively rare, existing still a need for research in specific regional contexts. At the same time, the results found are not unanimous. Due to these gaps, the objective of this article is to analyze if environmental management can be considered a new competitive priority for manufacturing enterprises located in Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with Brazilian companies certified by ISO 14001. Sixty-five valid questionnaires were analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The first conclusion is that environmental management presents a preventive approach in the sample analyzed, focused on eco-efficiency, what potentially do not to create a competitive advantage. This preventive approach inhibits environmental management from being regarded as a new competitive manufacturing priority, in the full sense as defined by the literature. Another important result is that environmental management, although following a preventive focus, may influence positively the four manufacturing priorities: cost, quality, flexibility and delivery.     

Reference values for heavy metals in soils of the Brazilian agricultural frontier in Southwestern Amazônia

Guideline values are used to identify polluted or contaminated areas based on background values. Brazilian law establishes three guideline values for pollutants: a quality reference value (QRV), a prevention value, and an intervention value. Reference values refer to the natural concentration of an element or a substance in soils that have not been modified by anthropogenic impacts. These values inform assessments of soil quality and are used to establish maximum permissible limits. The objective of this study was to determine the natural levels and reference values for Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in samples from the surface layer (0–20 cm) of 19 representative soils of the states of Mato Grosso and Rondônia, on Brazil’s agricultural frontier. Pseudo-total metal concentrations were obtained following microwave-assisted digestion using the aqua regia and EPA3051 methods. QRVs were calculated for each element as the 75th and 90th percentiles of the frequency distribution of the data. Natural levels of heavy metals in the soil samples followed the order: Cr?>?Zn?>?Cu?>?Co?>?Pb?>?Ni?>?and Cd (aqua regia) and Cr?>?Co?>?Cu?>?Pb?>?Zn?>?Ni?>?Cd (EPA3051). These values are generally lower than those reported in the Brazilian and international literature, which highlights the importance of establishing reference values for each state or for each soil type, taking into account the geomorphological, pedological, and geological diversity of the region under study.