Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Two Plants in the Electrical Sector

The study consisted of describing, using a questionnaire, the musculoskeletal symptoms in two industries in the electrical sector. The questionnaire was distributed to more than 600 workers in the two industries. The questionnaire described four types of variables: usual population data (age, gender, experience, etc.), certain work variables, the regions of the body affected in the past 12 months and in the past 7 days, and the severity of the symptoms. Ten variables were used to provide a symptom severity index. In the two plants, the women reported more frequent and more serious problems than the men and the least experienced workers were the most affected. In Plant 1, the questionnaire pinpointed two work sectors, whereas in Plant 2, the problems were found not to be concentrated in a few sectors, but distributed among different jobs throughout the entire plant.     

Value reclamation from informal municipal solid waste management: green neoliberalism and inclusive development in Lagos,Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Lagos is undoubtedly the cultural capital and economic hub of the West African sub-region. The challenge of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in the megacity has remained intractable due partly to the increasing rate of population growth. While solid waste policy reforms, investments, and management practices in Lagos are in the upswing in the formal economy, the role of the informal economy in engendering sub-regional material linkages and livelihoods remain unexplored. Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach and data from interviews, this study critically examines how value reclamation from informal MSWM advances green neoliberalism and inclusive development. It shows that while informal transboundary trade of recyclable materials in the West African sub-region have previously been left out of analyses of MSWM in Lagos, the informal economy of waste and new investments in MSWM have neoliberal underpinnings beyond the megacity scale. The paper concludes that integrating the informal economy in framing MSWM policy in the megacity offers scope for evolving an inclusive development strategy while also enabling sustainable MSWM in the post-2015 era.     

Environmentally adjusted productivity measurement: an Australian case study

This paper critically examines various methods for estimating productivity incorporating environmental effects for the Australian agricultural sector. The agricultural sector has been selected because of its strategic position in the economy of Australia. The findings of this study indicate that the application of environmentally adjusted productivity methods is a credible approach to measure productivity, in the context of sustainable development. Although the empirical findings of this research are case study specific, the results provide evidence supporting the adoption of these techniques to other sectors of the economy when measuring productivity and needing to be cognisant of sustainable development. The findings suggest that adjusting for the environmental impacts of soil erosion can result in higher or lower agricultural productivity depending on the assumptions we make regarding damage costs of erosion. It is argued in this paper that, for soil erosion in Australia, assumptions yielding higher productivity (i.e., upwardly adjusted) are justified. Finally, the findings of this study and the use of the methods presented point to important gaps in data availability. This gap needs to be addressed by policy makers if sustainable development objectives are to be credibly assessed using these techniques.     

How does the operational environment affect utility performance? A parametric study on the waste sector

The urban waste treatment service has been a sensitive issue for the Portuguese governments in the past decades. Among other measures, the environmental and economical issues led to the creation of a sector-specific regulator for the waste sector. Considering this atypical circumstance in the worldwide context it is worth studying the external factors that may influence the waste utilities efficiency along with the regulation role. In this regard, we applied the parametric approach of the stochastic frontier analysis to evaluate the influence of the operational environment on the urban waste services performance. The sample included 32 utilities responsible for the waste treatment service in Portugal. The results showed a negative influence of factors, such as the existence of regulation, the distance to the waste treatment facilities and the provision of other services on utility performance. We also observed some benefits from privatisation and incineration, although these options have some particular features.     

Chinese Mining toward Sustainable Development in a Global Perspective

In view of sustainable development, this paper presents the challenges faced by the global mining sectors, outlines an integrated approach of the global minerals industry for sustainable development, introduces actions for the mineral professionals toward sustainable development, and proposes changes in the mineral operations, management, and governance practices in the Chinese perspective.     

环境规制对资源型城市产业结构转型的影响

基于中国2003~2016年115个资源型城市,利用固定效应模型和中介效应模型,研究环境规制对产业结构转型的影响及绿色技术创新在这一过程中所发挥的中介作用.结果表明,从整体看,正式与非正式环境规制均能显著地促进产业结构向合理化、高级化转型,且非正式环境规制的促进作用更为明显.此外,绿色技术创新在环境规制促进产业结构转型的效应中发挥着中介作用.经过一系列稳健性检验后结论仍然成立.基于城市成长周期角度,正式与非正式环境规制对产业结构合理化、高级化的作用随城市成长周期不同而表现出显著差异,同时绿色技术创新在环境规制对产业结构转型过程中发挥的中介作用随城市成长周期不同也明显不一致;基于时期异质性角度,2013~2016年正式与非正式环境规制对产业结构合理化、高级化作用相较于2003~2012年均有所提升,且绿色技术创新在环境规制促进产业结构高级化中存在中介效应.     

非正规垃圾填埋场土壤和地下水重金属污染特征与评价

为了解非正规垃圾填埋场土壤和地下水重金属污染状况,以江西乱石湾垃圾填埋场周边土壤和地下水为研究对象,对研究区进行采样分析,应用内梅罗综合污染指数法和美国环保局地下水健康风险评价模型对该垃圾填埋场土壤和地下水中重金属污染物进行含量特征分析与评价。结果表明,Cr(Ⅵ)、Cd、Cu、Pb重金属是填埋场土壤中的主要污染物,区域所有采样点的内梅罗综合污染指数平均值为2. 20,说明土壤受中度重金属污染; Cr(Ⅵ)是填埋场地下水的主要污染物,所有采样点的综合污染指数平均值为0. 89,说明地下水总体处于警戒线等级;致癌健康风险值在2. 32×10~(-4)～1. 69×10~(-3)/a之间,是国际委员会推荐值的4. 64～33. 8倍,致癌风险水平为Cr(Ⅵ)NiAsCd;非致癌健康风险值在2. 54×10~(-10)～9. 72×10~(-9)/a之间,致癌类重金属的个人年健康风险值是非致癌类重金属的10~5～10~6倍,说明该区域的致癌风险极大,应引起重视。     

双碳目标下电力系统转型对产业部门影响评估——以粤港澳大湾区为例

通过细化机组级燃煤发电财务状况建模,测算了提前退役、灵活性调整、限制和停止新增等情景下煤电搁浅资产风险,明确了不同情景下导致搁浅资产规模及时空分布情况.结果表明:存量煤电机组是引起搁浅资产的主体,控制新增煤电有助于降低搁浅资产风险,提前退役、灵活性调整情景下中国现存和新增煤电搁浅资产总规模分别为1.90万亿和3.98万亿元;不同转型情景导致煤电搁浅资产的年际分布差异明显,提前退役搁浅压力主要集中于2030~2040年间,灵活性调整情景下则集中于2021~2035年间;煤电搁浅资产空间分布极不均衡,山东、内蒙古、江苏等10个煤电大省搁浅资产规模占全国的67%和70%.因此,煤电低碳转型需审慎决策,重视提前退役造成的煤电资产搁浅,更要防范和控制灵活性调整导致的煤电资产减值,重点关注山东、内蒙古、新疆、江苏等重点省份,制定因地制宜的煤电转型策略,帮助电力相关企业及政府等进行减排政策选择.     

Occupational health and safety issues in the informal economic segment of Pakistan: a survey of construction sites

This research covers the current status of occupational health and safety (OHS)-related practices in the informal construction segment of Pakistan. Data were collected, through interviews, from 316 construction sites employing 3577 workers. The results of the study reveal that both employers and workers lack knowledge of OHS laws/standards and no practices of this nature are enacted at these construction sites. Alarmingly, work-related accidents, whenever they happen, are not given due attention and there is no formal injury-report system. The informal construction industry employs a huge portion of the informal workforce, and lack of OHS happens at tremendous human cost. These research findings may thus play their role in strengthening the case for reforms in the sector. This study, if properly utilized, may also enable employers of the sector by increasing their knowledge about OHS practices and, as a result, trying to offer safer environments for their workers.     

Place‐based and data‐rich citizen science as a precursor for conservation action

Environmental education strategies have customarily placed substantial focus on enhancing ecological knowledge and literacy with the hope that, upon discovering relevant facts and concepts, participants will be better equipped to process and dissect environmental issues and, therefore, make more informed decisions. The assumption is that informed citizens will become active citizens––enthusiastically lobbying for, and participating in, conservation‐oriented action. We surveyed and interviewed and used performance data from 432 participants in the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a scientifically rigorous citizen science program, to explore measurable change in and links between understanding and action. We found that participation in rigorous citizen science was associated with significant increases in participant knowledge and skills; a greater connection to place and, secondarily, to community; and an increasing awareness of the relative impact of anthropogenic activities on local ecosystems specifically through increasing scientific understanding of the ecosystem and factors affecting it. Our results suggest that a place‐based, data‐rich experience linked explicitly to local, regional, and global issues can lead to measurable change in individual and collective action, expressed in our case study principally through participation in citizen science and community action and communication of program results to personal acquaintances and elected officials. We propose the following tenets of conservation literacy based on emergent themes and the connections between them explicit in our data: place‐based learning creates personal meaning making; individual experience nested within collective (i.e., program‐wide) experience facilitates an understanding of the ecosystem process and function at local and regional scales; and science‐based meaning making creates informed concern (i.e., the ability to discern both natural and anthropogenic forcing), which allows individuals to develop a personalized prioritization schema and engage in conservation action.