A Watershed-based Cumulative Risk Impact Analysis: Environmental Vulnerability and Impact Criteria

Swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have received much attention in recent years. As a result, a watershed-based screening tool, the Cumulative Risk Index Analysis (CRIA), was developed to assess the cumulative impacts of multiple CAFO facilities in a watershedsubunit. The CRIA formula calculates an index number based on: 1) the area of one or more facilities compared to the area of the watershed subunit, 2) the average of the environmental vulnerability criteria, and 3) the average of the industry-specific impact criteria. Each vulnerability or impact criterion is ranked on a 1 to 5 scale, with a low rank indicating low environmental vulnerability or impact and a high rank indicating high environmental vulnerability or impact. The individual criterion ranks, as well as the total CRIA score, can be used to focus the environmental analysis and facilitate discussions with industry, public, and other stakeholders in the Agency decision-making process.     

Methane Ice Worms: Hesiocaeca methanicola Colonizing Fossil Fuel Reserves

 During a research cruise in July 1997 in the Gulf of Mexico we discovered a gas hydrate approximately 1 m thick and over 2 m in diameter which had recently breached the sea floor at a depth of 540 m. The hydrate surface visible from the submarine was considerably greater than that of any other reported hydrate. Two distinct color bands of hydrate were present in the same mound, and the entire exposed surface of the hydrate was infested (2500 individuals/m²) with 2 to 4 cm-long worms, since described as a new species, Hesiocaeca methanicola, in the polychaete family Hesionidae (Desbruyères and Toulmond 1998). H. methanicola tissue stable isotope values are consistent with a chemoautotrophic food source. No evidence of chemoautotrophic symbionts was detected, but geochemical data support the presence of abundant free living bacteria on the hydrate. The activities of the polychaetes, grazing on the hydrate bacteria and supplying oxygen to their habitats, appears to contribute to the dissolution of hydrates in surface sediments. Received: 16 August 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 19 January 2000     

A comparison of sensitivity analysis and error analysis based on a stream ecosystem model

When individual model parameters must be measured in field or laboratory experiments, the provision of feedback information for allocation of research efforts is an important function of modeling. Both sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo error analysis can be used to determine which parameters require intensified measurement effort. When both methods are applied to a stream ecosystem model, the assumptions of sensitivity analysis are violated if reasonable estimates of measurement errors on parameters are used. Sensitivity analysis estimates a linear relationship between a state variable and a parameter and largely ignores higher order effects.In the model investigated in this study, higher-order effects dominate prediction error, and the results of sensitivity analysis are misleading. It is suggested that the simple correlation coefficient derived from analysis of Monte Carlo simulations is a more reasonable way to rank model parameters according to their contribution to prediction uncertainty. For the stream model used in this study, halving variance on the four parameters, indicated as most important by sensitivity analysis, reduces prediction errors by only 2–6%. Halving variance on the four, completely different, parameters with the largest simple correlation coefficients reduces prediction errors by 17–31%.     

Harnessing place attachment for local climate mitigation? Hypothesising connections between broadening representations of place and readiness for change

Public engagement in local environmental planning and decision-making is often advocated on various grounds, both instrumental and normative. Yet in developed countries in the context of renewable energy infrastructure deployment, place attachment, place identity and place-protective action continue to be implicated in public objection. We set out an interdisciplinary change readiness hypothesis of specifically how local participatory scenario or visioning processes that include climate mitigation measures may support the mobilisation of place attachment for climate mitigation, including renewable energy deployment. We hypothesise that local visioning may support movement towards change readiness by helping to anchor unfamiliar social representations of low carbon energy infrastructure and new patterns of urban form in existing, more positive representations of localities and associated attachments. To this end, seeking ways to modify threat perceptions relating to climate change and renewable energy infrastructure is advocated as a key direction for study.     

Phthalates and the aquatic environment: Part II The bioconcentration and depuration of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) in mussels (Mytilus edulis)

Mussels ($\text{Mytilus edulis}$) were exposed to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and to di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) over a period of 28 days. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) as measured by ¹⁴C analysis, reached estimated plateau levels corresponding to mean BCF values of approximately 2500 and 3500 for the DEHP and DIDP respectively. The mussels were then held in clean seawater for a further 14 days and ¹⁴C analysis showed a depuration half-life of approximately 3.5 days for both phthalates. During the whole 42 days of the experiment general observations on the health of the animals showed no evidence of any adverse effects.     

Analysis of naturalistic driving videos of fleet services drivers to estimate driver error and potentially distracting behaviors as risk factors for rear-end versus angle crashes

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and odds of fleet driver errors and potentially distracting behaviors just prior to rear-end versus angle crashes.

Methods: Analysis of naturalistic driving videos among fleet services drivers for errors and potentially distracting behaviors occurring in the 6 s before crash impact. Categorical variables were examined using the Pearson's chi-square test, and continuous variables, such as eyes-off-road time, were compared using the Student's t-test. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of a driver error or potentially distracting behavior being present in the seconds before rear-end versus angle crashes.

Results: Of the 229 crashes analyzed, 101 (44%) were rear-end and 128 (56%) were angle crashes. Driver age, gender, and presence of passengers did not differ significantly by crash type. Over 95% of rear-end crashes involved inadequate surveillance compared to only 52% of angle crashes (P < .0001). Almost 65% of rear-end crashes involved a potentially distracting driver behavior, whereas less than 40% of angle crashes involved these behaviors (P < .01). On average, drivers spent 4.4 s with their eyes off the road while operating or manipulating their cell phone. Drivers in rear-end crashes were at 3.06 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.73–5.44) times adjusted higher odds of being potentially distracted than those in angle crashes.

Conclusions: Fleet driver driving errors and potentially distracting behaviors are frequent. This analysis provides data to inform safe driving interventions for fleet services drivers. Further research is needed in effective interventions to reduce the likelihood of drivers' distracting behaviors and errors that may potentially reducing crashes.     

Principles for retrofitting coal burners for oxy-combustion

Experiments were performed in a 1.5 MW pilot-scale furnace to investigate the differences between air- and oxy-fired flame behavior from a pulverized coal oxy-research burner designed for flexible operating conditions. The flame behavior was characterized by recording video images of the flames and by measuring radiation intensity along the flame length. Various strategies relating air- and oxy-fired operation of the burner primary register were investigated where the oxy-fired burner primary mass, momentum and velocity were matched to the air-fired conditions. Matching either burner primary mass or momentum under oxy-fired conditions with air-fired conditions resulted in a flame stabilized within the quarl. Matching primary velocity with air-fired conditions resulted in a detached flame indicating a delay in flame ignition for the oxyfired conditions. A decrease in primary velocity of 13% was necessary in order to stabilize a flame within the quarl similar to the air-fired case. Additional experiments also showed a flame could be stabilized with no oxygen enrichment of the primary (～3 vol.%, dry O₂ in the primary). Experiments where oxygen was injected at the burner face indicated injection at the boundary of the primary and secondary flow paths strongly attach a flame and injection at the coal rich primary flow path increased the radiative intensity of the flame.     

Cross-sectional biomonitoring study of pesticide exposures in Queensland,Australia, using pooled urine samples

A range of pesticides are available in Australia for use in agricultural and domestic settings to control pests, including organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, herbicides, and insect repellents, such as N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). The aim of this study was to provide a cost-effective preliminary assessment of background exposure to a range of pesticides among a convenience sample of Australian residents. De-identified urine specimens stratified by age and sex were obtained from a community-based pathology laboratory and pooled (n = 24 pools of 100 specimens). Concentrations of urinary pesticide biomarkers were quantified using solid-phase extraction coupled with isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Geometric mean biomarker concentrations ranged from <0.1 to 36.8 ng/mL for organophosphate insecticides, <0.1 to 5.5 ng/mL for pyrethroid insecticides, and <0.1 to 8.51 ng/mL for all other biomarkers with the exception of the DEET metabolite 3-diethylcarbamoyl benzoic acid (4.23 to 850 ng/mL). We observed no association between age and concentration for most biomarkers measured but noted a “U-shaped” trend for five organophosphate metabolites, with the highest concentrations observed in the youngest and oldest age strata, perhaps related to age-specific differences in behavior or physiology. The fact that concentrations of specific and non-specific metabolites of the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos were higher than reported in USA and Canada may relate to differences in registered applications among countries. Additional biomonitoring programs of the general population and focusing on vulnerable populations would improve the exposure assessment and the monitoring of temporal exposure trends as usage patterns of pesticide products in Australia change over time.     

The development and application of remote sensing to monitor sand dune habitats

Sand dunes are complex systems that contain several habitats, often as mosaics or transitions between types. Several of these habitats are afforded protection under European Legislation and in the UK nationally within Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Natural England has a statutory duty to report to Europe on the conservation status and condition of sand dunes; and is required to report to the UK Government on designated sites. To achieve this we have sought ways of capturing, analysing and interpreting data on the extent and location of sand dune habitats. This requires an ability to be able to obtain data over large areas of coastline in an efficient way. Natural England and Environment Agency Geomatics have worked collaboratively for over 16 years, sharing data and ecological knowledge. In 2012 work started to evaluate the use of remote sensing to map UK BAP and Annex I sand dune habitats. A methodology has now been developed and tested to map sand dune habitats. The key objective was to provide an operational tool that will help to map these habitats and understand change on sites around England. This has been achieved through analysis of LIDAR and Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data using Object Orientated Image Analysis. Quality Control (QC) and accuracy assessments have shown this approach to be successful and 11 sites have been mapped to date. These techniques are providing a new approach to monitoring change in coastal vegetation communities and informing management of protected sites.