Monitoring, modelling and environmental exposure assessment of industrial chemicals in the aquatic environment

Monitoring and laboratory data play integral roles alongside fate and exposure models in comprehensive risk assessments. The principle in the European Union Technical Guidance Documents for risk assessment is that measured data may take precedence over model results but only after they are judged to be of adequate reliability and to be representative of the particular environmental compartments to which they are applied. In practice, laboratory and field data are used to provide parameters for the models, while monitoring data are used to validate the models' predictions. Thus, comprehensive risk assessments require the integration of laboratory and monitoring data with the model predictions. However, this interplay is often overlooked. Discrepancies between the results of models and monitoring should be investigated in terms of the representativeness of both. Certainly, in the context of the EU risk assessment of existing chemicals, the specific requirements for monitoring data have not been adequately addressed. The resources required for environmental monitoring, both in terms of manpower and equipment, can be very significant. The design of monitoring programmes to optimise the use of resources and the use of models as a cost-effective alternative are increasing in importance. Generic considerations and criteria for the design of new monitoring programmes to generate representative quality data for the aquatic compartment are outlined and the criteria for the use of existing data are discussed. In particular, there is a need to improve the accessibility to data sets, to standardise the data sets, to promote communication and harmonisation of programmes and to incorporate the flexibility to change monitoring protocols to amend the chemicals under investigation in line with changing needs and priorities.     

A mediational model of sense of coherence in the work context: a one‐year follow‐up study

The aim of this study was to test a mediational model appropriate for explaining the effects of psychosocial work characteristics (influence at work, job insecurity, organizational climate and leadership relations) on general well‐being, (psychosomatic symptoms) and on occupational well‐being (emotional exhaustion at work) via sense of coherence (SOC) in a one‐year follow‐up study. The questionnaire data were gathered in four Finnish organizations in February 1995 and 1996. Altogether 219 employees participated in the study in both years. The results, based on structural equation modelling, showed that a good organizational climate and low job insecurity were related to strong SOC, which was, in turn, linked to a high level of general as well as occupational well‐being. In addition, those employees who experienced changes in organizational climate and leadership relations during the follow‐up period, showed changes in SOC which was, in turn, related to changes in the well‐being indicators. The results thus highlight the major role of a good organizational climate for enhancing SOC and, consequently, well‐being. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The glutathione status of mature Scots pines during the third season of UV-B radiation exposure

Impacts of UV-B radiation on the glutathione level were studied in mature Scots pine needles (Pinus sylvestris L.) during the third season of a UV-B field experiment. Studies were made on 4-week-old (July) to 14-week-old (September) current-year needles and 3-year-old needles which had their third UV-B-exposure season in progress. Depending on the season and the year (1996-98), the supplemental UV-B dose varied from 0.92 to 5.09 kJ m-2 day-1 UV-BBE compared to 0.47-2.44 kJ m-2 day-1 UV-BBE under the ambient treatment. Fully grown UV-B-treated current-year needles showed lower total glutathione concentrations after the vegetation period in September, whereas in UV-B-treated 3-year-old needles the total glutathione content was significantly lower and the proportion of oxidized glutathione (GSSG%) 56% higher in July. The significant differences in total glutathione in current-year needles in September and in active 3-year-old needles in July seem to indicate that the effect of enhanced UV-B radiation on glutathione status could be cumulative.     

Organizational antecedents and outcomes of job insecurity: a longitudinal study in three organizations in Finland

The aim of the study was to examine perceived job insecurity and its organizational antecedents and outcomes within a one‐year time period. The study was carried out by means of questionnaires, which were responded to twice, in 1995 (Time 1) and 1996 (Time 2), by employees in three organizations: a factory, a bank, and a municipal social and health care department. The present article is based on the data of those employees (n=210) who participated in the study in both years. The results indicated that perceived job insecurity varied with gender and organization, but not with time. In particular, female employees in the bank reported a high level of job insecurity compared with men. The use of a restorative strategy by management at Time 1 decreased job insecurity at Time 2, whereas job insecurity at Time 1 weakened the quality of human relations and perceived efficiency within the organizations at Time 2. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of solar UV radiation on the nitrogen metabolism in needles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Needles of 20-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saplings were studied in an ultraviolet (UV) exclusion field experiment (from 2000 to 2002) in northern Finland (67 °N). The chambers held filters that excluded both UV-B and UV-A, excluded UV-B only, transmitted all UV (control), or lacked filters (ambient). UV-B/UV-A exclusion decreased nitrate reductase (NR) activity of 1-year-old needles of Scots pines compared to the controls. The proportion of free amino acids varied in the range 1.08-1.94% of total proteins, and was significantly higher in needles of saplings grown under UV-B/UV-A exclusion compared to the controls or UV-B exclusion. NR activity correlated with air temperature, indicating a “chamber effect”. The study showed that both UV irradiance and increasing temperature are significant modulators of nitrogen (N) metabolism in Scots pine needles.     

Multi‐wave,multi‐variable models of job insecurity: applying different scales in studying the stability of job insecurity

The study had two specific targets: first, to examine the stability of job insecurity by utilizing three‐year longitudinal data (n = 109) collected in Finland and, second, to clarify psychometric properties of four job insecurity scales, i.e., the global scale, the importance scale, the probability scale and the powerlessness scale. The study was carried out by means of questionnaires, which were answered on three occasions. Analyses were conducted using multi‐wave, multi‐variable models which were estimated and tested via the LISREL program. Generally, the results showed that job insecurity remained relatively stable during the follow‐up period, although there were some variations in the stability as well as in the psychometric properties of the four job insecurity scales examined. More specifically, three of the scales studied showed good psychometric properties, whereas the probability scale could not be estimated longitudinally. Furthermore, working organization and time had effects on the level of job insecurity measured via the different scales. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rockwool waste in fly ash geopolymer composites

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Mineral wool waste is often considered unrecyclable, due to its difficult-to-process physical composition, and potential microbial contamination in...     

Pulverization of fibrous mineral wool waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The total annual volume of mineral wool waste in the 27 European Union countries is expected to increase to 2.5 million tons per year by...     

The effects of job stressors on marital satisfaction in Finnish dual‐earner couples

The focus on the present study was to test a mediational model appropriate for explaining the effects of psychosocial job stressors, i.e., job insecurity, job autonomy, time pressures at work, leadership relations and work–family conflict, on marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health. The study was carried out among 215 married or cohabiting dual‐earner couples. The proposed model was tested through structural equation analysis (LISREL). The results indicated that the job stressors, except for job autonomy, spilled over into marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health for both men and women. However, no empirical support was found for the crossover of job stressors between partners, signifying that job stressors experienced by one partner did not influence the marital well‐being of the other. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.