Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management最新文献

The remediation of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act or Superfund sites is limited to cleanup to levels no lower than background concentrations. However, both anthropogenically induced and naturally occurring metal concentrations in soil and sediments often complicate this cleanup process. To support informed decisions on heavy metal cleanup and the development of soil heavy metal-related policies in North Carolina, a statewide dataset of background heavy metal data from Superfund site investigations was compiled. The dataset represents background concentrations at 326 Superfund sites found in North Carolina, United States, from 1985 to 2015. This 30-year dataset comprises site location data and analytical measurement results for 18 heavy metals in 624 soil and 228 sediment samples, obtained using standard methods. The data are presented in an interactive dashboard, offering summary statistics and graphical representations that can be customized to support specific decision-making needs. The data and Dashboard serve two main goals: (1) to inform and support cleanup decisions and policy development regarding soil heavy metals, and (2) to increase public awareness of the levels of naturally occurring and anthropogenic background heavy metals in soil and sediments across the state. The publicly accessible and interactive dashboard offers a deeper understanding of background environmental conditions in relation to evolving anthropogenic contamination within a broader context.

A spatially referenced environmental exposure model for down-the-drain substance emissions was developed for Europe, including the 27 European Union Member States, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The model builds upon the global modeling framework that leverages the well-established iSTREEM model for the United States and further expands global coverage of the framework. The data are parameterized using European Union data on wastewater treatment plants, locations, infrastructure, and global spatial datasets on population and river flow rates and routing. The model provides substance concentration distributions based on the spatial variability of these parameters across Europe while taking into account river connectivity, chemical routing between rivers, and in-stream decay. Chemical-specific model inputs include wastewater treatment removals, in-stream decay rates, and emissions. The model is demonstrated for four case study chemicals that are used in consumer products with down-the-drain disposal routes: linear alkylbenzene sulfonate and alkyl sulfate are common surfactants used in laundry detergents, and oxybenzone and octinoxate are ultraviolet (UV)-filters used in personal care products. Monitoring data were collected to represent spatial variability across Europe as a comparison to modeled values. Modeled concentrations were found to be predictive while still being conservative, with 90th percentile modeled concentrations agreeing with monitored concentrations within a factor of two to eight across the case study substances. We further demonstrate how the model can be applied in prospective safety assessments by comparing modeled concentrations to previously established predicted no-effect concentrations, and also demonstrate how the model is consistent with tiered risk assessment approaches when compared to the monitoring data assessments.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) are currently essential tools for evaluating the sustainability of products and industrial systems. Although LCA is systematically applied today and is considered a stable methodology, supported by material-specific guidelines and rich databases, S-LCA remains immature in certain aspects. In the presented case study, LCA was applied to compare 11 methanol synthesis processes, all based on reverse Water-Gas Shift, but characterized by different sources of CO2 and H2 supply, to identify the most promising. Accordingly, the model was then integrated with that of propylene production (methanol to propylene-MtP), identified as a molecule of interest for the current and future market. Then, the authors propose an innovative approach to enhance the application of S-LCA in the industrial chemistry sector. The climate change impact of the different methanol production scenarios varies significantly: the most impactful is the methanol synthesis via coal gasification (2.76 kg CO2 eq), and the most promising are via CO2 generated by wood chips waste or dedicated biomass by employing hydrogen produce with wind electrolysis, which show the negative impacts of -0.40 kg CO2 eq thanks to cogeneration and the use of hydrogen from renewable sources. On the social level, the database shows a preference for productions occurring in Europe, across all the categories analyzed. The proposal of a sector-specific guideline represents a step forward that could facilitate the future application of the methodology. Moreover, the integration of LCA and S-LCA proves effective in delivering a richer and more comprehensive understanding of the issues addressed, offering valuable insights for stakeholders. The LCA should be applied to assess the environmental sustainability of alternative production routes in chemical processes, while the complexity of S-LCA can be mitigated by initiating preliminary assessments.

We issue a call to action: in the context of safe design, all pesticides must be traceable via low-cost methods that are accessible for routine environmental monitoring by public institutions. Insights into the far-reaching impacts of pesticides depend on our ability to detect these chemicals in the environment. Once a pesticide is authorized for use, environmental monitoring serves as a critical warning system that complements risk assessments. Postregistration monitoring is recognized by different policy frameworks such as the Water Framework Directive and the European Green Deal. However, we highlight an urgent concern: despite formal requirements for detectability in registration, novel pesticides are becoming progressively undetectable in practice. We demonstrate how mandated reductions in pesticide use measured as volume can drive chemical innovations that unintentionally undermine environmental accountability and safety. For example, volume can be decreased while maintaining effectiveness by increasing the specificity or toxicity of the pesticide. This phenomenon is analogous to "analytical homeopathy," where active ingredients remain effective even at extremely low dosages, rendering them undetectable by standard analytical chemistry. This issues a significant challenge: higher toxicity can imply lower environmental quality standards near detection limits. This leads to the troubling problem of "known unknowns," risks posed by active ingredients whose emissions remain unquantified under current field monitoring conditions. In response to this emerging threat, we propose a foundational principle, that all synthetic pesticides should be detectable in the environment at the concentration of their active ingredients, enabling cost-effective and reliable monitoring. If neglected, then the credibility and function of monitoring as a warning system for unintended biodiversity harm is increasingly undermined, regardless of formal analytical capabilities.

The inclusion of analytics in soil invertebrate laboratory studies is gaining increasing attention in the European risk assessment of plant protection products (PPPs). Analytics in soil were recently requested for fast-dissipating compounds in the revised Central Zone Working Document. However, the Working Document, as well as the technical Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) testing guidelines, lack clarity on (1) how to design the laboratory studies to reliably fulfill this requirement, (2) how to consider the analytically measured values to derive robust ecotoxicological endpoints, and (3) how to use endpoints that consider time-variable exposure in the test, in the risk assessment of PPPs. A hypothetical case study is presented to show the impact on the risk assessment when ecotoxicological endpoints that are expressed as time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations are compared with maximum predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) in soil to calculate a Tier 1 toxicity-exposure-ratio (TER). The persistent compound would pass the critical TER trigger of 5, whereas the fast-dissipating compound fails the risk assessment. However, a fast dissipation of a compound is, from an environmental perspective, a favorable substance property and especially inherent for biological products. This sets the wrong motivation for the development of new PPPs. The suitability of using TWA-PECs in the risk assessment instead of maximum PECs is discussed by comparing temporal exposure scenarios in the test system with scenarios that may occur under realistic field situations. This analysis shows that potential underestimation of the risks may occur only for specific situations where the PEC in soil temporally exceeds the regulatory acceptable concentration over time. In such cases, the use of TWA-PECs in soil may be applicable in the risk assessment, provided the assumption of reciprocity is fulfilled. A reciprocity check can be performed via tailored ecotoxicological testing and/or effect modeling to justify the use of TWA-PECs in the risk assessment.

The aim of this study is to conduct a biophysical and economic assessment of carbon stocks associated with changes in land use and cover (LULC) in the Itajaí-Açu Valley Basin (IVB). The IVB is immersed in the Atlantic rainforest, considered one of the most diverse, as well as one of the most threatened, forests on the planet. The Valley is also home to important urban and industrial centers located along the riverbanks. Since its colonization in the second half of the 19th century, the region has constantly suffered from natural disasters, such as floods and landslides. With the expected escalation in extreme weather events in the near future due to climate change, these natural disasters may increase in intensity and frequency. Maps of LULC and the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) program were used to quantify and value the carbon stock and sequestration for three periods. The results show that between 2000 and 2020, there was an increase in forestry (354.64%), mosaic (57.43%), and pasture (43.08%) areas in the IVB, while a decrease was observed for natural forest (-4.38%), nonforest natural formation (-69.56%), and agriculture (-68.69%). The carbon stock values were 259,328,452 Mg C in 2000; 265,079,768 Mg C in 2010; and 262,577,960 Mg C in 2020. The carbon sequestration in the period 2000-2010 represented an economic benefit of US$138 million. Conversely, between 2010 and 2020, there were net carbon emissions equivalent to US$60 million. Over the entire period analyzed, there was a gain of US$78 million in ecosystem services related to carbon stocks. Targeted policies, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services programs, market-based incentives for carbon credits, and public investments in forest conservation and restoration, can bring economic, social, and ecological benefits, ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services in the region.

The U.S. Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration program gives tribes and government-appointed agencies the authority to assess injury to natural resources and pursue compensatory action for resources injured or lost due to unlawful release of chemicals into the environment. This study was performed to develop and test a Bayesian network (BN) decision support tool to lend quantitative insight into natural resource injury assessment. The BN model represents the causal relationship between the released polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and three common adverse effects of PCB exposure in fish-mortality, growth, and reproductive effects-as well as a combined largest effects model pathway. Each end point of a causal pathway is a probabilistic estimation of an injured or uninjured decision based on the PCB concentration in fish tissue and toxicity data. The probability distributions from the BN's combined largest effects model pathway results were linked to spreadsheets that automate injury quantification in units of discount service acre years. Probabilistic injury determinations and quantifications were performed for individual spatial subregions of the study area and for the entire site. The case study focused on the fish resources of an inactive PCB-contaminated Superfund site in mideastern Indiana-the Little Mississinewa River and the larger Mississinewa River, into which the Little Mississinewa River drains. Using the BN tool, we determined that there was at least low-level injury to fish resources throughout the Mississinewa River and reservoir. We found that the likelihood of injury decreased with distance from the original contaminant release site. When quantified, the injury to the entire basin totaled 94,216 lost discount service acre years. A secondary analysis determined higher injury to bottom-feeding species of fish. This study demonstrated that BNs can be used to characterize and quantify natural resource injury for Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration purposes.

Florida red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms release brevetoxins, potentially affecting respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological health. Multiple studies have identified associations between red tide exposure and various health conditions, particularly respiratory. However, there remains a need to elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying these associations and to more precisely estimate the magnitude of their effects. This study aimed to estimate the causal effect of K. brevis exposure on acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological conditions using a large cohort, clinically validated diagnoses, and a comprehensive set of potential individual- and community-level confounders. An observational cohort was derived by using electronic health record data from a large clinical research data network covering >60% of health care providers in Florida. West coast residents within 5 km of the shoreline were included. Monthly K. brevis concentrations were categorized and linked to acute diagnoses from 2012 to 2019. Generalized estimating equations, incorporating an adjustment set calculated from an expert-reviewed directed acyclic graph, were used to estimate the causal effects of red tide on the diagnoses. Based on the assumption of correct model specification and the absence of unmeasured confounding or selection bias, red tide exposure showed a weak effect on increasing risk of acute respiratory conditions (adjusted odds ratio = 1.001 per log cells/L higher, p = .012) and gastrointestinal conditions (adjusted odds ratio = 1.002 per log cells/L higher, p = .010). No appreciable effect was found for neurological conditions. The interaction between wind and red tide suggested that onshore winds combined with higher red tide levels may exacerbate the risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness. This causal analysis brings further evidence that red tide exposure may increase the risk of acute respiratory and gastrointestinal illness, albeit with small effect sizes, contingent on the validity of our causal model assumptions. Thus, environmental policies apt to reduce K. brevis growth in the Florida west coast might also produce positive public health effects.

The rapid process of urbanization and industrialization has intensified the competition for land resources among various stakeholders. The transformation of land between uses for production, living, and ecological development is becoming increasingly fierce, which in turn causes fluctuations in regional environmental quality. Examining the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (URYR), this study makes use of land use data obtained from remote sensing image interpretation for five periods from 1980-2020; the land-use transformation, environmental effects, and influencing factors in the URYR are then quantitatively analyzed by means of a transition matrix, environmental quality index, and geographical detector. The results show that from 1980-2020, land-use transformation manifested as an increase in living land and a decrease in production and ecological land. The primary type of conversion of land use occurred between production and ecological land, and the overall environmental quality of the region has declined. The high-value areas are mostly concentrated in the southwest and east, and the low-value agglomeration areas are in the central and western regions. Natural environmental factors are the basis of the environmental quality in the URYR. The influencing factors from strong to weak are topographic relief, slope, net primary productivity, mean annual temperature, altitude, land use intensity, economic density, annual average precipitation, road network density, population density, and land-use diversity.

Dam removals and fish passage can enhance aquatic connectivity but may also promote upstream transport of legacy contaminants by migratory fish. This study assessed the potential for contaminant biotransport in Michigan's Boardman River following the planned removal of the Union Street Dam and installation of FishPass, a selective fish passage facility. We quantified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury (Hg), and organochlorine pesticides in carcass and egg samples from migratory species including Chinook and coho salmon, migratory rainbow trout, common white and longnose sucker, lake trout, walleye, and sea lamprey. Chinook salmon exhibited the highest PCB concentrations in both carcasses and eggs, exceeding those of rainbow trout and native suckers. Similarly, Chinook salmon were predicted to deposit up to 2,200 mg PCBs upstream under a high run size scenario, over 80 and 100 times greater than rainbow trout and native suckers. Although suckers had lower individual contaminant burdens, their relatively large run sizes contributed moderately to potential contaminant biotransport compared with rainbow trout, indicating an interaction between abundance and spawner contaminant burden. Stream-resident brook and brown trout in reaches open to migratory fish had higher PCBs and lower Hg concentrations than in closed reaches, likely reflecting dietary exposure to eggs and growth dilution. These results demonstrate that the potential for contaminant biotransport varies widely among migratory species and highlights the need for managers to consider both contaminant burden and run size when making fish passage decisions to balance ecological restoration with contaminant exposure risk.