Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management最新文献

Mesocosms can be used in higher tier aquatic risk assessments to assess the impact of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) on macrophytes. However, it is unclear whether these expensive and time consuming higher tier studies influence regulatory outcomes. This review highlights common shortcomings in the experimental design of mesocosm studies, with the aim of maximising the regulatory value of future mesocosm studies. Fourteen mesocosm studies, which have been submitted for the regulatory risk assessments for macrophytes in the EU or GB, were identified and reviewed. Results show that only five of the 14 mesocosm studies were deemed acceptable by the regulatory authorities, suggesting that mesocosm studies are not currently being used to their full potential. Issues with the submitted studies include not following a realistic PPP exposure profile (including incorrect dose timings and dilutions), only using one macrophyte morphology, not leaving enough time for the macrophytes to establish and a lack of replicates which increases variability within treatments. Glyceria maxima and Myriophyllum spicatum were frequently the most sensitive macrophyte species, whilst dry weight was often the most sensitive and least variable endpoint. Even though mesocosms provide the opportunity for recovery and community responses to be observed, such information has not been used by regulatory authorities. Future regulatory mesocosm studies can build upon the shortcomings highlighted here, providing a greater chance of regulatory impact.

Marine and coastal environments are facing unprecedented challenges due to the presence of litter, mesolitter and microplastics. This study investigated the characteristics and distribution of litter, mesolitter (2-25 mm) and microplastics (MPs; <5 mm) in beach sediment and MPs in seawater samples from Table Bay, Cape Town. Each "litter-category" was assessed and analyzed separately. Samples were collected from two sites: Woodbridge Island and Derdesteen. Litter and mesolitter were sampled along 100 meters of beach for 10 consecutive days during summer and autumn. A total of 11,179 litter items (average: 139.74 ± 20.69 SE items/100 m) and 1,428 mesolitter pieces (average: 4.46 ± 0.60 items/m) were collected, while 688 microplastics (MPs) were extracted from water and sediment samples. Plastic was the most abundant litter and mesolitter recorded. Plastics accounted for 90% by count and 48% by weight in collected litter, with foam (mainly polystyrene) being the most abundant plastic type found. Plastic pellets were the dominant mesolitter type, while fibrous MPs dominated the extracted MPs, which were mainly blue in color. Further analysis of the collected plastic mesolitter using a Spectrum Two Universal Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared (UATR-IR) spectrometer showed polyethylene (PE: 60%) and polypropylene (PP: 27%) as the dominant polymers in meso-plastics. All the three categories of contaminants (litter, mesolitter and MPs) were higher at Woodbridge Island than Derdesteen, indicating the effects of anthropogenic inputs at the impact site. The anthropogenic inputs at the impacted site stem from beachgoers, residential and commercial inputs, maritime operations, recreational activities, and tide pooling activities at the site. Our study highlighted plastics as a significant component of marine litter, and the prevalence of polyethylene and pellets in mesolitter highlights the urgent need for preventive measures and sustainable clean-ups, to mitigate the short- and long-term impacts of plastics on the marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Focusing on sustainable agriculture production, this study presents a thorough analysis of the environmental and economic aspects of maize grain cultivation across farm sizes. Primary data were collected from 210 maize farmers using multi-stage random sampling through direct interviews during the 2021-22 crop year, with rigorous pre-testing to ensure reliability. The study examines different environmental impact categories and economic performance, revealing the relationship between land size and financial outcomes. The Global Warming Potential per ha (GWPha) increased across farm size categories, with large farms emitting 2.600 t CO2e/ha, medium farms 2.364 t CO2e/ha and small farms 2.3049 t CO2e/ha, primarily due to more resource-intensive practices on larger farms. Other environmental impacts revealed that large farms had higher acidification and fresh eutrophication potentials. Economic analysis showed that large farms achieved higher gross returns, while small and medium farms recorded better net revenue and lower costs per unit of maize produced, reflecting higher economic efficiency. Carbon Efficiency (CE) and the Carbon Sustainability Index (CSI) further highlighted the advantage of small and medium farms in managing emissions while maintaining productivity. The study emphasizes the need for sustainable practices such as optimized fertilizer use, efficient irrigation and mechanization to reduce emissions and enhance profitability. These findings highlight the potential of small and medium-scale farms to lead sustainable agricultural production, suggesting that collaborative strategies promoting sustainable inputs and technologies can support both environmental and economic goals in maize farming.

Understanding the removal of a chemical in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is important when performing chemical risk assessments. Chemicals undergoing assessment often have limited experimental measurements of physicochemical properties, biodegradation rates, and WWTP removal efficiencies. Models available to risk assessors to predict WWTP removal efficiencies are best used with high quality input data and knowledge of plant conditions, information often unavailable when performing chemical risk assessments. In this work we outline the development of the Canadian A.I. Removal Rate Estimator (CAIRRE), an A.I. model suite designed to estimate removal efficiencies from secondary WWTPs. CAIRRE was trained on median experimental removal efficiencies for 161 chemicals across 59 secondary WWTPs in Canada, the United States of America (California), and various other locations curated from literature. The CAIRRE regression model has a validation Pearson R2 of 0.81 based on leave-one-out-validation (LOOV) results. When used to predict effluent concentrations for a test set containing 53 chemicals not seen during model training, CAIRRE was able to reproduce experimental observations with a Pearson R2 of 0.91. The CAIRRE model outperformed existing mechanistic and fugacity WWTP models which rely on physical-chemistry and biodegradation data provided by the user. This work demonstrates that the A.I. modeling approach taken in the development of CAIRRE is a promising strategy for predicting removal efficiencies of chemicals from secondary WWTPs.

The environmental persistence of a substance plays a key role in determining its exposure to humans and other organisms, making this an important component in the risk assessment and management of chemicals. Regulatory persistence assessments generally involve a comparison of degradation half-lives against threshold criteria for different environmental compartments, typically water, sediment, and soil. Half-lives are commonly determined using Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guideline biodegradation simulation tests. Other information may be considered relevant to persistence assessments, such as results from biodegradation screening tests, quantitative structure-activity relationships, field studies, monitoring data, and non-standard laboratory experiments. All available relevant information should be considered together in a weight-of-evidence approach, but clear guidance is currently lacking both for evaluating the quality of individual studies and for combining these in a single weight-of-evidence determination. Here we propose a systematic methodology to collate, evaluate, and integrate relevant information to reach robust, transparent and consistent conclusions for persistence assessments. First, the quality (reliability and relevance) of individual studies within each information category, or 'line of evidence', is evaluated using a novel scoring methodology. Then, information from different studies is combined to determine outcomes for each line of evidence. Finally, a stepwise weight-of-evidence approach is applied to integrate outcomes from different lines of evidence to reach an overall conclusion for the persistence assessment. Consistency of information is evaluated at various stages in line with weight-of-evidence best practice. The methodology has been developed in accordance with principles of the European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulatory framework, test guidelines and guidance, whilst being flexible to accommodate different regulatory practices. The methodology has been implemented in a freely available Excel-based software tool, the Persistence Assessment Tool (PAT), and is demonstrated using a case study substance hexabromocyclododecane.

The EU's Green Deal initiatives, including the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), emphasize the need for developing plant protection products (PPPs) that meet both safety and sustainability goals. In the EU, PPPs are regulated under Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 which sets approval criteria to ensure human health and environmental safety. This legislation is complemented by Sustainable Use of Pesticides (SUD) (Directive 2009/128) which aims to achieve sustainable pesticide use by minimising risks to human health and the environment, while promoting use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and non-chemical alternatives. Both legislations address the conditions of placing on the market and the use of PPPs, neither directly address broader aspects of sustainability compliance, such as the lifecycle impacts, resource efficiency during design and manufacture and socioeconomic dimensions of sustainability. The EU Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework offers a holistic approach to chemical product innovation, minimising risks and maximising sustainability throughout a chemical's lifecycle. This framework, combined with existing safety regulations, can advance sustainability of plant protection products in-line with the European Green Deal and the CSS. Agrochemical manufacturers have embedded SSbD-aligned practices in their innovation pipelines, but approaches used tend to be company-specific and lack standardised metrics. Incorporating well defined sustainability criteria and incentives for manufacturers would accelerate the development of PPPs that contribute to long-term agricultural sustainability, safeguard human health and the environment, and ensure food security in line with sustainable development goals.

Pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments pose a growing concern, mainly driven by the increasing use of medications. This study investigated the occurrence of four pharmaceutical compounds, namely azithromycin (AZI), prednisolone (m-PRD), prednisone (PRD), and dexamethasone (DEX) in surface waters across eight different sites in the Free State Province, South Africa, during summer and winter 2024. Samples were collected from upstream, downstream, and the wastewater point of discharge at each site. Using a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (LC-MS) method, all target analytes were detected, with DEX (41.79 µg/L) and AZI (19.32 µg/L) recording the highest mean concentrations in summer and winter, respectively. Moreover, AZI showed the highest detection frequency across all sites and seasons. Spatial variation was evident, with concentrations of analytes differing among upstream, downstream, and points of discharge, revealing the influence of wastewater input and other site-specific factors. The consistent presence of these pharmaceutical residues in surface waters pinpoints a potential risk to aquatic ecosystems and raises concerns about human health implications resulting from the long-term environmental presence of these compounds. The findings underscore significant seasonal fluctuations in pharmaceutical residue levels, highlighting potential risks to aquatic ecosystems and public health. These results call for targeted monitoring efforts and evidence-based regulatory frameworks to mitigate contamination and guide sustainable water resource management in South Africa.

Growing concerns over global warming and environmental degradation emphasize the need for sustainable waste management and renewable energy solutions. This study conducts a comprehensive multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) assessment of manure from six livestock and poultry types-Dairy Cow, Buffalo, Beef Cattle, Sheep, Goat, and Chicken-in Turkey, focusing on their carbon footprint and environmental impacts. Fourteen criteria, including greenhouse gas emissions, biogas potential, volatile solids, and nutrient composition, were used for evaluation. To determine the most sustainable manure source, three MCDM methods-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR)-were applied. AHP provided the criteria weights through pairwise comparisons, while TOPSIS and VIKOR ranked alternatives based on proximity to the ideal solution. All methods consistently identified Beef Cattle manure as the optimal option. This integrated MCDM framework offers insights for policymakers to improve manure management strategies balancing environmental impact reduction and renewable energy production.

The main focus of this study is to evaluate possible alternatives for organic waste disposal and compare different waste management options to determine the most appropriate disposal method for biowaste in sustainable waste management. With increasing urbanization and population growth, managing biowaste has become critical for environmentally friendly solutions. Traditional landfill methods contribute to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions, whereas methods such as composting, biogas production, bokashi, vermicomposting, and biochar production, which offer bio-based product generation and renewable energy potential, present sustainable alternatives. In this research, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multicriteria decision-making method, was used to evaluate these methods based on criteria such as investment costs, operating costs, carbon footprint, energy recovery, and contributions to agricultural health. The AHP results indicate that biogas is the most suitable method for biowaste management. Despite high initial investment and operating costs, biogas is highlighted for its significant carbon footprint reduction and high energy efficiency. Biochar and compost rank second and third, respectively, followed by bokashi and vermicompost among the evaluated options. These findings show that biogas plants around the world have significant potential as a renewable energy source and can help reduce dependence on external energy sources. This study evaluates biowaste disposal methods with the AHP.

Human health surface water quality criteria (SWQC) for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) vary by up to five orders of magnitude between jurisdictions. The current study undertakes a probabilistic analysis to calculate a range of PFOS SWQC and rank input parameters based on their influence on criteria derivation. Probability distributions were used for exposure parameters (e.g., fish consumption rate, body weight, bioaccumulation factors), as well as the noncancer toxicity factor, which itself ranges over three orders of magnitude. Three distributions of the PFOS reference dose were evaluated: one based on animal data, one based on human data, and one based on both animal and human data. Using the three reference dose distributions, the 10th percentile SWQC range from 0.1 ng/L to 3 ng/L. Using the distribution based on human toxicity data only, approximately two thirds of the distribution of SWQC falls below typical analytical detection limits (around 1 ng/L). The sensitivity analysis identified fish consumption rate and PFOS toxicity factor as the most influential parameters, followed by bioaccumulation factors and relative source contribution. The application of probabilistic risk assessment as used in this study provides a useful tool for calculating a range of possible SWQC and understanding the relative importance of input parameters. The method of sensitivity analysis can be adapted to any chemical and target population.