Pub Date : 2022-12-20DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17227
P. Hennebert
Plasticisers transform rigid polymers, especially PVC, into flexible and useful material, typically at 10-35% concentration. Four phthalate plasticizers are now banned in the EU (maximum concentration in products of 0.1%). Are other plasticisers, used in concentrations that make a product waste, unsafe? The hazardous properties of plasticisers used in the EU (Plastic Additives Initiative list) were collected from the ECHA registration site. Eight plasticizers (=12% of 69) are either skin sensitizers (2 substances) and under evaluation by ECHA (7 substances), with a potential ban at the end of the evaluation for persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT), endocrine disruption (ED) and as substances of very high concern (SVHC). Seventeen (=25% of 69) are used at a concentration that makes the plastic hazardous when it becomes waste. The sorting and management options of these additivated plastics are discussed. The recycling of these hazardous wastes is not prohibited. In the short-term recycling phase in modern industrial plants, there is a low emission of these additives, which is controlled by occupational safety and environmental regulations. On the other hand, the long-term low-quality management such as littering (with weathering and fragmentation) and landfilling (with the emission of degradable products in case of phthalates) scatter these substances. The plastics containing “legacy” banned additives must be phased out. But the plastics with compounds at hazardous concentration should be recycled in controlled recycling loop. They should be managed by a risk approach, like the products they were and the new products that they will become.
{"title":"Hazardous properties of plasticisers that may hinder the recycling of plastics","authors":"P. Hennebert","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17227","url":null,"abstract":"Plasticisers transform rigid polymers, especially PVC, into flexible and useful material, typically at 10-35% concentration. Four phthalate plasticizers are now banned in the EU (maximum concentration in products of 0.1%). Are other plasticisers, used in concentrations that make a product waste, unsafe? The hazardous properties of plasticisers used in the EU (Plastic Additives Initiative list) were collected from the ECHA registration site. Eight plasticizers (=12% of 69) are either skin sensitizers (2 substances) and under evaluation by ECHA (7 substances), with a potential ban at the end of the evaluation for persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT), endocrine disruption (ED) and as substances of very high concern (SVHC). Seventeen (=25% of 69) are used at a concentration that makes the plastic hazardous when it becomes waste. The sorting and management options of these additivated plastics are discussed. The recycling of these hazardous wastes is not prohibited. In the short-term recycling phase in modern industrial plants, there is a low emission of these additives, which is controlled by occupational safety and environmental regulations. On the other hand, the long-term low-quality management such as littering (with weathering and fragmentation) and landfilling (with the emission of degradable products in case of phthalates) scatter these substances. The plastics containing “legacy” banned additives must be phased out. But the plastics with compounds at hazardous concentration should be recycled in controlled recycling loop. They should be managed by a risk approach, like the products they were and the new products that they will become.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42377707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-20DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17230
Alice Brock, Robin Browning, Anca Campanie, Susannah Pal, Ian D. Williams
E-waste is one of the fastest growing global waste streams. As e-waste accumulates scientists struggle to communicate scientific findings and concepts effectively and expediently to the public in a way that raises awareness and inspires discussions. The TRACE (TRAnsitioning to a Circular Economy with creative artists) project was a collaboration between scientists, creative artists and primary schoolchildren to develop new ways to communicate to the public about e-waste. It combined i) intergenerational influence and ii) music / art to raise public awareness, educate and provoke discussion. Two musical performances by schoolchildren and two art exhibitions by a professional artist were created to evoke emotional responses to e-waste, particularly by imbuing e-waste with personality through anthropomorphism in their songs and artwork. Key findings indicate that awareness was raised in audiences, artists, schoolchildren, and their caregivers due to their involvement in the TRACE project; 99% of the audience reported a rise in awareness of e-waste issues; 70% of participants indicated an intention to change e-waste disposal; and 65% indicated an intention to change reuse and repair behaviour. Audiences demonstrated strong emotional reactions to the project alongside change in behavioural intent. The degree to which awareness was raised, and its intensity, demonstrates the viability of the use of intergenerational influence and the creative arts as tools to communicate environmental issues effectively. The project consequently won a prestigious 2021 UK National Recycling Award for (communication) Campaign of the Year (Large).
{"title":"DEVELOPING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION METHODS BY COMBINING SCIENCE, CREATIVE ARTS AND INTERGENERATIONAL INFLUENCE: THE TRACE PROJECT","authors":"Alice Brock, Robin Browning, Anca Campanie, Susannah Pal, Ian D. Williams","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17230","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17230","url":null,"abstract":"E-waste is one of the fastest growing global waste streams. As e-waste accumulates scientists struggle to communicate scientific findings and concepts effectively and expediently to the public in a way that raises awareness and inspires discussions. The TRACE (TRAnsitioning to a Circular Economy with creative artists) project was a collaboration between scientists, creative artists and primary schoolchildren to develop new ways to communicate to the public about e-waste. It combined i) intergenerational influence and ii) music / art to raise public awareness, educate and provoke discussion. Two musical performances by schoolchildren and two art exhibitions by a professional artist were created to evoke emotional responses to e-waste, particularly by imbuing e-waste with personality through anthropomorphism in their songs and artwork. Key findings indicate that awareness was raised in audiences, artists, schoolchildren, and their caregivers due to their involvement in the TRACE project; 99% of the audience reported a rise in awareness of e-waste issues; 70% of participants indicated an intention to change e-waste disposal; and 65% indicated an intention to change reuse and repair behaviour. Audiences demonstrated strong emotional reactions to the project alongside change in behavioural intent. The degree to which awareness was raised, and its intensity, demonstrates the viability of the use of intergenerational influence and the creative arts as tools to communicate environmental issues effectively. The project consequently won a prestigious 2021 UK National Recycling Award for (communication) Campaign of the Year (Large).","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48518802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-20DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17226
Evelin Ribeiro Rodrigues, Ana Paula Bortoleto
Nature and society have undergone fast and intense changes in the last decades. Consumption is expanding at a hyperbolic rate. Technological innovation has bypassed some environmental problems, but it is hardly sufficient to solve them. As a result, understanding the factors related to people's behavior is imperative when finding a novel approach for intervention policies that can effectively alleviate environmental impacts caused by human activities. A promising alternative to designing waste prevention (WP) policies is to develop strategies to endure behavioral change through collective actions. This paper briefly reviews some WP status worldwide and highlights the possibility of using agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) to plan WP policies and programs. ABMS enables a more in-depth analysis since experiments with a large sample in real situations are financial, temporal, and social cost-demanding. Preliminary results show an influence of the social norm on the adoption of reusable bags by individuals with medium and lower pro-environmental motivations. Understanding these dynamics relations in which WP policy is embedded makes it possible to forecast future waste generation and composition scenarios. Also, a framework for planning WP with ABMS is proposed.
{"title":"Analyzing waste prevention behaviors by applying an ABMS framework","authors":"Evelin Ribeiro Rodrigues, Ana Paula Bortoleto","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.17226","url":null,"abstract":"Nature and society have undergone fast and intense changes in the last decades. Consumption is expanding at a hyperbolic rate. Technological innovation has bypassed some environmental problems, but it is hardly sufficient to solve them. As a result, understanding the factors related to people's behavior is imperative when finding a novel approach for intervention policies that can effectively alleviate environmental impacts caused by human activities. A promising alternative to designing waste prevention (WP) policies is to develop strategies to endure behavioral change through collective actions. This paper briefly reviews some WP status worldwide and highlights the possibility of using agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) to plan WP policies and programs. ABMS enables a more in-depth analysis since experiments with a large sample in real situations are financial, temporal, and social cost-demanding. Preliminary results show an influence of the social norm on the adoption of reusable bags by individuals with medium and lower pro-environmental motivations. Understanding these dynamics relations in which WP policy is embedded makes it possible to forecast future waste generation and composition scenarios. Also, a framework for planning WP with ABMS is proposed.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42201230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16227
M. Pettersson, Oskar Johansson
Drawing a line between what constitutes a potentially hazardous waste and what is instead a possible resource is complicated. A case in point is the use of sewage sludge, whose use not least in agriculture, has long been subject of debate. In Sweden, the issue has been investigated for possible legislative changes four times in the past decades. The latest of these investigations propose to introduce either a total or a partial ban on agricultural use of sewage sludge. In this paper, the legality of these proposals is analyzed with particular focus on their compatibility with the precautionary principle and the EU principle of free movement of goods and services, using a traditional legal method. The analysis indicates that a partial ban may well be considered proportionate to the risks that the use entails for human health and the environment, whilst a total ban would likely be found in breach of EU law, despite the scope for Member States to take stricter measures than prescribed by secondary legislation.
{"title":"How cautious should we be? The role of the precautionary principle in the regulation of sewage sludge in Sweden","authors":"M. Pettersson, Oskar Johansson","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16227","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing a line between what constitutes a potentially hazardous waste and what is instead a possible resource is complicated. A case in point is the use of sewage sludge, whose use not least in agriculture, has long been subject of debate. In Sweden, the issue has been investigated for possible legislative changes four times in the past decades. The latest of these investigations propose to introduce either a total or a partial ban on agricultural use of sewage sludge. In this paper, the legality of these proposals is analyzed with particular focus on their compatibility with the precautionary principle and the EU principle of free movement of goods and services, using a traditional legal method. The analysis indicates that a partial ban may well be considered proportionate to the risks that the use entails for human health and the environment, whilst a total ban would likely be found in breach of EU law, despite the scope for Member States to take stricter measures than prescribed by secondary legislation.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69398148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16226
Kaitlen Drafts, Suzie Boxman, Scott Ribes, Mike Terry, B. Staley, Joseph R. V. Flora, N. Berge
The Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority (TRSWA) operates a MSW landfill outside Jackson, South Carolina (USA) at which leachate ammonia concentrations are of concern. The landfill operates a droplet spraying/misting system (known as the Lilypad system) in their pond to enhance both leachate evaporation and, possibly, ammonia volatilization. The overall goals of this study were to determine the fate of nitrogen in the pond and to ultimately quantify the role the Lilypad system plays in enhancing ammonia removal. To accomplish the study goals, an empirical model based on collected leachate and mist samples, climatological data, and pond hydraulic data was developed to quantify the extent of ammonia volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification that occurred in the pond over the study period. Results from this work indicate that volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification were occurring in the pond, with volatilization of ammonia-nitrogen accounting for the majority of nitrogen removed from the pond. Results also indicate that the Lilypad system has the capability to significantly enhance the volatilization process.
{"title":"EVALUATING THE INFLUENCE OF A DROPLET SPRAYING/MISTING SYSTEM TO ENHANCE AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION FROM A LEACHATE STORAGE POND: A CASE STUDY AT THE THREE RIVERS SOLID WASTE AUTHORITY","authors":"Kaitlen Drafts, Suzie Boxman, Scott Ribes, Mike Terry, B. Staley, Joseph R. V. Flora, N. Berge","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16226","url":null,"abstract":"The Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority (TRSWA) operates a MSW landfill outside Jackson, South Carolina (USA) at which leachate ammonia concentrations are of concern. The landfill operates a droplet spraying/misting system (known as the Lilypad system) in their pond to enhance both leachate evaporation and, possibly, ammonia volatilization. The overall goals of this study were to determine the fate of nitrogen in the pond and to ultimately quantify the role the Lilypad system plays in enhancing ammonia removal. To accomplish the study goals, an empirical model based on collected leachate and mist samples, climatological data, and pond hydraulic data was developed to quantify the extent of ammonia volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification that occurred in the pond over the study period. Results from this work indicate that volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification were occurring in the pond, with volatilization of ammonia-nitrogen accounting for the majority of nitrogen removed from the pond. Results also indicate that the Lilypad system has the capability to significantly enhance the volatilization process.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42747770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16228
I. Williams, O. S. Shittu
Driven by the UN’s Sustainable Development goals, which has identified the issue of electronic waste growing significantly and the challenges of recycling/reusing electronic components, there is a need to research new possibilities in sustainable and recyclable printed electronic devices. The change in business models and industry and consumer device flows will also have implications. The circular model puts more emphasis back onto producers who have more knowledge to make an impact on the sustainable use of electronic devices than traditional waste management companies. This study, carried out in conjunction with the Arm-ECS Research Centre, explores the intersection of design and the circular economy. The paper identifies circular economy opportunities in the electronics sector via a review of both academic and grey literature and an accompanying SWOT analysis, with a focus on electronic components and the boards/packages (whole sub-systems, parts, materials) that make up electronic systems, and circular business models. Policy recommendations are provided. Challenges to be addressed and overcome in order to implement a transition to circularity for the electronics sector are identified and discussed.
{"title":"DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS, BUSINESS MODELS AND DESIGNS USING CIRCULAR ECONOMY THINKING","authors":"I. Williams, O. S. Shittu","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16228","url":null,"abstract":"Driven by the UN’s Sustainable Development goals, which has identified the issue of electronic waste growing significantly and the challenges of recycling/reusing electronic components, there is a need to research new possibilities in sustainable and recyclable printed electronic devices. The change in business models and industry and consumer device flows will also have implications. The circular model puts more emphasis back onto producers who have more knowledge to make an impact on the sustainable use of electronic devices than traditional waste management companies. This study, carried out in conjunction with the Arm-ECS Research Centre, explores the intersection of design and the circular economy. The paper identifies circular economy opportunities in the electronics sector via a review of both academic and grey literature and an accompanying SWOT analysis, with a focus on electronic components and the boards/packages (whole sub-systems, parts, materials) that make up electronic systems, and circular business models. Policy recommendations are provided. Challenges to be addressed and overcome in order to implement a transition to circularity for the electronics sector are identified and discussed.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44420928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-30DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16225
P. Hennebert, Anne-Françoise Stoffel, Mathieu Hubner, Daniel Fortmann, P. Merdy, Giovanni Beggio
This paper is the third part of three papers on sampling by the number of particles, focusing on analytical variability. The objective is to propose a target variability of waste and contaminated soil analyses (extraction and quantification), that can be used for calculation of the size of a representative sample. Data of intra- and inter-laboratory variability are presented. As the variability of the quantification step (after extraction) is limited in waste and soil analyses to about 0.01, the analytical variability stems from three main sources: (i) non-homogeneous test portions; (ii) for partial extraction methods, variable extraction rate, due to presence of options in the method or insufficient time for equilibrium (leaching or percolation test, biotests); and (iii) ill-defined solid/liquid separation (leaching or percolation tests), critical since there are colloids and nanoparticles in the leachates, representing from 0 to 100% of the element fraction in the leachate. Counter-intuitively, the centrifugation (annex E of EN 12457) series before the 450 nm-filtration delivers leachates more concentrated in particles (median size 150 nm, 1 sample) and statistically more concentrated in elements (+13%, 27 samples, 287 paired data). Without centrifugation, the filter cake that builds up on the membrane is an additional filter. A target intra-laboratory variability of CVr = 0.10 (10%) and inter-laboratory variability of CVR = 0.20 (20%) is proposed for all analytical methods. The methods with higher CVr and CVR should be revisited to not jeopardise the sampling and characterisation efforts of waste and soil, particularly for valorisation in the circular economy.
{"title":"The inherent variability of some environmental analytical methods hampers the circular economy of materials","authors":"P. Hennebert, Anne-Françoise Stoffel, Mathieu Hubner, Daniel Fortmann, P. Merdy, Giovanni Beggio","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16225","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is the third part of three papers on sampling by the number of particles, focusing on analytical variability. The objective is to propose a target variability of waste and contaminated soil analyses (extraction and quantification), that can be used for calculation of the size of a representative sample. Data of intra- and inter-laboratory variability are presented. As the variability of the quantification step (after extraction) is limited in waste and soil analyses to about 0.01, the analytical variability stems from three main sources: (i) non-homogeneous test portions; (ii) for partial extraction methods, variable extraction rate, due to presence of options in the method or insufficient time for equilibrium (leaching or percolation test, biotests); and (iii) ill-defined solid/liquid separation (leaching or percolation tests), critical since there are colloids and nanoparticles in the leachates, representing from 0 to 100% of the element fraction in the leachate. Counter-intuitively, the centrifugation (annex E of EN 12457) series before the 450 nm-filtration delivers leachates more concentrated in particles (median size 150 nm, 1 sample) and statistically more concentrated in elements (+13%, 27 samples, 287 paired data). Without centrifugation, the filter cake that builds up on the membrane is an additional filter. A target intra-laboratory variability of CVr = 0.10 (10%) and inter-laboratory variability of CVR = 0.20 (20%) is proposed for all analytical methods. The methods with higher CVr and CVR should be revisited to not jeopardise the sampling and characterisation efforts of waste and soil, particularly for valorisation in the circular economy.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44541692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-23DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16224
Patricia Battais, F. Bonthoux, S. Lechêne, Juliette Kunz-Iffli, Nathalie Monta, Jérôme Grosjean, Philippe Duquenne
Occupational exposure to ammonia is an important issue in the waste management sector, especially in composting and anaerobic digestion plants. In this sector, operators can be exposed to high contents of ammonia which is important to assess. The aim of this work was to provide a comparative study of two ammonia measurement techniques in the workplace air. The first one is an offline active collection of air samples that are then brought to laboratory for analysis and whose results are comparable to OELs. The second one involves real-time monitoring which is easy to deploy, allows for data to be processed both quickly and directly and to explain exposure peaks relative to workers’ activity. These two techniques were simultaneously deployed in several anaerobic digestion-composting plants to assess operators’ potential exposure to ammonia, and data were compared. Results show that there are linear correlations between concentrations obtained from both methods, with a trend to overestimate real concentrations in ammonia for several real-time detectors. This trend could however be explained by the time needed for exposure peaks to decrease. Real-time gas detectors, if cautiously used, are good investigation tools to quickly confirm or invalidate the presence of ammonia in the workplace atmosphere, and for both studying and optimising the workplace. The combination of both online and offline methods facilitates the analysis of a work area or station in order to improve the efficiency of prevention measures and to provide an accurate quantification of operators’ exposure for compliance checking of OELs.
{"title":"A comparative study of real-time monitoring detection and active sampling measurements in evaluating exposure levels to ammonia.","authors":"Patricia Battais, F. Bonthoux, S. Lechêne, Juliette Kunz-Iffli, Nathalie Monta, Jérôme Grosjean, Philippe Duquenne","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.16224","url":null,"abstract":"Occupational exposure to ammonia is an important issue in the waste management sector, especially in composting and anaerobic digestion plants. In this sector, operators can be exposed to high contents of ammonia which is important to assess. The aim of this work was to provide a comparative study of two ammonia measurement techniques in the workplace air. The first one is an offline active collection of air samples that are then brought to laboratory for analysis and whose results are comparable to OELs. The second one involves real-time monitoring which is easy to deploy, allows for data to be processed both quickly and directly and to explain exposure peaks relative to workers’ activity. These two techniques were simultaneously deployed in several anaerobic digestion-composting plants to assess operators’ potential exposure to ammonia, and data were compared. Results show that there are linear correlations between concentrations obtained from both methods, with a trend to overestimate real concentrations in ammonia for several real-time detectors. This trend could however be explained by the time needed for exposure peaks to decrease. Real-time gas detectors, if cautiously used, are good investigation tools to quickly confirm or invalidate the presence of ammonia in the workplace atmosphere, and for both studying and optimising the workplace. The combination of both online and offline methods facilitates the analysis of a work area or station in order to improve the efficiency of prevention measures and to provide an accurate quantification of operators’ exposure for compliance checking of OELs.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49000366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-30DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.15223
M. Gallo, L. Moreschi, A. Del Borghi
Global consumption of materials is rising rapidly leading to an increase in environmental impacts associated with the supply chain. Similar issues also affect a set of materials strategic for the transition towards a sustainable energy production and distribution system: i.e. materials employed in renewable energy (wind turbines and photovoltaic panels), energy storage, electrolysers, electricity distribution networks and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The analysis identifies, maps and defines a priority hierarchy for the environmental risks generated along the life-cycle of strategic raw materials. Standard construction material such as iron, steel and concrete showed the lowest environmental risks whereas platinum and iridium presented by far the highest impacts (respectively 24.098,04 and 14.732,51 kg CO2 eq, 353.893,39 and 215.934,28 MJ, and 140,24 and 83,20 m3 of water for 1 kg of raw material). Recycled materials have shown to enable the lowering of the environmental risk associated with some raw material production processes (i.e. copper, lead, aluminium, nickel, manganese), whereas specific materials (i.e. platinum, iridium, indium, dysprosium) and related applications will need to be monitored to guarantee a sustainable transition towards renewable energies.
{"title":"A CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC MATERIALS TOWARDS ENERGY TRANSITION","authors":"M. Gallo, L. Moreschi, A. Del Borghi","doi":"10.31025/2611-4135/2022.15223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2022.15223","url":null,"abstract":"Global consumption of materials is rising rapidly leading to an increase in environmental impacts associated with the supply chain. Similar issues also affect a set of materials strategic for the transition towards a sustainable energy production and distribution system: i.e. materials employed in renewable energy (wind turbines and photovoltaic panels), energy storage, electrolysers, electricity distribution networks and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The analysis identifies, maps and defines a priority hierarchy for the environmental risks generated along the life-cycle of strategic raw materials. Standard construction material such as iron, steel and concrete showed the lowest environmental risks whereas platinum and iridium presented by far the highest impacts (respectively 24.098,04 and 14.732,51 kg CO2 eq, 353.893,39 and 215.934,28 MJ, and 140,24 and 83,20 m3 of water for 1 kg of raw material). Recycled materials have shown to enable the lowering of the environmental risk associated with some raw material production processes (i.e. copper, lead, aluminium, nickel, manganese), whereas specific materials (i.e. platinum, iridium, indium, dysprosium) and related applications will need to be monitored to guarantee a sustainable transition towards renewable energies.","PeriodicalId":44191,"journal":{"name":"Detritus","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46325952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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