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  • 1
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 527-545 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: breast-feeding ; chlorinated compounds ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Exposure to persistent organochlorines in breast milk was estimated probabilistically for Canadian infants. Noncancer health effects were evaluated by comparing the predicted exposure distributions to published guidance values. For chemicals identified as potential human carcinogens, cancer risks were evaluated using standard methodology typically applied in Canada, as well as an alternative method developed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Potential health risks associated with exposure to persistent organochlorines were quantitatively and qualitatively weighed against the benefits of breast-feeding. Current levels of the majority of contaminants identified in Canadian breast milk do not pose unacceptable risks to infants. Benefits of breast-feeding are well documented and qualitatively appear to outweigh potential health concerns associated with organochlorine exposure. Furthermore, the risks of mortality from not breast-feeding estimated by Rogan and colleagues exceed the theoretical cancer risks estimated for infant exposure to potential carcinogens in Canadian breast milk. Although levels of persistent compounds have been declining in Canadian breast milk, potentially significant risks were estimated for exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, dibenzo-p-dioxins, and dibenzofurans. Follow-up work is suggested that would involve the use of a physiologically based toxicokinetic model with probabilistic inputs to predict dioxin exposure to the infant. A more detailed risk analysis could be carried out by coupling the exposure estimates with a dose–response analysis that accounts for uncertainty.
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  • 2
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 689-701 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk ; risk perception ; risk assessment ; risk communication ; risk management
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Risk management has become increasingly politicized and contentious. Polarized views, controversy, and conflict have become pervasive. Research has begun to provide a new perspective on this problem by demonstrating the complexity of the concept “risk” and the inadequacies of the traditional view of risk assessment as a purely scientific enterprise. This paper argues that danger is real, but risk is socially constructed. Risk assessment is inherently subjective and represents a blending of science and judgment with important psychological, social, cultural, and political factors. In addition, our social and democratic institutions, remarkable as they are in many respects, breed distrust in the risk arena. Whoever controls the definition of risk controls the rational solution to the problem at hand. If risk is defined one way, then one option will rise to the top as the most cost-effective or the safest or the best. If it is defined another way, perhaps incorporating qualitative characteristics and other contextual factors, one will likely get a different ordering of action solutions. Defining risk is thus an exercise in power. Scientific literacy and public education are important, but they are not central to risk controversies. The public is not irrational. Their judgments about risk are influenced by emotion and affect in a way that is both simple and sophisticated. The same holds true for scientists. Public views are also influenced by worldviews, ideologies, and values; so are scientists' views, particularly when they are working at the limits of their expertise. The limitations of risk science, the importance and difficulty of maintaining trust, and the complex, sociopolitical nature of risk point to the need for a new approach—one that focuses upon introducing more public participation into both risk assessment and risk decision making in order to make the decision process more democratic, improve the relevance and quality of technical analysis, and increase the legitimacy and public acceptance of the resulting decisions.
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  • 3
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 711-726 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: variability ; exposure ; susceptibility ; risk assessment ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacodynamics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This paper reviews existing data on the variability in parameters relevant for health risk analyses. We cover both exposure-related parameters and parameters related to individual susceptibility to toxicity. The toxicity/susceptibility data base under construction is part of a longer term research effort to lay the groundwork for quantitative distributional analyses of non-cancer toxic risks. These data are broken down into a variety of parameter types that encompass different portions of the pathway from external exposure to the production of biological responses. The discrete steps in this pathway, as we now conceive them, are: •Contact Rate (Breathing rates per body weight; fish consumption per body weight) •Uptake or Absorption as a Fraction of Intake or Contact Rate •General Systemic Availability Net of First Pass Elimination and Dilution via Distribution Volume (e.g., initial blood concentration per mg/kg of uptake) •Systemic Elimination (half life or clearance) •Active Site Concentration per Systemic Blood or Plasma Concentration •Physiological Parameter Change per Active Site Concentration (expressed as the dose required to make a given percentage change in different people, or the dose required to achieve some proportion of an individual's maximum response to the drug or toxicant) •Functional Reserve Capacity–Change in Baseline Physiological Parameter Needed to Produce a Biological Response or Pass a Criterion of Abnormal Function Comparison of the amounts of variability observed for the different parameter types suggests that appreciable variability is associated with the final step in the process–differences among people in “functional reserve capacity.” This has the implication that relevant information for estimating effective toxic susceptibility distributions may be gleaned by direct studies of the population distributions of key physiological parameters in people that are not exposed to the environmental and occupational toxicants that are thought to perturb those parameters. This is illustrated with some recent observations of the population distributions of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol from the second and third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
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  • 4
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 763-807 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk assessment ; probabilistic risk assessment ; performance assessment ; policy analysis ; history of technology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This article describes the evolution of the process for assessing the hazards of a geologic disposal system for radioactive waste and, similarly, nuclear power reactors, and the relationship of this process with other assessments of risk, particularly assessments of hazards from manufactured carcinogenic chemicals during use and disposal. This perspective reviews the common history of scientific concepts for risk assessment developed until the 1950s. Computational tools and techniques developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to analyze the reliability of nuclear weapon delivery systems were adopted in the early 1970s for probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power reactors, a technology for which behavior was unknown. In turn, these analyses became an important foundation for performance assessment of nuclear waste disposal in the late 1970s. The evaluation of risk to human health and the environment from chemical hazards is built on methods for assessing the dose response of radionuclides in the 1950s. Despite a shared background, however, societal events, often in the form of legislation, have affected the development path for risk assessment for human health, producing dissimilarities between these risk assessments and those for nuclear facilities. An important difference is the regulator's interest in accounting for uncertainty.
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  • 5
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk perception ; CRESP ; trust ; DOE Savannah River site ; risk assessment ; stakeholder ; economic dependence
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Environmental managers are increasingly charged with involving the public in the development and modification of policies regarding risks to human health and the environment. Involving the public in environmental decision making first requires a broad understanding of how and why the public perceives various risks. The Savannah River Stakeholder Study was conducted with the purpose of investigating individual, economic, and social characteristics of risk perceptions among those living near the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons Site. A number of factors were found to impact risk perceptions among those living near the site. One's estimated proximity to the site and relative river location surfaced as strong determinants of risk perceptions among SRS residents. Additionally, living in a quality neighborhood and demonstrating a willingness to accept health risks for economic gain strongly abated heightened risk perceptions.
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  • 6
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk assessment ; uncertainty ; formaldehyde ; decision analysis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A call for risk assessment approaches that better characterize and quantify uncertainty has been made by the scientific and regulatory community. This paper responds to that call by demonstrating a distributional approach that draws upon human data to derive potency estimates and to identify and quantify important sources of uncertainty. The approach is rooted in the science of decision analysis and employs an influence diagram, a decision tree, probabilistic weights, and a distribution of point estimates of carcinogenic potency. Its results estimate the likelihood of different carcinogenic risks (potencies) for a chemical under a specific scenario. For this exercise, human data on formaldehyde were employed to demonstrate the approach. Sensitivity analyses were performed to determine the relative impact of specific levels and alternatives on the potency distribution. The resulting potency estimates are compared with the results of an exercise using animal data on formaldehyde. The paper demonstrates that distributional risk assessment is readily adapted to situations in which epidemiologic data serve as the basis for potency estimates. Strengths and weaknesses of the distributional approach are discussed. Areas for further application and research are recommended.
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  • 7
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 1157-1171 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk assessment ; transportation risk ; diesel exhaust ; fugitive dust ; vehicle emissions
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract When the transportation risk posed by shipments of hazardous chemical and radioactive materials is being assessed, it is necessary to evaluate the risks associated with both vehicle emissions and cargo-related risks. Diesel exhaust and fugitive dust emissions from vehicles transporting hazardous shipments lead to increased air pollution, which increases the risk of latent fatalities in the affected population along the transport route. The estimated risk from these vehicle-related sources can often be as large or larger than the estimated risk associated with the material being transported. In this paper, data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Motor Vehicle-Related Air Toxics Study are first used to develop latent cancer fatality estimates per kilometer of travel in rural and urban areas for all diesel truck classes. These unit risk factors are based on studies investigating the carcinogenic nature of diesel exhaust. With the same methodology, the current per-kilometer latent fatality risk factor used in transportation risk assessments for heavy diesel trucks in urban areas is revised and the analysis expanded to provide risk factors for rural areas and all diesel truck classes. These latter fatality estimates may include, but are not limited to, cancer fatalities and are based primarily on the most recent epidemiological data available on mortality rates associated with ambient air PM-10 concentrations.
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  • 8
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: municipal waste incineration ; risk assessment ; Monte-Carlo simulation ; time activity patterns
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract During the modernization of the municipal waste incinerator (MWI, maximum capacity of 180,000 tons per year) of Metropolitan Grenoble (405,000 inhabitants), in France, a risk assessment was conducted, based on four tracer pollutants: two volatile organic compounds (benzene and 1, 1, 1 trichloroethane) and two heavy metals (nickel and cadmium, measured in particles). A Gaussian plume dispersion model, applied to maximum emissions measured at the MWI stacks, was used to estimate the distribution of these pollutants in the atmosphere throughout the metropolitan area. A random sample telephone survey (570 subjects) gathered data on time-activity patterns, according to demographic characteristics of the population. Life-long exposure was assessed as a time-weighted average of ambient air concentrations. Inhalation alone was considered because, in the Grenoble urban setting, other routes of exposure are not likely. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to describe probability distributions of exposures and risks. The median of the life-long personal exposures distribution to MWI benzene was 3.2·10−5 μg/m3 (20th and 80th percentiles = 1.5·10−5 and 6.5·10−5 μg/m3), yielding a 2.6·10−10 carcinogenic risk (1.2·10−10–5.4·10−10). For nickel, the corresponding life-time exposure and cancer risk were 1.8·10−4 μg/m3 (0.9.10−4 – 3.6·10−4 μg/m3) and 8.6·10−8 (4.3·10−8–17.3·10−8); for cadmium they were respectively 8.3·10−6 μg/m3 (4.0·10−6–17.6·10−6) and 1.5·10−8 (7.2·10−9–3.1·10−8). Inhalation exposure to cadmium emitted by the MWI represented less than 1% of the WHO Air Quality Guideline (5 ng/m3), while there was a margin of exposure of more than 109 between the NOAEL (150 ppm) and exposure estimates to trichloroethane. Neither dioxins nor mercury, a volatile metal, were measured. This could lessen the attributable life-long risks estimated. The minute (VOCs and cadmium) to moderate (nickel) exposure and risk estimates are in accord with other studies on modern MWIs meeting recent emission regulations, however.
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  • 9
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: MeHg ; pharmacokinetics ; PBPK model ; variability ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract An analysis of the uncertainty in guidelines for the ingestion of methylmercury (MeHg) due to human pharmacokinetic variability was conducted using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model that describes MeHg kinetics in the pregnant human and fetus. Two alternative derivations of an ingestion guideline for MeHg were considered: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference dose (RfD) of 0.1 μg/kg/day derived from studies of an Iraqi grain poisoning episode, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry chronic oral minimal risk level (MRL) of 0.5 μg/kg/day based on studies of a fish-eating population in the Seychelles Islands. Calculation of an ingestion guideline for MeHg from either of these epidemiological studies requires calculation of a dose conversion factor (DCF) relating a hair mercury concentration to a chronic MeHg ingestion rate. To evaluate the uncertainty in this DCF across the population of U.S. women of child-bearing age, Monte Carlo analyses were performed in which distributions for each of the parameters in the PBPK model were randomly sampled 1000 times. The 1st and 5th percentiles of the resulting distribution of DCFs were a factor of 1.8 and 1.5 below the median, respectively. This estimate of variability is consistent with, but somewhat less than, previous analyses performed with empirical, one-compartment pharmacokinetic models. The use of a consistent factor in both guidelines of 1.5 for pharmacokinetic variability in the DCF, and keeping all other aspects of the derivations unchanged, would result in an RfD of 0.2 μg/kg/day and an MRL of 0.3 μg/kg/day.
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  • 10
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 577-584 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk assessment ; exposure point concentration ; bootstrapping ; gamma distribution ; lognormal
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends the use of the one-sided 95% upper confidence limit of the arithmetic mean based on either a normal or lognormal distribution for the contaminant (or exposure point) concentration term in the Superfund risk assessment process. When the data are not normal or lognormal this recommended approach may overestimate the exposure point concentration (EPC) and may lead to unecessary cleanup at a hazardous waste site. The EPA concentration term only seems to perform like alternative EPC methods when the data are well fit by a lognormal distribution. Several alternative methods for calculating the EPC are investigated and compared using soil data collected from three hazardous waste sites in Montana, Utah, and Colorado. For data sets that are well fit by a lognormal distribution, values for the Chebychev inequality or the EPA concentration term may be appropriate EPCs. For data sets where the soil concentration data are well fit by gamma distributions, Wong's method may be used for calculating EPCs. The studentized bootstrap-t and Hall's bootstrap-t transformation are recommended for EPC calculation when all distribution fits are poor. If a data set is well fit by a distribution, parametric bootstrap may provide a suitable EPC.
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  • 11
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: regulation ; radioactive waste ; performance assessment ; risk assessment ; regulatory assessment ; bias evaluation ; international collaboration ; underground disposal ; quantitative risk analysis ; public debate ; decision process
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Much has been written about the development and application of quantitative methods for estimating under uncertainty the long-term radiological performance of underground disposal of radioactive wastes. Until recently, interest has been focused almost entirely on the technical challenges regardless of the role of the organization responsible for these analyses. Now the dialogue between regulators, the repository developer or operator, and other interested parties in the decision-making process receives increasing attention, especially in view of some current difficulties in obtaining approvals to construct or operate deep facilities for intermediate or high-level wastes. Consequently, it is timely to consider the options for regulators' review and evaluation of safety submissions, at the various stages in the site selection to repository closure process, and to consider, especially, the role for performance assessment (PA) within the programs of a regulator both before and after delivery of such a submission. The origins and broad character of present regulations in the European Union (EU) and in the OECD countries are outlined and some regulatory PA reviewed. The issues raised are discussed, especially in regard to the interpretation of regulations, the dangers from the desire for simplicity in argument, the use of regulatory PA to review and challenge the PA in the safety case, and the effects of the relationship between proponent and regulator. Finally, a very limited analysis of the role of PA in public hearings is outlined and recommendations are made, together with proposals for improving the mechanisms for international collaboration on technical issues of regulatory concern.
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  • 12
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    Risk analysis 18 (1998), S. 679-688 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Air quality ; benchmarking ; best available control technology ; contaminant exposure ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Although occupational exposure limits are sought to establish health-based standards, they do not always give a sufficient basis for planning an indoor air climate that is good and comfortable for the occupants in industrial work rooms. This paper considers methodologies by which the desired level, i.e., target level, of air quality in industrial settings can be defined, taking into account feasibility issues. Risk assessment based on health criteria is compared with risk-assessment based on “Best Available Technology” (BAT). Because health-based risk estimates at low concentration regions are rather inaccurate, the technology-based approach is emphasized. The technological approach is based on information on the prevailing concentrations in industrial work environments and the benchmark air quality attained with the best achievable technology. The prevailing contaminant concentrations are obtained from a contaminant exposure databank, and the benchmark air quality by field measurements in industrial work rooms equipped with advanced ventilation and production technology. As an example, the target level assessment has been applied to formaldehyde, total inorganic dust and hexavalent chromium, which are common contaminants in work room air.
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  • 13
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 23-32 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Software failures ; software hazard analysis ; safety-critical systems ; risk assessment ; context
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract As the use of digital computers for instrumentation and control of safety-critical systems has increased, there has been a growing debate over the issue of whether probabilistic risk assessment techniques can be applied to these systems. This debate has centered on the issue of whether software failures can be modeled probabilistically. This paper describes a “context-based” approach to software risk assessment that explicitly recognizes the fact that the behavior of software is not probabilistic. The source of the perceived uncertainty in its behavior results from both the input to the software as well as the application and environment in which the software is operating. Failures occur as the result of encountering some context for which the software was not properly designed, as opposed to the software simply failing “randomly.” The paper elaborates on the concept of “error-forcing context” as it applies to software. It also illustrates a methodology which utilizes event trees, fault trees, and the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) to identify “error-forcing contexts” for software in the form of fault tree prime implicants.
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  • 14
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Benchmark ; mercury ; risk assessment ; epidemiology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This paper presents benchmark (BMD) calculations and additional regression analyses of data from a study in which scores from 26 scholastic and psychological tests administered to 237 6- and 7-year-old New Zealand children were correlated with the mercury concentration in their mothers' hair during pregnancy. The original analyses of five test scores found an association between high prenatal mercury exposure and decreased test performance, using category variables for mercury exposure. Our regression analyses, which utilized the actual hair mercury level, did not find significant associations between mercury and children's test scores. However, this finding was highly influenced by a single child whose mother's mercury hair level (86 mg/kg) was more than four times that of any other mother. When that child was omitted, results were more indicative of a mercury effect and scores on six tests were significantly associated with the mothers' hair mercury level. BMDs calculated from five tests ranged from 32 to 73 mg/kg hair mercury, and corresponding BMDLs (95% lower limits on BMDs) ranged from 17 to 24 mg/kg. When the child with the highest mercury level was omitted, BMDs ranged from 13 to 21 mg/kg, and corresponding BMDLs ranged from 7.4 to 10 mg/kg.
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  • 15
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Remediation ; stakeholders ; deliberation ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The National Research Council has recommended the use of an analytic/deliberative decision-making process in environmental restoration decisions that involve multiple stakeholders. This work investigates the use of the results of risk assessment and multiattribute utility analysis (the “analysis”) in guiding the deliberation. These results include the ranking of proposed remedial action alternatives according to each stakeholder's preferences, as well as the identification of the major reasons for these rankings. The stakeholder preferences are over a number of performance measures that include the traditional risk assessment metrics, e.g., individual worker risk, as well as programmatic, cultural, and cost-related impacts. Based on these results, a number of proposals are prepared for consideration by the stakeholders during the deliberation. These proposals are the starting point for the formulation of actual recommendations by the group. In our case study, these recommendations included new remedial action alternatives that were created by the stakeholders after an extensive discussion of the detailed analytical results.
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  • 16
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 327-334 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Biological introductions ; binucleate Rhizoctonia ; biocontrol ; risk assessment ; seedlings ; susceptibility
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This article describes an application of a method for assessing risks associated with the introduction of an organism into a new environment. The test organism was a binucleate Rhizoctonia fungal isolate that has potential for commercial development as a biological control agent for damping-off diseases in bedding plants. A test sample of host plant species was selected using the centrifugal phylogenetic host range principles, but with an emphasis on economic species. The effect of the fungus on the plant was measured for each species and expressed on a logarithmic scale. The effects on weights of shoots and roots per container were not normally distributed, nor were the effects on the number of plants standing (those which survived). Statements about the effect on the number standing and the shoot weight per container involved using the observed (empirical) distribution. This is illustrated with an example. Problems were encountered in defining the population of species at risk, and in deciding how this population should be formally sampled. The limitations of the method are discussed.
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  • 17
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: dose-response ; models ; food-borne ; pathogens ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Food-related illness in the United States is estimated to affect over six million people per year and cost the economy several billion dollars. These illnesses and costs could be reduced if minimum infectious doses were established and used as the basis of regulations and monitoring. However, standard methodologies for dose-response assessment are not yet formulated for microbial risk assessment. The objective of this study was to compare dose-response models for food-borne pathogens and determine which models were most appropriate for a range of pathogens. The statistical models proposed in the literature and chosen for comparison purposes were log-normal, log-logistic, exponential, β-Poisson and Weibull-Gamma. These were fit to four data sets also taken from published literature, Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae,Campylobacter jejuni, and Salmonella typhosa, using the method of maximum likelihood. The Weibull-gamma, the only model with three parameters, was also the only model capable of fitting all the data sets examined using the maximum likelihood estimation for comparisons. Infectious doses were also calculated using each model. Within any given data set, the infectious dose estimated to affect one percent of the population ranged from one order of magnitude to as much as nine orders of magnitude, illustrating the differences in extrapolation of the dose response models. More data are needed to compare models and examine extrapolation from high to low doses for food-borne pathogens.
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  • 18
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: ethylene oxide ; risk assessment ; epidemiology ; cancer guidelines
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Ethylene oxide (EO) research has significantly increased since the 1980s, when regulatory risk assessments were last completed on the basis of the animal cancer chronic bioassays. In tandem with the new scientific understanding, there have been evolutionary changes in regulatory risk assessment guidelines, that encourage flexibility and greater use of scientific information. The results of an updated meta-analysis of the findings from 10 unique EO study cohorts from five countries, including nearly 33,000 workers, and over 800 cancers are presented, indicating that EO does not cause increased risk of cancers overall or of brain, stomach or pancreatic cancers. The findings for leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) are inconclusive. Two studies with the requisite attributes of size, individual exposure estimates and follow up are the basis for dose-response modeling and added lifetime risk predictions under environmental and occupational exposure scenarios and a variety of plausible alternative assumptions. A point of departure analysis, with various margins of exposure, is also illustrated using human data. The two datasets produce remarkably similar leukemia added risk predictions, orders of magnitude lower than prior animal-based predictions under conservative, default assumptions, with risks on the order of 1 × 10−6 or lower for exposures in the low ppb range. Inconsistent results for “lymphoid” tumors, a non-standard grouping using histologic information from death certificates, are discussed. This assessment demonstrates the applicability of the current risk assessment paradigm to epidemiological data.
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  • 19
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 1223-1234 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: risk assessment ; standard-setting ; carcinogens ; OSHA ; ACGIH
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract For carcinogens, this paper provides a quantitative examination of the roles of potency and weight-of-evidence (WOE) in setting permissible exposure limits (PELs) at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and threshold limit values (TLVs) at the private American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). On normative grounds, both of these factors should influence choices about the acceptable level of exposures. Our major objective is to examine whether and in what ways these factors have been considered by these organizations. A lesser objective is to identify outliers, which might be candidates for further regulatory scrutiny. Our sample (N=48) includes chemicals for which EPA has estimated a unit risk as a measure of carcinogenic potency and for which OSHA or the ACGIH has a PEL or TLV. Different assessments of the strength of the evidence of carcinogenicity were obtained from EPA, ACGIH, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. We found that potency alone explains 49% of the variation in PELs and 62% of the variation in TLVs. For the ACGIH, WOE plays a much smaller role than potency. TLVs set by the ACGIH since 1989 appear to be stricter than earlier TLVs. We suggest that this change represents evidence that the ACGIH had responded to criticisms leveled at it in the late 1980s for failing to adopt sufficiently protective standards. The models developed here identify 2-nitropropane, ethylene dibromide, and chromium as having OSHA PELs significantly higher than predicted on the basis of potency and WOE.
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  • 20
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Extreme events ; risk assessment ; risk management ; extreme value theory ; judgmental distributions
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In this paper, we review methods for assessing and managing the risk of extreme events, where “extreme events” are defined to be rare, severe, and outside the normal range of experience of the system in question. First, we discuss several systematic approaches for identifying possible extreme events. We then discuss some issues related to risk assessment of extreme events, including what type of output is needed (e.g., a single probability vs. a probability distribution), and alternatives to the probabilistic approach. Next, we present a number of probabilistic methods. These include: guidelines for eliciting informative probability distributions from experts; maximum entropy distributions; extreme value theory; other approaches for constructing prior distributions (such as reference or noninformative priors); the use of modeling and decomposition to estimate the probability (or distribution) of interest; and bounding methods. Finally, we briefly discuss several approaches for managing the risk of extreme events, and conclude with recommendations and directions for future research.
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  • 21
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Market response ; risk assessment ; airplane accidents ; airline industry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The risk of catastrophic failures, for example in the aviation and aerospace industries, can be approached from different angles (e.g., statistics when they exist, or a detailed probabilistic analysis of the system). Each new accident carries information that has already been included in the experience base or constitutes new evidence that can be used to update a previous assessment of the risk. In this paper, we take a different approach and consider the risk and the updating from the investor's point of view. Based on the market response to past airplane accidents, we examine which ones have created a “surprise response” and which ones are considered part of the risk of the airline business as previously assessed. To do so, we quantify the magnitude and the timing of the observed market response to catastrophic accidents, and we compare it to an estimate of the response that would be expected based on the true actual cost of the accident including direct and indirect costs (“full-cost information” response). First, we develop a method based on stock market data to measure the actual market response to an accident and we construct an estimate of the “full-cost information” response to such an event. We then compare the two figures for the immediate and the long-term response of the market for the affected firm, as well as for the whole industry group to which the firm belongs. As an illustration, we analyze a sample of ten fatal accidents experienced by major US domestic airlines during the last seven years. In four cases, we observed an abnormal market response. In these instances, it seems that the shareholders may have updated their estimates of the probability of a future accident in the affected airlines or more generally of the firm's future business prospects. This market reaction is not always easy to explain much less to anticipate, a fact which management should bear in mind when planning a firm's response to such an event.
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  • 22
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Uncertainty ; variability ; risk assessment ; risk management ; ozone ; clean air act ; social policy ; analysis of benefits and costs
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This paper is a challenge from a pair of lifelong technical specialists in risk assessment for the risk-management community to better define social decision criteria for risk acceptance vs. risk control in relation to the issues of variability and uncertainty. To stimulate discussion, we offer a variety of “straw man” proposals about where we think variability and uncertainty are likely to matter for different types of social policy considerations in the context of a few different kinds of decisions. In particular, we draw on recent presentations of uncertainty and variability data that have been offered by EPA in the context of the consideration of revised ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act.
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    Risk analysis 19 (1999), S. 135-152 
    ISSN: 1539-6924
    Keywords: Probability ; uncertainty ; data ; risk assessment
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    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Risk assessors attempting to use probabilistic approaches to describe uncertainty often find themselves in a data-sparse situation: available data are only partially relevant to the parameter of interest, so one needs to adjust empirical distributions, use explicit judgmental distributions, or collect new data. In determining whether or not to collect additional data, whether by measurement or by elicitation of experts, it is useful to consider the expected value of the additional information. The expected value of information depends on the prior distribution used to represent current information; if the prior distribution is too narrow, in many risk-analytic cases the calculated expected value of information will be biased downward. The well-documented tendency toward overconfidence, including the neglect of potential surprise, suggests this bias may be substantial. We examine the expected value of information, including the role of surprise, test for bias in estimating the expected value of information, and suggest procedures to guard against overconfidence and underestimation of the expected value of information when developing prior distributions and when combining distributions obtained from multiple experts. The methods are illustrated with applications to potential carcinogens in food, commercial energy demand, and global climate change.
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    Fire technology 32 (1996), S. 297-307 
    ISSN: 1572-8099
    Keywords: fire ; safety ; design ; regulations ; performance ; guidelines ; risk assessment ; evaluation ; criteria ; technology transfer
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    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
    Notes: Abstract Australia is quickly moving toward adopting performance-based regulations for building fire safety. This approach offers owners and designers more flexibility, greater opportunity for innovation, and more cost-effective construction. To help introduce a performance approach, the Fire Code Reform Centre has developedFire Engineering Guidelines, which document an agreed methodology for performance-based design and draws on earlier Australian research and similar developments in a number of countries. The guidelines are the first step in a broader research program to develop a full risk assessment methodology as the basis for fire safety design in Australia.
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  • 25
    ISSN: 1572-9435
    Keywords: grade crossings ; level crossings ; railway safety ; risk assessment
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    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
    Notes: Abstract This paper describes the application of probabilistic risk assessment techniques to level crossing safety on JR East, the largest of the six private railroads in Japan. The risk of a level crossing accident was defined as the product of the accident rate and the expected consequences per accident. Rail traffic volume, road traffic volume, visibility of the crossing from the road, road gradient, width of the crossing and the type of safety devices at the crossing were shown to influence the accident rate and the collective risk. The mean accident rate at all crossings was 0.74 per million trains. The accident rate was 0.59 per million trains at crossings equipped with barriers, 1.25 at crossings equipped with warning bells and 0.76 at pedestrian crossings. Crossings equipped with obstacle detectors had a lower accident rate (0.12 per million trains) than crossings without detectors (0.43 per million trains). Crossings with visibility less than 20 m had a 50% higher mean accident rate than crossings with visibility greater than 20 m. As the number of tracks increased, the accident rate monotonically increased due to the increased accident exposure. Risk assessment techniques were applied to determine the efficacy of the various level crossing safety devices. In addition to upgrading the safety of crossings, the management techniques stressed the importance of education campaigns in warning the public about the dangers of illegal crossings.
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    Journal of paleolimnology 15 (1996), S. 193-206 
    ISSN: 1573-0417
    Keywords: spheroidal carbonaceous particles ; fly-ash ; fossil fuel combustion ; pollution ; sediments ; soils ; snow ; Sweden
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Analysis of fly-ash particles in lake sediments has become increasingly important in studies of environmental pollution and lake acidification history. Most fly-ash studies have concerned black spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP)(〉5 μm) produced from oil and coal combustion. This review paper provides a summary of this technique and its application, and focusses on our investigations in Sweden between 1979 and 1993. It consists of five parts: i) preparation and analysis methods, ii) historical trends in atmospheric deposition, iii) geographical surveys of atmospheric deposition, iv) sediment dating, and v) studies of sedimentation processes in lakes. Methods for preparation and analyses of SCP have been developed and applied to investigations using sediment, soil and snow samples. Stratigraphic trends of SCP concentrations in lake-sediment cores reflect the consumption history of fossil fuels. A characteristic temporal SCP pattern, with a marked concentration increase beginning after the 1940's and a peak in the early 1970's, has been recognized in most Swedish lakes and elsewhere in Europe. A survey of SCP concentrations in surface sediments of 〉100 lakes covering Sweden demonstrated that polluted areas in southern Sweden had 〉100 times higher SCP concentrations than clean areas in the north. The spatial distribution of SCP over Sweden is similar to the deposition pattern of long-range transported airborne pollutants, such as excess sulphate monitored by network stations. SCP also accumulate in soils, and soil analyses can be used for determining the integrated historical deposition of SCP at the local or regional scale. Finally, SCP have been used for indirect dating of sediment cores and as a marker to assess sediment distribution patterns within lake basins.
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    Journal of paleolimnology 14 (1995), S. 113-122 
    ISSN: 1573-0417
    Keywords: Cladocera remains ; paleolimnology ; climate ; pollution ; human impact ; Italy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract We use Cladocera remains in the sediments to reconstruct the longterm history of Lake Orta, a lake which experienced severe pollution from copper and ammonium sulphate, and started to recover during the last 15 years. Both human and natural impacts were detected over almost 400 years. Pollution was manifested by a dramatic decrease in the number of remains, in the planktonic/littoral (P/L) ratio, and in chydorid species diversity. Most species, even those most tolerant to stress, disappeared. The recolonization of biota was initially sustained by one species of chydorid,Chydorus sphaericus, which had a three-fold increase at the beginning of the 1980s, when studies on plankton recorded the development of a pelagic population. This fact, and the appearance in the sediments ofAlona quadrangularis, attest to the development of filamentous algae which was reported in studies on the plankton. The colonization of the lake by pelagic species came only in the last twelve years and was manifested also as a stabilization of the P/L ratio. Two other periods of disturbance were detected in the sediments: the first, at the end of the 19th century, was related to the introduction of exotic fish species; the second occurred during the second half of the 17th century. This event probably cannot be ascribed to human impact, but may be related to a decrease in temperature in that period (the Maunder Minimum).
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    Natural hazards 22 (2000), S. 117-138 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: fatalities ; flood ; bushfire ; heatwave ; eastern Australia ; ENSO ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract The interannual variability of flood, bushfire andheatwave fatality data for eastern Australia duringthe period 1876–1991 was analysed with respect to thephase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)and the associated values of the Southern OscillationIndex (SOI). Heatwaves were found to be the mostserious peril in terms of the total number offatalities, while floods ranked first in the fatalityevent day statistics. None of the three monthly(absolute value) fatality data sets showed significantcorrelations with the corresponding values of the SOI,while the correlation analysis of annual (July toJune) data led to significant correlation coefficientsof 0.5 for floods and -0.3 for bushfires. AdditionalSOI value-related classification of the standardisedfatality event days into several ENSO categoriesconfirmed the correlation trends by showing anincrease (decrease) in the standardised bushfire(flood) fatality event day frequencies with increasingvalues of the SOI. In contrast to that, thestandardised heatwave fatality data showed aninconclusive distribution pattern, which hints at theinfluence of other possible factors (such as airpollution) on heatwave-related fatality numbers. The results of a risk assessment analysis have shownthat the probability of reaching the mean annualnumber of flood-fatality event days is roughly fourtimes higher during La Niña seasons (80%) thanthe corresponding probability associated with ElNiño periods (18%). The correspondingprobabilities associated with the mean bushfire andheatwave fatality event days displayed a reversedpattern, with the probabilities of El Niño-relatedyears being roughly twice as high as those associatedwith La Niña seasons (70% and 30% for bushfires,and 60% and 25% for heatwaves, respectively).Further probability calculations performed on thetotals of fatalities from all three perils identifiedthe La Niña years as potentially the mostdangerous in terms of suffering fatalities from theseperils. Furthermore, they highlighted the significantdifferences between the means of fatality event daynumbers recorded during years of extreme SOI values(9.8 for La Niña, and 9.1 for El Niño seasons)and those marked by near-zero SOI values (6.6). Themajor reason for the increase in risk associated withextreme ENSO phases was the higher variability ofthese perils during the respective seasons.
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    Natural hazards 21 (2000), S. 347-360 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: volcanic hazard ; risk assessment ; GIS ; physical simulation models ; information systems ; emergency planning
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract The incorporation of a set ofcomputer-based tools, such as Geographical InformationSystems and physical models, to the field of riskassessment, introduces a new perspective in thevolcanic risk maps production, increasing the analysisand modelling capabilities available through theapplication of conventional methodologies. Amethodology adapted to the requirements andcharacteristics of the new operating environment hasbeen applied at Tenerife island (Canary Islands,Spain) to carry out a study devoted to analyse thesuitability of these tools for near real-timemanagement of volcanic crises. With this in mind, aseries of potential eruption scenarios have beenselected to identify and characterise which elementsat risk would prove most vulnerable against a specificvolcanic phenomenon, depending on the socio-economiccharacteristics of the area affected and the resultingdistribution of the volcanic products. This kind ofinformation is fundamental to update, adapt or produceeffective risk management and emergency plans orprotocols, where the measures to mitigate or fightagainst a specific volcanic disaster have to be taken,incorporating the existing knowledge of the phenomenonbehaviour and taking into account their potentialeffects on the area of interest.
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    Natural hazards 20 (1999), S. 279-294 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: risk assessment ; groundwater contamination ; vulnerability ; GIS ; hazard ; economic ; value
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract The groundwater contamination risk map of a samplealluvial area was produced by using the IlwisGeographical Information System (GIS) to construct andto overlay thematic maps. The risk map has beenderived from the vulnerability map, the hazard map,where the potential contaminating sources wereidentified, and the socio-economic value of thegroundwater resource, represented by the wells. Thegroundwater quality map allowed thereliability of hazard and risk maps to be tested. The final map shows interesting results and stressesthe need for the GIS to test and improve on thegroundwater contamination risk assessment methods.
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    Natural hazards 21 (2000), S. 225-245 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: risk assessment ; emergency preparedness ; legislative measures ; flood prevention and mitigation ; forecasting and warning ; control structure ; public participation ; Canada ; Red River Valley
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract The prevention and/or mitigation offlood disasters requires continual research, numerouscapital investment decisions, and high-qualitymaintenance and modifications of flood-controlstructures. In addition, institutional and privatepreparedness is needed. The experience offlood-control in North America has shown mixedoutcomes: while flood frequency has declined duringthe last few decades, the economic losses havecontinued to rise. Recent catastrophic floods havealso been linked to major structural interventions inthe region. The flood diversions may cause harmfuleffects upon the floodplain inhabitants by influencingflood levels in areas which are not normallyflood-prone. The increasing vulnerability of thefloodplain inhabitants poses new challenges and raisesquestions concerning the existing risk assessmentmethods, institutional preparedness and responses todisaster-related public emergencies, and local-levelpublic involvement in flood mitigation efforts. In the context of the catastrophic 1997 floods of theRed River Valley, Manitoba, Canada, this researchfocuses on two aspects of flood-related emergencygovernance and management: (i) the functions andeffectiveness of control structures, and (ii) theroles, responsibilities and effectiveness oflegislative and other operational measures. The studyconcludes that the flood-loss mitigation measures,both in terms of effects of control structures andinstitutional interventions for emergency evacuation,were not fully effective for ensuring the well-beingand satisfaction of floodplain inhabitants. Althoughorganizational preparedness and mobilization to copewith the 1997 flood emergency was considerable, theirsuccess during the onset of the flood event waslimited. Lack of communication and understandingbetween institutions, a reluctance to implementup-to-date regulations, and minimal publicparticipation in the emergency decision-making processall contributed to the difficulties experienced byfloodplain inhabitants.
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    Environmental geology 25 (1995), S. 251-257 
    ISSN: 1432-0495
    Keywords: Chromium ; geogenic ; pollution ; Sukinda
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Among the dominant species of chromium, the trivalent form widely occurs in nature in chromite ores or in silicate minerals and is extremely immobile. The higher oxidation state Cr(VI), is, however, rarely found in nature, is more mobile, and several times more toxic than Cr(III). Cr(VI) occurs in chromates and dichromates manufactured from chromite ores. The hexavalent state is stable in an oxidizing alkaline environment, whereas the trivalent state is stable in a reducing acidic environment. Serpentinization and Mg release during deuteric alteration of ultramafic rocks create alkaline pore water and lateritization is an intensive oxidation process. Chromite ore bodies in oxidized serpentinite therefore may generate hexavalent chromium from the inert chromites and cause hazardous chromium pollution of the water. With this end in view, a combined field and laboratory study has been made on chromite-bearing oxidized serpentinite rocks of Sukinda in Orissa, India. Laboratory leaching studies on mine overburden samples, chemical analyses of streamwater, and hydrolysate incrustation on detrital grains taken from stream beds have indicated the possibility of chromium mobilization from the chromite ores into the waterbodies.
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  • 33
    ISSN: 1573-1421
    Keywords: Trace elements ; ground water quality ; monitoring network ; hydrogeochemistry ; multivariate statistics ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Concentration levels of the trace elements Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Y, and Zn in the shallow Dutch ground water were studied. Data were extracted from the data base of the Dutch National Ground Water Quality Monitoring Network, a network set up to monitor the diffuse contamination. The network contains over 350 sites at a low density of about 1 per 100 km2. The sites are sampled once a year at two depths (approx. 10 and 25 m below surface). A two-step multivariate statistical approach was used, in which the major element chemistry was used to define water types. Within each water type, trace element behavior could be coupled to distinct geochemical processes: dilution, acidification and weathering, carbonate dissolution, oxidation/reduction, and ion exchange. In recently infiltrated acid rain water in low buffering capacity sands, the anthropogenic influence indirectly caused mobilization of Al (median 430 μg/l), Cd (0.6 μg/l), Co (14 μg/l), Cu (2.7 μg/l), Ni (16 μg/l), Y (11 μg/l), and Zn (50 μmg/l). In carbonate bearing sediments the acidification is neutralized, and the mentioned trace elements remain immobile. Arsenic and Cr have higher concentrations levels in ground waters with a slightly reducing character and are possibly governed by the dissolution of iron-manganese hydroxides. Boron, Li, and Sr have high concentrations (respectively 875, 80, 2700 μg/l) in the water type related to a seawater source. Strontium is related to carbonate dissolution in all other water types (medians ranging from 100 to 1000 μg/l). Barium shows a complex behaviour. It is concluded that the high Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, and Zn concentrations are anthropogenically induced. High Ba and Cr concentrations are inferred to be due to natural processes.
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    Environmental and resource economics 10 (1997), S. 267-284 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: Laffont-Tirole model ; tax generation ; tax schemes ; pollution ; regulator
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract This paper reinterprets the Laffont-Tirole model of regulation under asymmetric information to cover the case of pollution control. The asymmetry of information concerns the firm's cost of lowering its pollution. The regulator has three objectives: Ensuring an efficient abatement level, generating 'green taxes' and securing the survival of the firm. We show that when optimal abatement is important relative to tax generation, the regulator cannot use the policy of offering the firm a set of linear tax schemes from which to choose. By contrast, this policy is optimal in the Laffont-Tirole model under certain not very restrictive assumptions. We proceed to establish a simple rule for when to shut-down inefficient types. In an example with specific functional forms, we derive the optimal tax function both analytically and graphically. We show the effect on the optimal tax system of a change in a technological parameter.
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    Environmental and resource economics 11 (1998), S. 489-501 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: cost-benefit analysis ; environmental policy ; precautionary principle ; risk assessment ; sustainable development
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract Revisions to the European Treaty of Union require some form of environmental appraisal – primarily risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis – of regulatory initiatives by the European Commission. A retrospective look at the emergence of environmental appraisal also shows that, while the Commission has made great advances in introducing cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness appraisals in recent years, past environmental decisions and overall environmental policy have not been informed by systematic appraisal techniques. Nor is it clear what role is now being played by risk assessments. While it is impossible to gauge the extent to which systematic appraisal procedures will save on regulatory and compliance expenditures, some indications are provided of the costs of past neglect of these procedures.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 85 (1995), S. 167-176 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: air pollution ; health effects ; risk assessment
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    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Based on combined information available from air quality monitoring data and long-range transport models, European population exposure to SO2, NO2 and O3 has been estimated. This information has been combined with the results of epidemiological studies assessing strength of association between the exposure and health effects to estimate an impact of the pollution on health in Europe. The analysis indicates that a considerable number of health problems, ranging from mild irritation of the respiratory system to increased mortality, can be attributed to short-term peaks of pollution observed in Europe. Chronic impacts of prolonged elevated SO2 levels on lung function are estimated to occur in close to10 million people in Europe.
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  • 37
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: mercury ; foodplains ; humic substances ; complexation ; speciation ; mobilization ; risk assessment ; water solubility
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The water-mobilizability of mercury from contaminated floodplain soils of the river Elbe in Northern Germany was evaluated by batch extraction experiments. It was shown that only a small amount of the total mercury present (about 1% per extraction) can be mobilized by water. This mercury is transported entirely in the form of a complex bound to humic acids (HA); particulates and fulvic acids (FA) did not seem to contribute to the process. It could not be removed from the HA even at pH 1, indicating an extremely strong complexation e.g. by sulfur-containing ligands. Furthermore, the influence of pH on the mobilization was investigated. It was found that in the range of natural pH-values, there was no observable effect of pH on the mobilization of either mercury or dissolved organic carbon (DOC). This surprising finding is explained by an unexpectedly high buffering capacity of the humics, both in the acidic and in the alkaline region. Only at extreme pH-values there was deviation from this behaviour. In contrast to other heavy metals, the amount of mobilized mercury decreases at pH 〈 3; and at pH 〉 12, an increased mobilization of mercury was observed because the humics are mobilized completely, accompanied by the total amount of mercury bound to them.
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  • 38
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: elemental composition ; fine sediments ; Tagus ; Atlantic shelf ; sediment transport ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The Tagus estuary, located at the western Iberian coast in front of Lisbon is the largest one in Portugal, where it drains highly populated and industrialised regions. The amount of sediment transported by this river is so great that the submarine delta is one of the largest in the Iberian margin, very well defined and reaching the 70m isobath. The geochemical pattern of the muddy deposit off the Tagus river has been determined by elemental analyses of bulk surficial sediments, collected at the Portuguese margin adjacent to the Tagus estuary. Measurements were carried out by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). Sediments were usually composed of fine particles (silts and clays) and were high in organic matter (measured as loss on ignition). Elemental concentrations for Zn and Pb clearly indicate an estuarine contamination probably associated with discharges from urban centers or due to the influence of the industries located downstream. Apparently the depletion on the Cu contents is caused by its release (soluble complexes) into the marine environment. Variations observed in the elemental distribution of the sediments off the Tagus with distance from the estuary seem to be dependent on the grain size distribution related to the dynamics of the sediment transport.
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  • 39
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: soil ; pollution ; heavy metals ; smelters ; factoranalysis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A combined statistical and computergraphic approach is proposed for apportionment and attribution of soil contaminants in complex areas. The field test site lies north of Swansea, south Wales and contains two major pollutant sources, an active nickel refiner and (4 km away) the site of major base metal smelting in the nineteenth century (the Lower Swansea Valley reclamation study area). Soil samples (70 samples, 0–15 cm) were collected on a regular grid of 1000 m interval. They were extracted using 0.05 M diammonium EDTA and the extracts analysed for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Soil pH and %organic content were also determined. Factor analysis yielded three groups which explained 73.8% of the data variance (1: Cd, Cu, %OM, Pb, Zn, Ni; 2: Cd, Zn, Mn, pH; 3: Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Fe). Isoline plots were classifiable into the same three groups. It was concluded that factor 3 contained those elements associated with smelter emissions, factor 1 with contamination from the Lower Swansea Valley and in factor 2 pedogenetic processes control the occurrence of the elements.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 94 (1997), S. 99-107 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: pollution ; harbour ; coastal waters ; organic leading
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A study was carried out recently to determine the pollution level of waters in the Karachi harbour and adjoining backwaters. Nine locations were selected, four in the backwaters, two on the seaside, and three in the main navigable channel. Four of these locations were deliberately selected to coincide with those of a previous study conducted in 1982 by Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) so that the values for the concentration of different pollutants could be compared. Analysis was conducted for pH, bicarbonates, Total Solids, Volatile matter in Total Solids, Chlorides, Sulphates, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium and Potassium. The results indicate that the composition of sea water as far as the concentration of above constituents is concerned has not changed much since the time of the PCSIR study, viz 1982, except that the organic matter concentration has increased. The reasons for this increase in organic loading and its possible impact are discussed in this paper.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 99 (1997), S. 255-263 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: heavy metals ; sediments ; pollution ; resuspension ; release processes ; bioavailability ; anthropogenic ; metal ; residual inetal ; geochemical phases
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The space-time distribution of some pollutants (Cu, Ph, Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, V, Ni, Cr) in the sludge of the canals of Venice was studied. The contamination levels were comparable to, or higher, than those measured in the most polluted sediments of the Lagoon of Venice Sediments were collected by two different sampling techniques I ) collection of sediment cores (upper 5 cm) by a syringe-type corer, 2) collection by traps, placed on the bottom of the canal Traps pennitted the sampling of sediments essentially resuspended by overlying water turbulence This sediment fraction is subjected to variations of its physicochemical parameters (principally change of redox conditions) and therefore to pollutant exchange at the water/sediment interface The metals principally exchanged during sediment resuspension were Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu These metals have principally an anthropogenic origin and are bound to the most labile geochemical phases of the sediment (such as sulphides), which can be oxidised during sediment resuspension, releasing metals into the water Fe, Cr and Ni were only partially exchanged, while Mn and V were generally not exchanged, a significant fraction of these metals is of natural origin and is bound to the most refractory phases of the sediment.
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  • 42
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: pesticide ; PAH ; PCB ; pollution ; principal components analysis ; toxic
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A fugacity-based model to explain the partitioning of contaminants in the environment is evaluated. Using emission inventories, air and water concentrations predicted by the model for the southwestern Québec region generally agree with field data for phenanthrene,α-HCH, lindane, and DDT. For pyrene, air concentrations are in agreement but water concentrations were in error by a factor of nearly 20. There is also a possibility for using the model to predict emissions from known air and water concentrations. The model was run over 120 times each for phenanthrene, HCB, and lindane while randomly varying the input parameters each time. A Principal Components Analysis and a partial correlation analysis indicate that certain input parameters are more important for some compounds than for others and that log K ow is the physical-chemical property of greatest importance.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 98 (1997), S. 389-399 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: fertilizer ; nitrogen ; pollution ; runoff ; stable isotopes ; sugarcane
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In many forested wetlands of Louisiana, surface water quality is being deteriorated by nutrient input from adjacent agricultural production area. This field study assesses the input of fertilizer N, applied to sugarcane fields, to forested wetlands. The potential use of natural abundance variations in15N/14N ratios for identification and tracing surface water N sources (NH 4 + - and NO 3 − -N) was evaluated. Runoff and surface water samples were collected from sugarcane fields and bordering forested wetlands (6 stations) over a 16 month period and analyzed for NH 4 + -N, NO 3 − -N, and associated NH 4 + -δ 15N and NO 3 − -δ 15N ratios. FertilizerN draining into adjacent forested wetland was estimated to be only a small fraction of the amount applied. Concentrations of NH 4 + - and NO 3 − -N in the collected water samples were low and ranged from 0.02 to 1.79 mg L−1. Isotopic analysis revealed NH 4 + -δ 15N and NO 3 − -δ 15N means were distinctive and may have the potential to be used as tracers of N contamination. The mean NH 4 + -δ 15N value was +18.6±7.1‰ and the NO 3 − -δ 15N mean was +8.3±3.1‰. Anomalously high NO 3 − -δ 15N values (〉30‰) were attributed to denitrification.
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  • 44
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: risk assessment ; chlorinated compound ; environmental ; marine ; exposure ; aquatic toxicity ; monitoring ; trichloroethylene
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This risk assessment on trichloroethylene (TRI) was carried out specifically for the marine environment, according to the methodology laid down in the EU risk assessment Regulation (1488/94) and the Guidance Document of the EU New and Existing Substances Regulation (TGD, 1997). The study consists of the collection and evaluation of data on effects and environmental concentrations from analytical monitoring programs in large rivers and estuaries in the North Sea area. The risk is indicated by the ratio of the "predicted environmental concentrations" (PEC) and the "predicted no effect concentrations" (PNEC) for the marine aquatic environment. In total, 19 studies for fish, 30 studies for invertebrates and 14 studies for algae have been evaluated. Both acute and chronic toxicity studies have been taken into account and the appropriate assessment factors have been used to define a PNEC value of 150 µg/l. Most of the available monitoring data apply to rivers and estuaries and were used to calculate PECs. The most recent data (1991-1995) support a typical PEC of 0.1 µg TRI/l water and a worst case PEC of 3.5 µg TRI/l water. The calculated PEC/PNEC ratios give a safety margin of 40 to 1,500 between the predicted no effect concentration and the exposure concentration. Additional evaluation of environmental fate and bioaccumulation characteristics showed that no concern for food chain accumulation is expected.
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    Environmental monitoring and assessment 45 (1997), S. 129-180 
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: chlorinated hydrocarbons ; pollution ; cetaceans ; marine mammals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Concentrations of HCB, DDTs and PCBs in the tissues andorgans of cetaceans ( Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Balaenoptera physalus, Steno bredanensis}, Grampus griseus} and Globicephala melaena) strandedalong the Italian coasts in the period 1987–1993 are reported. The values are compared between speciesand between specimens of the samespecies. Chlorinated hydrocarbon (CH) levels were found toincrease in relation to the quantity andtype of lipids in each tissue and organ. Differences inaccumulation encountered in the differentspecies are principally due to different feeding habitats.Remarkable differences found between malesand females of each species confirm that during gestation andlactation, females undergo disintoxication by passing much of their total burden of CHs to their young.
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    Environmental monitoring and assessment 59 (1999), S. 123-134 
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: aquaculture ; bloom ; coastal ; cyanophyta ; nutrient ; plankton ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Since the early 1990's, large areas of mangrove forest along the nearshore waters of Cukai bay had been cleared to give way for the development of aquaculture activities, human settlement and setting up of new small scale fish processing industries. The Cukai bay, facing the South China Sea, has inflows from the Cukai river estuaries and other numerous small river tributaries. The water quality examined (April 1993 to March 1994) in the bay indicated that the ammonium, nitrate and phosphorus contents were high during the pre-wet monsoon (October 1993) with values of 28.2, 30.1 and 29.6 μg L-1, respectively. The source of nutrients in the estuary were from the newly established fish processing cottage industries, nearby fish culture activities, agro-based effluents (mainly fertilisers from surrounding paddy plantations), untreated human (from nearby villages) and animal wastes (from domestic cattle and goat farms) and siltation due to erosion from land development. The main bulk of the microplankton were comprised of diatoms, dinoflagellates, ciliophora and blue green algae. The blue green algae encountered were species of Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Phormodium and Trichodesmium while those of diatom were species of Asterionella, Chaetoceros, Coscinodiscus, Navicula and Nitzschia. Peak microplankton production in the water column occurred in October 1993, reaching a maximum value of 173 μg C L-1 d-1. This comprised primarily of the blue green alga, Trichodesmium thiebautii.
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    Environmental monitoring and assessment 59 (1999), S. 225-247 
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: cross-cultural ; perceived risk ; risk ; risk analysis ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This study examines perceived risk data from the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea. These data are then compared with similar results collected from previous studies. Psychometric scaling scores from Burkino Faso (a West African Country), France, Norway, and Hungary have been analyzed and compared with results from our study. The data reveal certain risk events like nuclear weapons, war, and AIDS to have high perceived risks in all countries. These data also show that many of the events have dissimilar perceived risks in different countries. The conclusions also show some countries have higher over all levels of perceive risk (South Korea) while others like the United States display generally lower values.
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  • 48
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: copper-nickel smelter ; ICP mass spectrometry ; Kola peninsula ; pollution ; soil ; trace elements ; vegetation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Concentrations of 34 elements determined by ICP mass spectrometry were studied in surface soil and vegetation along a north–south gradient through the ‘Pechenganickel’ smelter complex in Kola peninsula, northern Russia. Strong influence from the smelter was evident for Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, mainly associated with dry deposition of large particles. Also for As, Se, Mo, Sb, Te, Bi, and Pb the smelter or associated sources appeared to be distinct contributors of contamination consisting presumably of smaller particles. Significant but less distinct effects leading to enhanced concentration levels were observed for P, S, V, Cr, Zn, and Tl. In the case of Mn, Rb, Sr, Cs, and Ba the concentrations in vegetation were generally lower near the source, which may be due to cation exchange with protons or heavy metal cations in the soil and subsequent leaching from the root zone. For Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Y, Cd, La, Th, and U no particular influence from the smelter complex was observed. Some characteristic differences observed in element concentrations in different plant species and between different years of Pinus sylvestris needles are discussed. The high concentrations observed for many trace elements in the humus horizon indicates that it acts as an active biogeochemical barrier against downward transport of these elements.
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    Environmental modeling and assessment 4 (1999), S. 165-178 
    ISSN: 1573-2967
    Keywords: exposure assessment ; ground water contamination ; risk assessment ; spatial variability ; geostatistical analysis ; deterministic modeling
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This paper describes a new methodology for modeling contaminant transport in ground water for (1) better quantifying the magnitude of exposure in a contaminated aquifer, (2) characterizing the spatial and temporal variation of exposure in a heterogeneous aquifer, and (3) providing more tools for characterizing population exposure. This methodology is also applied to a semi-hypothetical case study.
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    Environmental and ecological statistics 3 (1996), S. 81-97 
    ISSN: 1573-3009
    Keywords: gamma distribution ; left censoring ; product limit estimate ; risk assessment ; truncated normal distribution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A frequent assumption in environmental risk assessment is that the underlying distribution of an analyte concentration is lognormal. However, the distribution of a random variable whose log has a t-distribution has infinite mean. Because of the proximity of the standard normal and t-distribution, this suggests that a distribution such as the gamma or truncated normal, with smaller right tail probabilities, might make a better statistical model for mean estimation than the lognormal. In order to assess the effect of departures from lognormality on lognormal-based statistics, we simulated complete lognormal, truncated normal, and gamma data for various sample sizes and coefficients of variation. In these cases, departures from lognormality were not easily detected with the Shapiro-Wilk test. Various lognormal-based estimates and tests were compared with alternate methods based on the ordinary sample mean and standard error. The examples were also considered in the presence of random left censoring with the mean and standard error of the product limit estimate replacing the ordinary sample mean and standard error. The results suggest that in the estimation of or tests about a mean, if the assumption of lognormality is at all suspect, then lognormal-based approaches may not be as good as the alternative methods.
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    Environmental and ecological statistics 4 (1997), S. 49-64 
    ISSN: 1573-3009
    Keywords: soil ; pollution ; threshold ; geostatistics ; indicators ; kriging ; risk ; Swiss Jura
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The probability that the concentrations of toxic substances in soil or other medium exceed tolerablemaxima at any unsampled place can be estimated by indicator geostatistics. The method is developed and used to estimate and map the risk of contamination by cadmium, copper and lead in the topsoil of a 14.5 km 2 region in the Swiss Jura. It combines both direct measurements of metal concentrations and thecalibration of a geological map, and it shows that the risk of toxicity is least on Argovian rocks. Two approaches are proposed to divide a region into safe' and 'hazardous' zones on the basis of probability maps. The first declares as contaminated all places where the risk of contamination exceeds a given threshold. The second approach first evaluates the financial costs that might result from a wrongdeclaration, after which the site is allocated to a class so as to minimize that cost. The risk of exposure for humans and animals is generally greater for contaminated agricultural land than for forest soil, and so land use is taken into account in both procedures.
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    Ecotoxicology 5 (1996), S. 59-81 
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: pesticides ; synergism ; risk assessment ; wildlife
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    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Reviews of pesticide usage survey data and vertebrate wildlife and honeybee poisoning incident schemes in the UK show that there is considerable potential for wildlife to be exposed to combinations of agricultural pesticides. According to the published literature the toxicity of many pesticide combinations is at least additive. In some cases pesticide mixtures, particularly those involving insecticides, have been shown to be synergistic, with reported increases in toxicity of up to 100-fold. However, these effects are species, time and dose dependent and are therefore difficult to predict routinely. It is suggested that risk assessments should routinely take additive toxicity into account and those based on synergism should be targeted at those mixtures for which a further defined increase in toxicity would result in a high-risk classification. In order to support this risk assessment approach there is a need to develop and validate a standard in vivo test in order to confirm the interaction in those cases where additive or synergistic toxicity results in a high-risk classification.
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    Ecotoxicology 5 (1996), S. 139-144 
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: ED point ; NOEL ; risk assessment ; pesticides
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    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: The availability and use of ED point and NOEL values in ecotoxicological data submitted to the UK Pesticides Safety Directorate is explored. In first tier data normally submitted for pesticide registration, ED points such as EC/LC/LD50s are commonly available from acute laboratory toxicity studies conducted using birds, small mammals, fish, aquatic invertebrates, plants, honeybees and earthworms. These ED points are subsequently used for hazard classification of the pesticide and in toxicity: exposure ratio (TER) calculations required during the acute risk assessment. Although NOELs can often be available from the same first tier data, they are generally not used. However, NOELs commonly available from higher tier chronic toxicity studies such as chronic fish, Daphnia reproduction and avian reproduction studies, are used in TER calculations to assess chronic risk. The statistical limitations of the NOEL are recognized and the regulatory implications of replacing the NOEL with an alternative ED point are discussed.
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    Ecotoxicology 9 (2000), S. 157-168 
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: pyridaben ; water-effect ratio ; WER ; FIFRA ; hazard assessment ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The toxicity and environmental fate of the insecticide-miticide, pyridaben were investigated using both standardized laboratory procedures and outdoor studies with natural water. Outdoor studies provide a more realistic exposure scenario to aquatic organisms and any toxicity is a response to actual exposure concentrations resulting from the natural degradation and dissipation of the chemical. This paper describes the environmental chemistry/fate and aquatic toxicity of pyridaben. The subsequent paper describes the results of the outdoor aquatic toxicity studies and the use of the water-effect ratio in hazard/risk assessment. Environmental fate studies indicate that pyridaben has a low water solubility and high Kd and Koc values, which favors partitioning from water onto soil and sediment. Pyridaben is stable to hydrolysis but has a short photolysis half-life in water (〈30 min) and soil (∼11 d). Furthermore, pyridaben has a short half-life in soil (12 to 14 d) when applied in the field to citrus crops. Laboratory studies with constant 48- to 96-h exposures to pyridaben show it is acutely toxic to fish (Lepomis macrochirus, Pimephales promelas, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Cyprinodon variegatus) and invertebrates (Daphnia magna, Mysidopsis bahia). Invertebrates are more sensitive (lower LC50s) than fish to pyridaben, and most mortalities occur 〈24 h for fish and 〈72 h for invertebrates. Chronic laboratory studies indicate that the MATCs for pyridaben and D. magna, M. bahia and P. promelas were 0.12, 0.15 and 0.39 μg/L, respectively. Acute-to-chronic ratios for pyridaben are low for fish and invertebrates, indicating a low potential for residual activity. Chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms is not an issue after application in the field because exposures tend to be brief.
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    Ecotoxicology 9 (2000), S. 169-177 
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: pyridaben ; water-effect ratio ; FIFRA ; hazard assessment ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Outdoor acute aquatic toxicity studies with pyridaben and bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) and mysid (Mysidopsis bahia) showed that the 96-h LC50s in site-specific water were significantly greater than in classical laboratory studies. In addition, outdoor acute studies showed that pyridaben degrades rapidly in water, in hours, which supports other laboratory and field studies on the fate of pyridaben in aquatic systems. Chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms is not an issue after application in the field because exposures will be brief. The water-effect ratio (WER) of site-specific to laboratory-water 96-h LC50s for L. macrochirus and M. bahia were 18.5 and 24.5, respectively. The lowest WER was used as an application factor with the laboratory LC50 values of several other aquatic organisms to develop “adjusted” site-specific LC50 values. Comparison of the distribution of “adjusted” LC50 values with a distribution of potential environmental exposure concentrations for pyridaben in water indicates minimal acute risk to aquatic organisms. When only acute laboratory data are available, the WER approach is a relevant and realistic means for determining an application factor and for estimating the aquatic hazard/risk assessment of non-persistent pesticides, because it considers a host of factors that affect bioavailability and subsequent toxicity.
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  • 56
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: lead ; waterfawl ; sediment ; toxicity ; mining ; risk assessment ; swans ; ALAD ; protoporphyrin
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract For many years, waterfowl have been poisoned by lead after ingesting contaminated sediment in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, in Idaho. Results of studies on waterfowl experimentally fed this sediment were combined with results from field studies conducted in the Basin to relate sediment lead concentration to injury to waterfowl. The first step in the model estimated exposure as the relation of sediment lead concentration to blood lead concentration in mute swans (Cygnus olor), ingesting 22% sediment in a rice diet. That rate corresponded to the 90th percentile of sediment ingestion estimated from analyses of feces of tundra swans (Olor columbianus) in the Basin. Then, with additional laboratory studies on Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) fed the sediment, we developed the general relation of blood lead to injury in waterfowl. Injury was quantified by blood lead concentrations, ALAD (δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase) activity, protoporphyrin concentrations, hemoglobin concentrations, hepatic lead concentrations, and the prevalence of renal nuclear inclusion bodies. Putting the exposure and injury relations together provided a powerful tool for assessing hazards to wildlife in the Basin. The no effect concentration of sediment lead was estimated as 24 mg/kg and the lowest effect level as 530 mg/kg. By combining our exposure equation with data on blood lead concentrations measured in moribund tundra swans in the Basin, we estimated that some mortality would occur at a sediment lead concentration as low as 1800 mg/kg.
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    Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics 9 (1996), S. 61-82 
    ISSN: 1573-322X
    Keywords: informed consent ; equity ; fairness ; Louisiana ; pollution ; racism ; radiation ; rights ; uranium
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract The paper begins with a brief analysis of the concepts of environmental justice and environmental racism and classism. The authors argue that pollution- and environment-related decision-making is prima facie wrong whenever it results in inequitable treatment of individuals on the basis of race or socio-economic status. The essay next surveys the history of the doctrine of free informed consent and argues that the consent of those affected is necessary for ensuring the fairness of decision-making for siting hazardous facilities. The paper also points out that equal opportunity to environmental protection and free informed consent are important rights. Finally, it presents a case study on the proposed uranium enrichment facility near Homer, Louisiana and argues that siting the plant would violate norms of distributive equity and free informed consent. It concludes that siting the facility is a case of environmental injustice and likely an example of environmental racism or classism.
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    Natural resources research 8 (1999), S. 111-122 
    ISSN: 1573-8981
    Keywords: Risk ; mineral exploration ; decision-making ; mineral economics ; mineral resources ; risk assessment ; Bayes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Successful mineral exploration strategy requires identification of some of the risk sources and considering them in the decision-making process so that controllable risk can be reduced. Risk is defined as chance of failure or loss. Exploration is an economic activity involving risk and uncertainty, so risk also must be defined in an economic context. Risk reduction can be addressed in three fundamental ways: (1) increasing the number of examinations; (2) increasing success probabilities; and (3) changing success probabilities per test by learning. These provide the framework for examining exploration risk. First, the number of prospects examined is increased, such as by joint venturing, thereby reducing chance of gambler's ruin. Second, success probability is increased by exploring for deposit types more likely to be economic, such as those with a high proportion of world-class deposits. For example, in looking for 100+ ton (〉3 million oz) Au deposits, porphyry Cu-Au, or epithermal quartz alunite Au types require examining fewer deposits than Comstock epithermal vein and most other deposit types. For porphyry copper exploration, a strong positive relationship between area of sulfide minerals and deposits' contained Cu can be used to reduce exploration risk by only examining large sulfide systems. In some situations, success probabilities can be increased by examining certain geologic environments. Only 8% of kuroko massive sulfide deposits are world class, but success chances can be increased to about 15% by looking in settings containing sediments and rhyolitic rocks. It is possible to reduce risk of loss during mining by sequentially developing and expanding a mine—thus reducing capital exposed at early stages and reducing present value of risked capital. Because this strategy is easier to apply in some deposit types than in others, the strategy can affect deposit types sought. Third, risk is reduced by using prior information and by changing the independence of trials assumption, that is, by learning. Bayes' formula is used to change the probability of existence of the deposit sought on the basis of successive exploration stages. Perhaps the most important way to reduce exploration risk is to employ personnel with the appropriate experience and yet who are learning.
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  • 59
    ISSN: 1573-1634
    Keywords: remediation ; surfactants ; experimental site ; hydraulic conductivity ; hydrocarbons ; pollution ; aquifer.
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Technology
    Notes: Abstract A central problem in a real case remediation of an oil contaminated site is the knowledge of the volume and the extent of the pollution. As the estimation of the mass balance, usually based on some point measurements, presents a large range of uncertainty, controlled experisites constitute essential research tools. The objective of SCERES (Controlled Experimental Site for Water and Soil Remediation Research) is to test techniques for both pollution quantification and in situ remediation of light non–aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) contaminated aquifers and soils. This paper reports results of experiments conducted on the experimental site SCERES and describes two techniques of surfactant flushing for the recovery of trapped diesel oil: an infiltration from the soil surface for the vadoze zone treatment and injections in depth for the capillary fringe treatment. Despite a satisfying mass balance, we underline some complex phenomena which influence the flow of fluids such as surfactants and mobilized oil in saturated and unsaturated porous media, in particular, the effect of surfactant agglomeration on oil removal efficiency. This research work also highlights some problems especially those linked with the confinement of the heterogeneous oil impregnation body.
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    Mathematical geology 30 (1998), S. 129-161 
    ISSN: 1573-8868
    Keywords: correspondence analysis ; multiple linear regression ; hydrogeochemistry ; weathering ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Mathematics
    Notes: Abstract Correspondence Analysis (CA) was used to determine the sources and processes that may explain the variation observed in datasets of groundwater analyses. The following method was adopted: (1) based on the observation of “sympathies” and “antipathies” between loadings signs, correspondence factors were represented by parameters with some pertinent geochemical meaning: (2) the relation between factors and parameters then was checked by Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) where factors acted as independent variables and parameters as dependent variables. Sample scores of the selected parameters gave the ability to separate polluted from nonpolluted waters, identify areas where pollution is dominated by agriculture and areas where contamination is controlled by domestic effluents, and describe weathering and agricultural activities in the sampled area. The practical example presented here anticipates the impact of agriculture and urban pollution on the chemistry of 160 water samples collected in a granitoid area at central Portugal (Fundão).
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    Mathematical geology 31 (1999), S. 471-485 
    ISSN: 1573-8868
    Keywords: recoverable reserves ; conditional simulations ; Monte Carlo simulations ; risk assessment ; gold
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Mathematics
    Notes: Abstract The aim of this paper is to present a fast method based on bootstrapping, for simulating recoverable reserves for input to financial Monte Carlo simulations. In mining, the three parameters defining recoverable reserves are the cutoff grade, z, the ore tonnage above cutoff, T, and the metal quantity above cutoff, Q. After introducing the concept of 3-dimensional QTz curves, the statistical technique called bootstrapping is reviewed and applied to a set of South African gold grades. As selective mining is carried out on blocks not points, these curves have to be calculated for blocks. The QTz curves obtained by bootstrapping are compared to those obtained by conditionally simulating the same deposit. The procedure has been extended to incorporate geologists' ideas of the likely size of the ore volume. Lastly, the recoverable reserves obtained by bootstrapping are compared with those obtained by traditional risk analysis (base case ± 10% or 20%).
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    Environmental and resource economics 15 (2000), S. 257-278 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: accounting ; `El Serafy'-method ; genuine savings ; natural resources ; pollution ; sustainability ; World Bank
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract The World Bank has recently published acomprehensive study of environmental and resourceaccounting, covering 103 countries (World Bank1997a). The study concludes that many Sub-Saharan,Northern African and Middle East countries have hadnegative `genuine' saving rates over the last 20years and therefore fail to pass the test of weaksustainability. This paper argues that the Bank'sconclusions depend on a method for computing usercosts from resource exploitation that is challengedby two competing ones (the `El Serafy'-method andthe method of Repetto et al.) and is inferior to oneof its rivals. Resource rents are re-computed usingthe `El Serafy'-method for 14 countries and theSub-Saharan and Northern African and Middle Eastregions. The results are that both regions andalmost all countries either stop exhibiting signs ofunsustainability or their unsustainability can beexplained without having recourse to resourceaccounting. However, for Congo, Ecuador, Gabon,Nigeria, Mauritania and Trinidad and Tobago there isa lesson: These countries did not adequately use theopportunities they were given through their naturalresource endowments and should learn from theirmistake for the future depletion of their remainingreserves of natural resources.
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    Environmental and resource economics 6 (1995), S. 359-369 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: Cournot duopoly ; Pigovian tax ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract It is well known that the optimal pollution tax in a competitive industry is equal to the marginal damage inflicted by the pollution. It has also been shown that the optimal pollution tax on a monopoly is less than the marginal damage. In this paper, I derive the optimal pollution tax for a Cournot duopoly. If firms have different production costs, the optimal tax rate may exceed the marginal damage. This is so because the tax may be an effective instrument for allocating production from the less to the more efficient firm. It is also shown that, if one firm has a positive most preferred pollution tax, the sum of consumer and producer surpluses will be declining in the tax at this level.
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    Environmental and resource economics 11 (1998), S. 557-570 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: endangered species ; environmental policy ; pollution ; risk
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract Behavior matters more to environmental policy than most people think. This paper illustrates why this point needs repeating in four ongoing policy debates in the United States – Children's health risk, ozone/particulate matter (PM), climate change, and endangered species.
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    Environmental and resource economics 9 (1997), S. 467-491 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: green policy ; pollution ; relocation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract This article concerns itself with the environmental role of heavily polluting industries since 1970, analysing its development in 11 basic industries, as well as electricity production and road transport, in 32 industrial countries. It argues for a green industrial policy, demonstrating that other mitigations of environmental pressure in industrial countries—end-of-pipe treatment, relocation to the Third World, structural change in the industrial sector and even environmentally oriented modernization—have so far been unable to solve the problems of ‘dirty industries’, although some approaches have shown (some) promise.
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    Environmental and resource economics 17 (2000), S. 353-373 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: environmental transition ; growth ; Kuznets ; pollution ; transboundary externalities
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is a hypothesis which implies that it is possible to “grow out of environmental degradation”. Most theoretical models of the EKC relation have not accounted for transboundary and intergenerational externalities nor have empirical studies provided evidence that validates an inverted U shaped relation between environmental degradation and economic growth for pollution problems where the effects are far-displaced or are long-delayed. This paper integrates the theory of transboundary externalities into the most common theoretical framework applied to the EKC hypothesis. It shows that where a significant proportion of the environmental impacts of economic activity occurs outside the territories in which those activities take place, the de-linking of growth and environmental degradation is less likely to happen. This proposition is demonstrated by assuming that decisionmakers have a Nash-type non cooperative strategic behavior.
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    Environmental and resource economics 8 (1996), S. 367-374 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: energy policy ; pollution ; resource conservation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract In this paper an analysis of the U.K. government's air pollution emissions policy for the residential sector is undertaken. The analysis covers emissions arising from water and space heating, electric appliances and cooking appliances. Using an integrated economic-engineering model, the effects of the Energy Savings Trust and the imposition of Value Added Tax on residential fuel will be evaluated in terms of energy consumption and pollution emissions. It is found that the initial proposed policy was not sufficiently stringent to meet the government's environmental objectives, and that subsequent events have undermined the government's programme even further. Unless alternative policies are introduced, emissions from the residential sector will play an important role in jeopardizing the ability of the U.K. government to meet its international obligations.
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    Environmental and resource economics 7 (1996), S. 333-355 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: environmental policy ; pollution ; strategic behaviour
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    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract Policy makers, industrialists and environmentalists express concern that the imposition of tough environmental policies in some countries displaces production, and hence pollution, to countries which impose less tough environmental policies. Yet empirical studies of such impacts suggest they are small. However, these findings are derived from models in which international trade is modelled as being perfectly competitive. In this paper I model trade as imperfectly competitive with scope for strategic behavior by producers, in this case investment in capital. I show that the choice of environmental policy instrument can have a marked impact on the incentives for producers to act strategically, with environmental standards significantly reducing the incentives for strategic overinvestment relative to environmental taxes or no environmental policy at all. Whether welfare is higher using standards or taxes depends on whether producing countries are also significant consumers of the polluting product, and on whether all producing governments act to reduce emissions or only some subset of governments. To assess the quantitative significance of these theoretical results I conduct policy simulations on a calibrated model of the world fertilizer industry. These simulations show that the impact of environmental policy on strategic behaviour can be large.
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  • 69
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    Environmental and resource economics 5 (1995), S. 1-8 
    ISSN: 1573-1502
    Keywords: Endogenous growth ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Economics
    Notes: Abstract The analysis of endogenous growth models with pollution often concentrates on steady state trajectories, under the assumption that the steady state is in some sense stable. In the present note we provide examples showing that this issue should be dealt with carefully. We use the Rebelo “Ak” model augmented with a stock of pollutants causing a negative externality. It is found that optimal growth is not necessarily balanced (contrary to the outcome of the standard Rebelo model). Moreover, the existence of the externality may affect long run optimal growth rates.
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    Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change 4 (1999), S. 61-81 
    ISSN: 1573-1596
    Keywords: climate change ; cost-benefit ; Hungary ; integrated assessment ; mitigation ; pollution ; discount rate
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography
    Notes: Abstract Few studies on measures for mitigation of damage caused by man-made emissions to the environment have tried to consider all major effects. We illustrate the importance of an integrated approach by estimating costs and benefits of a proposed energy saving program for Hungary, originally designed to reduce CO2 emissions. The dominant benefit of implementing the program is likely to be reduced health damage from local pollutants. Also reduced costs of material damage and to a lesser extent vegetation damage contribute to make the net benefit considerable. Compared to the reduction in these local and regional effects, the benefits from reducing greenhouse gases are likely to be minor. Since local effects in general occur much earlier after measures have been implemented than effects of increased emissions of greenhouse gases, inclusion of local effects makes evaluation of climate policy less dependent on the choice of discount rate. In our opinion, similar results are likely for many measures originally designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases particularly in some areas in developing countries with high local pollution levels. Main uncertainties in the analysis, e.g. in the relationships between damage and pollution level, are discussed.
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    Natural hazards 17 (1998), S. 1-15 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: risk assessment ; risk cartography ; volcanic hazard ; GIS ; Vesuvius ; Italy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract This paper assesses the risk to people and property from lava flow hazard in the Vesuvian area of Italy using a Geographical Information System (GIS). The intense urbanisation and dense population near Mt. Vesuvius make the area very hazardous. Due to the large amount of available data, GIS is an essential tool to facilitate risk evaluation and constant monitoring of the zone. This analysis is based mainly on a lava flow hazard map of Mt. Vesuvius, determined from volcanic activity between 1631 and 1944. A land-use zonation map of the area was created in order to show areal distribution of the resources, built-up centres and population. For each of the 17 municipalities in the area, demographic and urban data were entered into the GIS database and linked to each appropriate geographic unit in order to create a set of reference maps at the 1:50 000 scale. The lava flow hazard map was overlain on the land use map, and spatial and numerical information of risk were extracted from the resulting maps.
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    Natural hazards 18 (1998), S. 57-76 
    ISSN: 1573-0840
    Keywords: tsunamis ; historical earthquakes ; risk assessment ; Caribbean Sea
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geography , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract The Caribbean Sea region is well known for its hurricanes, and less known for tsunamis. As part of its responsibilities in hazard assessment and mitigation, the U.S.A. Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Puerto Rico Civil Defense, funded a pilot study to perform a numerical simulation of the 1918 Puerto Rico tsunami, one of the most deadly in the region. As part of the study a review has been made of the tectonic and tsunamigenic environment around Puerto Rico, the fault parameters for the 1918 event have been estimated, and a numerical simulation has been done using a tsunami propagation and runup model obtained through the Tsunami Inundation Modeling for Exchange (TIME) program. Model results have been compared with the observed runup values all along the west coast of Puerto Rico.
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  • 73
    ISSN: 1573-0662
    Keywords: lead ; pollution ; mid-Atlantic bight ; radionuclide ; air mass
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Atmospheric depositional fluxes of 7Be and210Pb (bulk) and stable Pb (wet) were measuredsimultaneously for one year (from September 1995–August 1996) atStillpond, Maryland on the uppereastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The annual total(bulk) depositional fluxes of 210Pb and 7Bewere 0.78 and 13 dpm cm-2, respectively, andagree well with other previously reported results atnearby locations such as Norfolk, VA and Lewes, DE. The wet depositional flux of stable Pb (58 ng cm-2 yr-1)was also similar to thatmeasured at other Chesapeake sites during 1990–1991(55 ng cm-2 yr-1, for both Wye and Elms,Maryland). This suggests that a constant Pb flux hasbeen reached since the mandatory use of unleadedgasoline was instituted. The concentrations of7Be, 210Pb, and to a lesser extent stable Pbwere diluted exponentially by precipitation, based onconcentrations versus precipitation plots. Due tohigher enrichment of 210Pb in the lowertroposphere, the dilution effect was largest on210Pb (i.e., controlled mainly by below-cloudscavenging processes), and thus its depositional fluxincrease is negligible as precipitation amountincreases. A good correlation between the amount ofprecipitation and total depositional flux of 7Beand stable Pb, which are more enriched in the uppertroposphere, suggests that precipitation amount isimportant in controlling their fluxes (i.e.,controlled by both below-cloud scavenging and in-cloudcondensation processes). Based on 7Be versus210Pb plots, it appears that 7Be, relativeto 210Pb, is less efficiently scavenged bysnowfall. Our results suggest that in addition toprecipitation amounts, marine air-mass transport orsnowfall may be important factors in controlling theseasonal variability of the fallout fluxes of tracemetals in coastal areas.
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    Human ecology 24 (1996), S. 87-108 
    ISSN: 1572-9915
    Keywords: intracultural variation ; consensus analysis ; pollution ; risk
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Ethnic Sciences
    Notes: Abstract Human perceptions of the relationship between pollution and food safety are often haphazard and contradictory, based on a variety of sources of information. Recent media events concerning seafood and coastal pollution have generated concern that an otherwise healthy food— fish and shellfish—has become dangerous. We assess consumer knowledge about seafood safety and coastal pollution using several methods, including tests of cultural consensus. We find that consumers view seafood as far more threatened by pollution than scientific analysis suggests, due in part to their perceptions about the dynamics of the marine environment. Finding variation in perceptions within our population based on income and other factors, we explore the use of the cultural consensus approach in large and heterogeneous populations.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 85 (1995), S. 2515-2520 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: Regionalization ; critical loads ; forest ; uncertainty ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The steady-state model PROFILE was used to perform Monte Carlo simulations of critical loads of acidity and exceedances of forest soils for 128 sites in the province of Scania, southern Sweden. Statistical tests showed that 100 sites had normal distributed critical loads and exceedances and that the variance of these parameters was statistically equal for all sites. Pooled estimates of the standard deviation was 0.19 and 0.31 kmolc ha−1 yr−1 for the critical loads and exceedances, respectively. Introduction of uncertainties, expressed as confidence intervals, in the cumulative distribution function for critical loads showed that overlaps between percentiles were substantial. The 5%-ile was systematically equal to the 57%-ile using a 67% confidence interval and equal to the 87%-ile when a 95% confidence level was chosen. The overlaps of percentiles cause a reduction of acidic deposition according to the mean value of the 5%-ile to protect only 68% of the ecosystem area with an 84% probability and not a guaranteed protection of 95% as if uncertainties did not exist. Thus, uncertainties make it possible to advocate reductions to levels of deposition below the 5%-tile of critical loads.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 85 (1995), S. 2655-2660 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: materials ; buildings ; stone ; metal ; pollution ; decay ; acid deposition
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In 1986, the National Materials Exposure Programme was set up within the United Kingdom to investigate the effects of acid deposition on buildings and building materials. Thirty sites were chosen, which represented a range of geographical and pollution climates. Each site met a minimum meteorological and pollution monitoring regime (including SO2, NO2). After four years, other sites were included (with less frequent data collection) and some sites removed. At each site, samples of 3 types of stone, mild steel, painted steel, Cu, Al and galvanised steel were exposed, with some of the stone sheltered from direct precipitation. Samples were removed periodically for analysis and dose-response relations derived for different materials. The empirical relationships derived are in the form of: decay rate=a [SO+] + b [H2] + c [rainfall] + d These dose response relations have been used to develop critical load maps for materials for the United Kingdom. Eight years of data have been collected, some for the UNECE task force programme. Laboratory tests using an Atmospheric Flow Chamber were also undertaken. Since the beginning of the programme addition materials have been exposed on some sites including mortars. A further set of eight sites has been used to assess the effects of ozone on a range of organic materials (for example polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, sealants). The paper presents up-to-date findings for the programme and confirms the dominance of dry deposition of sulphur dioxide as the main decay process for sensitive materials in areas of significant pollution.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 96 (1997), S. 1-16 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: heavy metals ; pollution ; sandy soils ; zinc smelter
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Sandy soils, in the border area of Belgium and the Netherlands (the Kempen region), are heavily contaminated by atmospheric deposition of cadmium and zinc from nearby smelters. Groundwater contamination by leaching from these low retention soils is subject of study. There are reports of high cadmium and zinc concentrations in groundwater in the area, but in most cases the direct sources are unknown. In an attempt to predict present or future risk of groundwater contamination by soil leaching, metal binding processes (retardation) were studied that are specific for these soil types under the existing acidifying conditions. From four fields nine contaminated profiles were sampled and analyzed for cadmium and zinc. Average concentrations of 131 μg g-1 zinc and 1.6 μg g-1 cadmium with maximum values of 2989 μg g-1 respectively 16.3 μg g-1 were found. In addition pH and contents of organic matter, aluminium, iron, and manganese were determined. The relative importance of these soil parameters for metal retardation is derived from the profiles. The data show that organic matter is the most important soil component for binding cadmium and zinc. Adsorption of cadmium and zinc on aluminium, iron and manganese (hydr) oxides appears to be of minor importance at low pH (〈5.5).
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    Water, air & soil pollution 96 (1997), S. 1-16 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: heavy metals ; pollution ; sandy soils ; zinc smelter
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Sandy soils, in the border area of Belgium and the Netherlands (the Kempen region), are heavily contaminated by atmospheric deposition of cadmium and zinc from nearby smelters. Groundwater contamination by leaching from these low retention soils is subject of study. There are reports of high cadmium and zinc concentrations in groundwater in the area, but in most cases the direct sources are unknown. In an attempt to predict present or future risk of groundwater contamination by soil leaching, metal binding processes (retardation) were studied that are specific for these soil types under the existing acidifying conditions. From four fields nine contaminated profiles were sampled and analyzed for cadmium and zinc. Average concentrations of 131μg g−1 zinc and 1.6μg g−1 cadmium with maximum values of 2989μg g−1 respectively 16.3μg g−1 were found. In addition pH and contents of organic matter, aluminium, iron, and manganese were determined. The relative importance of these soil parameters for metal retardation is derived from the profiles. The data show that organic matter is the most important soil component for binding cadmium and zinc. Adsorption of cadmium and zinc on aluminium, iron and manganese (hydr) oxides appears to be of minor importance at low pH (〈5.5).
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    Water, air & soil pollution 91 (1996), S. 375-382 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: airborne lead determination ; pollution ; Taipei
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract To examine the spatial variation of airborne lead in Taipei, a field study was conducted during the summer and fall of 1991. Samples were collected 2–4 times daily at several sites for the determination of airborne lead. Results indicate that the average of air lead concentration of Taipei city is 0.70±0.39 μg/m3 and eighty-eight percent of particles are smaller than 10 pm. From high to low polluted area, the fine particle concentrations are 0.83, 0.51, 0.29 μg/m3 The lead concentration of particulates 〈 10 μm on 2nd, 7th, and 14th floors of a building are 0.75, 0.60, 0.55 μg/m3, and appears to be little difference among vertical dispersions. The air lead concentrations (da 〈 10 μm) on roadside, side walk and covered walk way from the vehicle emission source of a main road are 0.83, 0.78, 0.87 μg/m3 the highest is on the covered walk way. For lead concentrations (da 〈 10 μm) on the main street, side street and alley of an area are 0.34, 0.37, 0.35 μg/m3 the result indicates lead concentrations on these pathways are not significantly different.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 98 (1997), S. 389-399 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: fertilizer ; nitrogen ; pollution ; runoff ; stable isotopes ; sugarcane
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In many forested wetlands of Louisiana, surface water quality is being deteriorated by nutrient input from adjacent agricultural production areas. This field study assesses the input of fertilizer N, applied to sugarcane fields, to forested wetlands. The potential use of natural abundance variations in 15N14N ratios for identification and tracing surface water N sources (NH 4 + - and NO3 --N) was evaluated. Runoff and surface water samples were collected from sugarcane fields and bordering forested wetlands (6 stations) over a 16 month period and analyzed for NH 4 + -N, NO 3 - -N, and associated NH 4 + -δ15N and NO 3 - -δ15N ratios. Fertilizer N draining into adjacent forested wetland was estimated to be only a small fraction of the amount applied. Concentrations of NH 4 + - and NO 3 - -N in the collected water samples were low and ranged from 0.02 to 1.79 mg L-1. Isotopic analysis revealed NH 4 + -δ15N and NO 3 - -δ15N means were distinctive and may have the potential to be used as tracers of N contamination. The mean NH 4 + -δ15N value was +18.6 ± 7.1‰ and the NO 3 - -δ15N mean was +8.3 ± 3.1‰. Anomalously high NO 3 - -δ15N values (〉30‰) were attributed to denitrification.
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  • 81
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: soil ; pollution ; heavy metals ; smelters ; factor analysis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A combined statistical and computergraphic approach is proposed for apportionment and attribution of soil contaminants in complex areas. The field test site lies north of Swansea, south Wales and contains two major pollutant sources, an active nickel refiner and (4 km away) the site of major base metal smelting in the nineteenth century (the Lower Swansea Valley reclamation study area). Soil samples (70 samples, 0–15 cm) were collected on a regular grid of 1000 m interval. They were extracted using 0.05 M diammonium EDTA and the extracts analysed for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Soil pH and %organic content were also determined. Factor analysis yielded three groups which explained 73.8% of the data variance (1: Cd, Cu, %OM, Pb, Zn, Ni; 2: Cd, Zn, Mn, pH; 3: Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Fe). Isoline plots were classifiable into the same three groups. It was concluded that factor 3 contained those elements associated with smelter emissions, factor 1 with contamination from the Lower Swansea Valley and in factor 2 pedogenetic processes control the occurrence of the elements.
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  • 82
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: elemental composition ; fine sediments ; Tagus ; Atlantic shelf ; sediment transport ; pollution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The Tagus estuary, located at the western Iberian coast in front of Lisbon is the largest one in Portugal, where it drains highly populated and industrialised regions. The amount of sediment transported by this river is so great that the submarine delta is one of the largest in the Iberian margin, very well defined and reaching the 70m isobath. The geochemical pattern of the muddy deposit off the Tagus river has been determined by elemental analyses of bulk surficial sediments, collected at the Portuguese margin adjacent to the Tagus estuary. Measurements were carried out by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). Sediments were usually composed of fine particles (silts and clays) and were high in organic matter (measured as loss on ignition). Elemental concentrations for Zn and Ph clearly indicate an estuarine contamination probably associated with discharges from urban centers or due to the influence of the industries located downstream. apparently the depletion on the Cu contents is caused by its release (soluble complexes) into the marine environment. Variations observed in the elemental distribution of the sediments of the Tagus with distance from the estuary seem to be dependent on the grain size distribution related to the dynamics of the sediment transport.
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    Environmental geochemistry and health 18 (1996), S. 123-128 
    ISSN: 1573-2983
    Keywords: Lead ; soil ; pollution ; environmental contamination ; atomic absorption spectrometry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Several problems of acute lead poisoning in children have been identified over the past three years in Trinidad. In all cases investigated so far, continual exposure to lead from battery recycling or from lead-smelter wastes have been found responsible. In East Trinidad, illicit dumping of lead wastes from such sources has resulted in several sites becoming heavily contaminated. Some of these sites are in environmentally sensitive areas, including rivers and wetlands, and require urgent remedial action. Results of monitoring studies at several of these sites show lead levels as high as 75% by weight. The potential for surface and ground water contamination exists, as evidenced by leaching of lead into surrounding areas.
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    Environmental modeling and assessment 5 (2000), S. 229-236 
    ISSN: 1573-2967
    Keywords: solute transport ; temporal moments ; nutrients ; nitrate ; chloride ; phosphate ; pollution ; advective-dispersion equation ; mobile-immobile water ; preferential flow ; numerical methods
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Temporal moments analysis of solute breakthrough curves is used to investigate the preferential leaching of chloride, nitrate and phosphate through an Australian soil. Recent studies have shown that current models and methods do not adequately describe the leaching of nutrients through soil, often underestimating the risk of groundwater contamination by surface-applied chemicals, and overestimating the concentration of resident solutes. This inaccuracy results primarily from ignoring soil structure and non-equilibrium between soil constituents, water and solutes. Therefore simple models are required to accurately characterise solute transport in natural and agricultural soils under non-equilibrium conditions. A multiple sample percolation system, consisting of 25 individual collection wells was constructed to study the effects of localised soil heterogeneities on the transport of nutrients (NO3 −, Cl−, PO4 3 −) in the vadose zone of an agricultural soil predominantly dominated by clay. Using data collected from the multiple sample percolation experiments, this paper compares and contrasts the performance of temporal moments analysis with two mathematical models for predicting solute transport, the advective-dispersion model with a reaction term (ADR) and a two-region preferential flow model (TRM) suitable for modelling preferential transport. The values for solute transport parameters predicted by temporal moments analysis were in excellent agreement with experimental data and results from ADR and TRM. It is concluded that temporal moments analysis when applied with other physical models such as the ADR and TRM, provide an excellent means of obtaining values for important solute transport parameters and gaining insight of preferential flow. These results have significant ramifications for modelling solute transport and predicting nutrient loadings.
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    Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics 8 (1995), S. 145-156 
    ISSN: 1573-322X
    Keywords: free market ; coercion ; the common good ; pollution ; oversupply ; global warming
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Philosophy
    Notes: Abstract Environmental Ethics is the ethics of how we humans are to relate to each other about the environment we live in. The best way to adjust inevitable differences among us in this respect is by private property. Each person takes the best care of what he owns, and ownership entails the free market, which enables people to make mutually advantageous trades with those who might use it even better. Public regulation, by contrast, becomes management in the interests of the regulators, or of special interests, such as lovers of rare species-not the people they're supposed to be serving.
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    Water, air & soil pollution 92 (1996), S. 329-342 
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: lead ; pollution ; Ontario ; Quebec ; lakes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The isotopic composition of lead pollution in the environment provides information as to the source of emission. The 206Pb/207Pb ratio for Canadian industrial emissions (1.153±0.005) is significantly less than U.S. industrial emissions (1.213±0.008) making it possible to determine the relative contributions of emissions from both countries within Eastern North America by means of a simple isotopic mixing model. Profundal sediments in lakes chronicle contaminant inputs and are therefore useful monitors of environmental pollution. Surface sediment from 32 sediment cores across Quebec and Ontario, Canada were analyzed for 206Pb/207Pb to ascertain the relative proportions of Pb emission from Canada and the U.S.A. Data show that U.S. contributions to the total lead burden in surficial sediments across much of southern Quebec and Ontario are often in excess of 50%. Local sources were particularly important in the Eastern Township region of Quebec which lies 200 km south east of the city of Montreal. The results are discussed in relation to the major sources of industrial lead emissions in North America.
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  • 87
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: Cystoseira myrica ; Red Sea ; coral reefs ; nitrogen ; phosphorus ; pollution ; eutrophication
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Elevated phosphate concentrations at Safaga and Quseir, Red Sea, Egyptian coast, wererelated to some ecological and nutritional aspects of the macro-alga Cystoseira myrica during1985. The results obtained were compared with those recorded for a non-polluted control site atGhardaqa. Chemical analysis of surface seawater samples revealed that the concentrations of dissolvedphosphate at Safaga and Quseir were 3 and 20 times as much as that at Ghardaqa, respectively.The standing crop of C. myrica showed two peaks in spring and autumn. Maximum biomass yield(491 g m-2) and number of individuals (127 m-2) of C. myrica were recorded in the spring at theGhardaqa site. Quseir C. myrica samples contained significantly higher protein-N, total-N andtotal-P values but lower carbohydrate values than the Safaga and Ghardaqa samples (LSD at 1%level). Tissue N:P molar ratios for C. myrica, Laurencia papillosa and Ulva lactuca collected fromGhardaqa ranged from 68-98, compared to 30-59 for the same species collected at thephosphorus polluted sites at Safaga and Quseir. The carbon levels and the C:N ratios of C. myricaexhibited no significant variations in the three studied sites. However, the C:P ratios of Ghardaqaplants were significantly higher than those of Safaga and Quseir.
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  • 88
    ISSN: 1573-2932
    Keywords: pesticide ; PAH ; PCB ; pollution ; principal components analysis ; toxic
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract A fugacity-based model to explain the partitioning of contaminants in the environment is evaluated. Using emission inventories, air and water concentrations predicted by the model for the southwestern Québec region generally agree with field data for phenanthrene, α-HCH, lindane, and DDT. For pyrene, air concentrations are in agreement but water concentrations were in error by a factor of nearly 20. There is also a possibility for using the model to predict emissions from known air and water concentrations. The model was run over 120 times each for phenanthrene, HCB, and lindane while randomly varying the input parameters each time. A Principal Components Analysis and a partial correlation analysis indicate that certain input parameters are more important for some compounds than for others and that log Kow is the physical-chemical property of greatest importance.
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  • 89
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: risk assessment ; chlorinated compound ; environmental ; marine ; exposure ; aquatic toxicity ; monitoring ; chloroform
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This risk assessment on chloroform was carried out specifically for the marine environment, according to the methodology laid down in the EU risk assessment Regulation (1488/94) and the Guidance Document of the EU New and Existing Substances Regulation (TGD, 1997). The study consists of the collection and evaluation of data on effects and environmental concentrations from analytical monitoring programs in large rivers and estuaries in the North Sea area. The risk is indicated by the ratio of the "predicted environmental concentrations" (PEC) and the "predicted no effect concentrations" (PNEC) for the marine aquatic environment. In total, 23 studies for fish, 17 studies for invertebrates and 10 studies for algae have been evaluated. Both acute and chronic toxicity studies have been taken into account and the appropriate assessment factors have been used to define a typical PNEC value of 72 µg/l. Due to limitations of the studies evaluated, a worst PNEC of 1 µg/l could also be used. Most of the available monitoring data apply to rivers and estuaries and were used to calculate PECs. The most recent data (1991-1995) support a typical PEC of 0.2 µg chloroform per litre of water and a worst case PEC of 5 to 11.5 µg chloroform per litre of water. The calculated PEC/PNEC ratios give a safety margin of 6 to 360 between the predicted no effect concentration and the exposure concentrations. A worst case ratio, however, points to a potential risk for sensitive species. Refinement of the assessment is necessary by looking for more data. Additional evaluation of environmental fate and bioaccumulation characteristics showed that no concern is expected for food chain accumulation.
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  • 90
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: risk assessment ; chlorinated compound ; environmental ; marine ; exposure ; aquatic toxicity ; monitoring ; tetrachloroethylene
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract This risk assessment on tetrachloroethylene (PER) was carried out specifically for the marine environment, according to the methodology laid down in the EU risk assessment Regulation (1488/94) and the Guidance Document of the EU New and Existing Substances Regulation (TGD, 1997). The study consists of the collection and evaluation of data on effects and environmental concentrations from analytical monitoring programs in large rivers and estuaries in the North Sea area. The risk is indicated by the ratio of the "predicted environmental concentrations" (PEC) and the "predicted no effect concentrations" (PNEC) for the marine aquatic environment. In total, 18 studies for fish, 13 studies for invertebrates and 8 studies for algae have been evaluated. Both acute and chronic toxicity studies have been taken into account and the appropriate assessment factors have been used to define a PNEC value of 51 µg/l. Most of the available monitoring data apply to rivers and estuary waters and were used to calculate PECs. The most recent data (1991-1995) support a typical PEC of 0.2 µg PER/l water and a worst case PEC of 2.5 µg PER/l water. The calculated PEC/PNEC ratios give a safety margin of 20 to 250 between the predicted no effect concentration and the exposure concentration. Additional evaluation of environmental fate and bioaccumulation characteristics showed that no concern is expected for food chain accumulation.
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  • 91
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: atmospheric transport models ; persistent organicpollutants ; pesticides ; plant protection products ; risk assessment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In the evaluation of potentially adverse effects oforganic chemicals such as pesticides on theenvironment the atmosphere may play an important role.After its release to the atmosphere the chemical willbe transported/dispersed in the atmosphere and finallyit will be removed either by atmospheric-chemicaldestruction or by deposition to the underlying soil orsurface water. In a risk assessment decision supportsystem both ambient concentrations and depositionfluxes must be known to evaluate the risk of directexposure (inhalation) or the risk of soil and watercontamination caused by deposition. This paperdiscusses the use of atmospheric dispersion models insuch risk assessment decision support systems.
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  • 92
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: modeling ; New York City ; risk assessment ; watershed monitoring
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The International Life SciencesInstitute (ILSI) Risk Science Institute (RSI) convenedan expert panel of scientists to developrecommendations for a comprehensive monitoring programfor the Croton and Catskill/Delaware watersheds, whichprovide drinking water to New York City's residents. This effort was conducted as part of efforts topreserve and enhance the quality of New York City'sreservoir system through a watershed protectionprogram. The panel developed recommendations for astrategic framework on which to construct a monitoringprogram. As part of this activity, the paneldetermined whether existing monitoring activities weredeficient and, where activities were deficient, thepanel developed recommendations for additionalinformation that should be collected.The panel recommended the development and use of anintegrated approach to watershed monitoring, whichdraws on modeling, risk-based planning and analysis,statistical sampling and design, and basic compliancemonitoring. The approach should be designed toprovide an assessment of natural and anthropogenicsources of stress to the system as well as anassessment of water quality trends in response tostresses acting in concert, both over the long termand over the five-year New York City Memorandum ofAgreement (MOA) assessment time frame. It should alsoprovide an assessment of the human health andenvironmental risks posed by a variety of stressors,and the impact of management actions implemented toameliorate stressors.
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  • 93
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    Environmental monitoring and assessment 63 (2000), S. 381-387 
    ISSN: 1573-2959
    Keywords: Candida sp ; effluents ; Endomycopsis sp ; hydrocarbon ; petroleum ; pollution ; ultisol ; yeast-isolates
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The population counts of hydrocarbon-utilising yeasts weremonitored at six sampling stations in the Benin City municipalarea over a four-week period. Although the population countswere relatively constant in each locality, the highest countsoccurred in areas heavily polluted by domestic and industrialeffluents. A total of thirty-five hydrocarbon-degrading yeastswere isolated from soil at the sampling stations usingn-hexadecane as sole carbon source. The isolates were identifiedas belonging to the genera Candida (27 strains), Endomycopsis (4 strains). All the organisms grew on long-chainn-alkane, kerosene, diesel oil and crude oil but failed to growon short-chain n-alkane, aromatic and alicyclic hydrocarbons.Measurement of growth attributes of the isolates usingn-hexadecane, diesel oil and crude oil as substrates showed thatthe Candida species were better utilizers of hydrocarbonsubstrates relative to Endomycopsis and Schizosaccharomyces species.
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  • 94
    ISSN: 1573-2975
    Keywords: Biomonitoring ; bioindicator ; India ; macrobenthos ; mercury and organomercury ; pollution ; trace metal
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Sociology
    Notes: Abstract Organisms sensitive to ambient environment are used as bioindicators in monitoring pollution. The present investigation is designed to measure the extent of mercury and organomercury levels in selective biota of different trophic levels inhabiting in the coastal environment of Sunderban Biosphere Reserve, eastern part of India. The primary objective of this work is to provide baseline data for future environmental quality programme and to ascertain the suitability of these organisms to be used as bioindicator species of pollution. The seagrass (Porterasia coarctata), macrobenthos (polychaetes, gastropods and bivalve molluscs) and pelagic finfishes were collected from sites of different physiochemical characteristics. Concentration of total mercury was determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique (CVAAS) using a Perkin-Elmer 2380 AAS equipped with MHS 10. Both mercury and organomercury levels showed considerable interspecific and regional variations which reflected the feeding strategy of these animals and also the location of stations. The bivalve molluscs showed a high degree of organ-specificity in accumulation which might be attributed to the ion exchange activity of mucous membrane covering gill and mantle. Mercury levels in various compartments did not reveal any regular temporal variations but showed a slight increase in the late monsoon months indicating the apparent influence of river run-off and reduction in salinity in the ambient medium. A continuous monitoring programme is recommended in order to clarify the present trend and to establish the studied organisms as indicator species.
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  • 95
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    Environmental geochemistry and health 19 (1997), S. 133-142 
    ISSN: 1573-2983
    Keywords: arsenic ; cancer ; epidemiology ; risk assessment ; drinking water
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Skin cancers associated with ingesting of arsenic have been documented since the 19th century. A study in the southwestern coastal area of Taiwan where people drank well water containing arsenic is generally recognised as providing the best data available for quantifying the risk, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used these data to conduct a risk assessment of arsenic ingestion. However, the lowest exposure category in the Taiwan study included arsenic levels up to 290 µg L−1, which is nearly six times higher than the current EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL), 50 µg L−1. Therefore, the EPA risk assessment model extrapolated data on high-level exposures to generate risk estimates for low-level exposures. To evaluate the validity of this model, we conducted a quantitative review of epidemiological studies observing arsenic exposures below 290 µg L−1. A ratio of the likelihood of the EPA model being inappropriate to that of it being appropriate was calculated for each study population as a measurement of the validity of the EPA model. Although existing human data on low-level exposures are limited, the review suggested that the EPA model is unlikely to be able to predict the risk of skin cancer accurately when the arsenic exposure level is between 170 and 270 µg L−1.
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  • 96
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    Environmental geochemistry and health 22 (2000), S. 1-18 
    ISSN: 1573-2983
    Keywords: cadmium ; fluoride ; Hunchun basin ; pollution ; water quality ; water resource
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Chemical properties and pollution of water resources were studied in the Hunchun basin, which is located in northeast China and borders directly North Korea and Russia along the Tumen river. Water quality was characterised according to its major constituents and geological features. Ground waters could generally be grouped into (Ca+Mg)-HCO3 type and (Ca+Mg)-(SO3+Cl) type in first and the second terrace areas, respectively. The mixing of these two types depends on the local conditions, such as pumping or permeability variations. Hunchun city is a pollution source for local water resources due to its uncontrolled sewage and urban discharge. In a previous study of the southwestern part of the Hunchun basin, groundwater contamination by Fe, Mn and NO3-N was reported. In addition, this study identified Cd and F as prevailing contaminants in the water resources. Pollution of water resources by these contaminants appeared to be affected by the application of fertilisers, irrigation practice, variation of aquifer characteristics, solubility of mineral phases, and discharge of domestic sewage. Wide distribution and high levels of Cd and F in surface- and ground waters could pose significant problems if they are utilised as major water supply sources.
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  • 97
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    Environmental geochemistry and health 22 (2000), S. 131-153 
    ISSN: 1573-2983
    Keywords: heavy metals ; pollution ; sediment ; trace metals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In tropical areas, the relations between soil, rivers, and lakes are poorly understood as regard to the physicochemical transformation that occurs when solid materials are transferred among them. In order to ascertain the natural dynamics of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, and Co, as well as the perturbations by human activity, soils and sediments from a tropical catchment were studied. To accomplish the above mentioned objective, the Valencia Lake catchment was subdivided into three systems, i.e. soils, rivers and lakes. Original data and those previously published by Mogolló;n and Bifano (1994), and Mogolló;n et al. (1995, 1996) were used to establish the numerical relation between the average concentration in the three systems. The percentage labile fraction and metal distribution in different particle size fractions were studied in selected samples. A total of 410 samples was analysed. Lithology and topography are the main factors that differentiate the physicochemical characteristics of soils and sediments. Processes coupled with solid material transport from the upland to lowland area cause the increase of the HNO3 (1 M) extractable metal concentration, and of the percentage labile fraction, metal redistribution towards fine particle fraction. In spite of the tropical climate, the pedogenesis of exposed sediments and the transport along the river courses, have very low influence. Most of the transformations seem to occur during the soils – river transfer of materials. The carbonate precipitation in the lake causes further increase of metal concentration and the percentage labile fraction. The pollutant input increases metal concentration, the percentage labile fraction and the trend of accumulation toward fine particles.
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  • 98
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    The environmentalist 20 (2000), S. 63-67 
    ISSN: 1573-2991
    Keywords: lead ; pollution ; deposits ; plants ; Karachi
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract Lead concentrations were determined for particulates which were deposited during one year on the leaves of roadside plants in Karachi. The particulates were collected from the leaves at a height of one metre. The lead accumulated by the leaves of different species was also measured. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of passing petrol driven vehicles and the lead concentration in the deposits at different designated sites. However, no significant correlation was found between the concentration in the deposits and the lead accumulated by the leaves. A lead concentration of 30.00±6.6 ppm was recorded as the highest concentration in the particulate deposits, while maximum lead accumulated by the leaves was noted as 3.12±1.09 ppm.
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  • 99
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    Environmental and ecological statistics 3 (1996), S. 189-206 
    ISSN: 1573-3009
    Keywords: Carcinogenesis models ; formaldehyde ; risk assessment ; rodent ; serial sacrifice experiments ; squamous cell carcinoma ; squamous metaplasia
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract The model of Dewanji and Kalbfleisch for the estimation of time to tumour onset from a serial-sacrifice experiment is extended to include a marker state prior to the onset of the tumour. There are two versions of the model, one where a tumour is allowed to develop without the onset of marker, the other where a tumour develops after the marker but in which the marker later becomes unobservable.
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  • 100
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    Environmental and ecological statistics 7 (2000), S. 77-91 
    ISSN: 1573-3009
    Keywords: acid deposition ; Bayesian inference ; Dirichlet distribution ; fish response ; Gibbs sampler ; lake eutrophication ; PCB ; risk assessment ; salmonid
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract In environmental management, we often have to deal with binary response variables whose outcome dictates the course of action. This paper introduces a nonparametric Bayesian binary regression model with a single predictor variable that is more flexible than the commonly used logistic or probit models. Due to the Bayesian feature, the model can be easily used to combine observed data with our knowledge of the subject to produce site-specific results. By using three examples, this paper shows the potential application of the model in the environmental management, and its advantages in terms of flexibility in model specification, robustness to outliers, and realistic interpretation of data.
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