Superfund Research Articles

Race and Superfund site remediation.

Superfund is a federal program established in 1980 to manage the cleanup of hazardous waste sites across the United States. Given the health and economic costs borne by people living near these sites, any demographic disparities within the Superfund program are issues of environmental justice. We investigate whether racial demographics local to a Superfund site are associated with its cleanup status, and if so, how. Our work addresses gaps in the literature by using detailed geospatial processing, comprehensive data, and a more complete set of racial/ethnic categorizations. We study 1,688 Superfund sites across the country. Under a wide variety of modeling scenarios, we consistently find that the proportion of the nearby population that is Asian is negatively associated with the probability of a Superfund site being cleaned up. This association has remained unidentified until now, possibly because earlier research on Superfund sites did not distinguish Asian populations as a separate group. Our result underscores the need for specific measurement and inclusion of diverse populations in environmental studies.

Falsifying falsification

Abstract Almost a decade after the UKSC’s decision of AIB v Redler, there remains significant academic criticism and judicial scepticism towards the employment of causal inquiries in equity’s remedial response to trustees’ misapplications of trust property. This article seeks to defend AIB, and the causal principles enunciated therein, from those criticisms. It does so by arguing that the interpretative arguments and normative justifications propounded in the literature in favour of falsification orders rest on shaky foundations. Consequently, it takes the view that the remedial principles espoused in AIB should be broadly accepted as representing equity’s general remedial approach to custodial breaches of trust.

Spatial and Temporal Changes in Nutrient Source Contribution in a Lowland Catchment Within the Baltic Sea Region Under Climate Change Scenarios

AbstractCurrently, climate change is considered as an important factor affecting nutrient loads introduced through riverine systems into the Baltic Sea. Although the prospect of a large increase in pollution has long seemed very real, it still does not translate into planning of effective remedial actions. One of the factors limiting the development of such activities is the scale of simulations, focusing generally on catchment outlet profiles. To fill this gap and enable a step forward in understanding responses toward future predictions in a higher resolution scale (subcatchment), we assessed nutrient load contribution using calculation profiles localized along a main watercourse and its tributaries. To track spatial and seasonal changes of total nitrogen and phosphorus for the Wełna River (central Poland), we used climate change data and the SWAT model. Having at our disposal a catchment model with a good performance we could follow not only total load changes in particular subcatchments, but also track localization of the pollution sources and their direct impact on load estimations. Our results showed an increase of the loads, especially from the agricultural land use type, up to 34% for TN and 85% for TP, in the most extreme scenario. Moreover, forest areas have been noted as highly reactive to climate change, and through their localisation are able to distinctly alter nutrient outflow. Finally, the contribution of urban areas should be further investigated since the dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorus release from impervious surfaces is noticeably different here than from the other diffuse sources.

Implementing Quality Improvement Initiatives to Improve the Use of Adolescent- and Youth-Friendly Health Services in Zou, Benin.

In Benin, the unmet need for family planning services is especially high for adolescent girls and youth aged 15-24 years. The Challenge Initiative (TCI) supported the health system to assess and improve the quality of adolescent and youth sexual reproductive health services and enhance contraceptive uptake in 65 service delivery points (SDPs) of the Zou department. Between June 2019 and March 2021, TCI supported the health districts in Zou to train an assessment team to complete 3 cycles of quality assessments (QAs) using a QA checklist adapted to the local context. Based on assessment scores, the SDPs were categorized into poor, moderate, or good to excellent quality. The SDP managers developed remedial action plans after each cycle and for each SDP and followed up with supportive supervision. The first QA cycle showed that 52% of assessed SDPs achieved a good to excellent classification; by the second QA cycle, this reached 74%. However, the quality of adolescent- and youth-friendly health services regressed during the third QA cycle (during COVID-19 pandemic disruptions), when only 40% of SDPs achieved the good to excellent category. Between the first and second QA cycles, contraceptive uptake for adolescents and youth improved in the SDPs that had good or excellent quality of services, compared to the ones that were of lower quality (established significance level of 5% with a P value of .031). Further assessments could deepen our understanding of the internal and external factors that can affect service quality. The findings reinforce the importance of investing in quality improvement strategies to maximize the use of sexual and reproductive health services among adolescents and youth. They also underscore the need for a contextual and nuanced approach to ensure enduring results.

Nearshore fish community changes along the Toronto waterfront in accordance with management and restoration goals: Insights from two decades of monitoring.

Aquatic habitat in the Greater Toronto Area has been subject to anthropogenic stressors. The subsequent aquatic habitat degradation that followed led to the Toronto and Region waterfront being listed as an Area of Concern in 1987. Thus, extensive shoreline and riparian habitat restoration have been implemented as part of the Toronto and Region Remedial Action Plan in conjunction with local stakeholders, ministries, and NGOs in an overall effort to increase fish, bird, and wildlife habitat. A key aspect of current fish habitat restoration efforts, monitored by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is to account for long-term community changes within the target ecosystem to better understand overall changes at a larger spatial scale. Here we use electrofishing data from the past 20 years with over 100,000 records and across 72km of coastline to show how declines and fluctuations in fish biomass and catch along the waterfront are driven by a few individual species across three main ecotypes, such as coastal wetlands, embayments, and open coast sites, with the remaining species showing a high level of stability. Using community traits and composition for resident species we demonstrate native warmwater species have become more dominant along the waterfront in recent years, suggesting that restoration efforts are functioning as intended. Additionally, piscivore and specialist species have increased in their relative biomass contribution, approaching existing restoration targets. Altogether this waterfront-wide evaluation allows us to detect overall changes along the waterfront and can be beneficial to understand community changes at an ecosystem level when implementing and monitoring restoration projects.

Machine learning models in trusted research environments - understanding operational risks.

Trusted research environments (TREs) provide secure access to very sensitive data for research. All TREs operate manual checks on outputs to ensure there is no residual disclosure risk. Machine learning (ML) models require very large amount of data; if this data is personal, the TRE is a well-established data management solution. However, ML models present novel disclosure risks, in both type and scale. As part of a series on ML disclosure risk in TREs, this article is intended to introduce TRE managers to the conceptual problems and work being done to address them. We demonstrate how ML models present a qualitatively different type of disclosure risk, compared to traditional statistical outputs. These arise from both the nature and the scale of ML modelling. We show that there are a large number of unresolved issues, although there is progress in many areas. We show where areas of uncertainty remain, as well as remedial responses available to TREs. At this stage, disclosure checking of ML models is very much a specialist activity. However, TRE managers need a basic awareness of the potential risk in ML models to enable them to make sensible decisions on using TREs for ML model development.

Improving Remedial Measures from Incident Investigations: A Study Across Ghanaian Mines

BackgroundLearning from incidents for accident prevention is a two-stage process, involving the investigation of past accidents to identify the causal factors, followed by the identification and implementation of remedial measures to address the identified causal factors. The focus of past research has been on the identification of causal factors, with limited focus on the identification and implementation of remedial measures. This research begins to contribute to this gap. The motivation for the research is twofold. First, previous analyses show the recurring nature of accidents within the Ghanaian mining industry, and the causal factors also remain the same. This raises questions on the nature and effectiveness of remedial measures identified to address the causes of past accidents. Secondly, without identifying and implementing remedial measures, the full benefits of accident investigations will not be achieved. Hence, this study aims to assess the nature of remedial measures proposed to address investigation causal factors. MethodThe study adopted SMARTER from business studies with the addition of HMW (H – Hierarchical, M – Mapping, and W – Weighting of causal factors) to analyse the recommendations from 500 individual investigation reports across seven different mines in Ghana. ResultsThe individual and the work environment (79%) were mostly the focused during the search for causes, with limited focus on organisational factors (21%). Forty eight percentage of the recommendations were administrative, focussing on fixing the problem in the immediate affected area or department of the victim(s). Most recommendations (70.4%) were support activities that only enhance the effectiveness of control but do not prevent/mitigate the failure directly. Across all the mines, there was no focus on evaluating the performance of remedial measures after their implementation. ConclusionIdentifying sharp-end causes leads to proposing weak recommendations which fail to address latent organisational conditions. The study proposed a guide for effective planning and implementation of remedial actions.

Hippocampal and amygdala volumes vary with residential proximity to toxicants at Birmingham, Alabama's 35th Avenue Superfund site.

Exposure to environmental toxicants have serious implications for the general health and well-being of children, particularly during pivotal neurodevelopmental stages. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program has identified several areas (Superfund sites) across the United States with high levels of environmental toxicants, which affect the health of many residents in nearby communities. Exposure to these environmental toxicants has been linked to changes in the structure and function of the brain. However, limited research has investigated the relationship between the proximity of childhood homes to a Superfund site and the development of subcortical structures like the hippocampus and amygdala. The present study investigated the hippocampal and amygdala volumes of young adults in relation to the proximity of their childhood homes to Birmingham, Alabama's 35th Avenue Superfund site. Forty participants who either lived within or adjacent to the Superfund site (Proximal group; n = 20) or who lived elsewhere in the greater Birmingham metropolitan area (Distal group; n = 20) were included in this study. Both groups were matched on age, sex, race, and years of education. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to compare the gray matter volume of the hippocampus and amygdala between groups. Differences in bilateral hippocampal and left amygdala volumes were observed. Specifically, hippocampal and amygdala volumes were greater in the Proximal than Distal group. These findings suggest that the proximity of children's homes to environmental toxicants may impact the development of the hippocampus and amygdala. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Plagiarism in the Research Reports of Indian Doctoral Students: Causes and a Remedial Action Plan

Many reputable academic journals have retracted research papers from Indian researchers because of plagiarism. The University Grant Commission, a representative organisation of the Indian government, is diligently endeavouring to ensure academic integrity by applying stringent guidelines. The present study aims to find the potential causes of the plagiarism found in the research reports of Indian doctoral students and to formulate a remedial action plan. A literature review was undertaken to identify incidences of plagiarism at educational institutions. Based on the review’s insights, a survey was conducted to investigate doctoral students’ awareness of plagiarism, including causes and remedial action plans. In addition, 21 interviews were conducted with senior academics and professionals from various academic disciplines to gain an understanding of their viewpoints. An analysis was then undertaken of the responses received through the questionnaires and interviews. The results suggested the widespread incidence of plagiarism and shed light on its causes. A remedial action plan emerged from the study, which included 1) establishing a research ethics committee at all academic or research institutions, 2) fostering a correct understanding of plagiarism and its implications by conducting training, workshops and awareness campaigns at an early stage of doctoral students’ lives, 3) ensuring clarity of research purpose among doctoral students and emphasising the quality of research work, 4) developing academic writing skills, and 5) making anti-plagiarism software available free of charge to all students and faculty members. Indian students perceive the University Grant Commission’s stringent guidelines as a good initiative. However, these guidelines cannot be implemented fruitfully without addressing the underlying causes of plagiarism.

A Blockchain-Based Model for the Prevention of Superannuation Fraud: A Study of Australian Super Funds

Superannuation is the fund set aside by employers to provide their employees with a dignified retirement. Studies highlight that issues can arise with retirement funds from employers, such as failure to make required contributions to an employee’s superannuation fund, incorrect payments, or debiting the wrong fund, contrary to legal or contractual obligations. To address these issues, the Australian Government has implemented laws and regulations to ensure employers fulfil their contribution obligations. Despite these safeguards and highly secured information systems, there has been a significant increase in fraudulent activity in the finance sector, and there have been several instances of employers not making contributions, misusing retirement funds, or reporting incorrectly in their systems. The current process restricts employees from viewing recent data until the contributions reach their super fund, which opens the doors for fraud. Recently, blockchain technology has gained popularity because of its ability to improve security and prevent fraud across many sectors, including finance. Prior studies have shed limited light on how superannuation fraud can be prevented. Moreover, there is limited literature on the possibility of utilizing blockchain technology to address this issue. Therefore, this paper aims to review the current superannuation contribution process and identify the factors contributing to non-payment, incorrect payments, misallocation of funds and communication gaps. This study presents a novel process model and develops a blockchain-based application to mitigate fraudulent practices. This research provides valuable insights into the design of innovative process models that utilize blockchain technology to address superannuation challenges. Furthermore, the paper presents a sample simulated smart contract to explore additional implications and advancements in this domain.

Rising Coastal Groundwater as a Result of Sea‐Level Rise Will Influence Contaminated Coastal Sites and Underground Infrastructure

AbstractSea‐level rise (SLR) will cause coastal groundwater to rise in many coastal urban environments. Inundation of contaminated soils by groundwater rise (GWR) will alter the physical, biological, and geochemical conditions that influence the fate and transport of existing contaminants. These transformed products can be more toxic and/or more mobile under future conditions driven by SLR and GWR. We reviewed the vulnerability of contaminated sites to GWR in a US national database and in a case comparison with the San Francisco Bay region to estimate the risk of rising groundwater to human and ecosystem health. The results show that 326 sites in the US Superfund program may be vulnerable to changes in groundwater depth or flow direction as a result of SLR, representing 18.1 million hectares of contaminated land. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we found that GWR is predicted to impact twice as much land area as inundation from SLR, and 5,282 additional state‐managed sites of contamination may be vulnerable to inundation from GWR in a 1.0 m SLR scenario. Increases of only a few centimeters of elevation can mobilize soil contaminants, alter flow directions in a heterogeneous urban environment with underground pipes and utility trenches, and result in new exposure pathways. Pumping for flood protection will elevate the saltwater interface, changing groundwater salinity and mobilizing metals in soil. Socially vulnerable communities are disproportionately exposed to this risk at both the national scale and in a regional comparison with the San Francisco Bay Area.

Evaluation of commercially available methamphetamine presumptive tests for site contamination

Presumptive tests or lateral flow immunoassay testing kits are increasingly being utilised as a fast, portable, cost-effective method to detect an array of analytes, particularly illicit drugs. In Australia, the methamphetamine and decontamination industry regularly use presumptive testing kits to determine whether a property is contaminated. These presumptive test kits advertise a detection limit of 0.5 µg/100 cm2 and above for methamphetamine. The performance of seven methamphetamine presumptive test brands and their kit components were analysed in this study. Following the kit instructions, each kit was analysed using a ceramic tile that was spiked with a known concentration of methamphetamine. These presumptive test kits were highly sensitive, with positive results also found below the limit of detection. Therefore, if there is a negative result it is likely that there is no methamphetamine present. Those that return a positive result require further quantitative assessment. Thus, the presumptive test kits may detect the presence of methamphetamine that is below the Australian Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation Guideline of 0.5 µg/100 cm2. This indicates these tests might be useful as a screening assessment but should not be relied upon to develop a remediation action plan.

Interactions between sediment processes and ecosystem responses in the Green Bay of Lake Michigan

AbstractEstuaries, in particular freshwater estuaries, provide valuable economic, social, and ecological services, but their ecosystems are often heavily stressed. Located in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin, Green Bay is a large freshwater estuary and a prominent example of a degraded ecosystem due to intensive human interventions and rapid development. Excessive amounts of contaminants and nutrients were discharged to the bay by inflowing tributaries for almost half a century, while in contrast Green Bay's seasonal‐, morphological‐, and physically‐restricted mixing is unable to export a significant portion of those materials out of the bay, that is, Green Bay behaves as an efficient retention basin for the Lake Michigan. Consequently, several environmental and public health‐related issues have risen in Green Bay and turned the lower bay into an area of environmental concern since the 1980s. To address these challenges, restoration programs were developed, including the development of monitoring programs, scientific research, and remedial action plans. There is a consensus that accelerated loading rates of contaminated and nutrient‐rich sediments are a major driver of the environmental crisis in the bay, yet the fate and transport patterns of Green Bay sediments are not clearly understood. While field observations in Green Bay are season‐limited and costly, advanced computing techniques provided opportunities to refine our understanding of sediment dynamics in this estuarine system. This review of existing knowledge on Green Bay sediment processes can help to better understand the interplay between sediments, and physical/biogeochemical activities in estuarine systems and contributes conceptually to the restoration of degraded aquatic ecosystems.This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Hydrological Processes Science of Water > Water Quality Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems

Earth System at Risk: Challenging Environmental (In)Justice

Earth System at Risk: Challenging Environmental (In)Justice

A quantitative risk assessment approach for developing contingency plans at a geologic carbon storage site

AbstractGeologic carbon storage (GCS) is an increasingly important technology for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere. The leakage risks associated with GCS are an environmental and human health concern, however, and site operators must develop contingency plans that thoroughly consider leakage risks and identify potential mitigation strategies. Here, we use a GCS system model (the National Risk Assessment Partnership's Open‐Source Integrated Assessment Model, NRAP‐Open‐IAM) to evaluate different contingency plans for a hypothetical GCS site. In the scenario considered, an unplugged legacy well is discovered near the site after 5 years of CO2 injection. Our simulations show that the planned operation has a relatively high chance of causing brine leakage through the legacy well and into the two overlying aquifers, the shallower of which has potable water—an unacceptable outcome. To reduce this risk, we consider five remedial response scenarios that manipulate reservoir pressures through brine extraction, injection rate reduction, and early injection stopping. NRAP‐Open‐IAM is used to quantify the degree to which each scenario reduces the probability of brine leakage at the site amidst reservoir uncertainty. Evaluation of the different scenarios suggests that reduction of injection rates effectively reduces leakage risks while maintaining a substantial fraction of the initially intended cumulative CO2 storage. In the event of an emergency, the reservoir pressure management strategies considered here can provide operators more time while they pursue a more permanent solution. The analyses demonstrated here fit into a larger workflow we propose for evaluating the contingency plans of GCS sites. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social housing temperature conditions and tenant priorities

AbstractThe social housing sector provides housing to some of society's most vulnerable people, disproportionately housing people with disabilities and chronic health conditions, the aged and people unable to work. These groups are often more susceptible to health impacts from poor temperature conditions within their home. In this paper, we examine temperature conditions in Australian social housing, explore tenant experiences and reflect on possible remediation responses. Using a novel contact‐free delivery protocol for data collection, temperature was measured in 36 social housing dwellings over a 3‐month springtime period. Semistructured interviews were conducted with occupants to better understand their experience of (adverse) indoor temperature conditions. On average, participants spent 35 per cent of time across the study period in temperatures outside the WHO guidelines (18–24°C). Most participants perceived their homes to be cold or very cold during periods of cold weather, and many considered energy unaffordable. Building conditions, such as poor sealing around windows and doors, lack of insulation and inadequacy of space heating appliances, were of greatest concern to participants. Participants' preferences for remediation work suggest that considerable benefit could be gained from making homes more energy efficient through draft sealing and insulation.

Jakość kształcenia językowego w szkolnictwie wyższym

"The aim of the article is to present the issue of quality of language teaching and learning in HE and in this regard of the duty of the HE authorities, policy makers and entities responsible for policy implementation. External standards, local procedures and practies of quality assurance and enhancement, top-down and bottom-up approaches, constitute elements of the institutional quality culture, which by way of engaging all stakeholders in participatory processes result in an ongoing and durable quality assurance and enhancement of provision. Thus the learners may acquire competences required and sought after on the globalised labour market, and the HEIs may continue to internationalise. Quality of teaching and learning requires systematic and reflective approaches based on a chosen quality assurance model whereby an introductory phase of planning focussed on the identification of aims and ensuring adequate resources and processes, is followed by the implementation phase, which effects are subject to evaluation, to be concluded by a remedial action plan, should the gathered evidence demonstrated such a need."

A Room Full of ‘Views’: Introducing a New Dataset to Explore Compliance with the Decisions of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies’ Individual Complaints Procedures

Quantitative research into the effectiveness of the UN human rights treaty bodies (UNTBs) in eliciting remedial responses from states is impeded by a lack of usable data on how states respond to their decisions. The new Treaty Body Views Dataset (TBVD) aims to fill this gap. It comprises details on all published decisions in individual complaints cases issued by the UNTBs between 1979 and 2019 and matches these with information on their state of compliance. The TBVD can be used for research on the activities of the treaty bodies, the nature of the decisions themselves, or state behavior following a decision. An empirical application illustrates how the TBVD can advance knowledge about the factors that correlate with compliance with adverse UNTB decisions. Results show that the likelihood of implementation hinges critically on decision-level characteristics, and reveal differences and similarities between compliance with UNTB decisions and regional human rights court judgments.

Childhood Adversity, Cognition, and Response to Cognitive Remediation in Major Depressive Disorder.

Cognitive impairment is experienced by many individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and is significantly related to sustained disability. Recent work has begun to explore the relationship between childhood adversity (CA) and cognitive impairment in MDD, but this work is limited by unreliable measures of CA. Furthermore, no previous research has examined whether CA relates to cognitive remediation response. The current study clarifies how CA and clinical characteristics of illness explain cognitive variance. In addition, we investigate whether CA is associated with response to cognitive remediation. Thirty-nine individuals who completed cognitive remediation were rerecruited to complete a retrospective interview on CA. Results showed that CA, repeated depressive episodes, and earlier age at diagnosis were associated with poorer cognition. We did not observe a difference in treatment response based on CA. Findings suggest that CA is an important variable to consider when examining the expression of depressive illness and areas for intervention.

Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Variation of Noise Level at Intersections of a Mid-Sized City in India

This study aims to determine spatial and temporal noise variation and acoustical climate at intersections. Data monitoring comprises measurement of peak and off-peak hour variations at 19 intersections between February 2020 to September 2021 in Kanpur, India. Kanpur was proposed as a smart city in 2015 under National Smart Cities Mission. This work has been part of a National Level Project "IMPRINT" to document ambient noise levels for a Tier 2 city with highly heterogeneous traffic. Noise variations are primarily influenced by traffic flow, geometric characteristics, classified volume, and honking events. Frequent stoppage of vehicles for boarding and alighting of passengers also significantly affect noise levels. The results suggest that spatial variation of noise is larger (more than15 dBA) than temporal variation (less than 5 dBA). Noise risk zones are identified based on noise level alongside intersections. Zones are classified as safe, tolerable, low risk, moderate risk, high risk, and extremely high risk zones. Noise level crosses tolerable limit at most study locations, and some locations fall in high-risk zones. The study has highlighted influence of different parameters on spatial and temporal noise variation at intersections and remedial action plans for traffic noise abatement.