Environmental Risk Reduction Research Articles

PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION CASE STUDY: EGYPTIAN GENERAL PETROLEUM

The main Goal of this study is to show the need for strategic planning for environmental disaster risk reduction in its proper framework, By identify the opinion of the managers towards the effectiveness of a system of strategic planning for environmental disaster risk reduction in order to determine the extent of readiness and preparedness, in the EGPC in dealing with disasters. The researchers depend on the analytical descriptive methodology, through the social survey style, questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of (43) managers, the valid questionnaires are (41) questionnaire. From the results of the study, the reality of strategic planning to reduce the risk of environmental disasters followed based on the need to provide a plan even if this plan not fits in implementation. The study recommended that there are a need to develop organizational structures for the management of environmental disaster risk reduction and the establishment of new departments within the organizational structures of the risks. The study recommended that there are a need to promote a culture of reducing the risk of environmental disasters, including an attempt to prevent disasters if possible, mitigation and preparedness.

Applications of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) in Eco System Based Disaster Risk Reduction - Studies from Kerala State of India

The correlation between ecosystem and disasters are widely documented but inadequately integrated in to disaster risk reduction initiatives and developmental programmes. The present work examines the scope of vetiver system as a natural solution for various environmental risk reduction activities. The Vetiver System (VS), which is based on the application of vetiver grass - a perennial grass of Indian origin (Vetiveria zizanioides L Nash, now reclassified as Chrysopogon zizanioides L Roberty), was first developed by the World Bank for soil and water conservation in the mid 1980s. It is a very simple, practical, inexpensive, low maintenance and incredibly efficient means of natural disaster reduction. The two case works in the study reported here documents the success of VS application in the state of Kerala in India and the implementation strategy for the vetiver system in the fields with the collaboration of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The study also identifies the potential entry points of VS in the ecosystem based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR). Integrating local level disaster risk reduction activities in the national level programmes will ensure the sectoral integration in DRR initiatives. Vetiver system can very effectively be used as a cost effective and efficient Eco DRR technology that can address both long term and short term risk with ecosystem management.

Reduction of Health and Environmental Risks by Substitution of Hazardous Chemical Substances

Reduction of Health and Environmental Risks by Substitution of Hazardous Chemical Substances

Kicking off the Special Interest Group Population Health Management– how can the scaling up of innovative success stories be supported?

Why a special interest group on Population Health Management? Context, aims and objectives. In the past the responsibilities for health care services provision and public health have largely been seen as separate functions of the health system. This was rooted in the evolution trajec-tories of both functions, one dealing with an increasingly effective array of services for the curative treatment of individuals and the other addressing collective responsibilities targeting _classic_ public health functions (e.g. immunization and environmental health risk reduction) and _new_ public health functions (e.g. a focus on health-related behaviour and the social de-terminants of health). Both functions have contributed to increasing life expectancy and im-proving health-related quality of life. Addressing the current and future health system chal-lenges characterized by the burden of chronic diseases and an ageing population; however, requires a better alignment of care provision and public health: the main risk factors of dis-ease and disability in developed countries (such as hypertension, tobacco, alcohol misuse, high body mass index, low physical activity) are amenable to a range of health care and pub-lic health interventions that require a coordinated effort across the health system. Thus, a common element of recent health system innovations is the link between integrated care provision and public health functions, culminating in strategies to improve population health. Population health, defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group” (Kindig D & Stoddard G, American Journal of Public Health 2003), implies a co-responsibility of the health care and public health system to reach the shared aim of health improvement. Examples of such innovations include Kaiser Permanente in the USA, the integrated care pioneers and vanguards in the UK, the Alzira care model in Spain, the experience of Gesundes Kinzigtal in Germany, or the population health approach in Jonkoping Council in Sweden. Common to these models is the shared responsibility for integrated care provision and population health, the use of innovative approaches to management, and improvement strategies supported by health data analytics. The key question is now: can the excellent results of these innovators be translated to other systems and be scaled up to address larger populations? Moreover, which factors need to be considered in this process (such as population health structures and demographic profiles, baseline performance of the existing health service de-livery network, legal, technological and methodological prerequisites for advanced data analytics, etc.)? In order to address these questions, a Special Interest Group (SIG) Population Health Man-agement will be initiated under the auspices of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). The _aim_ of the Special Interest Group is *to support the identification and scal-ing up of innovative approaches to improvement population health*. In order to reach this aim, the SIG will pursue the following objectives: - Identify, synthesize and share information on innovative examples that link integrated care provision and public health functions - Appraise their evidence base, develop and recommend robust methods for the evalu-ation of these complex interventions - Identify context factors crucial for their transferability and scalability - Assess, develop and publish tools that can be widely applied for population health im-provement A first step to inaugurate the SIG will be an overview on innovative case studies, which will be discussed at the workshop. Workshop participants will then have the opportunity to split into working groups to identify the questions that underlie the transferability, scalability and practi-cal implementation of the case studies. The SIG will provide a forum to discuss the current state-of-the-art in population health man-agement, connect interested researchers, managers and policy makers to pursue research and implementation projects and develop discussion and position papers on the topic. The SIG will also aim to set up a special section in which junior researchers can identify and dis-cuss topics for PhD projects and discuss these with senior members of the SIG. Target participants : The target audience consists of researchers, managers and decision-makers engaged in or in interested in improving population health. Other participants of the ICIC2016 with a relevant background and junior researchers are welcome.

Municipal Governance, Environmental Management and Disaster Risk Reduction in Chile

Given the vulnerability of Latin American countries to extreme events of climatic and geophysical origin and the frequency of these events, how do local governments manage environmental and disaster risk reduction? This article contributes to the Latin American literature about environmental management and disaster risk reduction at the local level. Employing a comparative perspective, the article examines and explains the responses of Chilean municipalities and the role of municipal commitments and social capital.

The effect of risk communication on choice behavior, welfare estimates and choice certainty

In stated preference research focusing on the elicitation of willingness to pay for reducing environmental or health risks, it is of crucial importance how risk is communicated to survey respondents. This study applies a split-sample approach to examine the effect of using a risk ladder on choice behavior, welfare estimates and choice certainty in a stated discrete choice experiment. It values the improvement of water quality in Switzerland in terms of the reduction in environmental and public health risks that would result from implementing new wastewater treatment technologies that substantially reduce micropollutant discharges into water bodies. Results show that the risk ladder significantly influences respondents’ choice behavior and welfare estimates, but not choice certainty. We find evidence of preference learning.

Removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater by fungal treatment and reduction of hazard quotients

The elimination of 81 pharmaceuticals (PhACs) by means of a biological treatment based on the fungus Trametes versicolor was evaluated in this work. PhAC removal studied in different types of wastewaters (urban, reverse osmosis concentrate, hospital, and veterinary hospital wastewaters) were reviewed and compared with conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment. In addition, hazard indexes were calculated based on the exposure levels and ecotoxicity for each compound and used for the evaluation of the contaminants removal. PhAC elimination achieved with the fungal treatment (mean value 76%) was similar or slightly worse than the elimination achieved in the CAS treatment (85%). However, the fungal reactor was superior in removing more hazardous compounds (antibiotics and psychiatric drugs) than the conventional activated sludge in terms of environmental risk reduction (93% and 53% of reduction respectively). Fungal treatment can thus be considered as a good alternative to conventional treatment technologies for the elimination of PhACs from wastewaters.

Environmental Hazards, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: J. K. Mitchell’s Relevance to the Global Sustainable Development Agenda

This paper argues how Mitchell’s work on complex disasters and environmental hazards is highly relevant to the global Sustainable Development Agenda and the international organizations involved in its implementation. The paper takes as its starting point two United Nations University projects led by Mitchell in the 1990s and reviews their prescience in terms of current developments in the context of urbanizations, economic development, population growth, and global environmental change. The issue of adaptation to climate change is highlighted as exemplifying the importance of integrated approaches encompassing human and natural systems, as advocated by Mitchell. Challenges to program and policy evaluation are then discussed with regard to adaptation, adopting Mitchell’s approach of understanding local situations while anchoring evaluation in scientific knowledge.

Climate variability, livelihoods and social inequities: The vulnerability of migrant workers in Indian cities

This paper examines the vulnerability context of migrant workers in the informal sector in three Indian cities (Kochi, Surat and Mumbai), specifically in terms of how their livelihoods interface with climate variability, related hazard events and social inequities. It examines the progression of population vulnerability from a political economy perspective. The underlying assumption is that migrant workers’ vulnerability to climate variability in cities is closely embedded within the wider political economy of their day-to-day livelihood struggles. A mixed methodology design was adopted to carry out the study. Data from 50 migrants in each of the three cities were collected using a semi-structured interview schedule. The research demonstrates that urban vulnerability is a condition that shapes and reshapes itself continuously and fiercely, accompanied by the processes and structures of unplanned rapid urbanisation, environmental change and social exclusion. A significant feature of migrant workers’ vulnerability is its multi-dimensionality. This paper suggests that urban planners involved in environmental governance and risk reduction have to critically reflect on certain terminologies and practices in the field of climate change, while addressing these multi-dimensionalities.

Applying genotoxicology tools to identify environmental stressors in support of river management

Although bioassay approaches are useful for identifying chemicals of potential concern, they provide little understanding of the mechanisms of chemical toxicity. Without this understanding, it is difficult to address some of the key challenges that currently face aquatic ecotoxicology. To overcome this, the toxicity potential of the water samples was assessed and surviving organisms (Physa acuta) were used for protein activity measurements and gene expression profiling by making use of complementary DNA amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) analysis. From the data it was evident that the impacts of specific pollutants (e.g. sewage) on organisms at the cellular level could be identified, and that the expressed stressor genes can be used as bioindicators/markers/genetic signatures or fingerprints during identification of point source pollution. From an ecosystem management point of view these insights could assist with the forecasting and reduction of environmental risks on catchment level by implementing suitable management interventions.

New sustainability indices for product design employing environmental impact and risk reduction: case study on gasoline blends

Product life-cycle design is a pathway from concept to research and development, from manufacturing to marketing and distribution. In the current approach to product design two objectives are broadly of stakeholders' and customers' interest: product specification and price. Sustainable product design, however, requires that environmental, energy, and safety issues, among others, be addressed. This paper introduces a new methodology employing three sustainability indices related to environment, energy and safety for a variety of applications including product design. The indices can be used individually or together, and it is possible to add other metrics depending on the nature of products and processes. To test the indices, blends of a typical gasoline as a product design case study were investigated.Gasoline blends are good examples of sustainable product design. Different gasoline blend products were modeled by Aspen HYSYS in order to estimate the octane numbers. New sustainability indices involving metrics such as octane number, mileage loss, potential environmental impacts, and safety risk were then applied on the blends and compared to fuel economy using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology to select the best product. The range of each metric varies from one to another depending on the nature of the metrics, applications, regulations etc.; however, AHP is used for ranking purposes in the range of 0–100%.

Rural Families' Process of Re-Forming Environmental Health Risk Messages.

This study was undertaken to explore how rural low-income families with children process health information following a nurse-delivered intervention designed to reduce environmental risks in their homes. Grounded theory methodology with a constructivist approach was used to conduct the study. Semistructured interviews of 10 primary child caregivers in rural low-income families who had participated in an environmental risk reduction intervention were completed from 2009 to 2011. Data were categorized using comparative analysis, theoretical sampling, and coding techniques. The three phases-(a) visiting my perception, (b) weighing the evidence, and (c) making a new meaning-explained the core process of the grounded theory of Re-Forming the Risk Message. Rural low-income families at risk for environmental hazards in their homes determined what health information and needed subsequent actions regarding their risks were important by changing the meanings of nurse-delivered messages. Nursing interventions designed to improve health behaviors and reduce risks are often based on stage theories that explain how change occurs through steps leading to positive actions through delivery of risk messages. However, the risk message delivered in an intervention designed to engage action is not always the risk message people decide to use. To understand whether people are ready to engage in positive behaviors through interventions, or if needed changes to the information must be made, nurses need to discover and explore reasons for the re-formed risk messages.

Effect of Integrated Climate Change Resilient Cultural Practices on Productivity of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) under Rain-fed Conditions in Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia

Abstract : Alternative sustainable agriculture under the pressing impacts of climate variability on crop production is a primary concern in the Ethiopian development agenda towards sustained food security. Use of integrated crop management through climate resilient cultural practices that target diversity of produce, yield stability, losses due to pests, and reduction in economic and environmental risks is an appropriate strategy for sustainability of agricultural production. Field studies were conducted in Hararghe highlands, specifically at Haramaya during the 2012 and 2013 and at Arbarakate in the 2013 main cropping seasons to assess effects of integrated climate change resilient cultural practices on faba bean productivity. Three on-farm-based climate change resilient cultural practices: intercropping, compost application and furrow planting alone and in integration with the other practices were evaluated using Dagaga and Bulga-70 faba bean varieties and Melkassa-IV maize variety. The results showed that furrow planting with compost application in row intercropping increased soil moisture by up to 3.23% and cooled the soil temperature by up to 1.06 o C compared to sole cropping at Haramaya in 2013. Furrow planting with application of compost led to production of the highest (3.47 t ha -1 in 2012 and 4.25 t ha -1 in 2013) faba bean grain yields at Haramaya. The same treatment at Arbarakate produced the maximum (5.29 t ha -1 ) faba bean grain yield in 2013. This was closely followed by the yield obtained in response to the application of compost at both locations in 2013 and by the yield obtained in response to furrow and sole cropping at Haramaya in 2012. Compost fertilization with or without furrow planting led to the production of consistently heavier grains. The total Land Equivalent Ratio (1.01 to 1.76) indicated a higher grain yield advantages of faba bean-maize intercropping over sole faba bean cropping at both locations over the two years. The overall results demonstrated that integrated climate resilient cultural practices significantly increased productivity of the crop as a result of enhancing contents of soil nutrients, soil moisture, soil organic carbon, and regulating soil and canopy temperatures as well as through buffering the root environment. Keywords : Compost; Furrow planting; Grain yield; Land Equivalent Ratio; Row intercropping; Soil moisture and temperature; Sole cropping

Green chemistry as a tool for reduction of environmental risks from exposure to chemically hazardous facilities

The lack of the quantitative characteristics of planetary boundaries for biosphere’s chemical pollution is a source of increased risk for humanity. This complicates the control of the stability limits of the global system. Note that chemical pollution leads to negative consequences for not only biota but also the health of the human population. It also affects the social health of a society because the state of psychological comfort is replaced by emotional maladjustment. The result is depression, increasing anxiety, decreasing labor productivity, and an increasing likelihood of accidents and emergencies caused by the human factor. These factors lead to economic losses. Green chemistry is a tool to break out of a vicious cycle (cycle with a positive feedback). However, the successful implementation of this direction requires joint efforts made by the business community and the state. The state should provide administrative and legal grounds and set criteria for the evaluation of chemical hazards. The business community, in turn, should develop specific strategies for implementing the principles of green chemistry in Russian factories.

Reduction of environmental availability and ecological risk of heavy metals in automobile shredder residues

The present study investigated the recovery, reduction of environmental availability and ecological risk of heavy metals extracted from automobile shredder residue (ASR) using water with pH 2. The recovery rate of heavy metals from ASR increased with increasing temperature and L/S ratio at pH 2. The heavy metal recovery was found to be greater in the smallest size fraction than in the larger fractions. The residues remaining after extraction were analyzed for functional groups, morphology, toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP) and mobility factors (MFs) of the heavy metals. The TCLP test results revealed Cd concentrations below the threshold limits in all ASR fractions, whereas Pb concentrations exceeded the threshold limit in all ASR fractions, with the exception of the largest fraction. The MFs of all selected heavy metals were reduced after extraction. In the analysis of the risk assessment code (RAC), Zn, Cu and Cd were reduced from the high risk category into either low risk or medium risk categories after recovery of the heavy metals, whereas Pb remained under the high risk category. This confirmed that distilled water at pH 2 is not efficient for reducing Pb toxicity to the extent necessary for safe landfilling of ASR. Therefore, a stronger acid is required for the higher recovery of Pb and reduction of its toxicity before ASR is landfilled.

Maintaining rice yield and reducing N pollution by substituting winter legume for wheat in a heavily-fertilized rice-based cropping system of southeast China

Substituting a N-fixing legume for winter wheat has recently been suggested as a feasible method for mitigating N pollution from heavily-fertilized rice/wheat cropping system in the Taihu Lake Plain of southeast China. To understand the agronomic and environmental value of planting legumes instead of wheat, a 3-year consecutive field observation encompassing six crop seasons was conducted to compare crop yields, chemical N inputs, and N losses for three crop rotation systems; rice/wheat (the control), rice/fava bean, and rice/milk vetch. Our data showed that 52.6–59.5% of the annual N input could be saved in the two rice/legume rotations as a result of no N fertilization in the legume growing season and the replacement of 13.2–25.7% of chemical N by leguminous N via crop residue incorporation in the rice season. This reduction in N fertilizer not only produced equivalent or slightly more rice yields compared to the control, but also reduced N loss by half. In terms of N loss, ammonia (NH3) volatilization during the rice season and N runoff in the winter season for the two rice/legume rotations were greatly reduced by 31.3–38.0% and 82.1–86.0%, respectively compared to the control. A decreasing trend was also found in N leaching and nitrous oxide (N2O) in both seasons, NH3 volatilization in the winter season, and N runoff in the rice season for the two rice/legume rotations. The preliminary economic evaluation of yield benefits, fertilizer costs, and environmental costs related to N losses suggested that a mixed rice/fava bean and rice/milk vetch crop rotation (50% of each type) could ensure farmers’ returns and achieve a half-maximum reduction in environmental risk. These results demonstrate that substituting winter grain/forage legumes for wheat may be a technically feasible, low-input solution to the N pollution problems in the intensive rice-based cropping systems in the Taihu Lake Plain.

THE MECHANISM OF EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE OF PRODUCTION

The ecological factor always has a negative impact on the profit of enterprises and creates a threat of crisis situations. The article presents the evaluation mechanism of permanent and emergency environmental damage caused by industrial activity. Measures of reduction of environmental risks and of prevention of crisis phenomena in the environmental subsystem are proposed.

Estimating the development of ecotoxicological pressure on water systems from pesticides in Finland 2000–2011

Abstract Chemical pollution is, globally, a serious problem that can be induced e.g. by pesticide usage. Reduction of health and environmental risks of pesticides is a goal in the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) via the EU agricultural strategy. In this study, potential environmental impacts of agricultural plant protection products (PPP) were studied, in Finland, using freshwater ecotoxicity impact, in the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) approach, as an indicator. Potential impacts of these chemicals were studied between 2000 and 2011, and substance sale data (active ingredient kg/year) was surveyed by the Finnish Chemical and Safety Agency. The most sold agricultural PPPs in Finland are herbicides. Total sales amounted to 1707.5 tonnes in 2011, which means 0.7 kg/ha, if counted for the total agricultural land of the country. PPP emissions from field application to the different environmental compartments were modelled on the average Finnish agriculture circumstances with PestLCI. The emissions were converted into impacts using the life cycle inventory assessment (LCIA), using characterisation factors from USEtox™. The model was customised to fit Finnish regional environmental conditions by obtaining the relevant parameters from GIS. According to the results, ecotoxic pressure decreased over the period, mainly because of the decreased sales of the main hazardous substance fluazinam. Single very hazardous substances had a strong contribution tothe total impact. No correlation between the sales amount and ecotoxic pressure was found, thus PPP risks cannot be indicated based only on their sale amount. The main contributors to the total potential ecotoxic impact were fungicides, and the most hazardous substances were fluazinam (used on potato), aclonifen (used mostly on peas, carrot and onion), methiocarb (strawberries), pendimethalin (carrot, onion), and prochloraz (cereals, oil seeds). In conclusion, the first priority in the usage of this LCA approach is to identify environmental impacts of single hazardous PPPs and according to that to develop environmental management of plant protection and, if needed, build up restrictions which are specifically directed to causes of impacts.

Risk management in the hard coal mining industry: Social and environmental aspects of collieries’ liquidation

In this article, the problem of environmental and social risk management during the process of colliery liquidation is considered. The identification and assessment of the sources of this risk was conducted on the basis of a review of international case studies and hard coal mining restructuring in Poland from 1993 to 2012. On the basis of conclusions from the analyses, basic assumptions were elaborated concerning the conception of environmental and social risk management during the process of colliery liquidation. Such a conception is based on including the sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in the total system of risk management in a mining enterprise. The approach presented in the article – considering the scale and extent of social and environmental effects of colliery liquidation – makes the internal decision-makers, as well as external stakeholders, aware of the necessity of undertaking anticipatory activities aimed at the reduction of social and environmental risks and effects during colliery liquidation.

Effect of Well Capping as a Blowout Risk Reduction Measure

ABSTRACT Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Macondo) oil spill incident it became clear that further focus is required in order to understand and control blowout risks. The control measures are also essential in reducing potential environmental consequences given a blowout event. The latest development in well capping techniques indicates that this might be a viable technical solution for controlling subsea oil and gas well blowouts. The limited field experience with this technology makes it however difficult to presume the effectiveness of the technology as an environmental risk reducing measure. It is assumed that successful implementation of a capping device, given a subsea blowout, would reduce the blowout duration, and thereby limit the total amount of hydrocarbons released into the environment. By combining OPERAto, a dynamic tool for assessing environmental risks from offshore oil and gas activities, and an in-house blowout duration model, the authors have evaluated the use of capping as an environmental risk reduction measure. Uncertainties related to capping used as a solution for subsea blowouts are also discussed.