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The accumulation of human-derived waste on our coasts is an escalating phenomenon, yet the relative importance and potential interactions among its main drivers are not fully understood. We used citizen-science standardized collections to investigate how anthropogenic and environmental factors influence the level, composition, and temporal variation of beach debris. An average of 58 kg and 803 items/100 m, dominated by single-use items of land (rather than sea) origin, were collected in the 881 beaches sampled. Interactions between anthropogenic and environmental factors (e.g., human use × beach substrate) were the strongest predictors of beach debris, accounting for 34% of the variance explained in its amount and composition. Beach debris showed a highly stochastic temporal variation (adjusted R2 = 0.05), partly determined by interactions between different local and landscape anthropogenic pressures. Our results show that both environmental and anthropogenic factors (at the local and landscape scale) co-determine the level and composition of beach debris. We emphasize the potential of citizen-science to inform environmental policy, showing that land-originated single-use items dominate beach debris, and the importance of considering their multiple anthropogenic and environmental drivers to improve our low predictive power regarding their spatio-temporal distribution. [Display omitted] • Citizen science provided 881 collections from beaches in Spain during 10 years. • Land-originated single-use items dominate beach debris. • Environmental and anthropogenic factors co-determined beach debris composition. • Temporal variation is large and influenced by anthropogenic pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of fresh water is a global concern. The huge impact of natural and anthropogenic organic substances that are constantly released into the environment, demands a better knowledge of the chemical status of Earth’s surface water. Water quality monitoring studies have been performed targeting different substances and/or classes of substances, in different regions of the world, using different types of sampling strategies and campaigns. This review article aims to gather the available dispersed information regarding the occurrence of priority substances (PSs) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that must be monitored in Europe in surface water, according to the European Union Directive 2013/39/EU and the Watch List of Decision 2015/495/EU, respectively. Other specific organic pollutants not considered in these EU documents as substances of high concern, but with reported elevated frequency of detection at high concentrations, are also discussed. The search comprised worldwide publications from 2012, considering at least one of the following criteria: 4 sampling campaigns per year, wet and dry seasons, temporal and/or spatial monitoring of surface (river, estuarine, lake and/or coastal waters) and ground waters. The highest concentrations were found for: (i) the PSs atrazine, alachlor, trifluralin, heptachlor, hexachlorocyclohexane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate; (ii) the CECs azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, diclofenac, 17α-ethinylestradiol, imidacloprid and 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate; and (iii) other unregulated organic compounds (caffeine, naproxen, metolachlor, estriol, dimethoate, terbuthylazine, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, ketoprofen, atenolol, Bisphenol A, metoprolol, carbofuran, malathion, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine and ofloxacin). Most frequent substances as well as those found at highest concentrations in different seasons and regions, together with available risk assessment data, may be useful to identify possible future PS candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current scenario of global change, heavy metal pollution is of major concern because of its associated toxic effects and the persistence of these pollutants in the environment. This study is the first to evaluate the changes in heavy metal concentrations worldwide in brown algae over the last 90 years (>15,700 data across the globe reported from 1933 to 2020). The study findings revealed significant decreases in the concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb and Zn of around 60–84% (ca. 2% annual) in brown algae tissues. The decreases were consistent across the different families considered (Dictyotaceae, Fucaceae, Laminariaceae, Sargassaceae and Others), and began between 1970 and 1990. In addition, strong relationships between these trends and pH, SST and heat content were detected. Although the observed metal declines could be partially explained by these strong correlations, or by adaptions in the algae, other evidences suggest an actual reduction in metal concentrations in oceans because of the implementation of environmental policies. In any case, this study shows a reduction in metal concentrations in brown algae over the last 50 years, which is important in itself, as brown algae form the basis of many marine food webs and are therefore potential distributors of pollutants. [Display omitted] • A decline in metal pollution in algae is widespread in coastal ecosystems worldwide. • Decrease in algae concentrations may not also occur in seawater but in bioavailability. • Decreases began from 70's coinciding with the implementation of environmental policies. • Legislation and ocean acidification can impact on the heavy metal content in algae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) represents an extensive, publicly available dataset on toxics and, as such, has contributed to reducing the releases and disposal of toxic chemicals. The TRI, however, reports on a wide range of releases from different sources, some of which are less likely to generate a human or ecological hazard. Furthermore, the TRI is quantity based and does not take into account the relative toxicity of chemicals. In an effort to utilize the TRI more effectively to guide environmental management and policy, this work provides an in-depth analysis of the quantity-based TRI data for year 2007 at industry sector, state, and chemical levels and couples it with toxicity potentials. These toxicity potentials are derived from the U.S. EPA''s TRACI (Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts) characterization factors for cancer, non-cancer and ecotoxicity. The combination of quantity-based and toxicity-based analysis allows a more robust evaluation of toxics use and priorities. Results show, for instance, that none of the highest priority chemicals identified through the toxicity-based evaluation would have been identified if only quantity-based evaluation had been used. As the chemicals are aggregated to the state and industry sector levels, the discrepancies between the evaluation methods are less significant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Soil protection from heavy metal contamination requires scientific assessment on the linkage between site-specific pollutant discharge and environmental effects. However, this kind of linkage is usually disregarded due to the lack of assessment tools in environmental policies, e.g., some developed coastal cities in China have forced their highly polluting industries out to less developed interior areas without consideration of the impacts from pollution transfer. This paper developed a soil adsorption fraction (SAF) model to characterize the emissions-to-adsorption relationship between heavy metal emission and the adsorption by soil. Case studies were carried out for two adjacent southern cities in China, i.e., Guangzhou and Shaoguan. The results indicated that the average SAF of cadmium was 5.38×10−3 for Shaoguan and 1.28×10−3 for Guangzhou, i.e., cadmium released from Shaoguan threatened the soil environment 4.2 times of that from Guangzhou. Further analysis showed the polluting pathway and abundance of water resources were the main influencing factors on SAF. Soil contamination will be exaggerated by relocating heavy metal polluting industries from coastal areas to interior areas. The results should be useful to prompt site-specific policies on heavy metal pollution control. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Current regulatory systems focus on the state of scientific evidence as the predominant factor for how to handle risks to human health and the environment. However, production and assessment of risk information are costly and time-consuming, and firms have an intrinsic disincentive to produce and distribute information about risks of their products as this could endanger their production opportunities and sales. An emphasis on more or better science may result in insufficient thought and attention going into the exploration of technology alternatives, and that risk management policies miss out on the possible achievement of a more favorable set of consequences. In this article, a method is proposed that combines risk assessment with the search for alternative technological options as a part of the risk management procedure. The method proposed is the inherency risk analysis where the first stage focuses on the original agent subject to investigation, the second stage focuses on identifying technological options whereas the third stage reviews the different alternatives, searching for the most attractive tradeoffs between costs and inherent safety. This is then used as a fundament for deciding which technology option to pursue. This method aims at providing a solution-focused, systematic technology-based approach for addressing and setting priorities for environmental problems. By combining risk assessment with a structured approach to identify superior technology options within a risk management system, the result could very well be a win–win situation for both company and the environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The subject of this paper is a method for introducing risk assessment into the land-use planning (LUP) process. Due to adaptations of the results of risk assessment, which are needed to make the risk assessment usable by land-use planners, we term the overall process threat analysis. The key features of the threat analysis can be summarised as follows. (i) It consists of three main steps. The first is determination of the threat intensity level of an accident, the second is analysis of the environmental vulnerability of the surroundings of an accident, and the third, integrating the previous two, is determination of a threat index in the accident impact zone. All three are presented in GIS based maps, since this is a common expression in LUP. (ii) It can and should be applied in the early stages of the LUP process. The methodology is illustrated by an example in the context of renewal of a land-use plan for the Municipality of Koper in Slovenia. The approach of threat analysis follows directions of the Article 12 of the Directive 96/82/EC of the European Commission (the Seveso II Directive). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The metal-ferrite (chromium-ferrite and zinc-ferrite) sorbents made from the heavy metal wastewater sludge have been developed for the hydrogen sulfide removal from coal gas. The high temperature absorption of hydrogen sulfide from coal gas with the metal-ferrite sorbent in a fixed bed reactor was conducted in this study. The metal-ferrite powders were the products of the ferrite process for the heavy metal wastewater treatment. The porosity analysis results show that the number of micropores of the sorbents after sulfidation and regeneration process decreases and the average pore size increases due to the acute endothermic and exothermic reactions during the sulfidation–regeneration process. The FeS, ZnS, and MnS peaks are observed on the sulfided sorbents, and the chromium extraction of the CFR6 can fulfill the emission standard of Taiwan EPA. The suitable sulfidation temperature range for chromium-ferrite sorbent is at 500–600°C. In addition, effects of various concentrations of H2 and CO were also conducted in the present work at different temperatures. By increasing the H2 concentration, the sulfur sorption capacity of the sorbent decreases and an adverse result is observed in the case of increasing CO concentration. This can be explained via water-shift reaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Environmental justice advocates in the US and internationally have argued that hazardous materials industries are a source of significant community disruption and environmental hazard. Few of these studies, however, have examined firms’ accident frequencies or how accidents are distributed across metropolitan regions. This research argues that accident frequencies differ significantly among firms, and they are an important part of understanding industries and their distribution within metropolitan regions. The accident records of the risk management plan (RMP) facilities in southern California provide an illustration for the discussion. Statistical tests demonstrate that previous accident counts correlate with future counts. The research heightens the usability of the existing accident record for local governments in the US. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Societal concern is a relatively new term and refers to hazards with the capability to generate socio-political responses. Hazards invoking societal concerns pose a challenge to decision makers for they oftentimes have major policy implications yet frequently lack the analytic support affording them such elevated status. Regulators and corporate risk managers, therefore, have been confronted with the difficult question –how and to what extent should societal concerns be factored into risk management decisions? – a question which is compounded by the tendency of ‘politicians’ to want to accommodate these concerns. Here we first seek to explore the drivers of societal concerns prior to considering the implications for decision makers. We conclude that societal concerns stem from highly disparate causes, are not necessarily originated by the public as is often implied, and as such have markedly differing legitimacies. Furthermore, we note that attempts to incorporate societal concerns into risk decisions raise a host of methodological, political, and ethical issues which suggest, at the very least, that deep caution is required, especially where policy implications are high. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The treatment and valorization (recycling of water and mineral salts) of dyeing effluents constitutes a major economic and environmental issue. Cotton dyeing using reactive dyes is actually the most polluting in terms of discharge. In order to treat and valorize the effluent from a dyeing process using reactive dyes, the firm Clariant and the LPPE have developed and patented a process allowing the recovery of most of the water and salts present in the effluent and also of a concentrate containing the hydrolyzed reactive dyes and the highly concentrated auxiliaries. This paper describes the coagulation–flocculation–decantation process used to optimize water recovery from the concentrate. Coagulants and flocculants are used in the industry for the treatment of effluents produced by the synthesis of dyes in general (acid, disperse, reactive). Although the settling velocity is relatively low, the results show that it is possible to recycle a great volume of water using a small decanter area, since the concentrate flow rate is low. These effluents are substantially discolored, it possible to envisage recycling them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Oil spills represent a significant environmental issue in Brazil. This paper presents the latest results of a comprehensive experimental programme aimed at understanding how the presence of spilled oil affects the properties of sands and at studying alternatives to remediate the affected shores. Results indicate that oil causes a slight increase in grain size and uniformity, and oiled debris presents a smaller void ratio but a larger unit weight. It was also observed that effective strength parameters for both the natural and oiled debris were the same although the undrained strength of a natural sand is much higher than that of the contaminated sand. At ambient temperature, oiled debris emits methane and ammonia, and these emissions tend to increase with rising temperatures. On the other hand, the oil and grease content from oiled debris decreases with rising temperature and prolonged exposure. Finally, in situ thermal desorption seems to be a promising method for cleaning debris from oil spills. It is simple, fast and avoids all the difficulties associated with digging up the soil for disposal or cleanup. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]