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Actualment, els combustibles fòssils tradicionals com la gasolina o el gasoil són pràcticament l'única opció viable com a font d'energia. A finals d'any del 2022 al 2023, es va experimentar un augment de preu no defugible a les gasolineres. Encara que és cert que sembla que està sorgint un cert moviment per desplaçar els motors de combustibles fòssils pels motors elèctrics, aquestes tecnologies encara es troben en una etapa força prematura. Segons com es generi l'electricitat, no hi ha cap avenç en l'àmbit de la reducció de l'ús dels combustibles fòssils, ja que es pot generar l’energia en centrals tèrmiques on es cremarien els mateixos tipus de combustible. L'hidrogen com a substitut dels combustibles fòssils és una opció que s'està investigant i sembla una de les alternatives més viables a l'hora de generar menys emissions, ja que, en el fons, només emet aigua. A més, la potència energètica de l'hidrogen en comparació amb els combustibles convencionals és superior i, per tant, també té una major eficiència energètica. A continuació, esperant un augment considerable de l'hidrogen com a combustible, aquest treball de fi de màster pretén estudiar en quin marc legal es situen les instal·lacions d'hidrogen així com com es faria l'avaluació quantitativa del risc d'una planta d'hidrogen i amb l'objectiu d'avaluar l'acceptabilitat del terreny. Per això, es duu a terme la metodologia d’anàlisis quantitatiu de risc tal com es realitza habitualment a la consultoria Tüv Süd Iberia. Aquest estudi segueix bàsicament les instruccions presents en àmbit català que estan inspirades en el llibre Bevi. Posteriorment, aquesta metodologia es reprodueix pas a pas, iniciant-se per la identificació de les substàncies perilloses, els seus esdeveniments iniciadors i la probabilitat d'accident final. A continuació, s'ha determinat la letalitat, així com el risc individual associat a l'entorn de la planta i el risc social. Finalment, es realitza una valoració d'aquests aspectes., Hoy en día, los combustibles fósiles tradicionales como la gasolina o el diésel son prácticamente la única opción viable como fuente de energía. Al cierre del año 2022 al 2023 se experimentó un aumento no evitable de los precios en las gasolineras. Si bien es cierto que parece que está surgiendo un cierto movimiento para desplazar los motores de combustibles fósiles por motores eléctricos, estas tecnologías aún se encuentran en una fase bastante prematura. Dependiendo de cómo se genere la electricidad, no hay avances en el campo de la reducción del uso de combustibles fósiles, ya que la energía se puede generar en centrales térmicas donde se quemarían los mismos tipos de combustible. El hidrógeno como sustituto de los combustibles fósiles es una opción que se está investigando y parece una de las alternativas más viables a la hora de generar menos emisiones, ya que, en esencia, sólo emite agua. Además, el poder energético del hidrógeno en comparación con los combustibles convencionales es mayor y, por tanto, también tiene una mayor eficiencia energética. Luego, previendo un aumento considerable del hidrógeno como combustible, este trabajo de fin de máster tiene como objetivo estudiar en qué marco legal se sitúan las instalaciones de hidrógeno, así como cómo se realizaría la evaluación cuantitativa de riesgos de una planta de hidrógeno y con el objetivo de evaluar la aceptabilidad del terreno. Para ello se aplica la metodología de análisis cuantitativo de riesgos tal y como se realiza habitualmente en la consultoría Tüv Süd Iberia. Este estudio sigue básicamente las instrucciones presentes en ámbito catalán que están inspiradas en el libro Bevi. Posteriormente se reproduce esta metodología paso a paso, comenzando por la identificación de las sustancias peligrosas, sus eventos iniciadores y la probabilidad de accidente final. Luego, a continuación, se determina la letalidad, así como el riesgo individual asociado al entorno de la planta y el riesgo social. Finalmente, Nowadays, traditional fossil fuels such as petrol or diesel are practically the only viable option as an energy source. At the end of the year from 2022 to 2023, a not avoiding increase of price at gas stations was experienced. Although it is true that it seems that a certain movement is emerging to displace fossil fuel engines by electric engines, these technologies are still in a rather premature stage. Depending on how the electricity is generated, there is no progress in the field of reducing the use of the fossil fuels since energy can be generated in thermal power plants where the same types of fuel would be burnt. Hydrogen as a substitute to fossil fuels is an option that is being researched and seems to be one of the most viable alternatives when it comes to generating fewer emissions, as, in essence, only emits water. In addition, the energy power of hydrogen compared to conventional fuels is higher, and therefore, it has a higher energy efficiency, as well. Then, expecting a considerable increase of hydrogen as a fuel, this master's thesis aims to study in which legal framework hydrogen installations are situated as well as how quantitative risk assessment would be performed of a hydrogen plant and with the objective of evaluating the land acceptability. To this end, the methodology of a quantitative risk assessment, as typically performed in the consultancy company Tüv Süd Iberia, is carried out. This study basically follows the instructions present in the Catalan region which are inspired by Bevi book. Afterwards, this methodology is reproduced step by step, initiating by the identification of the dangerous substances, their initiating events, and the probability of final accident. Then, following by the determination of the lethality, as well as the individual risk associated to the surrounding to the plant and the societal risk. Finally, an assessment of this aspects is performed.

In agricultural ecosystems, bees are exposed to combinations of pesticides that may have been applied at different times. For example, bees visiting a flowering crop may be chronically exposed to low concentrations of systemic insecticides applied before bloom and then to a pulse of fungicide, considered safe for bees, applied during bloom. In this study, we simulate this scenario under laboratory conditions with females of the solitary bee, Osmia bicornis L. We studied the effects of chronic exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide, Confidor® (imidacloprid) at a realistic concentration, and of a pulse (1 day) exposure of the fungicide Folicur® SE (tebuconazole) at field application rate. Syrup consumption, survival, and four biomarkers: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CaE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were evaluated at two different time points. An integrated biological response (IBRv2) index was elaborated with the biomarker results. The fungicide pulse had no impact on survival but temporarily reduced syrup consumption and increased the IBRv2 index, indicating potential molecular alterations. The neonicotinoid significantly reduced syrup consumption, survival, and the neurological activity of the enzymes. The co-exposure neonicotinoid-fungicide did not increase toxicity at the tested concentrations. AChE proved to be an efficient biomarker for the detection of early effects for both the insecticide and the fungicide. Our results highlight the importance of assessing individual and sub-individual endpoints to better understand pesticide effects on bees.

Bee populations are exposed to multiple stressors, including land-use change, biological invasions, climate change, and pesticide exposure, that may interact synergistically. We analyze the combined effects of climate warming and sublethal insecticide exposure in the solitary bee Osmia cornuta. Previous Osmia studies show that warm wintering temperatures cause body weight loss, lipid consumption, and fat body depletion. Because the fat body plays a key role in xenobiotic detoxification, we expected that bees exposed to climate warming scenarios would be more sensitive to pesticides. We exposed O. cornuta females to three wintering treatments: current scenario (2007–2012 temperatures), near-future (2021–2050 projected temperatures), and distant-future (2051–2080). Upon emergence in spring, bees were orally exposed to three sublethal doses of an insecticide (Closer, a.i. sulfoxaflor; 0, 4.55 and 11.64 ng a.i./bee). We measured the combined effects of wintering and insecticide exposure on phototactic response, syrup consumption, and longevity. Wintering treatment by itself did not affect winter mortality, but body weight loss increased with increasing wintering temperatures. Similarly, wintering treatment by itself hardly influenced phototactic response or syrup consumption. However, bees wintered at the warmest temperatures had shorter longevity, a strong fecundity predictor in Osmia. Insecticide exposure, especially at the high dose, impaired the ability of bees to respond to light, and resulted in reduced syrup consumption and longevity. The combination of the warmest winter and the high insecticide dose resulted in a 70% longevity decrease. Smaller bees, resulting from smaller pollen–nectar provisions, had shorter longevity suggesting nutritional stress may further compromise fecundity in O. cornuta. Our results show a synergistic interaction between two major drivers of bee declines, and indicate that bees will become more sensitive to pesticides under the current

Pesticide exposure is an important driver of bee declines. Laboratory toxicity tests provide baseline information on the potential effects of pesticides on bees, but current risk assessment schemes rely on one species, the highly social honey bee, Apis mellifera, and there is uncertainty regarding the extent to which this species is a suitable surrogate for other pollinators. For this reason, Osmia cornuta and Osmia bicornis have been proposed as model solitary bee species in the EU risk assessment scheme. The use of solitary bees in risk assessment requires the development of new methodologies adjusted to the biology of these species. For example, oral dosing methods used with honey bees cannot be readily applied to solitary bees due to differences in feeding behaviour and social interactions. In this study, we describe the “petal method”, a laboratory feeding method, and validate its use in acute and chronic exposure oral tests with Osmia spp. We conducted five experiments in which we compared the performance of several artificial flowers combining visual and olfactory cues against the petal method, or in which variations of the petal method were confronted. We then use the results of these experiments to optimize the feeding arenas and propose standardized methods for both acute and chronic exposure tests. The petal method provides high levels of feeding success, thus reducing the number of bees needed. It works with a wide variety of petal species and with both female and male Osmia spp., thus ensuring reproducibility across studies. To validate the use of the petal method in ecotoxicology tests, we assess the toxicity of a standard reference insecticide, dimethoate, in O. cornuta adults and determine LD50 values for this species. The petal method should facilitate the inclusion of solitary bees in risk assessment schemes therefore increasing the protection coverage of pesticide regulation.

This supplementary appendix contains: 1. Supplementary Methods.-- 2. Supplementary Figures.-- 3. Supplementary References

Bee populations are exposed to multiple stressors, including land-use change, biological invasions, climate change and pesticide exposure, that may interact synergistically. We analyze the combined effects of climate warming and sublethal insecticide exposure in the solitary bee Osmia cornuta. Previous Osmia studies show that warm wintering temperatures cause body weight loss, lipid consumption and fat body depletion. Because the fat body plays a key role in xenobiotic detoxification, we expected that bees exposed to climate warming scenarios would be more sensitive to pesticides. We exposed O. cornuta females to three wintering treatments: current scenario (2007-2012 temperatures), near-future (2021-2050 projected temperatures), and distant-future (2051-2080). Upon emergence in spring, bees were orally exposed to three sublethal doses of an insecticide (Closer, a.i. sulfoxaflor; 0, 4.55 and 11.64 ng a.i./bee). We measured the combined effects of wintering and insecticide exposure on phototactic response, syrup consumption, and longevity. Wintering treatment by itself did not affect winter mortality, but body weight loss increased with increasing wintering temperatures. Similarly, wintering treatment by itself hardly influenced phototactic response or syrup consumption. However, bees wintered at the warmest temperatures had shorter longevity, a strong fecundity predictor in Osmia. Insecticide exposure, especially at the high dose, impaired the ability of bees to respond to light, and resulted in reduced syrup consumption and longevity. The combination of the warmest winter and the high insecticide dose resulted in a 70% longevity decrease. Smaller bees, resulting from smaller pollen-nectar provisions, had shorter longevity suggesting nutritional stress may further compromise fecundity in O. cornuta. Our results show a synergistic interaction between two major drivers of bee declines, and indicate that bees will become more sensitive to pesticides under the current g