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PubMedDate not supplied

Economic development and environmental protection: an ecological economics perspective.

This paper argues on both theoretical and empirical grounds that, beyond a certain point, there is an unavoidable conflict between economic development (generally taken to mean 'material economic growth') and environmental protection. Think for a moment of natural forests, grasslands, marine estuaries, salt marshes, and coral reefs; and of arable soils, aquifers, mineral deposits, petroleum, and coal. These are all forms of 'natural capital' that represent highly-ordered self-producing ecosystems or rich accumulations of energy/matter with high use potential (low entropy). Now contemplate despoiled landscapes, eroding farmlands, depleted fisheries, anthropogenic greenhouse gases, acid rain, poisonous mine tailings and toxic synthetic compounds. These all represent disordered systems or degraded forms of energy and matter with little use potential (high entropy). The main thing connecting these two states is human economic activity. Ecological economics interprets the environment-economy relationship in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law sees economic activity as a dissipative process. From this perspective, the production of economic goods and services invariably requires the consumption of available energy and matter. To grow and develop, the economy necessarily 'feeds' on sources of high-quality energy/matter first produced by nature. This tends to disorder and homogenize the ecosphere, The ascendance of humankind has consistently been accompanied by an accelerating rate of ecological degradation, particularly biodiversity loss, the simplification of natural systems and pollution. In short, contemporary political rhetoric to the contrary, the prevailing growth-oriented global development paradigm is fundamentally incompatible with long-term ecological and social sustainability. Unsustainability is not a technical nor economic problem as usually conceived, but rather a state of systemic incompatibility between a economy that is a fully-contained, growing, dependent sub-system of a non-growing ecosphere. Potential solutions fly in the face of contemporary development trends and cultural values.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed1980

Hazardous waste management; Environmental Protection Agency. Final rule.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, provides for the development and implementation of a comprehensive program to protect human health and the environment from the improper management of hazardous waste. A fundamental premise of the statute is that human health and the environment will best be protected by careful management of the transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, in accordance with standards developed under the Act. In today's Federal Register, the Environmental Protection Agency is publishing several documents setting in motion a series of events which will culminate in full implementation of the hazardous waste control program. This document sets forth definitions of words and phrases which appear in the subsequent Parts as well as general guidance for the use of these regulations and provisions which are generally applicable to all Parts.

Environmental Health↗
PubMed1982

[The role of the Federal Agency for Environmental Protection in the field of noise control].

The public efforts in noise abatement are shared among federal, cantonal, and local authorities. Since the acceptance of a new article in the Federal Constitution concerning the protection of the environment, the federal authorities have primarily the task to prepare and issue regulations, whilst the cantonal and local authorities have to enforce them. The Federal Office for Environmental Protection has to coordinate the activities at the federal level. The main present tasks are the preparation of new regulations, to act as an advisory board for other authorities, to analyse and evaluate the noise impact of installations and facilities, to inform the public, and to prepare the future education and training of the executive officials.

Environment↗
PubMed1978

Analytical determination of N-nitroso compounds in pesticides by the United States Environmental Protection Agency--a preliminary study.

Lijinsky, Eisenbrand and others have demonstrated the formation of N-nitroso derivatives of certain secondary amine pesticides under specified experimental conditions. Partly based on these studies and on reports of the industrial discharge of N-nitrosos compounds from several chemical manufacturing facilities the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued several reports on the nitroso problem, including a report by a special ad hoc committee under the Administrator's Science Advisory Board (1976). Unexpectedly high N-nitrosoalkylamine residues found in several pesticide products (Fine et al., 1976) have prompted EPA to conduct a survey, initially of approximately 70-80 pesticides that potentially were representative of the following three routes of contamination: 1. industrial process formation and carryover; 2. in situ (container) nitrosation and 3. utilization of contaminated amines in the manufacturing process. Environmental formation was not studied in this survey. Duplicate samples were analysed by two different laboratories using GC and HPLC interfaced with Hall, UV and chemiluminescent (TEA) detectors. Results of some analyses of this continuing survey are presented. Based partly on the results of this study, the Agency has decided to conduct risk-benefit analyses on pesticides suspected of containing N-nitroso contaminants, with special consideration given to oncogenic and mutagenic potential. The analytical results of the study are discussed, as is the cooperative effort within the Agency.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1980

Environmental Protection Agency--Hazardous waste and consolidated permit regulations, Parts II-IX. Revisions to final rule and interim final rule and requests for comments.

Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (RCRA), directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to protect human health and the environment from the improper management of hazardous waste. The first phase of EPA's regulations implementing this directive are contained in Parts 262 and 263 of this chapter (which were promulgated on February 26, 1980) and Parts 261, 264, 265, 122, 123, and 124 of this chapter (which are being promulgated today). This regulation (Part 260) sets forth definitions of words and phrases which appear in Parts 261 through 265 and contains provisions which are generally applicable to all those regulations. It was originally published on February 26, 1980, concurrent with the promulgation of EPA's Part 262 and 263 regulations. It is now being amended to add new provisions required by today's publication of Parts 261, 264 and 265 and to revise one of the definitions published in February.

Government Agencies↗
PubMed1998

[Are there environmental protective factors?].

Protective factors against atherosclerosis are a group of different elements which include the fatty acids, alcohol, antioxidant vitamins, dietary fibres and physical exercise. Unsaturated fatty acids, especially alpha-linolenicacid have a beneficial effect on the coronary vessels. Alpha-linolenic acid is associated with low coronary mortality both in cohort studies (the Seven Countries Study) and in secondary prevention (Lyon Diet Heart Study). There is an inverse relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and coronary artery disease with a reduction of risk of about 30% in all prospective studies. High dietary intake of vitamin E was found to be associated with a decreased coronary risk. On the other hand, dietary supplements of vitamin E in primary and secondary prevention were associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Folates have a protective effect by their action on homocysteine metabolism. There is no formal proof at present in favour of the systematic introduction of the B vitamins in primary or secondary prevention. Fresh fruit and vegetables seem to be protective by their fibre and vitamin B content. Moderate endurance physical exercise is a protective factor in all studies. Its beneficial effects in function and rehabilitation are well documented. In primary prevention studies, exercise has a beneficial effect but criteria of duration and frequency remain vague. Therefore, there are environmental protective factors against atherosclerosis which allow physicians to introduce a positive note in these recommendations.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed2000

Use of a continuous nephelometer to measure personal exposure to particles during the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Baltimore and Fresno Panel studies.

In population exposure studies, personal exposure to PM is typically measured as a 12- to 24-hr integrated mass concentration. To better understand short-term variation in personal PM exposure, continuous (1-min averaging time) nephelometers were worn by 15 participants as part of two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) longitudinal PM exposure studies conducted in Baltimore County, MD, and Fresno, CA. Participants also wore inertial impactor samplers (24-hr integrated filter samples) and recorded their daily activities in 15-min intervals. In Baltimore, the nephelometers correlated well (R2 = 0.66) with the PM2.5 impactors. Time-series plots of personal nephelometer data showed each participant's PM exposure to consist of a series of peaks of relatively short duration. Activities corresponding to a significant instrument response included cooking, outdoor activities, transportation, laundry, cleaning, shopping, gardening, moving between microenvironments, and removing/putting on the instrument. On average, 63-66% of the daily PM exposure occurred indoors at home (about 2/3 of which occurred during waking hours), primarily due to the large amount of time spent in that location (an average of 72-77%). Although not a reference method for measuring mass concentration, the nephelometer did help identify PM sources and the relative contribution of those sources to an individual's personal exposure.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

Advances in analytical technologies for environmental protection and public safety.

Due to the increased threats of chemical and biological agents of injury by terrorist organizations, a significant effort is underway to develop tools that can be used to detect and effectively combat chemical and biochemical toxins. In addition to the right mix of policies and training of medical personnel on how to recognize symptoms of biochemical warfare agents, the major success in combating terrorism still lies in the prevention, early detection and the efficient and timely response using reliable analytical technologies and powerful therapies for minimizing the effects in the event of an attack. The public and regulatory agencies expect reliable methodologies and devices for public security. Today's systems are too bulky or slow to meet the "detect-to-warn" needs for first responders such as soldiers and medical personnel. This paper presents the challenges in monitoring technologies for warfare agents and other toxins. It provides an overview of how advances in environmental analytical methodologies could be adapted to design reliable sensors for public safety and environmental surveillance. The paths to designing sensors that meet the needs of today's measurement challenges are analyzed using examples of novel sensors, autonomous cell-based toxicity monitoring, 'Lab-on-a-Chip' devices and conventional environmental analytical techniques. Finally, in order to ensure that the public and legal authorities are provided with quality data to make informed decisions, guidelines are provided for assessing data quality and quality assurance using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) methodologies.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2006

[Waste management strategy and the role of the environmental protection and energy efficiency fund].

On 14 October 2005, the Croatian Parliament adopted the National Strategy of Waste Management pursuant to Article 8 of the Waste Act. This strategy defines its objectives and the means to reach them, and gives an overview of the current situation in waste management. It seeks to provide a realistic framework for the effective reduction of national waste load and for a sustainable waste management. This Strategy defines 15 major waste flows which are in concordance with the EU practice. It also defines waste management buildings and plants, and looks into the remediation of municipal waste landfills. According to the Strategy, waste management will be present on all levels of administration: from national to local, and will include all areas of production, consumption, and everyday life. Founded on the EU's general principles of waste management, this Strategy provides the ideal framework for a sustained waste management in Croatia by the year 2025. Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund is one of the key administration bodies within the waste management system. It collects taxes for motor vehicles, for sulphur and nitrogen oxide pollution sources, for environmental hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste load, and for the use of the environment. The Fund participates in the ongoing municipal landfill remediation projects and programmes all over Croatia (currently 161 landfills are being remedied) and helps to establish new regional and county waste management centres. It co-finances clean production technology projects, projects whose aim is to reduce the emission of harmful gases, projects for reusable energy sources and for more efficient use of energy, projects for remediation of unregulated municipal landfills, projects for primary recycling, and projects for biodiversity landscapes. According to an estimate, the implementation of the National Strategy of Waste Management will cost over 24 billion Croatian kunas (about 3.3 billion Euros). Beside national and local revenues, the Fund will play a key role in carrying this burden.

Croatia↗
PubMed2001

Optimizing nitrogen management in food and energy production and environmental protection: summary statement from the Second International Nitrogen Conference.

Human efforts to produce food and energy are changing the nitrogen (N) cycle of the Earth. Many of these changes are highly beneficial for humans, while others are detrimental to people and the environment. These changes transcend scientific disciplines, geographical boundaries, and political structures. They challenge the creative minds of natural and social scientists, economists, engineers, business leaders, and decision makers. The Second International Nitrogen Conference was designed to facilitate communications among all stakeholders in the "nitrogen community" of the world. The Conference participants" goal in the years and decades ahead is to encourage every country to make optimal choices about N management in food production and consumption, energy production and use, and environmental protection. Scientific findings and recommendations for decision makers that emerged from the Conference are presented.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1977

[Interpretation of the trace element content of hairs in criminology, toxicology and environmental protection. Experimental migration of metal ions in keratine (author's transl)].

Metal ions of exogenous origin can penetrate into the hair and can be accumulated. Penetration and distribution of metal ions could be examined by means of electron microprobe-analysis. The dependence of the accumulation of different kations on the concentration of these in the surrounding solutions have been determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The dimension of accumulation depends on various factors: the chemical nature of the ion involved, its concentration in the solution and the solutions pH-value, the nature of the anions present as well as the nature and concentration of other kations. The distribution of the kations in the hair can be changed by washing with distilled water. The significance of the present physical-chemical experiments with hairs for criminology, toxicology and to environmental protection were discussed in detail. It was shown that the content of zinc in the hair is of predominantly endogenous origin; moreover, a strong accumulation in the hair root took place. The study of the accumulation mechanism should contribute to clarifying other possible accumulation mechanisms. Further information should be expected from extention of these experiments.

Electron Probe Microanalysis↗
PubMed2004

Evaluating Oregon's beach sites for application to United States Environmental Protection Agency's BEACH Act criteria.

With the passage of the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act in 2000, coastal states were mandated to assess and sample coastal recreational waters for bacterial ambient water quality parameters. The assessment of beach sites required the application of federal guidelines and a tiered approach to delineating the beaches. Eighty-seven beach sites in Oregon were evaluated and ranked by use, available information, pollution threats, sanitary survey and monitoring data results, exposure considerations, and economic/development factors. This ranking resulted in 19 high priority beaches (tier 1), five medium priority beaches (tier 2), 23 low priority beaches, and 40 beaches with a rank of none in Oregon.

Environmental Monitoring↗