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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Educated guesses: health risk assessment in environmental impact statements.

Environmental pollution threatens public health. The search for solutions has advanced the frontiers of science and law. Efforts to protect the environment and public health begin with describing potential adverse consequences of human activities and characterizing the predicted risk. The National Environmental Policy Act requires the preparation of environmental impact statements to describe the effects of proposed federal projects and provide information for agency decisionmakers and the public. Risks to public health are particularly difficult to quantify because of uncertainty about the relation between exposure to environmental contamination and disease. Risk assessment is the current scientific tool to present estimates of risk. The methodology has created controversy, however, when underlying assumptions and uncertainties are not clearly presented. Critics caution that the methodology is vulnerable to bias. This Note evaluates the use of risk assessment in the environmental impact statement process and offers recommendations to ensure informed decisions.

Bias↗
PubMed1997

PROFILE: Integrating Sustainability and Environmental Impact Assessment

/ Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been identified as an important instrument for facilitating sustainability. However, to do so requires the integration of sustainability into EIA theory and practice. The sustainability concept is a valid and important environmental management perspective. However, many issues and obstacles need to be addressed further if the concept is to be translated into practical strategies. Sustainability can potentially infuse EIA with a clearer sense of direction, an ethical foundation, a mechanism for establishing priorities and assessing choices, and a means of linking EIA to other environmental management instruments. Conceptually, EIA and sustainability can be integrated, but frameworks should be refined, adpated to context, and linked to related initiatives. Sustainability should be explicitly incorporated into EIA legislation, guidelines, and institutional arrangements. An experimental approach to testing, assessing, and sharing experiences is suggested.A framework is first presented that defines and characterizes the sustainability concept. A further framework is then described for integrating sustainability into EIA at the conceptual level. The integration of sustainability and EIA at the regulatory level is next addressed through an overview of sustainability initiatives in EIA requirements in Canada. The Canadian examples include many promising initiatives but these and other experiences will need to be monitored, shared, and integrated into comprehensive environmental management strategies. Finally, means of incorporating sustainability into each activity in the EIA planning process are identified.KEY WORDS: Sustainability; Environmental impact assessment

Journal Article↗
PubMed2026

The environmental impact of diagnosis and therapy in obstructive sleep Apnea: A systematic review.

Healthcare contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet the environmental impact of sleep medicine, particularly the diagnosis and therapy of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), remains poorly characterized. We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, and Embase (2015-2025) for studies on OSA care reporting environmental metrics (carbon footprint, energy use, resource consumption) or healthcare resource utilization. Supplementary searches identified additional non-peer-reviewed sustainability-focused studies that have been presented at conferences. Of 19 primary peer-reviewed studies on OSA care and utilization, only one reported environmental metrics (telemedicine CO2 savings related to reduction in travel-related emissions). Supplementary sources revealed that OSA care has a measurable carbon footprint driven by disposable equipment, device electricity, and travel and that OSA diagnostics create significant solid waste with opportunities for waste reduction through the use of reusable equipment. This review shows that while the environmental impact of sleep medicine has been rarely studied to this date, available evidence suggests significant opportunities for sustainability through virtual care, home testing, and equipment optimization. Future research should incorporate environmental impact into the assessment of clinical pathways.

Humans↗
PubMed1996

A Framework to Assess Regional Environmental Impacts of Dedicated Energy Crop Production

Numerous studies have evaluated air quality and greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of biomass energy systems, but the potential environmental impacts associated with large-scale changes in land-use patterns needed to produce energy crops have not been quantified. This paper presents a framework to assess the potential soil, water, and biodiversity impacts that may result from the large-scale production of dedicated energy crops. The framework incorporates producer economic decision models with environmental models to assess changes in land use patterns and to quantify the consequent environmental impacts. Economic and policy issues that will affect decisions to produce energy crops are discussed. The framework is used to evaluate erosion and chemical runoff in two Tennessee regions. The analysis shows that production of dedicated energy crops in place of conventional crops will significantly reduce erosion and chemical runoff.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Environmental Impact Assessment as a tool for risk management.

Environmental Impact Assessment is essentially a process comprising four elements: identification, prediction, evaluation, and monitoring. Properly conducted EIA studies can identify linkages between injurious events and/or activities and their damaging consequences. This aids in making the risk management decision. This paper discusses how EIA can be used as a tool for risk management. Each element of EIA, as well as available risk management options, is discussed. As a case example, the paper reviews EIA guidelines/procedures in Thailand and identify weakness and strength in capabilities to identify the sensitive areas where risk should be effectively controlled.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1995

Environmental impact, healthful food and education in toxicology--trends in Croatia.

Following the informative regional development and environmental impacts in the Republic of Croatia, authors present the problems emphasized in environmental protection and health protection, and present the status of the contamination of food and drinking water in 1993. The level of education in the function of environmental protection in Croatia and its importance are discussed.

Croatia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health and environmental impact assessment in Canada.

Potential health effects of proposed development activities are an important component of environmental impact assessment (EIA). I report results of a survey to determine the nature and extent of health impact assessments in EIA in Canada. Most proponents conduct health impact assessments when there is an identified health concern. However, few Canadian jurisdictions require health impact assessments in their EIA legislation. The extent to which health is considered depends on several factors and concerns can be addressed at several different stages of the EIA process. Health impact assessments have dealt with a wide range of concerns, although the specific health issues addressed depend on the nature of the project. Several procedures and methods have been used by proponents and government reviewers. Often health impact assessments are qualitative or rely on relevant standards or guidelines. Occasionally, quantitative risk assessments are conducted. Survey respondents identified several problems which hinder health impact assessments including a shortage of suitably trained and experienced health professionals, inadequate communications between government agencies and insufficient or conflicting scientific data to allow accurate prediction of any health effects.

Canada↗
PubMed1979

Health and environmental impacts of increased generation of coal ash and FGD sludges. Report to the Committee on Health and Ecological Effects of Increased Coal Utilization.

This paper focuses on the incremental impacts of coal ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastes associated with increased coal usage by utilities and industry under the National Energy Plan (NEP). In the paper, 1985 and 2000 are the assessment points using the baseline data taken from the Annual Environmental Analysis Report (AEAR, September 1977). In each EPA region, the potential mix of disposal options has been broadly estimated and impacts assessed therefrom. In addition, future use of advanced combustion techniques has been taken into account. The quantities of coal ash and FGD wastes depend on ash and sulfur content of the coal, emission regulations, the types of ash collection and FGD systems, and operating conditions of the systems and boiler. The disposal of these wastes is (or will be) subject to Federal and State regulations. The one key legal framework concerning environmental impact on land is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA and related Federal and State laws provide a sufficient statutory basis for preventing significant adverse health and environmental impacts from coal ash and FGD waste disposal. However, much of the development and implementation of specific regulations lie ahead. FGD wastes and coal ash and FGD wastes are currently disposed of exclusively on land. The most common land disposal methods are inpoundments (ponds) and landfills, although some mine disposal is also practiced. The potential environmental impacts of this disposal are dependent on the characteristics of the disposal site, characteristics of the coal ash and FGD wastes, control method and the degree of control employed. In general, the major potential impacts are ground and surface water contamination and the "degradation" of large quantities of land. However, assuming land is available for disposal of these wastes, control technology exists for environmentally sound disposal. Because of existing increases in coal use, the possibility of significant environmental impacts, both regionally and nationally, exists regardless of whether the NEP scenario develops or not. Existing baseline data indicate that with sound control technology and successful development and implementation of existing regulatory framework, regional scale impacts are likely to be small; however, site-specific impacts could be significant and need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Both Federal and privately-funded programs are developing additional data and information on disposal of FGD sludges and coal ash. Continuation of these programs will provide additional vital information in the future. However, further information in several areas if desirable: further data on levels of radionuclides and trace metals in these wastes: studies on biological impacts of trace metals; and completion of current and planned studies on disposal problems associated with advanced combustion techniques like fluid bed combustion.

Coal↗
PubMed1975

Ambient air pollutant analyses-integral part of an environmental impact study.

Data for the major pollutants; carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, photochemical oxidants, suspended particulates, and total hydrocarbons, have been presented. In addition, lead analysis and a justification for no sulfur oxides data are also discussed. This study was an integral part of an Environmental Impact Study carried out by the Chemistry Department and the Institute of Transportation Studies a Villanova University. Some of the pollutants were found to cause a situation of concern; namely, photochemical oxidants, suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides. On the otherhand, carbon monoxide and total hydrocarbons were found to be well below limits set by the EPA. Although no standards are set for lead in ambient air, the data showed very low concentrations of this pollutant in our particulate samples. Since oxides ofsulfur are more an industrial, rather than transportation, pollutant little relevance could have been found for the type of study performed.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1989

Environmental impact of used motor oil.

The information concerning the effects of used motor oil on the environment is reviewed. The production and fate of used motor oil are analyzed and the effects on soil and aquatic organisms are described. The combustion of waste crankcase oil, with particular reference to environmental impact, is discussed. The mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of used motor oil are described. Information on the biodegradation of lubricating motor oil is also reviewed. The available information shows that used motor oil is a very dangerous polluting product. As a consequence of its chemical composition, world-wide dispersion and effects on the environment, used motor oil must be considered a serious environmental problem.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A field study of environmental impacts at a bleached kraft pulp mill site on the Baltic Sea coast.

The rate of technical development in bleaching of chemical pulp and the upgrading of process control and wastewater treatment systems in the pulp industry have been extremely rapid over the past few years. When assessing the environmental impacts of bleached kraft pulp mill effluents (BKMEs), it is therefore more important than ever to carefully characterize the bleaching process, the composition of the treated effluent, and the degree of exposure of sensitive target organisms in the receiving water body. These requirements have not always been fulfilled in previous reports on biological effects of BKMEs in Scandinavia. This work presents the results of a comprehensive field study of the impacts of a 350,000-tonne kraft mill, bleaching softwood and hardwood pulp in campaigns according to the sequence O(D25,C70+D5)(EOP)D(EP)D. The effluent is treated in an aerated lagoon with a mean retention time of 8-9 days, practically eliminating chlorate and resin acids, and reducing the discharge of adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) to an average of 1 t/day (1.3 and 0.4 kg/ADt for softwood and hardwood, respectively). The treated effluent is discharged through a 1.3-km-long diffuser, at a water depth of 9-12 m, into a well ventilated coastal area, giving a 1000-fold dilution within 3-4 km from the diffuser. The actual exposure of the coastal ecosystem to BKME components was determined by analysis of extractable organic chlorine in suspended solids and of conjugates of chlorophenolics in the bile of feral perch. Despite a major damage to the benthic communities that occurred about 10 years ago, and was due to large chlorate discharges at the time, no direct detrimental effects on benthic flora and fauna could be ascribed to the present BKME discharge. Instead, a clear recovery of the Fucus community, although not yet completed, could be demonstrated. Studies of the composition, abundance and biomass of the fish community, the recruitment and survival of fish fry, and the physiological status of perch, using a set of biomarkers, revealed that even in the most BKME-exposed area, only minor effects were detected. These effects were related to eutrophication/enrichment rather than to the action of toxic substances. The general effect picture, thus, was essentially of a different type than the one recorded in previous studies of mills, which used older technology and less effective process and effluent treatment control, and which were discharging into enclosed, shallow bays of the Baltic Sea.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Application and environmental impact of the biocontrol agent--Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis for vector control].

In 1976, Goldberg and Margalit found a potent isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, which has great mosquitocidal activity and was commercialized within 5 years in the USA. It is now the only bio-control agent on the market for vector control worldwide. Because of concerns about environmental pollution and ecological preservation, vector control can no longer be solely dependent on the use of chemicals. It appears that the best strategy is to be integrated with biological control. When considering the value and future progress of BTI, it is important to evaluate applicability based on (1) production technology and economic considerations (2) standardization and quality control, and (3) field realization and environmental impacts. Finally, government policy and regulation limitations are the key factors which influence the availability of BTI in the vector control program.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Runnelling to control saltmarsh mosquitoes: long-term efficacy and environmental impacts.

Aedes vigilax is a problem mosquito species prevalent in subtropical Australian coastal wetlands. We evaluate the long-term impacts of runnelling, an environmentally benign habitat modification method, on mosquitoes and the wetland environment. Runnelling uses shallow channels to enhance flushing of the marsh. The method successfully reduced larval numbers to below nuisance levels for the 6.5 year study period. We did not detect any significant difference in the wetland environment between runnelled and unmodified parts of the study area. However, the spatial extent of the effects may have extended beyond the modified area.

Aedes↗