Abstract
Within the framework of the presented material, the results of the conducted IV International scientific and practical conference «Actual problems of the energy complex: mining, production, ...transmission, processing and environmental protection» (APEC-IV-2021).
An overview about the presence of arsenic (As) in groundwaters of Argentina, made by a transdisciplinary group of experts is presented. Aspects on As occurrence, effects of As on human health, ...regulations regarding the maximum allowable amount of As in drinking water as well as bottled water, and analytical techniques for As determination are presented. The most affected region in Argentina is the Chaco-Pampean plain, covering around 10 million km2, where approximately 88% of 86 groundwater samples collected in 2007 exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value. In the Salí river basin, As concentrations ranged from 11.4 to 1660 μg/L, with 100% of the samples above the WHO guideline value. In the Argentine Altiplano (Puna) and Subandean valleys, 61% of 62 samples collected from surface and groundwaters exceeded the WHO limit. Thus, it can be estimated that, at present, the population at risk in Argentina reaches around four million people. Pathologies derived from the chronic consumption of As, the metabolism of As in the human body and the effects of the different As chemical forms, gathered under the name HACRE (hidroarsenicismo crónico regional endémico in Spanish, for chronic regional endemic hydroarsenicism) are described. Regarding the regulations, the 10 μg/L limit recommended by the WHO and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has been incorporated in the Argentine Food Code, but the application is still on hold. In addition, there is disparity regarding the maximal admitted values in several provinces. Considerations about the As concentrations in bottled water are also presented. A survey indicates that there are several Argentine laboratories with the suitable equipment for As determination at 10 μg/L, although 66% of them are concentrated in Buenos Aires City, and in the Santa Fe, Córdoba and Buenos Aires provinces. Conclusions and recommendations of this first part are provided.
Display omitted
•Arsenic occurrence, health effects, regulations and analytical techniques presented•Chaco-Pampean plain is the most affected region, covering 10 million km2.•Pathologies gathered under the name HACRE (chronic regional endemic hydroarsenicism).•The WHO 10 μg/L limit incorporated in the Argentine Food Code but still on hold•Laboratories with equipment for As determination at 10 μg/L exist in Argentina.
This study investigates the impact of China’s new Environmental Protection Law on the green innovation behaviour of listed companies in high-polluting industries. The implementation of China’s strict ...and new Environmental Protection Law provides a quasi-natural experimental setting for examining the causal effect of environmental regulation on corporate green innovation. Based on data of the application for environmental patents of high-polluting firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2010 to 2017, this study analyses the change in the green innovation behaviour of firms after the implementation of China’s new and stringent Environmental Protection Law using the PSM-DID approach. We find that firms tend to file more applications for environmental patents, including patents for inventions and utility models after the implementation of the new Environmental Protection Law. Further analysis shows that while this effect is stronger for state-owned enterprises, it is weaker for firms headquartered in cities where economies depend more on the secondary industry. Firms in concentrated industries have more incentive to file applications for green invention patents than those in competitive industries. The study has important implications for policy makers on better implementing the environmental protection law in developing countries.
Salting our freshwater lakes Dugan, Hilary A.; Bartlett, Sarah L.; Burke, Samantha M. ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
04/2017, Letnik:
114, Številka:
17
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The highest densities of lakes on Earth are in north temperate ecosystems, where increasing urbanization and associated chloride runoff can salinize freshwaters and threaten lake water quality and ...the many ecosystem services lakes provide. However, the extent to which lake salinity may be changing at broad spatial scales remains unknown, leading us to first identify spatial patterns and then investigate the drivers of these patterns. Significant decadal trends in lake salinization were identified using a dataset of long-term chloride concentrations from 371 North American lakes. Landscape and climate metrics calculated for each site demonstrated that impervious land cover was a strong predictor of chloride trends in Northeast and Midwest North American lakes. As little as 1% impervious land cover surrounding a lake increased the likelihood of long-term salinization. Considering that 27% of large lakes in the United States have >1% impervious land cover around their perimeters, the potential for steady and long-term salinization of these aquatic systems is high. This study predicts that many lakes will exceed the aquatic life threshold criterion for chronic chloride exposure (230 mg L−1), stipulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the next 50 y if current trends continue.
With the growing tightening constraints of ecological environment, managing the relationship between environmental protection and economic growth has become a vital issue. This study considered ...China’s new environmental protection law (NEPL) as a quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the impact of environmental regulations on enterprises’ total factor productivity (TFP) in a difference in differences (DID) framework and further analyzed the internal impact mechanisms. The heterogenous impacts of enterprises with different characteristics at enterprise, industrial, and regional levels are investigated. The results revealed that the NEPL significantly hinders enterprises’ TFP and the effects persist for two years. Further, the inhibition on enterprises’ TFP mainly results from tightening financial constraints and negative impacts on technical innovation and resource allocation efficiency. When considering the heterogeneity at enterprise, industrial, and regional levels, state-owned and export enterprises and enterprises with longer establishment times and better cash flow situations are less affected by the implementation of the NEPL. Furthermore, high market competitiveness and government efficiency are conducive to easing the NEPL’s negative impacts. The results demonstrate that the “win-win” goal between environmental protection and economic growth has not been achieved under the unified standards and severe sanctions. Therefore, it is vital to accelerate market-oriented reform of China’s environmental regulations. This study is a reexamination of Porter Hypothesis and fills the gap in the existing literature on the NEPL’s micro influence framework on enterprises’ TFP.
•The New Environmental Protection Law (NEPL) of China has a negative impact on enterprises’ total factor productivity (TFP) within two years.•Negative impacts on technical innovation, lowering resource allocation efficiency and tightening financial constraints are main influence channels.•The impacts of the NEPL on TFP vary in enterprise with different ownership, export, age and cash flow.•High market competitiveness and government efficiency are conducive to easing the negative impacts from the NEPL.
Essential oils (EOs) from Thymus mastichina (EO-thyme) and Helichrysum italicum (EO-curry) have wide commercial applications, but little is known about their ecotoxicity to aquatic life. We evaluated ...the lethal toxicity of both EOs toward standard freshwater (Daphnia. magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus) and saltwater (Artemia sp.) species. Dimethylsulfoxide was used as a solvent after establishing a maximum safe but effective concentration of 1% (v/v). EO-curry was significantly more toxic than EO-thyme (24–48 h LC50 values of 15.93–55.80 and of 84.78–153.0 mg Lsup.−1, respectively) for all species; sensitivity ratios ranged from threefold for D. magna (48 h) and Artemia sp. (24 h) to fivefold for T. platyurus (24 h). Artemia sp. was the least sensitive, and T. platyurus was the most sensitive species, although significantly more so than D. magna only to EO-curry. The second major compound in EO-thyme, β-pinene (5%), is more toxic to aquatic life than major compound 1,8-cineole (62%), although 1,8-cineole facilitates penetration of other EO constituents into crustaceans’ epidermis. Among the main compounds of EO-curry, only α-pinene (13%) is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms. However, minor compounds present in both EOs, like p-cymene (0.3–1.1%), also cause synergistic effects by enhancing the penetration of other EO constituents. Before any of these standard tests can be recommended for the ecotoxicity characterization and environmental management of EOs, their sensitivity to a wider range of EOs, at least from closely related families, needs to be assessed.
This study, conducted in China in November 2020, was aimed at exploring the variations in growth traits among different provenances and families as well as to select elite materials of Juglans ...mandshurica. Thus, seeds of 44 families from six J. mandshurica provenances in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces were sown in the nursery and then transplanted out in the field. At the age of 5 years, seven growth traits were assessed, and a comprehensive analysis was conducted as well as selection of provenance and families. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant (P 0.8) between tree height and ground diameter (r = 0.86), tree height and mean crown width (r = 0.82), and ground diameter and mean crown width (r = 0.83). This suggests that these relationships can be employed for more precise predictions of the growth and morphological characteristics of trees, as well as the selection of superior materials. There was a strong correlation between temperature factors and growth traits. Based on the comprehensive scores in this study, Sanchazi was selected as elite provenance. Using the top-percentile selection criteria, SC1, SC8, DJC15, and DQ18 were selected as elite families. These selected families exhibit genetic gains of over 10% in tree height, ground diameter and mean crown width, signifying their significant potential in forestry for enhancing timber production and reducing production cycles, thereby contributing to sustainable forest management. In this study, the growth traits of J. mandshurica were found to exhibit stable variation, and there were correlations between these traits. The selected elite provenance and families of J. mandshurica showed faster growth, which is advantageous for the subsequent breeding and promotion of improved J. mandshurica varieties.
PDF
