Waste is part of the agenda of the European Environment and Health Process and included among the topics of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. Disposal and management of ...hazardous waste are worldwide challenges. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the health impact of hazardous waste exposure, applying transparent and a priori defined methods. The following five steps, based on pre-defined systematic criteria, were applied. 1. Specify the research question, in terms of "Population-Exposure-Comparators-Outcomes" (PECO).
people living near hazardous waste sites; Exposure: exposure to hazardous waste; Comparators: all comparators; Outcomes: all diseases/health disorders. 2. Carry out the literature search, in Medline and EMBASE. 3. Select studies for inclusion: original epidemiological studies, published between 1999 and 2015, on populations residentially exposed to hazardous waste. 4. Assess the quality of selected studies, taking into account study design, exposure and outcome assessment, confounding control. 5. Rate the confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome taking into account the reliability of each study, the strength of the association and concordance of results.Fifty-seven papers of epidemiological investigations on the health status of populations living near hazardous waste sites were selected for the evidence evaluation. The association between 95 health outcomes (diseases and disorders) and residential exposure to hazardous waste sites was evaluated. Health effects of residential hazardous waste exposure, previously partially unrecognized, were highlighted. Sufficient evidence was found of association between exposure to oil industry waste that releases high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and acute symptoms. The evidence of causal relationship with hazardous waste was defined as limited for: liver, bladder, breast and testis cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, asthma, congenital anomalies overall and anomalies of the neural tube, urogenital, connective and musculoskeletal systems, low birth weight and pre-term birth; evidence was defined as inadequate for the other health outcomes. The results, although not conclusive, provide indications that more effective public health policies on hazardous waste management are urgently needed. International, national and local authorities should oppose and eliminate poor, outdated and illegal practices of waste disposal, including illegal transboundary trade, and increase support regulation and its enforcement.
A 125,000m2 calanchi badland in the Province of Siena (Tuscany) was monitored with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and terrestrial laser scanning over the period of one year. TLS (terrestrial laser ...scanning) was carried out on two sample slopes, whereas the image acquisition of the UAV covered the entire catchment. In combination with ground control points, the UAV images were used to create orthophotos and 3D point clouds using the Structure from Motion (SfM) software Photoscan. The TLS surface models indicate seasonal differences in erosion and deposition. The surface change measured with SfM showed nearly 6.700m3 of net material loss, resulting from 8.700m3 erosion and 2.000m3 deposition. These values reveal a mean annual surface lowering of 5.3cm for the catchment. Additionally, several geomorphological processes, such as rill erosion, slope wash and translational slides could be detected in the one-year monitoring period. A comparison of TLS and SfM results showed differences in the calculated volumes of mobilised material. These discrepancies resulted from shadowing effects and low point densities of the TLS point clouds.
•We analysed erosion and deposition processes in a calanchi badland with TLS and SfM.•The study revealed an annual surface lowering of 5.3cmyr−1.•An amount of 8700m3 of eroded and 2070m3 of deposited substrata was measured.
The aim of this work is to test an integrated quantitative geomorphic approach based on Stream Length–Gradient Index (SL Index) analysis within the small catchment of the Tarugo River in the Northern ...Marchean Apennines (Central Italy). The Tarugo River basin, 92 km
2 wide, strikes SW–NE across the Marchean Ridge and the western sector of Marchean Piedmont. The area is characterized by a series of NW–SE trending, NE verging thrust folds affecting the Meso–Cenozoic bedrock that pass upward from dominantly carbonate to dominantly terrigenous rocks. The area investigated has been affected since the Pliocene by extensional tectonics, accompanying a regional uplift decreasing in rate north-eastwards. In this work the SL Index analysis has been integrated with the spatial analysis of the Amplitude of relief (
A
r) and compared to geological and geomorphological field data. Results of this work indicate that the SL Index is a valid tool to detect the long wavelength structural effect on topography as well as the incipient local response to regional processes (i.e. regional uplift) that is often undetectable by other morphotectonic parameters. In contrast, the SL Index analysis seems not be a valid tool for discriminating the local lithological influence from the tectonic one.
Volcanic islands pose several major types of natural hazards, often interconnected and concentrated in relatively small areas. The quantification of these hazards must be framed from a multi-hazard ...perspective whilst building on existing single-hazard analyses. Ischia is a densely inhabited volcanic island with a long eruptive history lasting more than 150 ka (last in 1302 AD) characterized by the significant asymmetric resurgence of a caldera block. Here, we review the state-of-art of the natural hazards of Ischia, aiming at building a solid base for future holistic multi-hazard quantifications. We frame our analysis in three steps: i) review of geological, historical and current activity; ii) review of available hazard models and analyses; iii) development of an interpretative framework for the interdependent hazards. The results highlight that volcanic activity has been quite intense and many volcano-related hazardous phenomena have affected the island including in very recent times, both for eruptive (phreatic or magmatic eruptions) and non-eruptive (earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis) phenomena. The effects of some of them (e.g. tsunamis, tephra) are also relevant beyond the island territory. Quantitative hazard assessments are almost absent and should be developed in the future considering the evident interconnections between hazards. To this end, we propose a conceptual interpretative multi-hazard framework that highlights the fundamental role played by the resurgent block in controlling and connecting the different hazards, in terms of both spatial distribution of the sources and temporal clustering.
This paper presents a multi-modelling approach that incorporates contributions from morpho-evolutionary modelling, detailed engineering-geological modelling and time-dependent stress-strain numerical ...modelling to analyse the rheological evolution of a river valley slope over approximately 102kyr. The slope is located in a transient, tectonically active landscape in southwestern Tyrrhenian Calabria (Italy), where gravitational processes drive failures in rock slopes. Constraints on the valley profile development were provided by a morpho-evolutionary model based on the correlation of marine and river strath terraces. Rock mass classes were identified through geomechanical parameters that were derived from engineering-geological surveys and outputs of a multi-sensor slope monitoring system. The rock mass classes were associated to lithotechnical units to obtain a high-resolution engineering-geological model along a cross section of the valley. Time-dependent stress-strain numerical modelling reproduced the main morpho-evolutionary stages of the valley slopes. The findings demonstrate that a complex combination of eustatism, uplift and Mass Rock Creep (MRC) deformations can lead to first-time failures of rock slopes when unstable conditions are encountered up to the generation of stress-controlled shear zones. The multi-modelling approach enabled us to determine that such complex combinations may have been sufficient for the first-time failure of the S. Giovanni slope at approximately 140ka (MIS 7), even without invoking any trigger. Conversely, further reactivations of the landslide must be related to triggers such as earthquakes, rainfall and anthropogenic activities. This failure involved a portion of the slope where a plasticity zone resulted from mass rock creep that evolved with a maximum strain rate of 40% per thousand years, after the formation of a river strath terrace. This study demonstrates that the multi-modelling approach presented herein is a useful tool for estimating the progressive development of slope failures because it can highlight time-dependent continuous deformations as the major processes that drive rocky slopes to failure. This type of approach can be devoted to the best selection of risk mitigation strategies with respect to both human life and anthropic infrastructure.
•Inherited landslide hazard is inferred for a transient landscape.•Geomorphic markers provide constraints on the morpho-evolution of river valleys.•Time-dependent numerical modelling simulates 620ky of slope evolution.•Mass rock creep is responsible for the first-time failure of a landslide slope.•Further landslide reactivations must be related to external forcing.
Studies on denudation rates can provide insight into the influence of climate change, tectonics, and human activities on landscape evolution. Research performed in Central Italy has shown ...considerable spatial variability of denudation rates in the major river basins. These studies have focused mainly on the Tyrrhenian side of the Italian peninsula, where Plio-Pleistocene marine deposits filling NW–SE elongated sedimentary basins have been uplifted during the Quaternary up to several hundreds of meters above present sea level. Small sub-catchments developed on clays are affected by sharp- and/or rounded-edged badlands (i.e.
calanchi and
biancane), representing denudation “hot spots” in the present-day morphoclimatic framework.
In this paper, we analyze the relationships between indirectly estimated denudation rates at the catchment scale and field monitoring data at the hillslope scale. We attempt to better understand and quantify all hillslope processes that contribute to seasonal variability of denudation, to help with predicting the net input from “hot spots” to the overall estimated sediment yield at the basin outlets. At the hillslope scale, we discuss, in particular, the variability of denudation rates at
calanchi and
biancane badlands as a function of their different morphoevolution.
Hundreds of landslides were triggered by the mainshocks (up to Mw 6.5) that occurred in 2016 in Central Italy during the seismic sequence that originated in the Apennine and ended in January 2017. ...These landslides were studied via field-based investigation and remote sensing techniques during the weeks immediately after the mainshocks occurred. EarthQuake-triggered Landslides (EQtLs) mostly consisted of rockfalls and rockslides. The spatial distribution of the examined EQtLs with respect to the epicentres of the main shocks resulted in very good agreement with the available empirical curves of maximum distance vs. magnitude. Based on the collected dataset, approximately 70% of the landslides impacted transportation routes (national, provincial and secondary roads linking towns and mountain villages) since they principally detached from road cuts. The landslides caused traffic interruption, and some delayed rescue vehicles from reaching the zones most damaged by earthquakes; moreover, some landslides caused the temporary isolation of several localities in the epicentre area. Even if it seems obvious that road cuts favour slope failure under shaking conditions, the dataset reported here is the first one for Italy where such an effect is quantified. Moreover, a statistical analysis was conducted to explore the relationships between the spatial distribution of EQtLs and some selected causative factors, including both natural (i.e., earthquake and terrain) and anthropogenic factors (i.e., presence of roads and trackways). Among the considered combinations of causative factors (both natural and anthropogenic), this study demonstrates that the occurrence of the uphill road cuts at the bottom of deep incised V-shaped valleys strongly influenced the spatial clustering of the EQtL triggered in 2016 in Central Italy.
Scenarios of earthquake-induced landslides are necessary for seismic microzonation (SM) studies since they must be integrated with the mapping of instability areas. The PARSIFAL (
Probabilistic ...Approach to pRovide Scenarios of earthquake‐Induced slope FAiLures
) approach provides extensive analyses, over tens to thousands of square kilometers, and is designed as a fully comprehensive methodology to output expected scenarios which depend on seismic input and saturation conditions. This allows to attribute a rating, in terms of severity level, to the landslide-prone slope areas in view of future engineering studies and designs. PARSIFAL takes into account first-time rock- and earth-slides as well as re-activations of existing landslides performing slope stability analyses of different failure mechanisms. The results consist of mapping earthquake-induced landslide scenarios in terms of exceedance probability of critical threshold values of co-seismic displacements (PD ≥ Dc|a(t),a
y
). PARSIFAL was applied in the framework of level 3 SM studies over the municipality area of Accumoli (Rieti, Italy), strongly struck by the 2016 seismic sequence of Central Apennines. The use of the PARSIFAL was tested for the first time to screen the Susceptibility Zones (ZS
FR
) from the Attention Zones (ZA
FR
) in the category of the unstable areas, according to the guidelines by Italian Civil Protection. The results obtained were in a GIS-based mapping representing the possibility for a landslide to be induced by an earthquake (with a return period of 475 years) in three different saturation scenarios (i.e. dry, average, full). Only 41% of the landslide-prone areas in the Municipality of Accumoli are existing events, while the remaining 59% is characterized by first-time earth- or rock-slides. In dry conditions, unstable conditions or PD ≥ Dc|a(t),a
y
> 0 were for 54% of existing landslides, 17% of first-time rock-slides and 1% of first-time earth-slides. In full saturation conditions, the findings are much more severe since unstable conditions or PD ≥ Dc|a(t),a
y
> 0 were found for 58% of the existing landslides and for more than 80% of first-time rock- and earth-slides. Moreover, comparison of the total area of the ZA
FR
versus ZS
FR
, resulted in PARSIFAL screening reducing of 22% of the mapped ZA
FR
.
The 2016–2017 seismic events that struck central Italy led the Government to carry out a project to produce the third level Seismic Microzonation studies in 138 municipalities. These activities have ...involved many experts in different disciplines such as geology, geomorphology, geophysics, seismology and geotechnical engineering. This project represented the first opportunity to perform nationally coordinated third level Seismic Microzonation studies over a wide area in a quite short time (6 months). It provided the chance to improve methodological procedures, to test the reliability of methods and models for site response analyses and to produce a huge amount of validated data. This paper focuses on the contribution of geological disciplines and concerns: (a) the definition of the main “morphostructural domains” of the Central-Northern Apennines; (b) the creation of an archive of all the lithostratigraphic units occurring in the study area with their conversion into engineering-geological units and their distribution in the different morphostructural domains; (c) the construction of the reference geological and geotechnical models, which are essential to classify the territory into seismically homogeneous microzones and to perform the successive 1D and 2D numerical analyses of the local site response. The geophysical dataset acquired for the study allowed a first statistical characterization of the Vs values typical of the engineering-geological units identified in this study. Some examples of the recurrent geological and geotechnical models are shown to explain the complexity and variety of the geological and geomorphological features of the investigated area and to highlight the different seismostratigraphic behavior of rocks and cover terrains. The analysis of third level Seismic Microzonation data made it possible to identify recurrent subsoil models and to note the main stratigraphic and morphological control-factors of the ground motion modification in the different morphostructural domains.
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