1,721,009 research outputs found
Spatial and regional risk assessment in decision support systems for environmental risk management
Full text linkTradizionalmente nella valutazione dei rischi per l’uomo e per l’ambiente, le relazioni spaziali tra le componenti dell’analisi di rischio e la distribuzione spaziale delle variabili coinvolte non vengono adeguatamente considerate, sebbene esse influiscono sulla valutazione dell’esposizione e quindi del rischio. In base alla scala di analisi, si possono identificare due approcci di analisi di rischio (AR): l’AR spaziale sito-specifica e l’AR regionale. Nella presente tesi di dottorato è stata sviluppata una procedura di AR spaziale sito-specifica che utilizza metodi di interpolazione spaziale per ottenere delle mappe di distribuzione della contaminazione al fine di supportare la zonizzazione del sito sulla base dei livelli di rischio. A scala regionale è stata sviluppata una metodologia innovativa che integra un approccio di AR relativo con analisi spaziali, per selezionare i siti dove le attività di caratterizzazione sono urgentemente richieste. Le due metodologie sono state implementate rispettivamente in DESYRE (DEcision Support sYstem for the REqualification of contaminated sites) e in SYRIADE (Spatial decision support sYstem for Regional rIsk Assessment of DEgraded land) e applicate al sito di Porto Marghera e alla regione dell’Upper Silesia.Environmental risks are traditionally assessed and presented in non spatial ways although the spatial relations between the risk assessment components and the spatial distribution of the risk assessment variables strongly influence exposure estimations and hence risks. According to the scale of the problem, two different spatial risk assessments approaches can be identified: site-specific spatial risk assessment and regional risk assessment. In the present Ph.D. thesis the first approach applies geostatistic interpolation methods for mapping the distribution of contaminants concentration in order to support the risk-based zoning of the site. It was implemented in DESYRE (DEcision Support sYstem for the REqualification of contaminated sites) and applied to the Porto Marghera case study. At regional scale, an innovative methodology integrating a relative risk approach and spatial analysis was developed to select sites at regional scale where a preliminary soil investigation is required first. It was implemented in SYRIADE (Spatial decision support sYstem for Regional rIsk Assessment of DEgraded land) and applied to the Upper Silesia case-study
Data quality assessment of aggregated LCI datasets: A case study on fossil‐based and bio‐based plastic food packaging
Full text linkEnvironmental impacts resulting from plastic food packaging, made from both fossil-based and bio-based polymers, are increasingly analyzed in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. However, the literature reveals significant variations in results for the same polymer within the same scope. To enhance the reliability of these assessments, data quality assessment (DQA) plays a relevant role. However, despite most of the LCA studies employing aggregated life cycle inventory (LCI) datasets, in the literature, DQA methods for aggregated processes are not available. To fill this gap, in this paper, a DQA for aggregated LCI datasets is proposed and demonstrated through its application to 101 aggregated LCI datasets, extracted from Ecoinvent and GaBi databases. The DQA method has been developed by adapting and integrating the pedigree matrix and the data quality ranking proposed by the recently published EC Plastic LCA method. The three data quality indicators (DQIs) used are technological, geographical, and time-related representativeness. The application of this method exhibits an overall positive evaluation of the selected datasets with differences among the three DQIs. Moreover, it highlights the role of metadata structure in adequately supporting a robust DQA. Indeed, in the absence of a common framework that defines, assesses, and provides access to data quality information, transparency must be assured by the operator in the metadata interpretation and related assumptions along the DQA process. Finally, although the proposed DQA method was developed for the plastic sector, its application can be extended to LCI aggregated datasets relevant to other sectors, materials, and products
Assessing regionalization of LCI datasets of fossil-based and biodegradable bio-based polymers used for food packaging in the European context
Full text linkThis study examines the influence of choosing generic and country-specific Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) datasets on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) outcomes for key fossil-based (FB) and bio-based (BB) polymers produced in Europe. Although regionalized data are increasingly demanded, site-specific datasets are often absent, leading to reliance on generic datasets. Despite Europe offering the most country-specific coverage, comparative studies remain limited. This analysis uses regionalized datasets for FB polymers (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, and PP) and BB polymers (PLA/starch, and TPS) from Managed LCA Content (MLC) Databases, applying the EF 3.1 method, and using “1 kg of granulate polymer for packaging” as functional unit. Results were evaluated based on i) the occurrence of burden shifting from FB to BB polymers and ii) the influence of European country-specific datasets compared to RER datasets. Acidification and Eutrophication impacts were found to increase in BB polymers. In Climate Change, no decrease was observed because EF 3.1 lacks standardized biogenic carbon accounting, preventing this from being captured. Significant variations were found in Ionizing Radiation, Land Use, Ozone Depletion, and Water Use, both in the FB and BB datasets. The importance of regionalization in BB datasets was highlighted due to differing agricultural practices. In conclusion, enhanced inventory and impact regionalization are recommended to capture regional dynamics accurately
A spatial decision support system for the Risk-based management of contaminated sites: the DESYRE DSS
No full textA spatial risk assessment methodology to support the remediation of contaminated land
No full textWhen soil and groundwater contaminations occur over large areas, remediation measures should be spatially prioritised on the basis of the risk posed to human health and in compliance with technological and budget constraints. Within this scope, the application of human health risk assessment algorithms in a spatially resolved environment raises a number of methodological and technical complexities. In this paper, a methodology is proposed and applied in a case study to support the entire formulation process of remediation plans, encompassing hazard assessment, exposure assessment, risk characterisation, uncertainty assessment and allocation of risk reduction measures. In the hazard assessment, it supports the selection of Contaminants of Concern (CoC) with regard to both their average concentrations and peak concentrations, i.e. hot spots. In the exposure assessment, it provides a zoning of the site based on the geostatistical mapping of contaminant. In the risk characterisation, it generates vector maps of Risk Factors on the basis of the risk posed by multiple substances and allows the interrogation of most relevant CoC and exposure pathways for each zone of the site. It also supports the Monte Carlo based probabilistic estimation of the Risk Factors and generates maps of the associated uncertainty. In the fisk reduction phase, it supports the formulation of remediation plans based on the stepwise spatial allocation of remediation interventions and the on-time simulation of fisk reduction performances. The application of this methodology is fully supported by an easy-to-use and customized Geographical Information System and does not require high expertise for interpretation. The proposed methodology is the core module of a Decision Support System (DSS) that was implemented in the DESYRE software aimed at supporting the risk-based remediation of megasites
CARBON FOOTPRINT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COLLECTION IN THE TREVISO AREA (ITALY)
Full text linkCarbon Footprint (CF) is an environmental indicator used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that allows measuring the total amount of CO2 emissions caused directly or indirectly by an activity or accumulated through the life cycle stages of a product (ISO 14064-14067).
In this article CF was used to analyse and assess the environmental impacts of the resources used for the collection of municipal solid waste by the company Contarina S.p.A. Contarina oversees waste management for part of the Treviso province (Italy), serving about 260,000 appliances in 50 municipalities distributed in the territory.
The presented case study assessed CF of year 2015 related the whole fleet involved in door-to-door collection of municipal solid waste without taking into account treatment processes. In addition, a future scenario, in which part of the current fleet is replaced by compressed natural gas engine (CNG) based vehicles, was assessed and compared to the current status. The CF was performed by adapting the SimaPro software from PRè, one of the most widely used LCA software since the nineties, by introducing fuel based analysis and creating CNG lorries. The analysis aimed at improving sustainability of Contarina’s services while fostering an informed development and testing of new technologies aimed at reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions
The social embeddedness of brownfield regeneration actors: Insights from social network analysis
No full textStakeholder involvement in land management has been considered in both normative and analytical terms, but often in an undifferentiated way. The article aims to compare these two perspectives by proposing, first, a mixed methods approach consisting of semistructured interviews and social network analysis. Second, it explores a social network of stakeholders by inductively developing and illustrating three indicators of social embeddedness. These are the relative embeddedness of stakeholder groups, the level of overall network coherence across multiple regeneration goals, and the relative distance between non-decision makers and those making decisions. The case study used is the regeneration of Area 2, a site in Porto Marghera, Italy. The article concludes by presenting a baseline assessment of the Area 2 regeneration network and suggesting several widely applicable ways to foster stakeholder involvement in regeneration processes via improved communication
Soil environmental management systems for contaminated sites in China and the EU. Common challenges and perspectives for lesson drawing
No full textThis paper aims at appraising the current progress of China's contaminated sites environmental management system, identifying its bottlenecks and individuating areas for lesson drawing based on the relevant EU experience. The paper provides an overview of policies, laws, standards, administrative functions, and management processes relevant to China's contaminated sites environmental management. Based on its current development status, the following shortcomings can be individuated in the Chinese case: (a) inadequate monitoring system; (b) incomplete legislation; (c) overlapping of competencies in sites administration; (d) lack of a dedicated funding scheme. Similar challenges have been characterising also the development of the management system for contaminated sites in EU Member States. Based on the experience matured in the EU in tackling such challenges, the final section of the paper puts forward recommendations targeted on the Chinese case. Proposed recommendations are discussed against the broader background of China's institutional and policy environment
Identifying sustainability communicators in urban regeneration: Integrating individual and relational attributes
No full textThe paper advances a conceptualization of sustainability in urban regeneration as communicative practice taking place within networks of social actors. To demonstrate the potential of this perspective, we propose an interdisciplinary methodology integrating social network analysis from sociology and multi-criteria decision analysis (fuzzy logic) from operations research to calculate a sustainability communicator score for each actor involved in a regeneration network. The score is based on three dimensions: a sustainability vision (relying on the three pillar model of sustainability), a formal network influence dimension (based on organizational practice and decision-making position) and an informal network influence dimension (drawing on degree, betweenness, eigenvector and closeness centrality measures from social network analysis). The framework allows the identification and ranking of sustainability communicators, based on the preferences of specific users, while also allowing for variable degrees of vagueness. We illustrate the methodology by means of a case study of a social network of actors (N = 28) involved in the sustainable regeneration of a brownfield site in Porto Marghera, Venice, Italy. The methodology is expandable beyond the actor level to allow for the ranking of more complex network configurations for promoting sustainability
Comparative occupational risk assessment to support the substitution of Substances of Very High Concern: Alternatives assessment for diarsenic trioxide in Murano artistic glass production
No full textIn the framework of REACH Regulation (1907/2006/EC), the assessment of health and environmental risks posed by chemical substitutes of Substances of Very High Concern requires transparent approaches, suitable to provide all stakeholders with the information needed to select safer chemicals and minimize the potential for unintended consequences. A comparative assessment for diarsenic trioxide (As2O3) and proposed chemical alternatives (cerium dioxide CeO2 and blast furnace slag) in Murano artistic glass production was performed. The assessment followed a structured, stepwise framework including a detailed analysis of production processes, development of occupational exposure scenarios and comparative assessment of occupational health risks. Several occupational exposure models were compared and the most suitable ones (MEASE, TRAw and ART models) were applied to the selected scenarios. The study concluded that, from the perspective of occupational health risks, the use of CeO2 together with blast furnace slag represents a safer alternative to As2O3 and, given the correct implementation of Personal Protection Measures, health risks will be controlled for all production phases. The study demonstrated that, due to similar physico-chemical properties of the considered substances, toxicological factors constitutes the main driver of occupational risks, and at the same time allowed to identify critical issues in the comparative assessment procedure. The proposed approach can guide the evaluation of risks of chemical alternatives with the aim of supporting the decision-making process in the transition towards safer productions
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