Integrated manure management to reduce environmental impact: II. Environmental impact assessment of strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, de J.W.; Groenestein, C.M.; Schroder, J.J.; Hoogmoed, W.B.; Sukkel, W.; Groot Koerkamp, P.W.G.; Boer, de I.J.M.

2015-01-01

Manure management contributes to adverse environmental impacts through losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and carbon (C). In this study, we aimed to assess the potential of newly designed strategies for integrated manure management (IS) to reduce environmental impact. An important aspect of the

Environmental Impact Assessment in Antarctica

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastmeijer, C.J.; Roura, R.; Bastmeijer, K.; Koivurova, T.

2008-01-01

This publication focuses on the instrument of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that has been developed within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) as one of the tools to promote environmental protection. The states involved in the ATS already recognized the importance of this instrument in 1975

Environmental impact assessment in the Nordic Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broden, K.; Palsson, S.E.; Poroddsson, P.

2000-12-01

A meeting on Environmental Impact Assessment has been held in Iceland, September 2-6, 2000. It was held within the framework of the project NKS/SOS-3 (Radioactive waste), subproject NKS/SOS-3.1 (Environmental Impact Assessment). The meeting included presentations, discussions and a study trip to the Egilsstadir and Myvatn districts. (au)

Is Environmental Impact Assessment fulfilling its potential?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Sanne Vammen

2014-01-01

fuel with CO2-neutral energy sources. A variety of these projects are subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA), which raises the following questions: What role does an impact assessment play? When is the project environmentally friendly? How are climate change-related impacts assessed......One of the topics receiving much attention in recent years is climate change and the potential of its integration in impact assessment, both in terms of achieving mitigation and adaptation. Renewable energy projects are part of the efforts to mitigate climate change, replacing the use of fossil...... adaptation is absent. Also, the results show an emphasis on positive impacts in the reports, and in a few cases discussions of enhancements. Identification and assessment of negative climate change impacts are less apparent. This leads to a discussion of the results in the light of the purpose of EIA....

Environmental Impact Assessment and Space Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Viikari, L.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a common tool for environment a l protection and management on Earth today, as prior assessment of the environmental consequences of planned activities. It is meant to provide the decision-makers with as comprehensive as possible information about the different environmental effects the proposed activity would entail, including alternative courses of action and the zero-alternative (i.e. the no action alternative). Additionally, plans for mitigation in respect of each alternative are to be outlined. The assessments take account of i.a. environmental impacts on ecosystems, diminution of aesthetic and scientific values, long-term or cumulative effects, as well as transfrontier implications. They also consider issues such as pollution control, environmental protection measures, reporting, post-project analysis, rehabilitation and so on. Also uncertainties in the assessment process are to be expressly presented. Most importantly, a common requirement also is that the results of the impact studies are presented in a way comprehensible to the g neral public,e too. Although the central aspect of the EIA is to provide the decision-makers with scientific information, the process also has other important implications. One of the most relevant of them is the involvement of those people potentially affected in some way by the proposed activity: most EIA systems require in some way the participation of the public, alongside with the relevant governmental authorities and other stake-holders. Such public involvement has various aims and goals: it may serve as a testimony to good governance in general, or be considered in more practical terms as improved planning, due to the concrete contribution of the public to the decision-making process. Obviously, it also is a tool for reducing conflict and developing wider support for the eventual decisions. In short, it enables the public to gain information about planned activities and influence

The value of environmental impact assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohocki, D.D.

1996-01-01

The environment and the economy are inextricably linked. Today the environmental, economic, and social associated with project and program decisions are at times of such a magnitude and duration that they exceed our ability to understand, let alone mitigate them. Energy production, distribution, pricing, policies, end uses, and externalities demonstrate the need for wise planning and informed decision making. International cooperation, based upon mutually shared respect, responsibility, and innovative solutions is an essential component of addressing contemporary issues, impacts, and opportunities. Both egypt and the united states have laws requiring environmental impact assessments. Just as egypt can learn from our successes and failures in the environmental impact assessment field over the past 36 years, the united states and other nations can learn as egypt develops and innovates its own approaches and solutions

A state-impact-state methodology for assessing environmental impact in land use planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Longgao; Yang, Xiaoyan; Chen, Longqian; Potter, Rebecca; Li, Yingkui

2014-01-01

The implementation of land use planning (LUP) has a large impact on environmental quality. There lacks a widely accepted and consolidated approach to assess the LUP environmental impact using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In this paper, we developed a state-impact-state (SIS) model employed in the LUP environmental impact assessment (LUPEA). With the usage of Matter-element (ME) and Extenics method, the methodology based on the SIS model was established and applied in the LUPEA of Zoucheng County, China. The results show that: (1) this methodology provides an intuitive and easy understanding logical model for both the theoretical analysis and application of LUPEA; (2) the spatial multi-temporal assessment from base year, near-future year to planning target year suggests the positive impact on the environmental quality in the whole County despite certain environmental degradation in some towns; (3) besides the spatial assessment, other achievements including the environmental elements influenced by land use and their weights, the identification of key indicators in LUPEA, and the appropriate environmental mitigation measures were obtained; and (4) this methodology can be used to achieve multi-temporal assessment of LUP environmental impact of County or Town level in other areas. - Highlights: • A State-Impact-State model for Land Use Planning Environmental Assessment (LUPEA). • Matter-element (ME) and Extenics methods were embedded in the LUPEA. • The model was applied to the LUPEA of Zoucheng County. • The assessment shows improving environment quality since 2000 in Zoucheng County. • The method provides a useful tool for the LUPEA in the county level

A state-impact-state methodology for assessing environmental impact in land use planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Longgao [Institute of land resources, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116 (China); Yang, Xiaoyan [Institute of land resources, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116 (China); School of Environmental Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116 (China); Chen, Longqian, E-mail: cumt_chenlongqian@163.com [School of Environmental Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116 (China); Potter, Rebecca; Li, Yingkui [Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States)

2014-04-01

The implementation of land use planning (LUP) has a large impact on environmental quality. There lacks a widely accepted and consolidated approach to assess the LUP environmental impact using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In this paper, we developed a state-impact-state (SIS) model employed in the LUP environmental impact assessment (LUPEA). With the usage of Matter-element (ME) and Extenics method, the methodology based on the SIS model was established and applied in the LUPEA of Zoucheng County, China. The results show that: (1) this methodology provides an intuitive and easy understanding logical model for both the theoretical analysis and application of LUPEA; (2) the spatial multi-temporal assessment from base year, near-future year to planning target year suggests the positive impact on the environmental quality in the whole County despite certain environmental degradation in some towns; (3) besides the spatial assessment, other achievements including the environmental elements influenced by land use and their weights, the identification of key indicators in LUPEA, and the appropriate environmental mitigation measures were obtained; and (4) this methodology can be used to achieve multi-temporal assessment of LUP environmental impact of County or Town level in other areas. - Highlights: • A State-Impact-State model for Land Use Planning Environmental Assessment (LUPEA). • Matter-element (ME) and Extenics methods were embedded in the LUPEA. • The model was applied to the LUPEA of Zoucheng County. • The assessment shows improving environment quality since 2000 in Zoucheng County. • The method provides a useful tool for the LUPEA in the county level.

31 CFR 26.3 - Availability of Environmental Impact Assessment Summaries (EIA Summaries) and Environmental...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Availability of Environmental Impact Assessment Summaries (EIA Summaries) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). 26.3 Section 26.3 Money and... DEVELOPMENT BANDS (MDBs) § 26.3 Availability of Environmental Impact Assessment Summaries (EIA Summaries) and...

Environmental economic impact assessment in China: Problems and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindhjem, Henrik; Hu Tao; Ma Zhong; Skjelvik, John Magne; Song Guojun; Vennemo, Haakon; Wu Jian; Zhang Shiqiu

2007-01-01

The use of economic valuation methods to assess environmental impacts of projects and policies has grown considerably in recent years. However, environmental valuation appears to have developed independently of regulations and practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA), despite its potential benefits to the EIA process. Environmental valuation may be useful in judging significance of impacts, determining mitigation level, comparing alternatives and generally enabling a more objective analysis of tradeoffs. In China, laws and regulations require the use of environmental valuation in EIA, but current practice lags far behind. This paper assesses the problems and prospects of introducing environmental valuation into the EIA process in China. We conduct four case studies of environmental economic impact assessment (EEIA), three of which are based on environmental impact statements of construction projects (a power plant, a wastewater treatment plant and a road construction project) and one for a regional pollution problem (wastewater irrigation). The paper demonstrates the potential usefulness of environmental valuation but also discusses several challenges to the introduction and wider use of EEIA, many of which are likely to be of relevance far beyond the Chinese context. The paper closes with suggesting some initial core elements of an EEIA guideline

34 CFR 75.601 - Applicant's assessment of environmental impact.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Applicant's assessment of environmental impact. 75.601... Conditions Must Be Met by a Grantee? Construction § 75.601 Applicant's assessment of environmental impact. An applicant shall include with its application its assessment of the impact of the proposed construction on...

Methods of Environmental Impact Assessment in Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Toro Calderón

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA in Colombia constitutes the primary tool for making decisions with respect to projects, works and activities (PWA with potential for significant environmental impacts. In the case of the infrastructure of the PWA, the EIA is mandatory and determines the environmental license (EL for construction and operation. This paper analyzes the methods used to assess the environmental impact of the PWA that have applied for licenses with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. It was found that the method most frequently used is the qualitative proposal by Conesa, with modifications that reduce the effectiveness of the EIA and favor the subjectivity and bias of the evaluator. Finally a series of recom­mendations to improve the process in the country are proposed.

Risk analysis within environmental impact assessment of proposed construction activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeleňáková, Martina; Zvijáková, Lenka

2017-01-15

Environmental impact assessment is an important process, prior to approval of the investment plan, providing a detailed examination of the likely and foreseeable impacts of proposed construction activity on the environment. The objective of this paper is to develop a specific methodology for the analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts of selected constructions – flood protection structures using risk analysis methods. The application of methodology designed for the process of environmental impact assessment will develop assumptions for further improvements or more effective implementation and performance of this process. The main objective of the paper is to improve the implementation of the environmental impact assessment process. Through the use of risk analysis methods in environmental impact assessment process, the set objective has been achieved. - Highlights: This paper is informed by an effort to develop research with the aim of: • Improving existing qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the impacts • A better understanding of relations between probabilities and consequences • Methodology for the EIA of flood protection constructions based on risk analysis • Creative approaches in the search for environmentally friendly proposed activities.

Risk analysis within environmental impact assessment of proposed construction activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeleňáková, Martina; Zvijáková, Lenka

2017-01-01

Environmental impact assessment is an important process, prior to approval of the investment plan, providing a detailed examination of the likely and foreseeable impacts of proposed construction activity on the environment. The objective of this paper is to develop a specific methodology for the analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts of selected constructions – flood protection structures using risk analysis methods. The application of methodology designed for the process of environmental impact assessment will develop assumptions for further improvements or more effective implementation and performance of this process. The main objective of the paper is to improve the implementation of the environmental impact assessment process. Through the use of risk analysis methods in environmental impact assessment process, the set objective has been achieved. - Highlights: This paper is informed by an effort to develop research with the aim of: • Improving existing qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the impacts • A better understanding of relations between probabilities and consequences • Methodology for the EIA of flood protection constructions based on risk analysis • Creative approaches in the search for environmentally friendly proposed activities.

Geomorphological hazards and environmental impact: Assessment and mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Panizza, Mario

In five sections the author develops the methods for the integration of geomorphological concepts into Environmental Impact and Mapping. The first section introduces the concepts of Impact and Risk through the relationships between Geomorphological Environment and Anthropical Element. The second section proposes a methodology for the determination of Geomorphological Hazard and the identification of Geomorphological Risk. The third section synthesizes the procedure for the compilation of a Geomorphological Hazards Map. The fourth section outlines the concepts of Geomorphological Resource Assessment for the analysis of the Environmental Impact. The fifth section considers the contribution of geomorphological studies and mapping in the procedure for Environmental Impact Assessment.

Discussion on the post-project assessment of environmental impact for nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang Zhaorong

2013-01-01

The paper introduces the background of post-project assessment of environmental impact in the world and focuses on the characteristic of environmental impact assessment for Chinese nuclear facilities construction projects, analyzes the necessity, principle and contents of post-project assessment of environmental impact on current Chinese nuclear facilities operation. It is considered that to start the post-project assessment of environmental impact, perfect the post-project assessment mechanism, introduce the post-project assessment into environmental impact assessment system are just at the night time. (author)

Theory and Practice of Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastmeijer, C.J.; Koivurova, T.

2008-01-01

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a well-established instrument of environmental law and policy that aims to ensure that potential adverse environmental effects of human activities are assessed before decisions on such activities are made. The instrument is increasingly being applied in

40 CFR 8.9 - Measures to assess and verify environmental impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... environmental impacts. 8.9 Section 8.9 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN ANTARCTICA § 8.9 Measures to assess and verify environmental impacts. (a) The operator shall conduct appropriate monitoring of key environmental indicators as...

Applicable international environmental impact assessment laws for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Lawrence Hart

1971-05-28

May 28, 1971 ... appraise selected International Environmental laws and the Nigerian Environmental Impact Assessment methodology ... maze of pipelines, delivery lines, flow lines, canals and .... Toxic Materials and international waterways.

Spatial information in public consultation within environmental impact assessments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mwenda, A.N.

2015-01-01

Thesis Summary

Spatial information in public consultation within Environmental Impact Assessments

Angela N. Mwenda

Established in the United States of America in 1970, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an interdisciplinary approach that

A statistical proposal for environmental impact assessment of development projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plazas C, Julian A; De J Lema T, Alvaro; Leon P, Juan Diego

2009-01-01

Environmental impact assessment of development projects is a fundamental process, which main goal is to avoid that their construction and functioning, lead to serious and negative consequences on the environment. Some of the most important limitations of the models employed to assess environmental impacts, are the subjectivity of its parameters and weights, and the multicolineality among the variables, which represent high quantities of similar information. This work presents a multivariate statistical-based method that tries to diminish such limitations. For this purpose, environmental impact assessment, is valuated through different environmental impact attributes and environmental elements, synthesized in an environmental quality index (ICA in Spanish). ICA can be applied at different levels, such as at a project level, or applied only at a partial level on one or some environmental components.

Scope and profoundness of environmental assessments. A study in the frame of environmental impact assessments. Strategic environmental assessment and FFH (fauna-flora-habitat) impact assessment under specific consideration of the conflict wind energy - bird protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erb, Mareen

2013-01-01

The legal background of environmental impact assessments and the principle regulations and guidelines for this assessment are shortly summarized. The following Issues are discussed in detail: fundamentals of environmental assessments, profoundness and scope in environmental assessments; the conflict wind energy parks and birds.

A qualitative method proposal to improve environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toro, Javier; Requena, Ignacio; Duarte, Oscar; Zamorano, Montserrat

2013-01-01

In environmental impact assessment, qualitative methods are used because they are versatile and easy to apply. This methodology is based on the evaluation of the strength of the impact by grading a series of qualitative attributes that can be manipulated by the evaluator. The results thus obtained are not objective, and all too often impacts are eliminated that should be mitigated with corrective measures. However, qualitative methodology can be improved if the calculation of Impact Importance is based on the characteristics of environmental factors and project activities instead on indicators assessed by evaluators. In this sense, this paper proposes the inclusion of the vulnerability of environmental factors and the potential environmental impact of project activities. For this purpose, the study described in this paper defined Total Impact Importance and specified a quantification procedure. The results obtained in the case study of oil drilling in Colombia reflect greater objectivity in the evaluation of impacts as well as a positive correlation between impact values, the environmental characteristics at and near the project location, and the technical characteristics of project activities. -- Highlights: • Concept of vulnerability has been used to calculate the importance impact assessment. • This paper defined Total Impact Importance and specified a quantification procedure. • The method includes the characteristics of environmental and project activities. • The application has shown greater objectivity in the evaluation of impacts. • Better correlation between impact values, environment and the project has been shown

A qualitative method proposal to improve environmental impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Toro, Javier, E-mail: jjtoroca@unal.edu.co [Institute of Environmental Studies, National University of Colombia at Bogotá (Colombia); Requena, Ignacio, E-mail: requena@decsai.ugr.es [Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Granada (Spain); Duarte, Oscar, E-mail: ogduartev@unal.edu.co [National University of Colombia at Bogotá, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (Colombia); Zamorano, Montserrat, E-mail: zamorano@ugr.es [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada (Spain)

2013-11-15

In environmental impact assessment, qualitative methods are used because they are versatile and easy to apply. This methodology is based on the evaluation of the strength of the impact by grading a series of qualitative attributes that can be manipulated by the evaluator. The results thus obtained are not objective, and all too often impacts are eliminated that should be mitigated with corrective measures. However, qualitative methodology can be improved if the calculation of Impact Importance is based on the characteristics of environmental factors and project activities instead on indicators assessed by evaluators. In this sense, this paper proposes the inclusion of the vulnerability of environmental factors and the potential environmental impact of project activities. For this purpose, the study described in this paper defined Total Impact Importance and specified a quantification procedure. The results obtained in the case study of oil drilling in Colombia reflect greater objectivity in the evaluation of impacts as well as a positive correlation between impact values, the environmental characteristics at and near the project location, and the technical characteristics of project activities. -- Highlights: • Concept of vulnerability has been used to calculate the importance impact assessment. • This paper defined Total Impact Importance and specified a quantification procedure. • The method includes the characteristics of environmental and project activities. • The application has shown greater objectivity in the evaluation of impacts. • Better correlation between impact values, environment and the project has been shown.

Environmental impact assessment in the Fijian state sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, Jane

2003-01-01

For over 20 years, the South Pacific state of Fiji has required developers to conduct more than 70 environmental impact assessments (EIA), without specifying the environmental quality or impacts it considers (in)appropriate. It has ignored aspects of EIA to which agencies funding development have paid little attention--assessing alternatives, monitoring outcomes and enforcing consent conditions. This infers the Fijian state is not serious about using EIA to control environmental quality. Factors other than technical shortcomings are shaping the way the state constrains EIA practice. Unless these factors change, the comprehensive EIA system proposed in Sustainable Development legislation will not prevent environmental degradation

A comprehensive environmental impact assessment method for shale gas development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renjin Sun

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The great success of US commercial shale gas exploitation stimulates the shale gas development in China, subsequently, the corresponding supporting policies were issued in the 12th Five-Year Plan. But from the experience in the US shale gas development, we know that the resulted environmental threats are always an unavoidable issue, but no uniform and standard evaluation system has yet been set up in China. The comprehensive environment refers to the combination of natural ecological environment and external macro-environment. In view of this, we conducted a series of studies on how to set up a comprehensive environmental impact assessment system as well as the related evaluation methodology and models. First, we made an in-depth investigation into shale gas development procedures and any possible environmental impacts, and then compared, screened and modified environmental impact assessment methods for shale gas development. Also, we established an evaluating system and assessment models according to different status of the above two types of environment: the correlation matrix method was employed to assess the impacts on natural ecological environment and the optimization distance method was modified to evaluate the impacts on external macro-environment. Finally, we substitute the two subindexes into the comprehensive environmental impact assessment model and achieved the final numerical result of environmental impact assessment. This model can be used to evaluate if a shale gas project has any impact on environment, compare the impacts before and after a shale gas development project, or the impacts of different projects.

Geospatial Technology In Environmental Impact Assessments – Retrospective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goparaju Laxmi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Environmental Impact Assessments are studies conducted to give us an insight into the various impacts caused by an upcoming industry or any developmental activity. It should address various social, economic and environmental issues ensuring that negative impacts are mitigated. In this context, geospatial technology has been used widely in recent times.

Environmental impact assessment of abnormal events: a follow-up study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunsaker, D.B. Jr.; Lee, D.W.

1985-01-01

Impact analyses included in environmental assessments for a selected nuclear power plant, petroleum storage facility, crude oil pipeline, and geopressure well that have experienced operational, abnormal events are compared with the data quantifying the environmental impacts of the events. Comparisons of predicted vs actual impacts suggests that prediction of the types of events and associated impacts could be improved; in some instances, impacts have been underestimated. Analysis of abnormal events is especially important in environmental assessment documents addressing a technology that is novel or unique to a particular area. Incorporation of abnormal event impact analysis into project environmental monitoring and emergency response plans can help improve these plans and can help reduce the magnitude of environmental impacts resulting from said events

Assessing environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2005-01-01

is focused on the product system which comprises all the processes which the product and its components meet throughout their lives- from the extraction of raw materials via manufacture, use and waste management to final disposal, or in short from the cradle to the grave (see Figure 1). The focus......What are the environmental impacts from an armchairor a cellular phone or a steak, if you take into account all the activities needed to produce, maintain, use or consume and eventually dispose of it? Life cycle impact assessment is the part of life cycle assessment (LCA) where the inventory...... of material flows in the life cycle of a product are translated into environmental impacts and consumption of resources, and questions like these are given an answer. The environmental impacts may range from very local (e.g. land use) to global (like climate change). As an environmental analysis tool, LCA...

Methodology for Environmental Impact Assessment; Metodik foer miljoekonsekvensbedoemning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malmlund, Anna (Structor Miljoebyraan Stockholm AB (Sweden))

2010-12-15

This report is an appendix to 'Environmental Impact Assessment Interim storage, encapsulation and disposal of spent nuclear fuel'. The appendix presents the methodology and criteria used in support investigations to conduct impact assessments.

Discussion of some issues in assessing nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and in related assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Ziqiang

1998-01-01

The author discusses some noticeable issues in drafting assessment report of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and relevant aspects needed to be considered from the point of view of comprehensive environmental assessment. The considerable issue are principles of radioactive waste management, optimization of radiation protection and collective dose, and uncertainty of the assessment. Implementing reporting system on assessment of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts would improve environmental protection for nuclear and radiation facilities. However, trade's, regional , country and global assessment of environmental impacts has to be enhanced. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop methodology of qualitative and quantitative comprehensive assessment

Environmental impact assessment based on planning support system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carsjens, G.J.; Chen, W.

2011-01-01

How to assess environmental impact is one of the keys in land use planning. This article described in detail the concepts of activities, impact zones, functions, and sensitivities, as well as the development of STEPP (strategic tool for integrating environmental aspects in planning procedures) based

Ecological risk assessment as a framework for environmental impact assessments

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Claassen, Marius

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental impact assessments in South Africa are usually conducted according to the integrated environmental management (IEM) procedure. The preliminary investigation reported here, indicated that most of the ecological requirements specified...

The environmental impact assessment of uranium mining in Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morvell, G.

2002-01-01

Federal environmental impact assessment legislation has existed in Australia since 1974. A number of uranium mines have been developed in this time, utilizing a range of mining techniques, including opencut, underground and in-situ leach. Projects have also been undertaken in a variety of geographical areas requiring consideration of diverse biodiversity, cultural heritage and social impact issues. Assessment of uranium mining proposals in Australia is also conducted in a climate of political opposition from a cross section of the Australian community. This paper outlines some of the key issues that arose during recent assessments and which provide a lead to the role of environmental impact assessment in environmental policy development. Issues are also relevant to recent assessments on a replacement nuclear reactor, shipments of waste for reprocessing and proposed assessments on proposals for low and intermediate level nuclear waste facilities. (author)

Environmental impacts assessment of industrial estate providing with managerial process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nouri, J.; Mahvi, A.H.; Younesian, M.; Nabizadeh, R.; Hashemi, I. [Univ. of Tehran (Iran)

2007-07-01

The existence of balance, coordination and required order among natural elements is one of the key factors in the ecosystem. If this balance is disturbed under certain circumstances, it will damage the structure of living existences and more specifically human beings. Since a half century ago, factors such as important economical and industrial activites, advanced technologies together with growing population and lack of concordance among different couhntries to take optimal advantage of the existing natural resources have distrubed the balance in the ecosystem. As a result, man has caused many problems such as high death tolls and arduous diseases due to the different pollutions in water, air, land, sound, temperature, etc and factors such as erosion, desert, expansion, floods, extinction of plant and animal species, ozone layer destruction, global warming, sea level rise and greenhouse gases increase. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is to recognize and assess systematic consequences of projects and programs on elements like physicochemical, biological, cultural, economical and social phenomena in th environment; in other words it is a way or method to determine the direction of predication and assessment of environmental impacts of activities on the environmental health of the ecosystem affecting human lives. In this study, and environmental impact assessment of the establishment of the Shahzand Industrial Estate in Arak at the central part of Iran was investigated. After collection of data and analysis of the findings, the positive and negative impacts resulting from establishment of the indutrial estate were investigated using the Leopold Matrix and Scaling checklist methods providing the managerial solutions in order to minimize the harmful environmental impacts. The existing environmental situation was investigated and then environmental impact alternatives were determined. This was done in regard to the amount and kind of predicted pollution for the

Overview of Environmental Impact Assessment of Oil and Gas ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of oil and gas projects in Nigeria ... natural, social and health components of the environment; Determination of issues ... of impact quantification through which the Environmental Management Plan ...

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF A HEALTH TECHNOLOGY: A SCOPING REVIEW.

Science.gov (United States)

Polisena, Julie; De Angelis, Gino; Kaunelis, David; Gutierrez-Ibarluzea, Iñaki

2018-06-13

The Health Technology Expert Review Panel is an advisory body to Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) that develops recommendations on health technology assessments (HTAs) for nondrug health technologies using a deliberative framework. The framework spans several domains, including the environmental impact of the health technology(ies). Our research objective was to identify articles on frameworks, methods or case studies on the environmental impact assessment of health technologies. A literature search in major databases and a focused gray literature search were conducted. The main search concepts were HTA and environmental impact/sustainability. Eligible articles were those that described a conceptual framework or methods used to conduct an environmental assessment of health technologies, and case studies on the application of an environmental assessment. From the 1,710 citations identified, thirteen publications were included. Two articles presented a framework to incorporate environmental assessment in HTAs. Other approaches described weight of evidence practices and comprehensive and integrated environmental impact assessments. Central themes derived include transparency and repeatability, integration of components in a framework or of evidence into a single outcome, data availability to ensure the accuracy of findings, and familiarity with the approach used. Each framework and methods presented have different foci related to the ecosystem, health economics, or engineering practices. Their descriptions suggested transparency, repeatability, and the integration of components or of evidence into a single outcome as their main strengths. Our review is an initial step of a larger initiative by CADTH to develop the methods and processes to address the environmental impact question in an HTA.

Environmental impact assessment in practice: A gender critique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurian, P.A.; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN

1995-01-01

The author evaluates the extent to which environmental impact assessment (EIA) as conceptualized by EIA systems is a gendered process. Through a discourse analysis of in-depth interviews with bureaucrats, technocrats, and activists involved with the Sardar Sarovar dam project in India, the author examines the practice of EIA in a Third World country. She uses a theoretical framework, informed by a theory of gender, to evaluate the interviews. In practice, EIA is marked by gender biases that ignore the gender-specific nature of impacts. Such biases distort the impact assessment process, making environmental sustainability difficult, if not impossible, to achieve

Assessing Environmental Impact on Aquatic Macrophyte Species ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of environmental variables on distribution and composition of aquatic macrophyte community in a tropical river was assessed for one year (March 2009 to February 2010). Hypothesis tested was that the spatial variation in environmental variables on the river's longitudinal gradient affects macrophyte species ...

Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfister, Stephan; Koehler, Annette; Hellweg, Stefanie

2009-06-01

A method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. This method considers damages to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The method can be used within most existing life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. The relative importance of water consumption was analyzed by integrating the method into the Eco-indicator-99 LCIA method. The relative impact of water consumption in LCIA was analyzed with a case study on worldwide cotton production. The importance of regionalized characterization factors for water use was also examined in the case study. In arid regions, water consumption may dominate the aggregated life-cycle impacts of cotton-textile production. Therefore, the consideration of water consumption is crucial in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies that include water-intensive products, such as agricultural goods. A regionalized assessment is necessary, since the impacts of water use vary greatly as a function of location. The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.

Strategic environmental assessment can help solve environmental impact assessment failures in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alshuwaikhat, Habib M.

2005-01-01

The current trend of industrialization and urbanization in developing nations has a huge impact on anthropogenic and natural ecosystems. Pollution sources increase with the expansion of cities and cause contamination of water, air and soil. The absence of urban environmental planning and management strategies has resulted in greater concern for future urban development. This paper advocates the adoption of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as a means to achieve sustainable development in developing countries. It investigates project-level environmental impact assessment (EIA) and its limitations. The exploration of SEA and its features are addressed. The effective implementation of SEA can create a roadmap for sustainable development. In many developing countries, the lack of transparency and accountability and ineffective public participation in the development of the policy, plan and program (PPP) would be mitigated by the SEA process. Moreover, the proactive and broadly based characteristics of SEA would benefit the institutional development of the PPP process, which is rarely experienced in many developing countries. The paper also explores the prospects for SEA and its guiding principles in developing countries. Finally, the paper calls for a coordinated effort between all government, nongovernment and international organizations involved with PPPs to enable developing countries to pursue a path of sustainable development through the development and application of strategic environmental assessment

Critical factors in environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creasey, R.

1999-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has shown that it is of proven benefit to the overall planning and environmental management of resource development projects, but certain elements within the application and practice of EIA remain problematic for proponents and regulatory decision makers alike. The use of the word 'critical' in the title of this paper suggests that if the components identified are not considered or implemented properly through the process of EIA, the product will be of less value to both the proponent and decision maker. In the context of EIA, the regulatory, financial, legal and social benefits that accrue make the need for good EIA practice even more imperative. A discussion is included that highlights a number of issues that need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of EIA, a tool necessary to attaining provincial and federal regulatory approvals. To a large extent, the discussion reflects items of contemporary public concern, and those emerging issues of the scientific and regulatory community. At the same time, it needs to be realized that not all the identified items are necessarily new to the practice of impact assessment, but are nonetheless important to professional environmental impact assessment and decision making. Insight is also provided into the direction of decision making of the Energy and Utilities Board as it will affect the regulatory review and administration of resource development projects in the province of Alberta. 16 refs

Qualitative assessment of environmental impacts through fuzzy logic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peche G, Roberto

2008-01-01

The vagueness of many concepts usually utilized in environmental impact studies, along with frequent lack of quantitative information, suggests that fuzzy logic can be applied to carry out qualitative assessment of such impacts. This paper proposes a method for valuing environmental impacts caused by projects, based on fuzzy sets theory and methods of approximate reasoning. First, impacts must be described by a set of features. A linguistic variable is assigned to each feature, whose values are fuzzy sets. A fuzzy evaluation of environmental impacts is achieved using rule based fuzzy inference and the estimated fuzzy value of each feature. Generalized modus ponens has been the inference method. Finally, a crisp value of impact is attained by aggregation and defuzzification of all fuzzy results

An environmental impact assessment system for agricultural R and D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, Geraldo Stachetti; Campanhola, Clayton; Kitamura, Paulo Choji

2003-01-01

A strategic planning process has been implemented at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (Embrapa) to introduce sustainable agriculture concepts in all steps of Research and Development (R and D). An essential part of the devised mission statement called for the impact assessment of all technology innovation resulting from R and D, under field conditions (ex-post). However, methods for impact assessment of technology innovations at the farmstead level appropriate for the institutional context were lacking. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) system (AMBITEC-AGRO) developed to attend that demand is composed by a set of weighing matrices constructed in an electronic spreadsheet. Impact indicators are evaluated in the field in an interview/survey, and weighed according to their spatial scale and importance toward effecting environmental impacts. The results of these weighing procedures are expressed graphically in the assessment spreadsheets. Finally, the indicator evaluations are composed into an Environmental Impact Index for the agricultural technology innovation

E-IMPACT - A ROBUST HAZARD-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT APPROACH FOR PROCESS INDUSTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KHANDOKER A. HOSSAIN

2008-04-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a hazard-based environmental impact assessment approach (E-Impact, for evaluating the environmental impact during process design and retrofit stages. E-Impact replaces the normalisation step of the conventional impact assessment phase. This approach compares the impact scores for different options and assigns a relative score to each option. This eliminates the complexity of the normalisation step in the evaluation phase. The applicability of the E-Impact has been illustrated through a case study of solvent selection in an acrylic acid manufacturing plant. E-Impact is used in conjunction with Aspen-HYSYS process simulator to develop mass and heat balance data.

Health Impact Assessment Practice and Potential for Integration within Environmental Impact and Strategic Environmental Assessments in Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Linzalone, Nunzia; Assennato, Giorgio; Ballarini, Adele; Cadum, Ennio; Cirillo, Mario; Cori, Liliana; De Maio, Francesca; Musmeci, Loredana; Natali, Marinella; Rieti, Sabrina; Soggiu, Maria Eleonora; Bianchi, Fabrizio

2014-01-01

Avoiding or minimizing potential environmental impact is the driving idea behind protecting a population’s health via Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs). However, both are often carried out without any systematic approach. This paper describes the findings of a review of HIA, EIA and SEA experiences carried out by the authors, who act as institutional competent subjects at the national and regional levels in Italy. The analysis of how health is tackled in EIA and SEA procedures could support the definition of a protocol for the integration of HIA with EIA and SEA. Although EIA and SEA approaches include the aim of protecting health, significant technical and methodological gaps are present when assessing health systematically, and their basic principles regarding assessment are unsatisfactory for promoting and addressing healthcare concepts stated by the WHO. HIA is still poorly integrated into the decision-making process, screening and monitoring phases are only occasionally implemented, and operational details are not well-defined. The collaborative approach of institutions involved in environment and health is a core element in a systematic advancement toward supporting effective decisions and effective protection of the environment and health. At the Italian national level, the definition of guidelines and tools for HIA, also in relation with EIA and SEA, is of great interest. PMID:25493391

Radiation environmental impact assessment of the radioisotope's application on nuclear medical science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Hongshi

2004-01-01

The radiation environmental impact assessment of the radioisotope's application on nuclear medical science is introduced, including the assessment criteria, the assessment methods and the environmental impact assessment of three wastes emission. (authors)

Environmental impact assessment for energy pathways: an integrated methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sommereux-Blanc, Isabelle

2010-01-01

This document presents the synthesis of my research work contributing to the development of an integrated methodology of environmental impact assessment for energy pathways. In the context of world globalization, environmental impact assessments issues are highly linked with the following questioning: Which environmental impacts? for which demand? at which location? at which temporal scale? My work is built upon the definition of a conceptual framework able to handle these issues and upon its progressive implementation. The integration of the spatial and temporal issues within the methodology are key elements. Fundamental cornerstones of this framework are presented along the DPSIR concept (Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses). They cover a comprehensive analysis of the limits and the relevance of life cycle analysis and the development of a geo-spatialized environmental performance approach for an electrical production pathway. Perspectives linked with the development of this integrated methodology are detailed for energy pathways. (author)

Alternatives and implication in process of environmental impact assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tauš Peter

2001-12-01

Full Text Available EIA is an interactive, rule-based expert system for the environmental impact assessment. It is designed for a screening level assessment of development projects at a pre-feasibility stage. Typical problems for the evaluation include: resettlement; watershed degradation; encroachment upon precious ecosystems; encroachment on historical/cultural values; watershed erosion; reservoir siltation; impairment of navigation; changes in groundwater hydrology, waterlogging; seepage and evaporation losses; migration of valuable fish species; inundation of mineral resources/forests; other inundation losses and adverse effects. It is important to prevent environmental pollution when carrying out large-scale development projects, such as artificial change of landscapes and building of certain structures that may cause a tremendous impact on the environment. In accordance with Cities Environmental Impact Assessment Departments it is necessary to provide project organisers with a necessary advice and instructions concerning the environmental impact assessment a survey to predict and evaluate environmental impact to be conducted by project organisers. Prior to offering the advice and instructions, cities need to hear the opinions of residents of the areas concerned, mayors of related municipalities and other opinion leaders, including specialists, to reflect their views in the environmental preservation. The first aspect in any quality assessment is to determine the representativeness of data both in terms of physical siting and data collected. It must be recognised the environment is a dynamic fluid; quality therefore varies over space and time. There will be locations in any community that experience poorer quality than recorded at a monitoring station. Likewise other sites will have a better quality. Most communities have only a single monitoring site. Therefore, the air quality monitors are sited to provide a representative estimate of the community exposure

Guidelines for comparative assessment of the environmental impacts of wastes from electricity generation systems. A framework for the assessment and comparison of environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-02-01

The report describes the initial phase of a project intended to provide guidance to those concerned with environmental aspects of solid and hazardous waste management in electrical energy production systems. The focus is on describing a methodology for assessing and comparing the environmental impact arising from these wastes, and thereby to provide an input to overall electrical generation comparison projects, such as DECADES. The structure of the report is as follows: after considering a range of electrical energy production systems with an outline discussion of the waste streams produced in each case, the relevant treatment technologies and disposal options are reviewed. Then the elements of the framework for comparative assessment proposed in this report are described. The types of environmental impact, environmental protection criteria and indicators or end-points to measure the impact, the way in which such impacts can be quantitatively assessed and compared are discussed. 59 refs, figs and tabs

Life cycle assessment of energy products: environmental impact assessment of biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zah, R.; Boeni, H.; Gauch, M.; Hischier, R.; Lehmann, M.; Waeger, P.

2007-05-15

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) deals with the results of a study that evaluated the environmental impact of the entire production chain of fuels made from biomass and used in Switzerland. Firstly, the study supplies an analysis of the possible environmental impacts of biofuels that can be used as a basis for political decisions. Secondly, an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of various biofuels is presented. In addition, the impacts of fuel use are compared with other uses for bioenergy such as the generation of electricity and heat. The methods used in the LCA are discussed, including the Swiss method of ecological scarcity (Environmental Impact Points, UBP 06), and the European Eco-indicator 99 method. The results of the study are discussed, including the finding that not all biofuels can reduce environmental impacts as compared to fossil fuels. The role to be played by biofuels produced in an environmentally-friendly way together with other forms of renewable energy in our future energy supply is discussed.

Environmental impact assessment in the Nordic Countries; Miljoekonsekvensbeskrivningar i Norden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broden, K. [Studsvik RadWaste AB (Sweden); Palsson, S.E. [Geislavarnir rikisins (Iceland); Poroddsson, P. [Skipulagsstofnun (Iceland)

2000-12-01

A meeting on Environmental Impact Assessment has been held in Iceland, September 2-6, 2000. It was held within the framework of the project NKS/SOS-3 (Radioactive waste), subproject NKS/SOS-3.1 (Environmental Impact Assessment). The meeting included presentations, discussions and a study trip to the Egilsstadir and Myvatn districts. (au)

Regional analysis and environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parzyck, D.C.; Brocksen, R.W.; Emanuel, W.R.

1976-01-01

This paper presents a number of techniques that can be used to assess environmental impacts on a regional scale. Regional methodologies have been developed which examine impacts upon aquatic and terrestrial biota in regions through consideration of changes in land use, land cover, air quality, water resource use, and water quality. Techniques used to assess long-range atmospheric transport, water resources, effects on sensitive forest and animal species, and impacts on man are presented in this paper, along with an optimization approach which serves to integrate the analytical techniques in an overall assessment framework. A brief review of the research approach and certain modeling techniques used within one regional studies program is provided. While it is not an all inclusive report on regional analyses, it does present an illustration of the types of analyses that can be performed on a regional scale

Graphical Methodology of Global Pollution Index for the Environmental Impact Assessment Using Two Environmental Components

OpenAIRE

Corneliu Cojocaru; Diana Mariana Cocârţă; Irina Aura Istrate; Igor Creţescu

2017-01-01

One of the applied methods for environmental impact assessment is the index of global pollution (IGP) proposed by Rojanschi in 1991. This methodology enables the global estimation for the ecosystem state affected more or less by human activities. Unfortunately, Rojanschi’s method has a limitation; it can be applied only if at least three environmental components are considered. Frequently, many environmental impact assessment applications rely on analysis of only two environmental components....

Environmental impact assessment procedure: A new approach based on fuzzy logic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peche, Roberto; Rodriguez, Esther

2009-01-01

The information related to the different environmental impacts produced by the execution of activities and projects is often limited, described by semantic variables and, affected by a high degree of inaccuracy and uncertainty, thereby making fuzzy logic a suitable tool with which to express and treat this information. The present study proposes a new approach based on fuzzy logic to carry out the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of these activities and projects. Firstly, a set of impact properties is stated and two nondimensional parameters - ranging from 0 to 100 -are assigned, (p i ) to assess the value of the property and (v i ) to assess its contribution to each environmental impact. Next, the impact properties are described by means of fuzzy numbers p i - using generalised confidence intervals. Then, a procedure based on fuzzy arithmetic is developed to define the assessment functions v-bar = f(p-bar) - conventional mathematical functions, which incorporate the knowledge of these impact properties and give the fuzzy values v i - corresponding to each p i - . Subsequently, the fuzzy value of each environmental impact V-bar is estimated by aggregation of the values v i - , in order to obtain the total positive and negative environmental impacts V +- and V -- and, later - from them - the total environmental impact of the activity or project TV - . Finally, the defuzzyfication of TV - leads to a punctual impact estimator TV (1) - a conventional EI estimation - and its corresponding uncertainty interval estimator {(δ l (TV - ),δ r (TV - )}, which represent the total value of the environmental impact caused by the execution of the considered activity or project.

Parameters for assessing the aquatic environmental impact of cosmetic products.

Science.gov (United States)

Vita, N A; Brohem, C A; Canavez, A D P M; Oliveira, C F S; Kruger, O; Lorencini, M; Carvalho, C M

2018-05-01

The cosmetic industry's growing concern about the impact of its supply chain on the environment, sustainability of raw materials, and biodiversity increases the need to ensure that the final product has a lower environmental impact. The objective of this review is to summarize and compare the information available from international organizations and legislation regarding the main criteria used to assess raw materials for aquatic toxicity, as well as the most suitable alternative methods for obtaining assessment parameters. Using the literature available in databases, a review of the scientific literature and international legislation, this work discusses and compares the parameters established by international organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Cradle to Cradle (C2C), as well as European legislation, namely, European Regulation 1272/2008, for assessing environmental impact. Defining the ecotoxicity parameters of the main classes of raw materials in rinse-off cosmetic products can enable the development of products that are more environmentally sustainable, prioritizing substances with less environmental impact. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessments of wind energy projects: An Alberta example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, W.K.

1993-01-01

A description is presented of the environmental impact assessment for an Alberta windfarm, summarizing the rationale, process and results of the assessment, costs involved, and recommendations made. The Pe-kun-nee windfarm was designed as a 44 turbine, 9.9 kW windfarm. The assessment included consideration of the complete range of environmental impacts of the windfarm, including reviews of impacts associated with similar developments elsewhere. From an environmental perspective, the proposed site and transmission line route were exceedingly suitable for development. No major potential impacts were identified. Most impacts that could occur, including terrain and vegetation disturbance, were associated with the construction phase of the project. A series of mitigation measures were developed to minimize each identified impact. Monitoring during the operations phase of the development was recommended to: ensure that the revegetation of disturbed areas was adequate; verify the sound level model; and document the incidence of bird strikes. Potential aesthetic impacts were addressed through a proposed interpretive project designed to educate visitors, enhance the profile of the wind-energy industry, and provide local employment. The assessment was completed within 8 months of initiation at a cost less than $200,000

An integrated model for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Highways in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cai, Hao

2011-01-01

In China, environmental issues caused by construction and operation of highway catch more and more attention, and thus environmental impact assessment of highway has become an important part of feasibility study. According to the Specifications for Environmental Impact Assessment of Highways...... in the People's Republic of China, this paper proposes an integrated model for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of highway. The model has two main characteristics. Firstly, the whole highway is divided into several sections, and then weight of each section is distributed by its importance. Secondly...

Risk and environmental impact assessment: nuclear and environmental licensing interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Eduardo M.; Monteiro, Iara A.

1997-01-01

The main aims of this paper are the identification and discussion of interfaces and application of common concepts in the existing nuclear and environmental licensing procedures. Risk and impact assessment of nuclear electricity generation are two of these concepts which are discussed detail. The risk concept, which had initially focused on engineering projects, has been extended to many other areas of human activity. Risk resulting from the use of ionization radiation has been associated to the dose for the critical members of the public. Therefore, radiation protection applies basic dose limits which are established in national and international recommendations. These recommendations are increasing the emphasis to keep all the exposures to ionizing radiation as low as reasonable achievable, economical and social factors being taken into account. On the other hand, environmental impact assessment has been used as a tool in planning and decision-making processes, thus including environmental concern in the discussion of social and economical development strategies. This paper aims to discuss the association of these two concepts by presenting the procedures of control of radiological impact during normal operation of a nuclear power plant and the various forms of risk communication to the public in the case of events occurrence. (author). 13 refs

Environmental impact assessment of nuclear desalination plant at KANUPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sleem, M.

2010-01-01

A Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Plant (NDDP) of 1600 m/sup 3//d capacity is being installed at Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP). A Nuclear Desalination Plant (NDP) can impact the aquatic environment mainly by subjecting the aquatic life to possible temperature increase and salinity changes in the vicinity of the cooling water and brine discharges. Any wastewater effluent, which will be discharged from the NDDP, may have some adverse effects on the marine life and general environment. In order to protect the environment and comply with the requirement of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the discharged effluent from NDDP was carried out. In the present work baseline study was carried out for project location, climate, water resources, and ecology. Checklist has been prepared for identification of possible environmental impacts of the project and marked as insignificant, small, moderate or major impact. Appropriate mitigation measures have been recommended that can be incorporated into the intended program to minimize environmental impacts identified during the assessment. Specific conclusions of the study and recommendations have also been provided in this paper.

Environmental impact assessment of the proposed Information Technology Park at Perungudi.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharmilaa, G

2007-10-01

Environmental impact assessment studies of the proposed Information Technology Park at Perungudi have been carried out. The study involved assessing the existing environmental quality of the proposed site, and predicting impacts and preparing an environmental management plan. Data on the existing quality of water, soil, land use pattern, air, noise and socio-economic details of the proposed project were assessed. The impacts due to the proposed activity were identified and evaluated using the Network Impact Methodology. The water requirement was found to be 3,63,400 L/day. The total wastewater likely to be generated was found to be 2,90,720 L/day. The wastewater will be treated in a sewage treatment plant. The generation of solid waste was assessed to about 500 kg/day. Increase in traffic level was found out by traffic survey. The socio-economic environment will have a positive impact from the proposed project. An Environmental Management Plan was prepared which includes the mitigation measures for improving the eco-profile of the study area.

Environmental Impact Assessment for Olkiluoto 4 Nuclear Power Plant Unit in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dersten, Riitta; Gahmberg, Sini; Takala, Jenni

2008-01-01

In order to improve its readiness for constructing additional production capacity, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) initiated in spring 2007 the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA procedure) concerning a new nuclear power plant unit that would possibly be located at Olkiluoto. When assessing the environmental impacts of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant extension project, the present state of the environment was first examined, and after that, the changes caused by the projects as well as their significance were assessed, taking into account the combined impacts of the operations at Olkiluoto. The environmental impact assessment for the planned nuclear power plant unit covers the entire life cycle of the plant unit. (authors)

Environmental Impact Assessment for Olkiluoto 4 Nuclear Power Plant Unit in Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dersten, Riitta; Gahmberg, Sini; Takala, Jenni [Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, Olkiluoto, FI-27160 Eurajoki (Finland)

2008-07-01

In order to improve its readiness for constructing additional production capacity, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) initiated in spring 2007 the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA procedure) concerning a new nuclear power plant unit that would possibly be located at Olkiluoto. When assessing the environmental impacts of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant extension project, the present state of the environment was first examined, and after that, the changes caused by the projects as well as their significance were assessed, taking into account the combined impacts of the operations at Olkiluoto. The environmental impact assessment for the planned nuclear power plant unit covers the entire life cycle of the plant unit. (authors)

Olympic Dam project: assessment of the environmental impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-11-01

The assessment report on the Environmental Impact Statement produced for the Olympic Dam project is intended to provide the South Australian Government with a comprehensive evaluation of the potential impact of the proposal and to make recommendations concerning the project to be negotiated with the Joint Venturers prior to approval of the EIS. The project involves the mining, processing and sale of products from the copper-uranium ore body at Olympic Dam on the Roxby Downs Station, South Australia. The report includes a description of the proposal, a description of the environment likely to be affected, a discussion of the potential impacts on that environment, a discussion of the adequacy of information presented in the EIS and a discussion of the acceptability of the environmental impacts. The Department has concluded that the pre-design proposal is acceptable on environmental grounds

Improving environmental impact and cost assessment for supplier evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Beucker, Severin; Lang, Claus

2004-02-01

Improving a company"s environmental and financial performance necessitates the evaluation of environmental impacts deriving from the production and cost effects of corporate actions. These effects have to be made transparent and concrete targets have to be developed. Such an evaluation has to be done on a regular basis but with limited expenses. To achieve this, different instruments of environmental controlling such as LCA and environmental performance indicators have to be combined with methods from cost accounting. Within the research project CARE (Computer Aided Resource Efficiency Accounting for Medium-Sized Enterprises), the method Resource Efficiency Accounting (REA) is used to give the participating companies new insights into hidden costs and environmental effects of their production and products. The method combines process based cost accounting with environmental impact assessment methodology and offers results that can be integrated into a company"s environmental controlling system and business processes like cost accounting, supplier assessment, etc. Much of the data necessary for the combined assessment can be available within a company"s IT system and therefore can be efficiently used for the assessment process. The project CARE puts a strong focus on the use of company data and information systems for the described assessment process and offers a methodological background for the evaluation and the structuring of such data. Besides the general approach of the project CARE the paper will present results from a case study in which the described approach is used for the evaluation of suppliers.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Wind Generators in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimír Lapčík

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The article summarizes author´s experience with environmental impact assessment in branch of wind generators. The introductorypart of paper describes legislative obligations of the Czech Republic in frame of fulfilling the European Union´s limits in branch ofrenewable energy resources utilization. Next part of paper deals with analysis of impacts of wind generators on the environment.The final part of paper deals with experience with implementation of the environmental impact assessment process (pursuant to the ActNo. 100/2001 Coll. in the field of wind power in the Czech Republic.

Environmental impact assessment in higher education institutions in East Africa: the case of Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabera, Telesphore

2017-03-01

Due to the pressure on limited resources produced by a growing population and due to a decade of war, Rwanda is facing a major problem in environmental protection. Because of such problems, it seems only reasonable that environment-related courses should play an important role in the curricula of institutions of higher learning. The main aim of this research is to present a comprehensive picture of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) integration in graduate and undergraduate programs in Rwandese higher education institutions and to make recommendations for its improvement. During this study, two surveys were conducted: the first survey targeted Environmental Impact Assessment lecturers and the second survey was for Environmental Impact Assessment practitioners (including EIA certified experts and competent authorities). The study found that Environmental Impact Assessment is not well established in these institutions and it is not taught in some programs; civil engineering, for example, has no Environmental Impact Assessment courses. Recommendations to improve EIA education are proposed, such as requiring that a common core course in Environmental Impact Assessment be made available in Rwandese higher learning institutions.

Discussion on the method of environmental radiological impact assessment for the highway construction project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Guohua

2008-01-01

Based on the characteristics and environmental radiological impact of the highway construction project, the basic procedure of environmental radiological impact assessment for the highway construction project is put forward, including analysis and determination of contamination sources, selection of evaluation factors, determination of assessment range and dose limit, environmental investigation, environmental impact prediction and assessment. The working method of each procedure is analyzed. (authors)

Assessment of environmental impacts following alternative agricultural policy scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Bárlund, I; Lehtonen, H; Tattari, S

2005-01-01

Abstract Finnish agriculture is likely to undergo major changes in the near and intermediate future. The ifuture policy context can be examined at a general level by strategic scenario building. Computer-based modelling in combination with agricultural policy scenarios can in turn create a basis for the assessments of changes in environmental quality following possible changes in Finnish agriculture. The analysis of economic consequences is based on the DREMFIA model, which is applied to study effects of various agricultural policies on land use, animal production, and farmers' income. The model is suitable for an impact analysis covering an extended time span--here up to the year 2015. The changes in land use, obtained with the DREMFIA model assuming rational economic behaviour, form the basis when evaluating environmental impacts of different agricultural policies. The environmental impact assessment is performed using the field scale nutrient transport model ICECREAM. The modelled variables are nitrogen and phosphorus losses in surface runoff and percolation. In this paper the modelling strategy will be presented and highlighted using two case study catchments with varying environmental conditions and land use as an example. In addition, the paper identifies issues arising when connecting policy scenarios with impact modelling.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA and Sustainability in Minas Gerais

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evandro Sanguinetto

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper was aimed at conducting a bibliographical research on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA and their relation to the Ecological Economic Zoning (EEZ in the state of Minas Gerais. It is believed that the EIA is subject to failures as it does not take into account larger impacts upon space, time, cumulative and synergistic effects, whereas reflecting a reductionist point of view of the undertaking to the detriment of a broader, systemic, holistic perspective. With a view to compensate for such failure, the SEA is seen as an appropriate tool for the evaluation of political impacts, plans and programs which, conversely, guides the implementation of projects in an more integrated manner. Therefore, two EIAs can be used as reference; one refers to a rural electrification program in the state of Minas Gerais and the other approaches the integration planning of water sources in the metropolitan area of the state of São Paulo. While planning the Ecological Economic Zoning of the state, Minas Gerais takes a decisive step forward the reduction of conflicts related with multiple interests of economic development, providing and forming the basis for the essential balance among profit, preservation and environmental conservation, social justice, respect and cultural diversity, political and institutional maturation, ethic and plurality, which splash the sustainability colors on the canvas of the future.

Coping with uncertainty in environmental impact assessments: Open techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cardenas, Ibsen C., E-mail: c.cardenas@utwente.nl [IceBridge Research Institutea, Universiteit Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Halman, Johannes I.M., E-mail: J.I.M.Halman@utwente.nl [Universiteit Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands)

2016-09-15

Uncertainty is virtually unavoidable in environmental impact assessments (EIAs). From the literature related to treating and managing uncertainty, we have identified specific techniques for coping with uncertainty in EIAs. Here, we have focused on basic steps in the decision-making process that take place within an EIA setting. More specifically, we have identified uncertainties involved in each decision-making step and discussed the extent to which these can be treated and managed in the context of an activity or project that may have environmental impacts. To further demonstrate the relevance of the techniques identified, we have examined the extent to which the EIA guidelines currently used in Colombia consider and provide guidance on managing the uncertainty involved in these assessments. Some points that should be considered in order to provide greater robustness in impact assessments in Colombia have been identified. These include the management of stakeholder values, the systematic generation of project options, and their associated impacts as well as the associated management actions, and the evaluation of uncertainties and assumptions. We believe that the relevant and specific techniques reported here can be a reference for future evaluations of other EIA guidelines in different countries. - Highlights: • uncertainty is unavoidable in environmental impact assessments, EIAs; • we have identified some open techniques to EIAs for treating and managing uncertainty in these assessments; • points for improvement that should be considered in order to provide greater robustness in EIAs in Colombia have been identified; • the paper provides substantiated a reference for possible examinations of EIAs guidelines in other countries.

Coping with uncertainty in environmental impact assessments: Open techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardenas, Ibsen C.; Halman, Johannes I.M.

2016-01-01

Uncertainty is virtually unavoidable in environmental impact assessments (EIAs). From the literature related to treating and managing uncertainty, we have identified specific techniques for coping with uncertainty in EIAs. Here, we have focused on basic steps in the decision-making process that take place within an EIA setting. More specifically, we have identified uncertainties involved in each decision-making step and discussed the extent to which these can be treated and managed in the context of an activity or project that may have environmental impacts. To further demonstrate the relevance of the techniques identified, we have examined the extent to which the EIA guidelines currently used in Colombia consider and provide guidance on managing the uncertainty involved in these assessments. Some points that should be considered in order to provide greater robustness in impact assessments in Colombia have been identified. These include the management of stakeholder values, the systematic generation of project options, and their associated impacts as well as the associated management actions, and the evaluation of uncertainties and assumptions. We believe that the relevant and specific techniques reported here can be a reference for future evaluations of other EIA guidelines in different countries. - Highlights: • uncertainty is unavoidable in environmental impact assessments, EIAs; • we have identified some open techniques to EIAs for treating and managing uncertainty in these assessments; • points for improvement that should be considered in order to provide greater robustness in EIAs in Colombia have been identified; • the paper provides substantiated a reference for possible examinations of EIAs guidelines in other countries.

Guidebook on environmental impact assessment for in situ leach mining projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-05-01

Assessment of the potential environmental impact of an in situ leach (ISL) project is the first step in the permission and licensing process. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) serves as the basis for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which in turn identifies the potential environmental and socioeconomic impact of a proposed project and outlines measures to mitigate the impact. The EIS review process serves to inform the public about a proposed project as well as provide regulatory agencies with assurance that ISL technology will comply with environmental standards, and that project sites can be rehabilitated to pre-mining use. This publication provides a step-by-step description of project parameters that must be addressed in conducting an EIA and preparing an EIS. It also includes EIA/EIS case histories for current operations in Australia, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and the United States of America. The publication will be useful to companies considering development of ISL projects and to regulatory personnel who are responsible for writing environmental regulations and licensing ISL projects

Environmental impact assessment of conventional and organic milk production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, de I.J.M.

2003-01-01

Organic agriculture addresses the public demand to diminish environmental pollution of agricultural production. Until now, however, only few studies tried to determine the integrated environmental impact of conventional versus organic production using life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim of this

Environmental Methods Review: Retooling Impact Assessment for the New Century

Science.gov (United States)

1998-03-01

Environmental Assessment Research Council. Netherlands, Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment. 1993. Year book of the Commission for Environmental...professional standards. Currently. the main avenues to obtain information in order to maintain or improve competence include: • journals. books ...World Wide Web • professional associations and networks such as IAIA. All of these. however. rely on using the expertise of others secondhand . Who

Assessing Environmental Impact Indicators in Road Construction Projects in Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Marzouk

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Environmental pollution is considered to be one of the main concerns in the construction industry. Environmental pollution has become a major challenge to construction projects due to the huge amount of pollution caused by construction projects. There are different types of environmental impact indicators, such as the greenhouse gas (GHG footprint, eutrophication potential (EP, acidification potential (AP, human health (HH particulate, ozone depletion, and smog. Each of these environmental impact indicators can be linked to different phases of the construction projects. The overall environmental impact indicators can be divided into direct, indirect, and operational emissions. This paper presents a Building Information Modeling (BIM-based methodology for the assessment of environmental impacts in road construction projects. The model takes into account the overall life cycle of the road construction project, which is divided into: manufacturing phase, transportation phase, construction phase, maintenance phase, operational phase, recycling phase, and deconstruction phase. A case study is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model. The proposed model solves a major problem for road construction project teams who want to assess the environmental impact indicators associated with their project prior to the start of the execution of their projects.

Environmental impact assessment of coal power plants in operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartan Ayfer

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Coal power plants constitute an important component of the energy mix in many countries. However, coal power plants can cause several environmental risks such as: climate change and biodiversity loss. In this study, a tool has been proposed to calculate the environmental impact of a coal-fired thermal power plant in operation by using multi-criteria scoring and fuzzy logic method. We take into account the following environmental parameters in our tool: CO, SO2, NOx, particulate matter, fly ash, bottom ash, the cooling water intake impact on aquatic biota, and the thermal pollution. In the proposed tool, the boundaries of the fuzzy logic membership functions were established taking into account the threshold values of the environmental parameters which were defined in the environmental legislation. Scoring of these environmental parameters were done with the statistical analysis of the environmental monitoring data of the power plant and by using the documented evidences that were obtained during the site visits. The proposed method estimates each environmental impact factor level separately and then aggregates them by calculating the Environmental Impact Score (EIS. The proposed method uses environmental monitoring data and documented evidence instead of using simulation models. The proposed method has been applied to the 4 coal-fired power plants that have been operation in Turkey. The Environmental Impact Score was obtained for each power plant and their environmental performances were compared. It is expected that those environmental impact assessments will contribute to the decision-making process for environmental investments to those plants. The main advantage of the proposed method is its flexibility and ease of use.

Environmental impact assessment of coal power plants in operation

Science.gov (United States)

Bartan, Ayfer; Kucukali, Serhat; Ar, Irfan

2017-11-01

Coal power plants constitute an important component of the energy mix in many countries. However, coal power plants can cause several environmental risks such as: climate change and biodiversity loss. In this study, a tool has been proposed to calculate the environmental impact of a coal-fired thermal power plant in operation by using multi-criteria scoring and fuzzy logic method. We take into account the following environmental parameters in our tool: CO, SO2, NOx, particulate matter, fly ash, bottom ash, the cooling water intake impact on aquatic biota, and the thermal pollution. In the proposed tool, the boundaries of the fuzzy logic membership functions were established taking into account the threshold values of the environmental parameters which were defined in the environmental legislation. Scoring of these environmental parameters were done with the statistical analysis of the environmental monitoring data of the power plant and by using the documented evidences that were obtained during the site visits. The proposed method estimates each environmental impact factor level separately and then aggregates them by calculating the Environmental Impact Score (EIS). The proposed method uses environmental monitoring data and documented evidence instead of using simulation models. The proposed method has been applied to the 4 coal-fired power plants that have been operation in Turkey. The Environmental Impact Score was obtained for each power plant and their environmental performances were compared. It is expected that those environmental impact assessments will contribute to the decision-making process for environmental investments to those plants. The main advantage of the proposed method is its flexibility and ease of use.

Environmental impact assessment Geopressure Subprogram

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1977-07-01

This environmental impact assessment (EIA) addresses the expected programmatic activities of the Geopressure Subprogram of the Division of Geothermal Energy. The goal of the Geopressure Subprogram is to stimulate development of geopressured resources as an economic, reliable, operationally safe, and environmentally acceptable energy source. The subprogram includes activities in the areas of engineering research and development; resource exploration, assessment, and development; resource utilization including pilot and demonstration facilities; and environmental research and control technology development. It should be recognized that most of the subprogram activities extend over several years and are in their early stages of implementation at this time. The zones of potential geopressure development are in the region located along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts extending up to 200 miles (300 km) inland. Geopressured zones are sedimentary basins where water is trapped at high pressures within or below thick, nearly impermeable shale sequences. The confined water supports most or all of the weight of the overburden. This inhibits sediment compaction and causes formation pore pressure to exceed hydrostatic pressure. in sedimentary basins that are underlain by thin oceanic crust, upward thermal conduction from the mantle heats geopressured fluids and sediments to abnormally high temperatures, often in excess of 260 C (500 F).

Environmental impact analysis of batik natural dyes using life cycle assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Rinawati, Dyah Ika; Sari, Diana Puspita; Purwanggono, Bambang; Hermawan, Andy Tri

2017-11-01

The use of natural dyes for batik dyeing is fewer than synthetic dyes because of its limitations in the application such complexity in manufacture and usage. For ease of use, natural dyes need to be processed into instant products. Extract of natural dyes are generally produced in liquid form that are less practical in long-term use. Dye powder obtained by drying the liquid extract using spray dryer. Production process of liquid natural dye is simpler and require less energy but need more energy for transporting. It is important to know which type of natural dyes should be produced based on their environmental impact. This research aim to compare environmental impact between liquid and powder natural dyes and also to find relative contribution of different stage in life cycle to total environmental impact. The appropriate method to analyze and compare the environmental impacts of powder and liquid natural dyes is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The "cradle to grave" approach used to assess environmental impact of powder and liquid natural dyes of Jalawe rind throughout production process of natural dyes, distribution and use of natural dyes for coloring batik. Results of this research show that powder natural dyes has lower environmental impacts than liquid natural dyes. It was found that distribution, mordanting and packaging of liquid dyes have big contribution to environmental impact.

Assessing the environmental impacts of using demineralized coal for electricity generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryberg, Morten; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Laurent, Alexis

2014-01-01

because of the large energy use forrunning the demineralization process. Local and regional environmental impacts were shown to improve from demineralization for low ranking coals or lignite where the ash content is above ≈25 % and the carboncontent is less than ≈50 %. Overall, it can be concluded...... in alkaline and acidic solution to dissolve and remove the ash. This process is well-studied on lab scale but has only to a small extent been tried on a full scale. This assessment is conducted as an aid for further developing thetechnology, allowing for early identification of environmental impacts...... cycle perspective, to assessthe environmental impacts from removing ash in coal, and assess how this affects the combustion in terms of higher thermal efficiency. We assess 260 different data points applying alkali-acid leaching or acidleaching and assess how the treatment and subsequent energy...

Environmental impact assessment of man-made cellulose fibres

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shen, L.; Worrell, E.; Patel, M.K.

2010-01-01

Man-made cellulose fibres have played an important role in the production of textile products for more than 70 years. The purpose of this study is to assess the environmental impact of man-made cellulose fibres. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for three types of fibres (i.e. Viscose, Modal

Environmental impact assessment of nuclear desalination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-03-01

Nuclear desalination is gaining interest among the IAEA Member States, as indicated by the planned projects, and it is expected that the number of nuclear desalination plants will increase in the near future. The IAEA has already provided its Member States with reports and documents that disseminate information regarding the technical and economic feasibility of nuclear desalination. With the rising environmental awareness, in the scope of IAEA's activities on seawater desalination using nuclear power, a need was identified for a report that would provide a generic assessment of the environmental issues in nuclear desalination. In order to offer an overview of specific environmental impacts which are to be expected, their probable magnitude, and recommended mitigation measures, this publication encompasses information provided by the IAEA Member States as well as other specialized sources. It is intended for decision makers and experts dealing with environmental, desalination and water management issues, offering insight into the environmental aspects that are essential in planning and developing nuclear desalination

Spent fuel repositories and environmental impact assessment; the legal situation i Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manninen, J.

1995-01-01

The Finnish Act on Environmental Impact Assessment (468/94) builds on the EU Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. The Act is supplemented by the Decree on Environmental Impact Assessment (792/88). The EIA Act is applicable to all nuclear facilities, spent fuel repositories included. In practice the new Act does not introduce any drastic changes to the legal situation, as far as nuclear facilities are concerned. The Finnish Nuclear Energy Act (990/87), which entered into force 1988, already contains most of the basic elements of the environmental impact assessment. In the article, the different steps in the Finnish EIA procedure is described

Study on environmental impact assessment index system of uranium production base construction plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaochao; Song Liquan

2008-01-01

The index system on planning environmental impact assessment of uranium mining base construction is discussed by using the hiberarchy method according to characteristics of uranium production and environmental protection object of planning assessment. The suggested index system is in favor of persistent exploitation of uranium resource and environmental protection in the uranium mining area, and can provide a reference for planning environmental impact assessment of uranium mining base construction in China. (authors)

A Contribution to the Built Heritage Environmental Impact Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Žarnić, R.; Rajčić, V.; Skordaki, N.

2015-08-01

The understanding and assessment of environmental impact on heritage assets is of the highest importance for heritage preservation through well-organized maintenance based on proper decision-making. The effort towards development of protocol that would enable comparison of data on heritage assets in Europe and Mediterranean countries was done through EU Project European Cultural Heritage Identity Card. The special attention was paid to classification of environmental and man-induced risks to heritage. In the present paper the idea of EU CHIC is presented. Environmental risks are discussed in context of their influence on structure of heritage buildings that are exposed to sudden environmental impacts.

Environmental impact assessment for the Nova projects (Building 391 complex)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odell, B.N.

1979-01-01

The environmental impact assessment of the Nova projects (Building 391 Complex) describes (1) the proposed actions, (2) the existing environment in and around the Livermore Valley, and (3) the potential environmental impacts from the construction and operation of these facilities. It shows that the proposed action does not conflict with any Federal, State, Regional, or Local Plans and Programs. Possible alternatives to the proposed action are discussed. However, it is concluded that the proposed actions were the most reasonable of the alternatives and would involve relatively minor adverse environmental impacts

Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Limestone Quarrying Operations in Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

Kittipongvises, Suthirat

2017-11-01

Environmental impacts of the mineral extraction have been a public concern. Presently, there is widespread global interest in the area of mining and its sustainability that focused on the need to shift mining industry to a more sustainable framework. The aim of this study was to systematically assess all possible environmental and climate change related impacts of the limestone quarrying operation in Thailand. By considering the life cycle assessment method, the production processes were divided into three phases: raw material extraction, transportation, and comminution. Both IMPACT 2002+ and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methods were used. Results of IMPACT 2002+ analysis showed that per 1 ton crushed limestone rock production, the total depletion of resource and GHGs emissions were 79.6 MJ and 2.76 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Regarding to the four damage categories, `resources' and `climate change' categories were the two greatest environmental impacts of the limestone rock production. Diesel fuel and electricity consumption in the mining processes were the main causes of those impacts. For climate change, the unit of CO2 eq. was expressed to quantify the total GHGs emissions. Estimated result was about 3.13 kg CO2 eq. per ton limestone rock product. The results obtained by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol were also similar to IMPACT 2002+ method. Electrical energy consumption was considered as the main driver of GHGs, accounting for approximately 46.8 % of total fossil fuel CO2 emissions. A final point should be noted that data uncertainties in environmental assessment over the complete life cycle of limestone quarrying operation have to be carefully considered.

Hybrid LCA model for assessing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings in South Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Minho; Hong, Taehoon; Ji, Changyoon

2015-01-01

The assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings can help decision-makers plan environment-friendly buildings and reduce environmental impacts. For a more comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings, a hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed in this study. The developed model can assess the embodied environmental impacts (global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, abiotic depletion, and human toxicity) generated directly and indirectly in the material manufacturing, transportation, and construction phases. To demonstrate the application and validity of the developed model, the environmental impacts of an elementary school building were assessed using the developed model and compared with the results of a previous model used in a case study. The embodied environmental impacts from the previous model were lower than those from the developed model by 4.6–25.2%. Particularly, human toxicity potential (13 kg C 6 H 6 eq.) calculated by the previous model was much lower (1965 kg C 6 H 6 eq.) than what was calculated by the developed model. The results indicated that the developed model can quantify the embodied environmental impacts of buildings more comprehensively, and can be used by decision-makers as a tool for selecting environment-friendly buildings. - Highlights: • The model was developed to assess the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. • The model evaluates GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP, ADP, and HTP as environmental impacts. • The model presents more comprehensive results than the previous model by 4.6–100%. • The model can present the HTP of buildings, which the previous models cannot do. • Decision-makers can use the model for selecting environment-friendly buildings

Environmental Impact Assessment of a Water Transfer Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pazoki

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background Reliable water supplies for drinking and agriculture are some of the objectives for the sustainable development of every country. However, constructed facilities such as dams and irrigation networks and drainage can exert positive and negative effects directly or indirectly on the environment. The environmental impact assessment is a method for identifying the positive and negative effects caused by a plan and suggests performance management best practices aimed at lessening the negative impacts and augmenting the positive ones. Objectives The present study sought to evaluate the environmental impacts of the water transfer project of the Jooban Dam in two phases of preparation and operation. Materials and Methods A checklist containing the positive, negative, short-term, and long-term effects as well as the continuation and probable occurrence of these effects was used. Results The results showed that the negative environmental and social impacts of the project outweighed the positive impacts in terms of type, number, and intensity. Conclusions Unless there are well-thought out strategies for minimizing the undesirable impact on the environment, it is not advisable that such projects be permitted.

Environmental impact assessments of the Three Gorges Project in China: Issues and interventions

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xibao; Tan, Yan; Yang, Guishan

2013-09-01

The paper takes China's authoritative Environmental Impact Statement for the Yangzi (Yangtze) Three Gorges Project (TGP) in 1992 as a benchmark against which to evaluate emerging major environmental outcomes since the initial impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir in 2003. The paper particularly examines five crucial environmental aspects and associated causal factors. The five domains include human resettlement and the carrying capacity of local environments (especially land), water quality, reservoir sedimentation and downstream riverbed erosion, soil erosion, and seismic activity and geological hazards. Lessons from the environmental impact assessments of the TGP are: (1) hydro project planning needs to take place at a broader scale, and a strategic environmental assessment at a broader scale is necessary in advance of individual environmental impact assessments; (2) national policy and planning adjustments need to react quickly to the impact changes of large projects; (3) long-term environmental monitoring systems and joint operations with other large projects in the upstream areas of a river basin should be established, and the cross-impacts of climate change on projects and possible impacts of projects on regional or local climate considered.

Relation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA and the Importance of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Landscape Planning Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gizem CENGİZ GÖKÇE

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The main goal in the countries which have not completed their development progress is industrialization and development just as soon as possible. Therefore, negative effects of industrialization and development on envi ronment and/or nature cannot be mostly discussed adequately. One of the planning approach instruments that targets sustainability, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA is used in many countries effectively. But in recent years, that has understood; EIA is an impact assessment instrument that contains defensive preventions only on the basis of projects and this situation has caused some concerns against EIA. In this direction, Strategical Environmental Assessment (SEA exists as the final point of the instruments which are formed to provide sustainable development . In this study; the importance and the requirement of effectively taking a role of landscape architectures that have ecological based job, in the SEA workings which isn’t have got a legal status in Turkey yet, are emphasized by reviewing the relations between EIA and SEA concepts.

The use of environmental impact assessment in protecting the built cultural heritage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flynn, Errol David

2004-01-01

This article examines the application of the environmental impact assessment as a means of protecting the built and cultural heritage during and after the construction of the new national opera house in the Holmen area of Copenhagen. It assesses the affect the new building has had...... on the surrounding built and cultural heritage and examines how the environmental impact assessment was used during the development process....

CAPACITY BUILDING PROCESS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR A THAI COMMUNITY.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaithui, Suthat; Sithisarankul, Pornchai; Hengpraprom, Sarunya

2017-03-01

This research aimed at exploring the development of the capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment, including the consideration of subsequent, capacity-building achievements. Data were gathered through questionnaires, participatory observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and capacity building checklist forms. These data were analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. Our study used the components of the final draft for capacity-building processes consisting of ten steps that were formulated by synthesis from each respective process. Additionally, the evaluation of capacity building levels was performed using 10-item evaluation criteria for nine communities. The results indicated that the communities performed well under these criteria. Finally, exploration of the factors influencing capacity building in environmental and health impact assessment indicated that the learning of community members by knowledge exchange via activities and study visits were the most influential factors of the capacity building processes in environmental and health impact assessment. The final revised version of capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment could serve as a basis for the consideration of interventions in similar areas, so that they increased capacity in environmental and health impact assessments.

Hybrid LCA model for assessing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings in South Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Minho, E-mail: minmin40@hanmail.net [Asset Management Division, Mate Plus Co., Ltd., 9th Fl., Financial News Bldg. 24-5 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-877 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: chnagyoon@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-01-15

The assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings can help decision-makers plan environment-friendly buildings and reduce environmental impacts. For a more comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings, a hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed in this study. The developed model can assess the embodied environmental impacts (global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, abiotic depletion, and human toxicity) generated directly and indirectly in the material manufacturing, transportation, and construction phases. To demonstrate the application and validity of the developed model, the environmental impacts of an elementary school building were assessed using the developed model and compared with the results of a previous model used in a case study. The embodied environmental impacts from the previous model were lower than those from the developed model by 4.6–25.2%. Particularly, human toxicity potential (13 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) calculated by the previous model was much lower (1965 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) than what was calculated by the developed model. The results indicated that the developed model can quantify the embodied environmental impacts of buildings more comprehensively, and can be used by decision-makers as a tool for selecting environment-friendly buildings. - Highlights: • The model was developed to assess the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. • The model evaluates GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP, ADP, and HTP as environmental impacts. • The model presents more comprehensive results than the previous model by 4.6–100%. • The model can present the HTP of buildings, which the previous models cannot do. • Decision-makers can use the model for selecting environment-friendly buildings.

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farcas, Adrian [Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT (United Kingdom); Thompson, Paul M. [Lighthouse Field Station, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cromarty IV11 8YL (United Kingdom); Merchant, Nathan D., E-mail: nathan.merchant@cefas.co.uk [Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT (United Kingdom)

2016-02-15

Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farcas, Adrian; Thompson, Paul M.; Merchant, Nathan D.

2016-01-01

Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.

Framework for Assessing Indicators of Environmental Impacts in the Transport Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joumard, Robert; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Folkeson, Lennart

2011-01-01

The following questions were addressed in this study: How can environmental impacts of transport be identified? How can the impacts be represented by operational indicators? How can several indicators be considered jointly? How can indicators be used in planning and decision making? First......, a definition of the phrase “indicator of environmental impacts in the transport sector” was derived. The concept of a chain of causality between a source and a final target was developed as a common reference for indicators and their assessment. Criteria and methods for the assessment and selection...

Preliminary environmental impact assessment for the final disposal of vanadium hazardous wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leyva Bombuse, D.; Peralta, J.L.; Gil Castillo, R.

2006-01-01

The aim of the present paper is the environmental impact assessment for the final management of vanadium wastes. The assessed practice is proposed as a final solution for a real problem in Cuba, related with the combustion fossil fuel burn in the electric generation. The study case, embrace the interim storage of hazardous wastes with high vanadium contents (5.08 T) and other heavy metals traces (Cr, Zn). According to the Cuban conditions (tacking into account the environmental regulations and infrastructure lack for the hazardous wastes disposal), it was decided the terrestrial dilution as a final disposal way. The environmental impact assessment methodology used, take into account, in the analyzed management practice, the actions, factors and environmental impacts. The positives and more relevant impacts were obtained for the socioeconomic means. The negative and irrelevant impacts were associated to the biotic and abiotic means. Socioeconomic factors were the most affected and the biotic and abiotic factors were less affected. The waste handling was the most relevant environmental action. According to the evaluated conditions, the obtained results showed that is feasible the terrestrial dilution as a sustainability way for the final disposal of vanadium hazardous wastes

Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Limestone Quarrying Operations in Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kittipongvises Suthirat

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Environmental impacts of the mineral extraction have been a public concern. Presently, there is widespread global interest in the area of mining and its sustainability that focused on the need to shift mining industry to a more sustainable framework. The aim of this study was to systematically assess all possible environmental and climate change related impacts of the limestone quarrying operation in Thailand. By considering the life cycle assessment method, the production processes were divided into three phases: raw material extraction, transportation, and comminution. Both IMPACT 2002+ and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methods were used. Results of IMPACT 2002+ analysis showed that per 1 ton crushed limestone rock production, the total depletion of resource and GHGs emissions were 79.6 MJ and 2.76 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Regarding to the four damage categories, ‘resources’ and ‘climate change’ categories were the two greatest environmental impacts of the limestone rock production. Diesel fuel and electricity consumption in the mining processes were the main causes of those impacts. For climate change, the unit of CO2 eq. was expressed to quantify the total GHGs emissions. Estimated result was about 3.13 kg CO2 eq. per ton limestone rock product. The results obtained by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol were also similar to IMPACT 2002+ method. Electrical energy consumption was considered as the main driver of GHGs, accounting for approximately 46.8 % of total fossil fuel CO2 emissions. A final point should be noted that data uncertainties in environmental assessment over the complete life cycle of limestone quarrying operation have to be carefully considered.

The role of geomorphology in environmental impact assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallin, A.; Marchetti, M.; Panizza, M.; Soldati, M.

1994-04-01

This paper aims to define the role of Geomorphology in the assessment of the impact of human activities on the environment. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) should be carried out for specific projects, in order to evaluate their suitability for the quality of the environment. In fact, each planned activity may have an impact on various environmental components. Among these, the natural component must be examined in terms of geomorphological hazards, which may endanger a project, and of geomorphological assets (elements forming the educational and cultural heritage of the landscape), which may be damaged to various extents by human activities. The relationships between humans and environment are taken into account, with particular attention to the effects of a project on the geomorphological environment. From a geomorphological point of view, after having assessed the suitability of a certain location, mainly with respect to its morphography and morphometry, the geomorphological hazards of the area which may threaten the project (risk) must be considered; then the geomorphological assets, which may be damaged by the same project (direct impact) have to be individuated. Human activities may produce two other kinds of effect: the first refers to the consequences of the geomorphological hazards induced by a project on the project itself (direct risk) and on the surronding areas (indirect risk); the second takes into account the potential deterioration of a geomorphological asset due to hazards induced by the project (indirect impact). Examples of these different cases are presented.

Can environmental impact assessments alone conserve freshwater fish biota? Review of the Chilean experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacy, Shaw Nozaki; Meza, Francisco J.; Marquet, Pablo A.

2017-01-01

Chile was one of many countries that initiated environmental impact assessments in the 1990s, and has relied on their use for species conservation and territorial planning without the use of larger-scale environmental and ecological planning. The capacity of Chile's environmental impact assessment system (SEIA) to evaluate resident freshwater fishes and the potential impacts of water projects and aquaculture activities – two categories of projects that create direct threats to freshwater fishes – are assessed. Of the 3997 such submissions to the SEIA, only 0.6% conducted any freshwater fish assessment, and only 0.1% conducted any quantitative assessment of expected impacts from the associated project. The small number of assessments was characterized by poor study design, inconsistent sampling methodology, and species misidentification. Traditional assessments failed to include freshwater fish ecology in the general assessment framework. The new strategic environmental evaluation system only underscores the need for vastly improved field sampling protocols and assessment methodologies.

Can environmental impact assessments alone conserve freshwater fish biota? Review of the Chilean experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacy, Shaw Nozaki, E-mail: shaw.lacy@gmail.com [Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago (Chile); Departmento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul (Chile); Centro Interdisciplinario de Cambio Global, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul (Chile); Meza, Francisco J. [Departmento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul (Chile); Centro Interdisciplinario de Cambio Global, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul (Chile); Marquet, Pablo A. [Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago (Chile); Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Las Palmeras 345, Santiago (Chile); Centro Interdisciplinario de Cambio Global, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul (Chile)

2017-03-15

Chile was one of many countries that initiated environmental impact assessments in the 1990s, and has relied on their use for species conservation and territorial planning without the use of larger-scale environmental and ecological planning. The capacity of Chile's environmental impact assessment system (SEIA) to evaluate resident freshwater fishes and the potential impacts of water projects and aquaculture activities – two categories of projects that create direct threats to freshwater fishes – are assessed. Of the 3997 such submissions to the SEIA, only 0.6% conducted any freshwater fish assessment, and only 0.1% conducted any quantitative assessment of expected impacts from the associated project. The small number of assessments was characterized by poor study design, inconsistent sampling methodology, and species misidentification. Traditional assessments failed to include freshwater fish ecology in the general assessment framework. The new strategic environmental evaluation system only underscores the need for vastly improved field sampling protocols and assessment methodologies.

Environmental impact assessment of quarries under water table: state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menatti, M.; Vismara, R.

2009-01-01

After an overview of environmental problems concerning pits under water table, data and results showed in a few examples of literature and in some Environmental Impact Study are summarized. A close examination about sector normative instruments, in the field of E.I.A. (Environmental Impact Assessment) and S.E.A. (Strategic Environmental Assessment) is showed, through some key elements obtained from a few guidelines expressed by control and authorization governmental authority.In addition, the paper deals with a specific problem about wash water management and, in particular, silt material management; the possible impacts derived from the directly wash water introduction in the pit lake and from the use of settling lagoon are analyzed. [it

Pre-operational monitoring and assessment of aquatic biota in environmental impact assessment studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, T.K.

2001-01-01

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an ideal anticipatory mechanism which establishes quantitative values for parameters indicating the quality of the environment before, during and after the proposed developmental activity, thus allowing measures that ensure environmental compatibility in developmental process. EIA studies have been made mandatory in India by MoEF, GOI for expansion/modernization of any activity or development of new project. Biological assessment, under aquatic environment, is one of the major components of EIA and it requires systematic way of data collection. Generation of substantial baseline data can then be used for formulation of subsequent stages of EIA, viz. prediction, evaluation, impact statements and environmental management plan (EMP). However, a definite approach towards biological studies under EIA during pre-operational stage has not been outlined in available guidelines. (author)

Pre-operational monitoring and assessment of aquatic biota in environmental impact assessment studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, T K [Ecotechnology Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Inst., Nagpur (India)

2001-06-01

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an ideal anticipatory mechanism which establishes quantitative values for parameters indicating the quality of the environment before, during and after the proposed developmental activity, thus allowing measures that ensure environmental compatibility in developmental process. EIA studies have been made mandatory in India by MoEF, GOI for expansion/modernization of any activity or development of new project. Biological assessment, under aquatic environment, is one of the major components of EIA and it requires systematic way of data collection. Generation of substantial baseline data can then be used for formulation of subsequent stages of EIA, viz. prediction, evaluation, impact statements and environmental management plan (EMP). However, a definite approach towards biological studies under EIA during pre-operational stage has not been outlined in available guidelines. (author)

Graphical Methodology of Global Pollution Index for the Environmental Impact Assessment Using Two Environmental Components

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corneliu Cojocaru

2017-04-01

Full Text Available One of the applied methods for environmental impact assessment is the index of global pollution (IGP proposed by Rojanschi in 1991. This methodology enables the global estimation for the ecosystem state affected more or less by human activities. Unfortunately, Rojanschi’s method has a limitation; it can be applied only if at least three environmental components are considered. Frequently, many environmental impact assessment applications rely on analysis of only two environmental components. Therefore, this work aimed to develop a new graphical method to extend Rojanschi’s approach for the case of two environmental components. The proposed method avoids the average value of evaluation grades and uses only the graphical correspondence for calculation of the index of global pollution. A right-angle triangle graph methodology was proposed, where bases represented the values of evaluation grades. Thus, for the case of two environmental components, the index of global pollution was calculated as the relation between the ideal and real ecosystem states represented by the ratio between areas of external and enclosed right triangles. The developed graphical method was tested and validated for real case studies: the environmental impact assessment from a refinery located on the Romanian Black Sea Coast considering Air and Water environmental components and from a coal-fired thermoelectric power plant from Eastern Romania regarding Air and Soil environmental components. In this way, it was provided a reliable and faster tool to be used for the pollution characterization of human-derived chemicals for better decisions in risk management.

Regional restrictions on environmental impact assessment approval in China: the legitimacy of environmental authoritarianism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhu, X.; Zhang, L.; Ran, R.; Mol, A.P.J.

2015-01-01

The poor enforcement and effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) on construction and investment projects in China has long been blamed for not preventing environmental pollution and degradation. At the same time, freezing EIA approval of all new projects in an administrative region,

Environmental impact assessment for uranium mine, mill and in situ leach projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-11-01

Environmental impact assessments and/or statements are an inherent part of any uranium mining project and are a prerequisite for the future opening of an exploitation and its final closure and decommissioning. Since they contain all information related to the physical, biological, chemical and economic condition of the areas where industrial projects are proposed or planned, they present invaluable guidance for the planning and implementation of environmental mitigation as well as environmental restoration after the mine is closed. They further yield relevant data on the socio-economic impacts of a project. The present report provides guidance on the environmental impact assessment of uranium mining and milling projects, including in situ leach projects which will be useful for companies in the process of planning uranium developments as well as for the regional or national authorities who will assess such developments. Additional information and advice is given through environmental case histories from five different countries. Those case histories are not meant to be prescriptions for conducting assessments nor even firm recommendations, but should serve as examples for the type and extent of work involved in assessments. A model assessment and licensing process is recommended based on the experience of the five countries. 1 fig., 5 tabs.

Environmental impact assessment for uranium mine, mill and in situ leach projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-11-01

Environmental impact assessments and/or statements are an inherent part of any uranium mining project and are a prerequisite for the future opening of an exploitation and its final closure and decommissioning. Since they contain all information related to the physical, biological, chemical and economic condition of the areas where industrial projects are proposed or planned, they present invaluable guidance for the planning and implementation of environmental mitigation as well as environmental restoration after the mine is closed. They further yield relevant data on the socio-economic impacts of a project. The present report provides guidance on the environmental impact assessment of uranium mining and milling projects, including in situ leach projects which will be useful for companies in the process of planning uranium developments as well as for the regional or national authorities who will assess such developments. Additional information and advice is given through environmental case histories from five different countries. Those case histories are not meant to be prescriptions for conducting assessments nor even firm recommendations, but should serve as examples for the type and extent of work involved in assessments. A model assessment and licensing process is recommended based on the experience of the five countries

An Assessment of Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Hamid Masdiah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA in evaluating the planning project is a debatable issue among academics and practitioners, since EIA has been claimed to be unable to eliminate the environmental issues. Focusing only on technical improvements is not sufficient for rectifying the problems of EIA; the process of EIA should be clearly identified instead to maximise the effective use of EIA. It is important to note that the effective use of EIA, particularly on process-related issues could significantly minimise bad environmental effects. In summary, this study aims to explore and identify the effectiveness of EIA in the planning process and barriers to evaluate the environmental performance in Malaysia. The findings of this study could be a baseline for organisation to minimize emission, avoid the risk of prosecution and fines arising from potential environment breaches and cost reduction within the organisation.

The influence of incomplete or unavailable information on environmental impact assessment in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkinson, Samuel F.; Canter, Larry W.; Ravan, Melanie D.

2006-01-01

One of the more common activities of environmental scientists in the United States is the preparation of environmental assessments or environmental impact statements in response to the mandates of the National Environmental Policy Act. The central thesis of this paper revolves around a frequent dilemma those scientists face: how to proceed with the environmental impact analysis when information on potential impacts is incomplete or unavailable. The paper examines how the 'hard look' standard that U.S. courts have imposed upon agencies considering proposed actions came about. Further, U.S. courts have said agencies cannot make arbitrary and capricious decisions when deciding to build a project, implement a plan, issue a permit or other give other approvals, and this paper discusses how the courts have defined what arbitrary and capricious decision are, especially when decisions are made when information about impacts is incomplete or unavailable. The paper examines why agencies win or lose lawsuits filed against the environmental assessments or environmental impact statements they write, focusing on those cases that have occurred after the Supreme Court ruled on the issue in 1989. The paper suggests recommendations to environmental scientists faced with incomplete or unavailable information when preparing an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement in the U.S

Application for approval of the Cold Lake Expansion Project: volume 2: environmental impact assessment: Part 1: biophysical and resource use assessment. Part 2: impact model descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, J.; Eccles, R.; Hegmann, G.; Morrison, L.; Salter, R.; van Egmond, T.; Vonk, P.; Ash, G.; Crowther, R.; Dance, T.; Edwards, W.; Veldman, W.

1997-02-01

An environmental assessment of the Cold Lake Expansion Project has been conducted to identify major issues of concern by public and government agencies, to determine means to eliminate or reduce those impacts, and to recommend any further efforts required to obtain missing information or monitor impacts. Volume 2 of the environmental impact assessment is divided into two parts. Part 1 (biophysical and resource use assessment) constitutes the primary environmental impact assessment document for the Cold Lake expansion project. It includes technical support documentation in regard to: (1) an assessment of noise impacts, (2) an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, (3) a conceptual conservation and reclamation plan, (4) a historical resource impact assessment, and (5) a description of effects of oil spills on fish. Part 2 (impact model description) serves a reference document for part 1. It describes the approach taken in developing and assessing the impact models, discusses proposed methods for mitigation and management of residual impacts, and the recommended monitoring requirements for each of the major resource disciplines. The impact models describe the specific pathways through which impacts will occur as a result of interactions between project-related activities and important environmental components. 476 refs., 58 tabs., 23 figs

Foundation stones for a real socio-environmental integration in projects' impact assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Andres Dominguez-Gomez, J.

2015-04-01

In the last twenty years, both the increase in academic production and the expansion of professional involvement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA), have evidenced growing scientific and business interest in risk and impact analysis. However, this growth has not brought with it a parallel progress in addressing their main shortcomings: insufficient integration of environmental and social features into development project analyses and, in cases where the social aspects are considered, technical-methodological failings in their diagnosis and assessment. It is clear that these weaknesses carry with them substantial threats to the sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of schemes which impact on the environment, and in consequence, to the local contexts where they are carried out and to the delicate balance of the global ecosystem. This paper argue that, in a sociological context of growing complexity, four foundation-stones are required to underpin research methodologies (for both diagnosis and assessment) in the socio-environmental risks of development projects: a theoretical foundation in actor-network theory; an ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized though not always carried through into practice; a (new) epistemological-scientific base; and a methodological foundation in social participation.

Evaluation of environmental impact assessment system in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nadeem, Obaidullah; Hameed, Rizwan

2008-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was first introduced in Pakistan based on the Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983. The EIA process was further strengthened under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, which became operational under EIA Regulations 2000. Despite a sound legal basis and comprehensive guidelines, evidence suggests that EIA has not yet evolved satisfactorily in Pakistan. An evaluation of the EIA system against systematic evaluation criteria, based on interviews with EIA approval authorities, consulting firms and experts, reveals various shortcomings of the EIA system. These mainly include; inadequate capacity of EIA approval authorities, deficiencies in screening and scoping, poor EIA quality, inadequate public participation and weak monitoring. Overall, EIA is used presently as a project justification tool rather than as a project planning tool to contribute to achieving sustainable development. Whilst shortcomings are challenging, central government has recently shown a high degree of commitment to the environmental protection by making EIA compulsory for all the public sector projects likely to have adverse environmental impacts. The paper identifies opportunities for taking advantage of the current environment for strengthening the EIA process

A multi-scale metrics approach to forest fragmentation for Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Eunyoung, E-mail: eykim@kei.re.kr [Korea Environment Institute, 215 Jinheungno, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul 122-706 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Wonkyong, E-mail: wksong79@gmail.com [Suwon Research Institute, 145 Gwanggyo-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 443-270 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Dongkun, E-mail: dklee7@snu.ac.kr [Department of Landscape Architecture and Rural System Engineering, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanakro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-921 (Korea, Republic of); Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-09-15

Forests are becoming severely fragmented as a result of land development. South Korea has responded to changing community concerns about environmental issues. The nation has developed and is extending a broad range of tools for use in environmental management. Although legally mandated environmental compliance requirements in South Korea have been implemented to predict and evaluate the impacts of land-development projects, these legal instruments are often insufficient to assess the subsequent impact of development on the surrounding forests. It is especially difficult to examine impacts on multiple (e.g., regional and local) scales in detail. Forest configuration and size, including forest fragmentation by land development, are considered on a regional scale. Moreover, forest structure and composition, including biodiversity, are considered on a local scale in the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Recently, the government amended the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, including the SEA, EIA, and small-scale EIA, to require an integrated approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish an impact assessment system that minimizes the impacts of land development using an approach that is integrated across multiple scales. This study focused on forest fragmentation due to residential development and road construction sites in selected Congestion Restraint Zones (CRZs) in the Greater Seoul Area of South Korea. Based on a review of multiple-scale impacts, this paper integrates models that assess the impacts of land development on forest ecosystems. The applicability of the integrated model for assessing impacts on forest ecosystems through the SEIA process is considered. On a regional scale, it is possible to evaluate the location and size of a land-development project by considering aspects of forest fragmentation, such as the stability of the forest structure and the degree of fragmentation. On a local scale, land-development projects should

Environmental Impact Assessment in the Visegrad Group countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gałaś, Slávka, E-mail: sgalas@geol.agh.edu.pl [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental Analysis, Cartography and Economic Geology Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30 059 Krakow (Poland); Gałaś, Andrzej, E-mail: pollux@geol.agh.edu.pl [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental Analysis, Cartography and Economic Geology Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30 059 Krakow (Poland); Zeleňáková, Martina, E-mail: martina.zelenakova@tuke.sk [Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Vysokoškolská 4, 042 00 Košice (Slovakia); Zvijáková, Lenka, E-mail: lenkazvijakova@gmail.com [Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Vysokoškolská 4, 042 00 Košice (Slovakia); Fialová, Jitka, E-mail: jitka.fialova@mendelu.cz [Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Department of Landscape Management, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno (Czech Republic); and others

2015-11-15

Highlights: • Comparison and evaluation of EIA systems in the V4 countries are presented. • Strengths and weaknesses of EIA systems based on a questionnaire survey are stated. • The function and efficiency of the EIA application in the V4 countries are analysed. • Irregularities and shortcomings of EIA systems in the V4 should be eliminated. The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA Directive) has created a reference framework for the implementation of the system of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) into the legal systems of the Member States of the European Union, including the countries belonging to the Visegrad Group (V4): Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The Directive was the basis for the introduction of compulsory stages of the EIA process in the V4. The stages were then adapted to national requirements, including thresholds of the qualifying criteria of projects at the screening and scoping stages. The EIA system in the analysed countries has been growing, changing and being modified together with the political and economic changes of the last 30 years. Although all Visegrad Group countries are members of the EU and should harmonize the provisions of the EIA Directive and its amendments, there still exist singularities in each country's national EIA legislation, in terms of complementarities among the V4 countries, access to information resources, protection of natural resources, mitigation of socio-environmental impacts, or transboundary impact assessment. The article compares and evaluates the EIA systems in the four countries, specifies similarities and differences in the implementation of administrative proceedings and points out opportunities to strengthen the system. It presents selected results of a study conducted in 2013 within the framework of the international project “Assessment of the quality of the environment in the V4 Countries” (AQE V4). This paper indicates examples of good practice in the EIA

Environmental Impact Assessment in the Visegrad Group countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gałaś, Slávka; Gałaś, Andrzej; Zeleňáková, Martina; Zvijáková, Lenka; Fialová, Jitka

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Comparison and evaluation of EIA systems in the V4 countries are presented. • Strengths and weaknesses of EIA systems based on a questionnaire survey are stated. • The function and efficiency of the EIA application in the V4 countries are analysed. • Irregularities and shortcomings of EIA systems in the V4 should be eliminated. The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA Directive) has created a reference framework for the implementation of the system of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) into the legal systems of the Member States of the European Union, including the countries belonging to the Visegrad Group (V4): Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The Directive was the basis for the introduction of compulsory stages of the EIA process in the V4. The stages were then adapted to national requirements, including thresholds of the qualifying criteria of projects at the screening and scoping stages. The EIA system in the analysed countries has been growing, changing and being modified together with the political and economic changes of the last 30 years. Although all Visegrad Group countries are members of the EU and should harmonize the provisions of the EIA Directive and its amendments, there still exist singularities in each country's national EIA legislation, in terms of complementarities among the V4 countries, access to information resources, protection of natural resources, mitigation of socio-environmental impacts, or transboundary impact assessment. The article compares and evaluates the EIA systems in the four countries, specifies similarities and differences in the implementation of administrative proceedings and points out opportunities to strengthen the system. It presents selected results of a study conducted in 2013 within the framework of the international project “Assessment of the quality of the environment in the V4 Countries” (AQE V4). This paper indicates examples of good practice in the EIA

The convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrage, W.

2000-01-01

The ECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (EIA Convention) is the first multilateral treaty to specify the procedural rights and duties of Parties with regard to transboundary impacts of proposed activities and to provide procedures, in a transboundary context, for the consideration of environmental impacts in decision-making. The EIA Convention, elaborated under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), was adopted at Espoo, Finland, in February 1991. Obligations stipulated, and measures and procedures provided for in this Convention are described. (author)

Environmental impact assessments and geological repositories for radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Sullivan, P.; McKirdy, B.; Askarieh, M.; Bond, A.; Russell, S.

1999-01-01

Since 1985 it has been obligatory that facilities in the European Union designed for the permanent storage or disposal of radioactive waste be assessed to determine their effects on the environment. This assessment must be undertaken in advance of any decision by national authorities to give consent for development work to proceed. Member States are given wide discretion on how the above requirements are implemented in practice, e.g. the relevant European Council Directives call for the results of the environmental assessment to be made available to the public before development consent is granted but the detailed arrangements for dissemination of such information and procedures for public consultation are determined by individual Member States. Although the Directives require an assessment of the direct and indirect effects of a project on human beings and on various elements of the natural environment, they are non-specific as to what particular impacts should be addressed, particularly as regards the effects of a project on human beings. Therefore, for example, each Member State may decide whether or not social, health and economic impacts should be included in the assessment. This paper discusses the above issues. It proposes a model approach to environmental impact assessment in the context of geological repositories, including the role of the assessment on the overall decision processes for repository development, the scope and content of the assessment report, and approaches to public involvement

Environmental justice, impact assessment and the politics of knowledge: The implications of assessing the social distribution of environmental outcomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, Gordon

2010-01-01

Claims of environmental injustice have increasingly become part of environmental conflicts, both explicitly through the work of environmental justice campaigning groups and implicitly through the arguments deployed about the rights and wrongs of a given situation. Such claims can centre on different notions of justice, including those concerned with questions of distribution and procedure. This paper focuses on distributional or outcome justice and explores what implications follow when the distributional concerns of environmental justice are included in the practice of impact assessment processes, including through social impact assessment (SIA). The current use of impact assessment methods in the UK is reviewed showing that although practices are evolving there is a little routine assessment of distributional inequalities. It is argued that whilst this should become part of established practice to ensure that inequalities are revealed and matters of justice are given a higher profile, the implications for conflict within decision making processes are not straightforward. On the one hand, there could be scope for conflict to be ameliorated by analysis of inequalities informing the debate between stakeholders, and facilitating the implementation of mitigation and compensation measures for disadvantaged groups. On the other hand, contestation over how evidence is produced and therefore what it shows, and disagreement as to the basis on which justice and injustice are to be determined, means that conflict may also be generated and sustained within what are essentially political and strategic settings.

Study on environmental impact assessment of uranium mining and milling base planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaochao; Song Liquan

2008-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) of project planning is part of strategic EIA, which provides full consideration and evaluation of the potential environmental impact on tiered basis in the process of plan implementation. With account being taken of EIA of uranium mining/milling base and the current situation of mining/milling industry, this paper determined environmental protection objectives of EIA, screened assessment indexes and identified weighting factors. Based on the characteristics of mines planned, restrictive score values are estimated each for EIA weighting factor. Finally some suggestions were made for adjusting the plan. (authors)

Analysis and assessment of environmental impacts of small hydro power plant in Slovakia

Science.gov (United States)

Zeleňáková, M.; Fijko, R.; Remeňáková, I.

2017-10-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important process that, prior to approval of the investment plan, can provide a detailed examination of the likely and foreseeable impacts of proposed construction activity on the environment. The objective of this paper is to apply a specific methodology for the analysis and evaluation of the environmental impacts of selected constructions, namely, small hydro power plant, using matrix of impacts. This analysis method is intended not only to increase the clarity and precision of the evaluation process, but also to align it with the requirements of the environmental impact assessment system. This modification should improve the reliability of the environmental impact assessment, and could moreover also be applied to other infrastructure projects. Comparison of alternatives and designation of the optimal variant are implemented based on selected criteria that objectively describe the characteristic lines of the planned alternatives of activity and their impact on the environment. The use of proper EIA procedures can help the decision-makers to formulate proper activities based on qualified decisions. The designed project in Spišské Bystré, Slovakia is used as a case study to clarify and exemplify the methodology and techniques.

Assessing environmental impacts of inland sand mining in parts of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sand is a valuable resource for construction and other purposes, however sand mining often result in serious environmental problems such as land degradation, loss of agricultural lands and biodiversity, as well increased poverty among people. This study assessed the environmental impacts of inland sand mining in six ...

Performance assessment of hybrid power generation systems: Economic and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Sharafi, Abdullah; Yilbas, Bekir S.; Sahin, Ahmet Z.; Ayar, T.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A double-step optimization tool for hybrid power generation systems is introduced. • Economical aspects and the impact of the system on the environment are considered. • A hybrid system comprises PV array-wind turbine-battery-diesel engine is considered. • Real time analysis of the system for full year simulation is carried out. • System optimum configuration at point where total performance index is maximized. - Abstract: This article aims to introduce a double-step performance assessment tool for the hybrid power generation systems. As a case study, a hybrid system comprising PV array, wind-turbine, battery bank and diesel engine is incorporated in hourly based simulations to meet power demand of a residence unit at Dhahran area, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Different indicators related to economical and environmental performance assessments of the hybrid system have been considered. In the economic related assessment case, cost of electricity, energy excess percentage, and operating life cycle indicators have been considered and combined to develop the first overall performance index. Renewable contribution, renewable source availability and environmental impact indicators have been considered for the environmental assessment case and they are combined in the second performance index. For either economical or environmental cases, the optimum configuration of the system is achieved by maximizing the first and second overall performance indicators. This innovative optimization tools gives the designer the freedom to assign suitable weights associated with economical aspect, environmental impact, governmental regulations and social impact, for the first and second overall performance indicators, and combine them in the total performance index. The optimum system configuration is at the point where the total performance index is maximized.

Needs and challenges for assessing the environmental impacts of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs)

Science.gov (United States)

Romero-Franco, Michelle; Godwin, Hilary A; Bilal, Muhammad

2017-01-01

The potential environmental impact of nanomaterials is a critical concern and the ability to assess these potential impacts is top priority for the progress of sustainable nanotechnology. Risk assessment tools are needed to enable decision makers to rapidly assess the potential risks that may be imposed by engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), particularly when confronted by the reality of limited hazard or exposure data. In this review, we examine a range of available risk assessment frameworks considering the contexts in which different stakeholders may need to assess the potential environmental impacts of ENMs. Assessment frameworks and tools that are suitable for the different decision analysis scenarios are then identified. In addition, we identify the gaps that currently exist between the needs of decision makers, for a range of decision scenarios, and the abilities of present frameworks and tools to meet those needs. PMID:28546894

Needs and challenges for assessing the environmental impacts of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Romero-Franco

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The potential environmental impact of nanomaterials is a critical concern and the ability to assess these potential impacts is top priority for the progress of sustainable nanotechnology. Risk assessment tools are needed to enable decision makers to rapidly assess the potential risks that may be imposed by engineered nanomaterials (ENMs, particularly when confronted by the reality of limited hazard or exposure data. In this review, we examine a range of available risk assessment frameworks considering the contexts in which different stakeholders may need to assess the potential environmental impacts of ENMs. Assessment frameworks and tools that are suitable for the different decision analysis scenarios are then identified. In addition, we identify the gaps that currently exist between the needs of decision makers, for a range of decision scenarios, and the abilities of present frameworks and tools to meet those needs.

Environmental impact assessment of european non-ferro mining industries through life-cycle assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hisan Farjana, Shahjadi; Huda, Nazmul; Parvez Mahmud, M. A.

2018-05-01

European mining industries are the vast industrial sector which contributes largely on their economy which constitutes of ferro and non-ferro metals and minerals industries. The non-ferro metals extraction and processing industries require focus of attention due to sustainability concerns as their manufacturing processes are highly energy intensive and impacts globally on environment. This paper analyses major environmental effects caused by European metal industries based on the life-cycle impact analysis technologies. This research work is the first work in considering the comparative environmental impact analysis of European non-ferro metal industries which will reveal their technological similarities and dissimilarities to assess their environmental loads. The life-cycle inventory datasets are collected from the EcoInvent database while the analysis is done using the CML baseline and ReCipe endpoint method using SimaPro software version 8.4. The CML and ReCipe method are chosen because they are specialized impact assessment methods for European continent. The impact categories outlined for discussion here are human health, global warming and ecotoxicity. The analysis results reveal that the gold industry is vulnerable for the environment due to waste emission and similar result retained by silver mines a little bit. But copper, lead, manganese and zinc mining processes and industries are environment friendly in terms of metal extraction technologies and waste emissions.

Review and environmental impact assessment of green technologies for base courses in bituminous pavements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anthonissen, Joke, E-mail: joke.anthonissen@uantwerpen.be [Faculty of Applied Engineering, University of Antwerp, Rodestraat 4, 2000 Antwerp (Belgium); Van den bergh, Wim, E-mail: wim.vandenbergh@uantwerpen.be [Faculty of Applied Engineering, University of Antwerp, Rodestraat 4, 2000 Antwerp (Belgium); Braet, Johan, E-mail: johan.braet@uantwerpen.be [Department Engineering Management, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp (Belgium)

2016-09-15

This paper provides a critical review of different approaches applied in the Belgian asphalt sector in order to reduce the environmental impact of bituminous road construction works. The focus is on (1) reusing reclaimed asphalt pavement, (2) reducing the asphalt production temperature, and (3) prolonging the service life of the pavement. Environmental impact assessment of these methods is necessary to be able to compare these approaches and understand better the ability to reduce the environmental impact during the life cycle of the road pavement. Attention should be drawn to the possible shift in environmental impact between various life cycle stages, e.g., raw material production, asphalt production, or waste treatment. Life cycle assessment is necessary to adequately assess the environmental impact of these approaches over the entire service life of the bituminous pavement. The three approaches and their implementation in the road sector in Flanders (region in Belgium) are described and the main findings from life cycle assessment studies on these subjects are discussed. It was found from the review that using reclaimed asphalt pavement in new bituminous mixtures might yield significant environmental gains. The environmental impact of the application of warm mix asphalt technologies, on the other hand, depends on the technique used. - Highlights: • Recycling, lower production temperature and durability of asphalt are investigated. • The use of RAP in new asphalt mixtures yields significant environmental advantages. • It would be beneficial to allow RAP in asphalt mixtures for wearing courses. • The use of particular additives might counteract the environmental gain from WMA. • The service life and the environmental data source influence the LCA results.

Review and environmental impact assessment of green technologies for base courses in bituminous pavements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anthonissen, Joke; Van den bergh, Wim; Braet, Johan

2016-01-01

This paper provides a critical review of different approaches applied in the Belgian asphalt sector in order to reduce the environmental impact of bituminous road construction works. The focus is on (1) reusing reclaimed asphalt pavement, (2) reducing the asphalt production temperature, and (3) prolonging the service life of the pavement. Environmental impact assessment of these methods is necessary to be able to compare these approaches and understand better the ability to reduce the environmental impact during the life cycle of the road pavement. Attention should be drawn to the possible shift in environmental impact between various life cycle stages, e.g., raw material production, asphalt production, or waste treatment. Life cycle assessment is necessary to adequately assess the environmental impact of these approaches over the entire service life of the bituminous pavement. The three approaches and their implementation in the road sector in Flanders (region in Belgium) are described and the main findings from life cycle assessment studies on these subjects are discussed. It was found from the review that using reclaimed asphalt pavement in new bituminous mixtures might yield significant environmental gains. The environmental impact of the application of warm mix asphalt technologies, on the other hand, depends on the technique used. - Highlights: • Recycling, lower production temperature and durability of asphalt are investigated. • The use of RAP in new asphalt mixtures yields significant environmental advantages. • It would be beneficial to allow RAP in asphalt mixtures for wearing courses. • The use of particular additives might counteract the environmental gain from WMA. • The service life and the environmental data source influence the LCA results.

Discussion of environmental impact assessment for the nuclear technology application in hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shaoting; Xu Zhongyang

2010-01-01

Medical use of ionizing radiation has become the greatest artificial radiation in the world. Based on the characteristics of the nuclear technology application in hospital the content of the environmental impact assessment has been stated, including identification of the environmental impact factor, the standard, the environmental impact, control of the pollution as well. The dose of the medical staff which engaged in interventional operation and the accompanies of the patients which received nuclear medicine treatment should be focused on. (authors)

Environmental impact assessment of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) hay production.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacenetti, Jacopo; Lovarelli, Daniela; Tedesco, Doriana; Pretolani, Roberto; Ferrante, Valentina

2018-09-01

On-farm production of hay and high-protein-content feed has several advantages such as diversification of on-farm cultivated crops, reduction of off-farm feed concentrates transported over long distances and a reduction in runoff during the winter season if grown crops are perennial. Among those crops cultivated for high-protein-content feed, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important in the Italian context. Nevertheless, up to now, only a few studies have assessed the environmental performance of alfalfa hay production. In this study, using the Life Cycle Assessment approach, the environmental impact of alfalfa hay production in Northern Italy was analyzed. More in detail, two production practices (without and with irrigation) were compared. The results show that alfalfa hay production in irrigated fields has a better environmental performance compared to non-irrigated production, mainly because of the yield increase achieved with irrigation. In particular, for the Climate Change impact category, the impact is equal to 84.54 and 80.21kgCO 2 /t of hay for the scenario without and with irrigation, respectively. However, for two impact categories (Ozone Depletion and Human Toxicity-No Cancer Effect), the impact of irrigation completely offsets the yield increase, and the cultivation practice without irrigation shows the best environmental performance. For both scenarios, the mechanization of harvest is the main environmental hotspot, mostly due to fuel consumption and related combustion emissions. Wide differences were highlighted by comparing the two scenarios with the Ecoinvent process of alfalfa hay production; these differences are mostly due to the cultivation practice and, in particular, to the more intensive fertilization in Swiss production. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessment in Moa-Holguín Port

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa María Pérez Silva

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The operations of unloading ships the reception and distribution of products derivate of oil crude in the storage area, the movement of raw materials like coal anthracite, ammonia and sulphur, the load of lots of minerals as well as the maintenance of ships, direct leads to the appearance of hydrocarbons that affects the different ecosystems which he meets in once the contaminating source in the municipal Moa. It is present the characterization of ecosystems affected with oil's hydrocarbons, attending to environmental impacts identified by the expert group and the prior characterization of the area using assessment tools expert judgment using Delphi methodology. The environmental impact study was realized of qualitative form through matrix of cause-effect, valuation and importance of impact. The environmental factors of resulting surface/groundwater and health and hygiene the most attacked while impacts were more aggressive emissions (throwing to the ground hydrocarbons/ liberation to the midway air of gases, noises and materials in particles, throwing and contamination of the source for dragging of sediments, hydrocarbons and chemical substances and accumulation waste (creation of drains industrials.

An integrated risk assessment approach: Risk assessment in the programmatic environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, J.M.

1994-01-01

The following paper is an informal summary of salient points made in the presentation entitled open-quotes An Integrated Risk Assessment Approach: Risk Assessment in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).close quotes. This presentation was given at the U.S. DOE Integrated Planning Workshop in Denver, Colorado on June 2, 1994. Integrated decision analysis is very important in environmental restoration and waste management in the evaluation of such things as land use planning, waste load forecasting, cost analyses, and technology development activities. Integrated risk assessment is an approach that addresses multiple components of risk, including: risks from surplus facilities as well as typical environmental restoration sites, risks to the public, risks to workers, ecological risk, risks before, during and after remediation activities, and others

Deciding over nature: Corruption and environmental impact assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, Aled; Dupuy, Kendra

2017-01-01

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are an important analytic tool for identifying and potentially mitigating project risks and negative environmental and societal impacts. Their usefulness, however, depends on how they are implemented and on whether findings are used in public decision-making. Given the notorious vulnerability of public-private interactions to corrupt practices, we examine potential and actual corruption risks across four stages of a generic EIA process. Combined with case analysis of the EIA process in Albania, a Southeastern European context experiencing serious governance challenges, we reflect on the vulnerabilities of EIAs to various forms of corruption from a principal-agent perspective. We concur with earlier research suggesting that the fundamentally rationalist approach behind EIAs do not necessarily match the empirical realities of public environmental decision-making, particularly in less mature EIA systems. We conclude with suggestions for framing a future research agenda in this area and touch on tentative policy remedies.

Present condition and countermeasures for nuclear application environmental impact assessment in Jiangsu province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai Xia; Huang Xin

2013-01-01

In recent years, with the deepening of nuclear and radiation safety supervision, great advances have been made in nuclear application environmental impact assessment in Jiangsu province. But some problems and deficiencies still exist in management. This paper describes the present management situation of nuclear application environmental impact assessment, analysis and discusses the existing problems as well as their countermeasures. (authors)

78 FR 75370 - Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Flood...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-11

... Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Flood Control Improvements to the Rio Grande... Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). SUMMARY: Pursuant to... Significant Impact for Flood Control Improvements to the Rio Grande Canalization Project in Vado, New Mexico...

Environmental impact assessment for surface coal mine - a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen, P.; Chakraborty, K.

1994-01-01

Surface coal mines being the largest contributor to the national coal production, the study of environmental impacts due to this becomes mandatory as it will help in proper planning and safe operations of the mine in an environmentally compatible manner. Within the scope of this paper, a model for preparation of comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) by utilising a new evaluation methodology leading to determination of Environmental Quality Designation an index has been developed and this model has been validated by using data from a running surface coal mine in Wardha Valley Coalfield. Based on this exercise, the overall impact of the surface coal mine under consideration on environment indicates a medium level and accordingly the control measures have to be planned. Thus repair to the environment has to be made a concurrent activity with mining i.e. to say we have to design with nature not against it

Environmental impact assessment of decommissioning treatment about radioactive model plant waste ore storage site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bei Xinyu

2012-01-01

Aiming at decommissioning treatment project of radioactive model plant waste ore storage site, based on the detailed investigations of source terms and project description, systematic environmental impacts have been identified. The environmental impacts both during decommissioning treatment, radioactive waste transportation and after treatment are assessed. Some specific environmental protection measures are proposed so as to minimize the adverse environmental impacts. (author)

Determining Vulnerability Importance in Environmental Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toro, Javier; Duarte, Oscar; Requena, Ignacio; Zamorano, Montserrat

2012-01-01

The concept of vulnerability has been used to describe the susceptibility of physical, biotic, and social systems to harm or hazard. In this sense, it is a tool that reduces the uncertainties of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) since it does not depend exclusively on the value assessments of the evaluator, but rather is based on the environmental state indicators of the site where the projects or activities are being carried out. The concept of vulnerability thus reduces the possibility that evaluators will subjectively interpret results, and be influenced by outside interests and pressures during projects. However, up until now, EIA has been hindered by a lack of effective methods. This research study analyzes the concept of vulnerability, defines Vulnerability Importance and proposes its inclusion in qualitative EIA methodology. The method used to quantify Vulnerability Importance is based on a set of environmental factors and indicators that provide a comprehensive overview of the environmental state. The results obtained in Colombia highlight the usefulness and objectivity of this method since there is a direct relation between this value and the environmental state of the departments analyzed. - Research Highlights: ► The concept of vulnerability could be considered defining Vulnerability Importance included in qualitative EIA methodology. ► The use of the concept of environmental vulnerability could reduce the subjectivity of qualitative methods of EIA. ► A method to quantify the Vulnerability Importance proposed provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental state. ► Results in Colombia highlight the usefulness and objectivity of this method.

Environmental impact assessment of genetically modified biocontrol agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Migheli, Q.

2001-01-01

This review summarises the theoretical basis of risk analysis, and the political and social implications of introducing new biotechnology products in agricultural environments. The main factors to be considered under the present European regulation in the environmental impact assessment of genetically modified biocontrol agents are briefly discussed. Finally, an alternative risk assessment paradigm is proposed for genetically modified microorganisms, which shall consider the intrinsic properties of each antagonist, rather than the method used for generating it [it

A new approach for environmental justice impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, C.H.; Brumburgh, G.P.; Edmunds, T.A.; Kay, D.

1996-03-01

President Clinton's Executive Order 12898 calls for examination of disproportionately high and adverse impacts to minority and low-income communities. In addition to demographic mapping, environmental justice analyses should also include quantitative impact assessment to show presence or absence of disproportionate impacts. This study demonstrates use of a geographic information system (GIS) and a computer model. For this demonstration, a safety analysis report and a computer code were used to develop impact assessment data from a hypothetical facility accident producing a radiological airborne plume. The computer code modeled the plume, plotted dose contours, and provided latitude and longitude coordinates for transfer to the GIS. The GIS integrated and mapped the impact and demographic data toprovide a graphical representation of the plume with respect to the population. Impacts were then analyzed. The GIS was used to estimate the total dose to the exposed population under the plume, the dose to the low-income population under the plume, and the dose to the minority population under the plume. Impacts among the population groups were compared to determine whether a dispropotionate share of the impacts were borne by minority or low-income populations

Recommendations for the Preparation of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements, 2nd edition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2004-12-01

This document provides recommendations for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) preparation of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance prepared these recommendations in consultation with the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Environment and following coordination with the DOE NEPA Community. The recommendations should materially aid those responsible for preparing and reviewing NEPA documents to focus on significant environmental issues, adequately analyze environmental impacts, and effectively present the analysis to decisionmakers and the public. The recommendations are not all-encompassing, however; preparers must apply independent judgment to determine the appropriate scope and analytical requirements of NEPA for each proposal. These recommendations do not constitute legal requirements, but are intended to enhance compliance with existing NEPA regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508, 10 CFR Part 1021).

Modeling Of Construction Noise For Environmental Impact Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed F. Hamoda

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This study measured the noise levels generated at different construction sites in reference to the stage of construction and the equipment used, and examined the methods to predict such noise in order to assess the environmental impact of noise. It included 33 construction sites in Kuwait and used artificial neural networks (ANNs for the prediction of noise. A back-propagation neural network (BPNN model was compared with a general regression neural network (GRNN model. The results obtained indicated that the mean equivalent noise level was 78.7 dBA which exceeds the threshold limit. The GRNN model was superior to the BPNN model in its accuracy of predicting construction noise due to its ability to train quickly on sparse data sets. Over 93% of the predictions were within 5% of the observed values. The mean absolute error between the predicted and observed data was only 2 dBA. The ANN modeling proved to be a useful technique for noise predictions required in the assessment of environmental impact of construction activities.

75 FR 12581 - Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-16

... Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Exemption From 10 CFR 30, 40, and 70... Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Exemption from Commencement of Construction Requirements... has reached a Finding of No Significant Impact. II. Summary of the Environmental Assessment Background...

A method proposal for cumulative environmental impact assessment based on the landscape vulnerability evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavlickova, Katarina; Vyskupova, Monika

2015-01-01

Cumulative environmental impact assessment deals with the occasional use in practical application of environmental impact assessment process. The main reasons are the difficulty of cumulative impact identification caused by lack of data, inability to measure the intensity and spatial effect of all types of impacts and the uncertainty of their future evolution. This work presents a method proposal to predict cumulative impacts on the basis of landscape vulnerability evaluation. For this purpose, qualitative assessment of landscape ecological stability is conducted and major vulnerability indicators of environmental and socio-economic receptors are specified and valuated. Potential cumulative impacts and the overall impact significance are predicted quantitatively in modified Argonne multiple matrixes while considering the vulnerability of affected landscape receptors and the significance of impacts identified individually. The method was employed in the concrete environmental impact assessment process conducted in Slovakia. The results obtained in this case study reflect that this methodology is simple to apply, valid for all types of impacts and projects, inexpensive and not time-consuming. The objectivity of the partial methods used in this procedure is improved by quantitative landscape ecological stability evaluation, assignment of weights to vulnerability indicators based on the detailed characteristics of affected factors, and grading impact significance. - Highlights: • This paper suggests a method proposal for cumulative impact prediction. • The method includes landscape vulnerability evaluation. • The vulnerability of affected receptors is determined by their sensitivity. • This method can increase the objectivity of impact prediction in the EIA process

Human health and wellbeing in environmental impact assessment in New South Wales, Australia: Auditing health impacts within environmental assessments of major projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, Patrick J.; Harris, Elizabeth; Thompson, Susan; Harris-Roxas, Ben; Kemp, Lynn

2009-01-01

Internationally the inclusion of health within environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been shown to be limited. While Australian EIA documentation has not been studied empirically to date, deficiencies in practice have been documented. This research developed an audit tool to undertake a qualitative descriptive analysis of 22 Major Project EAs in New South Wales, Australia. Results showed that health and wellbeing impacts were not considered explicitly. They were, however, included indirectly in the identification of traditional public health exposures associated with the physical environment and to a lesser extent the inclusion of social and economic impacts. However, no health data was used to inform any of the assessments, there was no reference to causal pathways between exposures or determinants and physical or mental health effects, and there was no inclusion of the differential distribution of exposures or health impacts on different populations. The results add conceptually and practically to the long standing integration debate, showing that health is in a position to add value to the EIA process as an explicit part of standard environmental, social and economic considerations. However, to overcome the consistently documented barriers to integrating health in EIA, capacity must be developed amongst EIA professionals, led by the health sector, to progress health related knowledge and tools.

Preliminary assessment of the environmental and health impacts of nuclear and coal fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yin; Chen Zhuzhou; Pan Ziqiang

1992-01-01

The paper reports on the environmental impacts and health effects of coal and nuclear fuel cycles in China. Data of interest for China are presented in a comparative manner; epidemiological investigations in Shanxi province indicate that the incidences of chronic pulmonary diseases and infant cogenital malformation were apparently increased over the fall-out areas of coal-fired power stations and coal mines. The authors outline the framework of a research project on environmental assessment of nuclear energy and other energy systems. The main features of the project are: environmental and health impacts of coal and nuclear fuel cycles, environmental impact assessment of coal transportation, cost accounting of nuclear and other energy sources, health risk assessment. (author). 24 refs, 4 tabs

Is environmental impact assessment regulation a 'burden' to private firms?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annandale, David; Taplin, Ross

2003-01-01

The impact of environmental regulation on macroeconomic performance has been studied in some depth over the last 15 years. Similarly, impact on profit performance, investment intention and location decisions of firms has also been studied, although in less depth. There has been less academic interest, however, in the impact that environmental regulation has on the strategic objectives of companies. This article reports on a research project that focused on the impact that environmental approvals regulation (predominantly environmental impact assessment, EIA) has on proposed new development in the international mining sector. Based on a large and externally valid survey of senior mining company executives in Australia and Canada in the late 1990s, the research indicated that a significant majority of firms consider the environmental approvals process to be an important determinant of investment strategy. An initial reaction to these figures might suggest that the majority of respondents believe the environmental approvals process to be a negative influence. However, further questioning indicated that only a small proportion of companies in both countries thought of the environmental approvals process as an impediment to development. Instead, it is clear that most firms see EIA as a catalyst for integrating environmental design into the early planning of a project, thereby alleviating the need to spend money on overcoming environmental problems once a poorly designed project has been commissioned. The somewhat surprising conclusion that companies see environmental approvals regulation as important, but as an encouragement to development rather than as an impediment, goes against much previous industry and academic comment and, at least in relation to the mining sector, refutes the idea that EIA is ''burdensome''

Environmental assessments and findings of no significant impact--FDA. Notice.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-05-18

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that it has reviewed environmental assessments (EA's) and issued findings of no significant impact (FONSI's) relating to the 167 new drug applications (NDA's) and supplemental applications listed in this document. FDA is publishing this notice because Federal regulations require public notice of the availability of environmental documents.

Health impact assessment in environmental impact assessment in China: Status, practice and problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, I-Shin; Yilihamu, Qimanguli; Wu, Jing; Wu, Huilei; Nan, Bo

2017-01-01

In China, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) system has gradually developed into an integrated evaluation system, owing to continuous improvement on institutional framework, system infrastructure, technical methods and professionals training, since EIA was first introduced in 1979. Though health impact assessment (HIA) is a part of the EIA system, the development of HIA is so slow as to remain at the early developing stage. This research aims to understand the extent and main issues concerning “health considerations” under the context of EIA, in China. Through case study on 42 environmental impact statements, the results demonstrate that HIA was not implemented in most of the cases, and health issues were not even mentioned in more than half of these cases. Where HIA was implemented, various problems were revealed through this study, including lacks of systematic approaching tools, insufficient supporting data on health effects, ineffective public participation, limited health considerations on biophysics, and so forth. Nevertheless, these problems can be attributed to lacks of legal supports, systematic evaluation methods, knowledge on evaluation technologies, and professional training institutions for HIA in China. In order to improve HIA methodologies, technologies, and management, to perfect HIA evaluation system, and to enhance public participation system within HIA, some recommendations from institutional, technical, administrative, and managerial aspects were then proposed in this study. - Highlights: •The status and deficiencies of HIA in EIA in China were identified and evaluated. •There were great industrial differences for the implementation of HIA in EIA. •Public participation was not well executed within HIA in EIA.

Radioactive environmental impact assessment for a highway construction project in Guangdong province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Guohua

2009-01-01

Based on the field environmental investigation and monitoring result, the radioactive environmental impact for a highway construction project in Guangdong province has been analyzed and assessed and forecacted. (authors)

Environmental and health impact assessment for ports in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Chanchang, Chamchan; Sithisarankul, Pornchai; Supanitayanon, Thanawat

2016-01-01

Port development in Thailand is an essential part of the national maritime interest in connection with ship and shore activities. The growth of maritime industry and transportation has led to the expansion of ports' areas and capacity. Each port type causes different environmental impacts. Therefore, the Port Authority of Thailand has set up guidelines on ports' environmental management. This is divided into 3 major phases; namely, planning, construction and operation commencement periods. The Report of Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EIA, HIA and EHIA) is regarded as the environmental management process in the planning period. It is a key tool to anticipate and prevent any adverse effects that might occur on the environment as well as community health resulting from the project implementation. This measure, in turn, creates advance preparation on both the preventive and problem-solving means before the project gets off the ground. At present, the majority of new projects on port development have still been in the process of information gathering for EHIA submission. Some cannot start to operate due to their EHIA failure. For example, the Tha-sala port which did not pass EHIA, mainly because emphasis had been focused on adhering to legal regulations without taking into consideration the in-depth analysis of data being conducted by community entities in the area. Thus caused the project to be finally abolished. Impact assessment on environment and health should be aimed at detailed understanding of the community in each particular area so that effective data of objective achievement in preventing environmental problems could actually be carried out and welcomed by the concerned society.

Coping with uncertainty in environmental impact assessments: Open techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chivatá Cárdenas, Ibsen; Halman, Johannes I.M.

2016-01-01

Uncertainty is virtually unavoidable in environmental impact assessments (EIAs). From the literature related to treating and managing uncertainty, we have identified specific techniques for coping with uncertainty in EIAs. Here, we have focused on basic steps in the decision-making process that take

Integrated approach of environmental impact and risk assessment of Rosia Montana Mining Area, Romania.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefănescu, Lucrina; Robu, Brînduşa Mihaela; Ozunu, Alexandru

2013-11-01

The environmental impact assessment of mining sites represents nowadays a large interest topic in Romania. Historical pollution in the Rosia Montana mining area of Romania caused extensive damage to environmental media. This paper has two goals: to investigate the environmental pollution induced by mining activities in the Rosia Montana area and to quantify the environmental impacts and associated risks by means of an integrated approach. Thus, a new method was developed and applied for quantifying the impact of mining activities, taking account of the quality of environmental media in the mining area, and used as case study in the present paper. The associated risks are a function of the environmental impacts and the probability of their occurrence. The results show that the environmental impacts and quantified risks, based on quality indicators to characterize the environmental quality, are of a higher order, and thus measures for pollution remediation and control need to be considered in the investigated area. The conclusion drawn is that an integrated approach for the assessment of environmental impact and associated risks is a valuable and more objective method, and is an important tool that can be applied in the decision-making process for national authorities in the prioritization of emergency action.

Environmental impact assessment of different design schemes of an industrial ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Aditi; Lou, Helen H.; Yaws, Carl L.; Hopper, Jack R.; Pike, Ralph W.

2007-01-01

Industrial ecosystem is an important approach for sustainable development. In an industrial ecosystem, a group of industries are inter-connected through mass and energy exchanges for mutual benefits. However, some mass and energy exchange activities may cause unexpected environmental impacts. Therefore, it is vital to evaluate the environmental impacts of the symbiosis in order to provide a clear guidance for the decision-makers and stakeholders. The agro-chemical complex in the Lower Mississippi River Corridor with thirteen chemical and petrochemical industries emits huge amount of carbon dioxide. A bi-level design methodology is used to reconfigure this complex for utilizing surplus carbon dioxide. By using a superstructure-based approach, a new design scheme for this industrial ecosystem is proposed. In this paper, an LCA-type environmental impact assessment of different design schemes for this complex is conducted using the software TRACI, a tool developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). This analysis compares various environmental impacts of different designs and identifies the potential trade-offs in different environmental impact categories. This information provides deep insight about the environmental sustainability of industrial ecosystems and facilitates the development of the most eco-effective symbiosis for recycle, reuse and resource conservation. (author)

Effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment system in Estonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinma, Kaupo; Poder, Tonis

2010-01-01

To be effective, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system, first, has to minimize the probability that projects with significant environmental effects are implemented without EIA, and second, minimize the number of EIAs, which do not provide decision makers with essential information, so that the decision is improved as a result of EIA. The objective of this study was to find out how frequently in Estonia the projects implemented without EIA have caused significant environmental effects, and to measure the relative frequency of EIAs that have no influence on decision. An extensive survey with e-mail distributed questionnaires was carried out to reveal information from governmental agencies, local self-governments, and developers. There was no evidence that projects authorized without EIA have had environmental impacts, which could have been mitigated as a result of EIA. In contrast, about half of EIAs did not alter the decision of relevant authorities. This proportion was valid to both mandatory EIAs and those initiated on judgement basis. In our view, the proportion of no-influence EIAs was excessive and indicated the need to reconsider the provisions applying to the projects with a mandatory EIA requirement as well as judgements practice.

Ecological compensation and Environmental Impact Assessment in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villarroya, Ana; Puig, Jordi

2010-01-01

To achieve meaningful sustainable development, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should avoid the net losses in the environment resource base. But EIA practice does not always avoid the losses caused by the implementation of the projects under EIA regulation. Some environmental impacts are, simply, admitted, even without enforcing any form of compensation. When applied, compensation is sometimes just a monetary payment to offset the environmental loss. This paper looks for evidence on the role that compensation is given at present in EIA practice in Spain, and for some of its conceptual and regulatory roots. Specifically, it explores how compensation is addressed in 1302 records of decision (RODs) on those projects subject to the Spanish EIA regulation published during the years 2006 and 2007, to know how far Spain is from preserving the environmental resource base managed through this particular aspect of EIA practice. As a result, it is concluded that the practice of ecological compensation in EIA in Spain is much lower than it could be expected in a theoretical sustainability context committed to avoid net losses in the environment resource base, mainly due to an EIA practice focused on on-site mitigation that allows these net losses.

Environmental impact assessment and eco-friendly decision-making in civil structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sang-Hyo; Choi, Moon-Seock; Mha, Ho-Seong; Joung, Jung-Yeun

2013-09-15

This study develops two useful procedures in performing an environmental-impact assessment. One is the advanced life-cycle assessment (LCA) method, which effectively tracks the flow of materials and considers the recycling and demolition of a civil structure. The other is an eco-friendly decision-making procedure, which may effectively apply when determining the prototype of a civil structure. The advanced LCA method differs from traditional LCA procedure, as it classifies the input material prior to the impact assessment. Classification work is performed to establish independent life-cycle stages for each material. The processes of recycling and demolition are appropriately added to the life-cycle stages. The impact assessment is performed separately for the materials, and results are aggregated at the end of the analysis. The eco-friendly decision-making procedure enables designers to choose an economical, and environmentally friendly, alternative during the planning phase of the construction project. This procedure rationally amalgamates economical value and environmental effects into a single indicator. The life cycle cost (LCC) of a structure can be analysed by using conventional LCC tools, whereas the environmental impact is estimated by LCA. The results from LCC and LCA are then integrated by using either a CO2 conversion method or an analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The CO2 conversion method presents the result as a monetary value, whereas the AHP presents the result as a non-dimensional value. A practical example using a steel box girder bridge and a pre-stressed concrete (PSC) box-girder bridge is also given in order to aid the understanding of the presented procedure. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capacity development for environmental protection : towards better performing environmental impact assessment systems in low and middle income countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kolhoff, A.J.

2016-01-01

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a legal tool used to support government decisions on projects that could harm the environment. It is applied to such decisions, to study the possible environmental impacts of the proposed project and any mitigating measures necessary to minimize them. In the

A critical review of environmental impact statements in Sri Lanka with particular reference to ecological impact assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Samarakoon, Miriya; Rowan, John S

2008-03-01

This article critically reviews environmental assessment (EA) practices in Sri Lanka, with a particular focus on ecology. An overview is provided of the domestic and international influences which have shaped the administrative process which is currently a two-tiered scheme. An Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) provides a preliminary screening tool, prior to the requirement for a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A comprehensive survey of Sri Lankan national archives showed that 463 EAs were completed in the period 1981-2005, with the bulk of these in the more populated Western and North Western Provinces. Two-thirds were IEE surveys, while the remaining third advanced to full EIA. A representative sample of 130 EAs (both IEEs and full EIAs) spanning a broad range of project types, scales, and environmental settings was selected to evaluate the quality of the ecological investigations within the published environmental impact statements (EISs). These were assigned into five classes of "explanatory power", on the basis of their scientific content in relation to survey, analysis, and reporting of ecological interests. Within most EISs, the ecological impact assessment (EcIA) was restricted to the lowest two categories of ecological assessment, i.e., tokenistic presentation of reconnaissance-level species lists without further analysis of the development implications for individual organisms or communities. None of the assessments reviewed provided statistically rigorous analysis, which would be required if ecological impact studies are to include quantitative and testable predictions of impact, which could then be followed up by appropriate post-impact monitoring programs. Attention to key local issues such as biodiversity or ecosystem services, which also have strong social dimensions in the developing world, was also notably underrepresented. It was thus concluded that despite the existence of a sound legislative framework in Sri Lanka, the analysis

A protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Som S.; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre O.

2014-01-01

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules exist, which provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different building insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines. - Highlights: • We proposed a protocol to evaluate the environmental impacts of insulation materials. • The protocol considers all life cycle stages of an insulation material. • Both the direct environmental impacts and the indirect impacts are defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided operational energy’ is defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided environmental impact’ is defined

Review on Suitability of Available LCIA Methodologies for Assessing Environmental Impact of the Food Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pegah Amani

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Production, processing, distribution, and consumption of a wide variety of products in the food sector have different ranges of environmental impacts. Methodologies used in environmental impact assessment differ in which set of impact categories is covered and which models are used to assess them. In the food sector, life cycle assessment results are mostly presented without any clear distinction of the principles applied to selecting the relevant methodology. In this paper, the most relevant life cycle impact assessment methodologies are determined from the list of recommended methodologies published recently in the international reference life cycle data system (ILCD handbook. The range of the relevant impacts covered is considered as the main indicator decisive in selecting a methodology. The selection of the relevant set of impact categories is performed through an overview of more than 50 recent LCA case studies of different products in the sector. The result of the research is a short list of three LCIA methodologies recommended to be used for environmental impact assessment of products in the food sector.

Indicators validation for the improvement of environmental and social impact quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloquell-Ballester, Vicente-Agustin; Cloquell-Ballester, Victor-Andres; Monterde-Diaz, Rafael; Santamarina-Siurana, Maria-Cristina

2006-01-01

Environmental and social impact quantitative assessment is an essential tool for the correct location of economic activities within the territory. The main problem of impact quantification lies in establishing the appropriateness of the instruments (indicators) utilised, such that their level of objectivity is the highest possible. To improve the quality of this kind of studies, the present contribution discusses this problematic question and its consequences and proposes a methodology for the validation of indicators. Finally, the methodology proposed is subjected to an observational and experimental test to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. The test is performed on four indicators, which are designed ad hoc to assess alternatives in industrial facility location problems where the decision-making process has to be supported by an environmental and social impact assessment

Life-Cycle environmental impact assessment of mineral industries

Science.gov (United States)

Hisan Farjana, Shahjadi; Huda, Nazmul; Parvez Mahmud, M. A.

2018-05-01

Mining is the extraction and processing of valuable ferro and non-ferro metals and minerals to be further used in manufacturing industries. Valuable metals and minerals are extracted from the geological deposits and ores deep in the surface through complex manufacturing technologies. The extraction and processing of mining industries involve particle emission to air or water, toxicity to the environment, contamination of water resources, ozone layer depletion and most importantly decay of human health. Despite all these negative impacts towards sustainability, mining industries are working throughout the world to facilitate the employment sector, economy and technological growth. The five most important miners in the world are South Africa, Russia, Australia, Ukraine, Guinea. The mining industries contributes to their GDP significantly. However, the most important issue is making the mining world sustainable thus reducing the emissions. To address the environmental impacts caused by the mining sectors, this paper is going to analyse the environmental impacts caused by the 5 major minerals extraction processes, which are bauxite, ilmenite, iron ore, rutile and uranium by using the life-cycle impact assessment technologies. The analysis is done here using SimaPro software version 8.4 using ReCipe, CML and Australian indicator method.

Environmental Impact Section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

The Section is concerned with preparation of environmental statements and assessments and development of assessment methodologies for energy technologies. During 1976, activities involved nuclear, fossil, and geothermal energy; this work was supported by the U.S.Army, HUD, US ERDA, and US NRC. Two special studies--one on the effects of power plant intake structures on fish impingement and another on multiple uses of cooling lakes--were completed and should serve as references for future analyses. Two research projects sponsored by NRC--the Unified Transport Approach (UTA) to Power Plant Assessment and the Environmental Monitoring Data Evaluation Study--were continued. The purpose of the UA program is to develop fast-transient, one- and two-dimensional transport models for estimating thermal, radiological, chemical, and biological impacts in complicated water bodies. The impact of public use of various products that contain radioactive isotope is being evaluated. The Environmental Impact Sections assistance to NRC expanded to include assessments of fuel-fabrication facilities being considered for relicensing and two uranium in-situ solution mining facility proposals. The work for HUD comprises an assessment of the first application of MIUS in a new town development. A generic environmental statement was prepared and an environmental monitoring program for the facility was designed

Environmental impact assessment of some aspects of an alcohol distillery industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khanum, F.; Khan, M.A.

2005-01-01

The paper on Environmental Impact Assessment of an Alcohol Distillery was carried to assess the type of impacts that could be produced by an alcohol industry on the environment and economics of the selected area. Baseline studies were done for project location and boundaries, physiography, soil profile, climate, water resources, ecological resources, air quality, noise level, archeological resources and socio- economic impacts. Checklist was prepared for identification of possible Environmental Impacts of the project, at constructional and operational levels and was marked as no significant impact, small impact, moderate impact and major impact. From various available data it was observed that Sargodha district is an arid area and Alcohol distillery considered as best for using the sugar industrial raw materials i.e., molasses. The observations showed that before installation of alcohol industry there was no hazardous air emissions and noise problems. By discussing the checklist it was concluded that proposed project would not result in any significant damage to the community or the environment if the recommended mitigation measures are adopted. So in that way we develop a sustainable industrial sector by doing EIA and implementing it. (author)

Impact Assessment and Environmental Evaluation of Various Ammonia Production Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Bicer, Yusuf; Dincer, Ibrahim; Vezina, Greg; Raso, Frank

2017-05-01

In the current study, conventional resources-based ammonia generation routes are comparatively studied through a comprehensive life cycle assessment. The selected ammonia generation options range from mostly used steam methane reforming to partial oxidation of heavy oil. The chosen ammonia synthesis process is the most common commercially available Haber-Bosch process. The essential energy input for the methods are used from various conventional resources such as coal, nuclear, natural gas and heavy oil. Using the life cycle assessment methodology, the environmental impacts of selected methods are identified and quantified from cradle to gate. The life cycle assessment outcomes of the conventional resources based ammonia production routes show that nuclear electrolysis-based ammonia generation method yields the lowest global warming and climate change impacts while the coal-based electrolysis options bring higher environmental problems. The calculated greenhouse gas emission from nuclear-based electrolysis is 0.48 kg CO2 equivalent while it is 13.6 kg CO2 per kg of ammonia for coal-based electrolysis method.

An Analysis of the Most Adopted Rating Systems for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Bernardi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Rating systems for assessing the environmental impact of buildings are technical instruments that aim to evaluate the environmental impact of buildings and construction projects. In some cases, these rating systems can also cover urban-scale projects, community projects, and infrastructures. These schemes are designed to assist project management in making the projects more sustainable by providing frameworks with precise criteria for assessing the various aspects of a building’s environmental impact. Given the growing interest in sustainable development worldwide, many rating systems for assessing the environmental impact of buildings have been established in recent years, each one with its peculiarities and fields of applicability. The present work is motivated by an interest in emphasizing such differences to better understand these rating systems and extract the main implications to building design. It also attempts to summarize in a user-friendly form the vast and fragmented assortment of information that is available today. The analysis focuses on the six main rating systems: the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM, the Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB, the Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQETM, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED, and the Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool.

Environmental impact assessment of pharmaceutical prescriptions: Does location matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Oldenkamp, Rik; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Hollander, Anne; Ragas, Ad M J

2014-11-01

A methodology was developed for the assessment and comparison of the environmental impact of two alternative pharmaceutical prescriptions. This methodology provides physicians with the opportunity to include environmental considerations in their choice of prescription. A case study with the two antibiotics ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin at three locations throughout Europe showed that the preference for a pharmaceutical might show spatial variation, i.e. comparison of two pharmaceuticals might yield different results when prescribed at different locations. This holds when the comparison is based on both the impact on the aquatic environment and the impact on human health. The relative impacts of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin on human health were largely determined by the local handling of secondary sludge, agricultural disposal practices, the extent of secondary sewage treatment, and local food consumption patterns. The relative impacts of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin on the aquatic environment were mostly explained by the presence of specific sewage treatment techniques, as effluents from sewage treatment plants (STPs) are the most relevant emission pathway for the aquatic environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessment: Retrospect and prospect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jay, Stephen; Jones, Carys; Slinn, Paul; Wood, Christopher

2007-01-01

The widespread experience of environmental impact assessment (EIA) as an anticipatory environmental management tool has generated a considerable debate over the extent to which it is achieving its purposes. This has been measured in terms of EIA 'effectiveness', especially as discussion has moved away from issues of procedural implementation, to the more substantive goals of EIA and its place within broader decision-making contexts. Empirical studies have revealed the relatively weak degree of influence on planning decisions that is being exerted by EIA, which is increasingly being attributed to its rationalist beginnings. This article seeks to direct this debate towards the founding political purposes of EIA which, it is argued, provide a neglected, yet strong, basis for EIA reform. A number of illustrative suggestions are made as a result of this redirection, to enable EIA to adopt a more determinative role in decision making and to contribute to more sustainable patterns of development planning

The screening and scoping of Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment of Carbon Capture and Storage in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koornneef, Joris; Faaij, Andre; Turkenburg, Wim

2008-01-01

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) are procedural tools which have as goal to assess and evaluate possible environmental effects of, respectively, a proposed project or policy plan. The goal of this article is to explore possible bottlenecks in applying both the EIA and SEA procedures on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activities in the Netherlands, as experience is currently minimal or lacking. In this study we focus mainly on the institutional and procedural aspects of the screening and scoping phases of both procedures. This is achieved by reviewing EIA and SEA procedures for analogue projects for the three distinctive process steps of a CCS project, namely the power plant with capture, the transport and finally the underground storage of the CO 2 . Additionally, EIA and SEA or similar procedures on CCS in other countries are reviewed and the legal framework for the Dutch EIA and SEA is studied. This article shows a concise overview of the EIA and SEA procedure in the Netherlands and the relation between both procedures. Based on our findings we have constructed a conceptual taxonomy for the scope of both procedures for CCS in the Netherlands. This taxonomy conceptualizes the possible integration of assessing the environmental impacts for tiered levels of decision making. This integration might be needed for first CCS projects as decisions on the strategic (spatial planning) level are currently absent for CCS in the Netherlands. Perpendicular to such integration is the integration of linked activities in the CCS chain and their alternatives, into one procedure. We argue that it would be beneficial to combine the separate EIA procedures for CCS activities into one procedure or at least provide close linkage between them. This issue should be carefully considered by regulators, competent authorities and project initiators in an early stage to avoid delaying legal procedures in the future. For the same reason

Proposal of Environmental Impact Assessment Method for Concrete in South Korea: An Application in LCA (Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Hyoung Kim

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP, acidification (AP, eutrophication (EP, abiotic depletion (ADP, ozone depletion (ODP, and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP, using the life a cycle assessment (LCA method. To achieve this, this study proposed an LCA method specifically applicable to the Korean concrete industry by adapting the ISO standards to suit the Korean situations. The proposed LCA method involves a system that performs environmental impact assessment on the basis of input information on concrete mix design, transport distance, and energy consumption in a batch plant. The Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System (CLAS thus developed provides user-friendly support for environmental impact assessment with specialized database for concrete mix materials and energy sources. In the case analysis using the CLAS, among the substances discharged from the production of 24 MPa concrete, those contributing to GWP, AP, EP, ADP, ODP, and POCP were assessed to amount to 309 kg-CO2 eq/m3, 28.7 kg-SO2 eq/m3, 5.21 kg-PO43− eq/m3, 0.000049 kg-CFC11 eq/m3, 34 kg/m3, and 21 kg-Ethylene eq/m3, respectively. Of these six environmental impact categories selected for the LCA in this study, ordinary Portland cement (OPC was found to contribute most intensely to GWP and POCP, and aggregates, to AP, EP, ODP, and ADP. It was also found that the mix design with increased prop proportion of recycled aggregate was found to contribute to reducing the impact in all other categories.

Draft guidelines for an environmental impact assessment small scale hydroelectric plant redevelopment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

A pulp and paper company in St. George, New Brunswick, is proposing to redevelop an existing hydroelectric plant built around 1900. The redevelopment proposal consists of decommissioning the existing powerhouse, constructing a new powerhouse containing a 12-MW Kaplan turbine, excavating a tailrace channel, and installing a new penstock. Other design considerations include improvements to gates in the main dam for improved flood control and modifications to the trash racks to prevent potential fish mortality. The provincial environment ministry has determined that an environmental impact assessment of the potential impacts of the redevelopment was required. Guidelines to be used in the assessment process are presented, including definition of the study boundaries, prediction of environmental effects, description of methods of mitigating and compensating for anticipated impacts, a commitment to monitoring and public consultation, and submittal of terms of reference in response to final assessment guidelines. Requirements for conducting the assessment study and content of the report are also listed. 1 fig

Integrating environmental impact assessment into new product development and processing-technology selection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Depping, Verena; Grunow, Martin; Middelaar, van Corina; Dumpler, Joseph

2017-01-01

Environmental-impact reduction potential is great early in new product development. To exploit this potential, this study evaluates novel combinations of existent processing technologies. Process engineering is combined with an environmental product assessment along the supply chain. In the dairy

The Insignificance of Thresholds in Environmental Impact Assessment: An Illustrative Case Study in Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Cathryn Clarke; Wong, Janson; Singh, Gerald G.; Mach, Megan; Lerner, Jackie; Ranieri, Bernardo; Peterson St-Laurent, Guillaume; Guimaraes, Alice; Chan, Kai M. A.

2018-06-01

Environmental assessment is the process that decision-makers rely on to predict, evaluate, and prevent biophysical, social, and economic impacts of potential project developments. The determination of significance in environmental assessment is central to environmental management in many nations. We reviewed ten recent environmental impact assessments from British Columbia, Canada and systematically reviewed and scored significance determination and the approaches used by assessors, the use of thresholds in significance determination, threshold exceedances, and the outcomes. Findings of significant impacts were exceedingly rare and practitioners used a combination of significance determination approaches, most commonly relying upon reasoned argumentation. Quantitative thresholds were rarely employed, with less than 10% of the valued components evaluated using thresholds. Even where quantitative thresholds for significance were exceeded, in every case practitioners used a variety of rationales to demote negative impacts to non-significance. These reasons include combinations of scale (temporal and spatial) of impacts, an already exceeded baseline, model uncertainty and/or substituting less stringent thresholds. Governments and agencies can better protect resources by requiring clear and defensible significance determinations, by making government-defined thresholds legally enforceable and accountable, and by requiring or encouraging significance determination through inclusive and collaborative approaches.

Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessment of Local Wine Production and Consumption in Texas: Using LCA to Inspire Environmental Improvements

OpenAIRE

Poupart, Ashley

2017-01-01

The future viability of wine production is directly linked to its environmental impacts and conditions in which it is required to operate. The environmental impacts related to the production of a food product are directly influenced by the amount of materials, energy, waste and the emissions the product releases throughout the products life cycle. A life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a framework that can identify a food products relative environmental impacts and provides insights into the ...

Assessing Health Impacts within Environmental Impact Assessments: An Opportunity for Public Health Globally Which Must Not Remain Missed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Harris

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Within the member states of the United Nations 190 of 193 have regulated Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA which is a systematic process to prevent and mitigate the potential environmental impacts of industry development projects before these occur. However, the routine and comprehensive assessment of health impacts within EIAs remains underdeveloped. Focusing, as an example, on the risks to global health from the global shift in the mining industry towards Low and Middle Income Countries LMIC, this viewpoint details why connecting with EIA is an essential task for the health system. Although existing knowledge is out of date in relation to global practice we identify how health has been included, to some extent, in High Income Country EIAs and the institutional requirements for doing so. Using arguments identified by industry themselves about requiring a ‘social license to operate’, we conclude that EIA regulations provide the best current mechanism to ensure health protection is a core aspect in the decision making process  to approve projects.

76 FR 56820 - Detroit Edison Company, Fermi 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-14

.... Ken Yale, of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the environmental...; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is..., the NRC performed an environmental assessment. Based on the results of the environmental assessment...

EI Scale: an environmental impact assessment scale related to the construction materials used in the reinforced concrete

OpenAIRE

Gilson Morales; Antonio Edésio Jungles; Sheila Elisa Scheidemantel Klein; Juliana Guarda

2010-01-01

This study aimed to create EI Scal, an environmental impact assessment scal, related to construction materials used in the reinforced concrete structure production. The main reason for that was based on the need to classify the environmental impact levels through indicators to assess the damage level process. The scale allowed converting information to estimate the environmental impact caused. Indicators were defined trough the requirements and classification criteria of impact aspects consid...

Environmental risk assessment for plant pests: a procedure to evaluate their impacts on ecosystem services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilioli, G.; Schrader, G.; Baker, R.H.A.

2014-01-01

and temporal resolution is then used to explore how an IAS, as an exogenous driving force, may trigger modifications in the target environment. The method presented here provides a standardized approach to generate comparable and reproducible results for environmental risk assessment as a component of Pest...... Risk Analysis. The method enables the assessment of overall environmental risk which integrates the impacts on different components of the environment and their probabilities of occurrence. The application of the proposed scheme is illustrated by evaluating the environmental impacts of the invasive......The current methods to assess the environmental impacts of plant pests differ in their approaches and there is a lack of the standardized procedures necessary to provide accurate and consistent results, demonstrating the complexity of developing a commonly accepted scheme for this purpose...

Extra environmental impact assessment and recommendable measures for their minimization in arranging sanitary inspection room site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rud'ko, V.M.; Batij, V.G.; Kuz'menko, V.A.; Paskevich, S.A.

2003-01-01

Environmental impact assessments during the works for preparation of sanitary inspection room site are presented. A range of measures to minimize environmental impact from the works to be implemented,is offered. Impacts on such environmental components as soil,air and aqueous medium,are considered

A geomorphological strategy for conducting environmental impact assessments in karst areas

Science.gov (United States)

Veni, George

1999-12-01

In their efforts to protect regional groundwater supplies, governmental agencies are increasingly requiring studies of karst areas and their features. In areas where tracer tests or geophysics are not required, funded, or otherwise feasible, geomorphological methods remain as the primary tool for assessing karst. This study proposes a geomorphologically-based environmental impact assessment strategy for karst areas. While it is supported with results from a study of the karstic Edwards Aquifer recharge zone on the Camp Bullis Military Training Installation, TX, USA, it is based on the study of several karst areas and is generalized to accommodate and be fine-tuned for regional variations. Biological and other resource issues can also be assessed with this strategy. The assessment identifies environmentally sensitive features and areas, as is often required to meet regulatory directives. In karst areas with relatively small features, excavation is a key tool for accurate assessment. Although the results of this study will help to better manage karst areas, proper management must be done on a regional scale. The highly permeable nature of karst precludes adequate management solely on a feature-by-feature basis. Studies on the relationship of water quality to impervious cover show adverse environmental impacts significantly increase when impervious cover exceeds 15% of a surface watershed. The Camp Bullis study finds similar impacts in its groundwater drainage basin, supporting the argument of 15% impervious cover as a regionally effective means of also protecting karst aquifers when coupled with protection of critical areas identified by field surveys.

Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro, E-mail: aenriquez@draba.org [Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)/Draba Ingeniería y Consultoría Medioambiental, Cañada Nueva, 13, 28200 San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Spain); Díaz-Sierra, Rubén, E-mail: sierra@dfmf.uned.es [Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Martín-Aranda, Rosa M., E-mail: rmartin@ccia.uned.es [Departamento de Química Inorgánica y Química Técnica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Santos, Maria J., E-mail: M.J.FerreiraDosSantos@uu.nl [Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3572 TC Utrecht (Netherlands)

2017-05-15

Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship between climate change adaptation and environmental impact assessment, and the degree to which environmental impacts are included in climate change adaptation theory and practice. Our literature review showed that technical, social and economic perspectives on climate change adaptation receive much more attention than the environmental perspective. The scarce interest on the environmental impacts of adaptation may be attributed to (1) an excessive sectoral approach, with dominance of non-environmental perspectives, (2) greater interest in mitigation and direct climate change impacts rather than in adaptation impacts, (3) a tendency to consider adaptation as inherently good, and (4) subjective/preconceived notions on which measures are good or bad, without a comprehensive assessment. Environmental Assessment (EA) has a long established history as an effective tool to include environment into decision-making, although it does not yet guarantee a proper assessment of adaptation, because it is still possible to postpone or even circumvent the processes of assessing the impacts of climate adaptation. Our results suggest that there is a need to address adaptation proactively by including it in EA, to update current policy frameworks, and to demand robust and reliable evaluation of alternatives. Only through the full EA of adaptation measures can we improve our understanding of the primary and secondary impacts of adaptation to global environmental change. - Highlights: • Climate change adaptation may have undesirable environmental impacts. • The impacts of adaptation are yet poorly analysed in the literature. • There is an excessive sectoral approach to adaptation, mainly

Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro; Díaz-Sierra, Rubén; Martín-Aranda, Rosa M.; Santos, Maria J.

2017-01-01

Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship between climate change adaptation and environmental impact assessment, and the degree to which environmental impacts are included in climate change adaptation theory and practice. Our literature review showed that technical, social and economic perspectives on climate change adaptation receive much more attention than the environmental perspective. The scarce interest on the environmental impacts of adaptation may be attributed to (1) an excessive sectoral approach, with dominance of non-environmental perspectives, (2) greater interest in mitigation and direct climate change impacts rather than in adaptation impacts, (3) a tendency to consider adaptation as inherently good, and (4) subjective/preconceived notions on which measures are good or bad, without a comprehensive assessment. Environmental Assessment (EA) has a long established history as an effective tool to include environment into decision-making, although it does not yet guarantee a proper assessment of adaptation, because it is still possible to postpone or even circumvent the processes of assessing the impacts of climate adaptation. Our results suggest that there is a need to address adaptation proactively by including it in EA, to update current policy frameworks, and to demand robust and reliable evaluation of alternatives. Only through the full EA of adaptation measures can we improve our understanding of the primary and secondary impacts of adaptation to global environmental change. - Highlights: • Climate change adaptation may have undesirable environmental impacts. • The impacts of adaptation are yet poorly analysed in the literature. • There is an excessive sectoral approach to adaptation, mainly

A probabilistic approach to Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila, Rodolfo; Larsson, Carl-Magnus

2001-01-01

Since a radiological environmental impact assessment typically relies on limited data and poorly based extrapolation methods, point estimations, as implied by a deterministic approach, do not suffice. To be of practical use for risk management, it is necessary to quantify the uncertainty margins of the estimates as well. In this paper we discuss how to work out a probabilistic approach for dealing with uncertainties in assessments of the radiological risks to non-human biota of a radioactive contamination. Possible strategies for deriving the relevant probability distribution functions from available empirical data and theoretical knowledge are outlined

assessment of environmental impacts in comfortable furniture production process using life cycle assessment (LCA technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

hejhar abbasi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Furniture industry releases annually a large amount of volatile organic compound to the environment due to the use of adhesives, textiles, paints and coating materials. There are some different methods to measure the load of pollutions and the environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA is one of the best techniques. LCA is a technique in which all environmental impacts related to a product assessed all over its life cycle, from cradle to grave, and ultimately can be used to improve the production process and to prevent unsuitable environmental impacts. In summary, it can be concluded that the use of this technique is the basis for sustainable development and improving social, economic, and environmental indices. This study focused on the collecting of a comprehensive life cycle inventory data for comfortable furniture in two different production processes (B1 and B2 located in Tehran province, and analyzed the environmental impacts during the production process as gate to gate investigation. The results revealed that emissions in production process B1 were higher than that of production process B2. The reason for this is that basic operations such as sawing and frame assembling along with final operation have been done in the same unit for case B1. Textile production and usage, and polyurethane foam were identified as the main hotspots, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that comfortable furniture production process has the highest effects on ecosystem quality, human health, and resources (fossil fuels and mines, respectively.

Current policies, strategies and aspects of environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has already shown its value for implementing and strengthening sustainable development, as it combines the precautionary principles with the principle of preventing environmental damage and also arranges for public participation. EIA is already used as an effective instrument for improving the quality of the environment at the national level and it is understood that the EIA Convention will lead to environmentally sound and sustainable development by providing information on the interrelationship between economic activities and their environmental consequences in particular in a transboundary context. The Convention obliges Parties to assess the environmental impacts at an early stage of planning and includes measures and procedures to prevent, control or reduce any significant adverse effect on the environment, particularly any transboundary effect, which is likely to be caused by a proposed activity or any major change to an existing activity

Review and assessments of potential environmental, health and safety impacts of MHD technology. Final draft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

The purpose of this document is to develop an environmental, health and safety (EH and S) assessment and begin a site - specific assessment of these and socio - economic impacts for the magnetohydrodynamics program of the United States Department of Energy. This assessment includes detailed scientific and technical information on the specific EH and S issues mentioned in the MHD Environmental Development Plan. A review of current literature on impact-related subjects is also included. This document addresses the coal-fired, open-cycle MHD technology and reviews and assesses potential EH and S impacts resulting from operation of commercially-installed technology.

Institutionalizing policy-level health impact assessment in Europe: is coupling health impact assessment with strategic environmental assessment the next step forward?

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward

2005-06-01

European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into other forms of impact assessment has been resisted, for fear of losing its focus on health issues to environmental concerns, and compromising its social model of health with the introduction of biophysical indicators. But can these fears be substantiated? In this paper, we investigate the grounds for such concerns by reviewing the relevant policy documents and departmental guidelines of four non-European countries that have considered the use of integrated assessment. We found that the case for associating HIA with SEA in Europe is strong, and offers potential solutions to problems of screening, theoretical framework, causal pathways and ready entry to the policy process. Coupling HIA with SEA may thus be the next step forward in a longer journey towards institutionalizing HIA as an independent policy-linked device.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Uri hydroelectric power project on River Jhelum in Kashmir, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyman, L.

1995-09-01

This report is an Initial Aquatic Environmental Impact Assessment of the Uri Hydroelectric Power Project on River Jhelum in Kashmir, India. It includes the Terms of Reference of the assessment, a discussion on biodiversity and threats to it, the environmental indicators used to monitor and predict the impacts, a description of the physical, chemical and biological prerequisites of the River Jhelum ecosystem, a description of the survey sites chosen, and an overview of the present fish and bottom fauna. Finally, there are sections on the potential impacts on biota of the Uri Project and a list of proposals for how mitigating and enhancing measures could be enforced

Impact Assessment and Environmental Evaluation of Various Ammonia Production Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bicer, Yusuf; Dincer, Ibrahim; Vezina, Greg; Raso, Frank

2017-05-01

In the current study, conventional resources-based ammonia generation routes are comparatively studied through a comprehensive life cycle assessment. The selected ammonia generation options range from mostly used steam methane reforming to partial oxidation of heavy oil. The chosen ammonia synthesis process is the most common commercially available Haber-Bosch process. The essential energy input for the methods are used from various conventional resources such as coal, nuclear, natural gas and heavy oil. Using the life cycle assessment methodology, the environmental impacts of selected methods are identified and quantified from cradle to gate. The life cycle assessment outcomes of the conventional resources based ammonia production routes show that nuclear electrolysis-based ammonia generation method yields the lowest global warming and climate change impacts while the coal-based electrolysis options bring higher environmental problems. The calculated greenhouse gas emission from nuclear-based electrolysis is 0.48 kg CO 2 equivalent while it is 13.6 kg CO 2 per kg of ammonia for coal-based electrolysis method.

Stake holder involvement in Posiva's environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vira, J.

2002-01-01

The application for the Decision in Principle must include the report from a completed environmental impact assessment (EIA). In general, the purpose of the EIA legislation is to bring more transparency and interaction among potential stakeholders into the planning of projects that may have a significant impact on their physical or social environment. In addition, the EIA should look at different alternatives of the project implementation and also consider the impact of not implementing the project at all, i.e., the so-called zero-alternative. For Posiva the EIA was an important consultation process for determining the basis for the continuation of the disposal project. Because of the strong vetoes that the Finnish legislation gives to several stakeholders Posiva's EIA work was focused on subjects that the public found of greatest concern. In this respect important stakeholder groups included the local people of the investigation communities and their representatives in the municipality councils, the regulators, the public administrators dealing with environmental and energy policy issues, the scientific community involved in related research as well as the whole population and their political representatives at the national level. (authors)

Radioactive environmental impact assessment for a production project of titanium dioxide by chlorination process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Guohua

2010-01-01

Based on the analysis of shifting direction of radionuclide in production process and the environmental investigation and monitoring, the radioactive environmental impact from a production project of titanium dioxide by chlorination process has been analyzed and assessed. The result of radioactive environmental investigation shows that values of assessment factors are in the range of environmental radioactive background. The radioactive environmental sensitive spot has been delineated. The results of radioactive environmental prediction show that the additional doses to workers and residents are 0.59 mSv/a and 9.28 × 10-4 mSv/a respectively which are less than the annual dose limits of administration. The radioactive environmental impact of the production project of the titanium dioxide by chlorination process will meet the needs of national regulations and standards if radiation protection and environmental protection measures are implemented and radioactive environmental monitoring are strengthened. (author)

Analysis of environmental impact assessment for large-scale X-ray medical equipments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Jin; Pei Chengkai

2011-01-01

Based on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) project, this paper elaborates the basic analysis essentials of EIA for the sales project of large-scale X-ray medical equipment, and provides the analysis procedure of environmental impact and dose estimation method under normal and accident conditions. The key points of EIA for the sales project of large-scale X-ray medical equipment include the determination of pollution factor and management limit value according to the project's actual situation, the utilization of various methods of assessment and prediction such as analogy, actual measurement and calculation to analyze, monitor, calculate and predict the pollution during normal and accident condition. (authors)

Disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel. Environmental impact assessment program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The report presents the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the high level radioactive waste disposal in Finland. In EIA different alternatives concerning site selection, construction, operation and sealing of the disposal facility as well as waste transportation and encapsulation of the waste are considered

Environmental impact assessments and geological repositories: A model process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webster, S.

2000-01-01

In a recent study carried out for the European Commission, the scope and application of environmental impact assessment (EIA) legislation and current EIA practice in European Union Member States and applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe was investigated, specifically in relation to the geological disposal of radioactive waste. This paper reports the study's investigations into a model approach to EIA in the context of geological repositories, including the role of the assessment in the overall decision processes and public involvement. (author)

Environmental impacts of a lignocellulose feedstock biorefinery system: An assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uihlein, Andreas; Schebek, Liselotte

2009-01-01

Biomass is a sustainable alternative to fossil energy carriers which are used to produce fuels, electricity, chemicals, and other goods. At the moment, the main biobased products are obtained by the conversion of biomass to basic products like starch, oil, and cellulose. In addition, some single chemicals and fuels are produced. Presently, concepts of biorefineries which will produce a multitude of biomass-derived products are discussed. Biorefineries are supposed to contribute to a more sustainable resource supply and to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, biobased products and fuels may also be associated with environmental disadvantages due to, e.g. land use or eutrophication of water. We performed a Life Cycle Assessment of a lignocellulose feedstock biorefinery system and compared it to conventional product alternatives. The biorefinery was found to have the greatest environmental impacts in the three categories: fossil fuel use, respiratory effects, and carcinogenics. The environmental impacts predominantly result from the provision of hydrochloric acid and to a smaller extent also from the provision of process heat. As the final configuration of the biorefinery cannot be determined yet, various variants of the biorefinery system were analysed. The optimum variant (acid and heat recoveries) yields better results than the fossil alternatives, with the total environmental impacts being approx. 41% lower than those of the fossil counterparts. For most biorefinery variants analysed, the environmental performance in some impact categories is better than that of the fossil counterparts while disadvantages can be seen in other categories.

Evaluation of environmental impacts of cellulosic ethanol using life cycle assessment with technological advances over time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pawelzik, Paul F.; Zhang, Qiong

2012-01-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used in quantifying the environmental impacts of materials, processes, products, or systems across their entire lifespan from creation to disposal. To evaluate the environmental impact of advancing technology, Life Cycle Assessment with Technological Advances over Time (LCA-TAT) incorporates technology improvements within the traditional LCA framework. In this paper, the LCA-TAT is applied to quantify the environmental impacts of ethanol production using cellulosic biomass as a feedstock through the simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) process as it improves over time. The data for the SSCF process are taken from the Aspen Plus ® simulation developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). The Environmental Fate and Risk Assessment Tool (EFRAT) is used to calculate the fugitive emissions and SimaPro 7.1 software is used to quantify the environmental impacts of processes. The impact indicators of the processes are calculated using the Eco-indicator 95 method; impact categories analyzed include ozone layer depletion, heavy metals, carcinogens, summer smog, winter smog, pesticides, greenhouse effect, acidification, and eutrophication. Based on the LCA-TAT results, it is found that removal of the continuous ion exchange step within the pretreatment area increases the environmental impact of the process. The main contributor to the increase in the environmental impact of the process is the heavy metal indicator. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed to identify major inputs and outputs that affect environmental impacts of the overall process. Based on this analysis it is observed that an increase in waste production and acid use have the greatest effect on the environmental impacts of the SSCF process. Comparing economic analysis with projected technological advances performed by NREL, the improvement in environmental impact was not matched by a concomitant improvement in economic performance. In

Environmental impact assessment (EIA): an overlooked instrument for sustainable development in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeed, Rashid; Sattar, Ayesha; Iqbal, Zafar; Imran, Muhammad; Nadeem, Raziya

2012-04-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a policy tool used for evaluating a project proposal from physical and socioeconomic environmental perspectives. Its aim is to reduce the impact of development on environment, hence, ensuring environmental sustainability. It is mandatory to submit an Environmental Impact Statement before starting a mega project as required by Environmental Protection Act of 1997 and Environmental Policy of Pakistan. Public consultation plays a key role in an EIA system, identifying the likely aspects and impacts of a development activity. This aspect has been ignored in effective enactment of environmental legislation in Pakistan. Sufficient legislative instruments are there to support EIA system in the country but the agencies responsible for the enforcement of environmental regulations have failed to do so. The current research gives an insight into the actual status of EIA system in Pakistan along with the feedback of EIA specialists and university teachers of the concerned departments. A new index has been devised on the basis of questionnaire response to work out the overall performance of EIA system in Pakistan or any other country. The weaknesses and deficiencies of each EIA stage have been worked out for Pakistan and elaborated with the help of the controversial Zero point Interchange Project in the capital city of Pakistan.

INPRO Methodology for Sustainability Assessment of Nuclear Energy Systems: Environmental Impact of Stressors. INPRO Manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

This publication provides guidance on assessing of sustainability of a nuclear energy system (NES) in the area of environmental impact of stressors. The INPRO methodology is a comprehensive tool for the assessment of sustainability of an NES. Basic principles, user requirements and criteria have been defined in different areas of INPRO methodology. These include economics, infrastructure, waste management, proliferation resistance, environmental impact of stressors, environmental impact from depletion of resources, and safety of nuclear reactors and fuel cycle facilities. The ultimate goal of the application of the INPRO methodology is to check whether the assessed NES fulfils all the criteria, and hence the user requirements and basic principles, and therefore presents a system for a Member State that is sustainable in the long term

Environmental impact assessment for an OTEC plant in Martinique Island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auvray, Cedric; Ledoux, Sebastien; Diaz, Berenice; Yvon, Christophe; Pouget-Cuvelier, Adeline

2015-01-01

The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a marine renewable energy system that uses the temperature difference between the cold deep waters and warm surface waters to produce electricity. DCNS, a world-expert in naval defence and an innovator in energy has conducted technical, juridical and environmental feasibility studies of a plant offshore Martinique under an agreement with the Regional Council. In this context, DCNS realised a preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment in order to prepare public debate to be done further. Due to innovation of such a project, a specific methodology has been done for that. First step was to study bibliography in details, for site assessment of course, but also for impacts of other projects in the world that should present relevant similarities with OTEC (coastal thermal power plants for example). This bibliographic study dealt with thematic synthesis for each topic of physical, biological and human field that could be impacted by the project (total of 28 topics). The aim was to define priorities for specific assessments that have been done further: acoustic impacts, biogeochemical impacts of artificial upwelling, biofouling impacts, etc. Some of these topics are now on course with specific scientific research programs that have been launched at the end of this study. For each new topic, a specific methodology has been used or adapted for OTEC. These methods are made step by step, with a preliminary approach followed by a specific research program when it is necessary. Noise prediction has been done with a specific tool used for ship construction industry and a 3D propagation modelling. Biofouling has been assessed by a bibliographic approach and will be precised further with experimental moorings. Biogeochemical and biological impacts due to artificial and localised upwelling are now being studied in details with a double skill approach (physical modelling and plankton analysis), after preliminary water chemicals

Integrating environmental and socioeconomic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branch, K.M.; Cluett, C.; Page, T.L.

1987-01-01

Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969, considerable scientific and regulatory attention has been given to the preparation of environmental impact assessments. Part of this attention has been directed to definition of the proper scope of an environmental assessment and to debate about how the ''human environment'' should be addressed. This debate continues, and is reflected in the ongoing evolution of the definition of and relationship between the ''environmental'' and ''socioeconomic'' components of an integrated environmental impact assessment. This paper discusses the need for close integration between the environmental and socioeconomic assessment efforts and examines some of the benefits and difficulties of achieving this integration

EI Scale: an environmental impact assessment scale related to the construction materials used in the reinforced concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilson Morales

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to create EI Scal, an environmental impact assessment scal, related to construction materials used in the reinforced concrete structure production. The main reason for that was based on the need to classify the environmental impact levels through indicators to assess the damage level process. The scale allowed converting information to estimate the environmental impact caused. Indicators were defined trough the requirements and classification criteria of impact aspects considering the eco-design theory. Moreover, the scale allowed classifying the materials and processes environmental impact through four score categories which resulted in a single final impact score. It was concluded that the EI scale could be cheap, accessible, and relevant tool for environmental impact controlling and reduction, allowing the planning and material specification to minimize the construction negative effects caused in the environment.

Institutionalizing policy-level health impact assessment in Europe: is coupling health impact assessment with strategic environmental assessment the next step forward?

OpenAIRE

Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward

2005-01-01

European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into o...

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Kalina Geothermal Demonstration Project Steamboat Springs, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N/A

1999-02-22

The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to provide the DOE and other public agency decision makers with the environmental documentation required to take informed discretionary action on the proposed Kalina Geothermal Demonstration project. The EA assesses the potential environmental impacts and cumulative impacts, possible ways to minimize effects associated with partial funding of the proposed project, and discusses alternatives to DOE actions. The DOE will use this EA as a basis for their decision to provide financial assistance to Exergy, Inc. (Exergy), the project applicant. Based on the analysis in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human or physical environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required and DOE is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

Environmental impact assessment of the Krapivino hydro development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kayakin, V.V.; Mulina, A.V.; Novozilov, A.P.

1993-01-01

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) of planned measures in one or another form has always been carried out during project studies for hydrotechnical construction. In this paper, the experience is presented of drawing up the open-quotes EIAclose quotes section of the Krapivino hydroelectric development project as a result of substantial transformation of the project after its public discussion and stopping construction in 1989. Topics of discussion of this paper include the ecological situation and means of solving the problem, ecological and economic assessment of the program of measures, and ways of adaptation of the projects and solution of controversial problems. 6 figs., 1 tab

Impacts Analyses Supporting the National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment for the Resumption of Transient Testing Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Annette L. Schafer; Lloyd C. Brown; David C. Carathers; Boyd D. Christensen; James J. Dahl; Mark L. Miller; Cathy Ottinger Farnum; Steven Peterson; A. Jeffrey Sondrup; Peter V. Subaiya; Daniel M. Wachs; Ruth F. Weiner

2013-11-01

Environmental and health impacts are presented for activities associated with transient testing of nuclear fuel and material using two candidate test reactors. Transient testing involves irradiation of nuclear fuel or materials for short time-periods under high neutron flux rates. The transient testing process includes transportation of nuclear fuel or materials inside a robust shipping cask to a hot cell, removal from the shipping cask, pre-irradiation examination of the nuclear materials, assembly of an experiment assembly, transportation of the experiment assembly to the test reactor, irradiation in the test reactor, transport back to the hot cell, and post-irradiation examination of the nuclear fuel or material. The potential for environmental or health consequences during the transportation, examination, and irradiation actions are assessed for normal operations, off-normal (accident) scenarios, and transportation. Impacts to the environment (air, soil, and groundwater), are assessed during each phase of the transient testing process. This report documents the evaluation of potential consequences to the general public. This document supports the Environmental Assessment (EA) required by the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 USC Subsection 4321 et seq.).

Consideration of climate change on environmental impact assessment in Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro, E-mail: aenriquez@draba.org [Escuela de Doctorado, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Draba Ingeniería y Consultoría Medioambiental, Cañada Nueva, 29, 28200 San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Spain); Martín-Aranda, Rosa M., E-mail: rmartin@ccia.uned.es [Departamento de Química Inorgánica y Química Técnica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040, Madrid (Spain); Díaz-Sierra, Rubén, E-mail: sierra@dfmf.uned.es [Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040, Madrid (Spain)

2016-02-15

Most of the projects subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA) are closely related to climate change, as they contribute to or are affected by it. The growing certainty about climate change and its impacts makes its consideration an essential part of the EIA process, as well as in strategic environmental assessment (SEA). This paper examines how climate change (CC) has been taken into account in EIA in Spain through the analysis of 1713 environmental records of decision (RODs) of projects submitted for EIA. In 2013 Spain approved one of the most advanced laws in terms of CC consideration in environmental assessment, although it had not yet accumulated extensive practice on the issue. This contrasts with the situation of countries like Canada or the USA, which have a significant body of experience without specific legal requirements. Only 14% of the RODs analysed included references to CC, and in more than half of the cases it was a mere citation. Thermal power plants, which are subject to specific GHG regulations, show the highest consideration, while transport infrastructures, which are important contributors to CC, show a very low consideration. Almost all the references are related to their contribution to CC, while consideration of the effects of CC is minimal. The increasingly common incorporation of CC into SEA, should not imply its exclusion from EIA, because both processes have different aims and uses. Including the obligation to consider CC in the EIA regulations is highly desirable, but probably not enough without other measures, such as practical guidance, training and motivational programmes for practitioners and evaluators. But even these actions cannot ensure effective and adequate assessments of CC. Probably more resources should be spent on creating greater awareness in all the agents involved in EIA. - Highlights: • We analyse how the climate change is considered in EIA in Spain. • Few projects seriously assess climate change. �

Consideration of climate change on environmental impact assessment in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro; Martín-Aranda, Rosa M.; Díaz-Sierra, Rubén

2016-01-01

Most of the projects subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA) are closely related to climate change, as they contribute to or are affected by it. The growing certainty about climate change and its impacts makes its consideration an essential part of the EIA process, as well as in strategic environmental assessment (SEA). This paper examines how climate change (CC) has been taken into account in EIA in Spain through the analysis of 1713 environmental records of decision (RODs) of projects submitted for EIA. In 2013 Spain approved one of the most advanced laws in terms of CC consideration in environmental assessment, although it had not yet accumulated extensive practice on the issue. This contrasts with the situation of countries like Canada or the USA, which have a significant body of experience without specific legal requirements. Only 14% of the RODs analysed included references to CC, and in more than half of the cases it was a mere citation. Thermal power plants, which are subject to specific GHG regulations, show the highest consideration, while transport infrastructures, which are important contributors to CC, show a very low consideration. Almost all the references are related to their contribution to CC, while consideration of the effects of CC is minimal. The increasingly common incorporation of CC into SEA, should not imply its exclusion from EIA, because both processes have different aims and uses. Including the obligation to consider CC in the EIA regulations is highly desirable, but probably not enough without other measures, such as practical guidance, training and motivational programmes for practitioners and evaluators. But even these actions cannot ensure effective and adequate assessments of CC. Probably more resources should be spent on creating greater awareness in all the agents involved in EIA. - Highlights: • We analyse how the climate change is considered in EIA in Spain. • Few projects seriously assess climate change. �

Total environmental impacts of biofuels from corn stover using a hybrid life cycle assessment model combining process life cycle assessment and economic input-output life cycle assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Changqi; Huang, Yaji; Wang, Xinye; Tai, Yang; Liu, Lingqin; Liu, Hao

2018-01-01

Studies on the environmental analysis of biofuels by fast pyrolysis and hydroprocessing (BFPH) have so far focused only on the environmental impacts from direct emissions and have included few indirect emissions. The influence of ignoring some indirect emissions on the environmental performance of BFPH has not been well investigated and hence is not really understood. In addition, in order to avoid shifting environmental problems from one medium to another, a comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts caused by the processes must quantify the environmental emissions to all media (air, water, and land) in relation to each life cycle stage. A well-to-wheels assessment of the total environmental impacts resulting from direct emissions and indirect emissions of a BFPH system with corn stover is conducted using a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) model combining the economic input-output LCA and the process LCA. The Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts (TRACI) has been used to estimate the environmental impacts in terms of acidification, eutrophication, global climate change, ozone depletion, human health criteria, photochemical smog formation, ecotoxicity, human health cancer, and human health noncancer caused by 1 MJ biofuel production. Taking account of all the indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the net GHG emissions (81.8 g CO 2 eq/MJ) of the biofuels are still less than those of petroleum-based fuels (94 g CO 2 eq/MJ). Maize production and pyrolysis and hydroprocessing make major contributions to all impact categories except the human health criteria. All impact categories resulting from indirect emissions except eutrophication and smog air make more than 24% contribution to the total environmental impacts. Therefore, the indirect emissions are important and cannot be ignored. Sensitivity analysis has shown that corn stover yield and bio-oil yield affect the total environmental impacts of the biofuels

Scoping in environmental impact assessment: Balancing precaution and efficiency?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snell, Tim; Cowell, Richard

2006-01-01

Scoping is a crucial yet under-researched stage of environmental impact assessment, in which practice falls well behind conceptual ideals. We argue that such 'implementation deficits' reflect dilemmas between two key rationales for scoping - environmental precaution and decision-making efficiency - and between technical and participatory conceptions of the decision-making process. We use qualitative research to understand how scoping practice in the UK reconciles these competing imperatives. Our findings suggest that practitioners mainly rationalise their approach in terms of decision-making efficiency, while justifying excluding the public from scoping on grounds of prematurity, delay and risks of causing confusion. The tendency to scope issues in rather than exclude them reflects a pervasive concern for legal challenge, rather than environmental precaution, but this reinforces standard lists of environmental considerations rather than the investigation of novel, cumulative or indirect risks

Evaluation process of global environmental impact: assessment guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, A.R.; Mahar, R.B.

2001-01-01

In developed and developing countries, the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is becoming mandatory for the approval of Industrial projects and projects of Environmental hazards. The approving authority of each country has its own guidelines to get projects approved and make project proponents responsible to submit Environmental Impact Statement for the its detailed assessment. In this paper authors have studied an existing EIA Global guidelines and its evaluation process of altogether 40 countries from four continents, Asia, Pacific/Middle East, Europe, Australia and America/Canada. This evaluation process is recorded in the tabulation form and it has been formulated stage wise in which stage one highlights the inception of EIA guidelines of each country and stage two and three gives implementation process. The inception stage of guidelines gives an idea that when EIA was started and an implementation stages provide all information that when EIA become a part of legislation that provide an opportunity to the reader to understand the decision making process for project approvals. The main objective of writing EIA guidelines is to monitor the sustain ability of various types of the projects under different sectoral guidelines, therefore Projects related with different Sectors have been chosen and a detailed record in tabulation form gives an idea to understand the interaction of these guidelines. To make this paper more comprehensive, authors have gone thorough the sectoral guidelines of altogether 64 countries and studied 21 sector oriented project fields. These are of Agriculture/Irrigation, Biodiversity, Coastal/Marine, Community Participation, Extractive industries, Fisheries, Forestry, Hazard Risk, Health, Human settlement, Industry, Multi sectorial, Ports and Harbors, Power, refugees/resettlement, Social, Strategies/Planning, Tourism/Recreational, transportation, Waste Pollution and Wetlands/Water resources. (author)

Global guidance on environmental life cycle impact assessment indicators: Progress and case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frischknecht, Rolf; Fantke, Peter; Tschümperlin, Laura

2016-01-01

Purpose The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) guidance flagship project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative aims at providing global guidance and building scientific consensus on environmental LCIA in...

Environmental Impact Analysis on Residential Building in Malaysia Using Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Faiz Abd Rashid

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The building industry has a significant impact on the environment due to massive natural resources and energy it uses throughout its life cycle. This study presents a life cycle assessment of a semi-detached residential building in Malaysia as a case study and assesses the environmental impact under cradle-to-grave which consists of pre-use, construction, use, and end-of-life phases by using Centre of Environmental Science of Leiden University (CML 2001. Four impact categories were evaluated, namely, acidification, eutrophication, global warming potential (GWP, and ozone layer depletion (ODP. The building operation under use phase contributed the highest global warming potential and acidification with 2.41 × 103 kg CO2 eq and 1.10 × 101 kg SO2 eq, respectively. In the pre-use phase, concrete in the substructure has the most significant overall impact with cement as the primary raw material. The results showed that the residential building in Malaysia has a fairly high impact in GWP but lower in acidification and ODP compared to other studies.

Environmental impact assessment for nuclear and coal-fired power stations in Czechoslovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapcik, V.

1994-01-01

Czechoslovakia has had legislation requiring environmental impact assessment since 1992. A methodology for complex evaluation of areas with thermal and nuclear energy sources, as related to ecology and environment, was developed by the staff of the Department of Ecology in accordance with the environmental Protection act (No. 17/1992) for use by the Czech Energy Company (Prague). This methodology will serve as a handbook of environmental impact assessment for the energy industry. Chapter 1 of the handbook describes the project, including information on the site, design, and size of the thermal or nuclear power station. Chapter 2 includes the data necessary to identify and assess the main effects that the project is likely to have on the environment. Chapter 3 describes aspects of the environment likely to be affected significantly by a proposed project, including population, fauna, flora, soil, water, air, climatic factors, material assets (such as architectural and archeological heritage), landscape, and the interrelationship between the above factors. Chapter 4 summarizes the measures envisaged to prevent, reduce, and where possible, offer any significant adverse effects on the environment

Environmental risk assessment for plant pests: a procedure to evaluate their impacts on ecosystem services.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilioli, G; Schrader, G; Baker, R H A; Ceglarska, E; Kertész, V K; Lövei, G; Navajas, M; Rossi, V; Tramontini, S; van Lenteren, J C

2014-01-15

The current methods to assess the environmental impacts of plant pests differ in their approaches and there is a lack of the standardized procedures necessary to provide accurate and consistent results, demonstrating the complexity of developing a commonly accepted scheme for this purpose. By including both the structural and functional components of the environment threatened by invasive alien species (IAS), in particular plant pests, we propose an environmental risk assessment scheme that addresses this complexity. Structural components are investigated by evaluating the impacts of the plant pest on genetic, species and landscape diversity. Functional components are evaluated by estimating how plant pests modify ecosystem services in order to determine the extent to which an IAS changes the functional traits that influence ecosystem services. A scenario study at a defined spatial and temporal resolution is then used to explore how an IAS, as an exogenous driving force, may trigger modifications in the target environment. The method presented here provides a standardized approach to generate comparable and reproducible results for environmental risk assessment as a component of Pest Risk Analysis. The method enables the assessment of overall environmental risk which integrates the impacts on different components of the environment and their probabilities of occurrence. The application of the proposed scheme is illustrated by evaluating the environmental impacts of the invasive citrus long-horn beetle, Anoplophora chinensis. © 2013.

A life cycle assessment framework combining nutritional and environmental health impacts of diet: a case study on milk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stylianou, Katerina S.; Heller, Martin C.; Fulgoni III, Victor L.

2016-01-01

of less healthy foods (sugar-sweetened beverages). Further studies are needed to test whether this conclusion holds within a more comprehensive assessment of environmental and nutritional health impacts. Conclusions This case study provides the first quantitative epidemiology-based estimate......Purpose While there has been considerable effort to understand the environmental impact of a food or diet, nutritional effects are not usually included in food-related life cycle assessment (LCA). Methods We developed a novel Combined Nutritional and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (CONE......-LCA) framework that evaluates and compares in parallel the environmental and nutritional effects of foods or diets. We applied this framework to assess human health impacts, expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), in a proof-of conceptcase study that investigated the environmental and nutritional...

Comparative study of environmental impact assessment methods ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aims to introduce and systematically investigate the environmental issues during important decision-making stages. Meanwhile, impacts of development on the environmental components will be also analyzed. This research studies various methods of predicting the environmental changes and determining the ...

Environmental risk assessment of registered insecticides in Iran using Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Moinoddini

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In the last decades, pesticides have been used extensively, in order to control pests and plant diseases, but negative impacts of pesticides caused several environmental problems and put human health in danger. In order to decrease environmental hazards of pesticide, risk of pesticide application should be measured briefly and precisely. In this study environmental impacts of registered insecticides in Iran which applied in 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, are considered using environmental impact quotient (EIQ index. Results showed that among considered insecticides, Imidacloprid, Fipronil and Tiodicarb, potentially (EIQ were the most hazardous insecticides, respectively. Taking rate of application and active ingredient of insecticide in to account, environmental impact (practical toxicity per cultivated hectare (EIQ Field of each provinces were investigated. In this regard, among different province of Iran, Kerman, Mazandaran and Golestan were in danger more than the others, respectively. Besides, considering the amount of agricultural production in provinces, environmental impact per ton of production were calculated for each provinces which three northern provinces of Mazandaran, Golestan and Guilan, respectively endure the most environmental impact per ton of production. Eventually based on environmental impact quotient, results demonstrated that majority of environmental impacts of insecticide in Iran were due to inadequate knowledge and also overuse of a few number of insecticides. Therefore, by improving knowledge about environmental impact of pesticides and also developing environmental friendly and ecological based methods, negative environmental impacts of insecticides will be reduced significantly.

Representativeness of environmental impact assessment methods regarding Life Cycle Inventories.

Science.gov (United States)

Esnouf, Antoine; Latrille, Éric; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Helias, Arnaud

2018-04-15

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) characterises all the exchanges between human driven activities and the environment, thus representing a powerful approach for tackling the environmental impact of a production system. However, LCA practitioners must still choose the appropriate Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method to use and are expected to justify this choice: impacts should be relevant facing the concerns of the study and misrepresentations should be avoided. This work aids practitioners in evaluating the adequacy between the assessed environmental issues and studied production system. Based on a geometrical standpoint of LCA framework, Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) and LCIA methods were localized in the vector space spanned by elementary flows. A proximity measurement, the Representativeness Index (RI), is proposed to explore the relationship between those datasets (LCIs and LCIA methods) through an angular distance. RIs highlight LCIA methods that measure issues for which the LCI can be particularly harmful. A high RI indicates a close proximity between a LCI and a LCIA method, and highlights a better representation of the elementary flows by the LCIA method. To illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach, representativeness of LCIA methods regarding four electricity mix production LCIs from the ecoinvent database are presented. RIs for 18 LCIA methods (accounting for a total of 232 impact categories) were calculated on these LCIs and the relevance of the methods are discussed. RIs prove to be a criterion for distinguishing the different LCIA methods and could thus be employed by practitioners for deeper interpretations of LCIA results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consideration of biodiversity in environmental impact assessment in Western Australia: practitioner perceptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wegner, A.; Moore, S.A.; Bailey, J.

2005-01-01

Biodiversity has become a central concern in environmental management. As such, it is crucial that it is included and fully considered in environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper explores the definitions and perceptions of biodiversity, and the associated management implications, held by those involved in preparing and assessing EIA documents in Western Australia. This State has world-recognised biodiversity values and comprehensive impact assessment processes. These practitioners defined biodiversity in a range of ways from a very basic through to a sophisticated, extended definition. A range of approaches to its assessment was also evident. The most sophisticated practitioners placed biodiversity in its spatial and temporal context as well as being cognizant of community aspirations and the principle of net conservation benefit. The ability to properly consider biodiversity in EIA is dependent on good information, not only on flora and fauna but also on the concepts and processes associated with biodiversity. Clear policy directions, from the assessing authority, regarding the level and detail of assessment required, are also critical

Protected Area Reconfiguration Project. Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-12-01

DOE has decided to consolidate, process, and store Category I and II Special Nuclear Material (SNM) in Building 371 at Rocky Flats, in order to improve safeguards and security and to reduce baseline facility and personnel costs. Once all SNM in consolidated into this building, maintaining the full 200-acre protected area would no longer be necessary, and the protected area (PA) could be reconfigured to include only the protection requirements necessary for Building 371. DOE Environmental Assessment 1132 has been written to evaluate options for reconfiguration of the PA; it addressed potential environmental impacts resulting from construction of fence alternatives. Possible routes for the new fence section were examined for environmental impact, feasibility, cost, and complexity. A number of the alternatives, including the proposed action, would impact wetlands

Not so Black and White: environmental justice and cumulative impact assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krieg, Eric J.; Faber, Daniel R.

2004-01-01

not typically identified as meeting EJ criteria (in demographic terms) also face more significant ecological hazards. Thus, the strict bifurcation of communities into categories of Environmental Justice and Non-Environmental Justice is problematic, and poses a serious dilemma for policy makers, public health officials, and community activists. To overcome this challenge requires the adoption of a cumulative environmental justice impact assessment (CEJIA), which in addition to the demographic characteristics of a community, also takes into account the total environmental burden and related health impacts upon residents. Furthermore, through the adoption of the precautionary principle, source reduction, and alternative forms of ''cleaner'' production, environmental justice advocates must work for policies which reduce the environmental threat for the full range of communities, as well as their own

Life cycle assessment of energy products: environmental impact assessment of biofuels; Oekobilanz von Energieprodukten: Oekologische Bewertung von Biotreibstoffen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zah, R.; Boeni, H.; Gauch, M.; Hischier, R.; Lehmann, M.; Waeger, P.

2007-05-15

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) deals with the results of a study that evaluated the environmental impact of the entire production chain of fuels made from biomass and used in Switzerland. Firstly, the study supplies an analysis of the possible environmental impacts of biofuels that can be used as a basis for political decisions. Secondly, an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of various biofuels is presented. In addition, the impacts of fuel use are compared with other uses for bioenergy such as the generation of electricity and heat. The methods used in the LCA are discussed, including the Swiss method of ecological scarcity (Environmental Impact Points, UBP 06), and the European Eco-indicator 99 method. The results of the study are discussed, including the finding that not all biofuels can reduce environmental impacts as compared to fossil fuels. The role to be played by biofuels produced in an environmentally-friendly way together with other forms of renewable energy in our future energy supply is discussed.

Life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impact of seven contemporary food waste management systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Joel; Othman, Maazuza; Crossin, Enda; Burn, Stewart

2018-01-01

Municipal food waste (FW) represents 35-45% of household residual waste in Australia, with the nation generating 1.6Tg annually. It is estimated that 91% of this FW ends up in landfill. This study used life cycle assessment to determine and compare the environmental impact of seven contemporary FW management systems for two real-life jurisdictions; incorporating the complete waste service and expanding the system to include inert and garden waste. Although, no system exhibited a best ranking across all impact categories, FW digestion based systems were all revealed to have a lower global warming potential than composting and landfilling systems. Mechanical biological treatment, anaerobic co-digestion, and home composting all demonstrated the lowest environmental impacts for two or more of the environmental impact categories assessed. The assessment included market and technological specific variables and uncertainties providing a framework for robust decision making at a municipality level. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 41528 - Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-14

... license renewal. Staff considered the following environmental resource areas in its evaluation: Land use... Protection and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection... Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Renewal for Uranium One USA Inc...

Appendix E: Research papers. Use of remote sensing in landscape stratification for environmental impact assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Stanturf, J. A.; Heimbuch, D. G.

1980-01-01

A refinement to the matrix approach to environmental impact assessment is to use landscape units in place of separate environmental elements in the analysis. Landscape units can be delineated by integrating remotely sensed data and available single-factor data. A remote sensing approach to landscape stratification is described and the conditions under which it is superior to other approaches that require single-factor maps are indicated. Flowcharts show the steps necessary to develop classification criteria, delineate units and a map legend, and use the landscape units in impact assessment. Application of the approach to assessing impacts of a transmission line in Montana is presented to illustrate the method.

Environmental impact assessment and environmental audit in large-scale public infrastructure construction: the case of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Guizhen; Zhang, Lei; Lu, Yonglong

2009-09-01

Large-scale public infrastructure projects have featured in China's modernization course since the early 1980s. During the early stages of China's rapid economic development, public attention focused on the economic and social impact of high-profile construction projects. In recent years, however, we have seen a shift in public concern toward the environmental and ecological effects of such projects, and today governments are required to provide valid environmental impact assessments prior to allowing large-scale construction. The official requirement for the monitoring of environmental conditions has led to an increased number of debates in recent years regarding the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Governmental Environmental Audits (GEAs) as environmental safeguards in instances of large-scale construction. Although EIA and GEA are conducted by different institutions and have different goals and enforcement potential, these two practices can be closely related in terms of methodology. This article cites the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway as an instance in which EIA and GEA offer complementary approaches to environmental impact management. This study concludes that the GEA approach can serve as an effective follow-up to the EIA and establishes that the EIA lays a base for conducting future GEAs. The relationship that emerges through a study of the Railway's construction calls for more deliberate institutional arrangements and cooperation if the two practices are to be used in concert to optimal effect.

A comparative study on the Environmental Impact Assessment of industrial projects in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Marmaya, E. A.; Mahbub, R.

2018-02-01

In the past decade, mankind has been manipulating the natural environment to better suit its needs for providing buildings and infrastructure for residential, commercial, business and industrial purposes. The rapid industrialization that has taken place has generated several issues regarding the environment. Therefore, managing environmental risks in construction projects has been recognized as an important process to achieve the project objectives in terms of time, cost, quality, safety and environmental sustainability. The aim of this research is to assess the environmental impact of industrial projects to the surrounding areas. The impact to the environment can be categorized into several aspects such as ecosystem impact, natural resources impact and public impact. This research employs the quantitative approach, that is, a questionnaire survey targeted at the occupants living in the surrounding areas of the case study location, namely the industrial sites in Sabah Ammonia Urea (SAMUR), Sipitang, Sabah and Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP), Gebeng Pahang. The findings of the research show that the two projects are perceived to have negative environmental impact especially for land pollution and green-house gas emissions.

Assessment of the environmental impacts deriving from the life cycle of a typical solar water heater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Gaidajis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available According to life cycle thinking, the environmental burden deriving from different life cycle stages of a product or a system, such as manufacturing, transportation, maintenance and landfilling should be taken into consideration while assessing its environmental performance. In that aspect, the environmental impacts deriving from the life cycle of a typical solar water heater (SWH in Greece are analyzed and assessed with the application of relative life cycle assessment (LCA software in this study. In order to examine various impact categories such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, ecotoxicity and so forth, the IMPACT2002+ method is applied. The aim of this study is to examine the life cycle stages, processes and materials that significantly affect the system under examination and to provide a discussion regarding the environmental friendliness of solar water heaters.

Assessment of transportation risk for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management programmatic environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.Y.; Monette, F.A.; Biwer, B.M.; Lazaro, M.A.; Hartmann, H.M.; Policastro, A.J.

1995-01-01

In its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a broad range of alternatives for the future management of radioactive and hazardous waste at the facilities of the DOE complex. The alternatives involve facilities to be used for treatment, storage, and disposal of various wastes generated from DOE environmental restoration activities and waste management operations. The evaluation includes five types of waste (four types of radioactive waste plus hazardous waste), 49 sites, and numerous cases associated with each alternative for waste management. In general, the alternatives are evaluated independently for each type of waste and reflect decentralized, regionalized, and centralized approaches. Transportation of waste materials is an integral component of the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The estimated impact on human health that is associated with various waste transportation activities is an important component of a complete appraisal of the alternatives. The transportation risk assessment performed for the EM PEIS is designed to ensure through uniform and judicious selection of models, data, and assumptions that relative comparisons of risk among the various alternatives are meaningful and consistent. Among other tasks, Argonne National Laboratory is providing technical assistance to the EM PEIS on transportation risk assessment. The objective is to perform a human health risk assessment for each type of waste relative to the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The transportation risk assessed is part of the overall impacts being analyzed for the EM PEIS to determine the safest, most environmentally and economically sound manner in which to satisfy requirements for waste management in the coming decades

Environmental impact assessment in Colombia: Critical analysis and proposals for improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toro, Javier; Requena, Ignacio; Zamorano, Montserrat

2010-01-01

The evaluation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) systems is a highly recommended strategy for enhancing their effectiveness and quality. This paper describes an evaluation of EIA in Colombia, using the model and the control mechanisms proposed and applied in other countries by Christopher Wood and Ortolano. The evaluation criteria used are based on Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment Best Practice, such as effectiveness and control features, and they were contrasted with the opinions of a panel of Colombian EIA experts as a means of validating the results of the study. The results found that EIA regulations in Colombia were ineffective because of limited scope, inadequate administrative support and the inexistence of effective control mechanisms and public participation. This analysis resulted in a series of recommendations regarding the further development of the EIA system in Colombia with a view to improving its quality and effectiveness.

Scenario analysis in environmental impact assessment: Improving explorations of the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duinker, Peter N.; Greig, Lorne A.

2007-01-01

Scenarios and scenario analysis have become popular approaches in organizational planning and participatory exercises in pursuit of sustainable development. However, they are little used, at least in any formal way, in environmental impact assessment (EIA). This is puzzling because EIA is a process specifically dedicated to exploring options for more-sustainable (i.e., less environmentally damaging) futures. In this paper, we review the state of the art associated with scenarios and scenario analysis, and describe two areas where scenario analysis could be particularly helpful in EIA: (a) in defining future developments for cumulative effects assessment; and (b) in considering the influence of contextual change - e.g. climate change - on impact forecasts for specific projects. We conclude by encouraging EIA practitioners to learn about the promise of scenario-based analysis and implement scenario-based methods so that EIA can become more effective in fostering sustainable development

Integrative Application of Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment to Environmental Impacts of Anthropogenic Pollutants at a Watershed Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Xiaodan; Yu, Shen; Ma, Hwongwen

2018-01-01

Intense human activities have led to increasing deterioration of the watershed environment via pollutant discharge, which threatens human health and ecosystem function. To meet a need of comprehensive environmental impact/risk assessment for sustainable watershed development, a biogeochemical process-based life cycle assessment and risk assessment (RA) integration for pollutants aided by geographic information system is proposed in this study. The integration is to frame a conceptual protocol of "watershed life cycle assessment (WLCA) for pollutants". The proposed WLCA protocol consists of (1) geographic and environmental characterization mapping; (2) life cycle inventory analysis; (3) integration of life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) with RA via characterization factor of pollutant of interest; and (4) result analysis and interpretation. The WLCA protocol can visualize results of LCIA and RA spatially for the pollutants of interest, which might be useful for decision or policy makers for mitigating impacts of watershed development.

Analysis of environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Coşkun, Aynur Aydın; Turker, Ozhan

2011-04-01

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System, which embodies the "prevention principle" of the environmental law, is an important tool for environmental protection. This tool has a private importance for Turkey since it is a developing country, and it entered the Turkish law in 1983 with the Environmental Law. Besides, the EIA Regulation, which shows the application principles, became effective in 1993. Because Turkey is a candidate for European Union (EU), the EIA Regulation has been changed due to the EU compliance procedure, and its latest version became valid in 2008. This study aims to emphasize The EIA system in Turkey to supervise the efficiency of this procedure and point the success level. In the introduction part, general EIA concept, its importance, and some notations are mentioned. Following that, the legislation, which builds the EIA system, has been analyzed starting from the 1982 Turkish Constitution. Then, the legislation rules are explained due to the basic steps of the EIA procedure. In order to shed light upon the application, the EIA final decisions given until today, the results, and their distributions to the industries are assessed. In the final part of the study, a SWOT analysis is made to mention the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats of the EIA system in Turkey.

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts for Rice Agroecosystems using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Khoramdel

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate life cycle assessment (LCA for rice agroecosystems based on mean of nitrogen fertilizer levels (less than 190, 190-200, 200-210, 210-220 and more than 220 kg N ha during 1999-2012, an experiment was conducted. Four steps includung goal definition and scoping, inventory analysis, life cycle impact assessment and integration and interpretation were computed. Functional unit was considered as one tone paddy. Impact categories were acidification, eutrophication in aquatic and tresstrial ecosystems and global warming. The results showed that the highest paddy yield was obtained 5.35 t.ha-1 in 190-200 kg N ha. The maximum aquatic eutrophication potential was computed for more than 220 kg N ha-1 with 0.79 PO4 equiv./t paddy. EcoX per one tone paddy and maximum environmental impacts was belonged to aquatic eutrophication (0.13 Eco-index per one tone paddy. It seems that system management including green manure, nitrogen fixing species and reduced tillage could be regarded to reduce problematic environmental impacts in rice production systems.

Environmental impact assessment. Ajka Mining and Power Company

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sipkema, Arjan; De Visser, Petra

1994-01-01

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a public document which evaluates the impact of a new company or a new project on the environment and it also lays out the possible alternatives. The present EIA was worked out to get an insight into the polluting effects of the Ajka Mining and Power Company in Ajka, Hungary and to understand what hinders the abatement of the pollution. The Ajka coal has a high sulphur content and is slightly radioactive. The Power Plant is situated in the neighborhood of the town Ajka and the wind usually blows the releases in the direction of the town. The radioactive sludge is also stored at the border of the town and its radioactivity exceeds the limit set for the Paks Power Plant (in Hungary). Alternatives for the present technology are explored. Nil-condensation and/or energy conservation seem to be the best alternatives. Theoretically, the Regional Environmental Inspectorate is responsible for all survey of pollution, which they monitor with their own equipment, with data obtained from the company or from other monitoring companies. However, the pollution of the Ajka Mining and Power Company is not completely monitored. (authors)

Resolving issues with environmental impact assessment of marine renewable energy installations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilya M. D. Maclean

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have fueled a rapid increase in the development of marine renewable energy installations (MREIs. The potential ecological consequences of increased use of these devices emphasizes the need for high quality environmental impact assessment (EIA. We demonstrate that these processes are hampered severely, primarily because ambiguities in the legislation and lack of clear implementation guidance are such that they do not ensure robust assessment of the significance of impacts and cumulative effects. We highlight why the regulatory framework leads to conceptual ambiguities and propose changes which, for the most part, do not require major adjustments to standard practice. We emphasize the importance of determining the degree of confidence in impacts to permit the likelihood as well as magnitude of impacts to be quantified and propose ways in which assessment of population-level impacts could be incorporated into the EIA process. Overall, however, we argue that, instead of trying to ascertain which particular developments are responsible for tipping an already heavily degraded marine environment into an undesirable state, emphasis should be placed on better strategic assessment.

Analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive and the EIA decision in Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilgin, Ayla

2015-01-01

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive first entered into force in the United States in 1969, and began to be implemented in many other countries by 1990. The first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive in Turkey was published on February 7, 1993, under the Environmental Law No. 2872. The EIA Directive was revised seven times on June 23, 1997, June 6, 2002, December 16, 2003, July 17, 2008, October 3, 2013, and November 25, 2014. Several amendments were made during this process. The first EIA Directive dated 1993 was narrow in scope and its procedure was long, while the amendments in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2014 widened the scope of the EIA, and shortened the EIA assessment procedures. In this study, the amendments to the Turkish EIA Directive were analysed, and their effect on the number of EIA decisions made was addressed. It was concluded that the uncertainties in EIA procedures were removed, procedures were shortened, and as a result, the number of EIA decisions increased thanks to the revisions made in line with harmonisation with European Union (EU) acquis. - Highlights: • Demonstrates the Environmental Impact Assessment practices in Turkey. • Demonstrates the application of the EIA in Turkey by sector. • Demonstrates the amendments of the EIA by-laws in Turkey. • Demonstrates the changes in EIA practices and EIA decisions

Analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive and the EIA decision in Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bilgin, Ayla

2015-07-15

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive first entered into force in the United States in 1969, and began to be implemented in many other countries by 1990. The first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive in Turkey was published on February 7, 1993, under the Environmental Law No. 2872. The EIA Directive was revised seven times on June 23, 1997, June 6, 2002, December 16, 2003, July 17, 2008, October 3, 2013, and November 25, 2014. Several amendments were made during this process. The first EIA Directive dated 1993 was narrow in scope and its procedure was long, while the amendments in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2014 widened the scope of the EIA, and shortened the EIA assessment procedures. In this study, the amendments to the Turkish EIA Directive were analysed, and their effect on the number of EIA decisions made was addressed. It was concluded that the uncertainties in EIA procedures were removed, procedures were shortened, and as a result, the number of EIA decisions increased thanks to the revisions made in line with harmonisation with European Union (EU) acquis. - Highlights: • Demonstrates the Environmental Impact Assessment practices in Turkey. • Demonstrates the application of the EIA in Turkey by sector. • Demonstrates the amendments of the EIA by-laws in Turkey. • Demonstrates the changes in EIA practices and EIA decisions.

A review of Environmental Impact Assessment parameters required for set up of a hydropower project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Pankaj Kumar; Mazumdar, Asis

2013-01-01

Environmental Impact Assessment in general, hydro-meteorological conditions, topography, hydrology, water availability analysis of a river system, importance of hydropower and feasibility study of Environmental Impact assessment due to the construction of the hydropower plant have been discussed in this research work. The site selection is one of the major components so far the hydropower is concerned and also the minimum flow should have known to us so that the capacity of a hydropower plant can be predicted. The sustainable flow, which refers the flow is available throughout the year, has been calculated based on flow duration curve. This study highlights the environmental impact assessment particularly related to hydropower project. Here the study area a district town located in the eastern region of India on the banks of river Kosi has been considered. The historical rainfall and the river discharge data have been collected from various organizations. The stage-discharge correlation and hydrological parameters related to hydropower have been analyzed and also to discuss the review of environmental impact assessment in hydropower project. The EIA analysis can be also carried out by using fuzzy logic wherein the EIA parameters can be given different weight-age based on the various survey reports that have been carried out at different places at different time. Such analysis has also been provided below based on the various data obtained.

Sustainable development and the environment: lessons from the St Lucia environmental impact assessment

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kruger, FJ

1997-01-01

Full Text Available The environmental impact assessment (ETA) on the effects of the proposed mining on the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia was arguably the largest and most transparent yet undertaken on the African continent. It assessed the consequences of proposed...

Assessment of potential economic and environmental impacts caused by Phytophthora ramorum in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Hella Kehlenbeck

2008-01-01

Economic and environmental impacts of Phytophthora ramorum in Europe were evaluated within the European Union framework 6 project on ?Risk Analysis for P. ramorum a pathogen threat to Europe? (RAPRA). Impact assessment was conducted according to three different scenarios: 1. ?Nursery System? - describes losses occurring in...

Environmental impact assessment for the apparatus of positron emission tomograph and cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Shui; Gu Hongkun; Wu Songhuan; Zhang Wenying; Zhao Fa; Wang Gongpeng

2000-01-01

Cyclotron, type RDS 111, produced by CTI incorporation, was used as an example. According to the characteristic of the radiation source term, the environmental impacts of the apparatus working in normal and abnormal conditions were assessed

Strategic environmental impact assessment of hydrocarbon activities in the Disko West area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosbech, A.; Boertmann, D.; Jespersen, Martin

2007-05-01

This publication is a strategic environmental impact assessment of activities related to exploration, development and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the sea of West Greenland between 67 deg. and 71 deg. N (the Disko West Area). (au)

Integrating human health into environmental impact assessment: an unrealized opportunity for environmental health and justice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron

2008-08-01

The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice.

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Richard; Garnett, Stephen

2010-01-01

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

Environmental impact assessment including indirect effects--a case study using input-output analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenzen, Manfred; Murray, Shauna A.; Korte, Britta; Dey, Christopher J.

2003-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process covered by several international standards, dictating that as many environmental aspects as possible should be identified in a project appraisal. While the ISO 14011 standard stipulates a broad-ranging study, off-site, indirect impacts are not specifically required for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The reasons for this may relate to the perceived difficulty of measuring off-site impacts, or the assumption that these are a relatively insignificant component of the total impact. In this work, we describe a method that uses input-output analysis to calculate the indirect effects of a development proposal in terms of several indicator variables. The results of our case study of a Second Sydney Airport show that the total impacts are considerably higher than the on-site impacts for the indicators land disturbance, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, emissions of NO x and SO 2 , and employment. We conclude that employing input-output analysis enhances conventional EIA, as it allows for national and international effects to be taken into account in the decision-making process

Environmental impact assessment - A management tool for conservation of large marine ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, V.R.

and conservation of natural resources. The problem has become crucial and the only alternative is the implementation of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) to evolve environmental management strategies for optimum use of a given coastal area without disturbing...

Environmental effects of fuel peat use in Finland. An LCA-based Decision Analysis Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leijting, J.

1998-02-01

Finland is a country where the main domestic energy sources are restricted to hydroelectric power, wood and peat from which hydropower is practically utilized fully. The use of peat as energy source has increased drastically since the oil crisis in the beginning of the seventies and the peat exploitation industry is nowadays a significant supplier of labour in Finland. Peat is, in contrast to fossil energy sources, exploited and used as an energy source within the country's borderline. Therefore, all direct extractions and emissions takes place in Finland.The influence of the processes, which occur during the life cycle of fuel peat, on the environment as a whole is yet somewhat unclear. The aim of the study is to map and assess the overall environmental impacts of production and use of fuel peat in Finland and to bring these impacts in relation with total environmental impacts in Finland caused by anthropogenic emissions. The results should be comparable with the impacts of other product life cycles (for instance other fuels). Furthermore, the detection of data gaps which are present is an important element of the study. Research questions are (1) What are the contributions of the different stressors which are emitted during the life cycle of fuel peat in Finland to global and regional environmental impacts? The environmental impacts involved are global impacts like the greenhouse effect as well as regional environmental impacts, e.g.acidification, eutrophication, toxic effects, ozone formation and effects on biodiversity; and (2) What are the contributions expressed per functional unit? Emissions released during the life cycle of fuel peat were inventorized. The emissions were characterized into the various impact categories and a valuation of the various impacts was performed, based on the Decision Analyses Impact Assessment (DAIA). In DAIA, country specific values were applied for estimating the potential of the stressors to cause adverse environmental effects

Assessing the Environmental Impact of Flax Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite from a Consequential Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yelin Deng

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study implements the consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA to provide a market based perspective on how overall environmental impact will change when shifting glass fibres to flax fibres as reinforcements in composite fabrication. With certain assumptions, the marginal flax fibre supply is identified to be a combination of Chinese flax fibre (70% and French flax fibre (30%. Due to inferior cultivars and coal-fired electricity in Chinese flax cultivation, the CLCA study reveals that flax mat-PP has 0.8–2 times higher environmental impact values than the glass mat-PP in most environmental impact categories over the production and end-of-life (EoL phases. For purpose of providing potential trajectories of marginal flax fibre supply, additional scenarios: the “all French fibre”, and “all Chinese fibre” are evaluated formulating the lower and upper boundaries in terms of environmental impact change, respectively. A “the attributional fibre supply mix” scenario is supplied as well. All of these scenarios are useful for policy analysis.

Methods for assessing environmental impacts of a FUSRAP property-cleanup/interim-storage remedial action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wyman, D.J.

1982-12-01

This document provides a description of a property-cleanup/interim-storage action, explanation of how environmental impacts might occur, comprehensive treatment of most potential impacts that might occur as a result of this type of action, discussion of existing methodologies for estimating and assessing impacts, justification of the choice of specific methodologies for use in FUSRAP environmental reviews, assessments of representative impacts (or expected ranges of impacts where possible), suggested mitigation measures, and some key sources of information. The major topical areas covered are physical and biological impacts, radiological impacts, and socioeconomic impacts. Some project-related issues were beyond the scope of this document, including dollar costs, specific accident scenarios, project funding and changes in Congressional mandates, and project management (contracts, labor relations, quality assurance, liability, emergency preparedness, etc.). These issues will be covered in other documents supporting the decision-making process. Although the scope of this document covers property-cleanup and interim-storage actions, it is applicable to other similar remedial actions. For example, the analyses discussed herein for cleanup activities are applicable to any FUSRAP action that includes site cleanup

Comparative Analysis of Environmental Impacts of Selected Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Fedoryszyn

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate that environmental impacts exerted by manufactured products throughout their entire life cycle are major aspects to be considered, alongside their functional features and cost-effectiveness. One of the available methods to evaluate environmental impacts is known to as the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA method.The study summarises the reports from the literature on the subject of environmental impact assessment. In conclusions, the authorsindicate the need for assessing the environmental impact of cast products made from conventional and newly introduced alloys.

Comparative Analysis of Environmental Impacts of Selected Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fedoryszyn A.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate that environmental impacts exerted by manufactured products throughout their entire life cycle are major aspects to be considered, alongside their functional features and cost-effectiveness. One of the available methods to evaluate environmental impacts is known to as the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA method. The study summarises the reports from the literature on the subject of environmental impact assessment. In conclusions, the authors indicate the need for assessing the environmental impact of cast products made from conventional and newly introduced alloys.

PROFILE: Environmental Impact Assessment Under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

Science.gov (United States)

Ensminger; McCold; Webb

1999-07-01

/ Antarctica has been set aside by the international community for protection as a natural reserve and a place for scientific research. Through the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, the signing nations agreed to cooperate in protecting the antarctic environment, in conducting scientific studies, and in abstaining from the exercise of territorial claims. The 1991 signing of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Protocol) by representatives of the 26 nations comprising the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (Parties) significantly strengthened environmental protection measures for the continent. The Protocol required ratification by each of the governments individually prior to official implementation. The US government ratified the Protocol by passage of the Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1997. Japan completed the process by ratifying the Protocol on December 15, 1997. US government actions undertaken in Antarctica are subject to the requirements of both the Protocol and the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). There are differences in the scope and intent of the Protocol and NEPA; however, both require environmental impact assessment (EIA) as part of the planning process for proposed actions that have the potential for environmental impacts. In this paper we describe the two instruments and highlight key similarities and differences with particular attention to EIA. Through this comparison of the EIA requirements of NEPA and the Protocol, we show how the requirements of each can be used in concert to provide enhanced environmental protection for the antarctic environment. NEPA applies only to actions of the US government; therefore, because NEPA includes certain desirable attributes that have been refined and clarified through numerous court cases, and because the Protocol is just entering implementation internationally, some recommendations are made for strengthening the procedural requirements of the Protocol

Environmental impact assessment system and process: A study on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An efficient system of decision making for sustainable socioeconomic development, with an effective environmental management of the sources of environmental impact and effects of such impacts, need to be put in place in order to implement the government policy of environmental protection and safety at the regional ...

The subject deserving wide attention for nuclear power plant siting and environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yong; Li Wenhui; Zhang Lingyan

2009-01-01

Based on siting work of nuclear power plant, the characteristics of nuclear power plant site selection and environmental impact assessment are analysed in accordance with laws and regulations of nuclear safety and environmental protection. Some subjects deserving attentions are put forward. (authors)

Billy Shaw Dam and Reservoir: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-03-01

This notice announces BPA's decision to fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Billy Shaw Dam and Reservoir on the Duck Valley Reservation. This project is part of a continuing effort to address system-wide fish and wildlife losses caused by the development of the hydropower system in the Columbia River Basin. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the Proposed Action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI

The assessment of eco-design with a comprehensive index incorporating environmental impact and economic profit

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shuo; Fu, Yun; Wang, Xiuteng; Xu, Bingsheng; Li, Zheng

2017-11-01

Eco-design is an advanced design approach which plays an important part in the national innovation project and serves as a key point for the successful transformation of the supply structure. However, the practical implementation of the pro-environmental designs and technologies always faces a dilemma situation, where some processes can effectively control their emissions to protect the environment at relatively high costs, while others pursue the individual interest in making profit by ignoring the possible adverse environmental impacts. Thus, the assessment on the eco-design process must be carried out based on the comprehensive consideration of the economic and environmental aspects. Presently, the assessment systems in China are unable to fully reflect the new environmental technologies regarding their innovative features or performance. Most of the assessment systems adopt scoring method based on the judgments of the experts, which are easy to use but somewhat subjective. The assessment method presented in this paper includes the environmental impact (EI) assessment based on LCA principal and willingness-to-pay theory, and economic profit (EP) assessment mainly based on market price. The results from the assessment are in the form of EI/EP, which evaluate the targeted process from a combined perspective of environmental and economic performance. A case study was carried out upon the utilization process of coal fly ash, which indicates the proposed method can compare different technical processes in an effective and objective manner, and provide explicit and insightful suggestions for decision making.

Environmental assessment in the uranium industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frost, S.E.

2002-01-01

The paper examines the subject matter to be dealt with in environmental impact assessments for uranium production facilities, the development of environmental impact statements and the processes used for assessing projects. Different types of regulatory process used to assess projects are described, using Canadian and Australian examples. Some of the techniques used in developing environmental assessments are described. Public participation, including that of special interest groups, is discussed. Some examples of assessments are examined, particularly looking at recent assessments for uranium mining projects in Canada. Trends in environmental assessment are described, using examples from a number of different projects over the past 25 years. Some recommendations for the future are offered. (author)

Environmental assessment in the uranium industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frost, S.E.

2000-01-01

The paper examines the subject matter to be dealt with in environmental impact assessments for uranium production facilities, the development of environmental impact statements and the processes used for assessing projects. Different types of regulatory process used to assess projects are described, using Canadian and Australian examples. Some of the techniques used in developing environmental assessments are described. Public participation, including that of special interest groups, is discussed. Some examples of assessments are examined, particularly looking at recent assessments for uranium mining projects in Canada. Trends in environmental assessment are described, using examples from a number of different projects over the past 25 years. Some recommendations for the future are offered. (author)

Operationalizing the ecosystems approach: assessing the environmental impact of major infrastructure development

OpenAIRE

Zawadzka, Joanna; Corstanje, Ronald; Fookes, J.; Nichols, J.; Harris, Jim A.

2017-01-01

The ecosystem services approach is increasingly applied in the context of environmental resources management and impact assessment. Assessments often involve analysis of alternative scenarios for which potential changes in ecosystem services are quantified. For such assessments to be effective there is a requirement to represent changes in ecosystem services supply in a clear and informative manner. Here we compute Ecosystem Services Ratio (ESR), a simple index that quantifies the relative ch...

Wind galleries: an instrument for environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zunino, C.

1998-01-01

In the last decades wind galleries for non-aeronautic utilisation have proved to be a useful investigation tool in various fields, such as studies on environmental impact and risk assessment, associated with permanent or incidental release of harmful substances. In this framework the feasibility of a new installation has been evaluated in Italy, having as main target the reproduction of thermal stratification phenomena. The great deal of 'hazardous' industries, often in areas having a complex orography, as well as the high pollution levels in Italian cities, lead to the conclusion that a thermally stratified wind gallery might be an economically viable investment [it

Setting boundaries of participation in environmental impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salomons, Geoffrey H., E-mail: gsalomon@ualberta.ca [University of Alberta, Department of Political Science, 10-16 Henry Marshall Tory Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H4 (Canada); Hoberg, George, E-mail: george.hoberg@ubc.ca [University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry, Forest Sciences Centre 2045, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 (Canada)

2014-02-15

Public participation processes are touted as an effective way to increase the capacity and legitimacy of environmental assessment and the regulatory process that rely on them. Recent changes to the Canadian environmental assessment process narrowed the criteria for who can participate in environmental assessments from any who were interested to those who were most directly affected. This article examines the potential consequences of this change by exploring other areas of Canadian regulatory law where a similar directed affected test has been applied. This new standard risks institutionalizing the long-understood representational bias confronted by more diffuse interest like environmental protection. Restricting participation to the “directly affected” is far too narrow a test for processes like environmental assessment that are designed to determine the public interest. -- Highlights: • Public participation can improve the legitimacy of environmental assessments. • New Canadian rules narrow the range of eligible participants. • Similar rules in Alberta have excluded environmental representation. • The new rules may institutionalize bias against more diffuse interests. • Restricting participation to the “directly affected” is far too narrow.

Setting boundaries of participation in environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salomons, Geoffrey H.; Hoberg, George

2014-01-01

Public participation processes are touted as an effective way to increase the capacity and legitimacy of environmental assessment and the regulatory process that rely on them. Recent changes to the Canadian environmental assessment process narrowed the criteria for who can participate in environmental assessments from any who were interested to those who were most directly affected. This article examines the potential consequences of this change by exploring other areas of Canadian regulatory law where a similar directed affected test has been applied. This new standard risks institutionalizing the long-understood representational bias confronted by more diffuse interest like environmental protection. Restricting participation to the “directly affected” is far too narrow a test for processes like environmental assessment that are designed to determine the public interest. -- Highlights: • Public participation can improve the legitimacy of environmental assessments. • New Canadian rules narrow the range of eligible participants. • Similar rules in Alberta have excluded environmental representation. • The new rules may institutionalize bias against more diffuse interests. • Restricting participation to the “directly affected” is far too narrow

Concepts, methods and models to assess environmental impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pentreath, R.J.

2002-01-01

The environmental impact of chemicals generally in the environment is a subject that has been approached in recent years in ways that are different in concept and practice. They range from chemical 'toxicity' and 'residual' risk assessments based on individuals, to broader based, ecological risk assessments. At the same time, approaches to considering what in the environment should be protected, and how, has also changed. Approaches to this subject vary from strict conservation of identified species and areas, to the more general concepts of wishing to maintain the biological diversity within and amongst all species and habitats, and of protecting large habitat areas against irreversible human damage. Against this background, approaches to the issue of the possible impact of radionuclides in the environment over the last decade or so have centred around the various statements made by the ICRP; either attempting to support them, or seeking to compensate for their perceived deficiencies. There have been arguments that, because man is an integral part of 'the environment', and is afforded such a high level of protection, then all other components of it would be axiomatically protected. There have also been calculations to demonstrate that, in hypothetical situations, if radionuclide concentrations in the environment were such that the 1 mSv a -1 dose limit to man was not exceeded, then the concentrations of radionuclides in the animals and plants in their food chain would therefore receive dose-rates less than those likely to cause them 'harm' at the population level. Some countries have been more direct. In the USA, dose 'standards' for the protection of populations of all aquatic animals have been introduced, and consideration is being given to the introduction of dose 'standards' for populations of all terrestrial plants and animals. The introduction of a set of 'no effects' dose-rate screening reference levels for different types of fauna, to be applied to

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Richard [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia); Industrial Ecology Program, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Integrated Sustainability Analysis, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Garnett, Stephen [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia)

2010-07-15

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

The use of models to assess environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustafson, P.F.

1978-01-01

Environmental impacts will include the effects on man as well as on other major segments of the natural or indigenous ecosystems. In their present state of development, the models used for environmental impact analysis give at least a semiquantitative estimate of the magnitude of such impacts. The methods used in the development of models are given, and their strengths and weaknesses are described. The relationship between predictive, before-the-fact models, and monitoring programs conducted during facility operation are also discussed

Environmental integrated impact assessment for waste treatment activity: methodology and case-study application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lonati, G.; Panzeri, A.

2008-01-01

A literature method for the environmental integrated impact assessment, according to the IPPC Directive, has been critically analysed and adjusted in order to be used for the environmental performance assessment of waste treatment activities. The assessment parameters, sorted in eight treatment and combined pollution categories, have been partly redefined and re balanced. The adjusted methodology has been applied to a real case-study, a chemical- physical waste treatment plant, in order to calculate the current performance (Actual Integrated Index) and the ideal performance (Actual Integrated Index) achievable by technical and operational improvements. The adjusted methodology has also been used as a decision support system, in order to estimate the value of the expected environmental performances improvement after the execution achievable from the introduction of a single one or a set of improvement actions. The valuation of the Integrated Index percentage reduction, along with the action achievable, made the best actions able to be identified, both in comparative way and in the cost-effective one. The results, 50 as Effective Integrated Index and 42 as Ideal Integrated Index, in a 10-100 scale, show a medium impact level and point out an appreciable improvement margin on all the environmental performances, especially in air emission control and water consumption [it

Environmental impact assessment in regional administration - the province of Oulu as an example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toerttoe, H.; Kaakinen, E.; Alasaarela, E.

1992-01-01

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure is concerned with the alternatives available in activities which profoundly affect the condition of our natural environment, built-up environment and society through given intermediate stages, the detrimental effects of these activities and the possibilities for reducing such effects. The procedure provides a comprehensive explanation of the above aspects and yields the necessary material for making the relevant decisions through well-organised negotiations between the parties involved. The majority of this material is gathered together in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The data can then be used for deciding on the implementation of individual projects. The research project 'Environmental Impact Assessment in Regional Administration - the Province of Oulu as an Example' is a part of the preparations being made by the Ministry of the Environment for introducing such an evaluation procedure for use in Finland. The primary aim of the project is to develop planning and cooperation procedures for use in regional administration that will allow evaluation of the environmental effects of various projects and activates and ensure that these effects can be evaluated and taken into consideration in a comprehensive manner at an early planning stage on the basis of existing procedures and legislation. The research, which takes the province of Oulu as an example, has involved close cooperation with the EIA '92 working group set up by the Ministry of the Environment, since the report of this working group provides a general framework for the evaluation of environmental effects

Four conceptual issues to consider in integrating social and environmental factors in risk and impact assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Domínguez-Gómez, J. Andrés, E-mail: andres@uhu.es

2016-01-15

In the last twenty years, both the increase in academic production and the expansion of professional involvement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) have evidenced growing scientific and business interest in risk and impact analysis. However, this growth has not brought with it parallel progress in addressing the main shortcomings of EIA/SIA, i.e. insufficient integration of environmental and social factors into development project analyses and, in cases where the social aspects are considered, technical-methodological failings in their analysis and assessment. It is clear that these weaknesses carry with them substantial threats to the sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of projects which impact on the environment, and consequently to the local contexts where they are carried out and to the delicate balance of the global ecosystem. This paper argues that, in a sociological context of complexity and dynamism, four conceptual elements should underpin approaches to socio-environmental risk and impact assessment in development projects: a theoretical base in actor–network theory; an ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized (though not always fulfilled in practice); a (new) epistemological-scientific base; and a methodological foundation in social participation. - Highlights: • A theoretical foundation in actor–network theory • An ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized, but rarely carried through into practice • A (new) epistemological-scientific base • A methodological foundation in social participation.

Four conceptual issues to consider in integrating social and environmental factors in risk and impact assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domínguez-Gómez, J. Andrés

2016-01-01

In the last twenty years, both the increase in academic production and the expansion of professional involvement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) have evidenced growing scientific and business interest in risk and impact analysis. However, this growth has not brought with it parallel progress in addressing the main shortcomings of EIA/SIA, i.e. insufficient integration of environmental and social factors into development project analyses and, in cases where the social aspects are considered, technical-methodological failings in their analysis and assessment. It is clear that these weaknesses carry with them substantial threats to the sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of projects which impact on the environment, and consequently to the local contexts where they are carried out and to the delicate balance of the global ecosystem. This paper argues that, in a sociological context of complexity and dynamism, four conceptual elements should underpin approaches to socio-environmental risk and impact assessment in development projects: a theoretical base in actor–network theory; an ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized (though not always fulfilled in practice); a (new) epistemological-scientific base; and a methodological foundation in social participation. - Highlights: • A theoretical foundation in actor–network theory • An ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized, but rarely carried through into practice • A (new) epistemological-scientific base • A methodological foundation in social participation

Environmental impact assessment of structural flood mitigation measures by a rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) technique: a case study in Metro Manila, Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbuena, Romeo; Kawamura, Akira; Medina, Reynaldo; Amaguchi, Hideo; Nakagawa, Naoko; Bui, Duong Du

2013-07-01

In recent decades, the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the planning processes of infrastructure projects has created significant awareness on the benefits of environmentally sound and sustainable urban development around the world. In the highly urbanized megacities in the Philippines, like Metro Manila, high priority is given by the national government to structural flood mitigation measures (SFMM) due to the persistently high frequency of flood-related disasters, which are exacerbated by the on-going effects of climate change. EIA thus, should be carefully and effectively executed to maximize the potential benefits of the SFMM. The common practice of EIA in the Philippines is generally qualitative and lacks clear methodology in evaluating multi-criteria systems. Thus, this study proposes the use of the rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) technique to provide a method that would systematically and quantitatively evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of planned SFMM in Metro Manila. The RIAM technique was slightly modified to fit the requirements of this study. The scale of impact was determined for each perceived impact, and based on the results, the planned SFMM for Metro Manila will likely bring significant benefits; however, significant negative impacts may also likely occur. The proposed modifications were found to be highly compatible with RIAM, and the results of the RIAM analysis provided a clear view of the impacts associated with the implementation of SFMM projects. This may prove to be valuable in the practice of EIA in the Philippines. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Billy Shaw Dam and Reservoir : Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impacts.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada.

1997-03-01

This notice announces BPA`s decision to fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Billy Shaw Dam and Reservoir on the Duck Valley Reservation. This project is part of a continuing effort to address system-wide fish and wildlife losses caused by the development of the hydropower system in the Columbia River Basin. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the Proposed Action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE CHINESE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) SYSTEM

OpenAIRE

SHANSHAN YANG

2008-01-01

This article was initiated by findings that public participation in the Chinese Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system has not been effectively carried out. The article first introduces the research rationale and theoretical basis. It then reviews and analyses public participation in the Chinese EIA system, including its history, legal and institutional requirements and problems. Thirdly it puts forward suggestions for promoting public participation in the Chinese EIA system taking into...

Life cycle assessment of energy products: environmental impact assessment of biofuels; Ecobilan d'agents energetiques. Evaluation ecologique de biocarburants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zah, R.; Boeni, H.; Gauch, M.; Hischier, R.; Lehmann, M.; Waeger, P.

2007-05-15

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) deals with the results of a study that evaluated the environmental impact of the entire production chain of fuels made from biomass and used in Switzerland. Firstly, the study supplies an analysis of the possible environmental impacts of biofuels that can be used as a basis for political decisions. Secondly, an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of various biofuels is presented. In addition, the impacts of fuel use are compared with other uses for bioenergy such as the generation of electricity and heat. The methods used in the LCA are discussed, including the Swiss method of ecological scarcity (Environmental Impact Points, UBP 06), and the European Eco-indicator 99 method. The results of the study are discussed, including the finding that not all biofuels can reduce environmental impacts as compared to fossil fuels. The role to be played by biofuels produced in an environmentally-friendly way together with other forms of renewable energy in our future energy supply is discussed.

Environmental Modeling and Bayesian Analysis for Assessing Human Health Impacts from Radioactive Waste Disposal

Science.gov (United States)

Stockton, T.; Black, P.; Tauxe, J.; Catlett, K.

2004-12-01

Bayesian decision analysis provides a unified framework for coherent decision-making. Two key components of Bayesian decision analysis are probability distributions and utility functions. Calculating posterior distributions and performing decision analysis can be computationally challenging, especially for complex environmental models. In addition, probability distributions and utility functions for environmental models must be specified through expert elicitation, stakeholder consensus, or data collection, all of which have their own set of technical and political challenges. Nevertheless, a grand appeal of the Bayesian approach for environmental decision- making is the explicit treatment of uncertainty, including expert judgment. The impact of expert judgment on the environmental decision process, though integral, goes largely unassessed. Regulations and orders of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department Of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Agency orders require assessing the impact on human health of radioactive waste contamination over periods of up to ten thousand years. Towards this end complex environmental simulation models are used to assess "risk" to human and ecological health from migration of radioactive waste. As the computational burden of environmental modeling is continually reduced probabilistic process modeling using Monte Carlo simulation is becoming routinely used to propagate uncertainty from model inputs through model predictions. The utility of a Bayesian approach to environmental decision-making is discussed within the context of a buried radioactive waste example. This example highlights the desirability and difficulties of merging the cost of monitoring, the cost of the decision analysis, the cost and viability of clean up, and the probability of human health impacts within a rigorous decision framework.

A multiscale method for assessing vegetation baseline of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in protected areas of Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Anibal Pauchard; Eduardo Ugarte; Jaime Millan

2000-01-01

The exponential growth of recreation and tourism or ecotourism activities is affecting ecological processes in protected areas of Chile. In order to protect protected areas integrity, all projects inside their boundaries must pass through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The purpose of this research was to design a multiscale method to assess vegetation for...

Environmental Impact Assessment Process for Oil, Gas and Mining Projects in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allan Ingelson and Chilenye Nwapi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Oil and gas development projects are well known to have damaging environmental effects, and that is especially true in the Niger Delta region. Since the enactment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act in Nigeria in 1992, there has been a general perception that EIAs are seldom carried out in the region. This article presents a critical analysis of legislation and practice concerning the environmental impact assessment (EIA process for oil and gas projects in Nigeria, the world’s twelfth largest producer of crude oil. It discusses a range of reasons why the impacts of oil and gas projects are not being managed well, despite the legal requirements for EIAs. A review of Nigeria’s environmental governance is presented along with a comprehensive discussion of the EIA process and its significant deficiencies. We argue that the EIA system for oil and gas projects in Nigeria reflects tokenism, resulting in the concentration of benefits of developments in big corporations and government officials. The EIA process in Nigeria faces many challenges that must be addressed in order to improve its effectiveness and alleviate the environmental burdens on this rich oil-producing region.

Environmental impact assessment: use of literature data versus use of specific local and regional data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Wasserman, Maria Angelica

2000-01-01

The environmental radiological impact assessment methodology includes a large number of parameters to simulate the environmental transfer and population exposure. Local and regional data are often not available, particularly for tropical regions, which leads to the use of literature data, mostly determined at temperate climate countries. Since 1993, IRD has been developing radioecological studies aiming the determination soil-plant transfer factors, which showed the possibility of finding values up to one order of magnitude higher than those found at temperate climate countries literature. This paper compares dose results for several scenarios, using regional and literature data, assessing the relevance of using site specific data for radiological impact assessments, for both practices and intervention situations. (author)

76 FR 8708 - Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for a Biological...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-15

...] Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for a Biological Control Agent... have been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to a proposed biological... review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with the proposed biological control program...

Environmental impact assessment of dutch tomato crop production in a Venlo glasshouse

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Antón, A.; Torrellas, M.; Montero, J.I.; Ruijs, M.N.A.; Vermeulen, P.C.M.; Stanghellini, C.

2012-01-01

This environmental impact assessment of the current situation of Dutch tomato production in a Venlo greenhouse in a temperate climate was developed as part of the EUPHOROS project. The project aims to develop a more sustainable greenhouse system with a reduction of external inputs yet with high

Strategic environmental impact assessment of hydrocarbon activities in the Disko West area[Greenland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosbech, A; Boertmann, D; Jespersen, Martin

2007-05-15

This publication is a strategic environmental impact assessment of activities related to exploration, development and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the sea of West Greenland between 67 deg. and 71 deg. N (= the Disko West Area). (au)

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting Performance of Environmental Impact Assessment Practices (EIA in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahbaz Hussain

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental Impact Assessment is used to detect changes that a proposed project may have on environment. The intent of present study is to investigate impact of institutional capacity and legal framework on performance of Environmental Impact Assessment practices in Pakistan such as screening, scoping and mitigation, environmental management plan and reporting. Sample of 200 EIA professionals have been selected by using random sampling approach from all provinces of Pakistan. Data has been collected through structured questionnaire and analysed by using AMOS 19 (Analysis of Moment Structures software. Results of path analysis indicated that institutional capacity and legal framework have significant direct impact on performance of all EIA practices in Pakistan. Model fit statistics such as GFI, RMR, NFI, IFI, TLI, RFI, CFI indicate the fitness of research model in this context. It has been suggested that there must be relevant and sufficient human resources that can uplift institutional capacity and legal framework must be well implemented because it will lead to enhanced performance of EIA practices in Pakistan.

Identifying the Relevant Local Population for Environmental Impact Assessments of Mobile Marine Fauna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine B. H. Chabanne

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Environmental impact assessments must be addressed at a scale that reflects the biological organization for the species affected. It can be challenging to identify the relevant local wildlife population for impact assessment for those species that are continuously distributed and highly mobile. Here, we document the existence of local communities of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus inhabiting coastal and estuarine waters of Perth, Western Australia, where major coastal developments have been undertaken or are proposed. Using sighting histories from a 4-year photo-identification study, we investigated fine-scale, social community structure of dolphins based on measures of social affinity, and network (Half-Weight Index—HWI, preferred dyadic association tests, and Lagged Association Rates—LAR, home ranges, residency patterns (Lagged Identification Rates—LIR, and genetic relatedness. Analyses revealed four socially and spatially distinct, mixed-sex communities. The four communities had distinctive social patterns varying in strength, site fidelity, and residency patterns. Overlap in home ranges and relatedness explained little to none of the association patterns between individuals, suggesting complex local social structures. The study demonstrated that environmental impact assessments for mobile, continuously distributed species must evaluate impacts in light of local population structure, especially where proposed developments may affect core habitats of resident communities or sub-populations. Here, the risk of local extinction is particularly significant for an estuarine community because of its small size, limited connectivity with adjacent communities, and use of areas subject to intensive human use. In the absence of information about fine-scale population structure, impact assessments may fail to consider the appropriate biological context.

Environmental impact assessment as a complement of life cycle assessment. Case study: Upgrading of biogas.

Science.gov (United States)

Morero, Betzabet; Rodriguez, María B; Campanella, Enrique A

2015-08-01

This work presents a comparison between an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a life cycle assessment (LCA) using a case study: upgrading of biogas. The upgrading of biogas is studied using three solvents: water, physical solvent and amine. The EIA follows the requirements of the legislation of Santa Fe Province (Argentina), and the LCA follows ISO 14040. The LCA results showed that water produces a minor impact in most of the considered categories whereas the high impact in the process with amines is the result of its high energy consumptions. The positive results obtained in the EIA (mainly associated with the cultural and socioeconomic components) make the project feasible and all the negative impacts can be mitigated by preventive and remedial measures. From the strengths and weaknesses of each tool, it is inferred that the EIA is a procedure that can complement the LCA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A holistic model for the selection of environmental assessment indicators to assess the impact of industrialization on indigenous health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kryzanowski, Julie A; McIntyre, Lynn

2011-01-01

Mainstream environmental assessment (EA) methodologies often inadequately address health, social and cultural impacts of concern for Canadian indigenous communities affected by industrialization. Our objective is to present a holistic, culturally-appropriate framework for the selection of indigenous health indicators for baseline health assessment, impact prediction, or monitoring of impacts over time. We used a critical population health approach to explore the determinants of health and health inequities in indigenous communities and conceptualize the pathways by which industrialization affects these determinants. We integrated and extended key elements from three indigenous health frameworks into a new holistic model for the selection of indigenous EA indicators. The holistic model conceptualizes individual and community determinants of health within external social, economic and political contexts and thus provides a comprehensive framework for selecting indicators of indigenous health. Indigenous health is the product of interactions among multiple determinants of health and contexts. Potential applications are discussed using case study examples involving indigenous communities affected by industrialization. Industrialization can worsen indigenous health inequities by perpetuating the health, social and cultural impacts of historic environmental dispossession. To mitigate impacts, EA should explicitly recognize linkages between environmental dispossession and the determinants of health and health inequities and meaningfully involve indigenous communities in the process.

A framework for a European network for a systematic environmental impact assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMO).

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graef, F.; Römbke, J.; Binimelis, R.; Myhr, A.I.; Hilbeck, A.; Breckling, B.; Dalgaard, T.; Stachow, U.; Catacora-Vargas, G.; Bohn, T.; Quist, D.; Darvas, B.; Dudel, G.; Oehen, B.; Meyer, H.; Henle, K.; Wynne, B.; Metzger, M.J.; Knäbe, S.; Settele, J.; Székács, A.; Wurbs, A.; Bernard, J.P.; Murphy-Bokern, D.; Buiatti, M.; Giovannetti, M.; Debeljak, M.; Andersen, E.; Paetz, A.; Dzeroski, S.; Tappeser, B.; van Gestel, C.A.M.; Wosniok, W.; Séralini, G.-E.; Aslaksen, I.; Pesch, R.; Maly, S.; Werner, A.

2012-01-01

The assessment of the impacts of growing genetically modified (GM) crops remains a major political and scientific challenge in Europe. Concerns have been raised by the evidence of adverse and unexpected environmental effects and differing opinions on the outcomes of environmental risk assessments

Quality control and the substantive influence of environmental impact assessment in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poeloenen, Ismo

2006-01-01

This paper focuses on the challenges concerning the quality assurance of environmental impact statements (EIS) in Finland and the European Union. Moreover, the linkage between environmental impact assessment and decision-making is examined from a legal point of view. In addition, the paper includes some comparative remarks concerning the content requirements of examination of alternatives. The study reveals that a significant problem of the Finnish EIA system is the lack of efficient access to a judicial procedure to challenge the quality and completeness of an EIS. Another pitfall is the fact that in certain permit procedures, environmental consideration is so limited that only a minor part of the EIA can be taken into account. In its current state, EIA legislation in the EU and in Finland does not guarantee that the assessment results filter into decision-making. From the national point of view, the shortcomings can be addressed by amending current legislation concerning licensing procedures so that authorities have the competence and the duty to take environmental matters widely into account in the permit consideration. At the European level, a legislative alternative could be to strengthen the substantive element of the EIA Directive (85/337/EEC). This would increase the weight of EIA related arguments in the national appellate procedures and contribute, in some cases significantly, to the substantive influence of EIA in decision-making

The assessment of aesthetic and perceptual aspects within environmental impact assessment of renewable energy projects in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolli, Michela; Recanatesi, Fabio; Piccinno, Matteo; Leone, Antonio

2016-01-01

The main aim of this paper is to explore how perceptual and aesthetic impact analyses are considered in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), with specific reference to Italian renewable energy projects. To investigate this topic, the paper starts by establishing which factors are linked with perceptual and aesthetic impacts and why it is important to analyze these aspects, which are also related to legislative provisions and procedures in Europe and in Italy. In particular the paper refers to renewable energy projects because environmental policies are encouraging more and more investment in this kind of primary resource. The growing interest in this type of energy is leading to the realization of projects which change the governance of territories, with inevitable effects on the landscape from the aesthetic and perceptual points of view. Legislative references to EIA, including the latest directive regarding this topic show the importance of integrating the assessment of environmental and perceptual impacts, thus there is a need to improve EIA methodological approaches to this purpose. This paper proposes a profile of aesthetic and perceptual impact analysis in EIA for renewable energy projects in Italy, and concludes with recommendations as to how this kind of analysis could be improved. - Highlights: • We analyze 29 EIA Reports of Italian renewable energy projects. • We examine esthetic and perceptual aspects present in Italian EIA reports. • We identified inconsistency in use of methods for esthetic and perceptual aspects. • Local populations are rarely included as stakeholders in EIAs. • A shared understanding of perceptual and esthetic issues in EIA proceedings is required.

The assessment of aesthetic and perceptual aspects within environmental impact assessment of renewable energy projects in Italy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tolli, Michela, E-mail: michela.tolli@uniroma1.it [Department of Architecture and Design (DiAP), Sapienza University of Rome, Via Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome (Italy); Recanatesi, Fabio, E-mail: fabio.rec@unitus.it [Department of Agriculture, Forests, Nature and Energy (D.A.F.N.E.), Tuscia University, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo (Italy); Piccinno, Matteo; Leone, Antonio [Department of Agriculture, Forests, Nature and Energy (D.A.F.N.E.), Tuscia University, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo (Italy)

2016-02-15

The main aim of this paper is to explore how perceptual and aesthetic impact analyses are considered in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), with specific reference to Italian renewable energy projects. To investigate this topic, the paper starts by establishing which factors are linked with perceptual and aesthetic impacts and why it is important to analyze these aspects, which are also related to legislative provisions and procedures in Europe and in Italy. In particular the paper refers to renewable energy projects because environmental policies are encouraging more and more investment in this kind of primary resource. The growing interest in this type of energy is leading to the realization of projects which change the governance of territories, with inevitable effects on the landscape from the aesthetic and perceptual points of view. Legislative references to EIA, including the latest directive regarding this topic show the importance of integrating the assessment of environmental and perceptual impacts, thus there is a need to improve EIA methodological approaches to this purpose. This paper proposes a profile of aesthetic and perceptual impact analysis in EIA for renewable energy projects in Italy, and concludes with recommendations as to how this kind of analysis could be improved. - Highlights: • We analyze 29 EIA Reports of Italian renewable energy projects. • We examine esthetic and perceptual aspects present in Italian EIA reports. • We identified inconsistency in use of methods for esthetic and perceptual aspects. • Local populations are rarely included as stakeholders in EIAs. • A shared understanding of perceptual and esthetic issues in EIA proceedings is required.

Methods and techniques for prediction of environmental impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-04-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the procedure that helps decision makers understand the environmental implications of their decisions. The prediction of environmental effects or impact is an extremely important part of the EIA procedure and improvements in existing capabilities are needed. Considerable attention is paid within environmental impact assessment and in handbooks on EIA to methods for identifying and evaluating environmental impacts. However, little attention is given to the issue distribution of information on impact prediction methods. The quantitative or qualitative methods for the prediction of environmental impacts appear to be the two basic approaches for incorporating environmental concerns into the decision-making process. Depending on the nature of the proposed activity and the environment likely to be affected, a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods is used. Within environmental impact assessment, the accuracy of methods for the prediction of environmental impacts is of major importance while it provides for sound and well-balanced decision making. Pertinent and effective action to deal with the problems of environmental protection and the rational use of natural resources and sustainable development is only possible given objective methods and techniques for the prediction of environmental impact. Therefore, the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental and Water Problems, decided to set up a task force, with the USSR as lead country, on methods and techniques for the prediction of environmental impacts in order to undertake a study to review and analyse existing methodological approaches and to elaborate recommendations to ECE Governments. The work of the task force was completed in 1990 and the resulting report, with all relevant background material, was approved by the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental and Water Problems in 1991. The present report reflects the situation, state of

Towards answering the "so what" question in marine renewables environmental impact assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Degraer, Steven; Birchenough, Silvana N. R.; Braeckman, Ulrike; Coolen, Joop W. P.; Dannheim, Jennifer; De Mesel, Ilse; Grégoire, Marilaure; Kerckhof, Francis; Lacroix, Geneviève; Lindeboom, Han; Moens, Tom; Soetaert, Karline; Vanaverbeke, Jan; Van Hoey, Gert

2016-04-01

Marine renewable energy (MRE) projects are increasingly occupying the European North-Atlantic coasts and this is clearly observed in the North Sea. Given the expected impacts on the marine environment, each individual project is accompanied by a legally mandatory, environmental monitoring programme. These programmes are focused on the resultant effects on ecosystem component structure (e.g. species composition, numbers and densities) of single industrial projects. To date, there is a tendency to further narrow down to only a selection of ecosystem components (e.g. marine mammals and birds). While a wide knowledge-based understanding of structural impacts on (a selection of) ecosystem components exists, this evidence is largely lacking when undertaking impact assessments at the ecosystem functioning level (e.g. trophic interactions, dispersal and nutrient cycling). This critical knowledge gap compromises a scientifically-underpinned answer to the "so what" question of environmental impacts, i.e. whether the observed impacts are considered to be good or bad, or acceptable or unacceptable. The importance of ecosystem functioning is further acknowledged in the descriptors 4 and 6 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU MSFD) and is at the heart of a sustainable use and management of our marine resources. There hence is a fundamental need to focus on ecosystem functioning at the spatial scales at which marine ecosystems function when assessing MRE impacts. Here, we make a plea for an increased investment in a large (spatial) scale impact assessment of MRE projects focused on ecosystem functioning. This presentation will cover a selection of examples from North Sea MRE monitoring programmes, where the current knowledge has limited conclusions on the "so what" question. We will demonstrate how an ecosystem functioning-focused approach at an appropriate spatial scale could advance our current understanding, whilst assessing these issues. These examples will cover

Environmental impact assessment of bus rapid transit (BRT in the Metropolitan City of Tehran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Salehi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Bus rapid transit is an innovative, high capacity, lower cost public transit solution in metropolitan cities. Idea is to dedicate lanes for quick and efficient transport of passengers to their destinations. In the present investigation the environmental impact assessment of bus rapid transit  in Tehran metropolitan city is brought out. For this purpose bus rapid transit Lane No. 10 is investigated. The bus rapid transit Lane No.10 is about 10 km in distance that moves up and down between Azadi and Simon Bolivar Squares. About 77500 passengers using 50 buses are transited per day in lane No. 10. These 50 buses cover a distance of 9600 km/day. The results of present study showed that about 6.5 million liters of fuel is saved annually. It should be pointed out that environmental costs are also reduced for about US$ 1.7 million/yr. The overall score of environmental impact assessment stands at +10 that is indicative of Lane No. 10 compatibility with the environmental considerations.

Technical Review Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessments in the Tourism, Energy and Mining Sectors

Science.gov (United States)

EPA coordinated a regional collaborative process with Central America and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) partners to develop Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Technical Review Guidelines for three sectors.

A preliminary strategic environmental impact assessment of mineral and hydrocarbon activities on the Nuussuaq peninsula, West Greenland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boertmann, D.; Asmund, G.; Glahder, C.; Tamstorf, M.

2008-01-15

There is an increasing interest for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration in Greenland and in both regards the Nuussuaq peninsula is in focus. This preliminary strategic environmental impact assessment describes the status of the biological knowledge from the area and designates potential conflicts between activities and the biological environment. Furthermore biological knowledge gaps are identified. These should be filled before specific environmental impacts assessments can be carried out and relevant studies to fill these data gaps are proposed. (au)

77 FR 25781 - Environmental Impact Statement; Washington, DC

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-01

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Environmental Impact Statement... Columbia, Department of Transportation. ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact... agencies and the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared to assess the...

Evaluating impact level of different factors in environmental impact assessment for incinerator plants using GM (1, N) model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, T Y; Chiou, R J; Wen, H H

2008-01-01

In this study, the impact levels in environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports of 10 incinerator plants were quantified and discussed. The relationship between the quantified impact levels and the plant scale factors of BeiTou, LiZe, BaLi, LuTsao, RenWu, PingTung, SiJhou and HsinChu were constructed, and the impact levels of the GangShan (GS) and YongKong (YK) plants were predicted using grey model GM (1, N). Finally, the effects of plant scale factors on impact levels were evaluated using grey model GM (1, N) too. According to the predicted results of GM, the relative errors of topography/geology/soil, air quality, hydrology/water quality, solid waste, noise, terrestrial fauna/flora, aquatic fauna/flora and traffic in the GS plant were 17%, 14%, 15%, 17%, 75%, 16%, 13%, and 37%, respectively. The relative errors of the same environmental items in the YK plant were 1%, 18%, 10%, 40%, 37%, 3%, 25% and 33%, respectively. According to GM (1, N), design capacity (DC) and heat value (HV) were the plant scale factors that affected the impact levels significantly in each environmental item, and thus were the most significant plant scale factors. GM (1, N) was effective in predicting the environmental impact and analyzing the reasonableness of the impact. If there is an EIA for a new incinerator plant to be reviewed in the future, the official committee of the Taiwan EPA could review the reasonableness of impact levels in EIA reports quickly.

Transportation risk assessment for the US Department of Energy Environmental Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.Y.; Monette, F.A.; Biwer, B.M.; Lazaro, M.A.; Hartmann, H.M.; Policastro, A.J.

1994-01-01

In its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a broad range of alternatives for the future management of radioactive and hazardous waste at the facilities of the DOE complex. The alternatives involve facilities to be used for treatment, storage, and disposal of various wastes generated from DOE's environmental restoration activities and waste management operation. Included in the evaluation are six types of waste (five types of radioactive waste plus hazardous waste), 49 sites, and numerous cases associated with each different alternative for waste management. In general, the alternatives are evaluated independently for each type of waste and reflect decentralized, regionalized, and centralized approaches. Transportation of waste materials is an integral component of the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The estimated impact on human health that is associated with various waste transportation activities is an important element leading to a complete appraisal of the alternatives. The transportation risk assessment performed for the EM PEIS is designed to ensure -- through uniform and judicious selection of models, data, and assumptions -- that relative comparisons of risk among the various alternatives are meaningful and consistent

Environmental impact assessment of transportation projects: An analysis using an integrated GIS, remote sensing, and spatial modeling approach

Science.gov (United States)

El-Gafy, Mohamed Anwar

Transportation projects will have impact on the environment. The general environmental pollution and damage caused by roads is closely associated with the level of economic activity. Although Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are dependent on geo-spatial information in order to make an assessment, there are no rules per se how to conduct an environmental assessment. Also, the particular objective of each assessment is dictated case-by-case, based on what information and analyses are required. The conventional way of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is a time consuming process because it has large number of dependent and independent variables which have to be taken into account, which also have different consequences. With the emergence of satellite remote sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this research presents a new framework for the analysis phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for transportation projects based on the integration between remote sensing technology, geographic information systems, and spatial modeling. By integrating the merits of the map overlay method and the matrix method, the framework analyzes comprehensively the environmental vulnerability around the road and its impact on the environment. This framework is expected to: (1) improve the quality of the decision making process, (2) be applied both to urban and inter-urban projects, regardless of transport mode, and (3) present the data and make the appropriate analysis to support the decision of the decision-makers and allow them to present these data to the public hearings in a simple manner. Case studies, transportation projects in the State of Florida, were analyzed to illustrate the use of the decision support framework and demonstrate its capabilities. This cohesive and integrated system will facilitate rational decisions through cost effective coordination of environmental information and data management that can be tailored to

Framework for conducting environmental assessments of trade negotiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-02-01

This document described the complex task of assessing the environmental impacts of trade negotiations with particular emphasis on the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment which the Government of Canada will conduct through a systematic process which can identify and evaluate possible and significant environmental impacts of an initiative. The objective of the assessment is to integrate environmental considerations into decision-making processes at the earliest possible stage. The first part of the framework identifies the importance of recognizing environmental considerations of trade and explains how the framework will contribute to environmental policy. The second part of the framework outlines the process and analytical requirements for conducting an environmental assessment of a trade negotiation. Environmental Assessment Committees will be formed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and will include representatives from federal government departments and agencies. All analyses will be conducted in four stages which will include identifying the economic effect of the negotiation, identifying the likely environmental impact of such changes, assessing the significance of the likely environmental impacts, and identifying enhancement/mitigation options to inform the negotiations. The framework is designed to be flexible enough to be used at current and future trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization, the Free Trade Area of the Americas and in bilateral Free Trade Agreements. An environmental assessment of trade negotiations is considered to be an important decision-making tool for promoting sustainable development. 16 refs., 1 tab

Effective use of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for geothermal development projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goff, S.J.

2000-01-01

Both the developed and developing nations of the world would like to move toward a position of sustainable development while paying attention to the restoration of natural resources, improving the environment, and improving the quality of life. The impacts of geothermal development projects are generally positive. It is important, however, that the environmental issues associated with development be addressed in a systematic fashion. Drafted early in the project planning stage, a well-prepared Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can significantly add to the quality of the overall project. An EIA customarily ends with the decision to proceed with the project. The environmental analysis process could be more effective if regular monitoring, detailed in the EIA, continues during project implementation. Geothermal development EIAs should be analytic rather than encyclopedic, emphasizing the impacts most closely associated with energy sector development. Air quality, water resources and quality, geologic factors, and socioeconomic issues will invariably be the most important factors. The purpose of an EIA should not be to generate paperwork, but to enable superb response. The EIA should be intended to help public officials make decisions that are based on an understanding of environmental consequences and take proper actions. The EIA process has been defined in different ways throughout the world. In fact, it appears that no two countries have defined it in exactly the same way. Going hand in hand with the different approaches to the process is the wide variety of formats available. It is recommended that the world geothermal community work towards the adoption of a standard. The Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)(OLADE, 1993) prepared a guide that presents a comprehensive discussion of the environmental impacts and suggested mitigation alternatives associated with geothermal development projects. The OLADE guide

Environmental impact assessment on the radioactive of a REE separation project