Are stricter investment rules contagious? Host country competition for foreign direct investment through international agreements

OpenAIRE

Neumayer, Eric; Nunnenkamp, Peter; Roy, Martin

2014-01-01

We argue that the trend toward international investment agreements (IIAs) with stricter investment rules is driven by competitive diffusion, namely defensive moves of developing countries concerned about foreign direct investment (FDI) diversion in favor of competing host countries. Accounting for spatial dependence in the formation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and preferential trade agreements (PTAs) that contain investment provisions, we find that the increase in agreements with ...

Environmental Regulation and International Trade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mulatu, A. [London School of Economics, London (United Kingdom); Florax, R.J.G.M.; Withagen, C.A. [Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2004-07-01

We empirically investigate the responsiveness of international trade to the stringency of environmental regulation. Stringent environmental regulation may impair the export competitiveness of 'dirty' domestic industries, and as a result, 'pollution havens' emerge in countries where environmental regulation is 'over-lax.' We examine the impact of pollution abatement and control costs on net exports in order to grasp this phenomenon. Theoretically, our analysis is related to a general equilibrium model of trade and pollution nesting the pollution haven motive for trade with the factor endowment motive. We analyze data on two-digit ISIC manufacturing industries during the period 1977-1992 in Germany, the Netherlands and the US, and show that trade patterns in 'dirty' commodities are jointly determined by relative factor endowments and environmental stringency differentials.

Government regulation as an impetus for innovation: Evidence from energy performance regulation in the Dutch residential building sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beerepoot, Milou; Beerepoot, Niels

2007-01-01

The recent implementation of energy performance policy as a way to tackle energy consumption in the building sector in Europe draws attention to the effect it has on the development and diffusion of energy-saving innovations. According to innovation system literature, government regulation through norms and standards is one of the factors stimulating innovation. This paper concentrates on the role of stricter government regulation as an incentive to innovation in the Dutch residential building sector. Innovation in this sector is predominantly a process of applying incremental modifications to comply with new and stricter government regulations and standards. Energy performance policy in its current shape will therefore not contribute to the diffusion of really new innovation in energy techniques for residential buildings in the Netherlands. If diffusion of really new innovation is an explicit aim of energy performance policy then the European wide introduction of this scheme needs reconsideration

Bank regulation and financial fragility in developing countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klomp, Jeroen; Haan, de Jakob

2015-01-01

Using data for 1238 banks located in 94 developing and emerging countries, we explore whether the impact of bank regulation and supervision on banking risk (measured by the banks' Z-scores) depends on bank structure. Our findings suggest that stricter regulation and supervision increases the

Industrial Innovation and Environmental Regulation: Developing ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

What role should governments play in protecting the environment and controlling the environmental impacts of industry? Do regulations benefit the environment, and how do they affect industrial innovation? Since the modern era of environmental management began in the early 1970s, regulations have been used with ...

Advanced coal combustion technologies and their environmental impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozicevic, Maja; Feretic, Danilo; Tomsic, Zeljko

1997-01-01

Estimations of world energy reserves show that coal will remain the leading primary energy source for electricity production in the foreseeable future. In order to comply with ever stricter environmental regulations and to achieve efficient use of limited energy resources, advanced combustion technologies are being developed. The most promising are the pressurised fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) and the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). By injecting sorbent in the furnace, PFBC removes more than 90 percent of SO 2 in flue gases without additional emission control device. In addition, due to lower combustion temperature, NO x emissions are around 90 percent lower than those from pulverised coal (PC) plant. IGCC plant performance is even more environmentally expectable and its high efficiency is a result of a combined cycle usage. Technical, economic and environmental characteristics of mentioned combustion technologies will be presented in this paper. Comparison of PFBC, IGCC and PC power plants economics and air impact will also be given. (Author)

Cancer risk assessments and environmental regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scroggin, D.G.

1990-01-01

Governmental regulation of toxic substances, such as carcinogens and radiation, prompts both legal and scientific controversies. Industry, environmental activist groups, government regulators, and the general public are all concerned with the question of how environmental risk to public health is to be measured and what level of risk warrants government action under the environmental laws. Several recent events shed light on the fundamental scientific and legal problems inherent in such regulation, and these events may affect the direction of future developments. These events include implementation of generic Risk Assessment Guidelines by the US EPA, litigation challenging EPA's regulation of carcinogenic substances, new scientific understanding of the relative risks from human exposure to natural and man-made sources, and the continuing growth of toxic tort litigation in which victims of cancer seek large damages from industrial emitters of pollution

The 2010 amendments to the environmental emergency regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dowdall, E.; Ketcheson, K.; Shrives, J.; Hradecky, K.

2009-01-01

This presentation gave notice of amendments to the Environmental Emergency Regulations, pursuant to section 200 of the 1999 Canadian Environmental Protection Act. At the time of publication, the Regulations required the development and implementation of environmental emergency plans for 174 substances with associated thresholds that, if released to the environment, could harm human health or environmental quality. Substances of concern, including CEPA toxic substances are reviewed regularly by the Environmental Emergencies Division of Environment Canada to determine whether they should be added to the Regulations. An evaluation of substances has been completed and, as a result, 33 new substances have been proposed to be added to the Regulations. Thirty are known CEPA toxics and the other 3 are substances of concern, notably acetic acid, ammonium nitrate and styrene. These substances of concern are considered to pose an unacceptable level of risk from their release and would require environmental emergency planning. This paper also identified the substances from the Chemicals Management Plan that have been evaluated using environmental criteria and have been found to be candidates for possible future addition to the Regulations. The process used to determine regulated threshold quantities was also described. 5 refs., 5 tabs.

Extended Producer Responsibility and corporate performance: Effects of environmental regulation and environmental strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Benhong; Tu, Yu; Elahi, Ehsan; Wei, Guo

2018-07-15

While contemporary manufacturing technologies stimulate the industrial revolution and promote the rapidly changing global economy, it has caused enormous environmental negative externalities and managing the industrial waste remains a primary challenge, especially for fast developing countries such as China. Though existing studies explored the influence of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislations on environmental externalities, only fewer researches aimed at policy issues. Particularly, the relationship among environmental regulations, environmental strategies and corporate performance in the EPR system has not been deeply investigated. To fill this gap, this research will focus to assess the economic aspect and environmental performance associated with the environmental regulations and strategies. For this purpose, 208 cross-sectional questionnaires were administered with three major high-pollution industries, electrical and electronic, automobile and lead-acid storage battery industries. To accomplish this study objective, we employ a two-step approach: firstly, validity tests for environmental regulation and environmental strategy along with the corporate performance are performed by the factor analysis method, and secondly, the structural equation model is utilized to test the study hypotheses. Results reveal that command and control (CAC) and market-based incentive (MBI) environmental regulations are significantly impacting on the reactive environmental strategy (RES); however, the proactive environmental strategy (PES) only has a significant relationship with MBI regulation. On the other hand, RES only has a significant relationship with the enterprises economics performance, while PES has a statistically significant relationship with both economic and environmental performance of enterprises. Therefore, the central government and its local offices are strongly urged to coordinate the industries by making, implementing and monitoring necessary and

Current environmental regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martz, M.K.

1985-01-01

An overview of the Federal environmental statutes and implementation regulations is provided, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Recent developments which may have a direct impact on waste repository siting and management activities include: final promulgation of National Emission Standards for hazardous Air Pollutants for radionuclides, the DOE-EPA memorandum of understanding which brings mixed radioactive and chemical waste under the requirements of RCRA, and the proposed designation of additional sole source aquifers

Environmental regulation of tourism: impact on business innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjalager, Anne-Mette

1998-01-01

Tourism and environmental issues are particularly critical in small islands. This article compares environmental constraints and regulations on Bornholm, Isle of Wight and Mallorca.......Tourism and environmental issues are particularly critical in small islands. This article compares environmental constraints and regulations on Bornholm, Isle of Wight and Mallorca....

Motivation for Compliance with Environmental Regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winter, Søren; May, Peter J.

2001-01-01

A combination of calculated, normative, and social motivations as well as awareness of rules and capacity to comply are thought to foster compliance with regulations. Hypotheses about these factors were tested with data concerning Danish farmers’ compliance with agro-environmental regulations....... Three key findings emerge: that farmers’ awareness of rules plays a critical role; that normative and social motivations are as influential as calculated motivations in enhancing compliance; and that inspectors’ enforcement style affects compliance differently from that posited in much of the literature...... compliance with social and environmental regulations....

Information, Interests, and Environmental Regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winter, Søren; May, Peter J.

2002-01-01

This study contributes to the understanding of informational approaches to bringing about compliance with environmental regulations with particular attention to differences in the influence of information provided by different information sources. Based on theorizing from a combination of informa......This study contributes to the understanding of informational approaches to bringing about compliance with environmental regulations with particular attention to differences in the influence of information provided by different information sources. Based on theorizing from a combination...... of information processing and interest group literatures, we develop hypotheses about regulatees' reliance upon and the influence of different sources of information. We test these hypotheses for Danish farmers’ compliance with agro-environmental rules. Our findings show that information plays a role in bringing...

Institutionalizing environmental protection through self-regulation: the case of environmental standards adoption in Lithuania.

Science.gov (United States)

Bileisis, Mantas; Misiune, Ieva

2017-04-01

The impacts of human activity in the environment have a global dimension, but there are no effective global governance instruments to enforce environmental standards. At the same time, many national governments lack incentives to pursue strict environmental policies. In this context, self-regulation is seen as an alternative venue to address environmental challenges. This work aims to identify factors that influence companies to engage in environmental self-regulation? For this aim in March 2015 a survey of 482 companies was conducted. The target group were companies operating in Lithuania that hold ISO14001 certificates - one of the most prolific instruments for self-regulation. The questionnaire was designed to test assumptions developed in new institutionalist literature which claim that common practices can emerge through isomorphism.- The results showed that the main motive for environmental self-regulation is the desire to improve company image, rather than protecting the environment per se. Another important finding was that the main source of pressure to adopt self-regulation was based less on the perceived demands but the customers. Rather the driver for the adoption was a feeling of a need no to fall behind industry leaders. Thus, normative isomorphism is the main mechanism through which environmental self-regulation proliferates. We claim for a rapid proliferation of environmental self-regulation perceived industry leaders need to be identified and they need to be persuaded that environmental standards are key for the development of the industry. However, this also raises questions of sustainability. Few industries have long standing leaders, and through successful investment and technological development new actors can arise and this may risk stalling or even reversing self-regulation.

Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madden, M.P.; Blatchford, R.P.; Spears, R.B.

1991-12-01

This handbook is intended to assist owners and operators of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations in acquiring some introductory knowledge of the various state agencies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the many environmental laws, rules and regulations which can have jurisdiction over their permitting and compliance activities. It is a compendium of summarizations of environmental rules. It is not intended to give readers specific working details of what is required from them, nor can it be used in that manner. Readers of this handbook are encouraged to contact environmental control offices nearest to locations of interest for current regulations affecting them

Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madden, M.P. [National Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, OK (United States); Blatchford, R.P.; Spears, R.B. [Spears and Associates, Inc., Tulsa, OK (United States)

1991-12-01

This handbook is intended to assist owners and operators of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations in acquiring some introductory knowledge of the various state agencies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the many environmental laws, rules and regulations which can have jurisdiction over their permitting and compliance activities. It is a compendium of summarizations of environmental rules. It is not intended to give readers specific working details of what is required from them, nor can it be used in that manner. Readers of this handbook are encouraged to contact environmental control offices nearest to locations of interest for current regulations affecting them.

Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets

CERN Document Server

Gullì, Francesco

2013-01-01

Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets provides a study of environmental regulation when energy markets are imperfectly competitive. This theoretical treatment focuses on three relevant cases of energy markets. First, the residential space heating sector where hybrid regulation such as taxation and emissions trading together are possible. Second, the electricity market where transactions are organized in the form of multi-period auctions. Third, namely natural gas (input) and electricity (output) markets where there is combined imperfect competition in vertical related energy markets.   The development of free or low carbon technologies supported by energy policies, aiming at increasing security of supply, is also explored whilst considering competition policies that reduce market power in energy markets thus improving market efficiency. Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets discusses the key issues of whether imperfect competition can lessen the ability of environmen...

Study on effects of environmental regulation on competitiveness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Man Ok; Lim, Hyun Jeong [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1999-12-01

For Korea, the claim that the enhancement of environmental regulation is worsening the international competitiveness of the business is dominant. However, it is too early to reestablish a relationship between environmental regulation and competitiveness with the above new aspect. In fact, the economic development, which is brought a quantitative growth, and the maintenance of environmental quality, which is brought a qualitative growth, are very important on decision making in economic and social policy. In this study, it represents the results of existing positive studies on the relationship between the enhancement of environmental regulation, trade and productivity. Moreover, the objective of this study is on applying it based on the data of Korea. 86 refs., 13 figs., 35 tabs.

Environmental contaminants and microRNA regulation: Transcription factors as regulators of toxicant-altered microRNA expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sollome, James; Martin, Elizabeth [Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (United States); Sethupathy, Praveen [Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Fry, Rebecca C., E-mail: rfry@unc.edu [Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (United States); Curriculum in Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)

2016-12-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by binding mRNA and inhibiting translation and/or inducing degradation of the associated transcripts. Expression levels of miRNAs have been shown to be altered in response to environmental toxicants, thus impacting cellular function and influencing disease risk. Transcription factors (TFs) are known to be altered in response to environmental toxicants and play a critical role in the regulation of miRNA expression. To date, environmentally-responsive TFs that are important for regulating miRNAs remain understudied. In a state-of-the-art analysis, we utilized an in silico bioinformatic approach to characterize potential transcriptional regulators of environmentally-responsive miRNAs. Using the miRStart database, genomic sequences of promoter regions for all available human miRNAs (n = 847) were identified and promoter regions were defined as − 1000/+500 base pairs from the transcription start site. Subsequently, the promoter region sequences of environmentally-responsive miRNAs (n = 128) were analyzed using enrichment analysis to determine overrepresented TF binding sites (TFBS). While most (56/73) TFs differed across environmental contaminants, a set of 17 TFs was enriched for promoter binding among miRNAs responsive to numerous environmental contaminants. Of these, one TF was common to miRNAs altered by the majority of environmental contaminants, namely SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily A, member 3 (SMARCA3). These identified TFs represent candidate common transcriptional regulators of miRNAs perturbed by environmental toxicants. - Highlights: • Transcription factors that regulate environmentally-modulated miRNA expression are understudied • Transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) located within DNA promoter regions of miRNAs were identified. • Specific transcription factors may serve as master regulators of environmentally-mediated microRNA expression.

Environmental contaminants and microRNA regulation: Transcription factors as regulators of toxicant-altered microRNA expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sollome, James; Martin, Elizabeth; Sethupathy, Praveen; Fry, Rebecca C.

2016-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by binding mRNA and inhibiting translation and/or inducing degradation of the associated transcripts. Expression levels of miRNAs have been shown to be altered in response to environmental toxicants, thus impacting cellular function and influencing disease risk. Transcription factors (TFs) are known to be altered in response to environmental toxicants and play a critical role in the regulation of miRNA expression. To date, environmentally-responsive TFs that are important for regulating miRNAs remain understudied. In a state-of-the-art analysis, we utilized an in silico bioinformatic approach to characterize potential transcriptional regulators of environmentally-responsive miRNAs. Using the miRStart database, genomic sequences of promoter regions for all available human miRNAs (n = 847) were identified and promoter regions were defined as − 1000/+500 base pairs from the transcription start site. Subsequently, the promoter region sequences of environmentally-responsive miRNAs (n = 128) were analyzed using enrichment analysis to determine overrepresented TF binding sites (TFBS). While most (56/73) TFs differed across environmental contaminants, a set of 17 TFs was enriched for promoter binding among miRNAs responsive to numerous environmental contaminants. Of these, one TF was common to miRNAs altered by the majority of environmental contaminants, namely SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily A, member 3 (SMARCA3). These identified TFs represent candidate common transcriptional regulators of miRNAs perturbed by environmental toxicants. - Highlights: • Transcription factors that regulate environmentally-modulated miRNA expression are understudied • Transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) located within DNA promoter regions of miRNAs were identified. • Specific transcription factors may serve as master regulators of environmentally-mediated microRNA expression

Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of Protection ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of Protection and Protectionism. Book cover Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of Protection and Protectionism. Directeur(s) : Veena Jha. Maison(s) d'édition : Edward Elgar, IDRC. 1 janvier 2006. ISBN : 184542512X. 250 pages. e-ISBN : 155250185X.

A study on the relationship of environmental regulations and economic performances

Science.gov (United States)

Nisha, Jia; Chen, Shen

2017-11-01

This paper analyzes the mechanism transmission of environmental regulation affecting on economic performance from a new perspective. It shows that environmental regulations affect country’s economic performance through direct transmission and indirect transmission. Direct transmission means that environmental regulations affect economic performance from influencing corporation’s cost and revenue, and indirect transmission is that environmental regulations affect economic performance through leading to the increased effort of corporations in improving the quality of environment and building the image of fulfilling environmental responsibility.

Environmental regulation in the new exploration climate: After Rio, what next?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Millison, D.

1993-01-01

Exploration activities of U.S.-headquartered petroleum companies have increasingly shifted to international targets, in large part due to excessive environmental regulation. However, governments hosting new exploration venues are promulgating environmental regulations, often based on U.S. EPA regulations, which affect the economics of oil and gas operations. New host-country regulations, combined with a growing worldwide open-quotes green movement,close quotes require the new exploration climate to be evaluated in terms of environmental restrictions on drilling, production, and downstream operations. Is the industry truly fleeing regulation, but destined to dead-end in a never-never land of dwindling opportunity? Or is there hope for a system of reasonable regulations which encourage open-quotes sustainable developmentclose quotes of new petroleum resources? The green movement now places a new burden on trade. Exporters must verify to open-quotes greenclose quotes consumers that their products are open-quotes environmentally friendlyclose quotes, effectively introducing a non-tariff trade restriction. The playing field of international trade is leveled by adaption of US or European-style environmental regulation. THe UNCED conference in Rio has further promoted a system of international environmental regulation which will likely grow stronger as globalization of trade increases. This presentation focuses on the increasing standardization of international regulations which affect petroleum development. Key issues discussed are: the effect of atmospheric emissions controls on energy development policy and petroleum operations, environmental regulations in Latin America-risk vs. technology-based policies, and linking environmental regulations and international trade

Dilution of rice with other gluten free grains to lower inorganic arsenic in foods for young children in response to European Union regulations provides impetus to setting stricter standards

Science.gov (United States)

Donaldson, Emily; Signes-Pastor, Antonio J.

2018-01-01

There has been an increasing realisation that young infants are exposed to elevated concentrations of the carcinogen inorganic arsenic, relative to adults. This is because many infant food products are rice based, and rice is ~10-fold elevated in inorganic arsenic compared to most other foods. The European Commission (EC) has acted on this concern setting stricter standards for infants, 100 μg of inorganic arsenic per kg of food (100 μg/kg), as compared to adults (200 μg/kg), for rice based foods, a law that was brought into place in 1st January 2016. Here we investigate how this law has impacted on inorganic arsenic in baby food products in the UK market, and compare the findings to previous baby food surveys taken before and just after the law came into place. We find that for a wide range of UK infant products that the new regulations are being adhered to, with all samples surveyed, being under 100 μg/kg inorganic arsenic. The prevalence of pure rice products had decreased in the UK, and there appears to be careful sourcing of the rice used in these products to ensure conformity with regulations. There has been an increased presence of mixed cereal products, with rice and maize as the main ingredient, appearing on the UK market, with varying rice contents for infant porridges, cakes and mueslis, with the latter being a relatively innovative product for infant foods. There was a highly significant correlation (P<0.0001) between rice content and inorganic arsenic concentration across all infant foods. When UK infant rice cakes, breakfast cereals and porridges were compare to their general, i.e. not labelled specifically for being for infant consumption, equivalent it was found that the adult foods generally exceeded the 100 μg/kg inorganic arsenic standard for infant foods. Thus, infants should not be given rice products not specifically labelled as being for them if a lower inorganic arsenic diet is to be maintained. PMID:29547635

Environmental radiation exposure: Regulation, monitoring, and assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.Y.; Yu, C.; Hong, K.J.

1991-01-01

Radioactive releases to the environment from nuclear facilities constitute a public health concern. Protecting the public from such releases can be achieved through the establishment and enforcement of regulatory standards. In the United States, numerous standards have been promulgated to regulate release control at nuclear facilities. Most recent standards are more restrictive than those in the past and require that radioactivity levels be as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Environmental monitoring programs and radiological dose assessment are means of ensuring compliance with regulations. Environmental monitoring programs provide empirical information on releases, such as the concentrations of released radioactivity in environmental media, while radiological dose assessment provides the analytical means of quantifying dose exposures for demonstrating compliance

Environmental regulations and industrial competitiveness: evidence from China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Stavropoulos (Spyridon); R.S. Wall (Ronald); Xu, Y. (Yuanze)

2017-01-01

textabstractEconomic activities are closely related to real-world environmental issues. Currently, more attention is paid to the association between environmental regulations and industrial competitiveness (IC) because of pressures on economic development and environmental protection. In this study,

Technical efficiency under alternative environmental regulatory regimes : the case of Dutch horticulture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlist, van der A.J.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.; Folmer, H.

2007-01-01

We consider the performance of small and medium sized enterprises in Dutch horticulture under different environmental policy regimes across time. We address the question whether technical performance differs under these alternative regulatory regimes to test Porter's hypothesis that stricter

Green innovation games - value creation, managerial roles and managerial capabilities in resource intensive businesses

OpenAIRE

Lampikoski, Tommi

2015-01-01

Along with increasing environmental concerns and customers' growing knowledge of environmental and societal issues, corporate sustainability has gained increasing interest among management scholars and business practitioners alike. Mounting public interest in environmental questions, triggered by numerous ecological crises and stricter environmental regulations, is forcing companies to view corporate sustainability as a strategic issue. Previous literature on corporate sustainability offer...

Environmental Strategies of Affect Regulation and Their Associations With Subjective Well-Being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalevi M. Korpela

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 507 evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS. The internet survey also included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS, emotional well-being items from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and a single-item measure of perceived general health. Environmental regulation formed a separate factor of affect regulation in the exploratory structural equation models (ESEM. Although no relations of environmental strategies with emotional well-being were found, both the perceived frequency of use and efficacy of environmental strategies were positively related to perceived health. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of environmental strategies was positively related to life satisfaction in regulating sadness. The results encourage more explicit treatment of environmental strategies in research on affect regulation.

Environmental Strategies of Affect Regulation and Their Associations With Subjective Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Korpela, Kalevi M.; Pasanen, Tytti; Repo, Veera; Hartig, Terry; Staats, Henk; Mason, Michael; Alves, Susana; Fornara, Ferdinando; Marks, Tony; Saini, Sunil; Scopelliti, Massimiliano; Soares, Ana L.; Stigsdotter, Ulrika K.; Ward Thompson, Catharine

2018-01-01

Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 507) evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS). The internet survey also included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), emotional well-being items from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and a single-item measure of perceived general health. Environmental regulation formed a separate factor of affect regulation in the exploratory structural equation models (ESEM). Although no relations of environmental strategies with emotional well-being were found, both the perceived frequency of use and efficacy of environmental strategies were positively related to perceived health. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of environmental strategies was positively related to life satisfaction in regulating sadness. The results encourage more explicit treatment of environmental strategies in research on affect regulation. PMID:29720955

Revenue rules when environmental regulation agencies collude

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaarn Hansen, L.

1994-01-01

In this paper the welfare implications of earmarking of revenues from environmental taxes in analyzed using a principal-agent model in the incomplete contracting tradition of constitutional design. In the model the public has very limited knowledge of the emissions problem to be regulated. Government has full knowledge and is given a general mandate to regulate, however government may be biased toward an interested party. To curb the welfare effects of government bias the public may either earmark revenues from environmental taxes for environmental expenditures or for transfers to the polluters. We find that earmarking for transfers to the polluters (under certain conditions) can be expected to maximize welfare when government bias is strong and the direction of bias is uncertain. (au) 10 refs

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY - THE ELECTROPLATING INDUSTRY

Science.gov (United States)

This 44-page Technology Transfer Environmental Regulations and Technology publication is an update of a 1980 EPA publication that has been revised to reflect changes in the EPA regulations, as well as in the pollution control technologies that affect the electroplating industry. ...

Environmental regulation and the export dynamics of energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costantini, Valeria; Crespi, Francesco

2008-01-01

The pollution haven hypothesis affirms that an open market regime will encourage the flow of low-technology polluting industries towards developing countries because of potential comparative advantages related to low environmental standards. In contrast, the hypothesis suggested by Porter and van der Linde claims that innovating firms operate in a dynamic competitive situation which allows global diffusion of environmental-friendly technologies. Environmental regulation may represent a relevant mechanism through which technological change is induced. In this way, countries that are subject to more stringent environmental regulations may become net exporters of environmental technologies. This paper provides new evidence on the evolution of export flows of environmental technologies across different countries for the energy sector. Advanced economies, particularly the European Union, have increasingly focused on the role of energy policies as tools for sustaining the development path. The Kyoto Protocol commitments, together with growing import dependence on energy products, have brought attention to the analysis of innovation processes in this specific sector. The analysis uses a gravity model in order to test the determinants and the transmission channels through which environmental technologies for renewable energies and energy efficiency are exported to advanced and developing countries. Our results are consistent with the Porter and van der Linde hypothesis where environmental regulation represents a significant source of comparative advantages. What strongly emerges is that the stringency of environmental regulation supplemented by the strength of the National Innovation System is a crucial driver of export performance in the field of energy technologies. (author)

Environmental regulation and competitiveness. A meta-analysis of international trade studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulatu, A.; Florax, R.J.G.M.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.

2001-01-01

The potential relationship between domestic environmental regulation and international competitiveness has evoked various speculations. The common neoclassical train of thought is that strict environmental regulation is detrimental to the competitiveness of industry, and that it induces phenomena such as ecological dumping, ecological capital flight, and regulatory 'chill' in environmental standards. A different view is that strict environmental regulation triggers industry's innovation potential, and subsequently increases its competitiveness. The impact of environmental regulation on competitiveness has been analyzed in terms of international capital movements, new firm formation, and international trade. This paper focuses on a statistically rigorous analysis of international trade studies, using a technique that is known as meta-analysis. The paper presents a statistically supported evaluation of the literature, in order to assess what the main conclusions regarding the relationship between environmental regulation and competitiveness are when it comes to studies on international trade flows. The synthesis of the literature is subsequently used to present guidelines for future primary research in this area

Hybrid Design of Electric Power Generation Systems Including Renewable Sources of Energy

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lingfeng; Singh, Chanan

2008-01-01

With the stricter environmental regulations and diminishing fossil-fuel reserves, there is now higher emphasis on exploiting various renewable sources of energy. These alternative sources of energy are usually environmentally friendly and emit no pollutants. However, the capital investments for those renewable sources of energy are normally high,…

Industrial Innovation and Environmental Regulation: Developing ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2007-03-01

Mar 1, 2007 ... Book cover Industrial Innovation and Environmental Regulation: ... in steering the behaviour of economic agents in industrial production. ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science Fellows.

The impact of regional environmental regulations on empirical vessel speeds

OpenAIRE

Ådland, Roar Os; Fonnes, Gro; Jia, Haiying; Daae Lampe, Ove; Strandenes, Siri Pettersen

2017-01-01

Economic theory suggests that the use of more expensive low-sulphur fuel within an Emission Control Area (ECA) should result in lower vessel speeds. The objective of this paper is to investigate empirically, for the first time, whether the introduction of an ECA affects vessel speeds. We utilize a dataset of observed vessel speeds derived from the Automated Information System (AIS) for nearly 7000 ECA boundary crossings over a three-year period. Our results suggest that introducing stricter s...

Environmental policy and industrialization: The politics of regulation in Puerto Rico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Concepcion, C.M.

1990-01-01

The effects of economic development on environmental regulation in Puerto Rico are examined. In particular, the research analyzes how the Puerto Rican industrialization process has affected implementation of the environmental-review process. Puerto Rico exemplifies an acute conflict between an industrialization process based on capital-intensive, highly polluting industries, and a regulatory framework of insular and US environmental laws and regulations. While industrialization has not solved unemployment problems on the island, environmental and health hazards have increased significantly, despite environmental regulations. The study focuses on a change in the environmental review process in response to economic development concerns. In particular, it examines the growth and extensive use of a new environmental review document, the Environmental Assessment. This study explains this policy shift and, more fundamentally, analyzes how and under what circumstances this change came about

Environmental regulation and competitiveness. A meta-analysis of international trade studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mulatu, A.; Florax, R.J.G.M. [Department of Spatial Economics, Master-point and Tinbergen Institute, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Withagen, C.A.A.M. [Department of Economics and CentER, Tilburg University, Tilburg (Netherlands)

2001-07-01

The potential relationship between domestic environmental regulation and international competitiveness has evoked various speculations. The common neoclassical train of thought is that strict environmental regulation is detrimental to the competitiveness of industry, and that it induces phenomena such as ecological dumping, ecological capital flight, and regulatory 'chill' in environmental standards. A different view is that strict environmental regulation triggers industry's innovation potential, and subsequently increases its competitiveness. The impact of environmental regulation on competitiveness has been analyzed in terms of international capital movements, new firm formation, and international trade. This paper focuses on a statistically rigorous analysis of international trade studies, using a technique that is known as meta-analysis. The paper presents a statistically supported evaluation of the literature, in order to assess what the main conclusions regarding the relationship between environmental regulation and competitiveness are when it comes to studies on international trade flows. The synthesis of the literature is subsequently used to present guidelines for future primary research in this area.

Environmental regulation in a network of simulated microbial ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Hywel T P; Lenton, Timothy M

2008-07-29

The Earth possesses a number of regulatory feedback mechanisms involving life. In the absence of a population of competing biospheres, it has proved hard to find a robust evolutionary mechanism that would generate environmental regulation. It has been suggested that regulation must require altruistic environmental alterations by organisms and, therefore, would be evolutionarily unstable. This need not be the case if organisms alter the environment as a selectively neutral by-product of their metabolism, as in the majority of biogeochemical reactions, but a question then arises: Why should the combined by-product effects of the biota have a stabilizing, rather than destabilizing, influence on the environment? Under certain conditions, selection acting above the level of the individual can be an effective adaptive force. Here we present an evolutionary simulation model in which environmental regulation involving higher-level selection robustly emerges in a network of interconnected microbial ecosystems. Spatial structure creates conditions for a limited form of higher-level selection to act on the collective environment-altering properties of local communities. Local communities that improve their environmental conditions achieve larger populations and are better colonizers of available space, whereas local communities that degrade their environment shrink and become susceptible to invasion. The spread of environment-improving communities alters the global environment toward the optimal conditions for growth and tends to regulate against external perturbations. This work suggests a mechanism for environmental regulation that is consistent with evolutionary theory.

Environmental regulation of a power investment in an international market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vennemo, H.; Halseth, A.

2001-01-01

We examine the optimal environmental regulation of three Norwegian power projects: energy conservation, a natural gas fired CCGT and a new hydro project. All projects reduce emissions elsewhere in the Nordic region, and the environmental costs of these emissions are not, in general, fully reflected in market prices. We develop a theory of second best optimal regulation for this case. The optimal regulation is found to deviate substantially from a purely domestic regulation. For instance, we find it optimal to grant a substantial credit to energy conservation. The credit is sensitive to the value of reduced CO 2 emissions and whether the current Norwegian end user tax should be interpreted as an environmental or a fiscal tax

Sustainable mining, local communities and environmental regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kokko Kai

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainable mining is an objective as well as a tool for balancing economic, social, and environmental considerations. Each of these three dimensions of mining – and sustainable development – has many components, some of which were chosen for closer study in the SUMILCERE project. While there is no single component that in itself provides a definitive argument for or against sustainable mining, the research reveals some that have proven valuable in the process of balancing the different dimensions of sustainability. In the SUMILCERE project, comparative studies enabled us to identify factors such as the following, which are essential when discussing the balancing in practice of the three dimensions of sustainable mining cited above: the framework and functionality of environmental regulation to protect the environment (environmental sustainability; competitiveness of the mining industry in light of environmental regulation and its enforcement (economic sustainability; public participation and the opportunities local communities have to influence their surroundings, as well as communities’ acceptance of projects (social sustainability before and during operations; and the protection of Sámi cultural rights in mining projects (social and cultural sustainability. Although each of the three dimensions of sustainability leaves room for discretion in the weight assigned to it, ecological sustainability, protected by smart environmental regulation and minimum standards, sets essential boundaries that leave no room for compromises. Economic and social sustainability are possible only within these limits. Details of the analyses in the Kolarctic area and accounts of the methods used can befound in the cited SUMILCERE articles.

Institutional preconditions of socio-ecological-economic regulation of environmental management activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. Plaksunova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The need to regulate environmental management activities of institutional entities arises when it affects the interests of third-party entities or threatened by the ongoing entity manufacturing practices its own resilience, to achieve the main goal. The complexity and diversity of the forms of socio-ecological and ecological-economic issues at different levels of the economic system leads to the development of many directions and views on the expansion of the management process of these levels (global, national, regional, local and techniques from rigid-deklorative state before combination with the market. In this respect, the neoclassical economic theory actively generated new analytical ideas and concept that enables to respond adequately to emerging economic realities. So we can distinguish the following approaches to regulate environmental management activities: T. Malthus and D. Ricardo, revealing issues of social, ecological and economic implications of limited natural resources in the context of the law of diminishing effectiveness and the need to regulate environmental management activities. John. St. Mill and George proved to be ineffective in addressing environmental problems in the industrial economy of the type of the imperfection of the institutions of society, justifying the occurrence of crises protohistoric speculation nature's benefits. A. Pigou developed the theory of externalities, which revealed the need for state regulation of the environmental management activities of economic entities, harmonization of individual and social interests. Research I. Kula, F. Khan and P. Samuelson identified a pattern about the formation of the system of regulation nature-safety activities, not only within individual States but also on a global level. R. Crows have shown that the methods of direct state regulation of nature economic activity is not as good as it seems at first glance and so you should not underestimate the role and potential

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Productivity: Case Studies of Three Industries in Japan

OpenAIRE

Chalermthanakom, Adisak; Ueta, Kazuhiro

2011-01-01

Although fi rms bear the cost of compliance, strict but fl exible environmental regulation may benefi t them by spurring the innovation process. However, the relationship between environmental regulation and productivity is unclear. We calculate productivity growth by using data envelopment analysis; we then conduct regression analysis, using panel data on productivity growth by environmental regulation stringency. A one-year lag of environmental regulation stringency is included in the model...

Federal Environmental Regulations Impacting Hydrocarbon Exploration, Drilling, and Production Operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carroll, Herbert B.; Johnson, William I.

1999-04-27

Waste handling and disposal from hydrocarbon exploration, drilling, and production are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through federal and state regulations and/or through implementation of federal regulations. Some wastes generated in these operations are exempt under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) but are not exempt under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), and other federal environmental laws. Exempt wastes remain exempt only if they are not mixed with hazardous wastes or hazardous substances. Once mixture occurs, the waste must be disposed as a hazardous material in an approved hazardous waste disposal facility. Before the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990, air emissions from production, storage, steam generation, and compression facilities associated with hydrocarbon exploration, drilling, and production industry were not regulated. A critical proposed regulatory change which will significantly effect Class II injection wells for disposal of produced brine and injection for enhanced oil recovery is imminent. Federal regulations affecting hydrocarbon exploration, drilling and production, proposed EPA regulatory changes, and a recent significant US Court of Appeals decision are covered in this report. It appears that this industry will, in the future, fall under more stringent environmental regulations leading to increased costs for operators.

Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilson, T.D.

1980-08-01

A guide to environmental laws and regulations which have special significance for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is presented. The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, federal regulations, and state regulations are discussed. This handbook has been designed as a planning tool and a convenient reference source. The 16 states included comprise the major oil-producing states in various regions of the state. The major topics covered are: general guidelines for complying with environmental laws and regulations; air pollution control; water pollution control; protecting drinking water: underground injection control; hazardous waste management; and federal laws affecting siting or operation of EOR facilities. (DMC)

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 regulation and MNEs location : does CSR matter?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholtens, B.; Dam, L.

2008-01-01

We investigate whether firms with relatively low environmental standards are more often located in countries that are poor, corrupt or have weak environmental regulations. We find new empirical evidence in favor of the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, which states that MNEs are transferring their dirty

a South African perspective

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

2013-05-30

May 30, 2013 ... production systems on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), ... resulted in calls for stricter environmental and animal welfare legislation. .... Aviation industry .... staff, the quality of the feed, disease prevention and overall management. .... agricultural industry implement voluntary regulations and ...

Environmental regulation in a network of simulated microbial ecosystems

OpenAIRE

Williams, Hywel T. P.; Lenton, Timothy M.

2008-01-01

The Earth possesses a number of regulatory feedback mechanisms involving life. In the absence of a population of competing biospheres, it has proved hard to find a robust evolutionary mechanism that would generate environmental regulation. It has been suggested that regulation must require altruistic environmental alterations by organisms and, therefore, would be evolutionarily unstable. This need not be the case if organisms alter the environment as a selectively neutral by-product of their ...

Ownership and environmental regulation: Evidence from the European electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clò, Stefano; Ferraris, Matteo; Florio, Massimo

2017-01-01

The paper investigates how ownership affects the environmental performance in developed countries where environmental regulation is introduced in the form of market-based instrument. By looking at a cross-country panel dataset of 29 power markets around Europe over the period 1990–2012, we find empirical evidence that an increase of public ownership, as measured by the OECD ETCR index, is associated with a reduction of both greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity. We also find that the implementation of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) had a limited impact on emissions' reduction due to lax allocation of allowances. The positive effect of public ownership on environmental performance has been significant even after the introduction of the ETS, giving additional incentives to mitigate emissions when the ETS cap was not stringent enough. This evidence suggests that government control over power companies in Europe can has created idiosyncratic incentives to improve environmental quality, complementing environmental regulation in the achievement of environmental goals when the latter was absent or sub-optimal. - Highlights: • We analyse the power industry's environmental performance in 29 European countries. • Public ownership is associated with lower emissions than private ownership. • Mixed oligopoly is superior to private oligopoly in environmental terms. • The ETS had a limited impact on emissions' reduction due to over-allocation. • Public ownership mitigates the effects of sub-optimal environmental regulation.

Environmental issues: the challenge for the chief executive.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchinson, C

1992-06-01

Businesses are under pressure to adopt environmental policies and incorporate them into their strategic business planning as a matter of routine. These pressures are coming from at least five sources--stricter legislation, consumer demand, competitive advantage, staff concerns and community pressure. The challenge is enormous but there is growing evidence that sound environmental management provides pay-off in bottom line results. Business organizations have a vital role to play and its good for them. There are opportunities for new business as well as threats to those organizations which continue to ignore the trends.

Effects of new environmental regulations on coal-fired generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaCount, R.

1999-01-01

As restructuring of the electricity industry places downward pressure on power production costs, new environmental regulations are having the opposite effect. Although power plants may be subject to a variety of environmental regulations over the next ten years including reductions in mercury, toxics, and carbon dioxide, new regulations for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are poised to impact the electricity industry in the very short term. The cost for coal-fired power plants to comply with these new regulations has the potential to alter their competitive position. January 1, 2000 marks the beginning of Phase II for the Environmental Protection Agency's SO2 allowance market. Starting in January, all coal and oil plants above 25 MW will be required to comply with the federal SO2 provisions. Regulatory deadlines for NOX are also fast approaching; though the ultimate requirements are still subject to change. On May 1, 1999, a NOX allowance market began for states within the Northeast Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). A second phase of this program is scheduled to begin in 2003 that will lower the overall cap for allowable NOX emissions in the participating states. EPA is also working to expand the reach of regional NOX reductions in 2003 through its NOX SIP call. This program, which is currently subject to litigation, would require NOX reductions in 14 states outside of the OTC. A new study by Resource Data International (RDI), Coal-Fired Generation in Competitive Power Markets, assessed the potential impact that the new SO2 and NOX regulations may have on the competitiveness of coal-fired generation. Overall, the study shows that coal-fired generation will continue to grow despite significant environmental costs and competition from natural gas-fired units. The new environmental regulations have the effect of increasing the dispatch cost of coal-fired units from $0.65/MWh on average in the WSCC to $4.14/MWh on average in the MAAC region. The addition

How Does Environmental Regulation Affect Industrial Transformation? A Study Based on the Methodology of Policy Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The difference of factor input structure determines different response to environmental regulation. This paper constructs a theoretical model including environmental regulation, factor input structure, and industrial transformation and conducts a policy simulation based on the difference of influencing mechanism of environmental regulation considering industrial heterogeneity. The findings show that the impact of environmental regulation on industrial transformation presents comparison of distortion effect of resource allocation and technology effect. Environmental regulation will promote industrial transformation when technology effect of environmental regulation is stronger than distortion effect of resource allocation. Particularly, command-control environmental regulation has a significant incentive effect and spillover effect of technological innovation on cleaning industries, but these effects do not exist in pollution-intensive industries. Command-control environmental regulation promotes industrial transformation. The result of simulation showed that environmental regulation of market incentives is similar to that of command-control.

Modelling agri-environmental contracting of Dutch dairy farms: the role of manure policies and lock-in

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peerlings, J.H.M.; Polman, N.B.P.

2008-01-01

The paper examines the possibility of lock-in on the area contracted under an agri-environmental contract in Dutch dairy farming, using a mathematical programming model, and the interaction of these contracts with Dutch national manure policy. Stricter manure policies increase contract

Environmental regulation of a power market investment in an international market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halseth, Arve; Vennemo, Haakon

1998-12-01

This document examines the optimal environmental regulation of three Norwegian power projects, energy conservation, a natural gas fired combined cycle gas turbine and a new hydro project. All projects reduce emissions elsewhere in the Nordic region, and in general the environmental costs of these emissions are not optimally reflected in market prices. A theory of second best optimal regulation is developed for this case. The optimal regulation is found to deviate considerably from a purely domestic regulation. For instance, it is found optimal to grant a substantial credit to energy conservation. The credit is sensitive to the value of reduced CO{sub 2} emissions and whether the current Norwegian end user tax should be interpreted as an environmental or a fiscal tax. 27 refs., 4 tabs.

Environmental regulations and plant exit: A logit analysis based on established panel data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bioern, E; Golombek, R; Raknerud, A

1995-12-01

This publication uses a model to study the relationship between environmental regulations and plant exit. It has the main characteristics of a multinomial qualitative response model of the logit type, but also has elements of a Markov chain model. The model uses Norwegian panel data for establishments in three manufacturing sectors with high shares of units which have been under strict environmental regulations. In two of the sectors, the exit probability of non-regulated establishments is about three times higher than for regulated ones. It is also found that the probability of changing regulation status from non-regulated to regulated depends significantly on economic factors. In particular, establishments with weak profitability are the most likely to become subject to environmental regulation. 12 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.

A study on the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution: evidence from China.

Science.gov (United States)

Boamah, Kofi Baah; Du, Jianguo; Boamah, Angela Jacinta; Appiah, Kingsley

2018-02-01

This study seeks to contribute to the recent literature by empirically investigating the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution of China, for the period 1980-2014. The Johansen cointegration confirmed a long-run cointegration association among the utilised variables for the case of China. The direction of causality among the variables was, consequently, investigated using the recent bootstrapped Granger causality test. This bootstrapped Granger causality approach is preferred as it provides robust and accurate critical values for statistical inferences. The findings from the causality analysis revealed the existence of a bi-directional causality between import and urban population. The three most paramount variables that explain the environmental pollution in China, according to the impulse response function, are imports, urbanisation and energy consumption. Our study further established the presence of an N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution of China. Hence, our study recommends that China should adhere to stricter environmental regulations in international trade, as well as enforce policies that promote energy efficiency in the urban residential and commercial sector, in the quest to mitigate environmental pollution issues as the economy advances.

Comparison of environmental impacts of electricity from different sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyre, N.

1993-01-01

For fossil fuel electricity generation the major environmental externalities result from acid deposition, tropospheric ozone and global warming. For nuclear power the main issues are major reactor accidents and long-term waste disposal. Some broad estimates of environmental externalities (in p/kWh) are given from each, based on available scientific evidence and valuation studies. The uncertainties and methodological problems associated with valuation prevent any reliable statement about the relative magnitudes of externalities resulting from fossil and nuclear generating options. In both cases, some of the impacts are incompatible with stricter interpretations of sustainability. The important environmental impacts of most renewable electricity generating options concern human amenity. (author)

Major weapon system environmental life-cycle cost estimating for Conservation, Cleanup, Compliance and Pollution Prevention (C3P2)

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, Wesley; Thurston, Marland; Hood, Christopher

1995-01-01

The Titan 4 Space Launch Vehicle Program is one of many major weapon system programs that have modified acquisition plans and operational procedures to meet new, stringent environmental rules and regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) mandate to reduce the use of ozone depleting chemicals (ODC's) is just one of the regulatory changes that has affected the program. In the last few years, public environmental awareness, coupled with stricter environmental regulations, has created the need for DOD to produce environmental life-cycle cost estimates (ELCCE) for every major weapon system acquisition program. The environmental impact of the weapon system must be assessed and budgeted, considering all costs, from cradle to grave. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has proposed that organizations consider Conservation, Cleanup, Compliance and Pollution Prevention (C(sup 3)P(sup 2)) issues associated with each acquisition program to assess life-cycle impacts and costs. The Air Force selected the Titan 4 system as the pilot program for estimating life-cycle environmental costs. The estimating task required participants to develop an ELCCE methodology, collect data to test the methodology and produce a credible cost estimate within the DOD C(sup 3)P(sup 2) definition. The estimating methodology included using the Program Office weapon system description and work breakdown structure together with operational site and manufacturing plant visits to identify environmental cost drivers. The results of the Titan IV ELCCE process are discussed and expanded to demonstrate how they can be applied to satisfy any life-cycle environmental cost estimating requirement.

Techno-economic analysis of expander-based configurations for natural gas liquefaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nagy, Matteo; Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Elmegaard, Brian

2017-01-01

The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel is rapidly growing because of the possible economic advantages over conventional fuels and stricter environmental regulations. Production of LNG is energy-intensive because of the required temperature level of around -160°C. Three main types...

Willingness to pay for environmental improvements in hydropower regulated rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kataria, Mitesh

2009-01-01

This paper uses a choice experiment to estimate how Swedish households value different environmental improvements for the hydropower regulated rivers. We obtained clear evidence that Swedish households have preferences for environmental improvement in hydropower regulated waters, at least when the cost is relatively low. Remedial measures that improve the conditions for all of the included environmental attributes i.e. fish, benthic invertebrates, river-margin vegetation and birds were found to have a significant welfare increasing impact. The results can be of value for the implementation of the Water Framework Directives in Sweden, which aims to reform the use of all surface water and ground water in the member states. (author)

Review of orders and regulations requiring environmental protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, E.; Cunningham, R.; Michael, D.

1996-01-01

With the increased awareness of and interest in potential ecological risks associated with past, current, and future Department of Energy (DOE) activities, DOE's Defense Programs (DP) Office of Technical and Environmental Support sponsored a study to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the current compliance-driven environmental protection and assessment efforts relative to ecological concerns; (2) explore the need for a more focused, integrated approach to address ecological impacts; and (3) identify the requirements for an integrated approach. The study explored four questions. (a) Which federal regulations and DOE orders either explicitly require ecological assessments or implicitly require them through environmental protection language? (b) What currently is being done at selected DOE facilities to implement these regulations and orders? (c) What are private sector industries doing in terms of ecological risk assessments and how do industry approaches and issues compare with those of DOE? (d) What, if anything, in addition to current efforts is needed to ensure the protection of ecological resources associated with DOE facilities, to support defensible decision making, and to improve efficiency? The results of this study are presented in a report titled open-quotes Integrated, Comprehensive Ecological Impact Assessments In Support of Department of Energy Decision Makingclose quotes. This report is a companion document to that report. This report provides a more detailed discussion of the document reviews of the relevant environmental protection regulations and current and pending DOE orders. The main goal of the document reviews was to understand existing requirements for ecological data collection and impact assessments

Can local environmental regulation of companies deal with a broader environmental view?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Kasper; Smink, Carla

Environmental concern of companies has gradually expanded from a focus on local environmental problems to a broader inclusion of inputs as well as lifecycle perspectives. At the same time, the regulatory approach has changed from a “pure” command-and-control regime, towards a governance regime......, where strict regulations increasingly are supplemented with other regulatory instruments such as economic incentives, information and facilitation. In Denmark, municipalities are the competent authority for companies. Throughout the last decade, several attempts to expand competences of municipalities...

Inefficient national environmental regulation as a signal of high abatement costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steiner, U.

1997-12-31

This paper analyses the importance of informational asymmetries in international environmental regulation by use of a game theoretic approach of signaling games. More specific it analysis whether it is possible for a government to try to extract higher compensation in an international unidirectoral environmental problem. This may be possible when the national environmental regulation carries a signal of the cost of the regulated industry. In this case the government e.g. by means of inefficient environmental regulation on a national level may try to signal high abatement costs. In spite of the fact that many international environmental problems seem to be solvable by the use of financial payments there are only few examples that compensation payment arrangements have been implemented. As many countries and especially many polluting firms possess better information about abatement costs than the countries that receive the pollution, it is worthwhile to include asymmetric information. Consequently, this paper analyses whether the introduction of asymmetric information about abatement costs may bring forward incentives to misrepresent the true abatement cost in order to capture more compensation. If these incentives turn out to be present, it may explain some of the suspicion against using financial payment in order to induce other countries to join an agreement. The analysis shows that it may indeed be the case that the expected gain from cheating is so large that it gives incentives to use an inefficient national environmental policy. (au) 13 refs.

Just who is at risk? The ethics of environmental regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Ted

2011-08-01

The willingness to view risk as part of daily life has vanished. A risk-averse mindset among environmental regulators engenders confusion between the ethics of intention and the ethics of consequence, leading to the elevation of the precautionary principle with unintended and often unfortunate outcomes. Environmental risk assessment is conservative, but the actual level of conservatism cannot be determined. High-end exposure assumptions and current toxicity criteria from the USEPA, based on linear extrapolation for carcinogens and default uncertainty factors for systemic toxicants, obscure the degree of conservatism in risk assessments. Ideally, one could choose a percentile of the target population to include within environmental standards, but this choice is complicated by the food, pharmaceutical and advertising industries, whose activities, inadvertent or not, often promote maladaptive and unhealthy lifestyle choices. There has lately been much discussion about background exposures and disease processes and their potential to increase the risk from environmental chemicals. Should these background exposures or disease processes, especially those associated with maladaptive individual choices, be included as part of a regulatory risk evaluation? A significant ethical question is whether environmental regulation should protect those pursuing a self-destructive lifestyle that may add to or synergize with otherwise innocuous environmental exposures. Choosing a target percentile of protection would provide an increased level of transparency and the flexibility to choose a higher or lower percentile if such a choice is warranted. Transparency and flexibility will lead to more responsive environmental regulation that balances protection of public health and the stewardship of societal resources.

Study on environmental results improvement plan through flexible industrial environmental regulation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Hyun Joo; Chang, Kee Bok; Lee, Young Soon [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1999-12-01

As the economic environment has been changed to the direction of decentralization and diversification, there shows various changes in the area and method of market intervention by the government. In the environmental sector, it has been discussed to extend its use of economic incentive coming out of an existing direct regulation policy. Recently the importance on the new forms of government role such as voluntary agreements and information opening have been emphasized. Although the existing direct regulation policy has an advantage of visible and direct effect, it blocked the chance to explore technological and economical alternatives toward environmental problems by business sector. Therefore it is recognized that there is a fundamental limit on inducing the efficient pollution resisting activities from the business sector. Therefore this study analyzed and recommended theoretical characteristics on mechanism that a voluntary approach can bring appropriate results on policy objectives. 98 refs. 7 figs., 47 tabs.

Lessons learned implementing environmental regulations at non-Department of Energy sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, R.B.; Dippo, G.L.

1991-01-01

The Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP) has been involved in the implementation of environmental regulations at non-Department of Energy (DOE) facilities for > 5 years. If any common thread has been identified in working at these sites, it is that no two sites can be treated the same. Each site and its associated wastes, governing regulations, and environmental conditions are different. The list of technical lessons learned is long, and their applicability to other sites must be looked at for each specific case. That is far too large a task to undertake here. The most important lesson HAZWRAP learned is not technical. Implementing environmental regulations at non-DOE sites is not any different from implementing regulations or anything else done at DOE facilities. The key to success lies in quality, planning, and communication. Taking the time to implement a good quality program based on sound planning and open communication will ensure program success

Environmental Regulation Impacts on Eastern Interconnection Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markham, Penn N [ORNL; Liu, Yilu [ORNL; Young II, Marcus Aaron [ORNL

2013-07-01

In the United States, recent environmental regulations will likely result in the removal of nearly 30 GW of oil and coal-fired generation from the power grid, mostly in the Eastern Interconnection (EI). The effects of this transition on voltage stability and transmission line flows have previously not been studied from a system-wide perspective. This report discusses the results of power flow studies designed to simulate the evolution of the EI over the next few years as traditional generation sources are replaced with environmentally friendlier ones such as natural gas and wind.

Environmental regulation and competition in the U.S. electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peck, S.C.; Weyant, J.P.

1990-01-01

The structural evolution of the electric utility industry, with reference to its dynamics with environmental regulation, is described, explicitly including suppliers to the industry, the consumers of the products of the industry, and the industries that produce substitutes for the products. The structure of the industry has changed dramatically over the years 1970-1990, and is likely to continue to evolve throughout the 1990s. This evolution has resulted from changes in the milieu within which the industry operates, for example changes in fuel and capital markets, as well as federal, state and local regulations governing its activities. The environmental regulations of the 1970s have had a significant impact on the structure, behavior and performance of the industry and changes in the structure have had a feedback effect on the types of environmental regulations likely to be successful within the industry in reducing emissions of SO 2 , NOx and CO 2 . This and numerous other studies using the framework designed by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School have demonstrated that this expanded view of competition frequently provides a much better explanation for changes in industry structure and corporate strategy than conventional analyses. 10 refs., 3 figs

Globalization of environmental regulations for offshore E & P operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shannon, B.E.

1995-12-31

One of the enduring legacies of the Rio Environmental Summit of 1992 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED) is Agenda 21 (Chapter 17 - Protection of the Oceans), which among other things called for the assessment of the need for a global authority to regulate offshore Exploration & Production (E&P) discharges, emissions and safety. Despite advice to the contrary from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), interest is building within the European community for the standardization of regulations for offshore E&P activities. Several international of regulations for offshore E&P activities. Several international frameworks or forums have been mentioned as possible candidates. These include the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS); London Convention 1972 (LC 1972) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) 73/78. International offshore oil and gas operators operate within requirements of regional conventions under the United Nations Environmental Program`s (UNEP) - Regional Seas Program. Domestic offshore operations are undertaken under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minerals Management Service.

Bank regulation and financial fragility in developing countries: Does bank structure matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeroen Klomp

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Using data for 1238 banks located in 94 developing and emerging countries, we explore whether the impact of bank regulation and supervision on banking risk (measured by the banks’ Z-scores depends on bank structure. Our findings suggest that stricter regulation and supervision increases the banks’ Z-scores. Notably capital requirements and supervisory control diminish banking risk. However, the effectiveness of other dimensions of regulation and supervision depends on the organizational structure of banks. Notably activity restrictions reduce risk of large and foreign owned banks, while liquidity restrictions have most effect on the Z-scores of unlisted and commercial banks.

Incorporating Environmental Regulation and Litigation in Earth Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Flegal, A. R.

2004-12-01

Fundamental knowledge of geological processes is not only needed for effective environmental regulation and litigation, but Earth Science students find that relevance motivating in their studies of those processes. Crustal abundance and redox reactions suddenly become personally meaningful when they are used to account for the presence of high levels of carcinogenic Cr(VI) in the students' drinking water. Similarly, epithermal mercury deposits and the element's speciation gain new importance when they are related to the warning signs on the consumption of fish that the students catch and eat. And even those students that are not motivated by these, and many other, applications of geology find solace in learning that anthropogenic perturbations of the global lead cycle may partially account for their short attention span, lack of interest, and inability to learn the material. Consequently, a number of courses in environmental toxicology and ground water contamination have been developed that are based on (1) case studies in environmental regulation and litigation and (2) active student participation as "expert witnesses" opining on the scientific basis of environmental decisions.

Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and its Relevance to Environmental Regulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew C Singer

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The environment is increasingly being recognised for the role it might play in the global spread of clinically-relevant antibiotic resistance. Environmental regulators monitor and control many of the pathways responsible for the release of resistance-driving chemicals into the environment (e.g., antimicrobials, metals, biocides. Hence, environmental regulators should be contributing significantly to the development of global and national antimicrobial resistance (AMR action plans. It is argued that the lack of environment-facing mitigation actions included in existing AMR action plans is likely a function of our poor fundamental understanding of many of the key issues. Here, we aim to present the problem with AMR in the environment through the lens of an environmental regulator, using the Environment Agency (England’s regulator as an example from which parallels can be drawn globally. The issues that are pertinent to environmental regulators are drawn out to answer: What are the drivers and pathways of AMR? How do these relate to the normal work, powers and duties of environmental regulators? What are the knowledge gaps that hinder the delivery of environmental protection from AMR? We offer several thought experiments for how different mitigation strategies might proceed. We conclude that: 1 AMR Action Plans do not tackle all the potentially relevant pathways and drivers of AMR in the environment; and 2 AMR Action Plans are deficient, in part, because the science to inform policy is lacking and this needs to be addressed.

Implications of environmental regulations on refinery product specification, operation and investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amin, M.M.

1992-01-01

During the 1980s, refiners mainly in OECD countries were occupied with improving their refinery configurations for producing high-value light products which would not only satisfy the product demand slate but also meet the increasingly restrictive environmental regulations. In the 1990s refiners will continue to be challenged to improve the world's air quality not only by producing products that minimize emissions of toxic and hazardous hydrocarbons, but also through the refinery operation itself by investment in upgrading the industry and products to cope with the constant flow of new regulations. These investments will not only be limited to consuming centres but will also be extended to cover exporting refineries as well due to competition of acquiring market shares for product exports. The additional cost will be directly related to product quality and site regulations and will vary from one country to the other. This paper deals mainly with the air pollution and the impact of related environmental issues on the refining industry. Environmental regulations for refinery products in the USA and Europe are examined and international regulations for the tanker industry are noted. (author)

Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of Protection ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2006-01-01

Jan 1, 2006 ... Book cover Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of ... are sometimes perceived in developing countries as nontariff barriers to trade. ... In some cases, products that had initially been refused access to a ...

Environmental liability demanded to a sewage works; Responsabilidad medioambiental exigida a una EDAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taure Mendez, J. M.; Rodriguez Escobar, R.

2009-07-01

The law 26/2007 of environmental liability determines a series of obligations. These ones are particularly relevant for that economical or professional activities with a bigger pollution potential. It will be applied to sewage works the new environmental liability system on its stricter form, since the activity developed is included inside Attachment III of the law 26/2007. this article studies the key concepts of the law, like environmental damages, operator, economic or professional activities, objective and unlimited liability, the measures of prevention, avoidance and repair, the compulsory constitution of financial guarantees and the determination of its amount. (Author) 8 refs.

An international comparison of the outcomes of environmental regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouldson, Andy; Carpenter, Angela; Afionis, Stavros

2014-01-01

Whilst there is much discussion about the stringency of environmental regulations and the variability of industrial environmental performance in different countries, there are very few robust evaluations that allow meaningful comparisons to be made. This is partly because data scarcity restricts the ability to make ‘like for like’ comparisons across countries and over time. This paper combines data on benzene emissions from Pollution Release and Transfer Registers with data on industrial production from oil refineries to generate normalized measures of industrial environmental performance across eight Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and the EU-15. We find that normalized emissions levels are improving in nearly all countries, and that there is some convergence in emissions performance between countries, but that there are still very significant variations across countries. We find that average emissions levels are lower in Japan and Germany than in the USA and Australia, which in turn are lower than in Canada and the EU-15, but we note that average emissions in the EU-15 are significantly affected by particularly high emissions in the UK. These findings have significant implications for wider debates on the stringency of environmental regulations and the variability of industrial environmental performance in different countries. (paper)

Environmental regulations and their effects on the nuclear regulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McManus, J.G.

1994-01-01

Environmental regulations are discussed from the point of view of the Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB). The AECB's mission includes the environment, namely 'to ensure that the use of nuclear energy in Canada does not pose any undue risk to health, safety, security or the environment'. The regulatory process was governed by the Atomic Energy Control Act, which at the time of the conference was outdated and due for replacement by a new version, and by the Environmental Assessment and Review Process Guidelines Order, which was due to be replaced by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, still not in force at the time of the conference. Through court decisions, the Guidelines Order had effectively acquired statutory authority. Public hearings and review can result in some considerable delay to the approval of a project, yet the AECB has no choice but to ensure that the requirements of the Guidelines Order are fulfilled. Collaboration between the federal and provincial governments is very evident in Saskatchewan. Of six mining projects being considered by the AECB, five were being reviewed by a joint federal provincial panel. For the future, it was hoped that the new Atomic Energy Control Act would increase fines and the powers of inspectors, require financial guarantees for decommissioning, regularize cooperation with the provinces, and empower the AECB to hold hearings that could effectively substitute for those prescribed by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

From macro- to microplastics - Analysis of EU regulation along the life cycle of plastic bags.

Science.gov (United States)

Steensgaard, Ida M; Syberg, Kristian; Rist, Sinja; Hartmann, Nanna B; Boldrin, Alessio; Hansen, Steffen Foss

2017-05-01

Plastic pollution and its environmental effects has received global attention the recent years. However, limited attention has so far been directed towards how plastics are regulated in a life cycle perspective and how regulatory gaps can be addressed in order to limit and prevent environmental exposure and hazards of macro- and microplastics. In this paper, we map European regulation taking outset in the life cycle perspective of plastic carrier bags: from plastic bag production to when it enters the environment. Relevant regulatory frameworks, directives and authorities along the life cycle are identified and their role in regulation of plastics is discussed. Most important regulations were identified as: the EU chemical Regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive including the amending Directive regarding regulation of the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, the Waste Framework Directive and the Directive on the Landfill of Waste. The main gaps identified relate to lack of clear definitions of categories of polymers, unambitious recycling rates and lack of consideration of macro- and microplastics in key pieces of legislation. We recommend that polymers are categorized according to whether they are polymers with the same monomer constituents (homopolymers) or with different monomer constituents (copolymers) and that polymers are no longer exempt from registration and evaluation under REACH. Plastics should furthermore have the same high level of monitoring and reporting requirements as hazardous waste involving stricter requirements to labelling, recordkeeping, monitoring and control over the whole lifecycle. Finally, we recommend that more ambitious recycle and recovery targets are set across the EU. Regulation of the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags should also apply to heavyweight plastic carrier bags. Last, the Marine and Water Framework Directives should specifically address plastic waste affecting water quality

Ketamine and international regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Yanhui; Tang, Yi-Lang; Hao, Wei

2017-09-01

Ketamine is an anesthetic commonly used in low-income countries and has recently been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant depression. However, the illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and nonmedical use of ketamine are increasing globally, and its illicit use poses major public health challenges in many countries. To review the nonmedical use of ketamine in selected countries and its regulatory control. We conducted a review of literature identified from searches of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979-2016) and PubMed databases, supplemented by additional references identified by the authors. Special attention was given to the regulation of ketamine. Illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and use of ketamine appear to have begun on a large scale in several Asian nations, and it has subsequently spread to other regions. Regulations governing availability of ketamine vary across countries, but there is a clear trend toward tighter regulations. As nonmedical use of ketamine and its harmful consequences have worsened globally, stricter controls are necessary. Appropriate regulation of ketamine is important for international efforts to control ketamine's cross-border trafficking and its nonmedical use.

The problem of the information in the environmental regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nohra León R.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available There are two outstanding elements for the recent studies of environmental regulation: Firsdy the importance of recognizing the rationality agents that participate in the process to be regulated and in the other hand the asymmetric information problem. So, this context shows a mechanism regulation theory to price a natural resource, just like water, under moral hazard and adverse selection. These are issues concerned by every social scientist; therefore geographers must take these tools trying to develop harder works that engage some academic subjects.

Market effects of environmental regulation: coal, railroads, and the 1990 Clean Air Act

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busse, M.R.; Keohane, N.O. [University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2007-01-01

Many environmental regulations encourage the use of 'clean' inputs. When the suppliers of such an input have market power, environmental regulation will affect not only the quantity of the input used but also its price. We investigate the effect of the Title IV emissions trading program for sulfur dioxide on the market for low-sulfur coal. We find that the two railroads transporting coal were able to price discriminate on the basis of environmental regulation and geographic location. Delivered prices rose for plants in the trading program relative to other plants, and by more at plants near a low-sulfur coal source.

Environmental effects on hormonal regulation of testicular descent

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toppari, J; Virtanen, H E; Skakkebaek, N E

2006-01-01

cause some cases of undescended testis. Similarly, androgen insensitivity or androgen deficiency can cause cryptorchidism. Estrogens have been shown to down regulate INSL3 and thereby cause maldescent. Thus, a reduced androgen-estrogen ratio may disturb testicular descent. Environmental effects changing......Regulation of testicular descent is hormonally regulated, but the reasons for maldescent remain unknown in most cases. The main regulatory hormones are Leydig cell-derived testosterone and insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3). Luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates the secretion of these hormones...... hypothesize that an exposure to a mixture of chemicals with anti-androgenic or estrogenic properties (either their own activity or their effect on androgen-estrogen ratio) may be involved in cryptorchidism....

75 FR 14593 - Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of EPA Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-26

... Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources, Addresses Bycatch of Sea Turtles in the Bottom Longline Component of... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [ER-FRL-8989-4] Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of EPA Comments Availability of EPA comments prepared pursuant to the Environmental Review Process...

The future of environmental protection: A U.S. regulator's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicus, G.J.

2002-01-01

The U.S. has the largest number of nuclear installations of any country in the world. This puts us at an extreme end of the spectrum. As a result, I have touched on many issues relative to environmental protection. Therefore in summary, let me list these issues: Before moving ahead, look at what has been done thus far. Executive policy and a national regulatory infrastructure. - Environmental Impact Statements. - Environmental Justice. Standards determined by law or courts. Consultation with other national agencies and countries. Improving the timetable for issuing regulations and supporting guidance. Improved communications and training of staff. Transparency and flexibility throughout the regulatory process. Differences in regulatory approaches are OK, as long as the end result is to achieve sound national environmental and public health and safety policy. I believe that this series of conferences represents an excellent opportunity to come to resolution about the future of environmental regulations and policies. Having this information will assist us in harmonizing any proposed recommendation(s) for radiological protection of the environment involving commodities containing radioactive materials or unrestricted release of slightly radioactive materials by using the existing environmental radiation protection framework as a starting point. Doing so in an open, encompassing manner will, in my opinion, go a long way towards resolving some of the current controversies about radiation protection standards in the U.S., as well as around the world, with the desirable end result of increasing public confidence in our environmental radiation protection programs. (author)

Competitiveness Implications of Environmental Regulations: Case Studies (1992- 1997)

Science.gov (United States)

This collection of reports is part of a series of case studies designed to examine Michael Porter’s hypothesis that innovative companies responding to environmental regulation can create competitive advantage through lower costs or higher sales.

Strict Liability Versus Policy and Regulation for Environmental Protection and Agricultural Waste Management in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Bakri Ishak

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Basically, strict liability is part of the mechanism for expressing judgment or sentence by using direct evidence. This principle is very useful in order to obtain remedies from any damage either directly or indirectly. The principle in Rylands v Fletcher is responsible on imposing strict liability where if something brought onto land or collected there escapes liability under this rule can include not only the owner of land but also those who control or occupation on it. However, as a matter of fact, policy and regulation are also important in taking any action against any party who are responsible for environmental pollution or damage, which may include mismanagement of waste or industrial waste or agricultural waste. There are certain policies and regulations on environmental protection such as the National Environmental Policy, certain Acts and several regulations under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127, which are very useful for agricultural waste management inter alia: Waters Act 1920 (Act 418, Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises (Crude Palm Oil Regulations 1977, Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises (Raw Natural Rubber Regulations 1978, Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents Regulations 1979, and Environmental Quality (Compounding of Offences Rules 1978. As a matter of fact, we should realize that time is of an essence for any parties which are involved in court cases and especially in avoiding the element of externality, which is commonly suffered by the government. In making this paper, therefore, some element of comparison with certain developed jurisdiction such as in the United Kingdom and Japan could not be avoided in order to obtain better outcome and to be more practical for the purpose of environmental protection and agricultural waste management.

The filter fraud: debunking the myth of "Safer" as a key new strategy of tobacco control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan Blum

2018-03-01

Additional research on the potential health and environmental benefits of removing filters from the marketplace should be conducted, aimed at stricter product regulation. Meanwhile, rather than solely continuing to educate the public about the dangers of smoking, public health professionals and clinicians need to better communicate the message that filtered cigarettes do not confer any health protection whatsoever.

Environment, automotive fuels and petroleum industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabarelli, Davide

1997-01-01

After several years of delays, the italian environmental regulation concerning the oil industry has taken a leading role in Europe, especially starting from 1995, for benzene limits in gasoline. This article tries to estimate what are the anticipates costs for the italian industry due to a stricter legislation on gasoline compared to the rest of Europe

Have Countries with Lax Environmental Regulations a Comparative Advantage in Polluting Industries?

OpenAIRE

Quiroga, Miguel; Sterner, Thomas; Persson, Martin

2007-01-01

We aim to study whether lax environmental regulations induce comparative advantages, causing the least-regulated countries to specialize in polluting industries. The study is based on Trefler and Zhu’s (2005) definition of the factor content of trade. For the econometrical analysis, we use a cross-section of 71 countries in 2000 to examine the net exports in the most polluting industries. We try to overcome three weaknesses in the empirical literature: the measurement of environmental endowme...

Environmental Regulation and Food Safety: Studies of Protection ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

1 janv. 2006 ... Environmental Regulation and Food Safety intéressera les artisans des politiques et les ONG , les chercheurs et les spécialistes de l'économie ... This funding will help strengthen the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization's (STIPRO) role as a credible public policy institution in ...

Regulations on environmental data for the petroleum activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

The publication deals with the regulations on environmental data for the petroleum activity, stipulated by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate on 1 December 1989 pursuant to Royal Decree of 28 June 1985, cf. Sections 7 and 33, cf. delegation of authority by the Ministry of Local Government and Labour of 28 June 1985. 1 tab

Leading trends in environmental regulation that affect energy development. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steele, R V; Attaway, L D; Christerson, J A; Kikel, D A; Kuebler, J D; Lupatkin, B M; Liu, C S; Meyer, R; Peyton, T O; Sussin, M H

1980-01-01

Major environmental issues that are likely to affect the implementation of energy technologies between now and the year 2000 are identified and assessed. The energy technologies specifically addressed are: oil recovery and processing; gas recovery and processing; coal liquefaction; coal gasification (surface); in situ coal gasification; direct coal combustion; advanced power systems; magnetohydrodynamics; surface oil shale retorting; true and modified in situ oil shale retorting; geothermal energy; biomass energy conversion; and nuclear power (fission). Environmental analyses of these technologies included, in addition to the main processing steps, the complete fuel cycle from resource extraction to end use. A comprehensive survey of the environmental community (including environmental groups, researchers, and regulatory agencies) was carried out in parallel with an analysis of the technologies to identify important future environmental issues. Each of the final 20 issues selected by the project staff has the following common attributes: consensus of the environmental community that the issue is important; it is a likely candidate for future regulatory action; it deals with a major environmental aspect of energy development. The analyses of the 20 major issues address their environmental problem areas, current regulatory status, and the impact of future regulations. These analyses are followed by a quantitative assessment of the impact on energy costs and nationwide pollutant emissions of possible future regulations. This is accomplished by employing the Strategic Environmental Assessment System (SEAS) for a subset of the 20 major issues. The report concludes with a more general discussion of the impact of environmental regulatory action on energy development.

Human exposure, health hazards, and environmental regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinemann, Anne

2004-01-01

United States environmental regulations, intended to protect human health, generally fail to address major sources of pollutants that endanger human health. These sources are surprisingly close to us and within our control, such as consumer products and building materials that we use within our homes, workplaces, schools, and other indoor environments. Even though these indoor sources account for nearly 90% of our pollutant exposure, they are virtually unregulated by existing laws. Even pollutant levels found in typical homes, if found outdoors, would often violate federal environmental standards. This article examines the importance of human exposure as a way to understand and reduce effects of pollutants on human health. Results from exposure studies challenge traditional thinking about pollutant hazards, and reveal deficiencies in our patchwork of laws. And results from epidemiological studies, showing increases in exposure-related diseases, underscore the need for new protections. Because we cannot rely solely on regulations to protect us, and because health effects from exposures can develop insidiously, greater efforts are needed to reduce and prevent significant exposures before they occur. Recommendations include the development and use of safer alternatives to common products, public education on ways to reduce exposure, systematic monitoring of human exposure to pollutants, and a precautionary approach in decision-making

The networked patient : Sharing data to improve health?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heerings, M.

2014-01-01

For diabetes type 1 the development towards stricter regulation of blood-glucose levels is associated with lower risk of long term complications (such as neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, cardiovascular disease). A stricter regulation changes disease management practices of patients and health

Energy-economy relationship and environmental regulation in the presence of unrecorded economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karanfil, F.

2008-12-01

This PhD thesis including five manuscripts and a brief international comparison analysis proposes a multi-field study on the economic and environmental effects of energy consumption. It first investigates the causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption in Turkey and then offers a new methodology for the estimation of unrecorded economy based on environmental data. The thesis develops also asymmetric information models, where the regulator does not know the true emission level of each firm that it wishes to regulate, so as to examine to what extend different enforcement mechanisms affect incentives for the firms to reduce polluting emissions and to invest in clean energy technologies. In order to provide a complete insight on the effects of both fiscal and environmental enforcement policies, some similar analysis are conducted taking into account the existence of unrecorded economy. The results in this thesis essentially show that: first, energy conservation policies can be implemented in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without any adverse effect on the recorded economic activities; second, different audit mechanisms should be used depending on the environmental objective of the enforcement agency; third, in some cases, environmental regulations may increase the size of unrecorded economy; fourth, economic policies to combat unrecorded economy may not serve as a complement to energy conservation policies. (author)

Environmental Regulation in Uganda: Successes and Challenges - Comment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Echookit Akellol

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The development of environmental regulatory framework in Uganda was initiated by the national environment action planning process in 1990, as a realization that environment needed special focus. As a result of the said process environmental policy and law were developed. The 1995 constitutional of the Republic of Uganda was among the first ever such constitution in the East African region to deliberately enshrine the right to a decent environment and to provide for sustainable development, in addition to the principle that natural resources are held in trust for the people and should be responsibly managed for their benefit. Following the constitution, a number of environment legislations were enacted and others were revised to take into account environmental cardinal principles and considerations, including embedding in them environmental regulatory provisions. Hence, in addition to the framework of National Environment Act, a number of environment sect oral legislation exists and environmental management is spread throughout the respective institutions responsible for aspects of the environment. It is therefore safe to say that Uganda has developed a lot of legislation on the environment but the challenge remains that of developing more regulations under the relevant parent Acts, effective monitoring and enforcement.

Theoretical foundations for environmental Kuznets curve analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lantz, Van

This thesis provides a dynamic theory for analyzing the paths of aggregate output and pollution in a country over time. An infinite horizon, competitive growth-pollution model is explored in order to determine the role that economic scale, production techniques, and pollution regulations play in explaining the inverted U-shaped relationship between output and some forms of pollution (otherwise known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or EKC). Results indicate that the output-pollution relationship may follow a strictly increasing, strictly decreasing (but bounded), inverted U-shaped, or some combination of curves. While the 'scale' effect may cause output and pollution to exhibit a monotonic relationship, 'technique' and 'regulation' effects may ultimately cause a de-linking of these two variables. Pollution-minimizing energy regulation policies are also investigated within this framework. It is found that the EKC may be 'flattened' or even eliminated moving from a poorly-regulated economy to one that minimizes pollution. The model is calibrated to the US economy for output (gross national product, GNP) and two pollutants (sulfur dioxide, SO2, and carbon dioxide, CO2) over the period 1900 to 1990. Results indicate that the model replicates the observations quite well. The predominance of 'scale' effects cause aggregate SO2 and CO2 levels to increase with GNP in the early stages of development. Then, in the case of SO 2, 'technique' and 'regulation' effects may be the cause of falling SO2 levels with continued economic growth (establishing the EKC). CO2 continues to monotonically increase as output levels increase over time. The positive relationship may be due to the lack of regulations on this pollutant. If stricter regulation policies were instituted in the two case studies, an improved allocation of resources may result. While GNP may be 2.596 to 20% lower than what has been realized in the US economy (depending on the pollution variable analyzed), individual

Life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of European regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-07-15

Energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has been declining over the past decades while at the same time their number in Europe has been increasing. The European Commission has recently adopted an eco-design regulation to improve the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. In addition to the existing directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the regulation could potentially have significant effects on the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. However, the scale of the effects is currently unknown, beyond scant information on greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this paper considers for the first time life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of the implementation of these regulations at the European level. The effects of electricity decarbonisation, product lifetime and end-of-life disposal options are also considered. The results suggest that the implementation of the eco-design regulation alone will reduce significantly the impacts from vacuum cleaners (37%-44%) by 2020 compared with current situation. If business as usual continued and the regulation was not implemented, the impacts would be 82%-109% higher by 2020 compared to the impacts with the implementation of the regulation. Improvements associated with the implementation of the WEEE directive will be much smaller (impacts would be 2%-21% higher by 2020 relative to the impacts with the implementation of the directive. Further improvements in most impacts (6%-20%) could be achieved by decarbonising the electricity mix. Therefore, energy efficiency measures must be accompanied by appropriate actions to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation; otherwise, the benefits of improved energy efficiency could be limited. Moreover, because of expected lower life expectancy of vacuum cleaners and limited availability of some raw materials, the eco-design regulation should be broadened to reduce the impacts from raw materials, production and end

Do Countries with Lax Environmental Regulations Have a Comparative Advantage in Polluting Industries?.

OpenAIRE

Miguel Angel Quiroga; Martin Persson; Thomas Sterner

2009-01-01

We study whether lax environmental regulations induce comparative advantages, causing the least-regulated countries to specialize in polluting industries. We seek to improve three areas in the empirical literature based on the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek’s factor content of trade, more specifically in Tobey’s (1990) approach: the measurement of environmental endowments, the possible endogeneity due to an omitted variable that has not been considered, and the influence of the industrial level of agg...

Environmental Analysis of Petrol, Diesel and Electric Passenger Cars in a Belgian Urban Setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nils Hooftman

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The combustion of fossil fuels in the transport sector leads to an aggravation of the air quality along city roads and highways. Urban air quality is a serious problem nowadays as the number of vehicles increases on a yearly basis. With stricter Euro emission regulations, vehicle manufacturers are not meeting the imposed limits and are also disregarding the non-exhaust emissions. This paper highlights the relevance of non-exhaust emissions of passenger vehicles, both conventional (diesel and petrol or electric vehicles (EV, on air quality levels in an urban environment in Belgium. An environmental life cycle assessment was carried out based on a real-world emission model for passenger cars and fuel refinery data. A cut-off was applied to the models to highlight what emissions, both from the refinery to the exhaust and electricity production for EV, do actually occur within Belgium’s borders. Results show that not much progress has been made from Euro 4 to 6 for conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles pose the best alternative solution as a more environmentally friendly means of transportation. The analysis results target policy makers with the intention that regulations and policies would be developed in the future and target the characterization of non-exhaust emissions from vehicles. These results indicate that EVs offer a valid solution for addressing the urban air quality issue and that non-exhaust emissions should be addressed in future regulatory steps as they dominate the impact spectrum.

Economic growth and energy regulation in the environmental Kuznets curve.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorente, Daniel Balsalobre; Álvarez-Herranz, Agustín

2016-08-01

This study establishes the existence of a pattern of behavior, between economic growth and environmental degradation, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for 17 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries between 1990 and 2012. Based on this EKC pattern, it shows that energy regulation measures help reduce per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To validate this hypothesis, we also add the explanatory variables: renewable energy promotion, energy innovation processes, and the suppression effect of income level on the contribution of renewable energy sources to total energy consumption. It aims to be a tool for decision-making regarding energy policy. This paper provides a two-stage econometric analysis of instrumental variables with the aim of correcting the existence of endogeneity in the variable GDP per capita, verifying that the instrumental variables used in this research are appropriate for our aim. To this end, it first makes a methodological contribution before incorporating additional variables associated with environmental air pollution into the EKC hypothesis and showing how they positively affect the explanation of the correction in the GHG emission levels. This study concludes that air pollution will not disappear on its own as economic growth increases. Therefore, it is necessary to promote energy regulation measures to reduce environmental pollution.

Ground-water heat pumps: an examination of hydrogeologic, environmental, legal, and economic factors affecting their use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armitage, D M; Bacon, D J; Massey-Norton, J T; Miller, J D

1980-11-12

Groundwater is attractive as a potential low-temperature energy source in residential space-conditioning applications. When used in conjuncton with a heat pump, ground water can serve as both a heat source (for heating) and a heat sink (for cooling). Major hydrogeologic aspects that affect system use include groundwater temperature and availability at shallow depths as these factors influence operational efficiency. Ground-water quality is considered as it affects the performance and life-expectancy of the water-side heat exchanger. Environmental impacts related to groundwater heat pump system use are most influenced by water use and disposal methods. In general, recharge to the subsurface (usually via injection wells) is recommended. Legal restrictions on system use are often stricter at the municipal and county levels than at state and Federal levels. Although Federal regulations currently exist, the agencies are not equipped to regulate individual, domestic installations. Computer smulations indicate that under a variety of climatologic conditions, groundwater heat pumps use less energy than conventional heating and cooling equipment. Life-cycle cost comparisons with conventional equipment depend on alternative system choices and well cost options included in the groundwater heat pump system.

Comprehensive Planning for Classification and Disposal of Solid Waste at the Industrial Parks regarding Health and Environmental Impacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Hashemi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is the comprehensive planning for integrated management of solid waste at the industrial parks. The share of each industrial group including food, metal, chemical, non-metallic minerals, textile, electrical and electronical, and cellulose industries were 48.2, 14.9, 6.7, 22, 0.9, 0.6, and 6.5 percent, respectively. The results showed that nearly half of total industrial waste produced from the range of biological materials are biodegradable and discharging them without observing environmental regulations leads to short-term pollution and nuisance in the acceptor environment. Also some parts of case study waste were recyclable which is considerable from viewpoint of economical and environmental pollution. Long-term impacts will appear due to improper site selection of disposal from the spatial standpoint. In this way, an approach for site selection using several socioeconomic, physical, and environmental criteria based on multicriteria decision making model (MCDM is introduced. Health risks and environment pollution such as soil and surface water may be done. It is essential to revise the studied industries layout, particularly those units which produce special waste which should be more cautious. Also stricter enforcement is required as an effective step in reducing the harmful impacts of it.

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Government Regulation and Enterprise Emission from the Perspective of Environmental Tax

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Yazong

2017-12-01

In the context of the upcoming implementation of the environmental tax policy, there is a need for a focus on the relationship between government regulation and corporate emissions. To achieve the real effect of environmental tax policy, government need to regulate the illegal emissions of enterprises. Based on the hypothesis of bounded rationality, this paper analyses the strategic set of government regulators and polluting enterprises in the implementation of environmental tax policy. By using the evolutionary game model, the utility function and payoff matrix of the both sides are constructed, and the evolutionary analysis and strategy adjustment of the environmental governance target and the actual profit of the stakeholders are carried out. Thus, the wrong behaviours could be corrected so that the equilibrium of the evolutionary system can be achieved gradually, which could also get the evolutionary stable strategies of the government and the polluting enterprises in the implementation of environmental tax policy.

28 CFR 91.68 - Compliance with other Federal environmental statutes, regulations and executive orders.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) GRANTS FOR CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES Environmental Impact Review Procedures for VOI/TIS Grant Program Other State and Federal Law Requirements § 91.68 Compliance with other Federal environmental statutes, regulations and executive orders. (a) Other Federal environmental laws. All projects...

Implications for the Venezuelan oil industry of new environmental regulations in consumer countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez M, J.C.

1992-01-01

New and tighter environmental regulations are being enacted in major oil consumer countries, inducing a reshaping of oil business strategies and operations in oil exporting countries. The priority areas include air and water pollution control, waste management, conservation of natural resources and oil spill control among others. This paper summarizes the more significant of those regulations in the U.S.A. and Europe, their aims, as well as the implications for Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) in terms of investment in new product specifications and pollution prevention programmes. A review of the Venezuelan environmental regulations has also been done recently, and the necessary investment to comply with the new national standards in existing installations are estimated in US$500 million for the period 1992-1996. Investment in local environmental protection, associated with the new installations in Venezuela for manufacturing cleaner products during the same period, are included in the costs of these installations presented in this document. (author)

The impact of environmental regulations on drilling fluid technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, R.K.

1994-01-01

A multitude of new drilling fluid products, systems, and treatment processes have been developed in recent years in response to increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Many fluid additives and systems that once played a major role in the drilling industry are little used today or are no longer available. New water-base mud systems are approaching the performance levels typical of conventional oil-base muds, levels largely achieved by the new synthetic-base fluids. However, these new drilling fluids do not have the adverse environmental impact associated with oil-base systems when waste fluids and cuttings are discarded. 65 refs., 3 tabs

The effect of energy efficiency enhancement on innovation and competitiveness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadot, O.; Gonseth, C. [University of Lausanne, Institut CREA de macroeconomie appliquee, Lausanne (Switzerland); Thalmann, Ph. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), ENAC INTER REME, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, ENAC, Economics and Environmental Management Laboratory, REME, Lausanne (Switzerland)

2009-10-15

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a study made within the framework of the 'Swiss Energy Trialogue', a co-operation between science, business and society. The so-called 'Porter Hypothesis' - proposed in the mid-nineties by Michael Porter and Claas van der Linde - is discussed. This hypothesis proposes that stricter environmental regulations could facilitate a transition from extensive growth to intensive growth. This report presents an empirical approach focussing on the capacity of industries to adapt to cost-raising environmental regulations. Induced innovation and the impact of environmental regulations on productivity are discussed. The scope of the project and the methodology used are looked at. Empirical results are presented and discussed. The report is completed with a number of appendices.

The Effect of Environmental Regulation on the Locational Choice of Japanese Foreign Direct Investment

OpenAIRE

Kirkpatrick, Colin

2008-01-01

Abstract This paper assesses the impact of environmental regulation in host countries on Japanese foreign direct investment decision-making. It tests the pollution haven hypothesis using data on national environmental regulation standards and Japanese inward FDI in five dirty industries. The results do not support the pollution haven haven hypothesis. On the contrary, inward Japanese FDI appears to be attracted to countries which have committe themselves to a tranparent and stable ...

75 FR 1585 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-12

...] Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically... and Forage Genetics International alfalfa lines designated as events J101 and J163 as regulated... International (FGI) alfalfa events J101 and J163 were no longer considered regulated articles under the...

Productivity and environmental regulations. A long run analysis of the Swedish industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braennlund, Runar

2008-01-15

The aim with this study is to evaluate the potential effects on productivity development in the Swedish manufacturing industry due to changes in environmental regulations over a long time period. The issue is closely related to the so called Porter hypothesis, i.e. whether environmental regulations (of the right kind) that usually is associated with costs triggers mechanisms that enhances efficiency and productivity that finally outweighs the initial cost increase. To test our hypothesis we use historical data spanning over the period 1913-1999 for the Swedish manufacturing sector. The model used is a two stage model were the total factor productivity is calculated in the first stage, and is then used in a second stage as the dependent variable in a regression analysis where one of the independent variables is a measure of regulatory intensity. The results show that the productivity growth has varied considerably over time. The least productive period was the second world war period, whereas the period with the highest productivity growth was the period after the second world war until 1970. Development of emissions follows essentially the same path as productivity growth until 1970. After 1970, however, there is a decoupling in the sense that emissions are decreasing, both in absolute level and as emissions per unit of value added. A rather robust conclusion is that there is no evident relationship between environmental regulations and productivity growth. One explanation is that regulations and productivity actually is unrelated. Another potential explanation is that the regulatory measure used does not capture perceived regulations in a correct way

Fiscal reform of fuel regulation in Brazil: recent developments and environmental implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinostroza, Miriam; Sauer, Ildo Luis; Guerra, Sinclair M.-G.

2005-11-15

Internationally the fossil fuel-based energy sector now faces increasing uncertainties due to changes in its fiscal regulation, prompted by pressure for environmental regulation. These changes typically eliminate some taxes at the beginning of the oil production chain, but compensate for these by increasing taxation on consumption. In Brazil, fiscal reform proposals focus not on environmental arguments but on the elimination of excess levies and red tape and on increasing equity across income classes. However, liberalization process of oil and gas industries in Brazil has led to modifications in fuels taxation. This article discusses current Brazilian fiscal policy as related to fossil fuels, explaining the nature of recently introduced contribution for economic regulation (Contribuicao de Intervencao ao Dominio Economico, CIDE) and the impacts on price formation. It also shows how those modifications tend to include external costs from activities in the fuel sector; through revenues from a levy earmarked for two purposes: i) funding investments in projects deemed to be environmentally beneficial, and, ii) improvements in road infrastructure aimed at reducing emissions from transportation. Some ideas on how to improve use of the levy to perk up fuel alcohol competitiveness are also discussed. (Author)

Genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in emotion regulation and its relation to working memory in toddlerhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Manjie; Saudino, Kimberly J

2013-12-01

This is the first study to explore genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in emotion regulation in toddlers, and the first to examine the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the association between emotion regulation and working memory. In a sample of 304 same-sex twin pairs (140 MZ, 164 DZ) at age 3, emotion regulation was assessed using the Behavior Rating Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BRS; Bayley, 1993), and working memory was measured by the visually cued recall (VCR) task (Zelazo, Jacques, Burack, & Frye, 2002) and several memory tasks from the Mental Scale of the BSID. Based on model-fitting analyses, both emotion regulation and working memory were significantly influenced by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. Shared environmental effects were significant for working memory, but not for emotion regulation. Only genetic factors significantly contributed to the covariation between emotion regulation and working memory.

Environmental Regulation, Foreign Direct Investment and Green Technological Progress—Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Industries

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiangfeng; Wang, Zhao; Lian, Yuehan; Huang, Qinghua

2018-01-01

This study examines the spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on green technology progress rate (as measured by the green total factor productivity). The analysis utilizes two measures of FDI, labor-based FDI and capital-based FDI, and separately investigates four sets of industry classifications—high/low discharge regulation and high/low emission standard regulation. The results indicate that in the low discharge regulation and low emission standard regulation industry, labor-based FDI has a significant negative spillover effect, and capital-based FDI has a significant positive spillover effect. However, in the high-intensity environmental regulation industry, the negative influence of labor-based FDI is completely restrained, and capital-based FDI continues to play a significant positive green technological spillover effects. These findings have clear policy implications: the government should be gradually reducing the labor-based FDI inflow or increasing stringency of environmental regulation in order to reduce or eliminate the negative spillover effect of the labor-based FDI. PMID:29382112

Environmental Regulation, Foreign Direct Investment and Green Technological Progress—Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiangfeng Hu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines the spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI on green technology progress rate (as measured by the green total factor productivity. The analysis utilizes two measures of FDI, labor-based FDI and capital-based FDI, and separately investigates four sets of industry classifications—high/low discharge regulation and high/low emission standard regulation. The results indicate that in the low discharge regulation and low emission standard regulation industry, labor-based FDI has a significant negative spillover effect, and capital-based FDI has a significant positive spillover effect. However, in the high-intensity environmental regulation industry, the negative influence of labor-based FDI is completely restrained, and capital-based FDI continues to play a significant positive green technological spillover effects. These findings have clear policy implications: the government should be gradually reducing the labor-based FDI inflow or increasing stringency of environmental regulation in order to reduce or eliminate the negative spillover effect of the labor-based FDI.

Environmental Regulation, Foreign Direct Investment and Green Technological Progress-Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiangfeng; Wang, Zhao; Lian, Yuehan; Huang, Qinghua

2018-01-29

This study examines the spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on green technology progress rate (as measured by the green total factor productivity). The analysis utilizes two measures of FDI, labor-based FDI and capital-based FDI, and separately investigates four sets of industry classifications-high/low discharge regulation and high/low emission standard regulation. The results indicate that in the low discharge regulation and low emission standard regulation industry, labor-based FDI has a significant negative spillover effect, and capital-based FDI has a significant positive spillover effect. However, in the high-intensity environmental regulation industry, the negative influence of labor-based FDI is completely restrained, and capital-based FDI continues to play a significant positive green technological spillover effects. These findings have clear policy implications: the government should be gradually reducing the labor-based FDI inflow or increasing stringency of environmental regulation in order to reduce or eliminate the negative spillover effect of the labor-based FDI.

Manual: environmental impact statement and intervention regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumann, K.

1992-01-01

In order to be able to fulfil also legally the important tasks of environmental protection and natural preservation in the last ten years numerous legal provisions have been issued. Many of these laws require that the environmental impact of projects and constructional measures is taken into account to a higher degree. Two important instruments in this connection are the impact statement and the intervention regulation of natural preservation. Their importance and consequences for the planning and realization of projects are until now not sufficiently know. This manual is to fill this gap. This booklet shall help builder-owners and investors to realize their building projects in a way which is compatible with the environment. For architects and planners information is given in this manual about the requirements to be fulfilled in the individual planning and licensing procedures. The booklet is structured in a way that builder-owners, consultants and authorities find quickly the information needed. (orig./KW) [de

The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Total Factor Energy Efficiency: A Cross-Region Analysis in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianting Lin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Environmental regulations are the key measure by which governments achieve sustainable environmental and economic development. This study aimed to determine the direct and indirect impacts of environmental regulations on total factor energy efficiency of regions in China. Since regions have different levels of economic development and resource endowment, we used the slacks-based measure (SBM-undesirable model to calculate total factor energy efficiency considering regional technology heterogeneity and examined the regional impacts of environmental regulation on this efficiency using the Tobit regression model. A positive direct impact was generated in the eastern region of China by the forced mechanism, which forced enterprises to reduce fossil fuel energy demand and increase clean energy consumption; whereas a negative direct impact was generated in the middle and western regions owing to the green paradox, which is the observation that expected stringent environmental regulation prompts energy owners to accelerate resource extraction. Moreover, indirect impacts through technological progress and foreign direct investment were taken into account in the model, and the results show that the indirect impacts vary across regions. A logical response to these findings would be to develop different policies for different regions.

The effect of environmental regulation on firms' competitive performance: the case of the building & construction sector in some EU regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Testa, Francesco; Iraldo, Fabio; Frey, Marco

2011-09-01

There is a considerable debate on the effects of environmental regulation on competitive performance. Based on survey data, this paper analyzes the two main research questions, derived from literature, on the links between environmental regulation and competitiveness, by focusing on firms operating in the building and construction sector, i.e.: 1) whether environmental policy stringency affects the competitive performance of firms in the building and construction sector 2) and how a specific form of environmental regulation (direct regulation, economic instruments and soft instruments) affects this performance? By applying a regression analysis, we find that a more stringent environmental regulation, measured by inspection frequency, provides a positive impulse for increasing investments in advanced technological equipment and innovative products and on business performance. Moreover, a well-designed "direct regulation" appears to be the most effective policy instrument for prompting the positive impact of environmental policies on innovation and intangible performance while economic instruments do negatively affect business performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of European regulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro, E-mail: alejandro.gallegoschmid@manchester.ac.uk; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F.; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-07-15

Energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has been declining over the past decades while at the same time their number in Europe has been increasing. The European Commission has recently adopted an eco-design regulation to improve the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. In addition to the existing directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the regulation could potentially have significant effects on the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. However, the scale of the effects is currently unknown, beyond scant information on greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this paper considers for the first time life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of the implementation of these regulations at the European level. The effects of electricity decarbonisation, product lifetime and end-of-life disposal options are also considered. The results suggest that the implementation of the eco-design regulation alone will reduce significantly the impacts from vacuum cleaners (37%–44%) by 2020 compared with current situation. If business as usual continued and the regulation was not implemented, the impacts would be 82%–109% higher by 2020 compared to the impacts with the implementation of the regulation. Improvements associated with the implementation of the WEEE directive will be much smaller (< 1% in 2020). However, if the WEEE directive did not exist, then the impacts would be 2%–21% higher by 2020 relative to the impacts with the implementation of the directive. Further improvements in most impacts (6%–20%) could be achieved by decarbonising the electricity mix. Therefore, energy efficiency measures must be accompanied by appropriate actions to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation; otherwise, the benefits of improved energy efficiency could be limited. Moreover, because of expected lower life expectancy of vacuum cleaners and limited availability of some raw materials, the eco-design regulation should

Life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of European regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F.; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-01-01

Energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has been declining over the past decades while at the same time their number in Europe has been increasing. The European Commission has recently adopted an eco-design regulation to improve the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. In addition to the existing directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the regulation could potentially have significant effects on the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. However, the scale of the effects is currently unknown, beyond scant information on greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this paper considers for the first time life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of the implementation of these regulations at the European level. The effects of electricity decarbonisation, product lifetime and end-of-life disposal options are also considered. The results suggest that the implementation of the eco-design regulation alone will reduce significantly the impacts from vacuum cleaners (37%–44%) by 2020 compared with current situation. If business as usual continued and the regulation was not implemented, the impacts would be 82%–109% higher by 2020 compared to the impacts with the implementation of the regulation. Improvements associated with the implementation of the WEEE directive will be much smaller (< 1% in 2020). However, if the WEEE directive did not exist, then the impacts would be 2%–21% higher by 2020 relative to the impacts with the implementation of the directive. Further improvements in most impacts (6%–20%) could be achieved by decarbonising the electricity mix. Therefore, energy efficiency measures must be accompanied by appropriate actions to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation; otherwise, the benefits of improved energy efficiency could be limited. Moreover, because of expected lower life expectancy of vacuum cleaners and limited availability of some raw materials, the eco-design regulation should

[Research advance in nitrogen metabolism of plant and its environmental regulation].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhenzhu; Zhou, Guangsheng

2004-03-01

Nitrogen metabolism is not only one of the basic processes of plant physiology, but also one of the important parts of global chemical cycle. Plant nitrogen assimilation directly takes part in the synthesis and conversion of amino acid through the reduction of nitrate. During this stage, some key enzymes, e.g., nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamine synthase (GOGAT), aspargine synthetase (AS), and asparate aminotransferase (AspAT) participate these processes. The protein is assimilated in plant cell through amino acid, and becomes a part of plant organism through modifying, classifying, transporting and storing processes, etc. The nitrogen metabolism is associated with carbonic metabolism through key enzyme regulations and the conversion of products, which consists of basic life process. Among these amino acids in plant cell, glutamic acid (Glu), glutamine (Gln), aspartic acid (Asp) and asparagines (Asn), etc., play a key role, which regulates their conversion each other and their contents in the plant cell through regulating formation and activity of those key enzymes. Environmental factors also affect the conversion and recycle of the key amino acids through regulating gene expression of the key enzymes and their activities. Nitrate and light intensity positively regulate the gene transcription of NR, but ammonium ions and Glu, Gln do the negative way. Water deficit is a very serious constraint on N2 fixation rate and soybean (Glycine max Merr.) grain yield, in which, ureide accumulation and degradation under water deficit appear to be the key issues of feedback mechanism on nitrogen fixation. Water stress decreases NR activity, but increases proteinase activity, and thus, they regulate plant nitrogen metabolism, although there are some different effects among species and cultivars. Water stress also decreases plant tissue protein content, ratio of protein and amino acid, and reduces the absorption of amino

Developing New Modelling Tools for Environmental Flow Assessment in Regulated Salmon Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Geris, Josie; Soulsby, Chris; Tetzlaff, Doerthe

2013-04-01

There is a strong political drive in Scotland to meet all electricity demands from renewable sources by 2020. In Scotland, hydropower generation has a long history and is a key component of this strategy. However, many rivers sustain freshwater communities that have both high conservation status and support economically important Atlantic salmon fisheries. Both new and existing hydropower schemes must be managed in accordance with the European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD), which requires that all surface water bodies achieve good ecological status or maintain good ecological potential. Unfortunately, long-term river flow monitoring is sparse in the Scottish Highlands and there are limited data for defining environmental flows. The River Tay is the most heavily regulated catchment in the UK. To support hydropower generation, it has an extensive network of inter- and intra- catchment transfers, in addition to a large number of regulating reservoirs for which abstraction legislation often only requires minimum compensation flows. The Tay is also considered as one of Scotland's most important rivers for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and there is considerable uncertainty as to how best change reservoir operations to improve the ecological potential of the river system. It is now usually considered that environmental flows require more than a minimum compensation flow, and instead should cover a range of hydrological flow aspects that represent ecologically relevant streamflow attributes, including magnitude, timing, duration, frequency and rate of change. For salmon, these hydrological indices are of particular interest, with requirements varying at different stages of their life cycle. To meet the WFD requirements, rationally alter current abstraction licences and provide an evidence base for regulating new hydropower schemes, advanced definitions for abstraction limits and ecologically appropriate flow releases are desirable. However, a good understanding

Eco-Efficiency Assessments as a Tool for Revealing the Environmental Improvement Potential of New Regulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ottar Michelsen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Public regulations can result in improved environmental performance of products. In this paper eco-efficiency is used to assess the most likely outcome of potential new regulations. The paper presents a case study of furniture production in Norway where different scenarios for improving the environmental performance of the products are presented. Four regulatory options for imposing environmental improvements are assessed; (1 an introduction of a tax on emissions, (2 an increase of the tax on landfills, (3 an introduction of a tax on raw material consumption, and (4 introduction of take-back legislation.

Study on influence over approaching a market in the international trade by enhancing the international environmental regulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Sang In; Park, Joon Young [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1999-12-01

The focal point of connecting trade and environment is what kind of influence over a national competitiveness of a national economy can be brought by enhancing environmental regulations. Traditionally it was accepted that the enhancement of environmental policy had a negative impact on competitiveness. However, recent study results show that the enhancement of environmental policy can strengthen industrial competitiveness for a long term. This study analyzes the significance of enhancing the international environmental regulation from a developing country's standpoint in association with this. 27 refs., 8 tabs.

Study on influence over approaching a market in the international trade by enhancing the international environmental regulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Sang In; Park, Joon Young [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1999-12-01

The focal point of connecting trade and environment is what kind of influence over a national competitiveness of a national economy can be brought by enhancing environmental regulations. Traditionally it was accepted that the enhancement of environmental policy had a negative impact on competitiveness. However, recent study results show that the enhancement of environmental policy can strengthen industrial competitiveness for a long term. This study analyzes the significance of enhancing the international environmental regulation from a developing country's standpoint in association with this. 27 refs., 8 tabs.

On regulation of environmental responsibility in the final stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. - Parallel regulation within the framework of Euratom and the Lisbon-treaty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erhag, Thomas

2010-09-01

In Sweden, the responsibility for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel is regulated in various laws and regulations. This means that there is an overlap between laws providing a sometimes vague and weak legal situation. Although attempts have been made to coordinate environmental and nuclear law these attempts have not succeeded. Recently, several Swedish reports have again described the fact that we have a parallel system of legal rules for the handling of spent nuclear fuel and the consequences of this. Foremost attention has been drawn to the fact that the licensing of a repository must be made both under the Nuclear Safety Act and the Environmental Code. The regulation referred to above is Swedish, and both the parallel regulation of nuclear safety-, radiation protection- and environmental- responsibility, and the relationship between such legislation, has its own Swedish history. However, Swedish legislation in all these areas is also under the influence of international regulations. This article describes the parallel regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection issues on a European level. It shows that the division and logic found in the relationship between the Swedish laws is only partially reflected at European level. First treated is the relationship between the EC-treaty and Euratom. The article then turns to examples of regulatory responsibility for waste management and communication of information relating to license applications (environmental impact assessments) for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel within the framework of Euratom and the EC-treaty. Finally, it discusses the implications of this type of parallel regulation for the Swedish licensing procedure

On regulation of environmental responsibility in the final stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. - Parallel regulation within the framework of Euratom and the Lisbon-treaty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erhag, Thomas (Dept. of Law, Univ. of Goeteborg, Goeteborg (Sweden)), e-mail: thomas.erhag@law.gu.se

2010-09-15

In Sweden, the responsibility for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel is regulated in various laws and regulations. This means that there is an overlap between laws providing a sometimes vague and weak legal situation. Although attempts have been made to coordinate environmental and nuclear law these attempts have not succeeded. Recently, several Swedish reports have again described the fact that we have a parallel system of legal rules for the handling of spent nuclear fuel and the consequences of this. Foremost attention has been drawn to the fact that the licensing of a repository must be made both under the Nuclear Safety Act and the Environmental Code. The regulation referred to above is Swedish, and both the parallel regulation of nuclear safety-, radiation protection- and environmental- responsibility, and the relationship between such legislation, has its own Swedish history. However, Swedish legislation in all these areas is also under the influence of international regulations. This article describes the parallel regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection issues on a European level. It shows that the division and logic found in the relationship between the Swedish laws is only partially reflected at European level. First treated is the relationship between the EC-treaty and Euratom. The article then turns to examples of regulatory responsibility for waste management and communication of information relating to license applications (environmental impact assessments) for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel within the framework of Euratom and the EC-treaty. Finally, it discusses the implications of this type of parallel regulation for the Swedish licensing procedure

A strategy for addressing environmental regulations in the 1990s

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, P.F.

1990-01-01

In 1988, an assessment was made concerning environmental regulatory trends and the electric power industry and an eight point environmental permitting strategy and approach was outlined in 1989 to handle the environmental approvals for new power plants in the 1990s. The main features of the suggested strategy included: (1) development of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to environmental permitting, (2) inclusion of all levels of government and appropriate jurisdictions, (3) disclosure of considerably more information than previously required, (4) maintenance of records to allow traceability of issues, technical data, and environmental licensing positions, (5) development of legal and technical reviews and develop positions on a wider range of environmental issues, (6) encourage the development of both a global as well as a project-specific perspective, (7) review of existing plants and projects against contemporary environmental trends and patterns to assure continued compliance, and (8) prepare to entertain more project or facility reviews, audits, inspections and independent reviews. Since then this strategy and approach has been tested on several power and non-power projects and has proven to be a viable and constructive approach to the problem of environmental regulation. This paper summarizes the main features of this strategy and reviews the results of its application to these various projects and reviews its applicability to non-utility power projects

Environmental regulation and competitiveness: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from European manufacturing sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubashkina, Yana; Galeotti, Marzio; Verdolini, Elena

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the “weak” and “strong” versions of Porter Hypothesis (PH) focusing on the manufacturing sectors of 17 European countries between 1997 and 2009. The hypothesis that well-crafted and well-enforced regulation would benefit both the environment and the firm was originally proposed by Porter (1991) and Porter and van der Linde (1995). To date, the literature has analyzed the impact of environmental regulation on innovation and on productivity mostly in separate analyses and focusing on the USA. The few existing contributions on Europe study the effect of environmental regulation either on green innovation or on performance indicators such as exports. We instead look at overall innovation and productivity impacts. First, focusing on overall innovative activity allows us to account for potential opportunity costs of induced innovations. Second, productivity impacts are arguably the most relevant indicators for the “strong” PH. As a proxy of environmental policy stringency we use pollution abatement and control expenditures (PACE), one of the few sectoral level indicators available. We remedy upon its main drawback, namely potential endogeneity, by adopting an instrumental variable estimation approach. We find evidence of a positive impact of environmental regulation on the output of innovation activity, as proxied by patents, thus providing support in favor of the “weak” PH. This result is in line with most of the literature. On the other front, we find no evidence in favor of the “strong” PH, as productivity appears to be unaffected by the degree of pollution control and abatement efforts. -- Highlights: •Weak and strong Porter Hypothesis. •Panel of manufacturing sectors of 17 European countries between 1997 and 2009. •Look at overall innovation and productivity impacts. •Pollution abatement & control expenditures proxy of environmental policy stringency. •Account for potential endogeneity of PACE by adopting

Consideration of environmental externality costs in electric utility resource selections and regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ottinger, R.L.

1990-01-01

A surprising number of state electric utility regulatory commissions (half) have started to require consideration of environmental externality costs in utility planning and resource selection. The principal rationale for doing so is that electric utility operations impose very real and large damages to human health and the environment which are not taken into account by traditional utility least cost planning, resource selection procedures, or by government pollution regulation. These failures effectively value the residual environmental costs to society of utility operations at zero. The likely future prospect for more stringent governmental pollution regulation renders imprudent the selection of resources without taking environmental externality costs into consideration. Most regulatory commissions requiring environmental externality consideration have left it to the utilities to compute the societal costs, although a few have either set those costs themselves or used a proxy adder to polluting resource costs (or bonus for non-polluting resources). These commissions have used control or pollution mitigation costs, rather than societal damage costs, in their regulatory computations. This paper recommends that damage costs be used where adequate studies exist to permit quantification, discusses the methodologies for their measurement, and describes the means that have been and might be used for their incorporation

Sound insulation and reverberation time for classrooms - Criteria in regulations and classification schemes in the Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2016-01-01

Acoustic regulations or guidelines for schools exist in all five Nordic countries. The acoustic criteria depend on room uses and deal with airborne and impact sound insulation, reverberation time, sound absorption, traffic noise, service equipment noise and other acoustic performance...... have become more extensive and stricter during the last two decades. The paper focuses on comparison of sound insulation and reverberation time criteria for classrooms in regulations and classification schemes in the Nordic countries. Limit values and changes over time will be discussed as well as how...... not identical. The national criteria for quality level C correspond to the national regulations or recommendations for new-build. The quality levels A and B are intended to define better acoustic performance than C, and D lower performance. Typically, acoustic regulations and classification criteria for schools...

Environmental regulation of exploration and mining operations in Asian countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otto, J.; Naito, Koh; Pring, G.

1999-01-01

This paper offers a new perspective on the environmental laws in Asian nations affecting the exploration, mining, and reclamation activities of the mineral resource industry: the perspective of the senior government officials in those countries, whose job is to enforce these new environmental laws. The article presents the results of a 1998 survey of national environmental officials in Asia conducted by the Colorado School of Mines and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan. Officials in 10 diverse countries - Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - responded to a detailed questionnaire covering applicable laws, agencies, protected areas, covered mineral activities, financial assurance, environmental impact assessment, public involvement, environmental standards, permit and reclamation requirements. The survey confirms that Asian nations are part of the global trend towards national government regulatory structures that balance mineral development objectives with environmental considerations. The survey also shows developing regulatory systems (some embryonic, some more mature) utilizing a combination of mining and environmental acts, and often an 'insider' perspective of the national officials administering the laws. While that perspective is not without its biases (not least the rigor of enforcement), it may nevertheless be of use in company planning. The emerging regulatory picture contradicts the conventional notion that it is the 'lower' level of regulation in Asia that is attracting foreign direct investment in mining. (author)

Compliance with Environmental Regulations through Complex Geo-Event Processing

OpenAIRE

Federico Herrera; Laura González; Daniel Calegari; Bruno Rienzi

2017-01-01

In a context of e-government, there are usually regulatory compliance requirements that support systems must monitor, control and enforce. These requirements may come from environmental laws and regulations that aim to protect the natural environment and mitigate the effects of pollution on human health and ecosystems. Monitoring compliance with these requirements involves processing a large volume of data from different sources, which is a major challenge. This volume is also increased with ...

Decree 435/994 Environmental Impacts : establish a standard joint complex named Evaluation Regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The Regulation of Evaluation of environmental Impact in the chapter I art.2 item 14 it establishes that It will require the previous Environmental Authorization the activities that refer to the construction of production factories and transformation of Nuclear Energy r, without damage of that settled down for the articulate 215 of the law 16.226 of October 29 1991 [es

Benchmarking of Control Strategies for Wastewater Treatment Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wastewater treatment plants are large non-linear systems subject to large perturbations in wastewater flow rate, load and composition. Nevertheless these plants have to be operated continuously, meeting stricter and stricter regulations. Many control strategies have been proposed in the literature...

The economic value of the flow regulation environmental service in a Brazilian urban watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Guilherme F.; de Souza, Verônica B. F. S.; Moraes, Natália V.

2017-11-01

Urban flood management have often focused either on the capacity expansion of drainage systems or on artificial detention storage. While flood control should take part early on urban planning, not enough is known to guide such plans and provide incentive to land use decisions that minimize the vulnerability to localized floods. In this paper, we offer a broader perspective on flood protection, by treating the original hydrologic flow regulation as an environmental service, and exploring how the value of this environmental service drives economic land use decisions that convert original (permeable) land into urbanized (impermeable). We investigate the relationship between land use decisions and their hydrologic consequences explicitly, and use this relationship to simulate resulting land use scenarios depending on the value attached to the environmental service of flow regulation. Rainfall-runoff simulation model results are combined to an optimization model based on two-stage stochastic programming approach to model economic land use decisions. The objective function maximizes the total expected land use benefit in an urban area, considering the opportunity cost of permeable areas in the first stage and the resulting loss of the environmental service of flow regulation on the second stage, under several probable hydrological events. A watershed in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is used to demonstrate the approach. Different values attached to the environmental service were tested, from zero to higher than the opportunity cost of land, and artificial detention infrastructure was included to calculate the resulting land use change and the loss in the environmental service value. Results indicate that by valuing the environmental service loss and discounting it from the economic benefits of land use, alternative solutions to land use are found, with decreased peak flows and lower flood frequency. Combined solutions including structural and non

Environmental factors related to water level regulation - a comparative study in northern Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellsten, S.K.

1997-01-01

The environmental conditions of the littoral zone were studied in the regulated Lake Ontojaervi and the unregulated Lake Lentua in northern Finland. The general aims of the study were to analyse the environmental factors related to water level regulation in the littoral zone and to produce information for assessing the effects of hydroelectric development in northern lakes. The study was basically carried out by comparing the littoral environments of the two study lakes. The most visible effects of water level regulation were related to the raised water level, which yielded erosion of sandy shores at the beginning of the regulation. Another effect of lake regulation was the altered fluctuation of the water level, which led to bottom instability and increased the size of the frozen and ice penetration zones. The effect of ice penetration was also easy to recognize on the shores of Lake Ontojaervi, where the surface sediment was frozen to a greater depth and across wider areas than in Lake Lentua. Below the freezing zone, the ice just pressed down on the sediment. The shores of Lake Ontojaervi were steeper than those of Lake Lentua, which affected the distribution of bottom types, with sandy bottoms being more common in Lake Lentua than in Lake Ontojaervi. The factors related to site exposure included effective fetch and the shape of the shoreline. The sedimentation level correlated only with the slope and was not predicted by the fetch or shape. The vertical reduction of light was estimated on the basis of water colour. The main environmental factors from the two lakes were used in a discriminant analysis to predict the bottom type distribution of the littoral (r 2 = 0.41). (orig.) 66 refs

Environmental factors related to water level regulation - a comparative study in northern Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hellsten, S K [VTT Communities and Infrastructure. Water Engineering and Ecotechnology, Oulu (Finland)

1998-12-31

The environmental conditions of the littoral zone were studied in the regulated Lake Ontojaervi and the unregulated Lake Lentua in northern Finland. The general aims of the study were to analyse the environmental factors related to water level regulation in the littoral zone and to produce information for assessing the effects of hydroelectric development in northern lakes. The study was basically carried out by comparing the littoral environments of the two study lakes. The most visible effects of water level regulation were related to the raised water level, which yielded erosion of sandy shores at the beginning of the regulation. Another effect of lake regulation was the altered fluctuation of the water level, which led to bottom instability and increased the size of the frozen and ice penetration zones. The effect of ice penetration was also easy to recognize on the shores of Lake Ontojaervi, where the surface sediment was frozen to a greater depth and across wider areas than in Lake Lentua. Below the freezing zone, the ice just pressed down on the sediment. The shores of Lake Ontojaervi were steeper than those of Lake Lentua, which affected the distribution of bottom types, with sandy bottoms being more common in Lake Lentua than in Lake Ontojaervi. The factors related to site exposure included effective fetch and the shape of the shoreline. The sedimentation level correlated only with the slope and was not predicted by the fetch or shape. The vertical reduction of light was estimated on the basis of water colour. The main environmental factors from the two lakes were used in a discriminant analysis to predict the bottom type distribution of the littoral (r{sup 2} = 0.41). (orig.) 66 refs.

Preliminary analysis of environmental regulations related to remedial action activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 2695

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voorhees, L.D.; Saylor, R.E.

1986-11-01

Past research and development activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have resulted in the presence of several areas where low-level radioactive and/or hazardous waste have been disposed of or that have been contaminated through accidental spills or planned releases of radionuclides. Although these areas have been monitored and controlled to ensure that on-site and off-site releases of contaminants are within applicable Department of Energy (DOE) guidelines, ORNL established the Environmental Restoration and Facilities Upgrade (ERFU) Program to address formally the immediate and long-range needs of meeting all applicable federal and state regulations regarding waste disposal. The environmental laws, regulations, and DOE Orders governing the cleanup activities are numerous and complex. Hence, a synthesis of the principal regulations related to the ERFU Program is presented to facilitate efficient planning for characterization and cleanup of contaminated sites. Because of regulatory decisions made after this report was finalized, several statements presented herein may no longer apply to the ERFU Program. Nevertheless, the report is issued as originally written so that ORNL's early planning efforts to comply with environmental laws and legislation are formally documented. Several general principles to consider when developing a plan for environmental compliance - which would be of use to others who must comply with legislation related to the cleanup of sites contaminated with radionuclides and hazardous chemicals - are also discussed

Environmental regulation and technological innovation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farrell, A.E. [Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center, Pittsburg, PA (United States)

2002-07-01

Government policies are a major factor in the determination of structural conditions of competition. The innovative activity comprises the following: invention, adoption, and diffusion. Invention involves research and development activities such as patenting, research and development budgets. The adoption phase is concerned with deployment. As for the diffusion phase, it involves commercialization, and scale-economies. The process of introducing new technologies that are adopted by small numbers of customers in a niche market was explained. Once costs are lowered through experience gained in designing, manufacturing and servicing the new technology, mew applications generally lead to larger markets. Environmental technologies have no early adopters, implying that governments have an important role to play. However, commercial processes are not normally as well known to government as it is to the private sector. The electoral cycle also interferes with long term research and development efforts for technological clusters. A look at sulphur dioxide control at United States power plants illustrated the problem. The author then explained the reasons behind low allowance prices. Low-sulphur western coal was rendered economic in large areas of the United States by rail deregulation. Electricity restructuring was also a factor. The author indicated that binding government regulation must come before adoption and diffusion of emission controls. A summary of recent research was provided, in which the author stated that no single policy instrument was likely to properly stimulate innovative activity. In those cases where both supply and demand are stimulated by government, the technological innovation is greatest. Stringent regulations induce innovation, as do greater flexibility and greater regulatory certainty. Knowledge transfer within the industry is vital. 8 refs., 3 figs.

Can green consumerism replace environmental regulation? A differentiated-products example

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eriksson, Clas [Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7013, S-750 07 Uppsala (Sweden)

2004-09-01

This paper assumes that consumers are willing to pay an extra premium for a good if it has a low impact on the environment. We examine if a little dose of such idealistic behavior has a large impact on the market equilibrium, and to what extent it can replace the environmental regulation. The analysis is carried out in a model with product differentiation, where consumers differ in their preferences for product quality. Consumers' willingness to pay the environmental premium may be uniformly or non-uniformly distributed. Green consumerism will only be modestly influential in both cases, despite the fact that product differentiation leads to relaxed competition and increased profits, and thereby creates leverage.

Impact of Environmental Factors on the Regulation of Cyanotoxin Production

Science.gov (United States)

Boopathi, Thangavelu; Ki, Jang-Seu

2014-01-01

Cyanobacteria are capable of thriving in almost all environments. Recent changes in climatic conditions due to increased human activities favor the occurrence and severity of harmful cyanobacterial bloom all over the world. Knowledge of the regulation of cyanotoxins by the various environmental factors is essential for effective management of toxic cyanobacterial bloom. In recent years, progress in the field of molecular mechanisms involved in cyanotoxin production has paved the way for assessing the role of various factors on the cyanotoxin production. In this review, we present an overview of the influence of various environmental factors on the production of major group of cyanotoxins, including microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin, anatoxins and saxitoxins. PMID:24967641

Can green consumerism replace environmental regulation? A differentiated-products example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eriksson, Clas

2004-01-01

This paper assumes that consumers are willing to pay an extra premium for a good if it has a low impact on the environment. We examine if a little dose of such idealistic behavior has a large impact on the market equilibrium, and to what extent it can replace the environmental regulation. The analysis is carried out in a model with product differentiation, where consumers differ in their preferences for product quality. Consumers' willingness to pay the environmental premium may be uniformly or non-uniformly distributed. Green consumerism will only be modestly influential in both cases, despite the fact that product differentiation leads to relaxed competition and increased profits, and thereby creates leverage

Strategic choices in the environmental debate: Environmental regulation and self-regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulhøi, John Parm

Den aktuelle miljødebat, der føres i litteraturen, kan give direkte anledning til den uheldige opfattelse, at det overvejende er et spørgsmål om miljøregulering eller indirekte regulering baseret på markedskræfterne. Dette er i modstrid med den kendsgerning, at der findes mange kombinationer i...

Environmental Concerns, Environmental Policy and Green Investment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xuexian; Zheng, Haidong

2017-12-13

Environmental regulators often use environmental policy to induce green investment by firms. However, if an environmental policy fails to exert a long-run effect on regulating the economic agents' behavior, it may be more reasonable to think of the firm as the leader in the game, since the investment in green technology is usually a strategic decision. In this paper, we consider a three-stage Stackelberg game to address the interaction between a profit-maximizing firm (Stackelberg leader) facing emission-dependent demand, and the environmental regulator (Stackelberg follower). The firm decides on the green technology level in the first stage of the game based on its understanding of the regulator's profits function, especially an environmental concern that is introduced as an exogenous variable. In the current research, we show that high levels of the regulator's environmental concerns do not necessarily lead to the choice of green technology by the firm, and green investment level depends on the combined effects of the market and operational factors for a given level of the regulator's environmental concerns. The result also shows that increasing environmental awareness amongst the consumers is an effective way to drive the firm's green investment.

Upholding science in health, safety and environmental risk assessments and regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aschner, Michael; Autrup, Herman N.; Berry, Sir Colin L.; Boobis, Alan R.; Cohen, Samuel M.; Creppy, Edmond E.; Dekant, Wolfgang; Doull, John; Galli, Corrado L.; Goodman, Jay I.; Gori, Gio B.; Greim, Helmut A.; Joudrier, Philippe

2016-01-01

A public appeal has been advanced by a large group of scientists, concerned that science has been misused in attempting to quantify and regulate unmeasurable hazards and risks. The appeal recalls that science is unable to evaluate hazards that cannot be measured, and that science in such cases should not be invoked to justify risk assessments in health, safety and environmental regulations. The appeal also notes that most national and international statutes delineating the discretion of regulators are ambiguous about what rules of evidence ought to apply. Those statutes should be revised to ensure that the evidence for regulatory action is grounded on the standards of the scientific method, whenever feasible. When independent scientific evidence is not possible, policies and regulations should be informed by publicly debated trade-offs between socially desirable uses and social perceptions of affordable precaution. This article explores the premises, implications and actions supporting the appeal and its objectives.

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by nail acrylates in Europe. An EECDRG study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gonçalo, Margarida; Pinho, André; Agner, Tove

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) caused by nail acrylates, also including methacrylates and cyanoacrylates here, is being increasingly reported. METHODS: A retrospective study in 11 European Environmental Contact Dermatitis Research Group (EECDRG) clinics collected information on cases......-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (88.6%), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (69.2%), and ethyl cyanoacrylate (9.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Nail cosmetics were responsible for the majority of ACD cases caused by acrylates, affecting nail beauticians and consumers, and therefore calling for stricter regulation and preventive...

Epigenetic Regulation of Centromere Chromatin Stability by Dietary and Environmental Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Saavedra, Diego; Strakovsky, Rita S; Ostrosky-Wegman, Patricia; Pan, Yuan-Xiang

2017-11-01

The centromere is a genomic locus required for the segregation of the chromosomes during cell division. This chromosomal region together with pericentromeres has been found to be susceptible to damage, and thus the perturbation of the centromere could lead to the development of aneuploidic events. Metabolic abnormalities that underlie the generation of cancer include inflammation, oxidative stress, cell cycle deregulation, and numerous others. The micronucleus assay, an early clinical marker of cancer, has been shown to provide a reliable measure of genotoxic damage that may signal cancer initiation. In the current review, we will discuss the events that lead to micronucleus formation and centromeric and pericentromeric chromatin instability, as well transcripts emanating from these regions, which were previously thought to be inactive. Studies were selected in PubMed if they reported the effects of nutritional status (macro- and micronutrients) or environmental toxicant exposure on micronucleus frequency or any other chromosomal abnormality in humans, animals, or cell models. Mounting evidence from epidemiologic, environmental, and nutritional studies provides a novel perspective on the origination of aneuploidic events. Although substantial evidence exists describing the role that nutritional status and environmental toxicants have on the generation of micronuclei and other nuclear aberrations, limited information is available to describe the importance of macro- and micronutrients on centromeric and pericentromeric chromatin stability. Moving forward, studies that specifically address the direct link between nutritional status, excess, or deficiency and the epigenetic regulation of the centromere will provide much needed insight into the nutritional and environmental regulation of this chromosomal region and the initiation of aneuploidy. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Environmental regulation of households. An empirical review of economic and psychological factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M.

2008-01-01

The literature on sustainable consumption and environmental regulation of household behavior is dominated by conceptual and normative approaches. As a result, many suggestions lack a firm empirical basis. To overcome this deficiency, econometric studies in three areas of environmentally relevant activities of households are reviewed: residential use of energy, generation of solid waste and recycling, and residential use of water. Next to price and income elasticities, attention is devoted to individual socio-economic features and psychological factors, such as attitudes, knowledge, perceptions and values. Potential psychological determinants and related insights are further examined by discussing a range of representative and illustrative statistical-psychological studies of environmental behavior. One important general finding is that there are very few empirical studies that systematically combine socio-economic and psychological determinants. A range of insights for environmental policy is derived, and research recommendations are offered. (author)

An evaluation of a risk-based environmental regulation in Brazil: Limitations to risk management of hazardous installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naime, Andre

2017-01-01

The environmental regulation of hazardous projects with risk-based decision-making processes can lead to a deficient management of human exposure to technological hazards. Such an approach for regulation is criticized for simplifying the complexity of decisions involving the economic, social, and environmental aspects of the installation and operation of hazardous facilities in urban areas. Results of a Brazilian case study indicate that oil and gas transmission pipelines may represent a threat to diverse communities if the relationship between such linear projects and human populations is overlooked by regulatory bodies. Results also corroborate known challenges to the implementation of EIA processes and outline limitations to an effective environmental and risk management. Two preliminary topics are discussed to strengthen similar regulatory practices. Firstly, an effective integration between social impact assessment and risk assessment in EIA processes to have a more comprehensive understanding of the social fabric. Secondly, the advancement of traditional management practices for hazardous installations to pursue a strong transition from assessment and evaluation to management and control and to promote an effective interaction between land-use planning and environmental regulation.

An evaluation of a risk-based environmental regulation in Brazil: Limitations to risk management of hazardous installations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naime, Andre, E-mail: andre.naime.ibama@gmail.com

2017-03-15

The environmental regulation of hazardous projects with risk-based decision-making processes can lead to a deficient management of human exposure to technological hazards. Such an approach for regulation is criticized for simplifying the complexity of decisions involving the economic, social, and environmental aspects of the installation and operation of hazardous facilities in urban areas. Results of a Brazilian case study indicate that oil and gas transmission pipelines may represent a threat to diverse communities if the relationship between such linear projects and human populations is overlooked by regulatory bodies. Results also corroborate known challenges to the implementation of EIA processes and outline limitations to an effective environmental and risk management. Two preliminary topics are discussed to strengthen similar regulatory practices. Firstly, an effective integration between social impact assessment and risk assessment in EIA processes to have a more comprehensive understanding of the social fabric. Secondly, the advancement of traditional management practices for hazardous installations to pursue a strong transition from assessment and evaluation to management and control and to promote an effective interaction between land-use planning and environmental regulation.

Do Environmental Regulations Influence the Competitiveness of Pollution-Intensive Products?

OpenAIRE

Yang Lu

2010-01-01

According to "Pollution Haven Effect," in order to circumvent stringent environment standards, polluting industries in developed countries will be chosen to locate into developing countries; another way is that developed countries increase imports of pollution-intensive products instead of producing by their own, both of which can contribute to the changes of comparative advantages in the past 30 years. Since 1990s, many scholars have paid special attention on whether environmental regulation...

Meeting licensing restrictions from a regulator's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Autry, V.R.; Ragan, F.A.

1990-01-01

The State of South Carolina was delegated the authority by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate the receipt, possession, use and disposal of radioactive material as an Agreement State. Since 1970, the state has been the principal regulatory authority for the Barnwell Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility operated by Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. The radioactive material license issued authorizing the receipt and disposal of low level waste has experienced many changes necessitated by technical advancements which led to stricter controls and restrictions for shallow land disposal. Low level waste has evolved from simple contaminated items with minimal radioactivity, to complex waste streams requiring elaborate processing and containment of high quantities of radionuclides. Waste streams also require extensive analysis and qualification to meet many of the restrictions imposed at the burial facility and comply with national standards and regulations for classification. This paper presents a chronological history of many of these restrictions, the rationale for them, and the waste generators' abilities and inabilities to comply. In addition, case histories of some examples are discussed

Consolidated permit regulations and hazardous waste management system: Environmental Protection Agency. Notice of issuance of regulation interpretation memorandum.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-12-10

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing today a Regulation Interpretation Memorandum (RIM) which provides official interpretation of the issue of whether a generator who accumulates hazardous waste pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34, may qualify for interim status after November 19, 1980. This issue arose when the requirements for submitting a Part A permit application (one of the prerequisites to qualifying for interim status) were amended on November 19, 1980. The provisions interpreted today are part of the Consolidated Permit Regulations promulgated under Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (RCRA).

The impact of environmental regulations on United States crude oil supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godec, M.L.; Biglarbigi, K.

1991-01-01

A number of legislative and regulatory initiatives being considered to protect the environment could affect the economics of oil and gas exploration and production (E and P) in the Unites States. This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive assessment of the potential cumulative energy and economic impacts of environmental regulatory initiatives on United States crude oil supplies. The results of the analysis clearly will determine the level of impact, but the results show that significant impacts are felt over a wide range of regulations, over a wide range of crude oil prices, and at two levels of development for extraction technologies. The regulations evaluated all have an impact on all resource categories analyzed in the study

Benefits and disadvantages of self-regulation of environmental noise from military training

Science.gov (United States)

Luz, George A.

2002-05-01

In a 1981 Executive decision, the Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told the Environmental Protection Agency to end funding of the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC). This decision, coupled with a specific exemption for military equipment contained in the Noise Control Act of 1972, ensured that the military departments would be self-regulating in regard to noise. This self-regulation for noise stands in contrast to the external regulation of other pollutants, such as air and water emissions. Two possible disadvantages of self-regulation are (1) reduced funding for noise management compared with funding for externally regulated pollutants, and (2) lack of an independent and external set of standards for determining acceptable limits on community noise exposure. Three possible benefits are (1) avoiding the costs of mitigating trivial violations of external standards, (2) maintaining a long-standing policy of preventing noise problems through land use planning, and (3) enabling negotiated solutions between installations and their neighboring communities. The paper ends with an examination of a negotiated solution for a community subjected to noise from the detonation of obsolete ammunition.

Short-term regulation of hydro powerplants. Studies on the environmental effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinisalmi, T.; Riihimaeki, J.; Vehanen, T.; Yrjaenae, T.

1997-01-01

The publication is a final report on a project studying effects of short-term regulation of hydro power plants. The project consists of two parts: (1) examining and developing methods for evaluation, (2) applying methods in a case study at the Oulujoki River. The economic value of short-term regulation was studied with a model consisting of an optimization model and a river simulation model. Constraints on water level or discharge variations could be given to the power plants and their economical influence could be studied. Effects on shoreline recreation use due to water level fluctuation were studied with a model where various effects are made commensurable and expressed in monetary terms. A literature survey and field experiments were used to study the methods for assessing effects of short-term regulation on river habitats. The state and development needs of fish stocks and fisheries in large regulated rivers were studied and an environmental classification was made. Remedial measures for the short-term regulated rivers were studied with a literature survey and enquiries. A comprehensive picture of the various effects of short-term regulation was gained in the case study in Oulujoki River (110 km long, 7 power plants). Harmful effects can be reduced with the given recommendations of remedial measures on environment and the usage of the hydro power plants. (orig.) 52 refs

Short-term regulation of hydro powerplants. Studies on the environmental effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinisalmi, T. [ed.; Forsius, J.; Muotka, J.; Soimakallio, H. [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Riihimaeki, J. [VTT, Espoo (Finland); Vehanen, T. [Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Inst. (Finland); Yrjaenae, T. [North Ostrobothnia Regional Environmental Centre, Oulu (Finland)

1997-12-31

The publication is a final report on a project studying effects of short-term regulation of hydro power plants. The project consists of two parts: (1) examining and developing methods for evaluation, (2) applying methods in a case study at the Oulujoki River. The economic value of short-term regulation was studied with a model consisting of an optimization model and a river simulation model. Constraints on water level or discharge variations could be given to the power plants and their economical influence could be studied. Effects on shoreline recreation use due to water level fluctuation were studied with a model where various effects are made commensurable and expressed in monetary terms. A literature survey and field experiments were used to study the methods for assessing effects of short-term regulation on river habitats. The state and development needs of fish stocks and fisheries in large regulated rivers were studied and an environmental classification was made. Remedial measures for the short-term regulated rivers were studied with a literature survey and enquiries. A comprehensive picture of the various effects of short-term regulation was gained in the case study in Oulujoki River (110 km long, 7 power plants). Harmful effects can be reduced with the given recommendations of remedial measures on environment and the usage of the hydro power plants. (orig.) 52 refs.

Aflatoxin regulations and global pistachio trade: insights from social network analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bui-Klimke, Travis R; Guclu, Hasan; Kensler, Thomas W; Yuan, Jian-Min; Wu, Felicia

2014-01-01

Aflatoxins, carcinogenic toxins produced by Aspergillus fungi, contaminate maize, peanuts, and tree nuts in many regions of the world. Pistachios are the main source of human dietary aflatoxins from tree nuts worldwide. Over 120 countries have regulations for maximum allowable aflatoxin levels in food commodities. We developed social network models to analyze the association between nations' aflatoxin regulations and global trade patterns of pistachios from 1996-2010. The main pistachio producing countries are Iran and the United States (US), which together contribute to nearly 75% of the total global pistachio market. Over this time period, during which many nations developed or changed their aflatoxin regulations in pistachios, global pistachio trade patterns changed; with the US increasingly exporting to countries with stricter aflatoxin standards. The US pistachio crop has had consistently lower levels of aflatoxin than the Iranian crop over this same time period. As similar trading patterns have also been documented in maize, public health may be affected if countries without aflatoxin regulations, or with more relaxed regulations, continually import crops with higher aflatoxin contamination. Unlike the previous studies on maize, this analysis includes a dynamic element, examining how trade patterns change over time with introduction or adjustment of aflatoxin regulations.

State environmental regulation and economic development: Are they compatible?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, C.

1992-01-01

An underlying assumption of the partial preemption approach is the belief that minimum federal standards contribute to the prospective decentralization of environmental protection programs by removing or reducing industry incentives to shop around for states with a more lenient regulatory stance. This assumption was examined through a survey of chiev executive officers of pollution-generating firms. The data suggest that corporate officials see regulatory climate as an important component of overhead costs. The author concludes that the desire to retain industries within state boundaries does inhibit the promulgation of strict environment regulations by public officials. 16 refs., 2 tabs

Environmental policies and regulations on the electricity market in EC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucher, J.

1990-01-01

The use of natural resources like ground and water, the emissions of noxious gases and particles, the thermal rejections, the production of waste and the noise are the main environmental impacts associated with the production of electricity. Emission regulations and standards have been selected so far by the European Community (EC) and the different Member States to deal with the abatement problem. They simply consist in defining some ceilings or regulations for the different types of noxious gases and particles which are emitted by power plants and forcing the power generation companies to comply with these norms within some pre-determined time period. They can also take the form of a general constraint on the sulfur content of the fuel, for example. Tables of emission limits for various gases from existing and new plants are presented. 3 figs., 8 tabs

Microbial biocatalyst developments to upgrade fossil fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilbane, John J

2006-06-01

Steady increases in the average sulfur content of petroleum and stricter environmental regulations concerning the sulfur content have promoted studies of bioprocessing to upgrade fossil fuels. Bioprocesses can potentially provide a solution to the need for improved and expanded fuel upgrading worldwide, because bioprocesses for fuel upgrading do not require hydrogen and produce far less carbon dioxide than thermochemical processes. Recent advances have demonstrated that biodesulfurization is capable of removing sulfur from hydrotreated diesel to yield a product with an ultra-low sulfur concentration that meets current environmental regulations. However, the technology has not yet progressed beyond laboratory-scale testing, as more efficient biocatalysts are needed. Genetic studies to obtain improved biocatalysts for the selective removal of sulfur and nitrogen from petroleum provide the focus of current research efforts.

The Effect of Environmental Regulation on Employment in Resource-Based Areas of China-An Empirical Research Based on the Mediating Effect Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Wenbin; Wang, Hui; Ying, Huihui

2017-12-19

While environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, many countries are adopting policies to control pollution. At the same time, the environmental regulation will inevitably affect economic and social development, especially employment growth. The environmental regulation will not only affect the scale of employment directly, but it will also have indirect effects by stimulating upgrades in the industrial structure and in technological innovation. This paper examines the impact of environmental regulation on employment, using a mediating model based on the data from five typical resource-based provinces in China from 2000 to 2015. The estimation is performed based on the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimator. The results show that the implementation of environmental regulation in resource-based areas has both a direct effect and a mediating effect on employment. These findings provide policy implications for these resource-based areas to promote the coordinating development between the environment and employment.

Impact of Environmental Regulation and Technical Progress on Industrial Carbon Productivity: An Approach Based on Proxy Measure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huan Zhang

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This research aims to study the main influencing factors of China’s industrial carbon productivity by incorporating environmental regulation and technical progress into an econometric model. The paper focuses on data from 35 of China’s industrial sectors and covers the period from 2006 to 2014, in order to examine the impact of environmental regulation and technical progress on carbon productivity. Methods applied include panel fixed effect model, panel random effect model and two stage least squares with instrumental variables (IV-2SLS. The effect of environmental regulation and technical progress has industrial heterogeneity. The paper subdivides industrial sectors into capital and technology intensive, resource intensive and labor intensive sectors according to factor intensiveness. The estimation results of the subgroups have uncovered that for capital and technology intensive and resource intensive sectors, environmental regulation has a more significant impact than technical progress; while for labor intensive sectors, innovation more significantly influences carbon productivity. In addition, foreign direct investment (FDI and industrialization level facilitate improving carbon productivity for the full sample. By contrast, industrial structure inhibits the overall industrial carbon productivity. The industry-specific results indicate that for capital and technology intensive sectors, optimizing of the industrial structure can improve carbon productivity; for resource intensive sectors, FDI and energy consumption structure should be emphasized more; for labor intensive sectors, industrialization levels help enhance carbon productivity. Finally the industrial sector-specific policy suggestions are proposed.

Egyptian Environmental Activities and Regulations for Management of Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Zarka, M.

1999-01-01

A substantial use of hazardous substances is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the community in Egypt. Agrochemicals are being used extensively to increase crop yield. The outdated agrochemicals and their empty containers represent a serious environmental problem. Industrial development in different sectors in Egypt obligates handling of huge amounts of hazardous substances and hazardous wastes. The inappropriate handling of such hazardous substances creates several health and environmental problems. Egypt faces many challenges to control safe handling of such substances and wastes. Several regulations are governing handling of hazardous substances in Egypt. The unified Environmental Law 4 for the year 1994 includes a full chapter on the Management of Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Wastes. National and international activities have been taken to manage hazardous substances and hazardous wastes in an environmental sound manner

A task management system for compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crump, J.J.; O'Gorman, T.P.

1992-01-01

Shell Western E and P Inc. (SWEPI) has developed a new computer system to help it comply with health, safety, and environmental (HS and E) regulations. It is a task management system that functions at the detailed inventory level. It schedules work, instructs operations, and records compliance status. This article discusses design and development of the system

A European map regarding the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana Ignat

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the context in which transfer pricing may represent a mechanism through which multinationals have the possibility to move funds internationally, in order to prevent the base erosion and profit shifting between multinationals, countries over the world have adopted various transfer pricing regulations. Furthermore, some of the countries adopted stricter regulations than others. The objective of our research was to identify the level of strictness for the transfer pricing regulations from the European countries. To achieve this objective, we analyzed the transfer pricing regulations of all European countries and we built a transfer pricing strictness index, based on which we defined 4 categories of countries (where category 1 includes the countries with the least strict transfer pricing regulations and category 4 countries with the strictest regulations. After that, we illustrated how these categories are distributed on the European map. In order to collect the information, we used the transfer pricing guides issued by the Big Four companies for the year 2015. The study`s results show that the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations decreases from the west of Europe to east. Moreover, most of the countries were included in category 2, respectively category 3, meaning that the transfer pricing regulations from the European continent are not so flexible, but in the same time are not so strict.

Constructions complying with tightened Danish sound insulation requirements for new housing

OpenAIRE

Rasmussen, Birgit; Hoffmeyer, Dan

2010-01-01

New sound insulation requirements in Denmark in 2008 New Danish Building Regulations with tightened sound insulation requirements were introduced in 2008 (and in 2010 with unchanged acoustic requirements). Compared to the Building Regulations from 1995, the airborne sound insulation requirements were 2 –3 dB stricter and the impact sound insulation requirements 5 dB stricter. The limit values are given using the descriptors R’w and L’n,w as before. For the first time, acoustic requirements fo...

Differential regulation of c-di-GMP metabolic enzymes by environmental signals modulates biofilm formation in Yersinia pestis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gai-Xian eRen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP is essential for Yersinia pestis biofilm formation, which is important for flea-borne blockage-dependent plague transmission. Two diguanylate cyclases (DGCs, HmsT and HmsD and one phosphodiesterase (PDE, HmsP are responsible for the synthesis and degradation of c-di-GMP in Y. pestis. Here, we systematically analyzed the effect of various environmental signals on regulation of the biofilm phenotype, the c-di-GMP levels, and expression of HmsT, HmsD and HmsP in Y. pestis. Biofilm formation was higher in the presence of nonlethal high concentration of CaCl2, MgCl2, CuSO4, sucrose, sodium dodecyl sulfonate, or dithiothreitol, and was lower in the presence of FeCl2 or NaCl. In addition, we found that HmsD plays a major role in biofilm formation in acidic or redox environments. These environmental signals differentially regulated expression of HmsT, HmsP and HmsD, resulting in changes in the intracellular levels of c-di-GMP in Y. pestis. Our results suggest that bacteria can sense various environmental signals, and differentially regulates their DGCs and PDEs to coordinately regulate and adapt metabolism of c-di-GMP and biofilm formation to changing environments.

76 FR 72391 - Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-23

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [Docket ID DOD-2011-OS-0055] Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense Logistics Agency Actions AGENCY: Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Defense. ACTION: Revised Defense Logistics Agency...

The application of process integration to the optimisation of cruise ship energy systems: a case study

OpenAIRE

Baldi, Francesco; Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Ahlgren, Fredrik

2016-01-01

In recent years, the shipping industry has faced an increasing number of challenges in terms of fluctuating fuel prices, stricter environmental regulations, and concerns about global warming. In this situation, passenger volumes on cruise ships have increased from around 4 million to 13 million from 1990 to 2008 and keep growing today. A small cruise ship can emit about 85 tons of CO2 per day, and require around 27 tons of fuel per day. To keep up with market demand, while reducing their impa...

Life cycle environmental evaluation of kettles: Recommendations for the development of eco-design regulations in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F; Azapagic, Adisa

2018-06-01

Between 117 and 200 million kettles are used in the European Union (EU) every year. However, the full environmental impacts of kettles remain largely unknown. This paper presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of conventional plastic and metallic kettles in comparison with eco-kettles. The results show that the use stage contributes 80% to the impacts. For this reason, the eco-kettle has over 30% lower environmental impacts due to a greater water efficiency and related lower energy consumption. These results have been extrapolated to the EU level to consider the implications for proposed eco-design regulations. For these purposes, the effects on the impacts of durability of kettles and improvements in their energy and water efficiency have been assessed as they have been identified as two key parameters in the proposed regulations. The results suggest that increasing the current average durability from 4.4 to seven years would reduce the impacts by less than 5%. Thus, improving durability is not a key issue for improving the environmental performance of kettles and does not justify the need for an eco-design regulation based exclusively on it. However, improvements in water and energy efficiency through eco-design can bring relevant environmental savings. Boiling the exact amount of water needed would reduce the impacts by around a third and using water temperature control by further 2%-5%. The study has also considered the effects of reducing significantly the number of kettles in use after the UK (large user of kettles) leaves the EU and reducing the excess water typically boiled by the consumer. Even under these circumstances, the environmental savings justify the development of a specific EU eco-design regulation for kettles. However, consumer engagement will be key to the implementation and achievement of the expected environmental benefits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of the EU car CO_2 regulation on the energy system and the role of electro-mobility to achieve transport decarbonisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiel, Christian; Nijs, Wouter; Simoes, Sofia; Schmidt, Johannes; Zyl, Arnold van; Schmid, Erwin

2016-01-01

We analyse the impact of the current and an alternative stricter EU CO_2 car legislation on transport related CO_2 emissions, on the uptake of electric vehicles (EV), on the reduction of oil consumption, and on total energy system costs beyond 2020. We apply a TIMES based energy system model for Europe. Results for 2030 show that a stricter target of 70 g CO_2/km for cars could reduce total transport CO_2 emissions by 5% and oil dependence by more than 2% compared to the current legislation. The stricter regulatory CO_2 car target is met by a deployment of more efficient internal combustion engine cars and higher shares of EV Total system costs increase by less than 1%. The analysis indicates that EV deployment and the decarbonisation of the power system including higher shares of variable renewables can be synergistic. Our sensitivity analysis shows that the deployment of EV would sharply increase between 2020 and 2030 at learning rates above 12.5%, reaching shares above 30% in 2030. Finally, the study highlights that, besides legislating cars, policies for other transport sectors and modes are needed to curb transport related CO_2 emission growth by 2030. - Highlights: •Car CO_2 regulation effective policy to reduce transport CO_2 emissions. •Learning rate above 12.5% can lead to sharp increase in electric vehicle deployment. •Electric vehicles can foster the deployment of variable renewable electricity. •Policies for other modes needed to curb transport CO_2 growth.

76 FR 28757 - Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-18

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [DOCKET ID DOD-2011-OS-0055] Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense Logistics Agency Actions AGENCY: Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Defense. ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of Revised...

76 FR 53119 - Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-25

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [Docket ID: DOD-2011-OS-0055] Defense Logistics Agency Revised Regulation 1000.22, Environmental Considerations in Defense Logistics Agency Actions AGENCY: Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Defense. ACTION: Comment Addressed on Notice of...

Rab from the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei: characterization and its regulation upon environmental stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Wang, Xiao-Rong; Liu, Jin; Chen, Chu-Xian; Liu, Yuan; Wang, Wei-Na

2015-10-01

With the destruction of the ecological environment, shrimp cultivation in China has been seriously affected by outbreaks of infectious diseases. Rab, which belong to small GTPase Ras superfamily, can regulate multiple steps in eukaryotic vesicle trafficking including vesicle budding, vesicle tethering, and membrane fusion. Knowledge of Rab in shrimp is essential to understanding regulation and detoxification mechanisms of environmental stress. In this study, we analyzed the functions of Rab from the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Full-length cDNA of Rab was obtained, which was 751 bp long, with open reading frame encoding 206 amino acids. In this study, for the first time, the gene expression of Rab of L. vannamei was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR after exposure to five kinds of environmental stresses (bacteria, pH, Cd, salinity and low temperature). The results demonstrate that Rab is sensitive and involved in bacteria, pH, and Cd stress responses and Rab is more sensitive to bacteria than other stresses. Therefore we infer that Rab may have relationship with the anti-stress mechanism induced by environment stress in shrimp and Rab could be used as critical biomarkers for environmental quality assessment.

Arabidopsis MADS-Box Transcription Factor AGL21 Acts as Environmental Surveillance of Seed Germination by Regulating ABI5 Expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lin-Hui; Wu, Jie; Zhang, Zi-Sheng; Miao, Zi-Qing; Zhao, Ping-Xia; Wang, Zhen; Xiang, Cheng-Bin

2017-06-05

Seed germination is a crucial checkpoint for plant survival under unfavorable environmental conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling plays a vital role in integrating environmental information to regulate seed germination. It has been well known that MCM1/AGAMOUS/DEFICIENS/SRF (MADS)-box transcription factors are key regulators of seed and flower development in Arabidopsis. However, little is known about their functions in seed germination. Here we report that MADS-box transcription factor AGL21 is a negative regulator of seed germination and post-germination growth by controlling the expression of ABA-INSENSITIVE 5 (ABI5) in Arabidopsis. The AGL21-overexpressing plants were hypersensitive to ABA, salt, and osmotic stresses during seed germination and early post-germination growth, whereas agl21 mutants were less sensitive. We found that AGL21 positively regulated ABI5 expression in seeds. Consistently, genetic analyses showed that AGL21 is epistatic to ABI5 in controlling seed germination. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays further demonstrated that AGL21 could directly bind to the ABI5 promoter in plant cells. Moreover, we found that AGL21 responded to multiple environmental stresses and plant hormones during seed germination. Taken together, our results suggest that AGL21 acts as a surveillance integrator that incorporates environmental cues and endogenous hormonal signals into ABA signaling to regulate seed germination and early post-germination growth. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

75 FR 8299 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-24

...] Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically... making a determination on the status of the Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics International alfalfa... status of the Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics International alfalfa lines designated as events J101...

Natural gas and the generation of electricity in relation to environmental protection regulations in EC member countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fosenbauer, T.

1994-01-01

A brief account is given of regulations governing the use of gas in power plants, of emission limits for some substances such as SO 2 , NO x and dust, and of regulations concerning existing and newly built facilities, specifying the highest permissible emissions of environmental pollutants. (J.B.)

Plant responses to environmental stress: regulation and functions of the Arabidopsis TCH genes

Science.gov (United States)

Braam, J.; Sistrunk, M. L.; Polisensky, D. H.; Xu, W.; Purugganan, M. M.; Antosiewicz, D. M.; Campbell, P.; Johnson, K. A.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

1997-01-01

Expression of the Arabidopsis TCH genes is markedly upregulated in response to a variety of environmental stimuli including the seemingly innocuous stimulus of touch. Understanding the mechanism(s) and factors that control TCH gene regulation will shed light on the signaling pathways that enable plants to respond to environmental conditions. The TCH proteins include calmodulin, calmodulin-related proteins and a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase. Expression analyses and localization of protein accumulation indicates that the potential sites of TCH protein function include expanding cells and tissues under mechanical strain. We hypothesize that at least a subset of the TCH proteins may collaborate in cell wall biogenesis.

From a literature review to a multi-perspective framework for reverse logistics barriers and drivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Govindan, Kannan; Bouzon, Marina

2018-01-01

The emergence of stricter environmental regulations and the growing environmental consciousness of customers have forced industries to start thinking about environmental operations management with the help of reverse logistics application. In this process, influential factors such as drivers...... and barriers have to be examined, and stakeholders’ different perspectives on RL implementation and development should also be considered. This paper presents a multi-perspective framework for reverse logistics implementation using the lens of stakeholder theory. The multiple stakeholders’ perspective...... framework was developed based upon a structured literature review process. Fifty-four papers concerning these topical areas were thoroughly assessed and classified according to their structural dimensions and analytical categories. Two extensive lists of 37 drivers and 36 barriers, categorized and analyzed...

Environmentally Regulated Facilities in Iowa

Data.gov (United States)

Iowa State University GIS Support and Research Facility — A unique record for each facility site with an environmental interest by DNR (such as permits). This brings together core environmental information in one place for...

Appetite self-regulation: Environmental and policy influences on eating behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Marlene B; Just, David R; Chriqui, Jamie F; Ammerman, Alice S

2017-03-01

Appetite regulation is influenced by the environment, and the environment is shaped by food-related policies. This review summarizes the environment and policy research portion of an NIH Workshop (Bethesda, MD, 2015) titled "Self-Regulation of Appetite-It's Complicated." In this paper, we begin by making the case for why policy is an important tool in efforts to improve nutrition, and we introduce an ecological framework that illustrates the multiple layers that influence what people eat. We describe the state of the science on how policies influence behavior in several key areas: the federal food programs, schools, child care, food and beverage pricing, marketing to youth, behavioral economics, and changing defaults. Next, we propose novel approaches for multidisciplinary prevention and intervention strategies to promote breastfeeding, and examine interactions between psychology and the environment. Policy and environmental change are the most distal influences on individual-level appetite regulation, yet these strategies can reach many people at once by changing the environment in which food choices are made. We note the need for more research to understand compensatory behavior, reactance, and how to effectively change social norms. To move forward, we need a more sophisticated understanding of how individual psychological and biological factors interact with the environment and policy influences. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

Integrating environmental management into food safety and food packaging in Malaysia: review of the food regulation 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Nordin, N. H.; Hara, H.; Kaida, N.

2017-05-01

Food safety is an important issue that is related to public safety to prevent the toxicity threats of the food. Management through legal approach has been used in Malaysia as one of the predominant approaches to manage the environment. In this regard, the Food Regulation 1985 has been one of the mechanisms of environmental management through legal approach in controlling the safety of packaged food in food packaging industry in Malaysia. The present study aims to analyse and to explain the implementation of the Food Regulation 1985 in controlling the safety of packaged food in Malaysia and to integrate the concept of environmental management into the food safety issue. Qualitative analysis on the regulation document revealed that there are two main themes, general and specific, while their seven sub themes are included harmful packages, safety packages, reuse packages, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), alcoholic bottle, toys, money and others and iron powder. The implementation of the Food Regulation 1985 in controlling the safety of packaged food should not be regarded solely for regulation purposes but should be further developed for a broader sense of food safety from overcoming the food poisoning.

A methodology for determining environmental threshold quantities for substances covered by CEPA's Environmental Emergency Regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketcheson, K.; Shrives, J.

2005-01-01

Sections 199 and 200 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) 1999 oblige persons who own or manage specified toxic and hazardous substances to develop and implement environmental emergency plans. This paper discussed the methodology for determining how a chemical is assessed for recommending an environmental emergency plan. For Section 199, once substances are declared toxic, each chemical is assessed to determine whether it requires a plan or not. For Section 200, any chemical can be added under the E2 regulations, as long as it can be ascertained that the substance is toxic according to the following criteria: it has an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity; it constitutes a danger to the environment on which human life depends; and/or it constitutes a danger in Canada to human life or health. An overview of the risk evaluation framework was provided, including details of the pre-assessment filter. Summaries of trigger criteria were presented, as well as environmental hazard ratings and details of persistence of organic chemicals in the environment and bioaccumulation. Aquatic toxicity and ingestion toxicity details were also provided. Human hazard ratings included carcinogenicity, inhalation toxicity, dermal toxicity, rabbit and rat toxicity and corrosion and skin irritation ratings. Issues concerning vapour cloud explosions were examined. A reactivity table was presented with hazard descriptions. European Union Threshold quantities were examined, as well as a list of comparisons of selected substances of CEPA with the European Union. It was concluded that the Environmental Emergency Branch (EEB) has created environmental thresholds by first examining how other countries have protected the environment. Substance thresholds for the United States have focused on protecting humans, while Europe has established threshold quantities that work for their countries. The EEB has selected classification tables

Problems of risk balancing for regulating environmental hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, T.L.

1985-01-01

Rational regulation of environmental hazards may be based on the implicit underlying principles that government actions should enhance the average quality of life for those governed and maintain some degree of equity in the distribution of benefits, costs, and risks. Issues arising from these principles have practical implications for risk management policy in general and for the development and application of radiological protection criteria in particular. One of the issues is the appropriate distribution of expenditures for regulating different risks. The total resources available for risk regulation are finite; hence, minimizing the total risk subject to this constraint is an appropriate strategy for optimum risk management. Using a simple model, it is shown that this strategy leads to a distribution of expenditures between different risks such that a greater fraction is allocated to a risk with a higher cost of mitigation or control but the allocation is limited in such a manner that the fractional contribution of that risk to the total risk is also higher. The effect of deviating from this strategy is examined. It is shown that reducing a single risk of concern below the optimum value by a factor 1/F can increase the total risk by about F times the risk of concern. Taking into account the large uncertainties in risk assessment for establishing radiological protection criteria, it is argued that an optimum strategy for remedial action should (1) set basic risk limits as high as reasonable; (2) use realistic, case-specific data and analyses in deriving allowable residual contamination levels from basic risk limits; and (3) implement a policy of reducing residual contamination to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) within the constraints imposed by optimum resource allocation. 10 references, 1 figure

The photovoltaic industry on the path to a sustainable future--environmental and occupational health issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhiyi, Bouchra; Labrèche, France; Zayed, Joseph

2014-12-01

As it supplies solar power, a priori considered harmless for the environment and human health compared with fossil fuels, the photovoltaic (PV) industry seems to contribute optimally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, overall, to sustainable development. However, considering the forecast for rapid growth, its use of potentially toxic substances and manufacturing processes presenting health and safety problems may jeopardize its benefits. This paper aims to establish a profile of the PV industry in order to determine current and emerging environmental and health concerns. A review of PV system life cycle assessments, in light of the current state of the industry and its developmental prospects, reveals information deficits concerning some sensitive life cycle indicators and environmental impacts, together with incomplete information on toxicological data and studies of workers' exposure to different chemical and physical hazards. Although solar panel installation is generally considered relatively safe, the occupational health concerns related to the growing number of hazardous materials handled in the PV industry warrants an all-inclusive occupational health and safety approach in order to achieve an optimal equilibrium with sustainability. To prevent eco-health problems from offsetting the benefits currently offered by the PV industry, manufacturers should cooperate actively with workers, researchers and government agencies toward improved and more transparent research, the adoption of specific and stricter regulations, the implementation of preventive risk management of occupational health and safety and, lastly, greater responsibilization toward PV systems from their design until their end of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capital Allocation Effects of Financial Reporting Regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koenigsgruber, R.

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the effects of stricter financial reporting enforcement on capital allocation and reporting quality in a game-theoretic model and derives conclusions about optimal enforcement strictness. Analysis of the model shows that reporting quality strictly increases with tighter

Environmental Regulation of Offshore (E&P Waste Management in Nigeria: How Effective?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anwuli Irene Ofuani

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The advancement of technology has led to the rapid development of the offshore oil and gas industry and a corresponding increase in the amount of wastes generated from the industry. These wastes must be properly managed so as to curtail their potential to negatively affect human health and the environment. As a result, environmental regulation of offshore oil and gas operations is becoming more stringent worldwide. The Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN were issued to ensure that oil and gas industry operators do not degrade the environment in the course of their operations in Nigeria. Nonetheless, more attention has been focused on the economic aspects of offshore oil and gas industry rather than environmental aspects such as waste management. This article examines the legal aspects of offshore oil and gas waste management in Nigeria. It assesses the effectiveness of the mechanisms for the management of offshore E&P wastes in Nigeria as provided under EGASPIN in relation to other jurisdictions.

Compliance with Environmental Regulations through Complex Geo-Event Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federico Herrera

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In a context of e-government, there are usually regulatory compliance requirements that support systems must monitor, control and enforce. These requirements may come from environmental laws and regulations that aim to protect the natural environment and mitigate the effects of pollution on human health and ecosystems. Monitoring compliance with these requirements involves processing a large volume of data from different sources, which is a major challenge. This volume is also increased with data coming from autonomous sensors (e.g. reporting carbon emission in protected areas and from citizens providing information (e.g. illegal dumping in a voluntary way. Complex Event Processing (CEP technologies allow processing large amount of event data and detecting patterns from them. However, they do not provide native support for the geographic dimension of events which is essential for monitoring requirements which apply to specific geographic areas. This paper proposes a geospatial extension for CEP that allows monitoring environmental requirements considering the geographic location of the processed data. We extend an existing platform-independent, model-driven approach for CEP adding the geographic location to events and specifying patterns using geographic operators. The use and technical feasibility of the proposal is shown through the development of a case study and the implementation of a prototype.

Environmental Accounting as a Tool for Environmental Management ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Environmental Accounting as a Tool for Environmental Management System. ... This paper reviews about the relationship of environmental accounting and environmental ... to legal and regulation requirement, to reduce cost from customer

Corporate environmental management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

With increasing population and economic growth and related demand for energy and natural resources as well, pollution, waste production and environmental sustainability have become issues of uttermost importance. For quite some time self-regulation, i.e. voluntary implementation of environmental......: how does industry respond to the environmental challenge? The paper concludes that despite the apparent attractiveness of self-regulation in industry, voluntary options tend not to be widely adopted thus pointing to a continued strong need for an effective regulation of industry’s environmental...

Multi objective multi refinery optimization with environmental and catastrophic failure effects objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Khogeer, Ahmed Sirag

2005-11-01

Petroleum refining is a capital-intensive business. With stringent environmental regulations on the processing industry and declining refining margins, political instability, increased risk of war and terrorist attacks in which refineries and fuel transportation grids may be targeted, higher pressures are exerted on refiners to optimize performance and find the best combination of feed and processes to produce salable products that meet stricter product specifications, while at the same time meeting refinery supply commitments and of course making profit. This is done through multi objective optimization. For corporate refining companies and at the national level, Intea-Refinery and Inter-Refinery optimization is the second step in optimizing the operation of the whole refining chain as a single system. Most refinery-wide optimization methods do not cover multiple objectives such as minimizing environmental impact, avoiding catastrophic failures, or enhancing product spec upgrade effects. This work starts by carrying out a refinery-wide, single objective optimization, and then moves to multi objective-single refinery optimization. The last step is multi objective-multi refinery optimization, the objectives of which are analysis of the effects of economic, environmental, product spec, strategic, and catastrophic failure. Simulation runs were carried out using both MATLAB and ASPEN PIMS utilizing nonlinear techniques to solve the optimization problem. The results addressed the need to debottleneck some refineries or transportation media in order to meet the demand for essential products under partial or total failure scenarios. They also addressed how importing some high spec products can help recover some of the losses and what is needed in order to accomplish this. In addition, the results showed nonlinear relations among local and global objectives for some refineries. The results demonstrate that refineries can have a local multi objective optimum that does not

Workshop on environmental assessment. [Regulation of applications of nuclear energy and related ancillary systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watson, E.C. (comp.)

1982-07-01

Objectives of the workshop were: to review and evaluate the state-of-the-art of environmental impact assessments as applied to the regulation of applications of nuclear energy and related ancillary systems; to identify areas where existing technology allows establishing acceptable methods or standard practices that will meet the requirements of the NRC regulations, standards and guides for both normal operations and off-standard conditions including accident considerations; to illuminate topics where existing models or analytical methods are deficient because of unverified assumptions, a paucity of empirical data, conflicting results reported in the literature or a need for observation of operation systems; to compile, analyze and synthesize a prioritized set of research needs to advance the state-of-the-art to the level which will meet all of the requirements of the Commission's regulations, standards and guides; and to develop bases for maintaining the core of regulatory guidance at the optimum level balancing technical capabilities with practical considerations of cost and value to the regulatory process. The discussion held in small group sessions on aquatic, atmospheric, and terrestrial pathways are presented. The following research needs were identified as common to all three groups: validation of models; characterization of source terms; development of screening techniques; basis for de minimis levels of contamination; and updating of objectives for environmental monitoring programs.

An ISM approach for the barrier analysis in implementing green supply chain management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathiyazhagan, K.; Govindan, Kannan; NoorulHaq, A.

2013-01-01

As customers are becoming more environmental conscious and governments are making stricter environmental regulations, the industries need to reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain. Indian auto component manufacturing industries especially SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises......) are focused to cleaner production by implementing Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) in their industries. But they are struggling to implement GSCM concept. The present research analyzes the barriers for the implementation of GSCM concept which has been divided into two phases such as identification...... dominant one for the adoption of green supply chain management and this result is helpful for industries to make easier the adoption of green concept in their supply chain by removing the dominant barrier. It indicates that different Indian auto component manufacturing industries have differing barriers...

jurisprudence precedent on the instruments of environmental regulation of the electrical colombian sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcila R, Jaime Leon; Velasquez A, Hector I

2009-01-01

What the authors of the Law of the Environment have named the green Constitution or the ecological Constitution of 1991, necessarily it has consequences in the legal practice of the instruments of environmental management in all the levels and sectors of the economy, especially if the previous thing is analyzed in the frame of the Social State of Law in the Constitution of 1991, under this perspective, it is possible to understand the emptiness and inconsistencies of the environmental management in the electrical Colombian sector (SEC), from the critical analysis of the instruments of environmental regulation established in the in the Law in addition it is possible to check these instruments in his role of tools for the environmental management, to identify a constitutional and legal conceptualization adapted for the development of the same ones and to determine the necessary adjustments to realize in his environmental role of management tools in the SEC. The attainment of the previous aims carries an own methodology of the social qualitative research in his juridical political levels. The content of this article realizes the first advances in order to study from a juriprudential and not merely legal optics, since up to the moment the topic has been approached.

Can Environmental Regulations Promote Corporate Environmental Responsibility? Evidence from the Moderated Mediating Effect Model and an Empirical Study in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benhong Peng

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Based on the Stakeholder theory, a moderated mediating effect model is developed to reach the study objective, revealing an important connection that suggests environmental regulations (ERs influence corporate environmental responsibility (CER (Porter Hypothesis. In building the model, the validity of the questionnaire data was analyzed with factor analysis. By employing a two-step approach, a regression analysis is utilized to discuss the mediating effect of altruistic motivation and moderating effect of green innovation, and a structural equation model is used to explore the interactive mechanism of different variables. It is found that altruistic motivation plays a medium role in the relationship between ERs and CER, and green innovation engages a positive coordination in the relationship. The empirical study identifies factors affecting enterprises’ willingness to undertake environmental responsibility, including environment policies, corporate culture, and personal characters among others. It is also revealed that altruistic motivation is conducive to forming a community interests among enterprises and enhancing their resistance to market risks, which explains and corroborates the Stakeholder theory; and the higher the level of green innovation, the more willing enterprises are to implement environmentally friendly operations.

Environmental pollution and health in the metropolitan zone of Mexico Valley

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, T.; Lartigue, J.; Cabrera, L.; Ramirez, A.

2002-01-01

Concerned about pollution in the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico Valley and its effects on inhabitant's health, the Faculty of Chemistry has been performing the monitoring of radon levels and heavy metals in environmental samples, since 1992. Samples consisted in aerosol fillers classified as Total Suspended Particles (TSP) and Respirable Particles (PM10) as well as dry fallout. Surveys were carried out in several zones covering the MZMV and different seasons along successive years. Metallic elements were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), X-Ray Fluorescence (dispersive and total reflection) and other techniques. Simultaneously, TSP and PM10 were determined by gravimetry. Annual radon gas concentration was determined with passive electret system (type E-PERM) and short radon decay products with a continuous working level monitor. This work presents the distribution an evolution of metallic pollutants in the MZMV. The effective equivalent dose for radon, calculated by the measured annual mean values of Radon and its short decay products, are 1.233 mSvy -1 in good agreement with the world average reported by UNSCEAR of 1.3 mSvy -1 . Despite of substantial progress in elimination of Lead sources (primarily from the phase-out leaded gasoline and regulations to reduce motorized traffic as part of stricter environmental laws) well correlated with a dramatic diminution of 91% in the geometric mean (2.00 μg dL -1 compared with that of 1980, 22.2 μg dL -1 ), the risk of Lead exposure is stilI present. Besides, TSP and PM10 concentration continue at levels above annual average concentration specified in the Mexican Norm. It makes necessary the continuity in efforts targeted to diminish the pollution and also epidemiological studies to relate its effects on population health and suggest guidelines. (Author)

Environmental Concerns, Environmental Policy and Green Investment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuexian Gao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental regulators often use environmental policy to induce green investment by firms. However, if an environmental policy fails to exert a long-run effect on regulating the economic agents’ behavior, it may be more reasonable to think of the firm as the leader in the game, since the investment in green technology is usually a strategic decision. In this paper, we consider a three-stage Stackelberg game to address the interaction between a profit-maximizing firm (Stackelberg leader facing emission-dependent demand, and the environmental regulator (Stackelberg follower. The firm decides on the green technology level in the first stage of the game based on its understanding of the regulator’s profits function, especially an environmental concern that is introduced as an exogenous variable. In the current research, we show that high levels of the regulator’s environmental concerns do not necessarily lead to the choice of green technology by the firm, and green investment level depends on the combined effects of the market and operational factors for a given level of the regulator’s environmental concerns. The result also shows that increasing environmental awareness amongst the consumers is an effective way to drive the firm’s green investment.

Association between stricter alcohol advertising regulations and lower hazardous drinking across European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosque-Prous, Marina; Espelt, Albert; Guitart, Anna M; Bartroli, Montserrat; Villalbí, Joan R; Brugal, M Teresa

2014-10-01

To analyse the association between alcohol advertising restrictions and the prevalence of hazardous drinking among people aged 50-64 years in 16 European countries, taking into account both individual and contextual-level factors (alcohol taxation, availability, etc.). Cross-sectional study based on SHARE project surveys. A total of 27 773 subjects, aged 50-64 years, from 16 European countries who participated in wave 4 of the SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) project. We estimated the prevalence of hazardous drinking (through adaptation of the SHARE questions to the scheme used by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption (AUDIT-C) for each country. To determine whether the degree of advertising restrictions was associated with prevalence of hazardous drinking, we fitted robust variance multi-level Poisson models, adjusting for various individual and contextual variables. Prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were obtained. The observed prevalence of hazardous drinking was 24.1%, varying by sex and country. Countries with greater advertising restrictions had lower prevalence of hazardous drinking: 30.6% (95% CI = 29.3-31.8) in countries with no restrictions, 20.3% (95% CI = 19.3-21.2) in countries with some restrictions and 14.4% (95% CI = 11.9-16.8) in those with greatest restrictions. The PR found (with respect to countries with greatest restrictions) were 1.36 (95% CI = 0.90-2.06) for countries with some restrictions and 1.95 (95% CI = 1.31-2.91) for those with no advertising restrictions. The extent of advertising restrictions in European countries is associated inversely with prevalence of hazardous drinking in people aged 50-64 years. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Regulations and decisions in environmental impact assessment of residues radioactivity content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Adir Janete Godoy dos

2005-01-01

Surveillance of natural radionuclides in the environment did not have high priority over many years compared to that of man-made radioactivity. There is, however, an increasing interest in such measurements since enhanced exposure to natural radioactivity is receiving the same legal weight as any other radiation exposure. In this context the surveillance of technologically enhanced naturally occurring materials, called TENORM becomes important. In Brazil, the industries of processing and chemical compounds production were developed based on mining, milling, transformation and manufacture of ores from sedimentary origin, ignea or metamorphic, which must determine the radioactive composition of the generated solid wastes and residues. Many solids residues stored in the environment has been of environmental concern facing the industries and environmentalists in Brazil as it presents a potential threat to the surrounding environment and to individuals occupationally exposed. Radiation protection regulations have not been applied yet to these industries, as the Brazilian regulatory agency (Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN) has only recently published a regulatory guide concerning mining and milling of naturally occurring radioactive materials, which may generate enhanced concentrations of radionuclides. With respect to external and internal exposure to natural radionuclides from the solid residues storage, the nuclides of 232 Th, 235 U and 238 U decay chains are relevant, due to the exposure of workers as well as of members of the public. Radionuclides released from a source can be present as ions, molecules, complexes, mononuclear or polynuclear species, colloids, pseudocolloids, particles or fragments varying in size (nominal molecular mass), structure, morphology, density, valence and charge properties. One of the main points in environmental impact assessment is to identify whether the chemical availability is under influence of these speciation

Impacts of new environmental and safety regulations on uranium mining, milling and waste management in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yongping; Zheng Yuhui; Shi Xiangjun

2001-01-01

Nuclear power progress has triggered the development and innovation of nuclear fuel industries in China. At present the Chinese government has put more emphasis on industrial readjustment and technical innovation in uranium mining and milling in order to fuel the nuclear power development, satisfy environmental protection and improve economic efficiency of the industry. The current organizations and approval procedure for establishing regulations and the implementation and consequences of the regulations, technical polices and development strategies concerning uranium mining, milling, treatment of waste ores and mill tailings, and reduction of the workers' suffered exposure dose etc. in China are discussed and the economic, health and environmental impacts of the uranium mining and metallurgy with reformation achievement and the introduction of advanced technologies such as the in-situ leaching and heap leaching mining technologies are assessed in this paper. (author)

A double-regulated oncolytic adenovirus with improved safety for adenocarcinoma therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Na; Fan, Jun Kai; Gu, Jin Fa; He, Ling Feng; Tang, Wen Hao; Cao, Xin; Liu, Xin Yuan

2009-01-01

Safety and efficiency are equally important to be considered in developing oncolytic adenovirus. Previously, we have reported that ZD55, an oncolytic adenovirus with the deletion of E1B-55K gene, exhibited potent antitumor activity. In this study, to improve the safety of ZD55, we utilized MUC1 promoter to replace the native promoter of E1A on the basis of ZD55, and generated a double-regulated adenovirus, named MUD55. Our data demonstrated that the expression of early and late genes of MUD55 was both reduced in MUC1-negative cells, resulting in its stricter glandular-tumor selective progeny production. The cytopathic effect of MUD55 was about 10-fold lower than mono-regulated adenovirus ZD55 or Ad.MUC1 in normal cells and not obviously attenuated in glandular tumor cells. Moreover, MUD55 showed the least liver toxicity when administrated by intravenous injection in nude mice. These results indicate that MUD55 could be a promising candidate for the treatment of adenocarcinoma.

Molecular targets of epigenetic regulation and effectors of environmental influences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choudhuri, Supratim; Cui Yue; Klaassen, Curtis D.

2010-01-01

The true understanding of what we currently define as epigenetics evolved over time as our knowledge on DNA methylation and chromatin modifications and their effects on gene expression increased. The current explosion of research on epigenetics and the increasing documentation of the effects of various environmental factors on DNA methylation, chromatin modification, as well as on the expression of small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have expanded the scope of research on the etiology of various diseases including cancer. The current review briefly discusses the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulation and expands the discussion with examples on the role of environment, such as the immediate environment during development, in inducing epigenetic changes and modulating gene expression.

Constructing regulation and regulating for energy efficient construction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shove, Elizabeth [Lancaster University (United Kingdom). Centre for the Study of Environmental Change

1998-07-01

This project considers the process of formulating energy-related building regulation in the light of the revisions to Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) of the Building Regulations for England and Wales. Details are given of the main objectives of the research, namely, the examination of the roles of the UK government, local government and pressure groups in shaping energy efficiency standards, the impacts of environmental regulations, the limits of energy-related regulation, environmental regulation of the building sector, and the features of energy related building control. This control is compared with current practice in other European countries. The methodology of the project involving the review of governmental documents and interviews is described. (UK)

A study on environmental regulation and public inquiry system of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Hun; Kang, Chang Sun; Son, Ki Yon; Cho, Young Ho; Yang, Ji Won; Lee, Young Wook; Ko, Hyun Suk

2000-03-01

Public hearing system for domestic and foreign nuclear facilities are investigated and analyzed. As a result, Korean public hearing system are developed. Atomic Energy Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act and Administrative Procedure Act of Korea are reviewed and appropriate acts, regulations, procedures and mandates of foreign countries including U.S.A are reviewed and analyzed. On the basis of these results the role of device to collect public opinion is identified for nuclear facility of Korea and the elementary principle of the system and recommendations are developed

A study on environmental regulation and public inquiry system of nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sang Hun [Korea Association for Nuclear Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Chang Sun; Son, Ki Yon; Cho, Young Ho; Yang, Ji Won; Lee, Young Wook; Ko, Hyun Suk [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2000-03-15

Public hearing system for domestic and foreign nuclear facilities are investigated and analyzed. As a result, Korean public hearing system are developed. Atomic Energy Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act and Administrative Procedure Act of Korea are reviewed and appropriate acts, regulations, procedures and mandates of foreign countries including U.S.A are reviewed and analyzed. On the basis of these results the role of device to collect public opinion is identified for nuclear facility of Korea and the elementary principle of the system and recommendations are developed.

Does environmental regulation affect energy efficiency in China's thermal power generation? Empirical evidence from a slacks-based DEA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bi, Gong-Bing; Song, Wen; Zhou, P.; Liang, Liang

2014-01-01

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has gained much popularity in performance measurement of power industry. This paper presents a slack-based measure approach to investigating the relationship between fossil fuel consumption and the environmental regulation of China's thermal power generation. We first calculate the total-factor energy efficiency without considering environmental constraints. An environmental performance indicator is proposed through decomposing the total-factor energy efficiency. The proposed approach is then employed to examine whether environmental regulation affects the energy efficiency of China's thermal power generation. We find that the environmental efficiency plays a significant role in affecting energy performance of China's thermal generation sector. Decreasing the discharge of major pollutants can improve both energy performance and environmental efficiency. Besides, we also have three main findings: (1) The energy efficiency and environmental efficiency were relatively low. (2) The energy and environmental efficiency scores show great variations among provinces. (3) Both energy efficiency and environmental efficiency are of obvious geographical characteristics. According to our findings, we suggest some policy implications. - Highlights: • We assess the energy efficiency and the environmental efficiency of China's thermal power generation simultaneously. • The energy efficiency and the environmental efficiency were relatively low during 2007–2009. • The energy efficiency and environmental efficiency show obvious geographic characters. • The environmental performance of a DMU plays a decisive role in the energy performance

The precautionary principle in environmental regulations for drinking water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford-Brown, Douglas; Crawford-Brown, Sean

2011-01-01

The precautionary principle has been proposed as a means of providing increased safety for consumers of drinking water. While the principle has received increased attention over the past 2 decades, it remains rather poorly defined both in law and practice. Hence, the implications for application in risk-based decisions on water quality are not fully developed. This paper examines a series of philosophical, practical and decision-theoretic issues related to the application of the principle in such decisions, highlighting areas where at least the intent of the principle is already well embedded in environmental regulation through margins of safety, and identifying residual issues. A conclusion is drawn that full application of the principle may be driven forward both by programmes such as REACH in the EU, and by the emerging Water Framework Directive and multi-stakeholder approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Some problems of risk balancing for regulating environmental hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, T.L.

1984-01-01

Rational regulation of environmental hazards may be based on the implicit underlying principles that government actions should enhance the average quality of life for those governed and maintain some degree of equity in the distribution of benefits, costs, and risks. Issues arising from these principles have practical implications for risk management policy in general and for the development and application of radiological protection criteria in particular. One of the issues is the appropriate distribution of expenditures for regulating different risks. The total resources available for risk regulation are finite; hence, minimizing the total risk subject to this constraint is an appropriate strategy for optimum risk management. Using a simple model, it is shown that this strategy leads to a distribution of expenditures between different risks such that a greater fraction is allocated to a risk with a higher cost of mitigation or control but the allocation is limited in such a manner that the fractional contribution of that risk to the total risk is also higher. The effect of deviating from this strategy is examined. It is shown that reducing a single risk of concern below the optimum value by a factor 1/F can increase the total risk by about F times the risk of concern. Taking into account the large uncertainties in risk assessment for establishing radiological protection criteria, it is argued that an optimum strategy for remedial action should (1) set basic risk limits as high as reasonable; (2) use realistic, case-specific data and analyses in deriving allowable residual contamination levels from basic risk limits; and (3) implement a policy of reducing residual contamination to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) within the constraints imposed by optimum resource allocation. 10 references

Financial re-regulation at a crossroads: How the European experience strengthens the case for a radical reform built on Minsky’s approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisabetta Montanaro

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The current financial and sovereign crisis is pushing European politicians and EU bureaucrats to devise new institutional and policy solutions. However, the new EU institutional framework and stricter regulatory requirements do not introduce significant changes in the laissez-faire nature of the regulatory approach. Our opinion is that the entire re-regulation process does not go to the roots of how financial fragility endogenously accumulates, and how finally it produces a crisis each time starting from the weakest part of the financial system. Analysing the European banking sectors from this perspective, we show how domestic specificities add to the limits due to risk-based regulation and supervision. We then build on Minsky’s regulatory proposals to present the skeleton of a simple alternative to the existing regulatory approach.

Regulatory analysis for amendments to regulations for the environmental review for renewal of nuclear power plant operating licenses. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

This regulatory analysis provides the supporting information for a proposed rule that will amend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's environmental review requirements for applications for renewal of nuclear power plant operating licenses. The objective of the proposed rulemaking is to improve regulatory efficiency by providing for the generic evaluation of certain environmental impacts associated with nuclear plant license renewal. After considering various options, the staff identified and analyzed two major alternatives. With Alternative A, the existing regulations would not be amended. This option requires that environmental reviews be performed under the existing regulations. Alternative B is to assess, on a generic basis, the environmental impacts of renewing the operating license of individual nuclear power plants, and define the issues that will need to be further analyzed on a case-by-case basis. In addition, Alternative B removes from NRC's review certain economics-related issues. The findings of this assessment are to be codified in 10 CFR 51. The staff has selected Alternative B as the preferred alternative

The effects of customer benefit and regulation on environmental product innovation. Empirical evidence from appliance manufacturers in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kammerer, Daniel

2009-01-01

Environmental product (EP) innovations and their determinants have received increasing attention from researchers during the past years. So far, empirical studies have shown inconsistent results, especially regarding the impact of regulation. In this paper, I seek to advance the understanding of EP-innovation by introducing and testing a novel research framework. First, a novel unit of analysis, the environmental issue level, is applied. EP-innovation is not studied in broad terms but specifically for four environmental issues that are relevant to the electrical and electronic appliances industry: energy efficiency, toxic substances, material efficiency, and electromagnetic fields. Second, the customer benefit, a concept from the green marketing literature, is included as an explanatory variable for EP-innovation for the first time. The argument is that green products which besides their public benefits have private environmental benefits for the customer (e.g., energy savings) will generate stronger consumer demand and can thus constitute the firm's motivation to implement those innovations in the first place. Third, EP-innovation is observed more comprehensively, measuring its extent and level of novelty. I apply this research framework to study EP-innovations of German manufacturers of electrical and electronic appliances. My results support the issue level as unit of analysis. The impact of customer benefit and regulation on EP-innovation is analyzed with logit regression and the results clearly show that both customer benefit and regulation play a key role for EP-innovation. They not only foster the implementation of EP-innovations but also their broad application and their level of novelty. (author)

Staircase To Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doorasamy Mishelle

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article to provide a theoretical framework on the concepts of Sustainable Development and the process that companies need to follow in order to ensure the future sustainability of business operations. Various secondary sources and previous literature was reviewed to clearly identify why companies are finding it difficult to conduct their business operations in a sustainable manner. Stricter legislation and regulations, increased competition, depletion of natural resources and market pressures have placed organisations under increased pressure to improve environmental performance and achieve eco-efficiency. This paper provides comprehensive overview of how companies can achieve the ‘Triple bottom line’ by committing to continuous improvement and adhering to the regulations stipulated according to the International Standards of Organisations (ISO14001.

Environmental considerations and regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanco, R.E.

1976-01-01

Methods used to control the radiological impact of the nuclear fuel cycle are described. This control is exercised through the application of a series of federal laws and regulations that are used as the basis for licensing nuclear facilities. The control is exercised more directly by the use of radwaste treatment equipment at the nuclear facilities to limit the release of radioactive materials. Federal laws and regulations are summarized and their applications in licensing actions are discussed. Radiological doses from materials released from licensed facilities are compared with doses from natural background. A series of cost/benefit engineering surveys are being made to determine the cost and effectiveness of radwaste systems for decreasing the release of radioactive materials from model fuel cycle facilities and to determine the benefits in terms of reduction in dose commitment to individuals and populations in surrounding areas

Co-ordinate regulation of Salmonella typhimurium invasion genes by environmental and regulatory factors is mediated by control of hilA expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Bajaj, V; Lucas, R L; Hwang, C; Lee, C A

1996-11-01

During infection of their hosts, salmonellae enter intestinal epithelial cells. It has been proposed that when Salmonella typhimurium is present in the intestinal lumen, several environmental and regulatory conditions modulate the expression of invasion factors required for bacterial entry into host cells. We report here that the expression of six different S. typhimurium invasion genes encoded on SPI1 (Salmonella pathogenicity island 1) is co-ordinately regulated by oxygen, osmolarity, pH, PhoPQ, and HilA. HilA is a transcriptional activator of the OmpR/ToxR family that is also encoded on SPI1. We have found that HilA plays a central role in the co-ordinated regulation of invasion genes by environmental and regulatory conditions. HilA can activate the expression of two invasion gene-lacZY fusions on reporter plasmids in Escherichia coll, suggesting that HilA acts directly at invasion-gene promoters in S. typhimurium. We have found that the regulation of invasion genes by oxygen, osmolarity, pH, and PhoPQ is indirect and is mediated by regulation of hilA expression by these environmental and regulatory factors. We hypothesize that the complex and co-ordinate regulation of Invasion genes by HilA is an important feature of salmonella pathogenesis and allows salmonellae to enter intestinal epithelial cells.

Retooling for new environmental regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levy, W.W.

1997-01-01

The petroleum industry is subject to regulations which require better management of emissions. This presentation discussed those regulations that dealt specifically with gasoline and diesel fuels and how they impact on vehicle emissions. The review showed that since 1975 the average fuel economy and improvements in tailpipe emissions for a light duty vehicle has increased significantly. Nitrogen oxide emissions were reduced by 94 per cent, carbon monoxide emissions were reduced by 96 per cent, and hydrocarbon emissions from tailpipes were reduced by 98 per cent. The phase-out of lead in fuel formulations, the controversy over the octane enhancing fuel additive MMT and a major study underway investigating the reduction of sulphur in gasoline, were also discussed. Future developments in regulations are likely to include capture of vapour emissions, mandatory inspection and maintenance programs, remote sensing of tailpipe emissions, and scrapping of old high emitting vehicles.5 figs

Harnessing science for environmental regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, J.D.

1991-01-01

An introductory chapter by Graham frames the issues to be discussed; then the following three chapters describe the formation and character of three organizations. These chapters are written by authors who have each had an active management role in the organization they are writing about: Terry F. Yosie, now at the American Petroleum Institute, who staffed the SAB (Science Advisory Board) while he was at EPA; Robert A. Neal, who headed CIIT (Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology) before leaving for a position at Vanderbilt University; and Thomas P. Grumbly, former executive director of HEI (Health Effects Institute) now president of Clean Sites, Inc. While these chapters are well written and make a vital contribution to the overall development of the book's themes, the most valuable and enjoyable parts of the book are the succeeding five chapters, which present case studies dealing with EPA's regulatory efforts on unleaded gasoline, perchloroethylene, formaldehyde, nitrates in drinking water, and carbon monoxide. Each of these case studies, nominally historical accounts of how one or more of these (three) organizations participated in the regulatory controversy, offer insight into the broader issues of dealing with, and incorporating into regulations scientific information that has high uncertainty. One of the richest aspects of the five case studies is the extensive use of referenced interviews with identified participants from all aspects of the regulatory process. This material illuminates the motivation, emotions, and goals of the different players, helping the reader to understand their positions and other issues, such as why industry pursues, and EPA and the environmental movement appear to resist, good science; what underlies EPA's preferences for one regulatory option over another; and why scientists are histant to give yes-or-no answers in accord with the real time needs of the regulatory agency

Many ways to be small: different environmental regulators of size generate distinct scaling relationships in Drosophila melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Shingleton, Alexander W.; Estep, Chad M.; Driscoll, Michael V.; Dworkin, Ian

2009-01-01

Static allometries, the scaling relationship between body and trait size, describe the shape of animals in a population or species, and are generated in response to variation in genetic or environmental regulators of size. In principle, allometries may vary with the different size regulators that generate them, which can be problematic since allometric differences are also used to infer patterns of selection on morphology. We test this hypothesis by examining the patterns of scaling in Drosop...

Environmental implications of the automobile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

There are over 12 million automobiles in Canada, each travelling over 16,000 km annually. The value of motor vehicles and parts produced in Canada accounts for over 6% of the gross domestic product, and vehicle-related sales account for the largest proportion of Canadian retail activity. The environmental issues related to the high impact of the automobile on Canadian life are discussed. In the manufacture of motor vehicles, over 2 billion kg of metal are used a year; although much of this comes from recycled materials, some depletion of nonrenewable resources is required. It is also estimated that 66-105 GJ of energy are needed to produce a motor vehicle, equivalent to as much as 20% of all the energy consumed during the vehicle's lifetime. Environmental impacts result from this use of resources and energy, including land disturbances and air pollution. Land use impacts are also those related to appropriation of urban and rural land for roadway and service uses, plus pollution of adjoining lands by road runoff. In 1990, the transportation sector used 29% of end-use energy, of which retail gasoline sales for motor vehicles accounted for 54%. Environmental impacts from oil refining, fuel combustion, and waste disposal are described, and programs to mitigate these impacts are outlined. Significant reductions in automobile emissions have already occurred from the increased use of emission control devices, improved fuel efficiency, and stricter standards. Further improvements are possible via such means as better manufacturing procedures, increased recycling of automobile components, better inspection and maintenance, and use of alternative fuels and alternate transportation modes. 35 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

CEP genes regulate root and shoot development in response to environmental cues and are specific to seed plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Delay, Christina; Imin, Nijat; Djordjevic, Michael A

2013-12-01

The manifestation of repetitive developmental programmes during plant growth can be adjusted in response to various environmental cues. During root development, this means being able to precisely control root growth and lateral root development. Small signalling peptides have been found to play roles in many aspects of root development. One member of the CEP (C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE) gene family has been shown to arrest root growth. Here we report that CEP genes are widespread among seed plants but are not present in land plants that lack true branching roots or root vasculature. We have identified 10 additional CEP genes in Arabidopsis. Expression analysis revealed that CEP genes are regulated by environmental cues such as nitrogen limitation, increased salt levels, increased osmotic strength, and increased CO2 levels in both roots and shoots. Analysis of synthetic CEP variants showed that both peptide sequence and modifications of key amino acids affect CEP biological activity. Analysis of several CEP over-expression lines revealed distinct roles for CEP genes in root and shoot development. A cep3 knockout mutant showed increased root and shoot growth under a range of abiotic stress, nutrient, and light conditions. We demonstrate that CEPs are negative regulators of root development, slowing primary root growth and reducing lateral root formation. We propose that CEPs are negative regulators that mediate environmental influences on plant development.

Globalization and protection of environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panahandeh, M.

2003-01-01

In recent years two trends have come into conflict in the international arena. The first is the globalization of economy and the second is the increased public concern over the environmental impact of economic activities and awareness of the global dimensions of many environmental problems. Nowadays confrontation of the issue of globalization and economic liberalization and protect of the environment is a matter of heated debate and environmentalists see globalization posing a threat to environment standards. The effects of liberalization on environment in the developing world have been analyzed from the perspective of the pollution- have hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests that the liberalization encourages a spatial displacement of the so-called d irty o r pollution- intensive industries from the developed countries with stricter environmental regulations to their preferential location in developing countries which enjoy minimal environmental regulations or capacity for environmental monitoring and enforcement. It also suggests that economic policies which promote foreign investment in the natural resources of developing countries will increase rates of natural-resource extraction in the developing world. according to the theory, the translational firms will employ cheep technologies in developing countries which are not environmental sound and no longer permitted to use in the industrialized world

A Systematic Review of Children's Environmental Health in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Froes Asmus, Carmen I R; Camara, Volney M; Landrigan, Philip J; Claudio, Luz

2016-01-01

In the region of the Americas, approximately 100,000 children under the age of 5 years die each year due to environmental hazards. Brazil, due to its large size and wide range of environmental challenges, presents numerous hazards to children's health. The aim of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature that describes children's exposures to environmental pollutants in Brazil and their effects on Brazilian children's health. A systematic review of the scientific literature was performed without language restrictions and time of publication (years). The literature search was conducted in the following key resources: PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus and Web of Science with the MeSH Terms: Environmental exposure AND Brazil (filters: Human, Child [birth to 18 years] and Affiliation Author). The Virtual Health Library was also employed to access the databases Scielo and Lilacs. The search strategy was [DeCS Terms]: Child OR adolescent AND Environmental exposure AND Brazil. Health effects in children associated with exposure to environmental pollutants in Brazil were reported in 74 studies, during the period between 1995 and 2015. The most frequently cited effect was hospital admission for respiratory causes including wheezing, asthma, and pneumonia among children living in areas with high concentrations of air pollutants. A broad spectrum of other health effects possibly linked to pollutants also was found such as prematurity, low birth weight, congenital abnormality (cryptorchidism, hypospadia, micropenis), poor performance in tests of psychomotor and mental development, and behavioral problems. Exposure to pesticides in utero and postnatally was associated with a high risk for leukemia in children Brazil for stricter monitoring of pollutant emissions and for health surveillance programs especially among vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and young children. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Helping people build a better world? Barriers to more environmentally friendly energy production in China: the case of Shell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buan, Inga Fritzen

2008-03-15

China's rapid industrialization and economic expansion are causing massive environmental damage, with consequences beyond the country's borders, especially due to the use of fossil fuels' effect on climate change. Shell China can contribute to making energy production, if not clean and sustainable, then cleaner and more sustainable by making existing energy production more environmentally friendly; by diversifying and developing alternative energy sources; and by creating precedence influencing others to follow in its footsteps. The first goal of this report is to identify and analyze changes that have happened in the Shell Group since the 1990s when energy companies started their 'greening' processes. These changed happened due to stricter environmental legislation, increased civil society pressure and media scrutiny. Changes on the global and headquarters level in a company do not, however, necessitate similar developments in its national and local level operations. The second goal is thus to analyze to which degree the changes in the Shell Group have had relevance for Shell China and whether barriers in the Chinese context influence its prospects to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. (author). 64 refs

Exploring the Role of Peer Advice in Self-Regulated Learning: Metacognitive, Social, and Environmental Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rashid, Hanin; Lebeau, Robert; Saks, Norma; Cianciolo, Anna T; Artino, Anthony R; Shea, Judy A; Ten Cate, Olle

2016-01-01

This Conversation Starters article presents a selected research abstract from the 2016 Association of American Medical Colleges Northeast Region Group on Educational Affairs annual spring meeting. The abstract is paired with the integrative commentary of three experts who shared their thoughts stimulated by the pilot study. These thoughts explore the metacognitive, social, and environmental mechanisms whereby advice plays a role in self-regulated learning.

Public Participation Planning of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Regulations: Analysis of Inconsistency for Some Cases in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Hindrayani, Aniek; Purwanto

2018-02-01

The failure in community involvement during the environmental documents planning may result in the failure of the planned project implementation. This study aims to determine the gap between practices and regulations that apply to the process of community involvement in the environmental documents planning, and find out inconsistency of implementation on each stakeholder in the planning of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the environmental permit. The method used was qualitative through interview and literature study which is analyzed using triangulation model and presented in the form of concept map. The results of the study indicate that 1) the determination of community representatives based on the criteria of the impacted communities is not clearly described, 3) suggestions, opinions, and responses to the environmental impact management are not well implemented by the project proponent, 3) implementation of the environmental management of other licensed activities affecting the behavior (4) stakeholders (project proponent, EIA consultants, and EIA appraisal committee) do not play their role as mandated in applicable legislation.

Heterogeneity of the environmental regulation of industrial wastewater: European wineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Román-Sánchez, Isabel M; Aznar-Sánchez, José A; Belmonte-Ureña, Luis J

2015-01-01

The European legislation of the pollution of industrial wastewater shows a high degree of heterogeneity. This fact implies that there is a market failure with relevant consequences. Within the European Union, each Member State performs a specific transposition of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60. The member states introduce different sanitation fees to correct water pollution. In this paper, the case of the European wine industry is analyzed. It studies the sanitation fees of the five major wine producing countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. Results show significant differences among the wastewater fees and the study reveals how such heterogeneity leads to relevant market distortions. The research concludes that more homogeneous environmental regulation would promote more sustainable wine production processes with more efficient water management and purification systems, as well as the introduction of cutting edge technologies.

Evaluation of compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the food and drink vending machine sector in primary schools in Madrid, Spain, in 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Royo-Bordonada, Miguel A; Martínez-Huedo, María A

2014-01-01

To evaluate compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the food and drink vending machine sector in primary schools in Madrid, Spain. Cross-sectional study of the prevalence of vending machines in 558 primary schools in 2008. Using the directory of all registered primary schools in Madrid, we identified the presence of machines by telephone interviews and evaluated compliance with the agreement by visiting the schools and assessing accessibility, type of publicity, the products offered and knowledge of the agreement. The prevalence of schools with vending machines was 5.8%. None of the schools reported knowledge of the agreement or of its nutritional guidelines, and most machines were accessible to primary school pupils (79.3%) and packed with high-calorie, low-nutrient-dense foods (58.6%). Compliance with the self-regulation agreement of the vending machines sector was low. Stricter regulation should receive priority in the battle against the obesity epidemic. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact statement law and environmental impact statement administration regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmann, F.J.

1991-01-01

The contribution does not deal with the question - as might be suggested by the heading - that the execution of the environmental impact statement law might be uncertain if there are no further accompanying legal transformatory acts. Putting the environmental impact statements into action is concerned in partiuclar with procedural provisions regarding the Federal Act on Protection against Nuisances and the Atomic Energy Act. The author deals with aspects of the environmental impact statement law and the state-of-the-art achieved so far. He also deals with legislative intent, with further points of putting the law into practice, i.e. the information requirements in the administrative provisions and the integrating aspect, the amalgamating aspect, the requirements made on the state of the environment, and the significance of administrative provisions. Also treated are legal procedures in the Federal Laender and on an international level. (RST) [de

The effects of rate of return and environmental regulations on the productivity performance in the US electric utility industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durongkaveroj, P.

1991-01-01

Productivity growth in the US electric power industry has been declining since the late 1960's. Rate of return regulation and environmental regulations are hypothesized to adversely affect the productivity performance. Employing a Divisa index of the total factor productivity (TEP) an electric utility's performance is measured based on a profit maximization framework subject to both regulatory constraints. The empirical analysis attempts to analyze the effects of these regulations on the productivity growth employing data from privately-owned, fossil-fueled electric utilities. Results show a consistent decline in productivity growth over time averaging at 2% annually during 1977 and 1982, as well as the existence of regional differences in TFP growth among utilities. It shows positive and significant relationships between TFP growth and the rate of return, regulatory lag, the use of future test year, and deferred tax credit in the rate-making process. In the environmental case, results show that a stringent emission standard, using scrubbers for sulfur reduction and the utilization of aging power plants all contribute to the decline in productivity growth

The community regulation for environmental management and audit: an opportunity for firms. Some Enea promotion actions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andriola, L.; Brunetti, N.; Caropreso, G.; Luciani, R.; Merelli, A.

1999-01-01

EMAS (Environmental Management and Audit Scheme), introduced by the 1836/93 Community regulation, is one of the tools activated by the European Union in the field of firm-environment interactions, to overcome the old Command and Control logic by means of the new Moral Suasion one. EMAS has a voluntary character: it intends to replace conflicting relations between control authority and firm with relations centred on a dialogue and action agreed upon by the parties, on the basis of impartial and reliable information. The report illustrates the procedure for applying this regulation, EMAS advantages for firms, its implementation in Italy and the most important pilot actions carried out by ENEA [it

Essays on environmental regulations in electricity markets

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yanming

Reducing the Greenhouse Gas pollution and promoting energy efficiency among consumers' energy use have been major public policy issues recently. Currently, both the United States and the European Union have set up explicit percentage requirements that require energy generators or consumers to undertake a certain percentage of their energy production or consumption from renewable sources. To achieve their renewable targets, the Tradable Green Certificates (TGC) system has been introduced in their electricity markets. Moreover, in order to promote energy conservation and achieve energy efficiency targets, price policies and price changes derived from environmental regulations have played a more important role in reducing electricity consumption. My research studies problems associated with these policy implementations. In Chapter 1, I analyze a competitive electricity market with two countries operated under a common TGC system. By using geometric illustrations, I compare the two countries' welfare when the renewable quota is chosen optimally under the common certificate market with three different situations. The policy recommendation is that when the value of damage parameter is sufficiently small, full integration with a TGC market is welfare superior to full integration of an all fossil-fuel based market with an optimal emissions standard. In Chapter 2, by analyzing a stylized theoretical model and numerical examples, I investigate the performance of the optimal renewables policy under full separation and full integration scenarios for two countries' electricity markets operated under TGC systems. In my third chapter, I look at residential electricity consumption responsiveness to increases of electricity price in the U.S. and the different effect of a price increase on electricity use for states of different income levels. My analysis reveals that raising the energy price in the short run will not give consumers much incentive to adjust their appliances and make

Environmental emergency response plans (EERPs): A single plan approach to satisfy multiple regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muzyka, L.

1995-01-01

Conrail is a freight railroad operating in twelve northeast and midwestern states transporting goods and materials over 11,700 miles of railroad. To repair, maintain, rebuild, and manufacture locomotives and rail cars, and to maintain the track, right of way, bridges, tunnels and other structures, Conrail uses petroleum products, solvents and cleaners. These products are stored in hundreds of storage tanks in and around the yards and right of way. To power the trains, locomotives are fueled with diesel fuel. With large volumes of fuel, lubricants, solvents and cleaners, safe and efficient handling of petroleum and chemicals is crucial to avoid negative impacts on the environment. Conrail recently revisited the issue of environmental emergency response planning. In an attempt to assure full compliance with a myriad of federal, state, and local regulation, a ''single plan approach'' was chosen. Single plans for each facility, coined EERPs, were decided on after careful review of the regulations, and evaluation of the company's operational and organizational needs

The technology and the limits of increase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulten, R.

1994-01-01

The future world needs a suitable living standard, above all, for the people in the poor countries. This means an increasing use of raw materials, energy and a stricter environmental technology. The technology can make its own contribution. Beside methods of recycling and substitution of material the increasing raw material use requires more energy and stricter avoiding of environmental damage. The today's fossil energy resources are running down and, due to environmental damage, they only can be used restrictedly. For the future there remains solar energy and nuclear energy. Both types of energy are needed. The tasks are to diminish the expense for the solar energy considerably and to introduce a catastrophe-free nuclear technology. For environmental protection a technology in closed cycles has to be applied. It is not necessary that the future of mankind will lead to a dead end. The future task is to solve these problems with caution, discipline and intelligence. (orig.) [de

Environmental implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, K.

1997-01-01

The environmental concerns typical of the Canadian Arctic and the Beaufort Sea, which impacted on oil and gas exploration were discussed. Environmental regulations and legislation in existence were explained. Most regulations required submission of permit applications that among other things, described the type of equipment to be used and the time and duration of the use. Companies also had to demonstrate that they had the capability to deal with oil spill scenarios. If an oil spill had a significant effect on the numbers of animals, the Inuit would have to be compensated. According to members of the native population, much damage was done initially to wildlife habitats and population, although this improved somewhat later as regulations concerning seismic and explosive activities were strengthened and technology improved, producing fewer harmful environmental impacts. All in all, activity in the Beaufort Sea did not result in any major environmental disasters, but there were many disturbances in the seafloor, permafrost and ice dynamics, as well as an increase in ambient noise levels which resulted in behavioural changes in the organisms close to the drilling activities. 19 figs

Environmental policy challenge crime in Republic Serbia and its impact on environmental safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jović Vojislav

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental law and ecological security representing nearly two related fields that have a scientific discipline in our legal security framework introduced in the first decade of this century. Despite this fact, the legal norms that regulate the protection and safety of the environment have been studied in the framework of other disciplines, and their etymology suggests that environmental regulations have existed in the ninth century, first as a prohibitive provision 'is prohibited'. It is known that environmental law to a certain extent based on criminal law norms and the norms of a protective object with the environment - Ekos. The fact of regulation of a large number of offenses in this field indicates the significance of the criminal policy which is in the field of environmental law and environmental security provides criminal protection. In this paper, in addition to general introductory remarks on environmental law, environmental safety and environmental tort, consider the area of combating environmental crime, the share of primary and secondary subjects of criminal procedural and international cooperation, particularly in combating transnational environmental crime. In the end, considering the environmental impact of crime on ecological security, clarifying the possible forms of threats and extent of the reaction.

Managing Environmental Interests: Decision Patterns within the Italian Legal System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fracchia, F.

2008-01-01

The article deals with the main patterns established by the Italian legal system with respect to the decisions regarding environmental issues. After outlining the most important theories related to the problem of the juridical definition of the environment, as well as the constitutional context, which assigns the environmental protection to the competence of the State, the analysis singles out five different models. The first one is the result of the application of the environmental principles established by the European sources and enforced by the Italian Law; in this regard, in particular, the precautionary principle interferes with the usual way through which the Public Entities take their final decisions. The second pattern embodies the idea according to which the environment is a prominent value, capable of prevailing over other values and interests. The third one, starting from the same assertion (the environmental interest must win), adds that it must only be assessed by technical bodies with a specific competence. The fourth model is based upon the premise that the environmental proceedings cannot be simplified, so that some legal tools such as 'Conferenza di Servizi', silence and so on, cannot be applied in this field. The last pattern considers the possibility for Bodies different from the State (such as the Regions) to regulate the environmental issues, thus introducing stricter levels of protection of the environment. The article underlines that the size of this competence strictly depends on the notion of protection of the environment that is used (in any case, the Constitutional Court, since the fundamental decision n. 407 of 26 July 2002, considering the environment as a sort of transversal matter, has ruled that important room for regional legislative power does exist). Very often there is a sort of subsidiarity, since in the first place the technical bodies have the competence to take care of the environmental interest, while the bureaucracy or the

Environmental Regulations, Market Structure and Technological Progress in Renewable Energy Technology — A Panel Data Study on Wind Turbines

OpenAIRE

Dirk Rübbelke; Pia Weiss

2011-01-01

We study the impact of environmental regulations on the patent activities for wind turbines between 1980 and 2008. We explicitly control for energy market liberalisation and take a potential interaction between liberalisation and policy instruments into account. We find a strong and highly significant effect of environmental tax revenues, which we regard as a proxy for the extent to which energy prices changed in favour of renewable energies, as well as foreign demand for wind turbines on inn...

Public Participation Planning of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA and Regulations: Analysis of Inconsistency for Some Cases in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hindrayani Aniek

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The failure in community involvement during the environmental documents planning may result in the failure of the planned project implementation. This study aims to determine the gap between practices and regulations that apply to the process of community involvement in the environmental documents planning, and find out inconsistency of implementation on each stakeholder in the planning of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA and the environmental permit. The method used was qualitative through interview and literature study which is analyzed using triangulation model and presented in the form of concept map. The results of the study indicate that 1 the determination of community representatives based on the criteria of the impacted communities is not clearly described, 3 suggestions, opinions, and responses to the environmental impact management are not well implemented by the project proponent, 3 implementation of the environmental management of other licensed activities affecting the behavior (4 stakeholders (project proponent, EIA consultants, and EIA appraisal committee do not play their role as mandated in applicable legislation.

Emission Characteristics for a Homogeneous Charged Compression Ignition Diesel Engine with Exhaust Gas Recirculation Using Split Injection Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changhee Lee

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Due to the serious issues caused by air pollution and global warming, emission regulations are becoming stricter. New technologies that reduce NOx and PM emissions are needed. To cope with these social exhaust gas regulation demands, many advanced countries are striving to develop eco-friendly vehicles in order to respond to stricter emissions regulations. The homogeneous charged compression ignition engine (HCCI incorporates a multi-stage combustion engine with multiple combustion modes, catalyst, direct fuel injection and partial mixing combustion. In this study, the HCCI combustion was applied to analyze and review the results of engines applying HCCI combustion without altering the conventional engine specifications. The optimization of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR and compression ratio changes provides an optimal fuel economy. In this study, potential for optimum economy within the range of IMEP 0.8 MPa has been evaluated.

Constructions complying with tightened Danish sound insulation requirements for new housing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit; Hoffmeyer, Dan

New sound insulation requirements in Denmark in 2008 New Danish Building Regulations with tightened sound insulation requirements were introduced in 2008 (and in 2010 with unchanged acoustic requirements). Compared to the Building Regulations from 1995, the airborne sound insulation requirements...... were 2 –3 dB stricter and the impact sound insulation requirements 5 dB stricter. The limit values are given using the descriptors R’w and L’n,w as before. For the first time, acoustic requirements for dwellings are not found as figures in the Building Regulations. Instead, it is stated......), Denmark. [2] "Lydisolering mellem boliger – Nybyggeri" (Sound insulation between dwellings – Newbuild)". Publication expected in April 2011. The guideline is a part of a series of seven new SBi acoustic guidelines. Project leader Birgit Rasmussen. The series shall replace the existing guidelines 1984...

ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TIFFT, S.R.

2003-01-01

Through regulations, permitting or binding negotiations, Regulators establish requirements, limits, permit conditions and Notice of Construction (NOC) conditions with which the Office of River Protection (ORP) and the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) must comply. Operating Specifications are technical limits which are set on a process to prevent injury to personnel, or damage to the facility or environment. The main purpose of this document is to provide specification limits and recovery actions for the TFC Environmental Surveillance Program at the Hanford Site. Specification limits are given for monitoring frequencies and permissible variation of readings from an established baseline or previous reading. The requirements in this document are driven by environmental considerations and data analysis issues, rather than facility design or personnel safety issues. This document is applicable to all single-shell tank (SST) and double-shell tank (DST) waste tanks, and the associated catch tanks and receiver tanks, and transfer systems. This Tank Farm Environmental Specifications Document (ESD) implements environmental-regulatory limits on the configuration and operation of the Hanford Tank Farms facility that have been established by Regulators. This ESD contains specific field operational limits and recovery actions for compliance with airborne effluent regulations and agreements, liquid effluents regulations and agreements, and environmental tank system requirements. The scope of this ESD is limited to conditions that have direct impact on Operations Projects or that Operations/Projects have direct impact upon. This document does not supercede or replace any DOE Orders, regulatory permits, notices of construction, or Regulatory agency agreements binding on the ORP or the TFC. Refer to the appropriate regulation, permit, or NOC for an inclusive listing of requirements

Environmental bureaucracies appraised

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, E F

1977-09-01

Bureaucratic mechanisms as a means of regulating the environment are evaluated. Bureaucracy as a technology is one among several instruments for regulation. Styles of environmentally concerned bureaucracies are described. Both local control and a central power to monitor developments that have a large impact on the environment and to force action beyond local strength should be established. The conflict surrounding choices for strong central powers and for a series of polycentric structures is surveyed. Bureaucracy and conflicting environmental values are discussed. Public participation in environmental bureaucracies is assessed. The institutionalization of environmental problems is reviewed. Basic social decisions should be able to prevent bureaucracy from institutionalizing environmental problems rather than trying to solve them. 1 drawing, 2 photos, 12 references.

Technological innovation and environmental regulation at the petroleum refining industry: the Paulinia refinery case; Inovacao tecnologica e regulacao ambiental na industria de refino de petroleo: o caso da Refinaria de Paulinia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azevedo, Adalberto Mantovani Martiniano de; Pereira, Newton Mueller [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Geociencias. Dept. de Politica Cientifica e Tecnologica]. E-mails: adalba@ige.unicamp.br; newpe@ige.unicamp.br

2006-07-01

This article discusses the influence of environmental regulation on the adoption of new production techniques and on the improvement of existing techniques in the refining petroleum industry, namely at the Paulinia refinery (REPLAN). Describes the techniques adopted in order to fit refining processes into the regulation about environmental impacts (related to the protection of resources like water, air and soil), and also techniques adopted in order to produce less pollutant diesel and gasoline. This article has support on bibliographic research and data collected in REPLAN and CENPES, which permit characterize technologies adopted in REPLAN at the end of the 90s and the regulatory rules that drive them. The regulation is presented under an evolutionary approach, considering that technology develops along whit the socio-economic context, the environmental regulation is a related element which determines the search and selection of technologies able to comply with regulation ensuring economic viability. Regulation is also a determinant factor for the adoption of innovations in the refining industry. Specifically in REPLAN, the environmental regulation has required large investments in order to comply processes and products with the established standards. (author)

Vulnerability of US thermoelectric power generation to climate change when incorporating state-level environmental regulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Lu; Hejazi, Mohamad; Li, Hongyi; Forman, Barton; Zhang, Xiao

2017-07-10

This study explores the interactions between climate and thermoelectric generation in the U.S. by coupling an Earth System Model with a thermoelectric power generation model. We validated model simulations of power production for selected power plants (~44% of existing thermoelectric capacity) against reported values. In addition, we projected future usable capacity for existing power plants under two different climate change scenarios. Results indicate that climate change alone may reduce average thermoelectric generating capacity by 2%-3% by the 2060s. Reductions up to 12% are expected if environmental requirements are enforced without waivers for thermal variation. This study concludes that the impact of climate change on the U.S. thermoelectric power system is less than previous estimates due to an inclusion of a spatially-disaggregated representation of environmental regulations and provisional variances that temporarily relieve power plants from permit requirements. This work highlights the significance of accounting for legal constructs in which the operation of power plants are managed, and underscores the effects of provisional variances in addition to environmental requirements.

Environmental Regulatory Compliance Plan for Site Characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-12-01

The DOE is committed to conduct its operations in an environmentally safe and sound manner, and will comply with applicable environmental statutes and regulations. These objectives are described in DOE Order 5400.1 (Environmental Protection Program Requirements). This document -- the Environmental Regulatory Compliance Plan (ERCP) -- is one method of implementing the policy set forth in DOE Order 5400.1 and the NWPA. The ERCP describes the plan by which the DOE will comply with applicable Federal environmental statutes and regulations. The ERCP also discusses how DOE will address State and local environmental statutes and regulations. 180 refs., 27 figs., 1 tab

Corruption in the commons: why bribery hampers enforcement of environmental regulations in South African fisheries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aksel Sundström

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Few studies have explored on the micro-level why corruption hampers environmental regulations. The relationship between corruption and regulatory compliance is here investigated through confidential in-depth interviews with South African small-scale fishermen. Respondents describe how the expected behavior of inspectors and other resource users to ask for or accept bribes are vital in their compliance decisions. The interviews also shed some light on the puzzling role of trust and trustworthiness of public officials. While resource users often knows inspectors personally – and uphold discretion necessary for bribery to continue – they depict them as dishonest and describe how corrupt acts decrease their trustworthiness. The findings from the South African case illustrate the importance of curbing both grand and petty corruption to increase the effectiveness of regulations in natural resource management.

Assessing the Impact of Stricter Alcohol Advertising Standards: The Case of Beam Global Spirits.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Craig S; Sparks, Alicia; Jernigan, David H

2016-08-01

Reducing youth exposure to alcohol advertising is a global health priority. In most countries around the world, the alcohol industry is given the opportunity to regulate itself with respect to advertising practices. Generally, the alcohol industry self-regulations are lax, allowing youth to be disproportionately exposed to alcohol advertising. However, Beam Global Spirits and Wine (Beam) voluntarily adopted more restrictive advertising standards in the United States in 2007. This study assessed Beam's compliance with their new standard and estimates its effect on youth exposure and advertising costs. We found that Beam's compliance with its more restrictive standards was imperfect, but never-the-less, we estimated that youth exposure to alcohol advertising was reduced compared to other spirits brands. Beam's more restrictive standards did not increase their advertising costs and therefore other alcohol companies should consider adopting similar standards around the world.

Reduction of firewood consumption by households in south-central Chile associated with energy efficiency programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schueftan, Alejandra; González, Alejandro D.

2013-01-01

Cities in the central-southern area of Chile face serious environmental pollution due to extensive use of firewood for heating. Low energy efficiency of constructions and cold climate increase the problem, which also affects native forests. The aims of this study are to characterize energy consumption in dwellings of this region, investigate the reduction potential, and study social and environmental consequences of high consumption of firewood. Actual energy consumption is studied with information from surveys, potential for reduction is modeled with software and other consequences are analyzed from previous studies. Results for the city of Valdivia show high firewood consumption per household, with a media bulk volume near 12 m 3 /year. Thermal regulations are softer compared with other countries. Moreover, around 85% of buildings were built before enforcing codes in 2007, and has almost no thermal protection. The reduction potential due to thermal improvements is found to be very high (62%) if buildings are refurbished to comply with the present Chilean Norm of 2007, but it reaches a 77% reduction if refurbished according to stricter foreign regulations. Therefore, an energy efficiency program strongly addressing existing buildings has the largest potential for reducing firewood use, and therefore mitigate environmental and health impacts. - Highlights: • High firewood consumption and environmental pollution in cities of south-central Chile. • High use of firewood due to inefficient constructions and soft thermal regulations. • Potential reduction of energy consumption up to 77% with more demanding regulations. • Policies should address building stock before thermal regulation, corresponding to 85%

Interval-parameter chance-constraint programming model for end-of-life vehicles management under rigorous environmental regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Simic, Vladimir

2016-06-01

As the number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is estimated to increase to 79.3 million units per year by 2020 (e.g., 40 million units were generated in 2010), there is strong motivation to effectively manage this fast-growing waste flow. Intensive work on management of ELVs is necessary in order to more successfully tackle this important environmental challenge. This paper proposes an interval-parameter chance-constraint programming model for end-of-life vehicles management under rigorous environmental regulations. The proposed model can incorporate various uncertainty information in the modeling process. The complex relationships between different ELV management sub-systems are successfully addressed. Particularly, the formulated model can help identify optimal patterns of procurement from multiple sources of ELV supply, production and inventory planning in multiple vehicle recycling factories, and allocation of sorted material flows to multiple final destinations under rigorous environmental regulations. A case study is conducted in order to demonstrate the potentials and applicability of the proposed model. Various constraint-violation probability levels are examined in detail. Influences of parameter uncertainty on model solutions are thoroughly investigated. Useful solutions for the management of ELVs are obtained under different probabilities of violating system constraints. The formulated model is able to tackle a hard, uncertainty existing ELV management problem. The presented model has advantages in providing bases for determining long-term ELV management plans with desired compromises between economic efficiency of vehicle recycling system and system-reliability considerations. The results are helpful for supporting generation and improvement of ELV management plans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Off-road compression-ignition engine emission regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 : guidance document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-03-01

This guide explained the requirements for Off-Road Compression Ignition Engine Emission Regulations established under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The regulations are enforced by Environment Canada, which authorizes and monitors the use of the national emissions mark. The regulations prescribe standards for off-road engines that operate as reciprocating, internal combustion engines, other than those that operate under characteristics similar to the Otto combustion cycle and that use a spark plug or other sparking device. The regulations apply to engines that are typically diesel-fuelled and found in construction, mining, farming and forestry machines such as tractors, excavators and log skidders. Four different types of persons are potentially affected by the regulations: Canadian engine manufacturers; distributors of Canadian engines or machines containing Canadian engines; importers of engines or machines for the purpose of sale; and persons not in companies importing engines or machines. Details of emission standards were presented, as well as issues concerning evidence of conformity, importing engines, and special engine cases. Compliance and enforcement details were reviewed, as well as applicable standards and provisions for emission control systems and defeat devices; exhaust emissions; crankcase and smoke emissions; and adjustable parameters. Details of import declarations were reviewed, as well as issues concerning defects and maintenance instructions. 4 tabs., 4 figs

ECOCURE BLUE – NEW COLD BOX SYSTEM WITH ULTRA-HIGH EFFICIENCY AND AS LOW AS POSSIBLE EMISSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. N. Vacelet

2018-01-01

Full Text Available By omitting materials subject to the labeling requirement in part 1 cold-box resin, Düker GmbH from Laufach can achieve an impressive reduction in emissions.Emission and workplace exposure limit values represent major challenges for foundries, and are becoming increasingly important due to every stricter statutory regulations. In particular, compliance with emission guidelines is essential in safeguarding company sites, and is now of equal significance as technical and economic issues. Modern foundries such as Düker GmbH from Laufachpursue a sustainable corporate policy in which the three pillars of cost-effectiveness, social responsibility and environmental protection are accorded equal importance. Düker’s example shows how the use of the new ECOCURE BLUE technology supports environmental protection and occupational health and safety, while also facilitating efficient, highly productive core production. 

A review of the methods used by the US Environmental Protection Agency to assess the financial impacts of the repository regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pflum, C.G.; Mattson, S.R.; Matthusen, A.C.

1994-01-01

All Federal agencies must consider the financial impacts of their regulations. When costs significantly outweigh benefits, the Office of Management and Budget can recommend that Congress not provide the funds needed to implement the regulation. Without funds, the agency is forced to either revise or retract the regulation. This has happened previously with a regulation on uranium mill tailings proposed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and it could happen again with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that govern the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The EPA (1985, 1992) claims that its regulation: ''Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and Transuranic Radioactive Waste'' (40 CFR Part 191 or standards) does not increase costs above what the US Department of Energy (DOE) would spend anyway or, at most, what the DOE would spend to comply with 10 CFR Part 60: a regulation promulgated by the NRC. This report reviews and disputes the EPA claim. In Chapter 2 a summary of the basis for the EPA claim is presented and in Chapter 3 a critique of the basis of the claim is presented. This critique finds the EPA basis unrealistic, incomplete, and misleading. According to the EPA, a repository at Yucca Mountain would easily meet 40 CFR Part 191 even without the use of special engineered barriers. Because the NRC regulation (10 CFR Part 60) requires engineered barriers, the EPA places the onus for regulatory costs on the NRC. We disagree; the EPA standards drive regulatory costs as much as NRC regulations. The EPA has the higher responsibility for setting the overall standard for safety while the NRC can only implement this standard

Enforcing regulations on alcohol sales and use as universal environmental prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Villalbí, Joan R; Bartroli, Montserrat; Bosque-Prous, Marina; Guitart, Anna M; Serra-Batiste, Enric; Casas, Conrad; Brugal, M Teresa

2015-12-15

The informal social control over alcohol consumption that was traditional in Southern European countries has weakened. At the same time there is an increase in binge drinking and drunkenness among young people in Spain. To mitigate this problem, regulations on alcohol and driving and restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol have been adopted. This paper documents the current regulations in the city of Barcelona and describes efforts to enforce them and their outcomes. Data from the municipal information systems on infringements reported for the period 2008-13 are provided. There is an increasing pressure of municipal services to enforce the rules in two areas: a) alcohol sales at night (retailers); and b) consumption in the public space (citizens). An increase in the controls of drink-driving has also taken place, and the proportion above legal limits has decreased. The largest relative increase occurred in the control of retailers. In Barcelona interventions are made to limit the supply and consumption of alcohol at low cost and during the night, and of driving under the influence of alcohol. There have been no documented episodes of massive drinking in public spaces (known as 'botellón') in the city. These actions, which complement other preventive efforts based on health education, can change the social perceptions of alcohol by minors in a direction less favorable to consumption, promoting environmental prevention.

Innovative techniques cut costs in wetlands drilling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navarro, A.R.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on an approach to drilling oil and gas wells in sensitive wetlands areas contributed to a savings of over $1.2 million on a three-well, $3 million drilling project in south Louisiana. ARCO Oil and Gas Co. drilled a three-well project in the Bayou Sale field with a truck-mounted workover rig and a modified solids-control system. This smaller equipment eliminated the need to build a large location in the marsh. Traditional drilling techniques require a large drillsite to accommodate all the equipment of a modern drilling complex. However, recently imposed environmental regulations substantially limit, and in some cases prohibit, the use of these conventional techniques for drilling wells in wetlands areas. Based on the potentially huge economic and operational impact on the drilling industry because of these stricter regulations, alternatives to these traditional practices are essential

Identification and Transcription Profiling of NDUFS8 in Aedes taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae): Developmental Regulation and Environmental Response

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-18

Identification and transcription profiling of NDUFS8 in Aedes taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae): developmental regulation and environmental response...7205 Email lmzhao@ufl.edu Abstract: The cDNA of a NADH dehydrogenase-ubiquinone Fe-S protein 8 subunit (NDUFS8) gene from Aedes (Ochlerotatus...information useful for developing dsRNA pesticide for mosquito control. Keywords: Aedes taeniorhynchus, AetNDUFS8, mRNA expression, development

ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TIFFT, S.R.

2003-01-01

Through regulations, permitting or binding negotiations, Regulators establish requirements, limits, permit conditions and Notice of Construction (NOC) conditions with which the Office of River Protection (ORP) and the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) must comply. Operating Specifications are technical limits which are set on a process to prevent injury to personnel, or damage to the facility or environment. The main purpose of this document is to provide specification limits and recovery actions for the TFC Environmental Surveillance Program at the Hanford Site. Specification limits are given for monitoring frequencies and permissible variation of readings from an established baseline or previous reading. The requirements in this document are driven by environmental considerations and data analysis issues, rather than facility design or personnel safety issues. This document is applicable to all SST and DST waste tanks, and the associated catch tanks and receiver tanks, and transfer systems. This Tank Farm ESD implements environmental-regulatory limits on the configuration and operation of the Hanford Tank Farms facility that have been established by Regulators. This ESD contains specific field operational limits and recovery actions for compliance with airborne effluent regulations and agreements, liquid effluents regulations and agreements, and environmental tank system requirements. The scope of this ESD is limited to conditions that have direct impact on Operations/Projects or that Operations/Projects have direct impact upon. This document does not supercede or replace any DOE Orders, regulatory permits, notices of construction, or Regulatory agency agreements binding on the ORP or the TFC. Refer to the appropriate regulation, permit, or NOC for an inclusive listing of requirements

Reaction of simple sterile sugar beet hybrids to regulated environmental factors for sugar yield

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

М. О. Корнєєва

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Sugar yield, an important indicator, is resulting from interaction of two components: the yield and sugar content, both they are controlled by polygenes, and influenced significantly by environment. A.V. Kilchevskyi and L.V. Hotyliova pointed to the fact that in breeding, contrary to evolution, stabilizing forms are dominated by driving ones, which determine the growth response to regulated factors and decreased resistance to non-regulated environmental factors [1]. A relevant breeding trend is to create the genotypes adequate with certain technologies, so to say «low input variety high input variety» i.e. varieties with low and high energy contribution to technology. From this perspective, selection of stable in their manifestation lines against the analyzing backgrounds has become an important element of the breeding process [2]. Home scientists, such as A.L. Mazmulov and M.S. Hrytsyk have contributed greatly to the development and application of the agro-backgrounds [3, 4].

Fuel prices, emission standards, and generation costs for coal vs natural gas power plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratson, Lincoln F; Haerer, Drew; Patiño-Echeverri, Dalia

2013-05-07

Low natural gas prices and stricter, federal emission regulations are promoting a shift away from coal power plants and toward natural gas plants as the lowest-cost means of generating electricity in the United States. By estimating the cost of electricity generation (COE) for 304 coal and 358 natural gas plants, we show that the economic viability of 9% of current coal capacity is challenged by low natural gas prices, while another 56% would be challenged by the stricter emission regulations. Under the current regulations, coal plants would again become the dominant least-cost generation option should the ratio of average natural gas to coal prices (NG2CP) rise to 1.8 (it was 1.42 in February 2012). If the more stringent emission standards are enforced, however, natural gas plants would remain cost competitive with a majority of coal plants for NG2CPs up to 4.3.

Seeking coherence among environmental directives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beijen, Barbara

2014-01-01

European environmental law consists of a large number of directives and regulations dealing with environmental domains such as air, water, or waste, or with issues such as greenhouse gases, chemicals or industrial emissions. These directives and regulations do not form a comprehensive system of

Financial and environmental behavior of the regulated firm: A case study of the US nuclear power industry, 1974-1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, E.P.

1991-01-01

This study of the US commercial nuclear power industry from 1974-1984 covers the operations of 87 power plants. It seeks to help explain the actions of a regulated firm faced with environmental constraints from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and financial constraints from State regulatory bodies. Theoretical and applied conceptions of the regulated monopoly are reviewed in a historical and integrated format using both the neoclassical and institutional positions. For the neoclassical approach, the author seeks empirical support for the Averch-Johnson hypothesis by including profit-maximizing and environmental constraints in his econometric model. For the institutionalist approach, he tries to look into the institutional reasons for the behavior exhibited by the firms. A date base which consists of financial, radioactive emissions, and technical operations information has been compiled in order to allow testing of various hypotheses drawn from theoretical and applied sources. The results of the analysis support five very clear conclusions which are presented

Postindustrialization and Environmental Quality: An Empirical Analysis of the Environmental State

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Dana R.; Freudenburg, William R.

2004-01-01

Existing sociological analyses express differing expectations about state control over economic actors and the political feasibility of environmental regulation. Recent literature on the environmental state sees environmental protection as becoming a basic responsibility of postindustrial states, with economic actors no longer having the autonomy…

The challenge of legitimizing spatially differentiated regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorsøe, Martin Hvarregaard; Graversgaard, Morten; Noe, Egon

2017-01-01

Differentiating regulation is a promising approach to agri-environmental regulation that may potentially reduce the environmental impact of agriculture at the lowest possible costs for the farmers and society, but also possesses a number of challenges. In this article, we explore the challenges...... to the legitimacy of agri-environmental regulation that occurs when the regulatory regime changes from general regulation to differentiated regulation. The analysis is based on a case study of the implementation of the Buffer zone act in Denmark – a regulation that prevents agricultural production in a 10 (later 9......) meter fringe around selected waterbodies. We distinguish between two different ways of legitimizing: Producing knowledge and participation. We conclude that to harvest some of the obvious benefits of differentiated regulation a number of challenges must be resolved, 1) ensuring legitimacy...

Environmental regulation of lateral root emergence in Medicago truncatula requires the HD-Zip I transcription factor HB1.

Science.gov (United States)

Ariel, Federico; Diet, Anouck; Verdenaud, Marion; Gruber, Véronique; Frugier, Florian; Chan, Raquel; Crespi, Martin

2010-07-01

The adaptation of root architecture to environmental constraints is a major agricultural trait, notably in legumes, the third main crop worldwide. This root developmental plasticity depends on the formation of lateral roots (LRs) emerging from primary roots. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, the HD-Zip I transcription factor HB1 is expressed in primary and lateral root meristems and induced by salt stress. Constitutive expression of HB1 in M. truncatula roots alters their architecture, whereas hb1 TILLING mutants showed increased lateral root emergence. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay, promoter mutagenesis, and chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR assays revealed that HB1 directly recognizes a CAATAATTG cis-element present in the promoter of a LOB-like (for Lateral Organ Boundaries) gene, LBD1, transcriptionally regulated by auxin. Expression of these genes in response to abscisic acid and auxin and their behavior in hb1 mutants revealed an HB1-mediated repression of LBD1 acting during LR emergence. M. truncatula HB1 regulates an adaptive developmental response to minimize the root surface exposed to adverse environmental stresses.

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... environmental effects. 970.702 Section 970.702 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR EXPLORATION LICENSES Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an...

Air pollution control regulation. [Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sogabe, K

1975-05-01

The Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control is reviewed. The fundamental ideology of pollution control, range of pollution control, environmental standards, and national policy concerning pollution control are discussed. The content of the Air Pollution Control Law is summarized. The purpose of the Air Pollution Control Law, a list of substances regulated by the law, the type of facilities regulated by the law, control standards, type of control means, and emission standards for flue gas (sulfur oxides, particulate matters, and toxic substances) are described. The environmental standard for each pollutant and the target date for achieving the environmental standard are also given. The list of cities where the 7-rank K value control regulation for SOx is enforced is given. The procedure for registration in compliance with the law is also described.

Instruments for the regulation of the electric power projects: An integrated vision of the socio-environmental aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regini Nutti, Miriam; Milazzo, Maria Luiza; Rodriguez Garcia, Eduardo; Menezes, Carlos Frederico; Pompeu Serran, Flavia; Sebastiao Costa, Luiz; Neves Mundim, Rogerio

1999-01-01

The process of institutional change in the Brazilian electric sector accelerated the revision or elaboration of relating normative documents to the elaboration of studies and generation projects and electric power transmission. These documents were produced in a cooperative way by initiative of the organ federal regulator, under the coordination of ELETROBRAS and with the collaboration of technical teams of about ten Brazilian companies of energy. The aspects socio-environmental was absorbed in the normative documents, starting from an integrated vision of content and of the activities proposed with the energy studies and of engineering, allowing to diminish the relating uncertainties to the implementation of the projects and to assist to the national and sector environmental politics

Interactions management in environmental policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krozer, Yoram; Franco Garcia, Maria Maria; Micallef, David

2013-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to address regulator-management interactions in environmental policy with reference to direct regulations, social regulations and market-based regulation. Design/methodology/approach: Revision of literature to identify the European Union regulations for companies producing

TANK FARM ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TIFFT, S.R.

2003-01-01

Through regulations, permitting or binding negotiations, Regulators establish requirements, limits, permit conditions and Notice of Construction (NOC) conditions with which the Office of River Protection (ORP) and the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) must comply. Operating Specifications are technical limits which are set on a process to prevent injury to personnel, or damage to the facility or environment, The main purpose of this document is to provide specification limits and recovery actions for the TFC Environmental Surveillance Program at the Hanford Site. Specification limits are given for monitoring frequencies and permissible variation of readings from an established baseline or previous reading. The requirements in this document are driven by environmental considerations and data analysis issues, rather than facility design or personnel safety issues. This document is applicable to all single-shell tank (SST) and double-shell tank (DST) waste tanks, and the associated catch tanks and receiver tanks, and transfer systems. This Tank Farm Environmental Specifications Document (ESD) implements environmental-regulatory limits on the configuration and operation of the Hanford Tank Farms facility that have been established by Regulators. This ESD contains specific field operational limits and recovery actions for compliance with airborne effluent regulations and agreements, liquid effluents regulations and agreements, and environmental tank system requirements. The scope of this ESD is limited to conditions that have direct impact on Operations/Projects or that Operations Projects have direct impact upon. This document does not supercede or replace any Department of Energy (DOE) Orders, regulatory permits, notices of construction, or Regulatory agency agreements binding on the ORP or the TFC. Refer to the appropriate regulation, permit, or Notice of Construction for an inclusive listing of requirements

Voluntary Environmental Governance Arrangements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Heijden, J.

2012-01-01

Voluntary environmental governance arrangements have focal attention in studies on environmental policy, regulation and governance. The four major debates in the contemporary literature on voluntary environmental governance arrangements are studied. The literature falls short of sufficiently

Hanford Site 1998 Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

RL Dirkes; RW Hanf; TM Poston

1999-09-21

This Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, to describe environmental management performance, to demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and to highlight major environmental programs and efforts. The report is written to meet requirements and guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and to meet the needs of the public. This summary has been written with a minimum of technical terminology. Individual sections of the report are designed to: describe the Hanford Site and its mission; summarize the status of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; discuss the estimated radionuclide exposure to the public from 1998 Hanford Site activities; present the effluent monitoring, environmental surveillance, and groundwater protection and monitoring information; and discuss the activities to ensure quality.

Environmental Compliance Management System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brownson, L.W.; Krsul, T.; Peralta, R.A.; Knudson, D.A.; Rosignolo, C.L.

1992-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is developing the Environmental Compliance Management System (ECMS) as a comprehensive, cost-effective tool to ensure (1) that the Laboratory complies with all applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations, (2) that environmental issues and concerns are recognized and considered in the early phases of projects; and (3) that Laboratory personnel conduct Laboratory operations in the most environmentally acceptable manner. The ECMS is an expert computer system which is designed to allow project engineers to perform an environmental evaluation of their projects. The system includes a Master Program which collects basic project information, provide utility functions, and access the environmental expert modules, environmental expert system modules for each federal and state environmental law which allows the user to obtain specific information on how an individual law may affect his project; and site-specific databases which contain information necessary for effective management of the site under environmental regulations. The ECMS will have the capability to complete and print many of the necessary environmental forms required by federal and state agencies, including the Department of Energy

Environmental recordkeeping: The administrative record

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprouse, B.S.

1991-08-01

This document provides information on an environmental records management system. It includes information on environmental recordkeeping; environmental regulations with emphasis on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); and the administrative record including a case study of the Hanford Site's administrative record system. This paper will focus on the following objectives: (1) Identify resources that can be used as reference tools; (2) understand the reasons for developing and maintaining an administrative record; and, (3) evaluate an existing system and identify means of complying with the regulations. 15 refs., 2 figs

Testing the effectiveness of an international conservation agreement: marketplace forensics and CITES caviar trade regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Doukakis, Phaedra; Pikitch, Ellen K; Rothschild, Anna; DeSalle, Rob; Amato, George; Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis

2012-01-01

The international wildlife trade is a key threat to biodiversity. Temporal genetic marketplace monitoring can determine if wildlife trade regulation efforts such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are succeeding. Protected under CITES effective 1997, sturgeons and paddlefishes, the producers of black caviar, are flagship CITES species. We test whether CITES has limited the amount of fraudulent black caviar reaching the marketplace. Using mitochondrial DNA-based methods, we compare mislabeling in caviar and meat purchased in the New York City area pre and post CITES listing. Our recent sampling of this market reveals a decrease in mislabeled caviar (2006-2008; 10%; n = 90) compared to pre-CITES implementation (1995-1996; 19%; n = 95). Mislabeled caviar was found only in online purchase (n = 49 online/41 retail). Stricter controls on importing and exporting as per CITES policies may be having a positive conservation effect by limiting the amount of fraudulent caviar reaching the marketplace. Sturgeons and paddlefishes remain a conservation priority, however, due to continued overfishing and habitat degradation. Other marine and aquatic species stand to benefit from the international trade regulation that can result from CITES listing.

Building Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jesper

We will in this paper approach the challenge of building integrated environmental studies by presenting a crude frame of analysis which take into account both the physical aspects and the social-discursive articulations of environmental problems. This framework partly mirrors the approach of our...... department (Dept. of Environment, Technology and Social Studies, Roskilde University), and has originally in another version been presented in the book “Miljøregulering - tværvidenskabelige studier (Environmental Regulation. Interdisciplinary Studies)” (Holm, Kjærgård & Pedersen eds. 1997, in Danish) written...

Management of water balance in mining areas – WaterSmart: Final Report

OpenAIRE

Krogerus, Kirsti; Pasanen, Antti

2016-01-01

Although mining companies have long been conscious of water related risks, they still face environmental management challenges. Several recent environmental incidents in Finnish mines have raised questions regarding mine site environmental and water management practices. This has increased public awareness of mining threats to the environment and resulted in stricter permits and longer permitting procedures. Water balance modelling aids in predictive water management and reduces risks caused ...

Buried waste remediation: A new application for in situ vitrification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kindle, C.H.; Thompson, L.E.

1991-04-01

Buried wastes represent a significant environmental concern and a major financial and technological challenge facing many private firms, local and state governments, and federal agencies. Numerous radioactive and hazardous mixed buried waste sites managed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) require timely clean up to comply with state or federal environmental regulations. Hazardous wastes, biomedical wastes, and common household wastes disposed at many municipal landfills represent a significant environmental health concern. New programs and regulations that result in a greater reduction of waste via recycling and stricter controls regarding generation and disposal of many wastes will help to stem the environmental consequences of wastes currently being generated. Groundwater contamination, methane generation, and potential exposures to biohazards and chemically hazardous materials from inadvertent intrusion will continue to be potential environmental health consequences until effective and permanent closure is achieved. In situ vitrification (ISV) is being considered by the DOE as a permanent closure option for radioactive buried waste sites. The results of several ISV tests on simulated and actual buried wastes conducted during 1990 are presented here. The test results illustrate the feasibility of the ISV process for permanent remediation and closure of buried waste sites in commercial landfills. The tests were successful in immobilizing or destroying hazardous and radioactive contaminants while providing up to 75 vol % waste reduction. 6 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs

On the developmental and environmental regulation of secondary metabolism in Vaccinium spp. berries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katja eKarppinen

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Secondary metabolites have important defense and signaling roles, and they contribute to the overall quality of developing and ripening fruits. Blueberries, bilberries, cranberries and other Vaccinium berries are fleshy berry fruits recognized for the high levels of bioactive compounds, especially anthocyanin pigments. Besides anthocyanins and other products of the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways, these berries also contain other metabolites of interest, such as carotenoid derivatives, vitamins and flavor compounds. Recently, new information has been achieved on the mechanisms related with developmental, environmental and genetic factors involved in the regulation of secondary metabolism in Vaccinium fruits. Especially light conditions and temperature are demonstrated to have a prominent role on the composition of phenolic compounds. The present review focuses on the studies on mechanisms associated with the regulation of key secondary metabolites, mainly phenolic compounds, in Vaccinium berries. The advances in the research concerning biosynthesis of phenolic compounds in Vaccinium species, including specific studies with mutant genotypes in addition to controlled and field experiments on the genotype x environment (GxE interaction, are discussed. The recently published Vaccinium transcriptome and genome databases provide new tools for the studies on the metabolic routes.

Recycling of spent hydroprocessing catalysts: EURECAT technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berrebi, G.; Dufresne, P.; Jacquier, Y. (EURECAT-European Reprocessing Catalysts, La Voulte sur Rhone (France))

1994-04-01

Disposal of spent catalyst is a growing concern for all refiners. Environmental regulations are becoming stricter and stricter and there are State recommendations to develop disposal routes which would emphasize recycling as much as possible, and processing the wastes as near as possible to the production center. In this context, EURECAT has developed a recycling process for the hydroprocessing catalysts used in the oil refineries (NiMo, CoMo, NiW on alumina or mixed alumina silica). The process starts with a regeneration of the catalyst to eliminate hydrocarbons, carbon and sulfur. After a caustic roasting, the material is leached to obtain a solution containing mainly molybdenum (or tungsten) and vanadium, and a solid containing essentially alumina, cobalt and/or nickel. Molybdenum and vanadium are separated by an ion exchange resin technique. The solid is processed in an arc furnace to separate the alumina. Nickel and cobalt are separated by conventional solvent extraction to obtain pure metal. Alumina is disposed of as an inert slag. The strength of the process lies in the combination of proven technologies applied by companies whose reliability in their respective field is well known. The aspects concerning spent catalyst handling, packaging and transport are also discussed. 13 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

Hanford Site Environmental Report 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poston, TM; Hanf, RW; Dirkes, RL

2000-01-01

This Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, to describe environmental management performance, to demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and to highlight major environmental programs and efforts. The report is written to meet requirements and guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and to meet the needs of the public. This summary has been written with a minimum of technical terminology. Individual sections of the report are designed to: (1) describe the Hanford Site and its mission; (2) summarize the status of compliance with environmental regulations; (3) describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; (4) discuss the estimated radionuclide exposure to the public from 1999 Hanford Site activities; (5) present the effluent monitoring, environmental surveillance, groundwater protection and monitoring information; and (6) discuss the activities to ensure quality

Hanford Site Environmental Report 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

TM Poston; RW Hanf; RL Dirkes

2000-09-28

This Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, to describe environmental management performance, to demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and to highlight major environmental programs and efforts. The report is written to meet requirements and guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and to meet the needs of the public. This summary has been written with a minimum of technical terminology. Individual sections of the report are designed to: (1) describe the Hanford Site and its mission; (2) summarize the status of compliance with environmental regulations; (3) describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; (4) discuss the estimated radionuclide exposure to the public from 1999 Hanford Site activities; (5) present the effluent monitoring, environmental surveillance, groundwater protection and monitoring information; and (6) discuss the activities to ensure quality.

Politics of environmental regulation: acid rain in Ontario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hogarth Wood, G P

1984-01-01

This study looks at the case of the Ontario government and Inco Limited in order to explain political responses to the acid rain issue and to generalize about the dynamics of environmental regulation. Existing accounts of the acid rain situation neglect a systematic explanation of the political processes that guide the selection of policy. This reflects a tendency in Canadian public policy analysis generally. Most literature in this field is both apolitical and atheoretical. In addition, most models of public policy focus attention on a narrow range of policy determinants, making the models inappropriate as exclusive guides for public policy analysis. This study follows an approach that assumes that no variable can, a priori, be viewed as the primary determinant of a policy choice. Instead, relevant features of the economic, social, and political environment surrounding the policy process have to be examined in addition to that process itself. Accordingly, a number of potential influences on the acid rain policy outcome in Ontario are explored: the economic structure of Ontario, political-geographic factors, the role of science and technology, political power in the province, political values and attitudes, the institutional structure of Ontario politics, and finally, the policy process itself. This exercise points to the overriding influence of the political system environment, particularly the economic structure of the province, in explaining the policy choice. The findings of this study can be extended to explain regulatory responses to the issue in other political jurisdictions.

Consolidated Navy-Marines Environmental Law Deskbook. Revised

Science.gov (United States)

1994-05-01

Where the state law and Federal law are in direct conflict. See. Florida Lime and Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132, 142-43 (1963...California standards for avocados could be stricter than Federal standards). Although this might seem to be a frequent occurrence, courts are very reluctant... exportation , and taking of endangered and threatened species of plants and animals. Also, the ESA requires federal agencies to consult with FWS / NMFS

10 CFR 51.29 - Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to environmental impact statement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to environmental impact statement. 51.29 Section 51.29 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED... Environmental Policy Act-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) Scoping § 51.29 Scoping-environmental impact...

Annual Site Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holden, Gene

1999-09-23

This report provides information about environmental programs and compliance with environmental regulations in calendar year 1998 (CY98) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The most significant information in this report is summarized in the following sections: (1) Environmental Compliance--Section 2 contains the complete Environmental Compliance information; (2) Environmental Non-Radiological Program--Section 3 contains the complete Environmental Non-Radiological information; and (3) Environmental Radiological Program--Section 4 contains the complete Environmental Radiological information.

Environmentally Friendly Concept in Spatial Regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Taryono

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Spatial order of a region include purpose of structure and interrelatedness of spatial order which as a unity of development mechanism. Spatial order can’t be part from law basic that is UUD’45 and GBHN, in order to the management can be integrated and keep the environment. Spatial order also take note of physical factor and non physical factor. Physical factor consist of soil, water, flora, and fauna. Non physical factors consist of environment, social, economic, and soon. The principle of arrangement of spatial order in a region include national region, regional and local, and a region as an administrative baoundary, that is local government authority, like province, district, subdistrict, and village. The effort for spatial ordering of the environment, for example ordering resource, arrangement of allocation and location, arrangement of environmental aesthetic  and arrangement of environmental quality.

Environmental recordkeeping: The administrative record

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sprouse, B.S.

1991-08-01

This document provides information on an environmental records management system. It includes information on environmental recordkeeping; environmental regulations with emphasis on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); and the administrative record including a case study of the Hanford Site's administrative record system. This paper will focus on the following objectives: (1) Identify resources that can be used as reference tools; (2) understand the reasons for developing and maintaining an administrative record; and, (3) evaluate an existing system and identify means of complying with the regulations. 15 refs., 2 figs.

Hanford Site environmental report for calendar year 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Hefty, M.G.; Lundgren, R.E.

1991-01-01

The Hanford Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its new mission; summarize the status in 1990 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; present information on environmental surveillance and the ground-water protection and monitoring program; and discuss activities to ensure quality

Hanford Site environmental report for calendar year 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Hefty, M.G.; Lundgren, R.E. (eds.)

1991-12-20

The Hanford Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its new mission; summarize the status in 1990 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; present information on environmental surveillance and the ground-water protection and monitoring program; and discuss activities to ensure quality.

Environmental Compliance Mechanisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Merkouris, Panagiotis; Fitzmaurice, Malgosia

2017-01-01

Compliance mechanisms can be found in treaties regulating such diverse issues as human rights, disarmament law, and environmental law. In this bibliography, the focus will be on compliance mechanisms of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Compliance with norms of international

Environmental laws regulating chemicals: Uses of information in decision making under environmental statutes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaba, J.M. [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States)

1990-12-31

Three areas are addressed in this paper: generic issues that arise simply in the process of decision-making under environmental statutes; different decision-making standards under various environmental statutes; and efforts to legislate a {open_quotes}safe{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}acceptable{close_quotes} risk from exposure to carcinogenic chemicals.

Meeting the new BSS regulations: what are our strategies?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Yusof Mohd Ali

2003-01-01

Industrial radiography is a widely known technique of non-destructive testing making use of penetrating ionizing radiation as a means of unfolding information of the subject being tested. It is an accepted practice recognized by industries worldwide. While taking advantage of penetrating nature of the radiation, it is a fact that the radiation can also be harmful to a radiographer and public if a radiation source used is not handled in a proper way and good working practice (GWP) is not observed. Such anticipated hazardous nature of the practice is confirmed by occupational exposure records of industrial radiographers kept by MINT SSDL for the last 15 years, which consistently show high annual dose received by these workers (2 to 43 times higher) as compared to workers involved in other practices. This is not a healthy trend especially in the light of new requirements of Basic Safety Standards (BSS) regulations recommended by IAEA and soon to be adopted by AELB, which allow for much stricter dose limits than before and introduction of new concepts and aspects of radiation protection. This paper highlights the situation of occupational exposure of industrial radiographers in Malaysia and a comparison is made with the experience of some of its counterparts in other countries. It also presents some pertinent points of the new BSS regulations that may cause serious implications to the industrial radiographic practices and some points to be considered as strategies to meet these new requirements. (Author)

Environmental occurrences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Black, D.G.

1995-06-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report summarizes the onsite and offsite releases of radioactive and regulated materials. The specific agencies notified of the releases depended on the type, amount, and location of the individual occurrences. The more significant of these off-normal environmental occurrences are summarized in this section.

Environmental occurrences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Black, D.G.

1995-01-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report summarizes the onsite and offsite releases of radioactive and regulated materials. The specific agencies notified of the releases depended on the type, amount, and location of the individual occurrences. The more significant of these off-normal environmental occurrences are summarized in this section

1998 Environmental Monitoring Program Report for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L. V. Street

1999-09-01

This report describes the calendar year 1998 compliance monitoring and environmental surveillance activities of the Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company Environmental Monitoring Program performed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. This report includes results of sampling performed by the Drinking Water, Effluent, Storm Water, Groundwater Monitoring, and Environmental Surveillance Programs. This report compares the 1998 results to program-specific regulatory guidelines and past data to evaluate trends. The primary purposes of the monitoring and surveillance activities are to evaluate environmental conditions, to provide and interpret data, to verify compliance with applicable regulations or standards, and to ensure protection of public health and the environment. Surveillance of environmental media did not identify any previously unknown environmental problems or trends, which would indicate a loss of control or unplanned releases from facility operations. The INEEL complied with permits and applicable regulations, with the exception of nitrogen samples in a disposal pond effluent stream and iron and total coliform bacteria in groundwater downgradient from one disposal pond. Data collected by the Environmental Monitoring Program demonstrate that the public health and environment were protected.

Hanford Site environmental report for calendar year 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Lundgren, R.E. (eds.)

1992-06-01

This report of the Hanford Reservation is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its mission; summarize the status in 1991 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; present information on environmental surveillance and the ground-water protection and monitoring program; and discuss activities to ensure quality.

Hanford Site environmental report for calendar year 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Lundgren, R.E.

1992-06-01

This report of the Hanford Reservation is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its mission; summarize the status in 1991 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; present information on environmental surveillance and the ground-water protection and monitoring program; and discuss activities to ensure quality

Site Environmental Report for 2014

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pauer, Ronald O. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Baskin, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Borglin, Ned [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Fox, Robert [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Harvey, Zachary [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Jelinski, John [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Thorson, Patrick [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Wehle, Petra [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Xu, Suying [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-09-01

The annual Site Environmental Report documents Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s performance in reducing its environmental impacts, progress toward cleaning up groundwater contamination, and compliance with applicable Department of Energy, federal, state, and local environmental regulations.

Hanford Site Environmental Report 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dirkes, R.L.; Hanf, R.W.; Woodruff, R.K. [eds.

1994-06-01

The Hanford Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The report is written to meet reporting requirements and Guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) an to meet the needs of the public. This summary has been written with a minimum of technical terminology. Individual sections of the report are designed to (a) describe the Hanford Site and its mission, (b) summarize the status in 1993 of compliance with environmental regulations, (c) describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site, (d) discuss estimated radionuclide exposure to the public from 1993 Hanford activities, (e) present information on effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance, including ground-water protection and monitoring, (f) discuss activities to ensure quality. More detailed information can be found in the body of the report, the appendixes, and the cited references.

Hanford Site Environmental Report 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dirkes, R.L.; Hanf, R.W.; Woodruff, R.K.

1994-06-01

The Hanford Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations. The report also highlights major environmental programs and efforts. The report is written to meet reporting requirements and Guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) an to meet the needs of the public. This summary has been written with a minimum of technical terminology. Individual sections of the report are designed to (a) describe the Hanford Site and its mission, (b) summarize the status in 1993 of compliance with environmental regulations, (c) describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site, (d) discuss estimated radionuclide exposure to the public from 1993 Hanford activities, (e) present information on effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance, including ground-water protection and monitoring, (f) discuss activities to ensure quality. More detailed information can be found in the body of the report, the appendixes, and the cited references

Estimation of avoidable skin cancers and cost-savings to government associated with regulation of the solarium industry in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirst, Nicholas; Gordon, Louisa; Gies, Peter; Green, Adèle C

2009-03-01

In Australia there is growing concern about the expanding solarium industry, and the additive effect of persons seeking exposure to artificial ultraviolet radiation (UVR) against already intense background levels of solar UVR. We estimated the numbers of potential skin cancers prevented through regulation of solaria and the associated cost-savings to the Federal Government. A lifetime decision-analytic model was created using relative risk estimates based on a meta-analysis of the literature assessing the link between skin cancer risk and solarium use. The costs were limited to those incurred by Medicare Australia, for the medical care of individuals treated for skin cancer. With stricter regulations, we estimated between 18 and 31 melanomas, 200-251 squamous cell carcinomas and associated costs of $AU 256,054 would be avoided per 100,000 persons. Our base findings were sensitive to estimates for prevalence of use, skin cancer risk and discounting rates. Continued growth in the Australian solarium industry is likely to inflate the already substantial skin cancer burden. Subject to some limitations, our study indicates that by successfully enforcing solarium regulations to prohibit use by minors and by those with fair skin colour, the Federal Government could expect favourable cost and health benefits.

The interaction of new environmental regulations and the financing of waste processing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowley, D.A.

1991-01-01

This paper will first explore new EPA regulations and how they are driving demand for environmental facilities. Special attention will be paid to the legal interaction of technology and federal and state policymaking. Attention also will be paid to the barriers to capital formation caused by federal regulation and the legal inadequacy of many infrastructure systems at the state and local level. Next, the paper will consider the implication of various financing techniques in light of these regulatory developments. Particular attention will be paid to existing legal and structural difficulties to the use of each of these three approaches, including tax incentives at the federal level, inability to use pollution control financing mechanisms in states, and the general decline of the availability of industrial revenue bond mechanisms. Finally, the paper will explore alternate credit support techniques that might be used to fill gaps between the regulatory pressures and the possible finance structures. It will examine possible uses of letters of credit, guarantees, forms of equity investment. Other, more difficult credit support devices such as insurance will be given brief consideration. Finally, there will be a brief overview of the liability implication for the various participants (debt inequity) in the financing of these facilities

Nuclear power plant Isar. Actualized environmental statement 2012 on the consolidated environmental statement 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The actualized environmental statement 2012 for the NPP Isar covers the following issues: Direct environmental aspects: heat dissipation to the environment, water management, radioactive matter release onto the environment, environmental monitoring, waste management, operational materials supply, radioactive materials transport, safety of the nuclear facilities, remote monitoring and information system, environmental protection, communication; indirect environmental aspects; core indicators according EMAS III, development of the environmental targets and programs, reference to the valid environmental regulations, declaration of the environmental consultant.

Challenges when Performing Economic Optimization of Waste Treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul, Nina; Münster, Marie; Ravn, Hans

2011-01-01

New investments in waste treatment facilities are needed due to a number of factors including continuously increasing waste amounts, political demands for efficient utilization of the waste resources in terms of recycling or energy production, and decommissioning of existing waste treatment...... facilities due to age and stricter environmental regulation. Optimization models can assist in ensuring that these investment strategies will be economically feasible. Various economic optimization models for waste treatment have been developed which focus on different parameters. Models focusing...... in multi criteria analysis have been developed. A thorough updated review of the existing models is presented and the main challenges and the crucial parameters to take into account when assessing the economic performance of waste treatment alternatives are identified. The review article will assist both...

Multinationals and international environmental policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dam, L.; Scholtens, B.

2009-01-01

Multinationals with relatively poor environmental policy establish themselves in countries with weak environmental regulation. These activities are not undertaken in the poorest or most corrupt countries though. The question arises if multinationals with relatively developed environmental behavior settle less or more often in countries with environmental legislation. [mk] [nl

Hanford Site Environmental Report for calendar year 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Lundgren, R.E.

1993-06-01

This report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations at the Hanford Site. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its mission; summarize the status in 1992 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; discuss public dose estimates from 1992 Hanford activities; present information on effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance, including ground-water protection and monitoring, and discuss activities to ensure quality

Hanford Site Environmental Report for calendar year 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woodruff, R.K.; Hanf, R.W.; Lundgren, R.E. [eds.

1993-06-01

This report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, and demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations at the Hanford Site. The following sections: describe the Hanford Site and its mission; summarize the status in 1992 of compliance with environmental regulations; describe the environmental programs at the Hanford Site; discuss public dose estimates from 1992 Hanford activities; present information on effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance, including ground-water protection and monitoring, and discuss activities to ensure quality.

European Union regulators and industry agree on improving specific environmental release categories: Report from the exchange network for exposure scenarios specific environmental release category workshop on May 13, 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahrens, Andreas; Moilanen, Marianne; Martin, Sara; Garcia-John, Enrique; Sättler, Daniel; Bakker, Joost; Reihlen, Antonia; Wind, Thorsten; Tolls, Johannes

2017-09-01

Specific environmental release categories (SPERCs) are an instrument for lower-tier environmental emissions assessments. They support chemical safety assessments under the European Union (EU) regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals. SPERCs have been developed by industry and subjected to regulatory review. Within the framework of the Chemical Safety Report/Exposure Scenario Roadmap, the EU Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the EU Member State authorities, and European industry sector associations collaborate to improve the quality of the SPERCs. Following up on the outcome of ECHA's SPERC Best Practice Project, industry, together with ECHA, developed an updated SPERC factsheet template and guidance on how to fill it out. In addition, industry developed 2 sets of SPERC factsheet examples and the corresponding SPERC background documents. These documents were submitted to a multistakeholder review process. The comments from the review were discussed at a workshop in spring 2016. The workshop participants acknowledged the revised factsheet format including the corresponding guidance, the 2 SPERC factsheets, and the 2 SPERC background documents as best practice examples. The package is expected to support further improvement of the quality of the SPERCs. A common understanding was achieved of the need to match the level of detail of the use conditions description with the risk to be controlled (i.e., the emission intensity and hazard profile of the substances) and with the level of conservatism of SPERC release factors. The complete and transparent documentation of the derivation of the release factors and of their conservatism is conceived as crucial for the credibility of the SPERCs, such that they can be trusted by partners in the chemicals supply chain and by regulators. To that end, background documents will include a dedicated section describing the conservatism of SPERCs. The workshop concluded with an outline of the practical way

Obeying Environmental Laws

Science.gov (United States)

Facilities Science Pillars Research Library Science Briefs Science News Science Highlights Lab Organizations regulations and policies to protect human health and the environment. June 27, 2012 Pyramid showing compliance at the base, and sustainability at the top Compliance with environmental regulations and policies is

Environmental auditing for oil drilling projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zambrano Solarte, Hugo Ibsen; Olaya Amaya, Alfredo

2003-01-01

The enforcement of legal regulations on the environment requires some mechanisms related to preservation and conservation of natural resources, as well as paleontological and archaeological wealth, in order to allow their use without endangering their integrity. This article reviews legal regulations, activities and performance indicators, which should be taken into account by Environmental Auditors in oil projects. Additionally, a Plan for Environmental management is analyzed with its main components and procedures for performing the environmental auditing

Legal issues of the environmental safety regulation in the sphere of nanotechnology in Russian Federation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belokrylova, Ekaterina A

2013-01-01

Nowadays one of the principal innovative spheres in Russia is considered to be a rapid development of nanotechnology and nanomaterials and implementation its products into almost all fields of social and industrial life. Nevertheless, despite the pointed advantages an appearance of nano products has set not only a positive example of the scientific progress development and dynamics, but also a potential threat of possible risks for the environment and people's health in the case of its massive use when there is a lack of research about its impacts. In Russian Federation the problem of nanosafety regulation is extremely actual. A number of international documents have noted a lack of legal regulation in the sphere of nanotechnologies in Russian Federation. Thus, according to the strategic EU program, it's mentioned that in 2009 on an annual meeting of OECD Tour de Table Meeting in Paris (November, 2007) Russia took responsibility to develop a long term program of nanoindustry development by 2015 (Nanotechnology Action Plan for Russia-2015). The key role should be dedicated to the nanosafety aspects and potential risk assessment of nanomaterials for environment and humans' health. Unfortunately, until now Russia did not provide this document for discussion at the international level by the partners of nanoconsortcium. Indeed, from 2007 until nowadays in Russian Federation there are no a single federal act of legislation (federal'nyi zakon), establishing the state foundations of regulation of nanosafety. The only one Federeal Legal Act in the described sphere is the Federalniy Zakon from 19 July 2007 A bout the Russian corporation of nanotechnologies , which has established the principles of organization, activites, functions and termination of Rosnanotech. However, there are no articles dedicated to the environmental safety provision in regards of nano products applications. Also there is no complex federal act consolidating legal status of action in the field of

Legal issues of the environmental safety regulation in the sphere of nanotechnology in Russian Federation

Science.gov (United States)

Belokrylova, Ekaterina A.

2013-04-01

Nowadays one of the principal innovative spheres in Russia is considered to be a rapid development of nanotechnology and nanomaterials and implementation its products into almost all fields of social and industrial life. Nevertheless, despite the pointed advantages an appearance of nano products has set not only a positive example of the scientific progress development and dynamics, but also a potential threat of possible risks for the environment and people's health in the case of its massive use when there is a lack of research about its impacts. In Russian Federation the problem of nanosafety regulation is extremely actual. A number of international documents have noted a lack of legal regulation in the sphere of nanotechnologies in Russian Federation. Thus, according to the strategic EU program, it's mentioned that in 2009 on an annual meeting of OECD Tour de Table Meeting in Paris (November, 2007) Russia took responsibility to develop a long term program of nanoindustry development by 2015 (Nanotechnology Action Plan for Russia-2015). The key role should be dedicated to the nanosafety aspects and potential risk assessment of nanomaterials for environment and humans' health. Unfortunately, until now Russia did not provide this document for discussion at the international level by the partners of nanoconsortcium. Indeed, from 2007 until nowadays in Russian Federation there are no a single federal act of legislation (federal'nyi zakon), establishing the state foundations of regulation of nanosafety. The only one Federeal Legal Act in the described sphere is the Federalniy Zakon from 19 July 2007 "About the Russian corporation of nanotechnologies", which has established the principles of organization, activites, functions and termination of Rosnanotech. However, there are no articles dedicated to the environmental safety provision in regards of nano products applications. Also there is no complex federal act consolidating legal status of action in the field of

Implications of research on endocrine disruption for the environmental risk assessment, regulation and monitoring of chemicals in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matthiessen, Peter; Johnson, Ian

2007-01-01

We assess the implications which research on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has for the regulation of synthetic substances and for the protection of the environment, particularly under the forthcoming European Union (EU) REACH legislation. EDCs present regulatory problems inter alia because they can act additively at concentrations which are individually harmless, and they may have non-classical dose (concentration)-response relationships at low exposure levels. Furthermore, current in vivo testing routines were not specifically designed to assess the endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals, whilst in silico and in vitro methods have only limited applicability and availability for this purpose. We need to ensure that the assessment approaches specified in the draft REACH legislation and Technical Guidance are able to evaluate EDCs efficiently. However, it must also be recognised that environmental monitoring procedures in Europe will need to be improved to detect EDCs that have evaded identification, and where appropriate, control, under REACH. - The challenges associated with the environmental risk assessment and regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals are discussed

Environmental impacts assessment: Instruments for environmental policy making and resource management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavelli, C.M.; Sartori, S.

1993-06-01

This review of evaluation criteria for environmental impacts assessments in Italy covers the following aspects: the efficacy of current Italian normatives governing assessment methods, the current approach of regional public administrations, the necessity for the creation of a national regulating board, environmental impacts assessment for complex environmental systems, the application of impacts assessment recommendations to resource development modelling in the planning of integrated environmental-economic systems, the involvement of the general public in decision making, techniques to determine the monetary worth of environmental resources, the use of multi-criteria analysis techniques

Environmental oxygen tension regulates the energy metabolism and self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Forristal, Catherine E; Christensen, David R; Chinnery, Fay E; Petruzzelli, Raffaella; Parry, Kate L; Sanchez-Elsner, Tilman; Houghton, Franchesca D

2013-01-01

Energy metabolism is intrinsic to cell viability but surprisingly has been little studied in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The current study aims to investigate the effect of environmental O2 tension on carbohydrate utilisation of hESCs. Highly pluripotent hESCs cultured at 5% O2 consumed significantly more glucose, less pyruvate and produced more lactate compared to those maintained at 20% O2. Moreover, hESCs cultured at atmospheric O2 levels expressed significantly less OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG than those maintained at 5% O2. To determine whether this difference in metabolism was a reflection of the pluripotent state, hESCs were cultured at 5% O2 in the absence of FGF2 for 16 hours leading to a significant reduction in the expression of SOX2. In addition, these cells consumed less glucose and produced significantly less lactate compared to those cultured in the presence of FGF2. hESCs maintained at 5% O2 were found to consume significantly less O2 than those cultured in the absence of FGF2, or at 20% O2. GLUT1 expression correlated with glucose consumption and using siRNA and chromatin immunoprecipitation was found to be directly regulated by hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-2α at 5% O2. In conclusion, highly pluripotent cells associated with hypoxic culture consume low levels of O2, high levels of glucose and produce large amounts of lactate, while at atmospheric conditions glucose consumption and lactate production are reduced and there is an increase in oxidative metabolism. These data suggest that environmental O2 regulates energy metabolism and is intrinsic to the self-renewal of hESCs.

Environmental and social risks: defensive National Environmental Policy Act in the US Forest Service

Science.gov (United States)

Michael J. Mortimer; Marc J. Stern; Robert W. Malmsheimer; Dale J. Blahna; Lee K. Cerveny; David N. Seesholtz

2011-01-01

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its accompanying regulations provide a spectrum of alternative analytical pathways for federal agencies proposing major actions that might significantly impact the human environment. Although guidance from the President's council on Environmental Quality suggests the decision to develop an environmental impact...

Addressing environmental contamination through market regulations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Contrary to the prevailing view that the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) law, which amended the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), is the 'gold standard' for chemical regulation, the central premise of this article is that the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the ...

2009 Site Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratel, K.M.; Brookhaven National Laboratory

2010-09-30

Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy. The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of BNL's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. The SER summarizes environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and compliance, restoration, and surveillance monitoring program performance. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. The report is available in print and as a downloadable file on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/ser/. A summary of the SER is also prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a CD of the full report.

2006 SITE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY; RATEL,K.

2007-10-01

Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy. The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of BNL's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. The SER summarizes environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and compliance, restoration, and surveillance monitoring program performance. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. The report is available in print and as a downloadable file on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/ser/. A summary of the SER is also prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a CD of the full report.

2005 SITE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY

2006-08-29

Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of BNL's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. The SER summarizes environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and compliance, restoration, and surveillance monitoring program performance. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. The report is available in print and as a downloadable file on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/ser/. A summary of the SER is also prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a CD of the full report.

1997 LMITCO Environmental Monitoring Program Report for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, B.; Street, L.; Wilhelmsen, R.

1998-09-01

This report describes the calendar year 1997 environmental surveillance and compliance monitoring activities of the Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company Environmental Monitoring Program performed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. This report includes results of sampling performed by the Radiological Environmental Surveillance, Site Environmental Surveillance, Drinking Water, Effluent Monitoring, Storm Water Monitoring, Groundwater Monitoring, and Special Request Monitoring Programs and compares 1997 data with program-specific regulatory guidelines and past data to evaluate trends. The primary purposes of the surveillance and monitoring activities are to evaluate environmental conditions, to provide and interpret data, to verify compliance with applicable regulations or standard, and to ensure protection of human health and the environment. Surveillance of environmental media did not identify any previously unknown environmental problems or trends indicating a loss of control or unplanned releases from facility operations. With the exception of one nitrogen sample in the disposal pond effluent stream and iron and total coliform bacteria in groundwater downgradient from one disposal pond, compliance with permits and applicable regulations was achieved. Data collected by the Environmental Monitoring Program demonstrate that public health and the environment were protected.

Testing the effectiveness of an international conservation agreement: marketplace forensics and CITES caviar trade regulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phaedra Doukakis

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The international wildlife trade is a key threat to biodiversity. Temporal genetic marketplace monitoring can determine if wildlife trade regulation efforts such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES are succeeding. Protected under CITES effective 1997, sturgeons and paddlefishes, the producers of black caviar, are flagship CITES species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We test whether CITES has limited the amount of fraudulent black caviar reaching the marketplace. Using mitochondrial DNA-based methods, we compare mislabeling in caviar and meat purchased in the New York City area pre and post CITES listing. Our recent sampling of this market reveals a decrease in mislabeled caviar (2006-2008; 10%; n = 90 compared to pre-CITES implementation (1995-1996; 19%; n = 95. Mislabeled caviar was found only in online purchase (n = 49 online/41 retail. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Stricter controls on importing and exporting as per CITES policies may be having a positive conservation effect by limiting the amount of fraudulent caviar reaching the marketplace. Sturgeons and paddlefishes remain a conservation priority, however, due to continued overfishing and habitat degradation. Other marine and aquatic species stand to benefit from the international trade regulation that can result from CITES listing.

Driving forces and barriers for environmental technology development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

Driving forces and barriers behind development and usage of environmental technology is discussed, and also whether there are certain characteristics related to environmental innovations compared to other innovations in general. The development of environmental technology is in principle dominated by the same drivers and barriers as any other technology, but the order and strength of the various factors may be different. This examination as well as other empirical studies shows that regulations play a greater part for environmental technology than 'pure market forces'. To many participants it is important to be one step ahead of the regulations, i.e. the expected regulations are equally important as the factual ones in driving the technology development. Players in the business community express that it is important that the authorities cooperate with them when introducing new regulations. This will increase acceptance for the regulations and facilitate the necessary adjustments. The most important barrier in the development and use of the technologies studied is probably the lack of demand

From bioavailability science to regulation of organic chemicals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ortega-Calvo, J.J.; Harmsen, J.; Parsons, J.R.; Semple, K.T.; Aitkin, M.D.; Ajao, C.; Eadsforth, C.; Galay-Burgos, M.; Naidu, R.; Oliver, R.; Peijnenburg, W.J.G.M.; Römbke, J.; Streck, G.; Versonnen, B.

2015-01-01

The bioavailability of organic chemicals in soil and sediment is an important area of scientific investigation for environmental scientists, although this area of study remains only partially recognized by regulators and industries working in the environmental sector. Regulators have recently

Environmental policy in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsuru, Shigeto; Weidner, H. (eds.)

1989-01-01

This book deals in English with the most important features of Japanese environmental policy in a number of individual articles by different authors. The various sections report on: 1. History and organization of environmental policy; 2. The role of non-governmental actors in environmental policy (large industries); 3. Special features of environmental policies and problems; 4. Classical pollution control areas: Regulations and effects; 5. Environmental problems in a broader perspective (nature conservation); 6. Policy areas with influence on environmental quality; 7. Environmental monitoring and reporting; 8. Japanese environmental policy in an international perspective (preventive policies, developing countries). (HSCH).

A Study on improvement of comprehensive environmental management system - activation of liberalized environmental management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Hweu Sung; Kang, Chul Goo [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1998-12-01

As a part of improvement on a comprehensive environmental management system, this study was attempted to find an activating policy for a liberalized environmental management. This study provided an activation plan of reasonable environmental regulation reform and liberalized environmental management through the analysis of foreign examples and domestic situation. Furthermore, it analyzed an institutional mechanism for a smooth operation of liberalized environmental management. 68 refs., 5 figs., 51 tabs.

2003 SITE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ENVIRONMENT AND WASTE MANAGMENT SERVICES DIVISION; ET AL.

2004-10-01

Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a multi-program national laboratory, prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting, of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The SER is written to inform outside regulators, the public, and Laboratory employees of BNL's environmental performance during the calendar year in review, and to summarize BNL's on-site environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state, and local regulations; and environmental, restoration, and surveillance monitoring programs. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. This report is intended to be a technical document. It is available in print and as a downloadable file on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.ser.htm. A summary of the SER is also prepared each year to provide a general overview, and is distributed with a CD version of the full-length SER. The summary supports BNL's educational and community outreach program.

Toxic Imports and the African Environment

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

20 million toys have been recalled in the United States, where consumer advocacy ... and the buying power of the U.S., the rest of the world should hope for stricter regulations that ... High-Risk Behaviors and Hospitalizations Am ong G am m a.

Environmental management in product chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Forman, Marianne; Hansen, Anne Grethe

of environmental initiatives, a number of recommendations for governmental regulation, which can support the further diffusion of environmental management in product chains, are developed. Furthermore, the report describes a number of theoretical perspectives from sociology of technology, organisation theory......This report presents the analyses of the shaping, implementation and embedding of eight types of environmental initiatives in product chains. The analyses focus on • the role of the type of product and branch, of the size of the companies and of governmental regulation • the focus...... of the environmental concerns and the reductions in environmental impact • organisational changes which have been part of the embedding of the initiatives The analyses are based on 25 cases from national and international product chains involving one or more Danish companies. Based on the analyses of the eight types...

Regulation and decision-making in environmental radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, C.M.

2004-01-01

The EC-funded project FASSET (Framework for Assessment of Environmental impact), which completed in 2003, has developed an assessment framework for evaluating the environmental impact of ionising radiation on biota in natural ecosystems. The FASSET framework comprises: source characterisation and initial hazard analysis; ecosystem description and selection of reference organisms (ca 30, with defined geometry and life history); exposure analysis, including conversion of input data to external and internal radionuclide concentrations, and subsequent conversion to dose rates; effects analysis, supported by an effects database; and, guidance for interpretation. The framework provides practical and scientific support to the international development of recommendations for radiological protection of the environment through the International Commission on Radiological Protection (cf. ICRP Publication 91). However, on the basis of experiences from FASSET and other recent developments, it can be concluded that there are challenges remaining before environmental radiological protection can be seen as a natural component of general environmental protection. The major future challenge is the development of an integrated approach where decision-making can be guided by sound scientific judgements. This requires, inter alia, filling in gaps in basic knowledge of relevance to assessment and protection, through targeted experimental, theoretical (including expert judgements) and real case studies; development of risk characterisation methodologies, based on both theoretical and experimental studies; development of screening standards, where appropriate; development of user-friendly assessment tools; and stakeholder involvement, including development of supporting communication strategies. A new EC-funded project, ERICA (Environmental Risk from Ionising Contaminants: Assessment and management), has recently started. The project has four operational work packages, being devoted to

Environmental compliance audits of electric generating facilities - a practical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staker, R.D.

1992-01-01

As environmental regulations expand in complexity and number, and as regulatory agencies place more emphasis on enforcing regulations, it is increasingly important that electric utilities perform periodic environmental compliance audits to determine if their facilities are in compliance with federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Explicit commitment by the utility's top management and careful planning and execution of an audit are key elements in the effectiveness of an audit. This paper is directed to electric utility environmental managers and company management. The paper presents a practical approach for planning and performing a multi-media environmental compliance of an electric generating facility

Environmental economics and the Baltic region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birk Mortensen, J.

1994-03-01

This volume originates from a workshop on Economics of the Environment held at the Institute of Economics, Copenhagen University, November 14-15, 1990 with participants from Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The volume contains the papers presented at the workshop. In all the countries around the Baltic Sea there has been an increasing understainding of the importance of using the economic incentive approach to reach environmental goals. By changing the incentives an individual producer or consumer faces, the best private choice can be made to coincide with the best social choice. All the countries around the Baltic Sea have used direct regulation or command and control in environment regulation. Growing concern about environmental degradation, dissatisfaction with the command and control approach and the need to extend environmental regulation to sectors with a large number of small producers or consumers have increased attention to economic instruments in environmental policy. The Baltic sea is an almost coherent ecological system and there is a growing interest in addressing common environmental problems among the countries around the Baltic Sea. The recent political development offer new possibilites for cooperation in environmental policy. This is important because many environmental problems in the region require solutions involving several countries. (EG)

The environmental impacts of wind and water power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Twidell, J.W.

1994-01-01

The success of a typical renewable energy project depends about 40% on technology and about 60% on institutional factors. The latter include regulations, financing and environmental impact, with many of the regulations and some financial factors themselves relating to environmental impact. This paper attempts to define and categorize aspects of environmental impact, especially regarding wind and hydro power projects. (author)

24 CFR 983.58 - Environmental review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Environmental review. 983.58... DEVELOPMENT PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER (PBV) PROGRAM Selection of PBV Owner Proposals § 983.58 Environmental review. (a) HUD environmental regulations. Activities under the PBV program are subject to HUD environmental...

Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan for site characterization:

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The DOE is committed to conduct its operations in an environmentally safe and sound manner, and will comply with the letter and the spirit of applicable environmental statues and regulations. This document - the NNWSI Project's Environmental Regulatory Compliance Plan (ERCP) - is one means of implementing the policy. The ERCP describes the plan by which the NNWSI Project Office will comply with applicable environmental statutes and regulations. The ERCP also discusses how DOE will address State and local environmental statues and regulations. To achieve the goals of DOE, the ERCP will be developed in phases. This version of the ERCP is the first phase in this development. It represents the NNWSI Project's understanding of environmental regulatory requirements for site characterization of Yucca Mountain. After consultation with appropriate Federal and State agencies, the ERCP will be updated to reflect the results of these consultations. 29 figs., 1 tab

On ethical, social and environmental management systems

OpenAIRE

Argandoña, Antonio

2003-01-01

There are three types of solutions to the problems deriving from companies' ethical, social and environmental responsibilities: those based on regulation by an authority or agency; those designed to create market incentives; and those that rely on self-regulation by companies themselves. In the specific field we are concerned with here, regulation has significant costs and drawbacks that make it particularly desirable that companies should set up their own ethical, social and environmental ma...

Manual: environmental impact statement and intervention regulation; Leitfaden Umweltvertraeglichkeitspruefung und Eingriffsregelung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neumann, K

1993-12-31

In order to be able to fulfil also legally the important tasks of environmental protection and natural preservation in the last ten years numerous legal provisions have been issued. Many of these laws require that the environmental impact of projects and constructional measures is taken into account to a higher degree. Two important instruments in this connection are the impact statement and the intervention regulation of natural preservation. Their importance and consequences for the planning and realization of projects are until now not sufficiently know. This manual is to fill this gap. This booklet shall help builder-owners and investors to realize their building projects in a way which is compatible with the environment. For architects and planners information is given in this manual about the requirements to be fulfilled in the individual planning and licensing procedures. The booklet is structured in a way that builder-owners, consultants and authorities find quickly the information needed. (orig./KW) [Deutsch] Um die wichtigen Aufgaben des Umwelt- und Naturschutzgesetzes auch rechtlich zu bewaeltigen, sind in den letzten Jahren eine Vielzahl von Rechtsvorschriften erlassen worden. Zahlreiche dieser Gesetze erfordern, dass kuenftig Umwelt- und Naturschutzbelange bei Planungen und Baumassnahmen staerker beruecksichtigt werden. Zwei wesentliche Instrumente dafuer sind die Umweltvertraeglichkeitspruefung (UVP) und die naturschutzrechtliche Eingriffsregelung. Ihre Bedeutung und die sich daraus ergebenden Konsequenzen fuer die Planung und Ausfuehrung von Vorhaben sind bislang allerdings noch nicht hinreichend bekannt. Diese Luecke soll der vorliegende Leitfaden schliessen helfen. Bauherren und Investoren sollen mit dieser Broschuere informiert werden, wie sie ihr geplantes Bauvorhaben umweltvertraeglich realisieren koennen. Architekten und Planer koennen durch diesen Leitfaden erfahren, welche Leistungen in den einzelnen Planungs- und Genehmigungsverfahren zu

Biochemical, Environmental Engineering and Water Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, A.A.E.; Ibrahem, I.M.

2004-01-01

to Environmental Considerations - The environmental impacts of a proposed wastewater treatment facility are as important,t, if not more so, as cost considerations, a few comments regarding applicable environmental considerations that must also be addressed are appropriate. - The environmental evaluations should focus on social, technical, ecological, economic, political, legal, and institutional (STEEPLI) criteria. - Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for any proposed governmental action that is determined to have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. - The regulations ensure that the probable environmental effects are identified, that a reasonable number of alternative actions and their environmental impacts are considered, that the environmental information is available for public understanding and scrutiny, and that the public and governmental agencies participate as a part of the decision process. - All pertinent regulations and the inherent participate afforded must be disclosed in the EIS. - National Environmental Policy Act of USA (NEP A ) neither prohibits nor permits any action but requires full disclosure of environmental information and public participation in the decision making process

Identifying Critical Habitat for Australian Freshwater Turtles in a Large Regulated Floodplain: Implications for Environmental Water Management

Science.gov (United States)

Ocock, J. F.; Bino, G.; Wassens, S.; Spencer, J.; Thomas, R. F.; Kingsford, R. T.

2018-03-01

Freshwater turtles face many threats, including habitat loss and river regulation reducing occupancy and contributing to population decline. Limited knowledge of hydrological conditions required to maintain viable turtle populations in large floodplain wetlands hinders effective adaptive management of environmental water in regulated rivers. We surveyed three turtle species over 4 years across the Lower Murrumbidgee River floodplain, a large wetland complex with a long history of water resource development. Using site and floodplain metrics and generalized linear models, within a Bayesian Model Averaging framework, we quantified the main drivers affecting turtle abundance. We also used a hierarchical modeling approach, requiring large sample sizes, quantifying possible environmental effects while accounting for detection probabilities of the eastern long-necked turtle ( Chelodina longicollis). The three species varied in their responses to hydrological conditions and connectivity to the main river channel. Broad-shelled turtles ( Chelodina expansa) and Macquarie River turtles ( Emydura macquarii macquarii) had restricted distributions, centered on frequently inundated wetlands close to the river, whereas the eastern long-necked turtles were more widely distributed, indicating an ability to exploit variable habitats. We conclude that turtle communities would benefit from long-term management strategies that maintain a spatiotemporal mosaic of hydrological conditions. More specifically, we identified characteristics of refuge habitats and stress the importance of maintaining their integrity during dry periods. Neighboring habitats can be targeted during increased water availability years to enhance feeding and dispersal opportunities for freshwater turtles.

Environmental considerations for international projects in coastal waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, P.J.; Kubanis, S.A.

1994-01-01

From the industrial revolution until the late 1960s, development and the environment were largely viewed as mutually exclusive. In the late 1960s a change in public awareness and attitude emerged, and since the U.N Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 there has been a significant change in the global perception of the relationship between the environment and development. Recognition that renewable resources, such as forests, atmospheric oxygen, and soil, can be harvested indefinitely through sound management practices has led to the current focus on sustainable development. When the National Environmental Policy Act was adopted in 1969, a comprehensive environmental management process was set in place. The impact of these regulations was felt by different industries at different levels, with the initial brunt being borne by the power industry, followed by the petroleum industry. In recent years the mining industry has been heavily impacted. Although industry has been increasingly regulated in the US since 1969, development in many other countries was not subject to environmental review or regulation. In recent years, however, this picture has changed dramatically. Currently, most other industrialized, and many developing countries have environmental laws, regulations, and review processes in place. For example, Indonesia, Thailand, Republic of China, Ecuador, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Russia all have environmental laws, standards, and/or review requirements applicable to petroleum and other industrial developments. Most Western European and Pacific Rim countries have environmental standards and review processes in place. In Eastern Europe, Asia and South America, about half of the countries have regulations, and in Africa a small but growing number of countries have some level of environmental regulation

The European Regulation no. 761/2001 EMAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andriola, L.; Battellini, S.

2005-08-01

The Regulation 761/2001 EMAS (Environmental Management and Audit Scheme), introduced by the 1836/93 Community regulation, is one of the tools activated by the European Union in order to apply the 5. and 6. Community Environmental Programme, in the field of firm-environment interactions at first (overcoming the old Command and Control logic), then by extending its applicability to ali Organisations. EMAS is a voluntary tool that enables Organisations to evaluate their own interaction with the Environment, to plan and check the yearly improvement of their environmental performance, providing the public documented relevant information. The report illustrates the procedure far applying this regulation, its implementation and new application trends in Italy and the advantages far firms [it

Environmental improvement with additional instruments for environmental protection in port areas

OpenAIRE

MARINSKI, Jordan; FLOQI, Tania; DROUMEVA, Gergana; BRANCA, Tatiana; VATRALOVA, Albena

2012-01-01

Abstract1. The context analysis of environmental situation in Corridor8 ports shows growing sensibility of the management authorities to the environmental issues and objective difficulties for development of appropriate environmental policies due to the following reasons: the complex legislation which has not found yet the balance between the business interests in sea transport and the environment protection and poor enforcement of the regulations. In order to mitigate the negative impact of ...

Environmental management control. An empirical study on the use of environmental performance measures in management control systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perego, P.M.

2005-01-01

Companies increasingly adapt their accounting systems to accommodate the internal demand of environmental-related information for making decisions and control their activities in compliance with extant environmental regulation. Prior research in environmental accounting has predominantly focused on

Can individual cognitions, self-regulation and environmental variables explain educational differences in vegetable consumption?: a cross-sectional study among Dutch adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Springvloet, Linda; Lechner, Lilian; Oenema, Anke

2014-12-06

Educational differences in health-related behaviors, where low- and moderate-educated individuals have poorer outcomes than high-educated individuals, are persistent. The reasons for these differences remain poorly understood. This study explored whether individual cognitions, self-regulation and environmental-level factors may explain educational differences in vegetable consumption. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,342 Dutch adults, of whom 54.5% were low/moderate-educated. Individuals completed an online questionnaire, assessing education, vegetable consumption, demographics, individual cognitions (attitude towards consuming 200 grams of vegetables a day, self-efficacy, subjective norm, intention, perception of vegetables as being expensive), self-regulation (general self-regulation, vegetable-specific action- and coping planning) and environmental-level factors (perception of availability of vegetables in the supermarket and availability of vegetables at home). The joint-significance test was used to determine significant mediation effects. Low/moderate-educated individuals consumed less vegetables (M = 151.2) than high-educated individuals (M = 168.1, β = -0.15, P Attitude and availability of vegetables at home were found to partially mediate the association between education and vegetable consumption (percentage mediated effect: 24.46%). Since attitude and availability of vegetables at home partially explain the difference in vegetable consumption between low/moderate- and high-educated individuals, these variables may be good target points for interventions to promote vegetable consumption among low/moderate-educated individuals.

Environmental impact assessment modern dressed? To the amendment of the EIA act and other acts and regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmann, Ulrike

2017-01-01

On 22 December 2016, the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) presented the ''Draft Act for the Modernization of the Act on the Environmental Impact Assessment'' within the framework of the association consultation, as well as the ''Draft first Ordinance Amending the Ordinance on the Approval Procedure - 9. BImSchV''. The EIA Modernization Act as well as the Atomic Act Procedure Regulation and the Federal Mining Act should be revised by terms of an omnibus act. The association consultation was held on 18 January 2017.

Environmental compliance assessment review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilliday, G.H.

1991-01-01

During the period 1972-1991, The United States Congress passed stringent environmental statues which the Environment Protection Agency implemented via regulations. The statues and regulations contain severe civil and criminal penalties. Civil violations resulted in fines, typically payable by the company. The act of willfully and knowingly violating the permit conditions or regulations can result in criminal charges being imposed upon the responsible part, i.e., either the company or individual. Criminal charges can include fines, lawyer fees, court costs and incarceration. This paper describes steps necessary to form an effective Environmental Compliance Assessment Review [CAR] program, train field and engineering personnel and perform a CAR audit. Additionally, the paper discusses the findings of a number of Exploration and Production [E and P] field audits

Civil Liability for Environmental Damages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Ciochină

2012-05-01

Full Text Available We debated in this article the civil liability for environmental damages as stipulated in ourlegislation with reference to Community law. The theory of legal liability in environmental law is basedon the duty of all citizens to respect and protect the environment. Considering the importance ofenvironment in which we live, the liability for environmental damages is treated by the Constitution as aprinciple and a fundamental obligation. Many human activities cause environmental damages and, in linewith the principle of sustainable development, they should be avoided. However, when this is notpossible, they must be regulated (by criminal or administrative law in order to limit their adverse effectsand, according to the polluter pays principle, to internalize in advance their externalities (through taxes,insurances or other forms of financial security products. Communication aims to analyze these issues andlegal regulations dealing with the issue of liability for environmental damage.

Dicotyledon Weed Quantification Algorithm for Selective Herbicide Application in Maize Crops

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Morten Stigaard; Nyholm Jørgensen, Rasmus; Midtiby, Henrik Skov

2016-01-01

The stricter legislation within the European Union for the regulation of herbicides that are prone to leaching causes a greater economic burden on the agricultural industry through taxation. Owing to the increased economic burden, research in reducing herbicide usage has been prompted. High-resol...

Development of a multi-level approach to model and optimise the Kalina Split Cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Ulrik; Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Haglind, Fredrik

2012-01-01

In the marine sector there is a strong motivation for increasing the propulsion system energy efficiency, mainly because of increasing fuel prices and stricter upcoming emission regulations. The Kalina cycle, based on a mixture of ammonia and water as working fluid, exhibits higher conversion...

Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, Ted M.; Hanf, Robert W.; Dirkes, Roger L.; Morasch, Launa F.

2001-09-25

This Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, to describe environmental management performance, to demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and to highlight major environmental programs and efforts.

Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, Ted M.; Hanf, Robert W.; Dirkes, Roger L.

2000-09-28

The Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually to summarize environmental data and information, to describe environmental management performance, to demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and to highlight major environmental programs and efforts.

Regulation and Control of Hazardous Wastes

OpenAIRE

Hans W. Gottinger

1994-01-01

Hazardous waste regulations require disposal in approved dumpsites, where environmental consequences are minimal but entry may be privately very costly. Imperfect policing of regulations makes the socially more costly option illicit disposal preferable form the perspective of the private decision maker. The existence of the waste disposal decision, its economic nature, production independence, and the control over environmental damage are key issues in the economics of hazardous waste managem...

Life in a changing world: TCH gene regulation of expression and responses to environmental signals

Science.gov (United States)

Braam, J.; Sistrunk, M. L.; Polisensky, D. H.; Xu, W.; Purugganan, M. M.; Antosiewicz, D. M.; Campbell, P.; Johnson, K. A.

1996-01-01

The Arabidopsis TCH genes were discovered as a consequence of their marked upregulation of expression in response to seemingly innocuous stimuli such as touch. Further analyses have indicated that these genes are upregulated by a variety of diverse stimuli. Understanding the mechanism(s) and factors that control TCH gene regulation will shed light on the signaling pathways that enable plants to respond to changing environmental conditions. The TCH proteins include calmodulin, calmodulin-related proteins and a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase. Expression analyses and localization of protein accumulation indicate that the potential sites of TCH protein function include expanding cells and tissues under mechanical strain. We hypothesize that the TCH proteins may collaborate in cell wall biogenesis.

Site Environmental Report for 2015

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pauer, Ron O. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Baskin, David A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Borglin, Ned K. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Fox, Robert A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Harvey, Zachary R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Jelinski, John A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kassis, Maram M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Muhlholland, Brendan J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Thorson, Patrick A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Xu, Suying Y. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sutherland, Nancy L. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Wehle, Petra C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-09-30

The annual Site Environmental Report documents Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s performance in reducing its environmental impacts, progress toward cleaning up groundwater contamination, and compliance with applicable Department of Energy, federal, state, and local environmental regulations. The report is required by DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting.

24 CFR 583.230 - Environmental review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Environmental review. 583.230... § 583.230 Environmental review. (a) Activities under this part are subject to HUD environmental regulations in part 58 of this title, except that HUD will perform an environmental review in accordance with...

24 CFR 582.230 - Environmental review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Environmental review. 582.230... Environmental review. (a) Activities under this part are subject to HUD environmental regulations in part 58 of this title, except that HUD will perform an environmental review in accordance with part 50 of this...

2004 SITE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY; SER TEAM; ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES GROUP; ENVIROMENTAL AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION FIELD SAMPLING TEAM; (MANY OTHER CONTRIBUTORS)

2005-08-22

Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The SER is written to inform the public, regulators, Laboratory employees, and other stakeholders of BNL's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. The report summarizes BNL's environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and restoration and surveillance monitoring programs. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. The SER is intended to be a technical document. It is available in print and as a downloadable file on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/esd/SER.htm. A summary of the SER is also prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a CD version of the full report. The summary supports BNL's educational and community outreach program.

The Yeast Environmental Stress Response Regulates Mutagenesis Induced by Proteotoxic Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Shor, Erika; Fox, Catherine A.; Broach, James R.

2013-01-01

Conditions of chronic stress are associated with genetic instability in many organisms, but the roles of stress responses in mutagenesis have so far been elucidated only in bacteria. Here, we present data demonstrating that the environmental stress response (ESR) in yeast functions in mutagenesis induced by proteotoxic stress. We show that the drug canavanine causes proteotoxic stress, activates the ESR, and induces mutagenesis at several loci in an ESR-dependent manner. Canavanine-induced mutagenesis also involves translesion DNA polymerases Rev1 and Polζ and non-homologous end joining factor Ku. Furthermore, under conditions of chronic sub-lethal canavanine stress, deletions of Rev1, Polζ, and Ku-encoding genes exhibit genetic interactions with ESR mutants indicative of ESR regulating these mutagenic DNA repair processes. Analyses of mutagenesis induced by several different stresses showed that the ESR specifically modulates mutagenesis induced by proteotoxic stress. Together, these results document the first known example of an involvement of a eukaryotic stress response pathway in mutagenesis and have important implications for mechanisms of evolution, carcinogenesis, and emergence of drug-resistant pathogens and chemotherapy-resistant tumors. PMID:23935537

The use of fiscal instruments in European environmental policy: review essay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deketelaere, K. [University of Leuven, Leuven (Belgium). Inst. for Environmental and Energy Law

1999-08-01

Once a government has defined its environmental goals, it can execute them by means of different policy instruments. The following environmental policy instruments can be distinguished: (1) instruments of social regulation, such as transfer of information (environmental education, environmental labels, environmental impact reports, etc.), self-regulation (environmental policy agreements, self-control), and environmental care systems; (2) instruments of financial aid, such as subsidies, soft loans, and fiscal incentives (investment deduction, tax reduction and tax exemption); (3) instruments of planning such as macro-planning and micro-planning, binding planning and non-binding planning, sectoral planning and non-sectoral planning; (4) instruments of direct regulation, such as permits, prohibitions and restrictions, and different sorts of requirements (quality-demands, product-demands, emission-demands, design demands, construction demands and production demands); (5) instruments of market regulation, such as liability rules, marketable emission rights, deposit and refund system, enforcement incentives and environmental levies. In this contribution, each of these environmental policy instruments is analyzed in general. After that, the instruments which have already been used in European environmental policy are examined. Finally, attention paid to the use of fiscal instruments in European environmental policy. 80 refs.

Program of environmental radiological monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

This Regulation refers to the requirement of the Regulation CNEN-NN.3.01, 'Basic Act of Radiological Protection', as expressed in the section 5.14, related to the Program of Environmental Radiological Monitoring (PMRA)

The effect of stricter licensing on road traffic injury events involving 15 to 17-year-old moped drivers in Sweden: A time series intervention study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonander, Carl; Andersson, Ragnar; Nilson, Finn

2015-10-01

This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the effect of the introduction of the AM driving license on non-fatal moped-related injuries in Sweden. With the introduction of the new license category in October 2009, prospective moped drivers are now required to pass a mandatory theory test following a practical and theoretical course. In addition, obtaining a license to operate a moped is now considerably more costly. Time series intervention analysis on monthly aggregated injury data (1st Jan 2007-31st Dec 2013) was performed using generalized additive models for location, shape and scale (GAMLSS) to quantify the effect size on injury events involving teenage (15-17 years) moped drivers, while controlling for trend and seasonality. Exposure was adjusted for by using the number of registered mopeds in traffic as a proxy. The introduction of AM license was associated with a 41% reduction in the rate of injury events involving 15-year-old moped drivers (IRR 0.59 [95% CI: 0.48-0.72]), and a 39% and 36% decrease in those involving 16-year-old (IRR 0.61 [95% CI: 0.48-0.79]) and 17-year-old drivers (IRR 0.64 [95% CI: 0.46-0.90]), respectively. The effect in the 15-year-old stratum was decreased roughly by half after adjusting for exposure, but remained significant, and the corresponding estimates in the other age groups did not change noticeably. This study provides quasi-experimental evidence of an effect on non-fatal moped-related injuries as a result of stricter licensing rules. Only part of the effect could be explained by a reduction in the number of mopeds in traffic, indicating that other mechanisms must be studied to fully understand the cause of the reduction in injuries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The decision on the application to carry out a decommissioning project at Hinkley Point A Power Station under the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

European Council Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended by Council Directive 97/1 I/EC, sets out a framework on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. The Directive is implemented in Great Britain for decommissioning nuclear reactor projects by the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999. The intention of the Directive and Regulations is to involve the public through consultation in considering the potential environmental impacts of a decommissioning project, and to make the decision-making process on granting consent open and transparent. The Regulations require the licensee to undertake an environmental impact assessment, prepare an environmental statement that summarises the environmental effects of the project, and apply to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for consent to carry out a decommissioning project. There is an optional stage where the licensee may request from HSE an opinion on what the environmental statement should contain (called a pre-application opinion). The licensee of Hinkley Point A Power Station, Magnox Electric pie, requested a pre-application opinion and provided information in a scoping report in December 2000. HSE undertook a public consultation on the scoping report and provided its pre- application opinion in April 2001. The licensee applied to HSE for consent to carry out a decommissioning project and provided an environmental statement in December 2001. Following a public consultation on the environmental statement, HSE requested further information that was subsequently provided by the licensee. A further public consultation was undertaken on the further information that ended in March 2003. All these public consultations involved around 60 organisations. HSE granted consent to carry out a decommissioning project at Hinkley Point A Power Station under the Regulations in July 2003, and attached conditions to the Consent. HSE took relevant

Environmental Compliance by Firms in the Manufacturing Sector in Mexico

OpenAIRE

Lata Gangadharan

2003-01-01

To date, little empirical evidence exists to help regulators understand why some firms comply even when there is little financial incentive to do so and others continually violate environmental regulations. This paper examines data on compliance with environmental regulations within the manufacturing sector in Mexico. The probability of complying depends, among other factors, on the kind of management practices of the firm and the level of environmental training. Some firms in the manufacturi...

Environmental Survey preliminary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-04-01

This report presents the preliminary findings from the first phase of the Environmental Survey of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Sandia National Laboratories conducted August 17 through September 4, 1987. The objective of the Survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with Sandia National Laboratories-Albuquerque (SNLA). The Survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. This phase of the Survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at SNLA, and interviews with site personnel. 85 refs., 49 figs., 48 tabs.

Brain matters: from environmental ethics to environmental neuroethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cabrera, Laura Y; Tesluk, Jordan; Chakraborti, Michelle; Matthews, Ralph; Illes, Judy

2016-02-15

The ways in which humans affect and are affected by their environments have been studied from many different perspectives over the past decades. However, it was not until the 1970s that the discussion of the ethical relationship between humankind and the environment formalized as an academic discipline with the emergence of environmental ethics. A few decades later, environmental health emerged as a discipline focused on the assessment and regulation of environmental factors that affect living beings. Our goal here is to begin a discussion specifically about the impact of modern environmental change on biomedical and social understandings of brain and mental health, and to align this with ethical considerations. We refer to this focus as Environmental Neuroethics, offer a case study to illustrate key themes and issues, and conclude by offering a five-tier framework as a starting point of analysis.

Problematic of mining environmental liabilities in Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arango Aramburo, Marcela; Olaya, Yris

2012-01-01

Mining environmental liabilities (PAM from its acronym in Spanish) are areas where there is a need for restoration, mitigation or compensation for environmental damage or unmanaged impact, produced by inactive or abandoned mining that threatens health, quality of life or public or private property. In Colombia the environmental liabilities from mining have not been regulated, but given the age and the prevalence of informality in mining, there is increasing interest in defining, regulating and managing these obligations. In this paper we approach the problem of valuing mining environmental liabilities by examining different management approaches for such liabilities around the world. We also identify key information requirements to manage mining environmental liabilities in Colombia.

15 CFR 971.406 - Environmental effects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Environmental effects. 971.406 Section... ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL RECOVERY PERMITS Issuance/Transfer....406 Environmental effects. Before issuing or transferring a commercial recovery permit, the...

39 CFR 775.8 - Environmental evaluation guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Environmental evaluation guidelines. 775.8 Section 775.8 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT PROCEDURES § 775.8 Environmental evaluation guidelines. (a) Approach. When dealing with...

2014 Site Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paquette, Douglas [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Remien, Jason [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Foley, Brian [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Burke, John [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Dorsch, William [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Ratel, Karen [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Howe, Robert [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Welty, Tim [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Williams, Jeffrey [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Pohlpt, Peter [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lagattolla, Richard [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Metz, Robert [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Milligan, James [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lettieri, Lawrence [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2015-10-01

BNL prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting. The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of the Laboratory’s environmental performance during the calendar year in review.

Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, Ted M.; Hanf, Robert W.; Dirkes, Roger L.; Morasch, Launa F.

2004-09-01

This report is published each year by DOE to summarize environmental data and information, describe environmental management performance, demonstrate the status of compliance with environmental regulations, and highlight major environmental programs and efforts.

Pesticide use in the wheat-maize double cropping systems of the North China Plain: Assessment, field study, and implications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brauns, Bentje; Jakobsen, Rasmus; Song, Xianfang

2018-01-01

In the North China Plain (NCP), rising inputs of pesticides have intensified the environmental impact of farming activities in recent decades by contributing to surface water and groundwater contamination. In response to this, the Chinese government imposed stricter regulations on pesticide...... contamination by pesticides in the NCP are reviewed and assessed. Additionally, a small-scale field study was performed to determine if residuals from currently-used pesticides in the NCP can be detected in surface water, and in connected shallow groundwater. The contaminants of interest were commonly used...... studies focus on organic chlorinated pesticides (OCPs) like the isomers of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), which were banned in China in 1983. However, currently-used herbicides like 2,4-D and atrazine were detected in river water and groundwater in all samplings...

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Environmental Monitoring Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westinghouse Electric Company Waste Isolation Division

1999-01-01

DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program Requirements (DOE, 1990a), requires each DOE facility to prepare an EMP. This document is prepared for WIPP in accordance with the guidance contained in DOE Order 5400.1; DOE Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the Public and Environment (DOE, 1990b); Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance (DOE/EH-0173T; DOE, 1991); and the Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 834, Radiation Protection of the Public and Environment (Draft). Many sections of DOE Order 5400.1 have been replaced by DOE Order 231.1 (DOE, 1995), which is the driver for the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and the guidance source for preparing many environmental program documents. The WIPP project is operated by Westinghouse Electric Company, Waste Isolation Division (WID), for the DOE. This plan defines the extent and scope of the WIPP's effluent and environmental monitoring programs during the facility's operational life and also discusses the WIPP's quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program as it relates to environmental monitoring. In addition, this plan provides a comprehensive description of environmental activities at WIPP including: A summary of environmental programs, including the status of environmental monitoring activities A description of the WIPP project and its mission A description of the local environment, including demographics An overview of the methodology used to assess radiological consequences to the public, including brief discussions of potential exposure pathways, routine and accidental releases, and their consequences Responses to the requirements described in the Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance (DOE, 1991). This document references DOE orders and other federal and state regulations affecting environmental monitoring programs at the site. WIPP procedures, which implement

7 CFR 1948.62 - Environmental impact requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Environmental impact requirements. 1948.62 Section... Development Assistance Program § 1948.62 Environmental impact requirements. (a) The policies and regulations... studied for environmental impacts. (c) Boundaries shall define the area within which the environmental...

Environmental change challenges decision-making during post-market environmental monitoring of transgenic crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanvido, Olivier; Romeis, Jörg; Bigler, Franz

2011-12-01

The ability to decide what kind of environmental changes observed during post-market environmental monitoring of genetically modified (GM) crops represent environmental harm is an essential part of most legal frameworks regulating the commercial release of GM crops into the environment. Among others, such decisions are necessary to initiate remedial measures or to sustain claims of redress linked to environmental liability. Given that consensus on criteria to evaluate 'environmental harm' has not yet been found, there are a number of challenges for risk managers when interpreting GM crop monitoring data for environmental decision-making. In the present paper, we argue that the challenges in decision-making have four main causes. The first three causes relate to scientific data collection and analysis, which have methodological limits. The forth cause concerns scientific data evaluation, which is controversial among the different stakeholders involved in the debate on potential impacts of GM crops on the environment. This results in controversy how the effects of GM crops should be valued and what constitutes environmental harm. This controversy may influence decision-making about triggering corrective actions by regulators. We analyse all four challenges and propose potential strategies for addressing them. We conclude that environmental monitoring has its limits in reducing uncertainties remaining from the environmental risk assessment prior to market approval. We argue that remaining uncertainties related to adverse environmental effects of GM crops would probably be assessed in a more efficient and rigorous way during pre-market risk assessment. Risk managers should acknowledge the limits of environmental monitoring programmes as a tool for decision-making.

Procedure manual: protocol for regulation of petroleum hydrocarbons in water under the special waste and contaminated sites regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, P.; Partridge, E.

2002-05-01

This document details the regulation governing numerical standards for petroleum hydrocarbons in water under the special waste and contaminated sites regulations of British Columbia. Groundwater containing benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene or xylenes in excess of the leachate standards is exempted from the regulatory regime of the Special Waste Regulation. The document contains a description of the conditions that apply to the management of petroleum hydrocarbons in water at contaminated sites. Some definitions are included, followed by an overview of the regulation. The third section deals with authorization and mandatory conditions, while additional requirements that might apply are enumerated in section four. This protocol directly affects the Environmental Management, and the Environmental Protection Regional Operations organizations. 1 tab

Maritime environmental penal law. International and German legislation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eller, Jan Frederik

2017-01-01

The book on maritime environmental penal law discusses the following issues: part I: introduction into the importance of oceanic environment and its thread, requirement of protective measures,; part II: focus of the study and terminology: oceanic pollution, maritime environmental legislation, international legislation; part 3: international legislative regulations concerning the protection of maritime environment: avoidance of environmental pollution, maritime legislative agreements, existing protective institutions; part 4: state penal power concerning maritime environmental protection; part 5: statutory offense according to German legislation; perspectives for regulations concerning criminal acts on sea.

Economic instruments for environmental mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, A.

1995-01-01

A joint International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)/World Energy Council (WEC) Working Group has been studying a range of policy instruments which are being used or considered for use to address the question of ever increasing energy demand versus environmental protection, and pollution reduction. Economic instruments for such environmental protection include direct regulation, market-based instruments, and voluntary approaches. No single policy or device was likely to suffice in addressing the diversity of environmental problems currently faced. Altering energy prices must be seen in a social context, but some direct regulation may also be inevitable. Generally economic instruments of change were preferred as these were viewed as more flexible and cost-effective. (UK)

Environmental regulations and emissions trading in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Y.-C.; Wang Nannan

2010-01-01

This paper begins with the international context concerning climate change and how China fits into this context. Concentration is then turning into the emissions control system in China including environmental planning, legislation, policy instruments and measures as well as institutional setting in China's environmental governance system. Special attentions also being paid to emissions control in China's power sector. It should be noted that the pollution discharge permit system in China only exists superficially in many places. Insufficient resources are applied to the implementation of the said permit system, which in turn means that the system is applied according to differing standards in different parts of the country. The findings of this paper suggested that emissions trading programmes are usually introduced alongside the existing policies. The power sector usually has numerous other policy objectives and therefore the design and implementation of emissions trading programmes in the sector will have to address concern about the compatibility of existing industry policies.

Factors affecting bank governance in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wan Masliza Wan Mohammad

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Since the financial crisis in year 1997, banks in Malaysia had undergone various issues and transformations, including stricter regulation on merger and acquisitions and greater enforcement of corporate governance. Besides that, the institutions had also gone through the transformation in terms of the risk assessment practice due to the stricter rulings under Basel II regulations. Taking into account of these changes, this study empirically examines the effects of corporate governance, risk and capital on the performance of banks in Malaysia. Based on 132 firm-year samples for the period of 2004-2009, study indicates a significant and negative relationship between bank risks and performance. It further reveals that the risk weighted capital (RRWC improves bank performance. However none of the corporate governance variables have any associations with banks performance. The detail explanations of the findings along with the suggestions for future research are provided in the full text of the reports

Global Environmental Governance as a Regulatory and Guarantee Criterion for Environmental Justice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Schmitt Siqueira Garcia

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the theme of Global Environmental Governance to the achievement of Environmental Justice, presenting as general objective to analyze the importance of the first in its public, business and civil society spheres for the regulation and guarantee of the second. Noting up at the end that the Environmental Justice, as a common humanitarian problem, presents itself as the main objective of Global Environmental Governance. In the methodology was adopted the inductive method, having been applied the techniques of the referent, category, operational concepts, bibliographical research and file.

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS IN U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY DECISIONS

OpenAIRE

Easter, K. William; Archibald, Sandra O.

1998-01-01

As the number and cost of environmental regulations have increased over the last thirty years, the regulated community, taxpayers, and policy makers have begun to demand that the benefits of regulations justify their costs. The use of benefit-cost analysis as an integral part of developing new regulations is increasing and the demands and expectations being placed on the method have expanded. Although benefit-cost analysis is expected to play an even greater role in environmental decision mak...

Use of electronic bulletin boards for environmental management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, A.; Rao, H.G.

1991-01-01

As a result of changes to existing environmental protection legislation, and the numerous changes to existing regulations that continually take place, environmental managers need updated information on federal mandated programs and regulation, approved and other mathematical models, control technologies, acceptable measurement techniques and continuing education courses. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing help to state and local air pollution control agencies, the regulated community, consultants and the general public through electronic bulletin boards. Each bulletin board (BB) uses data base management system and communication technology to provide access to information on several specific topics of interest to the environmental manager. This review discusses nine bulletin board systems available to the public from the EPA. Several alternative bulletin board systems are also available and will be discussed in future columns

Environmental protection implementation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, R.C.

1998-03-01

This Environmental Protection Implementation Plan is intended to ensure that the environmental program objectives of Department of Energy Order 5400.1 are achieved at SNL/California. This document states SNL/California's commitment to conduct its operations in an environmentally safe and responsible manner. The Environmental Protection Implementation Plan helps management and staff comply with applicable environmental responsibilities. SNL is committed to operating in full compliance with the letter and spirit of applicable environmental laws, regulations, and standards. Furthermore, SNL/California strives to go beyond compliance with legal requirements by making every effort practical to reduce impacts to the environment to levels as low as reasonably achievable

Federal environmental inspections handbook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-10-01

This Federal Environmental Inspection Handbook has been prepared by the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Guidance, RCRA/CERCLA Division (EH-231). It is designed to provide DOE personnel with an easily accessible compilation of the environmental inspection requirements under Federal environmental statutes which may impact DOE operations and activities. DOE personnel are reminded that this Handbook is intended to be used in concert with, and not as a substitute for, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Federal Register (FR), and other applicable regulatory documents

Methodologies of environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroll, H.

1994-01-01

This article gives a brief introduction covering the objectives of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and sustainable development, before going on to describe the screening procedure to define the environmental and socio-economic impacts of projects. The EIA procedure outlined encompasses a description of the project, examination of all environmental effects (scoping), identification of existing and predicted environmental conditions and impacts, alternative measures and mitigating measures, co-ordination, with environmental regulations, public participation, and monitoring and approval of the EIA. (UK)

Nuclear safety and regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hho Jung

2000-03-01

This book contains 12 chapters, which are atom and radiation, nuclear reactor and kinds of nuclear power plant, safeguard actuation system and stability evaluation for rock foundation of nuclear power plant, nuclear safety and principle, safety analysis and classification of incident, probabilistic safety assessment and major incident, nuclear safety regulation, system of nuclear safety regulation, main function and subject of safety regulation in nuclear facilities, regulation of fuel cycle and a nuclear dump site, protection of radiation and, safety supervision and, safety supervision and measurement of environmental radioactivity.

Release monitoring and environmental surveillance of Cea centers. Assessment and regulation and method 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The quality of the natural environment around the centers of the Commissariat a l Energie Atomique is an important point of its safety policy. The environmental protection is based on the control of risks coming from research and development activities of its installations. It aims to reduce as low as possible, the impact of its activities on man and his environment. This publication develops the sampling and measurement methods that are made on effluents and in environment, according to the radionuclides characteristics, that are present. It gives also the regulation that applied to the effluents monitoring. The results of radioactive effluents releases (liquid and gaseous) and the surveillance of environment around cea centers is given in the 'Bilan 1999' publication. An analysis of these results on the 1995-1999 period allows to follow their evolution. (N.C.)

National Environmental Policy Act guidance: A model process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angle, B.M.; Lockhart, V.A.T.; Sema, B.; Tuott, L.C.; Irving, J.S.

1995-04-01

The ''Model National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process'' includes: References to regulations, guidance documents, and plans; training programs; procedures; and computer databases. Legislative Acts and reference documents from Congress, US Department of Energy, and Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company provide the bases for conducting NEPA at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company (LITCO) NEPA / Permitting Department, the Contractor Environmental Organization (CEO) is responsible for developing and maintaining LITCO NEPA and permitting policies, guidance, and procedures. The CEO develops procedures to conduct environmental evaluations based on NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, and DOE guidance. This procedure includes preparation or support of environmental checklists, categorical exclusion determinations, environmental assessment determinations, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. In addition, the CEO uses this information to train personnel conducting environmental evaluations at the INEL. Streamlining these procedures fosters efficient use of resources, quality documents, and better decisions on proposed actions

Stakeholder Pressures, Environmental Impact and Managerial Initiatives of SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

2015-01-01

impact was available in Denmark. Consequently, a longitudinal research project was initiated to enlighten the situation. This study investigates environmentally related initiatives taken in response to the perception of stakeholder pressures and the perceived corporate environmental impact. The empirical......Environmental sustainability has become an issue of uttermost importance for business organisations. Therefore, the implementation of corporate environmental initiatives has been vigorously embraced by industry. Two decades ago, no clear picture of industry initiatives to reduce their environmental...... popularity of self-regulation, voluntary initiatives do not tend to be widely adopted by SMEs, stressing a need for a continuing regulation of industry’s behaviour in relation to environmental issues....

Site Environmental Report for 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, R.C.

1999-01-01

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is committed to conducting its operations in an environmentally safe and sound manner. It is mandatory that activities at SNL/California comply with all applicable environmental statutes, regulations, and standards. Moreover, SNL/California continuously strives to reduce risks to employees, the public, and the environment to the lowest levels reasonably possible. To help verify effective protection of public safety and preservation of the environment, SNL/California maintains an extensive, ongoing environmental monitoring program. This program monitors all significant effluents and the environment at the SNL/California site perimeter. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) performs off-site external radiation monitoring for both sites. These monitoring efforts ensure that emission controls are effective in preventing contamination of the environment. As part of SNL/California's Environmental Monitoring Program, an environmental surveillance system measures the possible presence of hazardous materials in groundwater, stormwater, and sewage. The program also includes an extensive environmental dosimetry program, which measures external radiation levels around the Livermore site and nearby vicinity. Each year, the results of the Environmental Monitoring Program are published in this report, the Site Environmental Report. This executive summary focuses on impacts to the environment. Chapter 3, ''Compliance Summary,'' reviews the site's various environmental protection activities and compliance status with applicable environmental regulations. The effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance results for 1998 show that SNL/California operations had no harmful effects on the environment or the public

Site Environmental Report for 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holland, R.C.

1999-06-01

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is committed to conducting its operations in an environmentally safe and sound manner. It is mandatory that activities at SNL/California comply with all applicable environmental statutes, regulations, and standards. Moreover, SNL/California continuously strives to reduce risks to employees, the public, and the environment to the lowest levels reasonably possible. To help verify effective protection of public safety and preservation of the environment, SNL/California maintains an extensive, ongoing environmental monitoring program. This program monitors all significant effluents and the environment at the SNL/California site perimeter. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) performs off-site external radiation monitoring for both sites. These monitoring efforts ensure that emission controls are effective in preventing contamination of the environment. As part of SNL/California's Environmental Monitoring Program, an environmental surveillance system measures the possible presence of hazardous materials in groundwater, stormwater, and sewage. The program also includes an extensive environmental dosimetry program, which measures external radiation levels around the Livermore site and nearby vicinity. Each year, the results of the Environmental Monitoring Program are published in this report, the Site Environmental Report. This executive summary focuses on impacts to the environment. Chapter 3, ''Compliance Summary,'' reviews the site's various environmental protection activities and compliance status with applicable environmental regulations. The effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance results for 1998 show that SNL/California operations had no harmful effects on the environment or the public.

2007 Site Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratel,K.

2008-10-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy. The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of the Laboratory's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. Volume I of the SER summarizes environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and performance in restoration and surveillance monitoring programs. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. Volume II of the SER, the Groundwater Status Report, also is prepared annually to report on the status of and evaluate the performance of groundwater treatment systems at the Laboratory. Volume II includes detailed technical summaries of groundwater data and its interpretation, and is intended for internal BNL users, regulators, and other technically oriented stakeholders. A brief summary of the information contained in Volume II is included in this volume in Chapter 7, Groundwater Protection. Both reports are available in print and as downloadable files on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/ser/. An electronic version on compact disc is distributed with each printed report. In addition, a summary of Volume I is prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a compact disc containing the-length report.

Company environmental communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andriola, L.; Luciani, R.; Borghini, S.

2001-01-01

Environmental communication is becoming a sine qua non for companies which are more and more pressed by the need to reinforce communication with interested parties: environmental groups, local communities, local and national authorities, employees, share-holders, banks, insurance companies, customers and consumers. Reliable environmental information, just like economical and property data, is now required during both company take-over and financing, and in some cases it can affect insurance premiums. In fact, environmental guarantees are more and more often required because breaching environmental regulations can entail legal sanctions going as far as suspension of business. There now also Green investment funds that engage their resources only against specific environmental guarantees on the part of the companies that, before being selected for the investment, are submitted to rather accurate questionnaires by the investment manager [it

Environmental requirements for oil and gas operations in Saskatchewan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nystuen, L.J.

1997-01-01

The administration and regulation of environmental issues regarding the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan were discussed. The political and cultural differences in Saskatchewan that make environmental processes distinct from its neighbouring jurisdictions were described. The following Saskatchewan legislation deals with environmental requirements: Environmental Management and Protection Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Oil and Gas Conservation Act, Wildlife Habitat Protection Act, Clean Air Act, Planning and Development Act, Forest Act, Water Corporation Act, Heritage Property Act, and Parks Act. The Saskatchewan Department of Energy and Mines (SEM) is the primary regulator of the upstream oil and gas industry. It regulates the construction, operation, reporting and abandonment requirements for oilfield operations. SEM also manages crude oil prior to refining and manages the wastes contaminated with crude oil. Provisions of the relevant Acts regarding drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, flaring requirements, transporting and disposing of oilfield wastes, road-building, operating restrictions, emergency response plans, spill clean-up responsibilities, well abandonment and site reclamation responsibilities were discussed. 8 refs., 2 tabs

A top-down methodology to calculate the CO2-footprint for terminal operations; the 6-step approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H. Geerlings (Harry); J.H.R. van Duin (Ron); T.R. van Rossum (Tiuri); R. Heij (Robert)

2014-01-01

markdownabstractThere is an increasing need for green and effective operations at terminals and in port due to existing and upcoming stricter air quality standards and regulations. At the same time there is an increasing awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption of ports and terminals and

Alcohol in the Media and Young People : What Do We Need for Liberal Policy-making?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bruin, Boudewijn

2014-01-01

There is evidence to the effect that exposing children to alcohol consumption in the media increases the chances that they will consume alcohol as minors or as adults, and since alcohol consumption is associated with numerous public health issues, calls for stricter regulation can be heard from many

GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Science.gov (United States)

The US Environmental Protection Agency helps state and local governments protect the environment by encouraging good environmental management and by regulating human activities to ensure clean air and water. At the Corvallis research laboratory for the EPA, we improve the ways t...

Correlates of University Students’ Soft and Energy Drink Consumption According to Gender and Residency

Science.gov (United States)

Deliens, Tom; Clarys, Peter; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte

2015-01-01

This study assessed personal and environmental correlates of Belgian university students’ soft and energy drink consumption and investigated whether these associations were moderated by gender or residency. Four hundred twenty-five university students completed a self-reported on-line questionnaire assessing socio-demographics, health status, soft and energy drink consumption, as well as personal and environmental factors related to soft and energy drink consumption. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Students believing soft drink intake should be minimized (individual subjective norm), finding it less difficult to avoid soft drinks (perceived behavioral control), being convinced they could avoid soft drinks in different situations (self-efficacy), having family and friends who rarely consume soft drinks (modelling), and having stricter family rules about soft drink intake were less likely to consume soft drinks. Students showing stronger behavioral control, having stricter family rules about energy drink intake, and reporting lower energy drink availability were less likely to consume energy drinks. Gender and residency moderated several associations between psychosocial constructs and consumption. Future research should investigate whether interventions focusing on the above personal and environmental correlates can indeed improve university students’ beverage choices. PMID:26258790

The regulation of the EC on the environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cupei, J.

1985-01-01

In March 1985, the Council of Ministers of the European Communities agreed on a draft directive for an environmental impact assessment. Preparations and difficult negotiations lasted for nearly ten years. An important step was the draft of the Commission of 1980. Besides the history of the draft topics of discussion are the following: Scope of the directive, procedural problems of the environmental impact assessment, phases of the investigation, content and scope of the assessment, periodical control of the installation and its environmental effects, problems of communication. (DR)

Impact of environmental regulations on control of copper ion concentration in the DIII-D cooling water system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gootgeld, A.M.

1993-10-01

Tokamaks and industrial users are faced with the task of maintaining closed-loop, low conductivity, low impurity, cooling water systems. Operating these systems concentrates the impurities in the water requiring subsequent disposal. Environmental regulations are making this increasingly difficult. This paper will discuss the solution to the problem of removing and disposing of copper ions in the DIII-D low conductivity water system. Since the commissioning of the Doublet facility, the quality of the water in the 3000 gpm system that cools the DIII-D vacuum vessel coils, power supplies and auxiliary heating components has been controlled with mixed-bed ion exchangers. Low ion levels, particularly copper, are required to operate this equipment. In early 1992, the company that leases and regenerates DIII-D ion exchangers said they no longer can accept these resin beds for regeneration due to the level of copper ion on the resin. This change in policy, a change that has been adopted throughout their industry, was necessary to assure that the Metropolitan Sewerage System of the City of San Diego stays in compliance with State of California regulations and EPA-mandated national pretreatment standards and regulations. A cost effective solution was implemented which utilizes a reverse osmosis filtration system with the ion exchangers for make-up water. Levels of copper ion disposed to the sewer are in compliance with government standards. These measures have thus far proved effective in maintaining low conductivity and overall good quality cooling water. Specifically, this paper discusses DIII-D deionized cooling water quality requirements and an affective means to meet these requirements in order to be in compliance with government regulations for copper ion disposal. The problems discussed, the alternatives considered and the approach taken would be readily applicable to any deionized cooling water system containing copper where EPA standards and regulations are mandated

Environmental concerns of deforestation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, A.

1995-01-01

The loss of forests as a result of deforestation is a serious problem in Pakistan as well as in other developing world. The forests play important role in environmental protection through soil conservation, regulation of hydrological cycles and micro climate amelioration. At the global scale, forests act as carbon sinks, maintain biodiversity and regulate climate, especially in the context of greenhouse effect. The deforestation should be countered through enforcement of strict laws and elaborating environmental role of forests through media and local councils. Various economic analysis indicate that tropical forests have greater overall benefits if left intact, rather than destroying them for timber. (author)

Considerations Regarding the Environmental Responsibility and Taxation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian-Marcel Nuta

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The public policy tool of taxation may generate discouraging effects upon the economicagents – consumers or producers – but also could beused as incentives. High environmental taxationcould generate crowding effect in terms of responsibility. Sometimes a very sophisticated system ofenvironmental taxation is the basis for a highly regulated business environment and conformity butwith a lack of real responsible citizenship. We aretrying to see if the impact of taxation uponresponsibility is real and can affect the motivation for environmental responsible citizenship. Themain findings are related to the impact of regulating power of environmental taxes. Also there isevident the interest of entrepreneurs in environmentally responsible behavior and the less informationabout the benefits of responsible citizenship.

Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2002

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, Ted M.; Hanf, Robert W.; Dirkes, Roger L.; Morasch, Launa F.

2003-09-01

This report is prepared annually to satisfy the requirements of DOE Orders. The report provides an overview of activities at the Hanford Site during 2002 and demonstrates the site's compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws, regulations, executive orders, and DOE policies; and to summarize environmental data that characterize Hanford Site environmental management performance. The purpose of the report is to provide useful summary information to members of the public, public officials, regulators, Hanford contractors, and elected representatives.

Users’ corporate environmental information needs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Nasiema Kamala

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Most listed South African companies appear to have embarked on environmental reporting without enquiring what the users’ needs are. If users’ needs are not determined prior to reporting, it is unlikely that the resulting reports will meet those needs. Using a questionnaire, this study investigated the environmental information needs of South African users of environmental reports. The study was deemed necessary to unveil users’ preferences which, if incorporated in reports, could enhance their perceived decisionusefulness, thus increasing readership. The results of the survey revealed that users need balanced environmental information that identifies and describes key, relevant issues and that is both specific and accurate. In addition, users need future-oriented information that identifies and addresses key stakeholders’ concerns, and which demonstrates the integration of environmental issues into core business processes. Furthermore the information should be summarised in an integrated annual report and posted on a company’s website. Based on its findings, this study recommends that standard setters and regulators should recognise that both financial and non-financial users need decision-useful environmental reports. Disclosure standards and regulations should therefore be amended to accommodate this reality.

2010 Site Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratel, K.; Lee, R; Remien, J; Hooda, B; Green, T; Williams, J; Pohlot, P; Dorsch, W; Paquette, D; Burke, J

2011-10-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) prepares an annual Site Environmental Report (SER) in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy. The report is written to inform the public, regulators, employees, and other stakeholders of the Laboratory's environmental performance during the calendar year in review. Volume I of the SER summarizes environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; and performance in restoration and surveillance monitoring programs. BNL has prepared annual SERs since 1971 and has documented nearly all of its environmental history since the Laboratory's inception in 1947. Volume II of the SER, the Groundwater Status Report, also is prepared annually to report on the status of and evaluate the performance of groundwater treatment systems at the Laboratory. Volume II includes detailed technical summaries of groundwater data and its interpretation, and is intended for internal BNL users, regulators, and other technically oriented stakeholders. A brief summary of the information contained in Volume II is included in Chapter 7, Groundwater Protection, of this volume. Both reports are available in print and as downloadable files on the BNL web page at http://www.bnl.gov/ewms/ser/. An electronic version on compact disc is distributed with each printed report. In addition, a summary of Volume I is prepared each year to provide a general overview of the report, and is distributed with a compact disc containing the full report. BNL is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), a partnership formed by Stony Brook University and Battelle Memorial Institute. For more than 60 years, the Laboratory has played a lead role in the DOE Science and Technology mission and continues to contribute to the DOE missions in energy resources, environmental quality, and

Surface Environmental Surveillance Procedures Manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

RW Hanf; TM Poston

2000-09-20

Environmental surveillance data are used in assessing the impact of current and past site operations on human health and the environment, demonstrating compliance with applicable local, state, and federal environmental regulations, and verifying the adequacy of containment and effluent controls. SESP sampling schedules are reviewed, revised, and published each calendar year in the Hanford Site Environmental Surveillance Master Sampling Schedule. Environmental samples are collected by SESP staff in accordance with the approved sample collection procedures documented in this manual.

Regulating the 1918-19 pandemic: flu, stoicism and the Northcliffe press.

Science.gov (United States)

Honigsbaum, Mark

2013-04-01

Social historians have argued that the reason the 1918–19 ‘Spanish’ influenza left so few traces in public memory is that it was ‘overshadowed’ by the First World War, hence its historiographical characterisation as the ‘forgotten’ pandemic. This paper argues that such an approach tends to overlook the crucial role played by wartime propaganda. Instead, I put emotion words, emotives and metaphors at the heart of my analysis in an attempt to understand the interplay between propaganda and biopolitical discourses that aimed to regulate civilian responses to the pandemic. Drawing on the letters of Wilfred Owen, the diaries of the cultural historian Caroline Playne and the reporting in the Northcliffe press, I argue that the stoicism exhibited by Owen and amplified in the columns of The Times and the Daily Mail is best viewed as a performance, an emotional style that reflected the politicisation of ‘dread’ in war as an emotion with the potential to undermine civilian morale. This was especially the case during the final year of the conflict when war-weariness set in, leading to the stricter policing of negative emotions. As a protean disease that could present as alternately benign and plague-like, the Spanish flu both drew on these discourses and subverted them, disrupting medical efforts to use the dread of foreign pathogens as an instrument of biopower. The result was that, as dread increasingly became attached to influenza, it destabilised medical attempts to regulate the civilian response to the pandemic, undermining Owen’s and the Northcliffe press’s emotives of stoicism.

Summary of the Hanford Site environmental report for calendar year 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)