Steeling the race: ‘Green steel’ as the new clean material in the automotive sector

This paper aims to examine consumer behaviour towards, and the willingness to adopt, ‘green steel’ in the automotive sector. Semi-structured interviews were held with experts from global, regional and country-specific industry associations and automakers. This paper appraises potential demand for green steel within different vehicle types (based both on size and powertrain) and shows that manufacturers of electric heavy-duty vehicles are most likely to be the first adopters of green steel. A case for green advanced higher-strength steels (AHSS) can also be made in light-duty passenger vehicles, which may mitigate competition from alternative lightweight materials in terms of cost and greenness (depending on source and utilization regions). This work emphasizes a need to revisit current CO2 performance regulations, engage in educational green marketing campaigns, and explore innovative market-based mechanisms to bridge the gap between relatively-low carbon abatement costs of steelmaking and high abatement costs of vehicle manufacturing

Elevated arsenic exposure and efficient arsenic metabolism in indigenous women around Lake Popo Bolivia

Elevated concentrations of inorganic arsenic, one of the most potent environmental toxicants and carcinogens, have been detected in well water around Lake Poopo, Bolivia This study aimed to assess human exposure to arsenic in villages around Lake Poopo and also to elucidate whether the metabolism and detoxification of arsenic in this population is as efficient as previously indicated in other Andean areas. We recruited 201 women from 10 villages around Lake Poopo. Arsenic exposure was determined as the sum concentration of arsenic metabolites (inorganic arsenic; monomethylarsonic acid, MMA; and dimethylarsinic acid, DMA) in urine (U-As), measured by HPLC-HG-ICP-MS. Efficiency of arsenic metabolism was assessed by the relative fractions of the urinary metabolites. The women had a wide variation in U-As (range 12-407 ug/L, median 65 mu g/L) and a markedly efficient metabolism of arsenic with low %MMA (median 7.7%, range: 2.2-18%) and high %DMA (80%, range: 54-91%) in urine. In multivariable-adjusted linear regression models, ethnicity (Aymara-Quechua vs. Uru), body weight, fish consumption and tobacco smoking were associated with urinary arsenic metabolite fractions. On average, the Uru women had 2.5 lower % (percentage unit) iAs, 22 lower %MMA and 4.7 higher %DMA compared with the Aymara-Quechua women. Our study identified several factors that may predict these women's arsenic methylation capacity, particularly ethnicity. Further studies should focus on mechanisms underlying these differences in arsenic metabolism efficiency, and its importance for the risk of arsenic-related health effects

Environmental Disclosure

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