A software tool for monitoring legal minimum lenght of landings: Case study of a fishery in sourthern Spain

Herramienta de interés para el control y la gestión de pesqueríasThe regulation of minimum legal size(MLS) of catches is a tool widely applied in the management of fisheries resources, although the MLS does not always coincide with the length at first maturit(LFM). The optimization of this management tool requires a series of quality control in fish markets and transportation. A software application has been developed to make the control of the landings of several target species easier and faster. In order to test and make this tool operational,six species of commercial interest were selected: four species of fish hand two species of bivalves. It is proposed to estimate the proportion of illegal specimens in the studied lot from the proportion of illegal individuals found in the samples taken from this lot.The input data for the application are the minimum legal size(MLS) of the species and the total length(TL)of each specimen sampled. The out put data is a statistical summary of the percentage of specimens of size less than the legal minimum(TL<=MLS)within different confidence intervals(90%,95% and 99%). The software developed will serve as a fast,efficient and easy to manage tool that allows inspectors to determine the degree of compliance on MLS control and to make a decision supported by statistical proof on fishing goods

Design, setup and routine operation of a water treatment system for the monitoring of low activities of tritium in water

In the TRITIUM project, an on-site monitoring system is being developed to measure tritium (H) levels in water near nuclear power plants. The quite low-energy betas emitted by H have a very short average path in water (5 μm as shown by simulations for 18 keV electrons). This path would be further reduced by impurities present in the water, resulting in a significant reduction of the detection efficiency. Therefore, one of the essential requirements of the project is the elimination of these impurities through a filtration process and the removal of salts in solution. This paper describes a water treatment system developed for the project that meets the following requirements: the water produced should be of near-pure water quality according to ISO 3696 grade 3 standard (conductivity < 10 μS/cm); the system should operate autonomously and be remotely monitored.This work was supported by the INTERREG-SUDOE EEC program through the project TRITIUM e SOE1/P4/E0214 entitled: “Dise~no, construccition y puesta a punto de estaciones automaticas para el monitoraje en tiempo real de bajos niveles radiactivos de tritio en aguas

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Transfer of radionuclides and stable elements to foodstuffs in Mediterranean ecosystems

Adequate radiological protection requires the quantification of radionuclide transfer to the human food chain, which is essential for the estimation of ingestion doses. Transfer parameters are key inputs for the development of radioecological models and decision support systems. There are many literature compilations of these parameters, however, most of values were calculated in temperate climates, and data for Mediterranean ecosystems are scarce. In this study, transfer factors to foodstuffs collected in Mediterranean ecosystems, in Spain, were compared to reported values for temperate climate. Foodstuff included cereals, meat (beef, lamb and pork), dairy products (milk, cheese yogurt, and kefir), and also typical products of Mediterranean diet, such as olives, olive oil, grapes and wine. Radioactive (137Cs, 226,228Ra and 40 K) and stable elements (Cs, Sr, K, Na, Ca, Mg, P, Pb, U and Th) were measured to enable the calculation of transfer factors. As a consequence, data for transfer factors in Mediterranean systems were increased by about 120 and 200 values for plant and animal products, respectively. Due to the low level radiocaesium concentration in Spanish ecosystems, transfer factors for this radioisotope were largely ‘less than’ values. Therefore, stable Cs and Sr transfer factors were used as proxy for comparison with temperate values

Geographical origin of dabbling ducks wintering in Iberia: sex differences and implications for pair formation

Natural and anthropogenic Iberian wetlands in southern Europe are well known for supporting large numbers of migratory Palaearctic waterbirds each winter. However, information on the geographical origin of dabbling ducks overwintering in these wetlands is scarce and mostly limited to data from ringing recoveries. Here, we used intrinsic isotopic markers to determine the geographical origin of male and female Northern Pintails Anas acuta and Eurasian Teal Anas crecca in Extremadura, inland Iberia, a key site for overwintering dabbling ducks. Additionally, we fitted six Northern Pintails with GPS-GSM tags to complement the data derived from stable isotope analysis. Most (> 70%) first calendar-year Northern Pintails were assigned to regions above 55°N, flying 2600–5600 km from their main natal regions to Extremadura. Mean values of d2Hf varied significantly between male and female Northern Pintails, suggesting that the sexes had different geographical origins. Data from tagged adult Northern Pintails supported the isotopic data, one male flying more than 5000 km to the coast of the Pechora Sea (Russia). Most (> 70%) first calendar-year Eurasian Teal were assigned to the region between 48° and 60°N, travelling 1500–4500 km to arrive in Extremadura. Male and female Eurasian Teal showed marginal differences in mean values of d2Hf. In migratory dabbling ducks, pairing typically occurs on the wintering grounds, and ducks in their first winter can breed the following spring. For Northern Pintails, pair formation in Extremadura could occur between individuals with different geographical origins, which could contribute to the genetic variability of their offsprin

Development of a real-time tritium-in-water monitor

In this paper, we report the development and performance of a detector module envisaging a tritium-in-water real-time activity monitor. The monitor is based on modular detection units whose number can be chosen according to the required sensitivity. The full system must achieve a Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) of 100 Bq/L of tritium-in-water activity which is the limit established by the E.U. Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom for water intended for human consumption. The first detector module was characterized, commissioned and installed immediately after the discharge channel of the Arrocampo dam (Almaraz nuclear power plant, Spain) on the Tagus river. Due to the high sensitivity of the single detection modules, the system requires radioactive background mitigation techniques through the use of active and passive shielding. We have extrapolated a MDA of 3.6 kBq/L for a single module being this value limited by the cosmic background. The obtained value for a single module is already compatible with a real-time pre-alert system for a nuclear power plant regarding tritium-in water environmental surveillance. Further optimization of the single-module sensitivity will imply the reduction of the number of modules and the cost of the detector system

Development of a real-time tritium-in-water monitor

In this paper, we report the development and performance of a detector module envisaging a tritium-in-water real-time activity monitor. The monitor is based on modular detection units whose number can be chosen according to the required sensitivity. The full system is being designed to achieve a Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) of 100 Bq/L of tritium-in-water activity which is the limit established by the E.U. Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom for water intended for human consumption. The same system can be used as a real-time pre-alert system for nuclear power plant regarding tritium-in water environmental surveillance. The first detector module was characterized, commissioned and installed immediately after the discharge channel of the Arrocampo dam (Almaraz nuclear power plant, Spain) on the Tagus river. Due to the high sensitivity of the single detection modules, the system requires radioactive background mitigation techniques through the use of active and passive shielding. We have extrapolated aMDA of 3.6 kBq/L for a single module being this value limited by the cosmic background. The obtained value for a single module is already compatible with a real-time environmental surveillance and pre-alert system. Further optimization of the single-module sensitivity will imply the reduction of the number of modules and the cost of the detector system

Development of a real-time tritium-in-water monitor

In this paper, we report the development and performance of a detector module envisaging a tritium-in-water real-time activity monitor. The monitor is based on modular detection units whose number can be chosen according to the required sensitivity. The full system must achieve a Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) of 100 Bq/L of tritium-in-water activity which is the limit established by the E.U. Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom for water intended for human consumption. The first detector module was characterized, commissioned and installed immediately after the discharge channel of the Arrocampo dam (Almaraz nuclear power plant, Spain) on the Tagus river. Due to the high sensitivity of the single detection modules, the system requires radioactive background mitigation techniques through the use of active and passive shielding. We have extrapolated a MDA of 3.6 kBq/L for a single module being this value limited by the cosmic background. The obtained value for a single module is already compatible with a real-time pre-alert system for a nuclear power plant regarding tritium-in water environmental surveillance. Further optimization of the single-module sensitivity will imply the reduction of the number of modules and the cost of the detector system