DISTRIBUTION OF HEAVY METALS CONCENTRATIONS IN SOILS AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL ATHENS AIRPORT (GREECE). AN ASSESSMENT ON PRELIMINARY DATA

Τα εδάφη, ως αποδέκτες της ατμοσφαιρικής απόθεσης μετάλλων, αποτελούν αξιόπιστους δείκτες ρύπανσης, ιδιαίτερα στις περιπτώσεις που εντοπίζονται πιθανές σημειακές πηγές ρύπανσης σε χερσαία οικοσυστήματα. Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν η εκτίμηση της κατανομής των συγκεντρώσεων του Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr και Ba σε εδάφη κοντά στο Διεθνές Αεροδρόμιο Αθηνών «Ελ. Βενιζέλος», στην Αττική. Σε 86 επιφανειακά δείγματα προσδιορίστηκαν οι ολικές συγκεντρώσεις μετάλλων, στο εκχύλισμα που προέκυψε μετά από κατεργασία με «aqua regia». Οι διάμεσες τιμές των συγκεντρώσεων του Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr και Ba ήταν 23, 81, 22x103 , 497, 87, 74, 75 και 423 mg kg-1 αντίστοιχα. Αν και οι διάμεσες τιμές δε θεωρούνται τόσο υψηλές, οι τιμές του ενενηκοστού εκατοστημόριου για ορισμένα μέταλλα θεωρούνται υψηλές, υποδεικνύοντας πιθανό εμπλουτισμό του εδάφους με τα μέταλλα αυτά. Επίσης, παρατηρήθηκε μια τάση για αυξημένες συγκεντρώσεις του Zn και Cr κατά μήκος του άξονα Βορράς-Νότος καθώς και του Pb, Cu και Ni στο βόρειο τμήμα της περιοχής που μελετήθηκε. Τα προκαταρκτικά αποτελέσματα που προέκυψαν, υποβλήθηκαν σε ανάλυση κατά συστάδες και σε αξιολόγηση των συντελεστών εμπλουτισμού των μετάλλων, ως μια πρώτη προσέγγιση του διαχωρισμού μεταξύ φυσικής και ανθρωπογενούς συνεισφοράς των μετάλλων στα εδάφη της περιοχής. Τόσο οι συντελεστές εμπλουτισμού όσο και η ανάλυση κατά συστάδες, υποδηλώνουν δευτερογενή συγκέντρωση των Pb, Cu και Zn στα εδάφη της υπό μελέτη περιοχής.Soils are receptors of atmospheric metal depositions and hence reliable indicators of pollution phenomena, especially for cases that potential site specific pollution sources are detected in terrestrial ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to assess the distribution of Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Ba concentrations in soils nearby the International Athens Airport “El. Venizelos”, in Attica, Greece. Total metal concentrations were determined in 86 topsoil aqua regia extracts and the median values for Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Ba concentrations were 23, 81, 22x103 , 497, 87, 74, 75, and 423 mg kg-1 respectively. Though median values are not considered as high, the 90th percentile concentration values for some metals are high, indicating possible soil enrichment by these metals. A tendency for increased concentrations of Zn and Cr along the north-south axis and of Pb, Cu and Ni at the northern part of the studied area was also observed. As a first approach to discriminate between natural and anthropogenic metal contributions in the soils of the area, the obtained preliminary data were subjected to cluster analysis and to the evaluation of metals Enrichment Factors (EFs). Both EF values and cluster analysis results suggested secondary Pb, Cu and Zn site specific accumulation in the soils of the studied area

Negligible impacts of early COVID-19 confinement on household carbon footprints in Japan

The rapid and extensive changes in household consumption patterns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can serve as a natural experiment for exploring the environmental outcomes of changing human behavior. Here, we assess the carbon footprint of household consumption in Japan during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (January–May 2020), which were characterized by moderate confinement measures. The associated lifestyle changes did not have a significant effect on the overall household carbon footprint compared with 2015–2019 levels. However, there were significant trade-offs between individual consumption categories such that the carbon footprint increased for some categories (e.g., eating at home) or declined (e.g., eating out, transportation, clothing, and entertainment) or remained relatively unchanged (e.g., housing) for others. Furthermore, carbon footprint patterns between age groups were largely consistent with 2015–2019 levels. However, changes in food-related carbon footprints were visible for all age groups since March and, in some cases, since February

Glossary of terms used in biochar research (IUPAC Technical Report).

Biochar is the solid carbonaceous product of biomass pyrolysis. The properties of biochar depend on the biomass feedstock as well as the pyrolysis temperature and time. Therefore, biochars with different properties and functionalities can be produced. Biochar research has been intensive in the past 15 years, focusing mainly on soil applications, wastewater treatment, and contaminant remediation. However, a formal definition of biochar and related terms is missing, which hinders the standardization of scientific results worldwide and the scaling-up of research at the industrial level. Furthermore, an official terminology may promote the development of a harmonized legal framework for biochar production and applications, both at regional and national levels. This glossary of terms consists of 178 scientifically sound definitions of the most commonly used terms in biochar research. The definitions of this glossary are interconnected, allowing the reader to further explore the synergies between terms. The distribution of terms reflects the multidisciplinarity of biochar research: chemistry, material science and engineering, and soil science are the main disciplines represented here. The list of terms is by no means exhaustive and the strategic objective of this effort is to develop a dynamic document in which more terms will be added in the future, and the existing ones will be refined, as biochar research evolves.On-line first

Monthly direct and indirect greenhouse gases emissions from household consumption in the major Japanese cities

Urban household consumption contributes substantially to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. Urban household emissions encompass both direct and indirect emissions, with the former associated with the direct use of fossil fuels and the latter with the emissions embodied in the consumed goods and services. However, there is a lack of consistent and comprehensive datasets outlining in great detail emissions from urban household consumption. To bridge this data gap, we construct an emission inventory of urban household emissions for 52 major cities in Japan that covers around 500 emission categories. The dataset spans from January 2011 to December 2015 and contains 12,384 data records for direct emissions and 1,543,128 records for indirect emissions. Direct emission intensity is provided in g-CO2/JPY to facilitate both future studies of household emission in Japan, as well as act as a reference for the development of detailed household emission inventories in other countries

Sustainability appraisal: Jack of all trades, master of none?

Sustainable development is a commonly quoted goal for decision making and supports a large number of other discourses. Sustainability appraisal has a stated goal of supporting decision making for sustainable development. We suggest that the inherent flexibility of sustainability appraisal facilitates outcomes that often do not adhere to the three goals enshrined in most definitions of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental protection and enhancement, and the wellbeing of the human population. Current practice is for sustainable development to be disenfranchised through the interpretation of sustainability, whereby the best alternative is good enough even when unsustainable. Practitioners must carefully and transparently review the frameworks applied during sustainability appraisal to ensure that outcomes will meet the three goals, rather than focusing on a discourse that emphasises one or more goals at the expense of the other(s)

Sustainable food systems-a health perspective.

Malnutrition in all forms, ranging from undernourishment to obesity and associated diet-related diseases, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, while food systems often have major environmental impacts. Rapid global population growth and increases in demands for food and changes in dietary habits create challenges to provide universal access to healthy food without creating negative environmental, economic, and social impacts. This article discusses opportunities for and challenges to sustainable food systems from a human health perspective by making the case for avoiding the transition to unhealthy less sustainable diets (using India as an exemplar), reducing food waste by changing consumer behaviour (with examples from Japan), and using innovations and new technologies to reduce the environmental impact of healthy food production. The article touches upon two of the challenges to achieving healthy sustainable diets for a global population, i.e., reduction on the yield and nutritional quality of crops (in particular vegetables and fruits) due to climate change; and trade-offs between food production and industrial crops. There is an urgent need to develop and implement policies and practices that provide universal access to healthy food choices for a growing world population, whilst reducing the environmental footprint of the global food system

Effects of treated wastewater irrigation on the establishment of young grapevines

Irrigation with treated wastewater could produce excessive accumulations within the plant and soil, negatively affecting the yield and production quality. In addition, the presence of biological and chemical contaminants could harm the agricultural environment, as well as the health of farmers and consumers. During this work, the suitability of secondary and tertiary treated wastewater for use in young grapevines was evaluated by studying the effect of the wastewater irrigation on the soil-plant system, crop yield, fruit quality and the presence of inorganic chemical contamination (salts, elements and heavy metals), organic chemical contamination (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and microbial contamination (E. coli, total coliforms). The results show that tertiary treated wastewater had positive impact on plant growth and yield while secondary treated wastewater had negative impact on fruit safety in comparison with tap water. Sodium levels in soils irrigated with treated wastewater increased at the end of the irrigation period while decreased during the wet season. The total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in the soils ranged from 363 μg/kg to 374 μg/kg at the end of the experiment for all irrigation treatments applied. The use of tertiary treated wastewater was recommended for the irrigation of young grapevines as an alternative water source secured protection of environment, plant health and fruit quality