Governing shipping externalities : Baltic ports in the process of SOx emission reduction

This paper analyses the debate which has unfolded in the Baltic Sea Region regarding the reduction of sulphur content in vessel fuels, in order to illustrate how tightening environmental regulation challenges traditional forms of maritime governance. Using an interactive governance approach, this study reconstructs the process of sulphur emission reduction as a complex multi-stakeholder interaction in multiple contexts. The empirical investigation has drawn on documentary material from around the Baltic region, including Russia, and has applied the method of qualitative content analysis. The empirical study focuses on two interlinked questions: (1) How sulphur emission reduction policies are being anticipated by maritime industry, in particular by Baltic ports and (2) How port adaptation strategies are tied into Baltic local and energy contexts. Addressing these questions highlights the role of polycentricity in shipping governance and explains how the same universal international regulations can produce varying patterns of governance. The paper concludes that policy-making shall take an account of the fact that the globalized shipping industry is nevertheless locally and sectorally embedded.Peer reviewe

It is possible that our electronic equipment generates a risk in the health and environment in other parts of the world? Guiyu (China) recycle site case study

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A Revision of Current Models for Environmental and Human Health Impact and Risk Assessment for Application to Emerging Chemicals

Nowadays, we are living in the global circular economy, where products are produced, used and finally disposal in different parts of the world. These products have a huge amount of additives, that in many cases can be hazardous if there are not treated properly. The risk assessment of human health and the environment due to exposure to chemical additives is necessary. In this chapter the risk assessment is briefly introduced. Risk assessment is di-vided in four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure as-sessment, and risk characterisation. This chapter also highlights five risk and life cycle impact assessment models (EUSES, USEtox, GLOBOX, SADA, and MAFRAM) that allows for assessment of risks to human health and the environ-ment. In addition other 12 models were appointed. Finally, in the last section of this chapter, there is a compilation of useful data sources for risk assessment. The data source selection is essential to obtain high quality data. This source selection is divided in two parts. First, 6 frequently databases used for physicochemical and/or toxicological properties (TOXNET, eChemPortal, ATDSR, CPDB, IUCLID and ECOTOX) are presented. Second, 6 estimation data tools are pointed. The estimation tools are useful when it is not possible to find data parameters to assess the risk, for example, in the case of emerging pollutants or new substances. In conclusion, there is no risk assessment model better than another. All mod-els have their strengths and weaknesses. Many of them are focused on one particular aspect such as a single environmental compartment or in a kind of pollutant. It is important to remark that the selection of the data source is essential to obtain a quality results

Global E-waste trade impact in China

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Application of the multimedia environmental model QWASI for assessing the auatic risk in an area of informal e-waste recycling

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Tracking Global Flows of E-Waste Additives by Using Substance Flow Analysis, with a Case Study in China

The stream of obsolete electric and electronic devices is constantly growing. According to an estimation of Zoeteman et al. [1], this increase ranges from 3 to 5 % each year and it is suspected to add up to a volume of 20 to50 million tons of obsolete appliances every year [2]. A large amount of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is shipped overseas to China, India and Western Africa for recycling. The often practiced \u201cinformal recycling\u201d, done in many cases without proper equipment (e.g. for metal extraction) and labor safety, heavily affects the environment and human health not only of workers but of the inhabitants of whole stretches of land. China is the first importer of e-waste around the world. Scarcity of available data on global e-waste flows makes it difficult to establish the total amount of e-waste that arrives in China. It is important to remember that this flow of E-waste it is not just a flow of electronic devices but also a flow of the harmful substances contained in these elements like endocrine disruptors, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), etc. At the same time, with the informal recycling of the E-waste that occurs in countries like China, different pollutants can be released to the environmental compartments. This presentation shows the e-waste flow to and in China as calculated by a substance flow analysis (SFA) includeing the following steps: a) Identification of global transportation routes b) Research on the composition of typical e-waste exports with identification of priority groups with reference to WEEE-Directive categories c) Compilation of the chemical composition of the single categories with a special focus on lead and brominated flame retardants (PBDEs and TBBPA) Entering into detail into some of the WEEE-Directive categories, single products such as computers and TVs, have been also studied in detail. Amounts of waste for these two appliances have been found and information about the content of lead, PBDEs and mercury in their components is presented. From here, it has also been possible to develop particular scenarios for the different combinations (i.e. lead in Computers) and establish the emission values to each environmental compartment after the informal recycling conducted in China. The release data derived from the SFA and the individual scenarios is the basis for the future approaches to model the environmental fate and behavior of the released substances

Environmental and Human Risk Assessment of e-waste releases in China through USEtox

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