Risk Assessment of an Environmental Liability in the Commercialization of Hydrocarbons-A Secondary Publication

The risk analysis evaluates the probability of occurrence with the impact of said risks.In the hydrocarbon sector,an environmental liability is an improperly abandoned facility,soil contaminated by spills or others.The objective of this work is to define a risk management plan.The characterization of the residue and the area was carried out.Hazardous events were identified:overflow spill,soil contamination by infiltration,as well as radiant heat and suffocating and toxic fumes from a fire.The matrix method was applied considering the probability of occurrence against vulnerability.The danger of infiltration implied a high level of risk.The risk management plan was drawn up,its main action being the liquidation of the pool and the sanitation of the area.

Integrated water risk early warning framework of the semi-arid transitional zone based on the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC)

Water risk early warning systems based on the water environmental carrying capacity(WECC)are powerful and effective tools to guarantee the sustainability of rivers.Existing work on the early warning of WECC has mainly concerned the comprehensive evaluation of the status quo and lacked a quantitative prejudgement and warning of future overload.In addition,existing quantitative methods for short-term early warning have rarely focused on the integrated change trends of the early warning indicators.Given the periodicity of the socioeconomic system,however,the water environmental system also follows a trend of cyclical fluctuations.Thus,it is meaningful to monitor and use this periodicity for the early warning of the WECC.In this study,we first adopted and improved the prosperity index method to develop an integrated water risk early warning framework.We also constructed a forecast model to qualitatively and quantitatively prejudge and warn about the development trends of the water environmental system.We selected the North Canal Basin(an essential connection among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region)in China as a case study and predicted the WECC in 25 water environmental management units of the basin in 2018–2023.We found that the analysis of the prosperity index was helpful in predicting the WECC,to some extent.The result demonstrated that the early warning system provided reliable prediction(root mean square error of 0.0651 and mean absolute error of 0.1418),and the calculation results of the comprehensive early warning index(CEWI)conformed to the actual situation and related research in the river basin.From 2008 to 2023,the WECC of most water environmental management units in the basin had improved but with some spatial differences:the CEWI was generally poor in areas with many human disturbances,while it was relatively good in the upstream regions with higher forest and grass covers as well as in the downstream areas with larger water volume.Finally,through a sensitivity analysis of the indicators,we proposed specific management measures for the sustainability of the water environmental system in the North Canal Basin.Overall,the integrated water risk early warning framework could provide an appropriate method for the water environmental administration department to predict the WECC of the basin in the future.This framework could also assist in implementing corresponding management measures in advance,especially for the performance evaluation and the arrangement of key short-term tasks in the River Chief System in China.

Risk forecasting and evaluating model of Environmental pollution accident

Environmental risk(ER) factors come from ER source and they are controlled by the primary control mechanism(PCM) of environmental risk, due to the self failures or the effects of external environment risk trigger mechanism, the PCM could not work regularly any more, then, the ER factors will release environmental space, and an ER field is formed up. The forming of ER field does not mean that any environmental pollution accident(EPA) will break out; only the ER receptors are exposed in the ER field and damaged seriously, the potential ER really turns into an actual EPA. Researching on the general laws of evolving from environmental risk to EPA, this paper bring forwards a relevant concept model of risk forecasting and evaluating of EPA. This model provides some scientific methods for risk evaluation, prevention and emergency response of EPA. This model not only enriches and develops the theory system of environment safety and emergency response, but also acts as an instruction for public safety, enterprise's safety management and emergency response of the accident.

Effect of Phopshate Fertilizer and Manure on Crop Yield, Soil P Accumulation, and the Environmental Risk Assessment

Phosphorus （P） applied from fertilizer and manure is important in increasing crop yield and soil fertility; however, excessive uses of phosphate fertilizer and manure may also increase P loss from agricultural soils, posing environmental impact. A long term experiment was conducted on a calcareous soil （meadow cinnamon） in Hebei Province, China, from 2003 to 2006 to investigate the effects of phosphate fertilizer and manure on the yield of Chinese cabbage, soil P accumulation, P sorption saturation, soluble P in runoff water, and P leaching. P fertilizer （P2O5） application at a rate of 360 kg ha^-1 or manure of 150 t ha^-1 significantly increased Chinese cabbage yield as compared to the unfertilized control. However, no significant yield response was found with excessive phosphate or manure application. Soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in top soil layer （0-20 cm）, and soluble P in runoff water increased significantly with the increase of phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates, whereas the maximum phosphorus sorption capacity （Qm） decreased with the phosphate fertilizer and manure application rates. Soil Olsen-P and soluble P also increased significantly in the sub soil layer （20-40 cm） with the high P fertilizer and manure rates. It indicates that excessive P application over crop demand can lead to a high environmental risk owing to the enrichment of soil Olsen-P, soluble P, bioavailable P, and the degree of phosphorus sorption saturation in agricultural soils.

Environmental risk for application of ammonia-soda white mud in soils in China

In recent years,some reports,mainly from Chinese research,show that there has been an increasing trend in the use of ammonia-soda residue(ASR)(or called ammonia-soda white mud) as a soil conditioner in farmlands.Up to now,the studies on ASR have focused on its utilization for acid soil amendment in agriculture,but few studies have assessed its environmental risk.ASR contains pollutant elements such as mercury(Hg),cadmium(Cd),copper(Cu) and fluorine(F) and the purpose of this study was to review research on the environmental impacts of ASR application in agriculture.Observations obtained from 23 research reports indicate that the concentrations of Hg,Cd,Cu,F and Cl(0-170,0.01-2.8,4.5-200,2000-24700 and 1 600-188 000 mg kg^-1,respectively) in ASR may exceed the limits(≤0.5,≤0.3 and ≤50 mg kg^-1 for Hg,Cd and Cu,respectively) of Chinese Risk Screening Values for Soil Contamination of Agricultural Land(GB 15618-2018 2018) or the refereed critical value(≤800 and ≤200 mg kg^-1 for F and Cl,respectively) based on Chinese research.The concentrations of the elements Hg,Cd,Cu,F and Cl in the leachate of ASR detected by the extraction tests also exceed the limits(Class IV-V) of the Chinese Standard for Groundwater Quality(GB/T 14848-2017 2017).Based on the above results,it is suggested that ASR without any pretreatment for reducing harmful pollutants should not be used for soil remediation or conditioning of farmlands,to ensure soil health,food safety and environmental quality.

Study on Environmental Risk and Economic Benefits of Rotation Systems in Farmland of Erhai Lake Basin

This study was designed to find out an optimised planting system of reducing non-point （source） pollution by analyzing the reasons and the factors of influence non-point pollution in farmland of Erhai Lake basin. The results showed that incomes, residual nitrogen in soil, and the loss of nitrogen in surface water in rice-garlic system were higher than those in rice-fava bean system. There were positive correlations between the nitrogen loss of farmland, nitrogen inputs, residual nitrogen in soil, and incomes of farmland. Economic benefits and environment benefits are both appropriate, if the area of rice-garlic system would be reduced to 53% and the area of rice-fava bean system increased to 36% of total cropping area in the investigated watershed. Adjustment of planting structure and introduction of reasonable rotation systems is considered an effective measure of controlling agricultural non-point pollution in watersheds of Erhai Lake.

Environmental risks for application of magnesium slag to soils in China

Magnesium slag(MS)is one of the main industrial solid wastes produced by the magnesium industry.Solving the problem of its disposal has attracted much attention with increasing amounts of solid wastes generated in the production of metallic magnesium.Because MS contains calcium(Ca),magnesium(Mg),and silicon(Si),some have tried to use MS as Si-Ca-Mg fertilizer or for soil amendment in agriculture.However,in the magnesium metallurgical process,some pollutant elements are introduced into MS,resulting in the enrichment of these pollutants in MS,such as arsenic(As),chromium(Cr),cadmium(Cd),mercury(Hg),copper(Cu),nickel(Ni),fluorine(F)and chlorine(CI).Research indicates that the enrichment of these pollutants can result in high levels,especially for Cd,Hg,Cu,Ni,F and CI(0-4,0-0.74,20-127,100-170,2277-14800 and 133-1000 mg kg1,respectively)in some MS in China.These levels are often far beyond the limits(S0.3,s0.5,≤50 and≤60 mg·kg-1 for Cd,Hg,Cu and Ni,respectively)of the Chinese Risk Screening Values for Soil Contamination of Agricultural Land based on the Soil Environmental Quality Risk Control Standard for Soil Contamination of Agricultural Land(GB 15618-2018)or the critical reference values(<800 and≤200 for F and CI,respectively).The elements Hg,Cu,Cr and F(detected in MS leachate at 0.00023--0.0052,0.043--3.89,0.026-0.171,and 1.43-8.52 mg·L-1,respectively)also exceed the limits(Class IV-V)of the Chinese Standard for Groundwater Quality(GB/T 14848-2017).Based on the above results,it is suggested that without any pretreatment for reducing harmful pollutants MS should not be allowed to be applied for soil remediation or conditioning directly into farmlands in order to ensure soil health,food safety and environmental quality.

Demographic Characteristics and Environmental Risk Factors Exposure of Birth Defects in Pregnant Women: A Population-based Study

Worldwide, the incidence of birth defects in low-income countries is 6.42%, while in middle-income and high-income countries it is 5.57% and 4.72%, respectively;approximately 303, 000 newborns die from birth defects each year. In China, the incidence of birth defects is about 5.6%, and around 8.14 million people have congenital disabilities, accounting for 9.6% of total disabled people[1]. Birth defect remains a major clinical and public health challenge because of its high fatality rate and protracted and severe sequela.

Reducing environmental risk of nitrogen by popularizing mechanically dense transplanting for rice production in China

The high nitrogen(N)application rates typically used in Chinese cropping systems have led to diminishing returns for yields and have also imposed substantial environmental costs.Here,we estimate that the annual N loss from rice production in China reached approximately 2.6×109 kg from 2011 to 2015,and we demonstrate that adoption of the mechanically dense transplanting technique by producers is an effective method to reduce N loss from rice cropping systems without suffering a yield penalty.

Potential Risks to the Environment as a Result of Pesticide Handling in the Nanumba-North Municipality, Ghana

The present study deduced the potential risks to the environment as a result of pesticide handling in the Nanumba-North Municipality of the Northern Region of Ghana. Cluster sampling was used to select 30 communities from Nanumba-North Municipality. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling were used respectively to select 7 households from each community and one farmer from each household, giving a sample size of 210 farmers. The instrument used for the study was a questionnaire of respondents. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The study concluded that 11 types of pesticides are commonly used by the farmers on their fields, with atrazine (22%) being the most commonly used pesticide which is an herbicide, and deltamethrin (1%) was the least used pesticide which is an insecticide. The study, therefore, recommends that appropriate authorities in the area should inculcate means to enlighten farmers on the best way of pesticide utilization that can beef up the ambition of sustainable agricultural production and desirable environmental conditions.

Environmental Risk Factors for Stomach Cancer in an African Setting about 193 Cases at the CHU Point G in Bamako/Mali

CHU (University Hospital Center) Point G: The department of surgery B is a surgical department of CHU Point G. The department is par excellence a reference department for cases of visceral surgery, cancer surgery, cardiovascular surgery, plastic and endocrinology surgery. As a reminder, the CHU Point G is the largest 3rd level referral hospital in Mali. Aim: To study the environmental risk factors of stomach cancer in the B surgery department of the Point G University Hospital in Bamako. Patients and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study with retrospective collection from January 2008 to June 2018 (126 months). Results: We have identified 380 cases of digestive cancer, including 193 cases of stomach cancer or 50.79% of digestive cancers. The mean age of the patients was 57.21 ± 13 years. Male sex represented 55% (n = 106). Eating habits were dominated by the consumption of tô with potash (cereal paste) with 64.76% (n = 185). The main methods of preserving meat and fish were curing and smoking with 57.51% (n = 111). Chronic smoking was found in 24.35% (n = 47), alcohol + tobacco consumption in 2.59% (n = 5). The low socio-economic class represented 126 cases or 65.38%. Housewives and cultivators were respectively 37.82% (n = 73) and 227.97% (n = 54). 20.20% (n = 39) had a history of epigastric pain. Epigastralgia was the most common functional sign with 84.5% of cases (n = 169). An epigastric mass was found in 72 patients or 37.3%. Adenocarcinoma represented 97.4% (n = 188). Palliative surgery concerned the majority of our patients with 64.8% of patients (n = 79). The postoperative consequences were simple in 28.57% of cases (n = 28), the postoperative morbidity and mortality were respectively 33.61% (n = 41), and 23.77% (n = 29). The overall survival rate after surgery was 10.81% at 2 years and 2.94% at 5 years. This rate was 58.83% at 2 years and 28.50% at 5 years after curative surgery. Conclusion: The risk factors for stomach cancer are many and varied. Some are particularly present in Africa. Delay in diagnosis due to a belief in traditional healers is common in our community.

Lung cancer risk in never-smokers:An overview of environmental and genetic factors

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally,accounting for 1.8 million deaths in 2020.While the vast majority are caused by tobacco smoking,15%-25%of all lung cancer cases occur in lifelong neversmokers.The International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC)has classified multiple agents with sufficient evidence for lung carcinogenesis in humans,which include tobacco smoking,as well as several environmental exposures such as radon,second-hand tobacco smoke,outdoor air pollution,household combustion of coal and several occupational hazards.However,the IARC evaluation had not been stratified based on smoking status,and notably lung cancer in never-smokers(LCINS)has different epidemiological,clinicopathologic and molecular characteristics from lung cancer in ever-smokers.Among several risk factors proposed for the development of LCINS,environmental factors have the most available evidence for their association with LCINS and their roles cannot be overemphasized.Additionally,while initial genetic studies largely focused on lung cancer as a whole,recent studies have also identified genetic risk factors for LCINS.This article presents an overview of several environmental factors associated with LCINS,and some of the emerging evidence for genetic factors associated with LCINS.An increased understanding of the risk factors associated with LCINS not only helps to evaluate a never-smoker’s personal risk for lung cancer,but also has important public health implications for the prevention and early detection of the disease.Conclusive evidence on causal associations could inform longer-term policy reform in a range of areas including occupational health and safety,urban design,energy use and particle emissions,and the importance of considering the impacts of second-hand smoke in tobacco control policy.

An Environmental Risk Evaluation Method Employing Atmospheric Dispersion Models and GIS

This study aims to develop a method for evaluating the environmental risk of harmful chemical substances released from specific sources, using two atmospheric dispersion models and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In the first stage of evaluation, ADMER was used to conduct a wide-area evaluation which covered the entire area of the evaluation target region. In the second stage, METI-LIS was used to conduct a detailed limited-area evaluation which targeted the vicinity of sources. In this study, incinerators were selected as sources and dioxins were selected as harmful chemical substances. The area selected for evaluation was the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan, and the evaluation method proposed in this study was used to evaluate environmental risk. Through the use of atmospheric dispersion models and GIS, the behavior of dioxins emitted into the atmosphere from incinerators was estimated. By superimposing atmospheric levels and population data, the amounts of dioxins that humans exposed to were found. Additionally, by superimposing deposition amounts and land use data, the amounts of dioxins accumulated in each land environment were found. Conducting these steps enabled the impact of dioxins on humans and the environment to be grasped quantitatively and visually, and the risk that dioxins emitted from incinerators pose to the environment to be evaluated.

Diagnostics of Environmental Risks and Mapping of Surface Water Sensitivity Due to Metal Contamination from Artisanal Gold Mining in Côte d’Ivoire: Case of Angovia, Kokumbo, Hire and Agbaou

The present study performed on the Angovia, Kokumbo, Hire and Agbaou sites consisted of mapping the environmental risks linked to artisanal gold mining activities in C?te d’Ivoire. An inventory was done by observing the different phases of gold extraction and identifying the risks associated with these phases. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), the representation of the spatial distribution of the pollution risks has been realized from indicator descriptives of the environmental sensitivity (i.e. slope, proximity to the watercourse, soil cover) and the transfer indicator (i.e. rainfall). The analysis of this map showed low sensitivity of mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) measured in the waters of the Hire and Agbaou localities, while moderate sensitivity in Kokumbo surface waters and high sensitivity for those of Angovia locality were observed. Moreover, analysis of Hg, As, Cu and Zn content spatial distribution maps in surface waters revealed that Hg and As come mainly from the artisanal mining activities for most localities. Among these metallic trace elements observed, only the Hg content was above the WHO Limit Values, 1994 (>0.001 mg·L-1). The continuous spread of metallic trace elements in surface water can pose serious health problems for people living around artisanal gold mining sites, hence the need to put in place a protection plan against contamination.

Environmental geochemistry and ecological risk of vanadium pollution in Panzhihua mining and smelting area, Sichuan, China

Vanadium is a trace element widely distributed in the Earth’s crust. Naturally high levels of vanadium are recognized mainly in basic rocks and minerals, particularly in titaniferous magnetite. And the anthropogenic sources of vanadium include fossil fuel combustion and wastes including steel-industry slags. In the last few years, the authors have made investigations and assessments on the environmental geochemistry and ecological risk of vanadium in the Panzhihua mining and smelting area. In the study area, anthropogenic vanadium resulted from mining, extracting and smelting of V-Ti magnetite; vanadium pollution of topsoil and sediments occurs mainly in the mining and extracting area, smelting area, slag dumping area, tailing dam and coal mining area. In the soil, the chemical speciation of vanadium shows: insoluble residue > organically bound > Fe (amorphous) oxide-bound > Mn oxide-bound > soluble component. Vanadium pollution can cause potential harmful effects on ecological systems, and lead to animal poisoning and human disease. So vanadiam pollution should be monitored on a regular basis in the Panzhihua area.

Characterization of Health and Environmental Risks of Pesticide Use in Market-Gardening in the Rural City of Tori-Bossito in Benin, West Africa

A study on the use of pesticides in market-gardening production was carried out on 108 market-gardeners in the rural city of Tori-Bossito in Southern Benin. The objective of the study was to characterize the potential risks of pesticides usage by farmers and the impacts on their health and on the environment. Two risk indexes were calculated for each pesticide: an environmental risk index (ERI) and a health risk index (HRI). First stage larva of the mosquito Aedes aegypti were used as bio-indicator for detecting insecticide residue in vegetable before their harvesting on the farms. The highest ERI were obtained for carbofuran, chlorpyriphos ethyl and endosulfan. Pesticide residues were found in 42% of the samples of leaves of eggplant, cucumber, amaranth and solanum. Vegetables growers used pesticides that may be highly hazardous and which were not registered in most cases. These situations could have unexpected consequences including the exposure of consumers to health hazards.

A Case-control Study of Environmental Risk Factors for Nonsyndromic Cleft of the Lip and/or Palate in Xuzhou,China

In this study, we sought to determine the association between environmental factors and nonsyndromic cleft of the lip and/or palate （NSCLP） to understand the etiology of the disease. A total of 200 NSCLP cases and 327 controls were recruited at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Xuzhou City. We conducted face-to-face interviews with the mothers of both cases and controls. The factors increasing the risk of NSCLP were a positive family history [odds ratio （OR）=56.74], pesticide exposure （OR=8.90）, and indoor decoration pollution （OR= 4.32）. On the other hand, the factors decreasing the risk of NSCLP were a high education level （OR=0.22） and supplementation of folic acid （OR=0.23） and multivitamins （OR=0.16）. Positive family history, pesticide exposure, and indoor decoration pollution are associated with the risk of NSCLP. In contrast, high education level and folic acid and multivitamin supplementation are protective factors against NSCLP.

Distribution, Chemical Speciation, and Environmental Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Tailings Soils near Dexing Copper Mine, China

To complement information of heavy metals' distribution, chemical speciation, activity and environmental risks in agricultural soils surrounding tailings, a total of 16 samples obtained from the 4 # tailings site of Dexing copper mine of China were investigated. The total concentrations of heavy metals Zn, Fe, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Hg, As, Mn, Ag, Co, and Ni were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Chemical speciations of Cu, Cd, and Zn were investigated with the procedures recommended by Tessier(1979). Two different assessment approaches (GB 15618-1995 and risk assessment code, RAC) were employed to estimate heavy metals' environmental risks. Results indicated that heavy metals, especially Cu and Cd were in high levels of accumulation in these samples. Chemical speciation analysis results revealed that Cu was mainly in organic matter bound fraction (ORG) and residual fraction(RES), and Cd was predominantly in exchangeable fraction(EXC), while Zn appeared mainly with the RES fraction. Environmental risk analysis results showed that Cd was in "heavy" pollution level (classification Ⅲ) in almost all samples, which may exert "high" or "very high" environmental risks. Whereas, for Cu, one fourth samples showed "heavy" pollution level, but were located in "low" or "medium" environmental risk ranks. For Zn, many samples were grouped in "light" pollution level (classification Ⅱ), but were related to "medium" and "high" environmental risk ranks. These results indicated heavy pollution and high environmental risk of Cd in soils surrounding the 4# tailings site, which should be paid more attention to. Meanwhile, for Cu and Zn, the contrary results obtained by different environmental risk assessment approaches, may suggest that a more scientific, adequate environmental risk assessment criterion should consider both total content and chemical speciation activity of heavy metals.

Driving risk assessment under the connected vehicle environment:a CNN-LSTM modeling approach

Connected vehicle(CV)is regarded as a typical feature of the future road transportation system.One core benefit of promoting CV is to improve traffic safety,and to achieve that,accurate driving risk assessment under Vehicle-to-Vehicle(V2V)communications is critical.There are two main differences concluded by comparing driving risk assessment under the CV environment with traditional ones:(1)the CV environment provides high-resolution and multi-dimensional data,e.g.,vehicle trajectory data,(2)Rare existing studies can comprehensively address the heterogeneity of the vehicle operating environment,e.g.,the multiple interacting objects and the time-series variability.Hence,this study proposes a driving risk assessment framework under the CV environment.Specifically,first,a set of time-series top views was proposed to describe the CV environment data,expressing the detailed information on the vehicles surrounding the subject vehicle.Then,a hybrid CNN-LSTM model was established with the CNN component extracting the spatial interaction with multiple interacting vehicles and the LSTM component solving the time-series variability of the driving environment.It is proved that this model can reach an AUC of 0.997,outperforming the existing machine learning algorithms.This study contributes to the improvement of driving risk assessment under the CV environment.

Environmental aspects and health risks of leather tanning industry:a study in the Hazaribag area

The tannery industry in Hazaribag,which is one of the most polluted areas in Dhaka City,produces a huge quantity of wastes every day.Without treatment,these are discharged into the Buriganga River and pollute the surrounding environment.This article examines the impacts of tannery wastes on workers'health and the environment in that particular area.As part of the methodology,a semi-structured interview was conducted in order to obtain quantitative data and 112 respondents were interviewed using purposive sampling.The findings of the study indicate that tannery wastes affect the environment severely,causing ecological imbalance and the spreading of different kinds of fatal and contagious disease among the tannery workers and other individuals.Moreover,the current waste management system of the Hazaribag tannery industries is very suspect due to outdated technology,defective drainage systems,lack of financial input,and the exploitative attitude of their owners.The findings also indicate that tannery workers are unaware of the effects of tannery waste as they choose not to wear personal protective equipment in the workplace.This empirical study helps policy makers implement appropriate measures to raise awareness,among both owners and workers,that can influence changes in the public's attitude and reduce environmental pollution to a great extent.Although considerable research has been undertaken focusing on tannery waste impact assessment,less attention has been paid to the issue of workers'health.Therefore,both governments and policy makers can benefit from the findings of this study.