The Impact of Satellite Communications on Environmental Hazard Control: Tool for the Realization of African Union Agenda 2063 Aspirations

Africa is a developing economy and as such, emphasis has been placed on the achievement of revolutionary goals that will place her on a similar rank as the developed economies. Pertaining to this objective, Heads of States and government all over Africa instigated the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, which is a framework put in place to achieve a continental transformation over the next 40 years. The use of satellites has been proven to be a major influence on economic growth since it facilitates the exchange of information. Environmental hazards such as climate changes, pollution, and inefficient waste management can be classified as one of the drawbacks to achieving this economic growth we hope to accomplish. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and examine satellite communication as a tool for the attainment of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa by means of combatting environmental hazards in the continent.

Can spatial planning in the Polish Carpathians be enforced? How spatial chaos indicators depict a gap between scientific knowledge and practice

Despite their strategic hydrological importance for neighbouring areas,the Polish Carpathians are experiencing spatial chaos,which may weaken their adaptability to the progressive climate change.The article attempts to answer the question of whether spatial planning,which is supposed to guarantee spatial order,fulfils its role and whether the knowledge of the natural conditions of spatial development is respected in the spatial planning process.Using GIS techniques,up to 238 communes were analysed in terms of their spatial coverage,the degree of scattered settlement,and the violation of natural barriers by location of buildings in areas that are threatened with mass movements or floods;by settlement on excessively inclined slopes and in areas with adverse climatic conditions.Spearman non-parametric rank correlation analysis and the multidimensional Principal Component Analysis(PCA)technique were performed to investigate relations between spatial chaos indicators and the planning situation.The analysis of the data has revealed that spatial planning does not fulfil its role.Serious errors in location of buildings have been noted even though the communes are covered by local spatial development plans.Scientific knowledge is not sufficiently transferred into planning documents,and bottom-up initiatives cannot replace systemic solutions.There is a need for strengthening the role of environmental studies documents in the spatial planning system.This would facilitate the transfer of scientific knowledge into the planning process and help to protect mountain areas.The development of a special spatial strategy for the Polish Carpathians in compliance with the Carpathian Convention is also recommended.

The transformation and concentration of environmental hazardous trace elements during coal combustion

Studied the content and distribution of 18 environmental hazardous trace elementsin the lignite, fatty coal, anthracite and its burnt products by combustion simulatingexpriment in the one-dismensinal boiler.The transformations and concentration of 18 traceelements during different coal combustion were discussed.The results show that there aresome content distribution of 18 hazardous trace elements in every burnt product, but thelaw of concentration and dispersion of every trace element during different coal combustionis very different.Experiment results indicate that the transformation and concentrationof trace elements during coal combustion are related to the element contents and occur-rencesof trace elements in raw coal, but are also affected by some man-made factorssuch as the combustion method of boiler, combustion temperature and atmosphere, thetype of precipitators and so on.

An Evaluation of Manure Management Strategies, Phosphorus Surface Runoff Potential and Water Usage at an Arkansas Discovery Dairy Farm

Manure management is an essential component of dairy production. Nutrient-laden, field-applied dairy manure often serves as a fertilizer source, but can also pose environmental threats if not properly managed. The Haak dairy farm, located in Decatur, Arkansas, was granted a permit by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to employ a unique method in treating and storing cattle manure generated during the milking process. This method includes minimizing water use in wash water, dry scraping solids to combine with sawdust for composting and pumping effluent underground into a sloped concrete basin that serves as secondary solid separator before transporting the manure effluent into an interception trench and an adjacent grassed field to facilitate manure nutrient uptake and retention. The Arkansas Discovery Farm program (ADF) is conducting research to evaluate the environmental performance of the dairy’s milk center wash water treatment system (MCWW) by statistical analysis, characterization of phosphorus (P) migration in soil downslope from the inception trench, temperature measurements, and nutrient analysis of a stored dry stack manure/sawdust mixture. Goals included determining possible composting effectiveness along with comparisons to untreated dairy manure and quantifying the use of on-farm water. Results from this research demonstrated that: 1) The MCWW was effective at retaining manure-derived nutrients and reducing field nutrient migration as the MCWW interception trench had significantly higher total nitrogen (TN) (804.2 to 4.1), total phosphorus (TP) (135.6 to 1.5), and water extractable phosphorus (WEP) (55.0 to 1.0) concentrations in milligrams per liter (mg⋅L-1) than the downhill freshwater pond respectively;2) temperature readings of the manure dry stack indicated heightened levels of microbial and thermal activity, but did not reach a standard composting temperature of 54°C;3) manure dry stack nutrient content was typically higher than untreated dairy manure when measured on a “dry basis” in ppm, but was lower on an “as is basis” in ppm and kg/metric ton;and 4) water meter readings showed that the greatest use of on-farm water was for farm-wide cattle drinking (18.77), followed by water used in the milking center (3.45) and then followed by human usage (0.02) measured in cubic meters per day (m3⋅d-1). These results demonstrate that practical innovations in agricultural engineering and environmental science, such as the Haak dairy’s manure treatment system, can effectively reduce environmental hazards that accompany the management of manure at this dairy operation.

Tornado Impacts in the US from 1950-2015: A GIS-Based Analysis of Vulnerability and Evolving Risk Zones for Human Casualties

The United States is one of the major countries in the world that faces a numerous number of tornadoes every year, directly and indirectly experiencing extensive property damage and human casualties as well as a variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts. This research provides a GIS-based examination of the ways past tornadoes that occurred in the US in the period 1950-2015 have played out in the context of bodily injuries and loss of human life. To this end, the research collected major secondary data (i.e., georeferenced tornado point data) from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) tornado database and conducted raster-based spatial analysis, utilizing techniques like point density analysis and map algebra to locate areas that have a high risk of tornadoes and to create maps that show relationships between the past tornado events and human casualties. One of the major research findings shown by the spatial analysis was that the geographic areas or regions impacted by tornadoes varied over time. In addition, the statistical results showed a trend that the tornado-prone regions extend from “Tornado Alley” to the states of Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, indicating that the communities in those states that are newly considered to be vulnerable to tornadoes should step up to develop their own tornado mitigation plan to help protect the public and its property from tornadoes. Such plans can play a crucial role in safeguarding the public and protecting property from tornadoes’ potential impact. Additionally, urban planners and policymakers can use this information to make informed decisions about building codes and infrastructure development in tornado-prone areas, potentially reducing the impact of future tornado events on human lives and property.

Properties, hazards and valuable metal recovery technologies of red mud: A review

This review presents a summary of the research conducted thus far on the recovery of various types of valuable metals from red mud. The composition, properties, environmental hazards, and current status of comprehensive utilization of red mud were studied. A number of studies have been conducted on the use of red mud as a modifying additive for cement, the development of various catalysts based on red mud, and the recovery of various valuable metals from red mud. Furthermore, we examine several techniques for extracting various types of valuable metals from red mud, including pyrometallurgical recovery, wet leaching recovery, and emerging biobased technology recovery. We investigate the underlying principles, processes, research progress, and the potential for industrial application of these methods, and assess the advantages and disadvantages of each from the perspectives of economic and environmental benefits. Although these methods have certain disadvantages, in general, the recovery of various types of valuable metals from red mud is an effective way to solve the problem of red mud and the supply of metal raw materials. In conclusion, this paper presents an overview of the current state of red mud development and utilization, as well as the various methods employed for the recovery of valuable metals from red mud.

ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIVE BURDEN INDEX:A STREAMLINED LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT METHOD FOR FACILITIES POLLUTION PREVENTION

This paper describes a new semi-quantitative streamlined life cycle assessment(SLCA)method,the Environmental Relative Burden Index(ERBI),for describing and ranking the relative environmental burdens associated with facility operations and maintenance options.The long-range goal is for this ERBI method to serve as a pollution-prevention decision support tool for facilities managers,when faced with competing operations and maintenance alternatives.The specific application pre-sented in this paper evaluates asbestos-containing materials(ACM)and lead-based paint(LBP)management options in public school facilities.The ERBI methodol-ogy is adapted from previous streamlined semi-quantitative LCA methodologies and is described in detail.The ERBI is then employed to evaluate the relative environmental impacts of six management strategies for these hazardous building materials:management in-situ,encapsulation/containment,and full abatement/disposal,for both ACM and LBP.SLCA goal definition,system boundaries,ERBI matrix,and overall ERBI Ratings(RERB)for each material management strategy are presented.The ERBI can be a useful tool in prioritizing building maintenance alternatives,especially in cases where detailed quantitative data are unavailable.

Estimation of Different Categories of Healthcare Waste Generated at Two Different Hospital Categories in Four Hospitals in Dar es Salaam City

This study aims to estimate the quantity of healthcare waste categorically generated in four different healthcare in Dar es Salaam city namely, Muhimbili National Hospital, Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital, Temeke Regional Referral Hospital and Ilala Regional Referral Hospital to evaluate the quantities of medical waste generated based on their level and capacity. Waste was collected in different categories of non-infectious, sharps, infectious, infectious plastics, and pathological waste which were measured daily for fourteen (14) consecutive days in all hospitals by using a weighting scale and observational checklist to document related waste management information and the assessment of the healthcare waste generation in each hospital. The average general healthcare waste generation rate per healthcare ranges from 298.9 kg/day to 1554.4 kg/day. The high fluctuation in general medical waste was established to be attributed to specialization difference between one hospital to the other, and the large number of in-patients and out patients between hospitals. The overall average sharps waste generation rate was established to range from 8.5 ± 2.7 - 13.9 ± 1.8 kg/day. Higher values of sharps waste generated observed at Muhimbili hospital are due to emergency cases referred to from other hospitals located within the city and from the surrounding districts and other regions of the country. The results from this study, raise alarm to hospital administrators, and other health stakeholders working in related fields to give special attention and priority in setting a related share in their budgets for proper management of medical waste in their health facilities.

Decision-making under uncertainty for buildings exposed to environmental hazards

Buildings are exposed to risks from environmental hazards such as earthquakes,windstorms and floods.Sub-stantial uncertainties from various sources are inevitably involved in the risk estimation and decision-making for activities such as design and disaster risk mitigation for buildings.Decision makers seek to achieve economic efficiency while ensure building safety by managing the extreme tail risk that is typically a concern when facing low-probability,high-consequence events.Thus,risk preferences and tolerances play an important role in the decision process,which often vary among different decision makers.The conventionally used minimum expected life-cycle cost criterion(MELC)fails to adequately cope with large uncertainty and risk preferences.To this end,this paper presents the application of a set of decision models beyond the MELC to support decision-making under uncertainty for buildings exposed to environmental hazards.The objective is to provide risk-informed de-cision support for decision-makers with a wide range of risk appetites while taking into account uncertainties involved in the life-cycle cost.The features,strengths and weaknesses of these decision models are discussed from a practical point of view.The application and selection of the decision models are demonstrated by two practical decision problems:(i)seismic design of a high-rise commercial building,and(ii)wind hazard mitigation for a low-rise residential building.These examples illustrate how the decisions for choosing seismic design levels and wind mitigation measures vary when different decision models and model settings are applied.

The effects of hazardous working conditions on burnout in Macao nurses

Objective:To examine the effects of various hazardous factors in working environments on burnout in a cohort of clinical nurses in Macao.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was used to examine specific workplace hazards for burnout in qualified nurses(n=424)in Macao.Structural equation modeling(SEM)was used to analyze relationships between specific hazards and manifestations of burnout.Results:In the final model,workplace hazards accounted for 73%of the variance of burnout with a standardized regression weight of 0.85.The measures of the model fit were acceptable.Bodily hazards,threats of violence,and physical environmental hazards were found to significantly contribute to two major determinants of burnout,emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.Conclusions:Workplace environmental hazards increased the risk of burnout amongst clinical nurses in Macao.Better management of these factors may help to protect nursing staff and reduce the risk of burnout and attrition from the nursing profession.

Assessment of the Potential Use of Hydroponic Effluents for Fodder Production

The performance of Guatemala grass （Tripsacum laxum） under fertigation using hydroponic effluents at different dilution rates （effluent：water： 4：0, 3：1, 1：1, 1：3, 0：4） was compared to fertilisation using farmers＇ fertiliser rate of 475 kg 17：8：25/ha applied at planting ＋ 235 kg Sulphate of Ammonia/ha applied as top dressing one month after and 150 kg 17：8：25/ha applied after each harvest. Yield response obtained in plots fertilised using undiluted hydroponic effluents was 16.7% lower than that recorded in plots fertilised using farmers＇ fertiliser rate. The study showed that there-is potential for using hydroponic effluents （undiluted or diluted in the ratio of 3 HE： 1 water） in fodder production as it can provide sustainable yield in the range of 39.5-41.7 t/ha per harvest. Moreover, dilution rate of hydroponic effluents has a direct impact on crop development and fresh biomass yield. Fodder crop yield responded negatively to the increase dilution of hydroponic effluents from 4HE： 0 water to 3HE： 1 water, 1HE： 1 water and 1HE： 3 water. Consequently, the use of hydroponic effluents can eventually help to save on mineral fertiliser use and reduce cost of production while at the same time address environmental hazards related to hydroponic effluents disposal.

An Ecocritical Reading ofljala Chant： An Example of Ogundare Foyanmu＇s Selected Ijala Chant

African artists demonstrate social commitment and sensibility in various ways as they create works that both sensitise and conscientise people in their milieu. Although ecocriticism itself is a relatively new theory, African artists have been preoccupied with issues bothering around environment in order to protect and preserve it. ljala genre has been studied by different scholars such as Babalola S. A. （1966）, Olukoju E. O. （1978） and Alagbe ＇Sayo （2007） from diverse perspectives; however, its ecocritical relevance has not been investigated. It is in view of the foregoing that this paper carries out an ecocritical reading of ljala chant： an example of Ogundare Foyanmu＇s selected ljala chant. The paper aims at establishing environmental consciousness in the work of this oral artist. It is observed that though ecocritical theory itself is new in African literature, African artists have shown commitment towards environmental protection in their works from time immemorial. Foyanmu conscientises the people to desist from sneeringly underrating the effect of water hazard. The paper, therefore, has no doubt, established that the subject ofljala genre is not in any way limited to hunting or hunters＇ life. It is also used to address other relevant socio-political and economic issues

Associations between Wildfire Risk and Socio-Economic-Demographic Characteristics Using GIS Technology

Wildfire is a natural hazard caused mostly by the interaction of human systems and natural phenomena. This research aims to investigate how extreme wildfire events and disasters that occurred in California in the recent three decades are related to socio-economic-demographic characteristics at the levels of census tracts and counties. In addition, this research will use the data of historic wildfires to show counties and census tracts vulnerable to the natural hazard as well as the cyclical changes such as seasonal and annual fluctuations in the wildfire occurrences in the state. To decide how those variables correlate, this research used a Geographic Information System (GIS) designed to collect, analyze, query, and display geographical information. Two types of secondary data were used to conduct the research. One is the geospatial data showing each location of wildfires. The other is the data about such sociodemographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, level of education, and income, which can be collected through the Bureau of Census. In particular, the research employing GIS-based spatial analysis created maps that represent information on the geographic locations of the wildfires at the different geographic levels as well as demographic and socioeconomic factors influenced by the potential risk of wildfires. There are several researching findings. First, this research showed the wildfire-prone communities have comparatively higher level of representation for the populations such as the White and Native Americans. Second, it reveals that Asian people would prefer to reside in communities with a lower level of wildfire risk. In contrast with previous research reporting the Black, Hispanic or Native American people are more vulnerable to wildfire, this research showed only the census tracts with the higher number of the Native Americans are more exposed to the wildfire risk, compared with other census tracts. Third, it revealed that people with a higher level of educational attainment would prefer to reside in communities with a lower level of chemical risk. Forth and lastly, this research indicates that the census tracts that have a higher median household income and median housing price have a negative relationship with the wildfire risk, meaning that people with a higher level of the income or a relatively higher-priced home prefer residing in communities less subject to the natural hazard. Therefore, it can be concluded that associations exist between wildfire risk and certain socio-economic and demographic characteristics.

Relationships between Potential Risk of Hazardous Material Releases and Socio-Economic Demographic Characteristics Using Geospatial Analysis

The problem investigated in this research is about the potential risk of technological hazards, which poses a perilous threat to humankind and the environment. Rapid urbanization has been increasing the population density in an area, elevating the risk of exposure to technological disasters. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the areas with higher chemical risk to spread awareness about the potential risk zones and reduce actual damage and casualties resulting from the hazardous substance events. The basic design of the study utilizes geospatial analysis to map the TRI (Toxics Release Inventory) facilities in the communities of Texas to establish a relationship between potential hazardous material release zones and the human population at risk. The study identified the vulnerable counties as well as investigated how those risk areas are related to race/ethnicity, income and education. The research would contribute to the policymakers acting on the hazard situation and keep them better prepared for chemical hazards. In addition, it would help the residents and emergency managers to better understand the circumstance to mitigate the consequences as well as increase their awareness to be ready for the uncertainties in the hotspots involved in high risk of the hazards.

Waterlogging risk assessment for winter wheat using multi-source data in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

Waterlogging is a serious agro-meteorological disaster caused by excessive soil water,which usually causes tremendous crop yield losses.The region of middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River in China is an important production base of winter wheat,and is an area prone to waterlogging.The risk assessment of winter wheat waterlogging can provide more thorough understanding about the risk-prone environment related with food safety in this region.This study combined a variety of environmental and agricultural factors and assessed the waterlogging risk of winter wheat from the aspects of sensitivity of hazard formative environments,hazard risk,and vulnerability of hazard-affected body using multi-source data.Furthermore,it constructed a compound waterlogging risk assessment model to classify the study area into high,relatively high,moderate,and low risky areas,respectively.The results showed that the proposed model could more comprehensively reflect the occurrence mechanism of winter wheat waterlogging by synchronizing geographical,agricultural,and meteorological factors.The waterlogging regionalization based on the model could reasonably represent the spatial distribution and differentiate regional characteristics of winter wheat waterlogging in the study area.