Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

One of the major environmental threats to industrial ports is water contamination from nearby industrial plants, causing discharge of toxic metals such as mercury into the ports and harbors. Appropriate industrial wastewater treatment can reduce the environmental damage and save on the very expensive cleanup of contaminated harbors. A socioeconomic-environmental model to determine the optimal level of wastewater treatment of industrial operations should take into account the effect of different wastewater treatment options on the companies’ profi ts, and the short-term and long-term benefi t to society. The benefi t to society is a function of the environmental aspects, including the short-term and long-term effects of contaminated harbors on human health. An inclusive model takes into account the welfare of all stakeholder groups. The model takes into account the rate of contamination and the cost of cleanup to estimate the economic value of the benefi t from wastewater treatment and compare it with the treatment costs in order to reach recommendations for risk managers regarding optimal industrial wastewater treatment in port areas.

The port of Constantza is on the western coast of the Black Sea, at about 182 nautical miles (nM) from the Bosporus and about 85 nM from the mouth of Sulina Branch, through which the Danube flows into the sea. Its average coordinates are: Latitude 44° 09” N Longitude 28° 39” E

It is the main port of the Romanian shore.

The Romanian seaside is generally oriented, 244 km long, with a cliff height of 25-30 m in the range of Constantza port. The continental platform allows safe and easy navigation, because it requires neither excessive turning around navigation obstacles or islands, nor difficult changes of course nor dangerous passages.

The limit of Romania’s territorial waters is set at 12 nautical miles (nM) from the shore, beyond which the contiguous zone of 24 nM extends to the open sea. Romania exercises control in this zone in order to prevent and repress infringements of its customs, sanitary, and boundary laws and rules.

The paper will present navigation conditions, safety measures for vessel entry into the port area, and functioning conditions during winter and storms.

Given the heterogeneity of individual health responses to air pollution, the severity of health effects experienced by a susceptible subgroup may be much greater than that experienced by the total population. This may hinder adequate protection of an entire population, even when a low threshold value is established.

A particular situation arises when the considered region has special conditions, such as high air humidity, which occurs in the vicinity of large water surfaces. This situation is prevalent for ports and harbors that are also busy industrial regions where many people work and live.

Calculating concentration-risk relationships for respiratory health effects of ambient air quality, we discuss the conditions for which the air humidity modifies the adverse effect of airborne particulate matter. The data used were gathered in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, which is a port at the Danube River just behind the “Iron Gates.” Due to the large water surface retained by the barrage, the studied area experiences strong variations in air humidity that might modify the adverse effect of certain air pollutants. For the study of particulate matter, generalized linear statistical models are widely used and we present and interpret their application to hospital admissions in Turnu Severin.

As a result we find that absolute air humidity significantly weakens the adverse effect of Total Suspended Particles (TSP) on asthma. Humidity has a protective effect on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but this is weakened by the interaction with TSP. The results, presented as concentration-risk relationships, demonstrate that there is no threshold value for the adverse effects of airborne particulate matter.

Air pollution of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a potential mediator of adverse health effects. VOCs are emitted mainly from industrial complexes, such as port facilities and refineries, any sort of traffic, and also in closed rooms during redecoration and other behavior-linked activities, such as smoking and cooking, from building materials and furniture. Assessing and managing the health risk in terms of VOCs, the spatiotemporal variation of VOC concentrations has to be taken into account.

The paper presents an analysis of the spatial and temporal variation of VOCs in Cairo, Egypt, and, secondly, an approach to the temporal variation of VOCs in closed rooms in Leipzig, Germany. During a period of one month we exposed passive samplers at measuring sites that were selected randomly and that are representative of the surrounding area.

Cairo is one of the most traffic-polluted cities of the world and VOCs were observed at 10 sites. Comparing the concentrations with Leipzig, we found differences in aromatics, in particular in benzene pollution. Interestingly, though outdoor concentrations are up to six times higher in Cairo than in Leipzig, indoor concentrations are generally high and at similar levels in both cities. The latter, however, differ in composition of organic compounds.

The Gulf of Aqaba (GOA) has a semi-enclosed nature that has led to its unique ecosystem and biodiversity. This nature, which results in low water circulation and renewal, along with the rapid development of industry, tourism, and transport in the area, has made it susceptible to marine pollution and ecosystem degradation. The present paper discusses the potential risks to the GOA ecosystem resulting from a number of activities. These include coral reef damage caused by tourism, oil spills, waste oil contamination and air pollution associated with land transportation, solid waste disposal, phosphate dust deposition from ship loading activities, chemical and thermal pollution from coastal industries, and sewage discharges into the marine and terrestrial environment. Management and control of these potential risks requires regional cooperation with the riparian countries.

The paper discusses sustainability and vulnerability issues related to critical underground infrastructure (CUI). CUI is defined on the basis of its provision of vital services for a community. Most CUI can be found in urban areas. This analysis is based on understanding the natural characteristics of underground space and the benefits and difficulties of its utilization. Sustainability analysis considers how CUI is sustainable itself and what its impact on the environment is. Similarly, vulnerability analysis breaks down external and internal threats to CUI, and CUI impact on vulnerability of the physical and functional environment. The multiple-criteria decisionmaking analytic hierarchy process is used for aggregation impacts and integral assessment of CUI. In conclusion, the importance of CUI planning is highlighted.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) work is becoming more and more extensive in the world. The environmental assessment process has been defined differently in different countries. In fact, it appears that no two countries have defined it in exactly the same way. It is an aid to decision making and to the minimization or elimination of environmental impacts at an early planning stage. The EIA process is potentially a basis for negotiations between the developer, public interest groups, and the planning regulator.

The Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method is based on a standard definition of the important assessment criteria as well as the means by which semi-quantitative values for each of these criteria can be collected to provide an accurate and independent score for each condition. The impact of project activities is evaluated against the environmental components and for each component a score is determined, which provides a measure of the impact expected from the component. The RIAM method makes it possible to carry out a global analysis of the results based on the individual environmental score for each component, which is classified in ranges and so can be compared to each other.

In this study, the RIAM method was used for the new waste disposal site in Canakkale City where one of the most important archaeological, historical, and natural parks of Turkey is located. Compared with other Turkish cities, a great number of EIA reports have been prepared based on numerous projects within the border of Canakkale Province, Turkey. The result of the RIAM method shows that the new waste disposal site will cause positive impacts resulting from economic-operational changes. But local people have a negative reaction to the new waste disposal site. Most impacts are of class–A (impact) for the waste disposal site, because of the waste, biological- ecological, and physicochemical effects prominent in the study area.