- Các phương án phát triển và cải thiện chất lượng môi trường sinh thái ở trung tâm xanh đô thị mới nổi lớn nhất thế giới được tiết lộ bởi một khung đánh giá mới

- Vi hạt nhựa trong các lưu vực đô thị: Xem xét các nguồn, đường đi và sự xâm nhập vào nước mưa

- Tích hợp mô hình CFD-GIS để tinh chỉnh đánh giá tiện nghi nhiệt và nhiệt đô thị

- Tận dụng hiệu quả tài nguyên đối với khí thải môi trường: Trường hợp siêu đô thị ở Trung Quốc

- Hiển thị sự thay đổi địa lý của các tác động môi trường nông nghiệp ven đô ở Khu vực đô thị của Barcelona: Đánh giá vòng đời khu vực

- Định hướng doanh nhân xanh và quản lý tri thức xanh có quan trọng trong việc theo đuổi đổi mới xanh thuận cả hai tay: Một mô hình hòa giải được kiểm duyệt

- Một giải pháp dựa trên học sâu chính xác và có thể thích ứng để dọn dẹp rác trôi nổi và hiệu quả của nó đối với việc phục hồi môi trường

- Chi phí Vòng đời Môi trường (ELCC) của Di chuyển Không khí Đô thị (UAM) như một đầu vào cho di động đô thị bền vững

- Pháp luật về môi trường đô thị và hoạt động môi trường của doanh nghiệp: Quản trị cuối cùng hay kiểm soát quá trình?

- Vật liệu di truyền của SARS-CoV-2 bị loại bỏ trong quá trình xử lý nước thải đô thị và không thể phát hiện được sau khi xử lý nâng cao

- Phân tích sóng con của dòng khí quyển trên hình thái đô thị thực

- Bộ lọc cát tăng cường sắt: Hiệu suất chất lượng dòng chảy đô thị (nước mưa) trong nhiều năm

- Quy hoạch nhiều giai đoạn hệ thống thoát nước đô thị LID-GREI để đáp ứng với những thay đổi sử dụng đất

- Hệ thống hạn chế làn đường để giảm chi phí môi trường của đường đô thị

- Lactoferrin làm giảm độc tính trên thận do vật chất hạt đô thị gây ra bằng cách điều chỉnh trục CSF2/CENPE

- Ghép nối cục bộ và ghép nối từ xa giữa đô thị hóa và chất lượng môi trường sinh thái dựa trên dữ liệu viễn thám đa nguồn

- Tác động kết hợp của phương tiện giao thông và đốt rác thải đối với không khí đô thị được halogen hóa và hydrocacbon thơm đa vòng gốc

- Sự xuất hiện và rủi ro của 23 phụ gia lốp xe và các sản phẩm biến đổi của chúng trong hệ thống nước đô thị

- Số phận và sự vận chuyển của crom trong các khu công nghiệp: Mô phỏng động trên phẫu diện đất

- Nồng độ POP trong các loài giáp xác biển mắc cạn dọc theo bờ biển nông nghiệp của Đông Nam Tây Ban Nha cho thấy gánh nặng ô nhiễm công nghiệp thấp hơn so với các loài giáp xác biển Địa Trung Hải khác

- Sự thay đổi độc tính gây ra bởi các chất ô nhiễm chính trong nước thải công nghiệp dọc theo chuỗi xử lý của quá trình oxy hóa nâng cao bùn hoạt tính Fenton

- Giảm thiểu đảo nhiệt công nghiệp ở vùng Angul-Talcher của Ấn Độ: Đánh giá bằng cách sử dụng Mô hình tán đô thị đơn WRF đã sửa đổi

- Nghiên cứu sức khỏe môi trường có sự tham gia: Một công cụ để khám phá phơi nhiễm xã hội trong một khu công nghiệp lớn của châu Âu

- Chất hấp thụ vải không dệt bền vững dựa trên chất thải đay sau công nghiệp để làm sạch sự cố tràn dầu

- Một cách tiếp cận cấu hình để giải thích hành vi trách nhiệm với môi trường của các công ty ở các nền kinh tế mới nổi trong ngành công nghiệp 4.0

- Quy định bắt buộc về môi trường ảnh hưởng như thế nào đến chất lượng công bố thông tin môi trường của doanh nghiệp

- Sự xuất hiện và tác động của kim loại nặng đến môi trường

- Tác động của tiền điện tử và đầu tư xanh đến môi trường toàn cầu: Phân tích chuỗi thời gian

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159715

Abstract

Large ecological green spaces in cities are often designated as Urban Green Hearts (GHs) to support the ecological and recreational needs of urbanites. While GHs protection and sustainable development have been a high priority for urban planning and management, ecological environment quality (EEQ) of GHs has rarely been monitored and assessed. Here, we proposed a comprehensive assessment framework for EEQ based on entropy weights and rank-sum ratios methods, and applied the framework to the world's largest GH, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration Green Heart (CZT-GH), and its 5 km and 10 km buffer zones to examine the spatial-temporal dynamics of its EEQ from 2000 to 2019. Compared with the buffer zones, the EEQ in the CZT-GH was the best, with an annual average of 44.92 % of the area being High-grades EEQ. The restoration trend of EEQ was most conspicuous in only 8.4 % of CZT-GH, a small fraction compared with 25.1 % and 66.5 % of the CZT-GH showing deterioration trend and no change, respectively. Five factors were identified that calls for management attention: land use and cover change, spatial heterogeneity in vegetation restoration, temporal fluctuation in air quality improvement, comprehensive EEQ assessment and restoration, and capacity to cope with ecological risks. The approach, issues identified, and management measures proposed in this study should be applicable to GHs in general. The generic EEQ assessment framework and approaches developed in this study are generic and objective and therefore can be easily adapted to other regions; the procedures used to quantify the spatial and temporal changes of EEQ and identify underlying management issues provide essential information for formulating adaptive management measures of EEQ in general.

Synopsis

Taking the largest urban Green Heart as a case study, we established and applied a new general ecological environment quality (EEQ) evaluation system to monitor EEQ changes, identify issues, and propose management options.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159781

Abstract

Urban areas play a key role in the production of microplastics (MPs) and their entry into water bodies. This article reviews the literature on the sources, transport, and control of MPs in urban environments with the aim of clarifying the mechanisms underlying these processes. Major MP sources include atmospheric deposition, micro-litter, and tire and road wear particles (TRWPs). MPs deposited from the atmosphere are mostly fibers and may be particularly important in catchments without traffic. Littering and attrition of textiles and plastic products is another important MP source. However, the quantities of MPs originating from this source may be hard to estimate. TRWPs are a significant source of MPs in urban areas and are arguably the best quantified source. The mobilization of MPs in urban catchments is poorly understood but it appears that dry unconsolidated sediments and MP deposits are most readily mobilized. Sequestration of MPs occurs in green areas and is poorly understood. Consequently, some authors consider green/pervious parts of urban catchments to be MP sinks. Field studies have shown that appreciable MP removal occurs in stormwater quality control facilities. Street cleaning and snow removal also remove MPs (particularly TRWPs), but the efficacy of these measures is unknown. Among stormwater management facilities, biofiltration/retention units seem to remove MPs more effectively than facilities relying on stormwater settling. However, knowledge of MP removal in stormwater facilities remains incomplete. Finally, although 13 research papers reported MP concentrations in stormwater, the total number of field samples examined in these studies was only 189. Moreover, the results of these studies are not necessarily comparable because they are based on relatively small numbers of samples and differ widely in terms of their objectives, sites, analytical methods, size fractions, examined polymers, and even terminology. This area of research can thus be considered "data-poor” and offers great opportunities for further research in many areas.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159729

Abstract

Constant urban growth exacerbates the demand for residential, commercial and traffic areas, leading to progressive surface sealing and urban densification. With climate change altering precipitation and temperature patterns worldwide, cities are exposed to multiple risks, demanding holistic and anticipatory urban planning strategies and adaptive measures that are multi-beneficial. Sustainable urban planning requires comprehensive tools that account for different aspects and boundary conditions and are capable of mapping and assessing crucial processes of land-atmosphere interactions and the impacts of adaptation measures on the urban climate system. Here, we combine Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities to refine an existing 2D urban micro- and bioclimatic modelling approach. In particular, we account for the vertical and horizontal variability in wind speed and air temperature patterns in the urban canopy layer. Our results highlight the importance of variability of these patterns in analysing urban heat development, intensity and thermal comfort at multiple heights from the ground surface. Neglecting vertical and horizontal variability, non-integrated CFD modelling underestimates mean land surface temperature by 7.8 °C and the Universal Thermal Climate Index by 6.9 °C compared to CFD-integrated modelling. Due to the strong implications of wind and air temperature patterns on the relationship between surface temperature and human thermal comfort, we urge caution when relying on studies solely based on surface temperatures for urban heat assessment and hot spot analysis as this could lead to misinterpretations of hot and cool spots in cities and, thus, mask the anticipated effects of adaptation measures. The integrated CFD-GIS modelling approach, which we demonstrate, improves urban climate studies and supports more comprehensive assessments of urban heat and human thermal comfort to sustainably develop resilient cities.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159514

Abstract

Material metabolism in a Chinese megacity, Shanghai, was investigated with an integrated approach. Production-based raw material input, city-wide waste output and carbon emissions were compiled for the period 1995–2020, by computing hundreds of products and by-products. Decoupling of these resource and environmental flows from economic development was assessed, and the socio-economic and technical drivers were decomposed. The research demonstrated a hypothesis that flows of primary resources, waste, and carbon emissions displayed a certain level of synchronicity in the past decades. An order effect was seen with waste indicators usually performing better than carbon indicators, and carbon indicators are better than resource indicators in terms of material/environmental intensity and decoupling. There might be a resource leverage leading to the synchronicity of environmental emissions. Improvement in resource efficiency was decomposed as the most significant driver to urban metabolism, bringing about >33 % of resource reduction, 32 % of carbon mitigation, and 30 % of waste diminution from the 2010 values. A greater extent in emission reduction than resource use was attributed to the decrease of fossil fuels share in total resource use and carbon intensity per energy consumption. Continuous increase in post-use waste flows caused a rebound of waste indicators in the recent five-year period (2016–2020) and broke up the synchronicity. This potentially foresees the shift of material metabolism from production to consumption side in major cities in China and calls for reforms of environmental policies.

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159777

Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

It is imperative to quantitatively analyze the long-term temporal and spatial characteristics of the urban heat island (UHI) effect on cities for applications, such as urban expansion and environmental protection. Owing to the high spatial resolution and availability of long time-series data, remote sensing images from Landsat satellites are widely used for land surface temperature (LST) retrieval. However, limited by the satellite revisit cycle and image quality, the use of multisource Landsat images in a long-term study of the UHI effect is inevitable. Nonetheless, owing to the differences among multisource sensors, such as Landsat-7 and Landsat-8, there may be apparent deviations in the LST results retrieved from different sensor data, which are obtained from the same area and under similar circumstances. Consequently, it is necessary to build a relationship between the LST results generated from multisource Landsat sensors for future research on the UHI effect.

In this study, Shenzhen city was studied to explore the fitting relationship between the corresponding LST products from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 images obtained from adjacent dates with similar climatic conditions. Furthermore, factors affecting the fitting models, such as land cover types, seasonal and inter-annual differences, were analyzed. The constructed fitting model had a strong relationship with land cover types but a relatively weak relationship with seasonal and inter-annual differences; this indicates that a pseudo Landsat-8-based LST product can be generated from a Landsat-7-based LST product using a model fitted by a Landsat-7/8 pair obtained from adjacent years (or different seasons). Finally, by considering the consistency between LST products from multisource Landsat images, the spatiotemporal variations in the UHI effect in Shenzhen can be accurately explored using long time-series data.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159757

Abstract

Understanding how ecosystem services (ESs) interact with urbanization is crucial for formulating sustainable development policies. Although previous literature has paid attention to this topic, information on complex spatiotemporal interactions between ESs and urbanization remains inadequate, especially in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), a typical basin that will usher in rapid progress of ecological protection and urbanization. In this study, we constructed a framework for evaluating ecosystem service values (ESV) and urbanization by synthesizing multi-source data in the YRB from 1980 to 2018, and further revealing the interactive coercing mechanisms of ESV and urbanization. We found that the YRB has experienced rapid urbanization, with an increasing growth trend for all urbanization indicators, especially from 2000 onwards. ESV had a significant negative correlation with urbanization, showing a decreasing trend with urbanization growth before 2000, but reversed this trend after 2000 as ecological restoration projects offset the adverse effects of urbanization on ESV. Furthermore, while significant negative spatial correlations occurred between ESV and urbanization, these correlations diminished over time. The results also revealed differences in the spatial correlations between global and local scales, with three types of spatial correlations at the local scale: High-Low (high ESV and low urbanization), Low-High (low ESV and high urbanization), and Low-Low (low ESV and low urbanization). Our results contribute to understanding the interactive coercing relationship between ESV and urbanization in the YRB, particularly at the local scale, and insights into coordinating future ecological protection and urban development.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159519

Abstract

Peri urban agriculture (peri-UA) can supply food locally and potentially more sustainably than far-away conventional agricultural systems. It can also introduce significant environmental impacts depending on the local biophysical conditions and resources required to implement it and, on the crops managing practices, which could vary widely among growers. Sophisticated methods to account for such variability while assessing direct (on-site) and indirect (up/down stream) environmental impacts of peri-UA implementation are thus needed. We implemented an attributional, regionalized, cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) for which we derive spatially explicit inventories and calculate 14 impacts due to peri-UA using the ReCiPe method. Further, to show the importance of impact assessment regionalization for the environmental assessment of peri-UA, we regionalize eutrophication impacts characterization. We use the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) to illustrate these methodological developments. Vegetables and greenhouses, the prevalent peri-UA land uses, had the largest impacts assessed, of all peri-UA land uses. European NPK mineral fertilizer production to cover N demand of these crops drives all impacts. For fruit crops, on-site N emissions drive marine eutrophication impacts and for irrigated herbaceous crops, phosphate runoff drives freshwater eutrophication impacts. Geographic variability of peri-UA metabolic flows and impacts was displayed. Management practices at the plots, which are linked the land use, are responsible for impacts variability. Regionalization of eutrophication impacts highlights the importance of accounting for the biophysical aspects at the geographic scale at which peri-UA takes place, which is a much finer scale than those implemented in current regionalization of impact assessment methods in LCA. This study provides a fundamental baseline needed to assess transition scenarios of peri-UA at an appropriate geographic level of analysis and gives essential knowledge to guide appropriate circular and sustainability strategies for the sector.

Environmental Research, Volume 218, 1 February 2023, 114989

Abstract

PM2.5-bound heavy metals were measured in a Chinese megacity (Tianjin) in 2013, 2016 and 2019, and analyzed by a new RSDA method (source directional apportionment of risks). Through combining the receptor model, cluster analysis of back trajectories, and risk assessment, the RSDA was developed in this work to quantify source-specific risks from each direction. Concentrations of PM2.5 and most species (especially for heavy metals) underwent various reductions, and the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and non-cancer risk (HQ) declined by more than 80% from 2013 to 2019. Pb was the highest contributor to the reduction of HMs mass concentration (58.6%), while Cr (85.5% for cancer risk) and As (26.0% for non-cancer risk) were more prominent for the reduction of HM risks. The coal combustion and industrial emissions were vital contributors to the reduction of both PM2.5 mass concentrations (contributed 34.0% and 7.8% to the reduction respectively) and health risks (contributed 36.1% and 25.7% to the cancer risk reduction respectively). Although the percentage mass contribution of traffic emissions increased (7.7% in 2013 and 21.9% in 2019), the associated risks decreased (contributed 26.8% to the cancer risk reduction). Furthermore, the results of RSDA consistently implied that coal combustion, industrial emissions and traffic emissions controls in the northeast/north-northeast, south and southwest of the studied area played important roles in the risk reductions, which mainly due to the risk reduction of air masses from NE/NNE, S and SW, and their strong influence to Tianjin. The RSDA method can quantify the health risks from different sources and directions, and the evaluation of contributors to the reductions of risks in this work would provide a meaningful reference for policy maker to control PM2.5 emissions and protect population health.

Environmental Research, Volume 218, 1 February 2023, 115060

Abstract

Global warming is a serious threat to human survival and health. Facing increasing global warming, the issue of CO2 emissions has attracted more attention. China is a major contributor of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and so it is essential to accurately estimate China's CO2 emissions and analyze their changing characteristics. This study recalculates CO2 emissions from Chinese cities from 2011 to 2020 using the SPNN-GNNWR model and multiple factors to reduce the uncertainty in emission estimates. The SPNN-GNNWR model has excellent predictions (R2: 0.925, 10-fold CV R2: 0.822) when cross-validation is used. The results indicate that the total CO2 emissions in China calculated by the model are close to those accounted for by other authorities in the world, with the total CO2 emissions increasing from 9.122 billion tonnes in 2011 to 9.912 billion tonnes in 2020. The city with the largest increase in CO2 emissions is Tianjin, and the city with the largest decrease is Beijing. The study also reveals the regional differences in CO2 emissions in Chinese mainland, including emissions, emission intensity and per capita emissions. Capturing and understanding the emissions and the related socioeconomic characteristics of different cities can help to develop effective emission mitigation strategies.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 388, 15 February 2023, 135971

Abstract

Building on the resource-based view theory, the study proposed a moderated mediation model to investigate the impact of green entrepreneurial orientation on ambidextrous green innovation (GI), the mediating role of green knowledge management, and the moderating role of resource orchestration capability. The study used a hierarchical regression analysis to examine data gathered from managers of varying levels in manufacturing firms in Pakistan. The study findings reveal that green entrepreneurial orientation influences exploitative and exploratory GIs. Green knowledge management partially mediates the relationship between green entrepreneurial orientation and exploitative and exploratory GIs. Moreover, resource orchestration capability not only strengthens the effect of green entrepreneurial orientation on green knowledge management but also the effects of green knowledge management on exploratory GI. The moderated mediation results reveal that the mediating role of green knowledge management on green entrepreneurial orientation and ambidextrous GIs is stronger when resource orchestration capability is high. These findings deepen the theoretical underpinning for green entrepreneurship, provide insight into how to enhance green innovation in manufacturing firms, and help advance the area of green entrepreneurship research.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 388, 15 February 2023, 135816

Abstract

Ending water pollution is urgent for environmental recovery globally. Floating litter cleaning up solution, as an essential strategy for reducing pollution, is formulated in a few studies. In autonomous waste collection systems like unmanned surface vehicles (USV), floating litter cleaning up is very challenging on natural water surfaces due to the complex environmental factors seriously degrading litter detection accuracy, lowering efficiency, or even causing the failure of collection. The impact of the cleaning-up solution on environmental recovery has yet to be discussed. To fill knowledge gaps, we propose an accurate and adaptable deep learning solution based on Faster RCNN to address this challenge through the first-time implementation of the attention mechanism at the C3 stage of ResNet50 to effectively extract the useful feature information and compress the negative influence of the complex environmental factors. We here first discuss the effectiveness of our cleaning-up solution in water pollution-reducing and waste recycling for resource-saving, to the best of our knowledge. The extensive experimental results on our self-built dataset show that our solution is superior to the state of the arts in the accuracy and adaptability of floating litter detection under the different complex scenes. Our solution improves the effectiveness of floating waste collection a lot. It significantly contributes to pollution mitigation, ecosystem, resource-saving, and human health. It is suggested that stakeholders should pay more attention to improving cleaning-up solutions. This work strives to shed light on it based on deep learning for environmental recovery and sustainability.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 389, 20 February 2023, 136009

Abstract

The growth of shared mobility has recently challenged the way mobility has traditionally been conceived. In this perspective, this study investigates the Environmental Life Cycle Costs of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) services to evaluate their potential integration with other transport systems, in the three-time horizons (2025, 2030, 2035). The key area of research was focused on the determination of the cost components of UAM required to calculate the unit costs of UAM transportation. To this end, unitary data and the method from a 2017 EC DG MOVE's report on urban accessibility have been adopted. The analysis confirms that most of the cost is related to the aircraft energy consumption during flight, while the rest is used by ground infrastructure. Moreover, the energy cost is strongly correlated with the distance travelled and the size of the aircraft. The longer the flight and the bigger the aircraft, the higher is the energy cost. Complex cost analysis should be able to support decision-makers in the definition of Sustainable Urban Mobility and their principles of integration, participation, monitoring and evaluation. However, it will be necessary to be able to draw on more consolidated and widespread data over time for the creation of Urban plans for Sustainable Mobility.

Energy Economics, Volume 118, February 2023, 106494

Abstract

Urban environmental legislation is an important institutional arrangement to ensure the orderly progress of ecological civilization construction. It will also affect corporate environmental performance (CEP) due to more binding environmental regulation measures. Firstly, this paper clarifies the theoretical logic and mechanism of the impact of urban environmental legislation on CEP. Secondly, we matched the data of 3642 listed firms from 2010 to 2019 with the panel data of 277 prefecture-level cities, conducted a quasi-natural experiment based on urban environmental legislation, and used the differential-in-difference model (DID) to test the above mechanism. The results show that urban environmental legislation can significantly improve CEP. Our heterogeneity analyses show that urban environmental legislation more significantly impacts firms with strong debt financing ability, perfect internal governance structure, and low equity concentration. The mechanism test demonstrates that urban environmental legislation improves CEP directly by increasing environmental investment and indirectly by increasing media and public attention. According to a quantitative analysis of 714 urban environmental legislation texts, urban environmental legislation has a significant positive impact on corporate environmental operation performance focusing on terminal governance but no significant impact on corporate environmental management performance focusing on process control.

Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 89, February 2023, 104316

Abstract

Stakeholder-orientation is critical to fostering sustainable urban development through synergic collaborations among urban stakeholders. However, although Stakeholder Value Creation (SVC) has been widely explored in sustainable organizations, little attention has been given to SVC in Urban Sustainability. Thus, this research explored the conceptual connections between SVC and Urban Sustainability using a new methodological protocol based on a Sequential Mixed Method Research design. The main findings revealed that the social, economic, and institutional dimensions of Urban Sustainability are fully integrated into the SVC framework; however, better integration of the Environmental Dimension is needed. Therefore, this dyadic phenomenon can currently be classified as unsustainable or weak sustainability. Additionally, the critical characteristics of SVC with Urban Sustainability are: stakeholder engagement; stakeholder cooperation; ethics of capitalism; satisfaction of stakeholders' needs by self-organization and learning capacities, diversity, trust, common meaning, and consensus; sustainable economic development; innovation ecosystems; sharing economy; circular economy; technical resources; social capital; smart sustainable cities; and energy efficiency. Finally, we proposed a framework for Sustainable SVC in Cities, in which SVC is a means for achieving Urban Sustainability and better integrating the environmental dimension. Environmental issues, environmental management, social entrepreneurship, non-human stakeholders, and stakeholder proximity are promising perspectives in the framework.

Energy Economics, Volume 118, February 2023, 106487

Abstract

Voluntary CO2 offsetting by individuals, firms, and organizations is increasingly considered as a direction of climate policy that is complementary to traditional approaches such as subsidies or CO2 taxes. Based on data from a large-scale survey among corporate decision makers, this paper empirically examines corporate CO2 offsetting and its determinants in small- and medium-sized firms in Germany. Our descriptive statistics show both a rather limited engagement in corporate CO2 offsetting as well as a strong lack of knowledge about its mechanism. The econometric analysis reveals that some firm-specific characteristics like the average age of the employees, firm size, and firm age matter for CO2 offsetting. However, the main estimation results refer to the relevance of general environment-related variables like the implementation of environmental product and service innovations or the share of employees that carry out environment-related tasks and especially of climate-related factors and activities. In particular, the implementation of climate targets and the participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) are strongly significantly positively correlated with CO2 offsetting. In line with similar findings at the individual level, these estimation results imply that also corporate CO2 offsetting does not substitute or crowd out other climate protection and further pro-environmental activities, but rather complements them.

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, Available online 1 February 2023, 103370

Abstract

In order to improve the practical effect of environmental planning methods, this paper combines neural network artificial intelligence technology to study the environmental planning methods. Based on the idea of multi-layer DEM's stratum 3D modeling, this paper uses the spatial interpolation analysis in ArcGIS to fit the surface of the environmental data to obtain the surface layer of the stratum interface, and combine the geographic information system to construct the system frame structure. Moreover, based on neural network and artificial intelligence technology, this paper uses the prediction algorithm based on the comprehensive index and the BP neural network model to process and calculate the sample data, and conduct experimental analysis on the system of this paper through experimental research. The research results show that the environmental planning method based on neural network and artificial intelligence technology proposed in this paper has good results and can be applied to current environmental planning for auxiliary planning.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 859, Part 1, 10 February 2023, 159575

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish whether SARS-CoV-2 genetic material is detectable after municipal wastewater treatment and to verify its expected removal from purified water that is reclaimed for potable reuse. Viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 (N1 and N2 genes) were monitored in raw influent wastewater (sewage) entering a water reclamation facility and in subsequent advanced treatment. Despite the large viral RNA load in raw sewage during peak COVID-19 outbreaks, substantial amounts of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material were removed during the conventional wastewater treatment process. Further, SARS-CoV-2 genetic material was undetectable after advanced purification. This confirms that potable reuse is resilient against high viral loads which are expected results given the advanced degree of wastewater and water treatment. Findings from this study may enhance public perception of the safety of potable water reuse; however, it should also be noted that studies to date worldwide indicate no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via water, and the CDC does not consider fecal waste or wastewaters as a source of exposure.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 859, Part 1, 10 February 2023, 160209

Abstract

Winds are the basic forces for atmospheric transport such as pollutant removal and pedestrian thermal comfort. The transport capability is commonly measured in terms of length and velocity scales. In this connection, the flows in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) over the Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong (HK) are scrutinized by the large-eddy simulation (LES) to characterize the motion scales over real urban morphology. Apart from statistical analysis, the streamwise fluctuating velocity u′ is examined by both wavelet and energy spectrum in which a primary peak is consistently shown at streamwise wavelength 70 m ≤ λx ≤ 300 m. A secondary peak at a longer wavelength 800 m ≤ λx ≤ 3000 m, however, is unveiled by wavelet only. It denotes the existence of intermittent turbulence structures whose sizes are much larger than those of buildings. Further wavelet analysis reveals that majority energy-carrying eddies are enlarging (tens to hundreds of meters) from the roughness sublayer (RSL) to the inertial sublayer (ISL). Analogous to its smooth-wall and schematic rough-wall counterparts, the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) over urban areas is peaked in the ISL which is carried by eddies of size 50 m ≤ λx ≤ 1000 m. The (horizontal) spatial distribution of energy-carrying eddies is further visualized to compare the crucial motion scales in the RSL and ISL. Finally, conditional sampling is used to demystify the contribution to vertical momentum flux u′w′ in terms of streamwise wavelength and quadrants. The results advance our fundamental understanding of ASL transport processes, fostering sustainable environmental policy.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 859, Part 2, 10 February 2023, 160177

Abstract

Untreated urban runoff (stormwater) is a major pathway for contaminants, e.g., nutrients and metals, to receiving waters. Where eutrophication occurs, dissolved phosphorus (DP) treatment is often necessary to protect receiving waters, yet few practical methods exist. Iron-enhanced sand filters (IESFs) have successfully treated DP in laboratory and limited field studies. Yet, multi-year-IESF studies to understand reportedly variable performance are unavailable. Herein, nine IESFs were sampled from 2015 to 2018 (528 samples; 70 rainfall-runoff events). Analysis focused on influent/effluent concentrations and removal efficiencies alongside design and catchment parameters. Overall, IESFs significantly removed most total and dissolved metal analytes. Generally, phosphorus removal efficiencies correlated positively with influent concentrations and IESF:catchment area ratios, demonstrating the importance of proper sizing and siting. For all paired influent-effluent samples, respective median total phosphorus, orthophosphate, and DP removal efficiencies were 33 %, 41 %, and 13 %, and respective median effluent concentrations were 120, 25, and 75 (μg/L); with two malfunctioning sites omitted, these respective concentrations were 92, 11, and 47, which better matched relevant goals and (indirectly applicable) standards. Nonetheless, phosphorus removal efficiency and effluent concentrations varied significantly across IESFs and events. Seasonality appeared influential, yet variable influent concentrations confounded spatiotemporal removal efficiency comparisons. Thus, compared to removal efficiencies, effluent concentrations may be better indicators of receiving water risk/benefit and of equal importance for water quality crediting. Although 122 influent-effluent pairs were analyzed, a greater sample size would allow multivariate hypothesis tests with additional predictors. Overall, in this multi-site-year study, most IESFs performed at (n = 5) or near (n = 2) phosphorus effluent concentration and less-so, removal efficiency benchmarks. This research provides new quantitative knowledge on long-term IESF performance for real-world conditions and goals. Research recommendations include multivariate dimension reduction studies and comprehensive, effective information transfer to improve IESF understanding and performance and address practitioner needs, e.g., for refined design, operation, and assessment guidance.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 859, Part 1, 10 February 2023, 160214

Abstract

Long-term planning of urban drainage systems aimed at maintaining the sustainability of urban hydrology remains challenging. In this study, an innovative multi-stage planning framework involving two adaptation pathways for optimizing hybrid low impact development and grey infrastructure (LID-GREI) layouts in opposing chronological orders was explored. The Forward Planning and Backward Planning are adaptation pathways to increase LID in chronological order based on the initial development stage of an urban built-up area and reduce LID in reverse chronological order based on the final development stage, respectively. Two resilience indicators, which considered potential risk scenarios of extreme storms and pipeline failures, were used to evaluate the performance of optimized layouts when land-use changed and evolved over time. Compared these two pathways, Forward Planning made the optimized layouts more economical and resilient in most risk scenarios when land-use changed, while the layouts optimized by Backward Planning showed higher resilience only in the initial stage. Furthermore, a decentralized scheme in Forward Planning was chosen as the optimal solution when taking costs, reliability, resilience, and land-use changes into an overall consideration. Nevertheless, this kind of reverse optimization order offers a novel exploration in planning pathways for discovering the alternative optimization schemes. More comprehensive solutions can be provided to decision-makers. The findings will shed a light on the exploration of optimized layouts in terms of spatial configuration and resilience performance in response to land-use changes. This framework can be used to support long-term investment and planning in urban drainage systems for sustainable stormwater management.

Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 115, February 2023, 103575

Abstract

Separating trucks from passenger vehicles on urban roads is a task that has attracted attention in many countries because of its capacity to improve traffic performance and optimize traffic resources. A lane-restriction system was designed in this study to improve the performance of urban roads and reduce environmental costs, including total fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. As environmental costs are systemic and must be considered in urban road networks, we first determined the critical factors of lane restriction from the perspectives of urban traffic and the environment. We also designed a dedicated vehicle classification, application scope, and evaluation index system considering the environmental costs of an urban road with a lane-restriction system. Two case studies were conducted to verify the effectiveness. The results suggest that the proposed lane-restriction system significantly improves traffic performance and reduces the environmental costs of the urban road network.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 318, 1 February 2023, 120871

Abstract

Several epidemiological studies regarding the adverse effect of air pollution have notably accelerated in recent years. Urban particulate matter (PM) gains access to the respiratory system and translocates into the circulation to affect several tissues, such as the liver and kidneys. Lactoferrin is a substance belonging to the non-heme iron-binding glycoprotein which is present in breast milk and other exocrine fluids. Lactoferrin is protective against many pathophysiological conditions. In the present study, we explored the potential influence of lactoferrin on PM-induced nephrotoxicity. We found that lactoferrin rescued PM-induced cell death but did not affect apoptosis in human kidney cells. Lactoferrin decreased necroptosis and fibrosis but increased autophagy in human kidney cells. Furthermore, the gene expression profiles of PM and lactoferrin were analyzed by RNA sequencing. The transcriptional profiles were uploaded and analyzed by ingenuity pathway analysis software and gene set enrichment analysis. The results showed that the crucial role of the CSF2/CENPE pathway was involved in human kidney cells treated with PM and lactoferrin. In a mouse model, lactoferrin ameliorates PM-induced nephrotoxicity by regulating necroptosis, fibrosis, autophagy and the CSF2/CENPE axis. In summary, these findings showed that lactoferrin could be a novel therapeutic or preventive agent for renal disorders caused by airborne PM pollution.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 860, 20 February 2023, 160469

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are precursors for ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, thereby playing a vital role in atmospheric chemistry and urban air quality. To characterize the relationship between VOCs and SOA, organics both in gas and particulate phases were concurrently measured in urban Beijing. The VOCs and organic aerosol (OA) were apportioned into factors with different oxidation levels by applying the factorization analysis on their detailed mass spectra. Six factors of VOCs were identified, including four primary VOCs (PVOC) factors and two secondary VOCs (SVOC) factors. The PVOC factors dominated the total VOCs when the air mass originated in the cleaner northern areas, while SVOC factors dominated for polluted southern air masses. The normalized concentrations of PVOC and primary OA factors showed consistent diurnal variations regardless of air mass directions, owing to the relatively stable local emissions during the experimental period. This contrasted with the secondary factors due to more complex transformation processes. The traffic-related VOCs and solid fuel combustion VOCs negatively correlated with SOA, implying that they may have contributed to the SOA formation through photooxidation. The VOCs in lower oxidation levels were found to have poor correlations with the less oxidized SOA, whereas they correlated strongly to the more oxidized SOA. This implied that the less oxidized SOA may be in a transition state, where its production and loss rates were balanced. These served as products of VOCs oxidation and reactants of more oxidized SOA formation, playing important roles on the VOC to SOA transformation. The identified VOC emission sources and their photochemical production of SOA should be considered in air quality policy planning.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 327, 1 February 2023, 116921

Research article

Abstract

Coordinating the relationship between urbanization and ecological environment quality (EEQ) is crucial to achieving sustainable development. With the development of globalization, the pattern of remote interaction between urbanization and EEQ has gradually increased. However, the current study on the coupling of urbanization and EEQ lacks a remote perspective, and the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) model has not yet considered the environmental pollution caused by population agglomeration. For these reasons, this study proposes the remote sensing ecological environment index (RSEEI) model and measures the local coupling and telecoupling coordination degree (LTCCD) of urbanization and EEQ in China from 2000 to 2020. According to the results, the rate of change of EEQ in China was −0.00011a−1. RSEEI widens the gap between the east and west of EEQ, differentiated by the Heihe-Tengchong Line. China's urbanization is growing at a 0.0008a−1 rate, with a spatially driven radiation potential with Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao as the core. LTCCD follows an increasing trend from inland to coastal and west to east. Over 70% of provinces experienced a shift in adjacent LTCCD levels, and 14 provinces moved from disorder to coordination after 2010. The telecoupling strengthens the correlation between urbanization and EEQ among regions compared with traditional coupling. In addition, the eastern coastal areas, the northern and central-south inland areas, and the northwest face different coordination problems.

9. Combined effects of vehicles and waste incineration on urban air halogenated and parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Environment International, Volume 171, January 2023, 107720

Abstract

Traffic emissions and waste incineration are the main sources of PAHs in urban atmosphere, but their spatially superimposed effects are currently unclear. This study assessed the spatial distribution of PAHs and HPAHs concentrations in the atmosphere of Shenzhen by simulating the spatial and temporal dispersion of PAHs and HPAHs emissions from on-road vehicles and municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs). Generally, the concentrations of PAHs and HPAHs were higher on workdays than on weekends due to higher traffic volumes, while the prevailing wind direction of the northeast could cause more widespread dispersion of PAHs and HPAHs within Shenzhen’s atmosphere. After superimposing the spatial distribution of pollutants emitted by vehicles and MSWIs, PAHs within 1000 m downwind of MSWIs are mainly contributed by MSWIs and beyond 1000 m by vehicles. The cancer risk values induced by exposure to PAHs and HPAHs via inhalation in Shenzhen were below the acceptable risk level for males and females in each age group, while adults faced the highest cancer risk, followed by adolescents and children. However, spatially, the cancer risk values were above the priority risk level for adult males in localized high-traffic areas in Futian and Luohu districts.

Environment International, Volume 171, January 2023, 107715

Abstract

Tire wear particles (TWPs) enter road surface with the friction between tires and road surfaces. Under the volatilization, leaching, and transformation action on TWPs by sunlight and rain, tire additives are released into urban water systems, such as surface rainfall runoff, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), receiving surface waters, and drinking water treatment plant (DWTP). In this study, we investigated the occurrence of 23 tire additives and their transformation products in the urban water system of the Pearl River Delta region, South China. Nineteen target compounds were detected in the surface runoff, with 1,3-Diphenylguanidine (DPG) showing highest maximum concentration of 58780 ng/L. Benzothiazole and its transformation products are detected at the frequency of 100 % with the total concentrations of 480–42160 ng/L. The antioxidant derivative N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-Q) was also detected up to 1562 ng/L, which was considerably higher than that of the parent compound 6PPD (the maximum concentration of 7.52 ng/L). Eleven and 8 compounds were detected in WWTPs influents and effluents, respectively, with removal rates of − 62–100 %. Seventeen compounds were detected in the receiving Zhujiang and Dongjiang rivers, while 9 compounds were detected in drinking water sources and DWTP samples. Road runoff, with total concentrations of target compounds up to 79200 ng/L, is suggested as the main non-point source for receiving rivers, while WWTPs effluents are the point sources due to incomplete removal of target compounds after accepting the initial runoff. 6PPD-Q and other 10 compounds displayed median to high ecological risks in surface waters, and the human daily intake of tire additives was estimated to be 2.63 × 10−8-3.16 × 10−5 mg/(kg d) via drinking water. This is the first report of the 6PPD-Q and 1,3-Diphenylurea levels in surface waters in China.

Environment International, Volume 172, February 2023, 107752

Abstract

The Air Quality Index (AQI), which jointly accounts for levels of criteria air pollutants relative to their guidelines, is largely reported at the city level. Little is known about the spatial patterns of the AQI in terms of the magnitude, temporal variability, and predominant air pollutant contributions at the hyperlocal scale within a city. To fill this research gap, we developed spatiotemporal models for each criteria air pollutant based on an advanced geostatistical framework and estimated daily AQI levels at 100-meter resolution in a metropolitan city in 2019. The model prediction ability (cross-validation, CV, Coefficient of determination, R2, and root mean square error, RMSE) ranged from 0.43 and 1.86 µg/m3 for sulfur dioxide (SO2) to 0.92 and 6.25 µg/m3 for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the six air pollutants, leading to good performance in the subsequent AQI estimations (CV R2 = 0.86, RMSE = 10.05). The AQI varies substantially over space at a fine scale and differs from the distributions of individual air pollutants. The unhealthy air quality (AQI > 100 over 75 days) spatial pattern was dominated by excessive ground-level ozone exposure in a large area. Our research provides a useful tool for accurately estimating AQI spatiotemporal variations for population health studies.

Environment International, Volume 172, February 2023, 107744

Abstract

The 2017–2019 hourly particle number size distributions (PNSD) from 26 sites in Europe and 1 in the US were evaluated focusing on 16 urban background (UB) and 6 traffic (TR) sites in the framework of Research Infrastructures services reinforcing air quality monitoring capacities in European URBAN & industrial areaS (RI-URBANS) project. The main objective was to describe the phenomenology of urban ultrafine particles (UFP) in Europe with a significant air quality focus.

The varying lower size detection limits made it difficult to compare PN concentrations (PNC), particularly PN10-25, from different cities. PNCs follow a TR > UB > Suburban (SUB) order. PNC and Black Carbon (BC) progressively increase from Northern Europe to Southern Europe and from Western to Eastern Europe. At the UB sites, typical traffic rush hour PNC peaks are evident, many also showing midday-morning PNC peaks anti-correlated with BC. These peaks result from increased PN10-25, suggesting significant PNC contributions from nucleation, fumigation and shipping.

Site types to be identified by daily and seasonal PNC and BC patterns are: (i) PNC mainly driven by traffic emissions, with marked correlations with BC on different time scales; (ii) marked midday/morning PNC peaks and a seasonal anti-correlation with PNC/BC; (iii) both traffic peaks and midday peaks without marked seasonal patterns. Groups (ii) and (iii) included cities with high insolation.

PNC, especially PN25-800, was positively correlated with BC, NO2, CO and PM for several sites. The variable correlation of PNSD with different urban pollutants demonstrates that these do not reflect the variability of UFP in urban environments. Specific monitoring of PNSD is needed if nanoparticles and their associated health impacts are to be assessed. Implementation of the CEN-ACTRIS recommendations for PNSD measurements would provide comparable measurements, and measurements of <10 nm PNC are needed for full evaluation of the health effects of this size fraction.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 318, 1 February 2023, 120874

Abstract

Both brown carbon (BrC) and the non-absorbing components coated on black carbon (BC) aerosols can enhance the light absorption of BC aerosols. BrC is a complicated mixture of organic compounds and not well characterized, which hinders exploring the links between BrC and optical properties. We conducted an in-depth field study on optical properties of ambient aerosols at a monitoring site in Shanghai, China via real-time monitoring and offline analysis. Results showed that BrC caused light absorption coefficients were 3.3 ± 3.3 Mm−1, 2.2 ± 5.0 Mm−1, 1.2 ± 1.2 Mm−1 at λ = 370, 470 and 520 nm, respectively, accounting for 11%, 10%, 6% of the total aerosol absorption for the corresponding wavelengths. A larger proportion of long-chain aliphatic organosulfates (OSs, CnH2n+2O4S, (CH2)nO5S, (CH2)nO6S) with double bond equivalent (DBE) values of 0 or 1 accounted for 5–20% of the light absorption (λ = 365 nm) for soluble brown carbon (BrC), which were dominating for the days with less N-containing aromatic compounds appearing. Furthermore, the structure of CnH2n+2O4S, (CH2)nO5S, (CH2)nO6S were explored using target MS/MS of HPLC-Q-ToF-MS: (CH2)nO5S series, the most abundant family of OSs, were constructed by functionalizing a saturated hydrocarbon with one sulfate and one carbonyl group. CnH2n+2O4S series were oxidized with only one sulfate group in the aliphatic chain R. (CH2)nO6S series were proposed as aliphatic OSs with one ester group. We speculated aliphatic OSs were formed via acid catalyzed perhydrolysis of hydroperoxides derived from long-chain alkanes releasing from diesel fueled vehicles, followed by the reaction with sulfate anion radicals. Therefore, relevant technologies should be further explored to reduce the impacts from vehicle emissions.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 319, 15 February 2023, 121016

Abstract

The land-sea breeze circulation significantly impacts the atmospheric transport of organic aerosols in coastal regions. However, the links between organic aerosols and land-sea breezes remain poorly understood. In this study, organic marker compounds for biomass burning, primary biological aerosols, biogenic and anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in fine particles from a coastal city in East China were analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Land-sea breeze circulations were identified to explore their potential influence on organic molecular compositions. Organic marker compounds showed obvious diurnal/seasonal patterns. Surprisingly, due to the combined influence of weakened East Asian monsoons and land-sea breezes, all detected organic markers decreased except α/β-pinene SOA markers during land-sea breeze periods in early autumn; whereas, all the organic markers increased except α/β-pinene SOA markers, pollen and plant debris markers during land-sea breeze periods in early spring. Furthermore, the reaction pathway and aging of biogenic SOA were also related to land-sea breezes. During the land-sea breeze periods, the ratios of 2-methylglyceric acid (2-MGA) to 2-methyltetrols increased in early autumn, indicating that more isoprene-derived SOA generated from the high-NOx (nitrogen oxides) pathway when the land-sea breezes occurred; while the ratios decreased in early spring, this may be related to the chemical transformation of 2-MGA to 2-MGA sulfates. Changes in the ratio of monoterpene SOA markers demonstrate that monoterpene SOA was relatively aged during sea breeze periods, while it was fresher when the land breeze occurred. Although boundary layer height, emissions, gas/particle partitioning, etc. are important reasons for the diurnal variations of organic aerosols, night/day ratios of molecular markers increased obviously when land-sea breezes occurred in both early autumn and early spring. Our results provide new insights into the shift in the chemical composition of organic aerosols over coastal areas that are influenced by land-sea breezes.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 388, 15 February 2023, 135979

Abstract

Assessing the urban-scale building photovoltaic (PV) potential is important for designing urban environments, retrofitting existing structures, or integrating PVs with grids. However, few studies have considered high-temporal-resolution simulations, the facade PV potential, and a comprehensive PV model simultaneously; thus, the overall accuracy of the estimation of PV potential may be limited. Therefore, this study developed an integrated framework to assess the urban-scale PV potential of rooftops and facades at high spatiotemporal resolution. The proposed approach integrates an anisotropic sky diffuse model, a vector-based shading calculation method, and a temperature-related PV performance model. The annual PV potential and spatial/temporal characteristics were analyzed in a case study of over 170,000 buildings in Beijing. The results showed that the estimated rooftop PV power generation was 7.55 TWh/y, whereas the facade PV power generation was 18.07 TWh/y, which was 239% of the rooftop PV yield. The integrated model estimated PV yield with higher accuracy than the simplified models by depicting more details. The proposed approach can be applied to the large-scale assessment of future energy systems with increasing penetration of PVs, and the results can support effective policies for the integration of PVs into the built environment in dense cities.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159799

Abstract

Direct discharge of chromium-containing waste water and improper disposal of waste residues in industrial sites may lead to the vertical migration of metals into aquifers, posing serious threat to soil-groundwater system. The heterogeneity in soil profile further aggravates the complexity and unpredictability of this transport process. However, topsoil was the main focus of most studies. Herein, the vertical transport and transformation of Cr in soils at different depths in three industrial sites (i.e., Shijiazhuang, Zhuzhou, and Guangzhou) were investigated to delineate Cr transport and retention characteristics under complex conditions. Regional and vertical differences in soil properties led to the specificity in Cr migration behaviors among these three sites. Correlation analysis showed that soil pH (r = −0.909, p < 0.05) and Fe content (r = 0.949, p < 0.01) were the major controlling factors of Cr(VI) migration and transformation in aquifers. Furthermore, the soil of Zhuzhou site showed the maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) (0.225 mol/kg), and the strongest reduction ability of Cr(VI) was observed in the Guangzhou soil. Results of model-based long-term forecast indicated that the Cr(III) concentration in the liquid phase of Guangzhou subsoil could reach 0.08 mol/m3 within 20 years. Heavier rainfall condition exacerbated the contamination due to an increased pollutant flux and enhanced convection. Specially, Cr was fixed in the topsoil of Zhuzhou site with the formation of PbCrO4 and presented least vertical migration risk. The conclusions above can provide scientific theoretical guidance for heavy metal pollution prevention and control in industrial contaminated regions.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 1, 1 February 2023, 159743

Abstract

Despite the Mediterranean Sea being one of the world's marine biodiversity hotspots, it is a hotspot of various environmental pollutants. This sea holds eight cetacean with resident populations whose numbers are considered to decline in the last decades and which are particularly susceptible to POPs bioaccumulation due to their peculiar characteristics. In this work, we studied blubber concentration of various OCPs and several PCBs and PBDEs congeners in cetaceans stranded in the northern coast of the Gulf of Vera (Region of Murcia, SE Spain) between 2011 and 2018. Most compounds and congeners were above the limit of detection in most samples, although some pesticides like endosulfan stereoisomers or endrin were never detected. DDT and its metabolites, PCBs and metoxychlor appear as the dominant compounds while PBDEs shows concentrations of lower magnitude. Striped dolphin was the species accounting for higher concentrations of most pollutants. There were differences in concentrations and profiles between species which could be partially explained by differences on diet and feeding behavior. We also observed differences based on life history parameters suggesting maternal transfer for most POPs, in accordance with other works. DDE/ ΣDDT ratio suggest no recent exposure to these pesticides. Despite showing lower concentrations than some previous works, PCB concentrations accounted for higher total TEQ than many studies. According to toxicity thresholds in the literature, we cannot guarantee the absence of health consequences on populations studied, especially for those caused by PCBs. These findings are of major importance considering the relevance of the study area in the conservation of Mediterranean cetaceans.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 2, 1 February 2023, 159856

Abstract

Industrial wastewater contains a mixture of refractory and hazardous pollutants that have comprehensive toxic effects. We investigated the treatment of a long-chain industrial wastewater treatment train containing Fenton, biological anoxic/oxic (AO), and heterogeneous ozone catalytic oxidation (HOCO) processes, and evaluated their detoxification effect based on the analysis of the genic toxicity of some key contaminants. The results showed that although the effluent met the discharge standard in terms of traditional quality parameters, the long-chain treatment process could not effectively detoxify the industrial wastewater. The analysis results of summer samples showed that the Fenton process increased the total toxicity and genotoxicity of the organics, concerned metals, and non-volatile pollutants, whereas the A/O process increased the toxicity of the organics and non-volatile pollutants, and the HOCO process led to higher toxicity caused by metals and non-volatile pollutants. The outputs of the winter samples indicated that the Fenton process reduced the total toxicity and genotoxicity caused by non-volatile pollutants but increased that of the organics and concerned metals. The effect of the A/O process on the effluent toxicity in winter was the same as that in summer, whereas the HOCO process increased the total toxicity and genotoxicity of the metals in winter samples. Correlation analysis showed that various toxicity stresses were significantly correlated with the variation of these key pollutants in wastewater. Our results could provide a reference for the optimization of industrial wastewater treatment plants (IWTPs) by selecting more suitable treatment procedures to reduce the toxicity of different contaminants.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 3, 1 February 2023, 159949

Abstract

Linkages of urban and industrial cooling with sustainable development goals and climate change perspectives are well acknowledged, mainly for developing economies in tropical climates. Angul-Talcher region is one of the oldest industrial clusters of India, and the region experiences higher atmospheric heat island intensities with magnitudes of 7 to 9 °C attributed to the Industrial Heat Island (IHI) effect. In the present study, various measures for mitigating heat island effect in the region and assessed their impact using an Improved Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model. The improved framework includes the release of industrial emissions at stack height and sector-wise diurnal profiles of anthropogenic heat (AH) released from vehicles, residential, and industry/power. The mitigation measures comprised strategies like alteration in building materials and conversion of landuse-landcover (LULC) of selected grid cells in the model domain to more vegetation or water bodies. It was noted that the cool roofs and walls together reduced IHIs by 0.5 °C, while green roofs and cool pavements achieved a reduction of 0.3 °C and 0.1 °C, respectively. The introduction of water bodies showed maximum reduction in IHIs by 3 to 5 °C during daytime and 1 to 2 °C over mining and industrial stations. During night-time, conversion to mixed forests was more effective (ΔT ≈ 1 °C) than conversion to water bodies. A combination of cool roofs with the introduction of water bodies in the mining areas and mixed forest patches in industry stations was found to be the most effective mitigation strategy for mitigating the industrial heat island effect over the Angul-Talcher region. These mitigation scenarios can/should serve as a theoretical reference for implementing actual mitigation measures, which would require consideration of economic, social, and policy aspects apart from scientific ones for practical application.

Environmental Research, Volume 218, 1 February 2023, 114865

Abstract

Objectives

We show that participatory research approaches can be a useful tool across disciplines and data collection methods to explore the socio-exposome near one of the largest industrial harbors in Europe. We analyzed resident involvement in each project and their capacity to affect structural changes.

Methods

Longitudinal participatory environmental monitoring studies on lichens, petunias, aquatic systems and groundwater were conducted under the program VOCE (Volunteers for the Citizens' Observation of the Environment), which mobilized nearly 100 volunteers to collect and report data. A community-based participatory health survey, Fos EPSEAL was also carried out during the same period. We describe citizens' involvement in each study following Davis and Ramirez-Andreotta's (2021) ‘best practice’ grid. We also use residents' insights to refine understanding of the socio-exposome.

Results

The region is significantly impacted by industrial pollution and fenceline communities are disproportionately exposed. The community-based participatory health survey documented negative health outcomes among the residents, including a higher prevalence of chronic symptoms and diabetes (e.g., 11.9%) in the Fos-Berre Lagoon region than in other communities. This methodology shows the benefits of the co-production of knowledge in environmental health: not only does it enable epistemological transformations favorable to the vulnerable population, but it also triggered public action (i.e., media and public authorities’ attention leading to official expertise reports, filing of collective complaints before the courts).

Conclusion

This body of multiple participatory research studies over time is a useful approach to better understand the socio-exposome and health issues in an industrial zone.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 318, 1 February 2023, 120798

Abstract

Ground-level ozone (O3) formation depends on meteorology, precursor emissions, and atmospheric chemistry. Understanding the key drivers behind the O3 formation and developing an accurate and efficient method for timely assessing the O3–VOCs-NOx relationships applicable in different O3 pollution events are essential. Here, we developed a novel machine learning ensemble model coupled with a Shapley additive explanation algorithm to predict the O3 formation regime and derive O3 formation sensitivity curves. The algorithm was tested for O3 events during the COVID-19 lockdown, a sandstorm event, and a heavy O3 pollution episode (maximum hourly O3 concentration >200 μg/m3) from 2019 to 2021. We show that increasing O3 concentrations during the COVID-19 lockdown and the heavy O3 pollution event were mainly caused by the photochemistry subject to local air quality and meteorological conditions. Influenced by the sandstorm weather, low O3 levels were mainly attributable to weak sunlight and low precursor levels. O3 formation sensitivity curves demonstrate that O3 formation in the study area was in a VOCs-sensitive regime. The VOCs-specific O3 sensitivity curves can also help make hybrid and timely strategies for O3 abatement. The results demonstrate that machine learning driven by observational data has the potential to be a very useful tool in predicting and interpreting O3 formation.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 386, 1 February 2023, 135811

Abstract

Intensified oil exploitation accompanied with frequent oil spills having a detrimental impact on ecosystems are seeking efficient, environmentally and economically feasible solutions. In an attempt to develop an efficient, reusable, biodegradable and cheap sorbent for oil clean-up non-woven sorbents based on recycled jute post-industrial textile waste were fabricated. The influence of area density of non-woven sorbents and hydrophobicity of fibers on overall oil sorption performance was the focus of this research. All sorbents showed a good reusability after five sorption cycles and buoyancy in water even after 24 h independently of sorbent structure. The area density of sorbents and viscosity of studied oils (crude oil, diesel oil and two types of motor oils) highly affected the oil sorption capacity and oil retention. The sorbent with the lowest area density exhibited the best oil sorption performance. The esterification of jute with stearic fatty acid contributed to decrease in water uptake of sorbents but also to negligible change of oil sorption behavior indicating that the structure of the sorbent in this case plays a crucial role.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Available online 13 February 2023, 136383

Abstract

The fundamental integration of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) driven by the increasing irreversibility of climate change has been evolving but still needs to be sufficient in emerging economies. Hence, our objectives are to know the combinational effect of the factors to determine a firm's high allocation of monetary resources to environmental issues and understand the role of the digital transformation process in the era of Industry 4.0 and its interaction with the internal-external variables proposed. In this sense, we conducted a comparative analysis of two representative emerging economies in Latin America, considering the external context of the companies (countries' competitiveness levels). We perform a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to focus on multiple conjectural causations that lead to the same outcome. The results show that small firms in a less competitive country carry out high environmental expenditures based on value creation rather than the regulatory environment. On the other hand, large firms in a highly competitive country carry out high environmental commitments to enhance legitimacy and improve external image. Finally, we found that the relationship between digitalization adoption and corporate environmental responsibility depends on a country's informality level. Thus, countries with high informality cannot successfully impact digitization and generate sustainable solutions.

Energy and Buildings, Available online 24 February 2023, 112926

Abstract

Research on embodied carbon emission reduction in the building sector from an energy-saving technology perspective has attracted wide attention. However, because the embodied carbon emissions in the building sector comprise a complex category involving multiple related industries, existing studies have often focused on the environmental impacts on one related industry, while few researchers have explored the impacts of energy-saving technologies on the embodied carbon emissions in the building sector from an industrial relevance perspective. In this study, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model was employed, and different energy-saving technology scenarios were established to assess the economic and environmental impacts on three related energy-intensive industries (the cement, steel and construction industries) and to analyze the impacts on the embodied carbon emissions in the building sector. The results indicated that the considered energy-saving technologies increased the outputs of the three related industries and reduced product prices. The energy-saving technologies reduced the energy and carbon emission intensities. It was also demonstrated that the embodied carbon emission reduction in the building sector mainly depends on the implementation of energy-saving technologies in the steel and cement industries, the construction industry exhibits a high potential for embodied carbon emission reduction, and the reduction potential largely depends on industry-wide energy-saving technologies.

Finance Research Letters, Available online 15 February 2023, 103702

Abstract

We utilize the environment fee to tax reform implemented in 2018 as a quasi-experiment, to investigate the impact of mandatory environmental regulation change on firm environmental information disclosure quality. Using data from listed companies in China between 2015 and 2020, we found that the mandatary environment regulation positively affects the monetary and non-monetary environmental information disclosure in heavy polluting industries. The mechanism analysis shows that external governance and internal control mediate the effect of mandatory environmental regulation on environmental information disclosure quality. We also found that, firms with low market values and no environmental subsidies disclosed more information due to environmental taxes.

Materials Today: Proceedings, Available online 6 February 2023

Abstract

Heavy metals are introduced into the environment by naturally occurring phenomenon like volcanic eruption, rock weathering and many more. As well as by human activities are also equally engaged in the contamination of the environment such as industrial discharge, excessive automotive use, resource extraction, metallurgy, anthropogenic activities, metallurgy, and so on. Because of the dramatic increase in health hazards that is directly associated with vital heavy metal exposure. Though many heavy metals are vital for survival on Earth, they can also have a negative and significant impact on all living bodies (such as plants, animals, and microorganisms). They can damage tissues and even lead to severe organ damage/impairment, the functioning of some organs can also be severely affected, neurological disorders can eventuate, and even lead to death. Heavy metal even adds adverse effect on the function of reproduction like drastic change in sperm, count in males, imbalance of hormones, motility etc. Efficiency of reproduction is get affected by hazardous heavy metals. Toxicity factor depend on various subfactors like the amount of consumption (dose), route, age group, and other genetics parameters. These toxicants can induce efficiency of multiple organs, though at low dosage or exposure.

International Review of Economics & Finance, Available online 3 February 2023

Abstract

Climate change has become a central theme in both national and international forums in recent decades. In this regard, the argument has quickly moved and centered on the role of crypto currencies, in addition to the fundamental culprits of ecological destruction, such as fossil fuels, agricultural, and industrial pollution. The aim of the present study is to assess the role of asymmetries in determining the relationship between blockchain and green investment with the environment using the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributive Lag (NARDL) technique. The data from the United States of America (USA) is used over the period from 2011 to 2020. The findings reveal that, contrary to common belief, there is asymmetric relation between crypto currencies and biofuel usage in both the short and long run. Similarly, asymmetry also exists between renewable energy use and consumption of biofuel. Further, there is a strong coherence among the concerned variables is also proved in this study. Therefore, the study implies that assuming symmetric and weak coherence relationships between blockchain technology and green investment in the global environment produce biased and misleading findings which are not a true representation of the real-world scenario. Based on this the study suggests that policymakers and environmentalists may strive to achieve low carbon emissions using environment-friendly technology and less energy use. Lastly, the negative nonlinear impacts of blockchain technology and green investment must be considered in the carbon emissions released in the USA economy.

Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 443, Part A, 5 February 2023, 130213

Abstract

Pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments have been considered as emerging contaminants due to their potential risks to living organisms. Microalgae-based technology showed the feasibility of removing pharmaceutical contaminants. This review summarizes the occurrence, classification, possible emission sources, and environmental risk of frequently detected pharmaceutical compounds in aqueous environments. The efficiency, mechanisms, and influencing factors for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds through microalgae-based technology are further discussed. Pharmaceutical compounds frequently detected in aqueous environments include antibiotics, hormones, analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cardiovascular agents, central nervous system drugs (CNS), antipsychotics, and antidepressants, with a concentration ranging from ng/L to μg/L. Microalgae-based technology majorly remove the pharmaceutical compounds through bioadsorption, bioaccumulation, biodegradation, photodegradation, and co-metabolism. This review identifies the opportunities and challenges for microalgae-based technology and proposed suggestions for future studies to tackle challenges. The findings of this review advance our understanding of the occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous environments, highlighting the potential of microalgae-based technology for pharmaceutical contaminants removal.

Renewable Energy, Available online 23 February 2023

Abstract

Effective fiscal management ensures the coordination of taxes and spending authority for attaining inclusive and sustainable growth. Therefore, this study intends to estimate the direct and indirect channels of expenditure, revenue, and composite fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions through renewable energy transition in highly decentralized countries. It employs a cross-sectional augmented auto-regressive distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) method, allowing dependencies across countries and heterogeneity in the slope parameters. In the long run, the direct effects of expenditure (revenue) decentralization on carbon emissions are significantly positive (negative) with coefficient magnitudes of 0.16% and 0.04% (0.09% and 0.08%). The indirect effects of expenditure and revenue decentralization are substantially negative through renewable energy consumption with the coefficient magnitude of 0.135% and 0.138%, respectively. In contrast, composite decentralization and its interactive terms with renewable energy show an emissions-mitigating effect of 0.179% and 0.192%, respectively. These outcomes exhibit that the down-delegation of financial authority (revenue or composite) at local government increases resource efficiency and leads to higher renewable energy consumption. Similar results are echoed in the short run; however, the magnitude of coefficients is significantly higher in the long run. The overall findings provide fascinating policy recommendations.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 386, 1 February 2023, 135768

Abstract

Fine particulate matter poses a negative effect on air quality and public health. The formation and dispersion of PM2.5 are often affected by the urban built environment. Previous literature has made great efforts to study the relationship between the built environment and air pollution, and propose corresponding policy implications for reducing air pollution. Most proposed policies are instructive but lack spatial heterogeneity, which is essential because the degree of air pollution and measures in each specific place is different. In this study, the built environment was depicted with multisource data and methods such as street view imagery (SVI) and deep learning, and the integration of geographically weighted regression (GWR) and k-means clustering was applied to explore the spatially varying impacts of the built environment factors on air pollution, and classify the study area into different groups with zonal policies and mitigation measures for PM2.5 reduction. Results show that parking lots significantly influenced PM2.5, followed by floor area ratio, road density, street vehicle volume, industrial facility, and street view greenery. Street view greenery was found to be negatively related to PM2.5 concentration in most of Xiamen Island. The study area was categorized into four groups with tailor-made policy implications considering spatial heterogeneity. For example, zone 1 is in the south of Xiamen Island with the highest coefficients of the parking lot and floor area ratio and lowest coefficient of street view greenery. For zone 1, greenery maintenance in the mountains, restricted high-density development, and improvement of greenery around the parking lot may be effective for this zone. These empirical results provide a new perspective for exploring the spatially heterogeneous mechanism of air pollution and a new approach to propose targeted and zonal policy implications for PM2.5 mitigation.

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Available online 27 February 2023, 109590

Abstract

The contamination of soil and water directly affects the lives of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to use effective remediation methods and techniques to minimize the harmful impact of these contaminants on the environment. Biochar (BC) is a lightweight black residue that is made of carbon after the pyrolysis of biomass. BC is a product that is stable, rich in carbon, and exhibited improved properties. BC has come up with fascinating properties and results to remediate these pollutants from the soil effectively. Furthermore, it becomes possible to recover resources using BC because of the benefits such as (a) it offers in terms of cost, (b) the preservation of nutrients, and (c) the efficiency with which it absorbs pollutants. Consequently, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the interaction involving biochar and resource recovery to explore the applicability of BC in the cleaning up of the surroundings and the exploitation of wastewater. This review emphasize the physio-chemical and biological modification methods for the preparation of various types of engineered BC. Therefore, the present review aims: (i) provide an overview of emerging pollutants of human activities in soil (ii) synthesis and engineer BC for field application (iii) critically discuss and evaluate the factors affecting large-scale application techno-economic challenges. In conclusion, this analysis offered a preview of the blank spots and obstacles related to the use of engineered biochar in the domain of wastewater treatment, both of which need immediate consideration in the upcoming investigation.