Challenging Issues on Environment and Earth Science Vol. 4

Greenhouse gas sink projects in lagoon environments are unlikely to generate carbon credits for the voluntary market, using current methodologies and standards such as VCS, Gold Standard etc. Now, thanks to new PdR UNI 99:2021 (Italian Organization for Standardization) and the Italian National methodology “BNeutral'', the sink of greenhouse gas CO2 in a human controlled Italian lagoon (Human Controlled Wetland or “valle da pesca”) can generate carbon credits for the voluntary carbon offset market.  Twelve H.C.W. “valle da pesca'' has performed the project from 2013 in 4 different locations inside and outside the Venetian Lagoon. These places are located in the Italian Venetian Lagoon (UNESCO preserved area), in the Grado Lagoon, and in Comacchio Lagoon, all based in North Italy, Europe. The CO₂ sink is regulated by the balance of autotrophic and heterotrophic activities. The sediment, with a very active anoxic denitrification and the benthic macroalgae production are basic tanks of CO₂ in the wetland shallow waters. A multi-parameter chemical and biological approach has been issued. Data is recorded once a day for 364 days by a personalized continuous electronic device data logger installed inside the lagoon.   A reduced light supply due to high turbidity caused by 1) natural meteo anomalies or bird/fish feeding, 2) fresh water inlet 3) low presence of algae, can reduce the carbon sink and the carbon credit generation. The H.C.W. have a surface range from 100 to 2.000 ha and a sink range from 5 to 25 kg of CO₂ /m² per year.

About 30% of the existing wastewater treatment systems of Indian housing societies are observed as non-functional and while looking at statistics of their operating efficiency, the huge cost is associated with their operation and maintenance. To tackle these problems treatment systems are needed to be on-site, cost-effective, and self-sustainable, delivering chemical-free treated effluent that would be entirely harmless to nature and residents. Decentralized onsite integrated waste management system (DOSIWAM) is naturally operating, relatively simple and can be designed to provide low-cost sanitation and environmental protection with additional benefits from the reuse of water and biogas. In the current research, Effective positioning and modeling of the non-mechanised, gravity-governed wastewater treatment system is carried out at refuge floor which is coined to be proposed as “environmental floor” for G+32 storeyed residential building. To assess the viability of the treatment system and quantify the benefits coming from it, a comparative analytical analysis for structural and seismic response of both structures (with and without environmental floors) is conducted. The behavioral response of the structures studied from the obtained results, clearly states that the locations of DOSIWAM are safe. With minor changes in design and construction, the system would be effective in urban areas, especially for multi-storey buildings.

Trees are used to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in general. Other options should be considered. Iron lime is used by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to improve plankton absorption from the ocean floor. Shellfish farming is one way to extract carbon from the atmosphere. In French Polynesia, oysters mean pearl oyster farming. To quantify the carbon sequestration and generate carbon offsets using this method, an impartial assessment of the shellfish sector would be required. MOP (Mother of Pearl) CO₂ sinks in pearl oyster shells can be assigned to costly buttons and objects or powder in poultry farming. A good water circulation from outside to inside the coral atoll can increase photosynthetic productivity, reduce turbidity and increase oyster farming and, at least, carbon storage and sink.

The establishment of a recycling-oriented society practicing the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) has become a global necessity. To achieve the 3Rs, contamination must be reduced; specifically, material reuse is unsafe unless it has a low degree of contamination. For example, soil mixed with heavy metals cannot be applied as a base material for plant growth because the contamination degree is greater than the standard value. In the past, heavy metal-injected wood was used in buildings due to its effectiveness against termite attack. In this era, it has become a construction waste. The disposal of this wood, unless treated, may pose an environmental risk. In this study, we first reduced the mercury content in soil derived from a mine using rice husk charcoal and confirmed its impact on plants. Then, chromium was adsorbed and separated using carbonized grape peel as an adsorbent from an elution model solution of wood containing chromium-copper-arsenic food. Next, copper was separated using a biopolymer synthesized by saponifying the peel of a mandarin orange, and finally, arsenic was adsorbed by a biopolymer obtained by chemically modifying zirconia. This study revealed that the amount of mercury in the soil is fixed by using biomass charcoal (rice husks) and has little effect on plants. In addition, the use of biomass charcoal (sulfuric acid heat treatment of grape peels), saponified biomass polymers (orange skins), and their chemical modifications (zirconium) helped separate chromium, copper, and arsenic in the chromate copper arsenate-treated wood leachate.

The use of anaerobic biofilm reactors for the treatment of various effluents has been established in recent decades. The ability to maintain microorganisms acted as a biofilm factor influencing the reactor's performance. The reactor performance is usually evaluated in terms of process efficiency and stability through estimation of organic matter removal, VFA levels, quantity and composition of biogas produced, etc. The purpose of this research is to evaluating the effectiveness of treating a dairy effluent with high pollution potential. The effluent was evaluated with an average value of Volatile Fatty Acid (VFA) of 172.8, 132.0, 193.0, 203.0 and 172 mg/L and an Organic Loading Rate (OLR) of 0.1502, to 0.266 kg COD/ m³/day, w. The maximum COD elimination efficiency of 84% along with production of 0.048m³/kg COD of biogas at 3 days Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) was noticed.

Accurate position determination with GNSS technology requires unimpeded view of the sky. It has however been noticed that control stations established with GNSS technique for surveying/research projects no longer yield the desired accuracy after some years. This could be as a result of environmental features (buildings, fences, trees, etc) sprouting around them due to infrastructural development and urbanization. With increased use of GNSS in urban and tree canopy environment setting, there is a need to understand the accuracies achievable in such landscapes. Most previous GNSS evaluations have been performed under "clear sky" conditions, where views to satellites are unobstructed.  This study investigates the extent of degradation of accuracy at fifteen stations located within a school environment. The study was done by comparing GNSS fixes of those stations with their corresponding positions determined in a total station (electronic tacheometer) survey. The latter was used as study control because it is not affected by the environmental features and factors monitored. The study showed that some of the stations are no longer suitable for the GNSS technique (GDOP is too high (171.6)); while for others, their GNSS-derived positions differed from those of total station by as much as 5.7m. All the controls were therefore reclassified in accordance with national and international accuracy standards. We also recommend that once in a while such checks and reclassification should be done for existing controls.

In a dynamic of valorization, this study is carried out to appreciate the coarse elements influence of the gravel lateritic soils on the pavement behavior. The material involves not only the 0/20 mm granular particles considered in the specifications and on the laboratory tests, but also all of the material that is actually used in the construction sites. To face this challenge, geotechnical characterization was leaned on five differentiated granular classes of 0/20; 0/25; 0/31.5; 0/40 and 0/63 mm diameters. The sample of 0/40 mm gets the best compaction aptitude, while that of 0/31.5 mm reaches the greatest bearing strength and a good Optimum Moisture Content. According to the requirements and its bearing strengths, the material is usable up to subbase layer and its behavior depend to the grain size of its texture.

In south-eastern Nigeria, gully erosion has assumed an alarming proportion and this prompted the use of geospatial information technology to map a gully erosion site in Oron, Akwa Ibom State for effective remediation and control. Ground controls were provided in the vicinity of the gully head through the use of dual frequency Leica GPS 1200. The initiation and growth of gullies, releases large amounts of sediments into receiving streams thereby polluting sources of water supply to the rapidly increasing urban population.  The obtained data were downloaded and processed using Leica Geo Office 8.3 and the processed data exported to Arc GIS 10.1 and Auto CAD Civil 3D 2013 for terrain analysis-DEM, Also, the Leica Total Station TS 06 was employed to carry out topographic mapping. The delineated runoff contributing area aided in the computation of maximum discharge (using the Rational method). The computed runoff of 33.919m³/s accounts for the rapid rate gully headscarp retreat at the rate of 1.2 m/day during the month of July, prior to intervention by the state government. The results obtained were employed in designing gully control structures.

The research is based on long, regular observations of blood pressure and pulse - the heart rate (more than 18 years). The values of these readings are taken from the diary of self-control, which is kept by a patient, one of the authors of this publication, a man born in 1940. Such effective control over the patient's condition, implemented in our case, ensuring its normal vital activity, makes it possible to investigate the influence of external factors on the hemodynamics of the body and the manifestation of the marked temporal characteristics.

A difference between the morning and evening series was noted. The characteristics of evening monitoring readings are more balanced. Spectral analysis allows for a more detailed analysis and comparison of the data. Seven-day component is clearly seen in evening series being modulated with three-year period for the pulse. The morning series are characterized by a “lunar” component with the ~27.35-day period. The absence of a weekly period in the morning readings indicates a rapid (moment of sleep) relaxation of the body from the rhythmic stress of the past day. The manifestation of the "lunar" response can be associated with an increased sensitivity of the body during and after the sleep. This work describes the patient's condition through the correlation of blood pressure and heart rate.

Radioisotopes Production Plant of Nuclear Center of Mexico (ININ) prepares weekly radiopharmaceuticals such as sodium iodohippurate and metaiodobenzylguanidine, these compounds are called labeled molecules.

The processes for the preparation of these compounds are carried out individually, that is, a different marking process is applied for each compound, and they are carried out in a glove box. Due to the way these processes operate, they present radiological safety risks, difficulty in manipulating each process because they are carried out manually, that is, the operator of the process manually introduces the radioactive material, non-radioactive chemical compounds and the material of laboratory such as lead shielding disposable syringes, vials containing reagents and other devices, that is, there is no device to replace the operator's hands such as manipulators, pistons or vacuum systems that can automate processes to a certain extent.

To improve these drawbacks, this work shows a semi-automated equipment, in which the preparation of the preparation processes of the three compounds can be carried out, that is, in the same equipment the sodium iodohippurate and metaiodobenzylguanidine are obtained, also that the equipment is in a hot cell in order to minimize radiation safety risks. The team will work in a semi-automated way, so that there is a minimum exposure to radiation directly, by the personnel in charge of labeling molecules.

The routine industrial production with this equipment begins with the fabrication of 9 marked doses of sodium iodohippurate of 2.73 mCi of iodine-131, each vial comprising 4.5 mL of saline solution, and a product containing the indicated molecules of 0.5 mL with a marked percentage of 95.6%. This study is innovative in that it presents a new design of equipment for identifying molecules, which is comprised of electrical, mechanical, vacuum, and air extraction systems.