Suchergebnisse

Fish samples of different species (i.e. rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), barbel (Barbus barbus) and European chub (Squalius cephalus)) were collected from the Sava River Basin for a preliminary investigation of the levels of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs and PFAS as a whole. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs, in terms of pg WHO-TEQ/g ww, were below the maximum limit established at the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1259/2011. On the contrary, when DL-PCBs were also included, levels increase up to 11.7 pg WHO-TEQPCDD/Fs+DL-PCBs/g ww in a particular case, with two samples out of a total of ten exceeding the maximum set at this EU Regulation and the EQS established at the European Directive regarding priority substances in the field of water policy (0.0065 ng WHO-TEQPCDD/Fs+DL-PCBs/g ww). A similar trend was also observed for NDL-PCBs, whit the same two samples, from the lower stretch of the river basin, exceeding the maximum limit allowed at the EU Regulation (125 ng/g ww). For PBDEs, levels found in all the samples exceeded the EQS (0.0085 ng/g ww) up to more than a thousand times and 40% of the samples presented PFOS values above the EQS. Data from this study were compared to values reported at the literature for fish from other geographical areas. © 2018 ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Communities 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 603629-ENV-2013-6.2.1-GLOBAQUA and Grant Agreement No. 603437-ENV-2013-SOLUTIONS projects. This work was also funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2017 SGR 1404 - Water and Soil Quality Unit). M. Llorca wants to acknowledge her Juan de la Cierva – Incorporación research fellowship (JdC-2014-21736) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. J. Parera is also grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for a Juan de la Cierva – Formación research fellowship (FJCI-2015-26722). Appendix A ; Peer reviewed

Presents evidence of a black market in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) produced in Russia and elsewhere in breach of the 1987 Montreal Protocol banning them as damaging to the earth's ozone layer.

Argues that the theory that chlorofluorocarbons are destroying stratospheric ozone and that further depletion would lead to health catastrophes is unproven; some focus on the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

Procedural and legal issues in the EC's decision-making process on the internal and international level.

In the conducted researches there is a task of a choice of a working body for a heat power circuit of power plants on non-aqueous working substances with possibility of considerable increase of power efficiency of a cycle and safety of operation of plants in view of restrictions of the Montreal and Kyoto protocols. In an experimental study of the possibility of using fluorocarbon working bodies and SF6 as working bodies of energy cycles, positive results have been obtained both in terms of increasing the safety of operation of power plants and increasing their reliability, and in terms of energy efficiency. However, their use as working bodies was delayed by the extremely long lifetime in the atmosphere by the Lifetime criterion.When calculating material balances of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas in the atmosphere based on the new IPCC-2013 data, a discrepancy of four orders of magnitude of the Lifetime criterion is found with the initial data given by IPCC-94. Based on these data, restrictions are introduced on the use of these substances within the framework of the commitment of the countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. This gives grounds for the use of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas without restrictions on the basis of the greenhouse hazard, since the lifetime of these substances in the atmosphere does not exceed 2 years.The use of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas as working bodies of energy cycles will significantly reduce energy consumption in the refrigeration industry and will significantly increase the efficiency in generating electricity at TPPs and NPPs, while reducing energy consumption by 20–25 %. ; Представлено варіант вирішення завдання вибору робочого тіла з урахуванням обмежень Монреальського і Кіотського протоколів для теплосилового контуру енергетичних установок на наведених робочих речовинах з можливістю значного підвищення енергоефективності циклу і безпеки експлуатації установок. Для фторуглеродних робочих тіл і SF6 виявлено невідповідність на чотири порядки величини для критерію Lifetime, отриманого за даними IPCC-13, що дає підставу для їх застосування без обмежень, зазначених у Кіотському протоколі. ; Представлен вариант решения задачи выбора рабочего тела с учётом ограничений Монреальского и Киотского протоколов для теплосилового контура энергетических установок на неводных рабочих веществах с возможностью значительного повышения энергоэффективности цикла и безопасности эксплуатации установок. Для фторуглеродных рабочих тел и SF6 обнаружено несоответствие на четыре порядка величины для критерия Lifetime, полученного по данным IPCC-13, что даёт основание для их применения без ограничений, отмеченных в Киотском протоколе.

In the conducted researches there is a task of a choice of a working body for a heat power circuit of power plants on non-aqueous working substances with possibility of considerable increase of power efficiency of a cycle and safety of operation of plants in view of restrictions of the Montreal and Kyoto protocols. In an experimental study of the possibility of using fluorocarbon working bodies and SF6 as working bodies of energy cycles, positive results have been obtained both in terms of increasing the safety of operation of power plants and increasing their reliability, and in terms of energy efficiency. However, their use as working bodies was delayed by the extremely long lifetime in the atmosphere by the Lifetime criterion.When calculating material balances of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas in the atmosphere based on the new IPCC-2013 data, a discrepancy of four orders of magnitude of the Lifetime criterion is found with the initial data given by IPCC-94. Based on these data, restrictions are introduced on the use of these substances within the framework of the commitment of the countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. This gives grounds for the use of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas without restrictions on the basis of the greenhouse hazard, since the lifetime of these substances in the atmosphere does not exceed 2 years.The use of fluorocarbons and SF6 gas as working bodies of energy cycles will significantly reduce energy consumption in the refrigeration industry and will significantly increase the efficiency in generating electricity at TPPs and NPPs, while reducing energy consumption by 20–25 %. ; Представлено варіант вирішення завдання вибору робочого тіла з урахуванням обмежень Монреальського і Кіотського протоколів для теплосилового контуру енергетичних установок на наведених робочих речовинах з можливістю значного підвищення енергоефективності циклу і безпеки експлуатації установок. Для фторуглеродних робочих тіл і SF6 виявлено невідповідність на чотири порядки величини для критерію Lifetime, отриманого за даними IPCC-13, що дає підставу для їх застосування без обмежень, зазначених у Кіотському протоколі. ; Представлен вариант решения задачи выбора рабочего тела с учётом ограничений Монреальского и Киотского протоколов для теплосилового контура энергетических установок на неводных рабочих веществах с возможностью значительного повышения энергоэффективности цикла и безопасности эксплуатации установок. Для фторуглеродных рабочих тел и SF6 обнаружено несоответствие на четыре порядка величины для критерия Lifetime, полученного по данным IPCC-13, что даёт основание для их применения без ограничений, отмеченных в Киотском протоколе.

Effectiveness of an international consensus of scientists and politicians in influencing environmental policy.

A sensor device based on a single polymer cantilever and optical readout has been developed for detection of molecular recognition reactions without the need of a reference cantilever for subtraction of unspecific signals. Microcantilevers have been fabricated in the photoresist SU-8 with one surface passivated with a thin fluorocarbon layer. The SU-8 surface is sensitized with biological receptors by applying silanization methods, whereas the fluorocarbon surface remains inert to these processes. The thermal and mechanical properties of the chosen materials allow overcoming the main limitations of gold-coated silicon cantilevers: the temperature, pH, and ionic strength cross sensitivities. This is demonstrated by comparing the response of SU-8 cantilevers and that of gold-coated silicon nitride cantilevers to variations in temperature and pH. The sensitivity of the developed polymeric nanomechanical sensor is demonstrated by real-time detection of the human growth hormone with sensitivity in differential surface stress of about 1 mN/m. ; The authors acknowledge J. M. Rodríguez-Prado and M. Mellado for providing reagents for the molecular recognition experiments and J. Treviño, E. Mauriz, and D. Haefliger for fruitful discussion. J.T. and M.C. acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science (MERG-CT-2004- 510638) and the European Union (GEN2001-4856-C13-11). ; Peer reviewed