Ecological resource

Valnation of Ecological Resources Integration of Ecological Risk Assessment and Socio-Economics to Support Environmental Decisions. Pensacola, Florida, 4 to 9 Oct 2003. Published by SETAC and CRC Press, 2007. 

Contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) included metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and tributyltin (TBT). Ecological resources in the intertidal and subtidal portions of the study area were typical for a site with similar depth and orientation. Immobile species in or near the study area (based on available habitat surveys) included barnacles, kelp, brown... 

Valuation of Ecological Resources Integration of Ecology and Socioeconomics in Environmental Decision Making Stahl, Kapustka, Munns, Brains, editors 2007... 

This initial and perhaps most important part of the assessment defines the nature and scope of the ERA, describes the sources of potential risk ( stressors ), identifies the ecological resources at risk ( end-points ), considers the nature of the ecological impacts in relation to the stressors, and produces a conceptual model of the overall assessment. Thus, problem formulation essentially encapsulates the entire ERA process. Execution of this step requires collaboration among risk managers and risk assessors to define the assessment objectives and develop the corresponding conceptual model. This model, like most, should be viewed as dynamic and subject to change throughout the ERA in relation to modifications to the objectives and the development of new data and information. 

Experiments under field conditions or more controlled conditions in the laboratory (e.g., microcosms, mesocosms) can be used to characterize ecological risks. Experimental systems provide opportunities to physically impose the stressors of interest on the ecological resources of concern. Such experiments may be the only practical method for assessing risks posed by stressors not intended to be introduced into the environment. This approach may also prove essential in assessing risks posed by stressors that are virtually unknown or whose attributes are proprietary. 

American Society for Testing and Materials (2002) E2205-02 Standard Guide for Risk-Based Corrective Action for Protection of Ecological Resources. 

The corrosion of the metallic materials, is one of the most damaging factors that destroy economical and ecological resources, and many problems encountered in thermal plants for... 

Abstract. In the past, many remedies implemented at contaminated sites have failed to achieve site remedial action objectives either because not all of the objectives were defined prior to selecting the remedy, or a remedy was selected that was not capable of achieving the site objectives. In order to ensure the selection of effective remedies, this report outline a process for i) the identification of risk-based and non-risk remedial action objectives and ii) the evaluation of potential technologies to identify an acceptable remedy that will achieve all of the site remedial action objectives. By providing for the separation of risk-based and non-risk remedial action objectives, the remedy selection process allows the user to both i) identify a range of remedies that are capable of protecting human health and ecological resources and ii) understand the additional constraints imposed by the non-risk objectives. 

Risk-based Remedial Action Objectives - A set of objectives based on protection of human health and ecological resources developed for the site that identifies the contaminants, affected environmental media, complete exposure pathways, and risk-based remedial action levels. 

Risk-based remedial action objectives are used to identify remedial actions that will be protective of human health and the environment. These objectives should be developed using a risk-based framework that includes i) identification of contaminants, ii) affected environmental media, iii) complete exposure pathways and resource protection requirements, and iv) remedial action levels. Remedial action levels reflect the concentrations of contaminants in the source area below which no remedial action is required in order to protect human health and ecological resources. These remedial action levels may be established using ASTM (2002), Standard Guide for Risk Based Corrective Action Applied at Petroleum Release Sites ASTM (2000), Standard Guide for Risk-Based Corrective Action or any similar risk-based framework. 

In risk-based remedial action screening, potential remedial actions are screened to first identify protective remedial actions which can achieve all of the risk-based remedial action objectives and then to identify acceptable remedial actions that can also achieve all non-risk objectives. The separate evaluation of potential remedial actions using risk-based objectives and then non-risk objectives allows for a clear understanding of the full range of options available to protect human health and ecological resources, and how those options are constrained by non-risk considerations such as property use, liability control, or non-risk regulatory requirements. In addition, the non-risk objectives for a site may be balanced against cost or other considerations in a way that is unacceptable for risk objectives based on health protection. 

Within a risk-based remedial action framework, any of these three types of technologies may be considered for selection provided that they are effective at protecting human health and ecological resources. For a complex site, a remedial action may consist of multiple technologies (e.g., clay soil cap or monitored natural attenuation) representing one or more classes of remedial action (i.e., removal, decontamination, or control) that are combined in order to achieve all of the remedial action objectives. The user must research the effectiveness of each potential remedial action in order to determine whether the remedial action is capable of achieving all of the risk-based remedial action objectives. 

Past and present human activities have resulted in the release of contaminants at a large number of sites across Europe and around the world. These activities have results in over 750,000 contaminated sites in Europe alone (Ferguson, et al., 1998). The limitations of available technologies and resources prevent the restoration of all of these sites to background conditions that existed prior to industrialisation. As a result, methods are needed to i) evaluate the likely impact of these sites on human health and ecological resources, ii) manage individual sites in a manner that efficiently utilizes the available resources to prevent or mitigate impacts to... 

To protect human health and ecological resources from effects of spills or other releases, effective risk management consists of three principal steps, release prevention, emergency response, and remediation, as follows ... 

At the site management level, risks to human health and ecological resources are identified on a site-specific basis and appropriate protective measures are implemented in the timeframe necessary to prevent unsafe conditions. Key steps in the risk management effort for each contaminated site include ... 

Risk Assessment Determine the potential for adverse impacts to human health or ecological resources based on a site-specific evaluation of contaminant toxicity and the potential for exposure based on applicable transport mechanisms and receptors. 

Conceptual relevance. Is the indicator relevant to the assessment question (management concern) and to the ecological resource or function at risk ... 

The adverse effects of chemical agriculture are widely known today the adverse effects of corporate agriculture are also known as damaging rural economies human and ecological resource base. However, while taxpayers have become fed up with the subsidies going to these same large corporate farms, farm state lawmakers who benefit from their campaign contributions are reluctant to reduce their commodity payments. 

Cesari, M., Bertolani, R., Rebecchi, L, Guidetti, R. (2009). DNA barcoding in Tardigrada the first case study on Macrobiotus macrocalix Bertolani Rebecchi 1993 (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae). Molecular Ecology Resources 9, 699-706. 

Sustainable products should make a positive contribution to the overall ecological resource problem. Many products made out of silicon obviously fall into this category, such as solar silicon and aluminum-silicon alloys, while others contribute to sustainability more indirectly and maybe in a long-term perspective. 

HAUSER L, BAIRD M, HiLBORN R, SEEB L w and SEEB J E (2011) An empirical comparison of SNPs and microsateUites for parentage and kinship assignment in a wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) population ,MoZecwIar Ecology Resources, vol. 11 (Suppl. 1), pp. 150-161. 

JONES A G, SMALL c M, PACZOLT K A and RATTERMAN N L (2010) A practical guide to methods of parentage analysis . Molecular Ecology Resources, vol. 10, pp. 6-30. 

ANDREE K, AXTNER J, BAGLEY M J, BARLOW E J, BEEBEE T J C Cf al. (2010) Permanent Genetic Resources Note. Permanent Genetic Resonrces added to Molecular Ecology. Resources Database 1 April 2010 - 31 May 2010. Molecular Ecology Resources 10 1098-1105. 

Eco-efficiency is the efficiency with which ecological resources are used to meet human needs. It includes three scientific focus areas needed to achieve eco-efficiency. The three focuses, which are the same in the United States and Australia, are the use of alternative synthetic pathways, the use of alternative reaction conditions, and the design of chemicals that are less toxic than current alternatives or the design of inherently safer chemicals with regard to accident potential. 

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