Environmental impact, viii

Recommendation VIII-11 of the VIII ATCM (Oslo, 1975), quoting Recommendation VI-4 and Recommendation VII-11, asks the governments to observe a code of conduct dealing with waste disposal and environmental impact assessment. Another recommendation of the Oslo ATCM, Recommendation VIII-13, deals with the protection of the Antarctic environment. It prescribes the use of protective measures for the environment, the prediction of possible environmental modifications and the monitoring of changes in the environment. This is the first clear mention of the need to protect the environment, to perform an assessment of possible impacts and to monitor the environmental changes. 

The use of different scenarios allows the comparison among alternatives. The scenarios were chosen based on the source of steam and the generation of electricity (Table 1). Three of them focus on the environmental impacts of the original process (scenarios VI, Vll and VIII) where changes related to the production of steam were compared. All other cases compare alternatives for a possible future implementation, e.g. those considering co-generation to produce electricity. 

VIII-1.6.2. Provisions for sustainability, waste management, and minimum adverse environmental impacts... 

Lammering, M. "Impact of Schwartzwalder Mine on the Water Quality of Ralston Creek, Ralston Reservoir, and Upper Long Lake", Technical Investigation Branch, Surveillance and Analysis Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, SA/TIB-25, 1973, 16 p. 

A new universal interface and combination ion source is described which allows choice of ionization modes among electron impact (El), chemical ionization (Cl), and Thermospray. Results obtained with this system on a Vestec Model 201 LC-MS are presented for some test compounds and some environmentally important compounds on the Appendix VIII list. The relative advantages of the different ionization modes for compound identification and quantitation are discussed and data are presented on the performance of the system. 

With respect to wastewater generation, there are a few scenarios with low impact (III, IV, VI and VIII) while the rest exhibit very similar values. If all aspects are analysed simultaneously, the best alternatives are scenarios m and IV, while the worst one is scenario VII. It is noteworthy to say that all environmental loads considered in the eco-vector have to be balanced to reach a compromise, as their impacts in the ecosystem and human health differ widely. Also, note that some of the impacts are local (e.g. steam production), while others are distributed in different regions (e.g. extraction, external electricity generation) even though the LCA approach does not allow to differentiate among them. 

For the case study two different types of environmental profile can be identified (scenarios I-IV and scenarios V-VIII). The use of co-generation to produce electricity decreases the total damage, as its relative impact is lower than the one resulting from the use of the Spanish electricity grid. 

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