Das Projekt "46th Congress of the European Societies of Toxicology, Dresden, 13.09. - 16.09.2009" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale), Institut für Umwelttoxikologie durchgeführt. It is our great pleasure to invite you to our Scientific Workshop on Safety Assessment and Regulation of Nanomaterials to be held at the International Conference Centre Dresden, Germany. Nanotechnology is a powerful tool to optimize technical processes or to generate new materials with exciting functionalities. High expectations are connected to products of nanotechnology with regard to energy efficiency, new materials, electronics, solutions to decrease energy needs for information technologies or data storage. Following introduction of nanomaterials in new technologies, regulators, developers and the producers are confronted with a growing list of questions addressing the safety of nanomaterials for consumers and environment. The participants are invited to give their input into the discussion on the long term safe use of nanoproducts with regard to work place, human health and environment. The complexity of the ongoing risk discussion is a challenge to demonstrate the ability of toxicological work in academia, industry and regulation. It is also a big chance to bring our expertise into society on our common way to find the right balance between chances of new technologies and level of acceptance of remaining risks. The scientific program will be a variety of opportunities to share knowledge lecture sessions and a poster session. Perspective of Regulation and Ethical demands, Products of Nanotechnology in use and under development, Exposure and uptake, Possible health hazards, New Functionalities of nanomaterials, Information Requirements for Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials, Nanomaterials in the Environment, Wrapping up Plenum or Working group.
Das Projekt "E 2.3: Shelf life extension of fresh litchi, longan and mango fruits through integrated postharvest techniques" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Lebensmittelwissenschaft und Biotechnologie, Fachgebiet Lebensmittel pflanzlicher Herkunft (150d) durchgeführt. In Northern Thailand and Vietnam, fresh fruit marketing still plays the key role in utilisation of the highly perishable fruits studied. Increasing export rates aspired by local fruit producers are hindered by the present practice of shelf life extension based on sulphur fumigation and fungicide application, respectively, because of raising legal and consumer restriction. Alternative ways ensuring the demand for sound fruit of good eating quality are urgently required. Since picking, packing and marketing form the major costs of fruit production, E2.3 aims at improved productivity by optimisation of fresh fruit marketing through an integrated high-quality concept for shelf life extension to meet export qualities and standards and to facilitate the access to remote markets and processing factories. This approach relies on two pillars: (1) innovative postharvest processes and (2) plant-physiological preharvest factors affecting fruit quality and shelf life, chiefly the proper physiological maturity at harvest. Focus is on shelf life extension and color retention of litchis and longans by minimising enzymatic browning, microbial decay, and water loss through appropriate combinations of various techniques: (1) precooling on field until handover; (2) fruit disinfestation by thermal routines; (3) control of enzymatic browning by innovative inhibition strategies for polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase; (4) suitable shipping within a cool-chain with or without modified atmosphere packaging; (5) application of wetting agents or coatings. By analogy, integrated strategies for shelf life extension through deceleration of postharvest ripening in export of Thai mango cultivars are explored. To control enzymatic browning in Sapindaceae species, both inhibition experiments on isolated enzymes and application tests with shelf life studies simulating shipping conditions are used. Process optimisation is based on statistical experimental designs. Shelf life is monitored by established chemical methods for plant-physiological indicators of fruit quality, senescence and microbial decay, by the vital microbial count, and by microscopic studies of the peel structure. On-tree maturation is examined for each fruit species to specify physiological harvest maturity as to its impact on quality and shelf life, including studies with E1.2 on non-destructive maturity detection. Cultivation effects on fruit quality and shelf life are jointly investigated with D1.3 and B3.2.
Das Projekt "Fate of 17-ethinylestradiol in the aqueous environment and the associated effects on organisms" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von RWTH Aachen University, Institut für Umweltforschung, Biologie V, Lehrstuhl für Umweltbiologie und -chemodynamik durchgeführt. Introduction: In aquatic systems, the bioavailability of a compound is dependent on numerous factors such as partitioning between water, different organisms and solids, biotransformation and food web transfer. This project dealt with the fate of an important environmental xeno-estrogen, 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2), in the aquatic environment. Therefore, the kinetics of EE2 in indicator species representing the different trophic levels of an ecosystem were assessed. As primary producers, green algae (Desmodesmus suspicatus) were selected. The water flea Daphnia magna and larvae of the midge Chironomus riparius were introduced as primary consumers of the water phase and the sediment, respectively. Finally, water as well as dietary uptake of EE2 were investigated in a target species and secondary consumer: zebrafish (Danio rerio). Methodology: In a first series of experiments, uptake of 14C-labelled EE2 (14C-EE2) from the water phase and elimination by the different organisms were investigated over time. In a second test series, both primary consumers were fed 14C-EE2 spiked algae in order to study bioaccumulation. Uptake of 14C-EE2 by chironomid larvae after water and sediment spiking was compared, including sediments of different composition. In a third series of experiments, male fish were short term (48 h) exposed to 14C-EE2 through different routes: by water exposure (WE) and by dietary exposure (DE) via both contaminated daphnids and chironomid larvae. Distribution of 14C-EE2 in the fish was studied by measuring the amount of radioactivity (RA) in the different fish tissues. Additionally, the effect of EE2 on the vitellogenin (Vtg) induction in male fish was compared after WE and DE in a long term (14 d) experiment. The RA in liquid samples was quantified by means of liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Solid samples were subjected to combustion in a biological oxidiser, trapping (14)CO2, measured with LSC. Water and organism extracts were analysed by means of HPLC with a radiodetector, except for algae extracts that were subjected to TLC. Metabolites were identified with GC-MS, high resolution LC-MS and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by HPLC with radiodetection. Metabolites, detected in the water phase, were tested for estrogenic activity by means of YES and ER-CALUX assays. Results: Accumulation and effects: Of the four organisms mentioned above, bioconcentration of 14C-EE2 was highest in the algae. Whereas the growth rate of D. subspicatus was significantly affected at high EE2 concentrations compared to unexposed algae, EE2 had no acute effects on D. magna and C. riparius. Daphnids showed a higher bioaccumulation potential after exposure via spiked algae. For chironomids, water exposure was the predominant uptake route. The presence of sediment lowered the bioavailability of 14C-EE2 to the larvae after both water and sediment spiking. Nevertheless, uptake was higher when the nutritional quality of the sediment was better. Etc.
Das Projekt "European rail research network of excellence (EUR2EX)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungs- und Anwendungsverbund Verkehrssystemtechnik Berlin durchgeführt. Objective: The strategic objectives of the European Rail Research Network of Excellence (EUR2EX) are: 1.To integrate the fragmented European Rail Research landscape by networking together the critical mass of resources and expertise to provide European leadership and be a world class player, 2.To promote the railway contribution to sustainable transport policy, 3.To improve the competitiveness and economic stability of the railway sector and industry by:creating a durable integrated network of excellence in rail resea rch, technology innovation and knowledge management from the research capacities of universities and institutions, implementing knowledge from rail operators, rail industry incl. SME, with priority given to engineering interfaces and methods for product qu alification in line with ERRAC's SRRA.EUR2EX will have as its foundation six regional/supra regional networks with 67 members and some 670 researchers. Each region has nominated a representative who will be a formal participant for the purpose of the EC co ntract and lean management structure. EUR2EX will encourage new networks to be formed where justified incl. a CEEC network.The members of the regional networks will provide the researchers and research projects that will be integrated and form the research base for new joint projects. UIC, UNIFE and UITP will be EUR2EX participants. They will not provide researchers for integration but their involvement and support are crucial to the success of EUR2EX.EUR2EX will have close links with selected companies tha t have specific knowledge but who may not be able to commit themselves to formal integration. These companies have been identified as associate members.The process of integration of excellence takes place on the basis of a JPA with integrating activities, jointly executed research while sharing research platforms, facilities and activities for spreading excellence to be transferred into a durable integration based on a profound business case.'
Das Projekt "Sharing Experience On Risk Management (Health, Safety And Environment) To Design" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Magdeburg, Institut für Apparate und Umweltechnik durchgeführt. SHAPE-RISK aims at optimising the efficiency of integrated risk management in the context of the sustainable development of the European process industry. The proposal addresses sustainable waste management and hazard reduction in production, storage and manufacturing. The main deliverable of the SHAPE-RISK process will be recommendations to design future cleaner and safer industrial systems. These recommendations will be discussed and endorsed by the Industry. And finally an agenda of actions, approved by Industry, will be done. The goal is to support life-cycle safety and minimisation of accident, pollution and emissions, from the producer of raw materials to the end-product delivered by the industrial installation. In operational terms, SHAPE-RISK aims at structuring a network with the organisations providing technical support to the Authorities in charge of the SEVESO II, IPPC and ATEX directives. This network organised in a Co-ordination Action will interact with the other stakeholders: Industry, the Public, representatives of Communities, International Organisation and NGOs. In 3 years, the result of SHAPE-RISK will be an integrated approach of the different components of risk management and the optimisation of the resources devoted to risk control (environment protection and accident prevention). It will be achieved by enhancing synergy between European, national and regional programmes, and also by taking into account the needs of the pre-accession countries. SHAPE-RISK will result in the dissemination of knowledge and in the specification of research activities to address innovative breakthrough that will serve the construction of safer and cleaner industrial systems. SHAPE-RISK then contributes to the integration and reinforcement of the European Research Area in risk prevention.
Das Projekt "Sub project: Inferring surface and soil variables from assimilation of atmospheric boundary layer observations" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Erdsystemwissenschaften, Meteorologisches Institut durchgeführt. The evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer is strongly coupled via energy and moisture fluxes with the state of the surface and soil. This interaction is used in meteorological data assimilation to derive soil variables, especially soil moisture, from deviations of forecasts of screen-level atmospheric variables from the observations. This established approach, which is also used operationally by some weather services, will be implemented in the integrated data assimilation scheme of the Research Unit to quantify the information content of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) observations. We will first consider screen-level temperature and humidity as ABL observations and add later boundary layer height and skin temperature. As a novel research approach, we will extend the assimilation of ABL observations in two main directions: First, model parameters, e.g. leaf area index, will be estimated additionally by the data assimilation to avoid a too strong attribution of forecast errors to state variables of the soil. Second, we will consider not only instantaneous differences of forecasts and observations as so-called innovations, but also take the temporal structure of forecast errors into account. This will account for the very different temporal scales at which surface and soil variables vary: Surface temperature, for example, changes within seconds, whereas soil moisture varies at scales of hours to months (depending on the depth), and parameters, like e.g. the heat conductivity of a dry soil, are constant in time. Accordingly, errors of these quantities result in characteristic atmospheric forecast errors, which we call 'fingerprint', since they allow identifying the error source. The virtual catchment is perfectly suited to determine these fingerprints: At selected grid points, a simplified one-dimensional land-atmosphere model will be used to perform ensemble simulations with systematic perturbations of the fingerprint variable and random perturbations of other model variables. We will identify which atmospheric quantities under which conditions and at which timescales are affected most by the systematic perturbations. As second step, an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) assimilation system will be installed for the one-dimensional model and expanded to allow for an assimilation of model parameters. Finally, the novel fingerprints will be implemented as observation operator in this framework. This first implementation will be further expanded to account for non-instantaneous observations. We will review existing concepts for this multi-timescale extension and identify the moist suitable approach. The implementation of this enhancement as well as the adaptation of the methodology, which will be developed first for single-column models, to the three-dimensional coupled model system is planned for the second project phase.
Das Projekt "EU-Einwegkunststoff-Richtlinie - Analyse der Vorgaben und möglichen Maßnahmen bezogen auf die Erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von s.Pro - sustainable projects GmbH durchgeführt. Die Studie nimmt eine rechtliche Analyse der Bestimmungen der Erweiterten Herstellerverantwortung (EHV) der EKRL im Hinblick auf ihre Umsetzung in den Mitgliedstaaten vor. Insbesondere zielt sie darauf ab, den Ermessensspielraum der Mitgliedstaaten bei der Umsetzung der Richtlinie zu ermitteln. In einem ersten Schritt wird das EHV-Konzept der EKRL mit dem EHV-Konzept in anderen Teilen des EU-Abfallrechts verglichen. Die Studie analysiert auch die Übereinstimmung der EHVBestimmungen der EKRL mit höherrangigem EU-Recht. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Analyse liegt auf jenen Aspekten, die im Vergleich zu anderen EU-Rechtsvorschriften EHV Neuheiten darstellen, und wirft rechtliche Fragen auf, die bisher nicht behandelt wurden, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Reinigung von Abfällen der relevanten EK-Produkte. Ein zweites Ziel der Studie war die Analyse potenziell relevanter EHV-Maßnahmen für die acht verschiedenen EK-Produkte, die unter Art. 8 der EK-Richtlinie in Bezug auf Sammlung, Transport, Behandlung, Aufräumarbeit und Sensibilisierung fallen. Dasselbe galt für die einschlägigen Bestimmungen für Fanggeräte. Auf der Grundlage von Überprüfungen einschlägiger Literatur und ergänzender Experteninterviews, bildeten diese Daten die Grundlage für die Analyse (1), welche EHV-Maßnahmen wirksam sein könnten; (2) welche Kosten möglicherweise mit diesen Maßnahmen verbunden sein könnten; und (3) wer für i) die Durchführung und ii) die Kosten für diese Maßnahmen verantwortlich sein sollte. Ein dritter und letzter Teil stellt zwei Vorschläge für einen spezifischen Mechanismus (Fonds) zur Umsetzung der EHV-Bestimmungen der EKRL vor.
Das Projekt "A behavioural economic analysis of moral hazards in food production: the case of deviant economic behaviour and disclosure policies on the restaurant, ready-to-eat and retail level" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Professur Unternehmensführung im Agribusiness durchgeführt. Deviant behaviour on various levels of the food supply chain may cause food risks. It entails irregular technological procedures which cause (increased probabilities of) adverse outcomes for buyers and consumers. Besides technological hazards and hitherto unknown health threats, moral hazard and malpractice in food businesses represent an additional source of risk which can be termed 'behavioural food risk'. From a regulatory perspective, adverse outcomes associated with deviance represent negative externalities that are caused by the breaking of rules designed to prevent them. From a rational choice perspective, the probability of malpractice increases with the benefits for its authors. It decreases with the probability of detection and resulting losses. It also decreases with bonds to social norms that protect producers from yielding to economic temptations. The design of mechanisms that reduce behavioural risks and prevent malpractice requires an understanding of why food businesses obey or do not obey the rules. This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of malpractice on the restaurant/retail level through comparative case studies and statistical analyses of food inspection and survey data. Accounting for the complexity of economic behaviour, we will not only look at economic incentives but consider all relevant behavioural determinants, including social context factors.
Das Projekt "Green Cook - internationale Strategie für eine nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung von Lebensmitteln" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Siedlungswasserbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft, Lehrstuhl für Abfallwirtschaft und Abluft durchgeführt. GreenCook is aimed at reducing food wastage and to make the North-West Europe a model of sustainable food management, by in-depth work on the consumer / food relationship thanks to a multisectoral partnership. Food wastage is a challenging problem, directly linked with the question of waste, consumption and climate change. A quarter of the food produced in the world each year ends up in the dustbin, without having been consumed. Food wastage, a reflection of our overconsumption society, also reinforces social inequalities and is ethically unacceptable. The negative impacts of this wastage are real: for households (useless expenditure), for local authorities (overproduction of waste to be treated, increased costs), for the environment (pointless use of resources and pollution), and for the economy (falling prices). There is a pressing need, for consumers to respect food and food producers again, to enjoy the pleasure of healthy and tasty eating again, to rediscover culinary know-how, and to optimise food presentation, storage and conservation. Lately, tools and methods are under experimentation to help consumers to improve their food management while controlling their purchasing power. They aim at changing behaviour or altering the offer (at the supermarket, in the restaurant or in the canteen). It is alas hard for them to be generalised, because of the complexity of the levers that have to be activated. GreenCooks ambition is to create this lever effect, by generating a dynamic that motivates all of the food players and by throwing pathbreaking bridges with the fields of health, welfare and economic development. Its diversified partnership intends to show the added value of united, transversal action, and to influence EU policies, in order to get a new European sustainable food model to emerge. Prime Contractor: Espace Environnement asbl; Charleroi; Belgien.
Das Projekt "Mechanisms and consequences of vertical light-nutrient competition between benthic and pelagic primary producers in running-water systems" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ, Department Aquatische Ökosystemanalyse durchgeführt. In aquatic systems primary production critically depends on the vertical distribution of light and nutrients which particularly influences the competition of pelagic and benthic algae. Pelagic algae can shade benthic algae which, in turn, can intercept the nutrient flux from the sediment or hyporheic zone to the pelagic habitat. In running water systems the vertical distribution of light and nutrients changes in a longitudinal gradient. With changing light-to-nutrient availability also algal carbon-to-nutrient stoichiometry changes which usually is correlated with food quality for herbivores. The aim of this study is to experimentally analyse the influence of pathways of nutrient supply and characteristic longitudinal shifts - which are: magnitude of light and nutrient supply, and recruitment and advection of pelagic populations - on the interaction of pelagic and benthic primary producers and their carbon-to-nutrient stoichiometry. The experiments will be first carried out without grazers and in a second year with site-typical dominant herbivores to examine the effect of the algal communities on the grazers, but also the effect of the grazers on these communities. The results will provide an understanding of fundamental ecological mechanisms and processes and will also help to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic pressures like surface influx from sewage treatment plants in relation to diffuse sources in agricultural environments via hyporheic pathways and would be of particular relevance for the fields of theoretical and applied ecology and environmental management.
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