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Wastewater generated in dairies has a strong polluting potential and must be treated for disposal into water bodies or reuse. The objective of this work was to analyze the efficiency of removing pollutants through the processes used by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a dairy located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. For this purpose, the results of the characterization analyses referring to raw and treated wastewater were interpreted. The results showed that the sequence of processes used in the WWTP (water/oil separation, dissolved air flotation, followed by biodegradation in an upflow anaerobic filter) is efficient in removing on average 99.1% of COD and 98.7% of BOD5. For treated wastewater, data on pH and concentration of total suspended solids, total ammoniacal nitrogen, surfactants, settleable solids, and oils and greases also met the standards for disposal into water bodies. For reuse in agriculture, treated wastewater can be used for irrigation, but it is recommended to additionally evaluate the Escherichia coli parameter. When evaluating the existence of linear correlation between COD and BOD5 data, it was possible to find only a moderate correlation (R2 equal to 0.7) for treated wastewater.

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Streams are vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, such as changes in land use, which reflect on water quality and can be evaluated by abiotic variables. In this context, the aims were to compare the abiotic values recorded in streams of different land use categories with the limits established by National legislation, and to analyze changes in abiotic variables in response to different land use impacts. Thus, 17 streams located in southern Brazil were sampled and grouped into urban, rural, and protected areas (PA) categories. The results showed the major impacts in urban streams. However, some variables in rural streams and PA also exceeded local legislation limits. Conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, ammoniacal nitrogen and coliforms were significantly higher in the urban streams. Contrary to expectations, the highest levels of manganese were found in PA streams. The relationship between abiotic variables and land uses suggests possible contamination by sewage in urban streams and by pesticides in rural streams. The abiotic similarity between rural and PA streams indicates that the conservation of these water bodies is ineffective. We suggest the monitoring of these environments and measures to mitigate the impacts to seek the restoration of ecosystem services and the well-being of human populations.

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Although the marine megafauna often strands on beaches around the world, such as sea turtles and whales, stranding data are poorly managed and incorporated into management and conservation strategies. Here we use a knowledge value chain framework to call attention for the urgent need to improve our data architecture and knowledge management on marine megafauna strandings. We use Brazil, a continental megadiverse federative republic, as study model. After describing the main components and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the current Brazilian data architecture, we propose 10 practical measures for its improvement involving researchers, companies, non-governmental organizations, legislators, policy makers, public agents, citizen scientists, and local communities. Although Brazil has notable strengths such as comprehensive environmental legislation, hundreds of scientists and dozens of prestigious research institutions, stranding data is not translated into technical-scientific knowledge; technical-scientific knowledge is not transformed into effective public regulations; deficient regulations lead to bad decisions and limited actions, which in turn result in ineffective management and conservation strategies. In light of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), we propose (1) expanding standardized beach monitoring projects to the entire Brazilian coast; (2) creating a governmental database with FAIR principles; (3) encouraging the development of broad citizen science initiatives; (4) funding scientists and research institutions; (5) boosting outreach activities among researchers to popularize the scientific knowledge; (6) raising awareness among legislators and policy makers on the problem of strandings; (7) updating the existing legal provisions on the environmental licensing of activities developed at sea; (8) hiring new environmental analysts and inspectors and improving the infrastructure of executing environmental agencies; (9) strengthening existing conservation networks with multiple stakeholders; and (10) making the results of the management and conservation strategies broadly accessible to society. These recommendations may also apply to other coastal countries around the world.

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SETTING: Air pollution, including particulate matter, causes health problems for residents of major cities around the world, including New Delhi, India. Public participation is important in framing policies related to such public health issues. OBJECTIVE: To study how the public's comments on air pollution, which had been collected on the orders of the Indian Supreme Court, influenced air pollution policy in New Delhi. DESIGN: We filed a Right to Information Act, 2005 application with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to obtain a copy of the comments. These were compiled and compared with key major areas identified in the policy released by the regulatory authority. RESULTS: There were a wide range of comments from experts, residents and resident associations. In total, 115 comments were compiled and studied, and several recurring themes were found to have been incorporated into the policy. This included the need to switch to green public transport and cycling, the use of alternative fuels and reduced agricultural crop residue burning. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the public and experts have indeed influenced the CAQM air pollution policy. This is important, as it highlights a democratic, inclusive and stakeholder-based approach. Nonetheless, a future concern lies in how this policy is translated into actionable regulations with effective implementation in the field.

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Based on the unique perspective of local environmental regulations promulgated in Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2000 to 2018, this paper examines the impact of urban environmental legislation on green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE). The results show that implementing environmental legislation significantly improves local GTFEE, with comprehensive protection regulations contributing to local energy efficiency improvements, while the impact of pollution prevention regulations is insignificant. This conclusion remains robust to multiple scenarios. Potential mechanisms through which environmental legislation can guide urban green transition include the industrial upgrading effect represented by "clean industry development" and "polluting industry exit", as well as the technical innovation effect achieved through "new technology generation" and "old technology upgrading". Furthermore, environmental legislation with a higher degree of regulatory effectiveness has a greater potential for energy saving. Environmental legislation has a more significant impact on improving GTFEE in cities in non-old industrial bases, with less frequent turnover of officials, and in central and western regions in China. This study evaluates the positive impact of urban environmental legislation on GTFEE, aiming to advancing the rule of law in local environmental pollution governance and thereby promote urban green transition.

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In China, there exists a huge debate for a long time on whether a double dividend, reducing pollution emissions and boosting employment, can be achieved by intensifying environmental regulations. In this paper, we use two data sets on provincial environmental legislation and Chinese manufacturing firms during 1998-2013, to estimate the impact of provincial environmental legislation on the firms' employment growth with a difference-in-difference (DID) model. Results showed that (1) after the implementation of environmental legislation, the employment growth of regulated manufacturing firms decreases significantly by 3.07%, and this result is robust to alternative tests. (2) Local environmental legislation reduces employment growth mainly via the influencing mechanism of the firm's entry and exit, export, and innovation. (3) The local environmental legislation has heterogeneous impacts on employment growth in different industries and different regions, and the estimated effect is more obvious in high-pollution industries and areas with strong enforcement. (4) Environmental legislation significantly improves job destruction and reduces job creation, resulting in a - 3.86% job net increase. Due to the long-term implementation of extensive economic growth mode, China's ecological environment has been deteriorating since the 1990s, and environmental pollution has attracted more and more social attention. Until 2013, the Communist Party of China put forward 'ecological civilization', and building a beautiful new China with harmonious coexistence between man and nature has become an important development strategy. Meanwhile, starting from the implementation of the Two-Control-Zone policy in 1998, China has implemented numerous environmental policies in just ten years. These environmental policies have greatly improved the quality of China's ecological environment, but their economic effects have been controversial. Given the special historical period, this paper helps assess the impact of Chinese environmental policies on employment and provides a more objective policy evaluation and implications for improving existing laws and regulations to achieve higher social welfare. To achieve this goal of balancing the improvement of the ecological environment and high employment level, environmental policies firstly should be flexible to ensure that the environmental standards follow the firm's characteristics and regional characteristics to avoid "one size fits all". Particularly, for regions with poor economic development or having a single industrial structure, the implementation cycle of the environmental policies should be extended to ensure that they have enough time to achieve industrial restructuring and complete the environmental protection goals. Secondly, we find that environmental legislation hurts employment growth by limiting export decisions, so the government should use multiple channels to stabilize export when implementing environmental legislation. Thirdly, technological R&D and innovation play an important role in the effect of environmental legislation on firms' employment growth. Therefore, the government should provide a more flexible environment for firms' R&D and innovation with appropriate fiscal policies and technical support.

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The paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey carried out by The Forensic laboratory of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-FL), aiming to get an overview of the current status of environmental forensic science (EFS) and environmental crimes investigation in the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI). A questionnaire was sent out to 71 ENFSI member institutes and the response rate was 44%. The results of the survey indicate that the issue of environmental crime is taken seriously in most participating countries, but a need for improvement in the approach to the issue was identified. Countries define environmental crime differently and have different law structures regarding what kind of actions are considered environmental crimes. The most frequently mentioned actions were waste dumping, pollution, inappropriate handling of chemicals and hazardous waste, oil spills, illicit excavation and wildlife crime and trading.The different roles of the authorities involved in the investigative process seem to be somewhat unclear in several countries. Most institutes participated on some level in the forensic processes related to environmental crime cases. The most common tasks performed in forensic institutes were the analysis of environmental samples and interpretation of the results. Only three institutes had case coordination services related to EFS. Participation in sample collection was rare but a clear developmental need was identified. A majority of the respondents acknowledged a need for increased scientific collaboration and education in the field of EFS.

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With the aim of achieving the goal of ecological livability in Chinese rural society, the issue of rural environmental governance has received great attention from the CCP and the government. However, due to local governments' model of development in exchange for economic interests and the "urban and rural binary" structure of environmental governance, rural environmental governance faces many dilemmas, such as lack of normative standards, lack of environmental governance subjects, and lack of judicial security. In order to improve the development of rural ecological civilization and realize ecologically friendly agriculture, this paper proposes a solution path for rural environmental governance from the perspective of the idea of the community with a shared future for humanity. Specifically, this solution path includes establishing the concepts of cooperation and governance of environmental protection, improving villagers' participation in environmental protection, balancing economic and environmental interests in rural environmental governance, and building a long-term mechanism for the rule of law in rural environmental governance.

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Pulp and paper industries are very important for developing the Brazilian economy. During production processes, many effluents are generated with high polluting potential. The objective of this study is to conduct an extensive literature review on the characteristics of effluents and treatment forms adopted by Brazilian mills in this industrial sector. Most consulted studies address raw (without treatment) and secondary (after biological treatment) effluents, considering their main characteristics like pH, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands (COD and BOD, respectively), color, solids, organochlorines, toxicity, estrogenic activity, and phenols. Raw effluents differ considerably in composition, depending on the type of paper produced, the pulping process employed, and other steps, like pulp bleaching. Raw effluent characteristics indicate that this effluent cannot be directly disposed of into water bodies, because it does not comply with federal and state disposal standards. Secondary effluents normally comply with Brazilian legislations, although some studies have reported COD and total phenol concentrations higher than disposal standards, suggesting that additional treatments are necessary. Treated effluent reuse was verified in some Brazilian mills, while its disposal in eucalyptus plantations has been considered a promising alternative for irrigation purposes.

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Os Conselhos Municipais de Meio Ambiente (CMMA) foram instituídos com a finalidade de assessorar o poder executivo nas questões relativas ao meio ambiente e ser um fórum para as tomadas de decisões. Nesses conselhos, a participação política e a representatividade são importantes e a sua observância é essencial para que sejam discutidas efetivamente suas pautas. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a participação sociopolítica nos CMMA dos municípios de Canela e São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul. As análises foram realizadas com base em dados de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, no período de 2013 a 2017. Concluiu-se que a participação sociopolítica, em ambas as instâncias deliberativas, ainda é precária, tendo como entraves a disparidade de representatividade e a não atuação efetiva dos conselheiros. Porém, entende-se como fundamental a constituição dos CMMA nos dois municípios, evidenciando as lutas ambientais e o caráter democrático e transformador destes espaços.

The Municipal Environmental Councils (CMMA) were created with the aim of advising the executive branch on issues related to the environment and serving as a forum for decision-making. In these councils, political involvement and representation are important and their observance is essential so that their agendas are effectively discussed. The aim of this article is to analyze the sociopolitical involvement in the CMMA of the municipalities of Canela and São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul. The analyzes were carried out based on data from bibliographic and documentary research, from 2013 to 2017. It was concluded that sociopolitical involvement, in both deliberative instances, is still precarious, having as obstacles the disparity of representativeness and non-action effectiveness of the advisers. However, it is understood as fundamental the constitution of the CMMA in the two municipalities, highlighting the environmental struggles and the democratic and transforming character of these spaces.

Los Consejos Ambientales Municipales (CMMA) fueron creados con el objetivo de asesorar al Poder Ejecutivo en temas relacionados con el medio ambiente y servir como foro para la toma de decisiones. En estos consejos la participación y representación política es importante y su observancia es fundamental para que sus agendas sean efectivamente discutidas. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la participación sociopolítica en el CMMA en los municipios de Canela y São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul. Los análisis se realizaron con base en datos de investigaciones bibliográficas y documentales, de 2013 a 2017. Se concluyó que la participación sociopolítica, en ambas instancias deliberativas, es aún precaria, teniendo como obstáculos la disparidad de la representatividad y la efectividad de la no acción de los asesores. Sin embargo, se entiende como fundamental la constitución de los CMMA en los dos municipios, destacando las luchas ambientales y el carácter democrático y transformador de estos espacios.

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BACKGROUND: Human exposure to infrasound is increasing due to man-made factors, such as occupational conditions, wind farms and transportation. The concern among the public regarding the safety of infrasound exposure is growing. AIMS: To evaluate whether exposure to infrasound interferes directly with human cardiac function and contributes to pathological processes. SETTING: The University Hospital of Mainz, Germany. METHODS: Human myocardial tissues, obtained from patients undergoing cardiac surgery, were prepared in small muscle samples and stimulated electrically in-vitro for a period of almost two hours under physiological conditions to induce continuous pulsatile contractions and simulating a working human heart. Two samples were obtained from each donor: one was subjected to infrasound for 60 min and the other served as a control. Their contraction forces (CF) and durations (CD) were measured before and after each testing period and their relative changes (CF% and CD%) were calculated and introduced in a multilinear regression model. The following three infrasound levels of exposure were used in this study: 100, 110 and 120 dBz. RESULTS: The measured CF% corresponded negatively with the infrasound level measured in dBz (R2 = 0.631; P = 0.018). The decrease measured almost -11% at 110 dBz and -18% at 120 dBz, after correction for control. The CD on the other hand remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to high levels of infrasound (more than 100 dBz) interferes with cardiac muscle contractile ability, as early as one hour after exposure. There are numerous additional studies which support this conclusion. These results should be taken into account when considering environmental regulations.

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Annually, the EU produces more than 100 million tonnes of urban biowaste, which is largely under-valorized and in some cases even still landfilled without any energy or material recovery. If Europe wants to be ready for the future, it will need to make better use of this large biomass potential within a circular economy approach. The research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme entitled 'VOLATILE-Biowaste derived volatile fatty acid platform for biopolymers, bioactive compounds and chemical building blocks' aimed to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from biowaste for reprocessing into products, materials or substances to close the material loop. During the project, the partners were able to obtain average volatile fatty acid yields of 627 g COD/kg organic matter (OM) for food waste, 448 g COD/kg OM for separately collected vegetable, garden and fruit waste (VGF) and 384 g COD/kg OM for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OF-MSW) at concentrations ranging from 12 to 48 g/L, 6 to 40 g/L and 13 to 26 g/L, respectively. A membrane filtration cascade consisting of micro-, ultra- and nano-filtration followed by reverse osmosis was identified as a feasible way to purify and concentrate the VFA effluent, making them a suitable carbon source for further fermentation processes. Besides technical optimization, socio-economic and legal aspects associated with this platform technology were also studied and show that although this technology is still in development, it is providing an answer to changing societal and market expectations both regarding organic waste treatment and bio-based production strategies. Based on the current technological, economic and market evolutions, it is expected that the VFAP will play an important role in organic waste treatment in the coming years.

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This work aims to propose new standards to assess the degree of sediment contamination in saline and brackish environments, since the legislation currently used in Brazil is based on Canadian/American regulations, which do not comply with the conditions in Brazil. This study is based on geochemical analyses of 340 surface sediment samples collected in the Green Coast region (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), including Mangaratiba, Angra dos Reis and Ribeira coves and Ilha Grande and Sepetiba bays. This region is influenced by industrial, harbor, urban and tourist activities and was affected by a dam rupture episode that released contaminated material. The results show heterogeneity in the distribution and range of metal concentrations in the study area depending on the supply of metals from natural and anthropogenic sources. Environmental characteristics such as coastal and tidal currents, water temperature and salinity, local depth, sediment grain size, sedimentary dynamics and biogeochemical processes influence the dispersion or retention of metals. The pollution load index (PLI) suggests that Sepetiba Bay is the region with the most environmental degradation due to anthropogenic contamination. In this context, we propose the establishment of new levels of contamination according to the Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn concentrations in sediments of salt and brackish waters, considering I) background level; II) level 1 - with anthropogenic influence; and III) level 2 - contaminated. The results of this work also suggest that, except for zinc, the range of metal concentrations admitted by Brazilian legislation are quite permissive and not adequate for Brazilian coastal environments.

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Early studies published in Ambio showed large-scale acidification of lakes in southern Sweden and Norway from acid rain. These studies were important for delimiting various scientific issues and thus for eventually contributing to legislation, which reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and helped to mitigate this major environmental problem. Long-term studies and monitoring in Sweden and Norway and at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire helped guide this legislation in Europe and in the USA.

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Increasingly severe environmental issues, especially those in developing countries such as China, drive the evolution of the environmental protection institution (EPI) to its strictest levels. However, the implementation of the strictest EPI still confronts various challenges and barriers, and the multi-stakeholder features of EPI determine these barriers are not independent of one another but rather present complex interactive relationships. This paper identifies the barriers to implementing China's EPI from four aspects of environmental legal, economic, regulatory, and public participation institutions. A variable precision rough DEMATEL approach is proposed to visualize the causal relationships and intensities among barriers from the similarities and differences in perspectives of stakeholders from the government, company, and public levels. The obtained causal interactive mechanism among barriers highlights the need to prioritize the improvement of environmental policy assessment, and the concrete measures in policies or plans should be integrated into legislation to ensure they are mutually supportive early. The non-substantive contributions achieved by China's public participation in environmental protection reveal prejudices that the public is often regarded as a supporter or spectator by both government and company groups, which makes the transparent environmental information disclosure, transfer and feedback into an effective mediation among stakeholders. Comprehensive coordination and feedback mechanisms including source prevention, process control, and severe punishment for consequences while enhancing linkages among stakeholders are put forward to overcome barriers and help implement the strictest EPI.

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Resumen Introducción: Actualmente la contabilidad financiera en las organizaciones empresariales se ha visto influenciada por la presencia de la gestión ambiental, en virtud de ello, las compañías centran su atención en realizar registros contables que permitan la medición y valoración de operaciones concernientes al ecosistema, obteniendo una contabilidad apegada a las normas y reglamentos establecidos para tal fin. Objetivo: Analizar los estándares internacionales de contabilidad a la luz de los requerimientos de su aplicación en la gestión ambiental. Materiales y métodos: El recurso metodológico utilizado es el positivista cuantitativo de campo, aplicando un cuestionario autoadministrado estructurado, formalizado y estandarizado con escala tipo Likert a siete contadores públicos y siete gerentes de gestión ambiental que se desempeñan en empresas extractivas de minerales no metálicos; con permisología del Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente en la región andina del estado Trujillo de Venezuela. Resultados: Se identificó que las empresas analizadas se rigen por lo establecido por la FCCPV, en lo referente a los principios generales de contabilidad, además se detectó que estas organizaciones no contemplan las normas internacionales, igualmente, se puede inferir que la mayoría de estas empresas se apegan a lo señalado en la LOA. Conclusión: A pesar de que existen regulaciones del Estado venezolano y para la profesión de la contaduría en materia ambiental, se evidencian ciertas debilidades en sus estados financieros en el tratamiento de los hechos de impacto ambiental ocasionados por la actividad económica, lo cual limita su responsabilidad para con el medio ambiente.

Abstract Introduction: Currently, financial accounting in business organizations has been influenced by the presence of environmental management, in virtue of which companies focus their attention on making accounting records that allow the measurement and valuation of operations concerning the ecosystem, obtaining their accounting in accordance with the rules and regulations established for that purpose. Objective: Analyze international accounting standards in light of the requirements for their application in environmental management. Materials and methods: The methodological resource used is the quantitative and positivist field research, applying a structured, self-administered questionnaire, formalized and standardized with a Likert scale, to 7 public accountants and 7 managers of Environmental Management who work in extractive non-metallic mineral companies; with permission from the Ministry of Popular Power for the Environment in the Andean region of the Trujillo State of Venezuela. Results: It was identified that the analyzed companies are governed by the provisions of the FCCPV, in relation to the General Accounting Principles. It was also detected that these organizations do not observe the International Accounting Standards, and it can also be inferred that the majority of these companies adhere to the provisions of the LOA. Conclusion: Although there are regulations of the Venezuelan State and for the accounting profession in environmental matters in particular, certain weaknesses are evidenced in its financial statements regarding the treatment of environmental impact events caused by economic activity, which limits the profession's responsibility towards the environment.

Resumo Introdução: Atualmente a contabilidade financeira nas organizações empresariais tem se visto influenciada pela presencia da gestão ambiental, em virtude disso, as companhias centram sua atenção em realizar cadastros contáveis que permitam a medição e valoração de operações concernentes ao ecossistema, obtendo uma contabilidade ligada as normas e regramentos estabelecidos para tal fim. Objetivo: Analisar as normas internacionais de contabilidade à luz dos requisitos de sua aplicação na gestão ambiental. Materiais e métodos: O recurso metodológico utilizado é o positivista quantitativo de campo, aplicando um questionário auto administrado estruturado, formalizado e padronizado com escala tipo Likert a sete contadores públicos e sete gerentes de gestão ambiental que se desempenham em empresas extrativas de minerais não-metálicos; com permissão do Ministério do Poder Popular para o Ambiente na região andina do estado Trujillo de Venezuela. Resultados: Se identificou que as empresas analisadas se regem pelo estabelecido pela FCCPV, no referente aos princípios gerais de contabilidade, além se detectou que estas organizações não contemplam as normas internacionais, igualmente, se pode inferir que a maioria de estas empresas ficam ligadas ao sinalado na LOA. Conclusão: A pesar de que existem regulações do Estado venezuelano e para a profissão da contadoria em matéria ambiental, se evidenciam certas debilidades em seus estados financeiros no tratamento dos fatos de impacto ambiental ocasionados pela atividade económica, o qual limita sua responsabilidade para com o meio ambiente.

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Environmental legislation in many countries demands the rehabilitation of degraded areas to minimize environmental impacts. Brazilian laws require the restitution of self-sustaining ecosystems to historical conditions but ignore the emergence of novel ecosystems due to large-scale changes, such as species invasions, extinctions, and land-use or climate changes, although these novel ecosystems might fulfill ecosystem services in similar ways as historic ecosystems. Thorough discussions of rehabilitation goals, target ecosystems, applied methods, and approaches to achieving mine land rehabilitation, as well as dialogues about the advantages and risks of chemical inputs or non-native, non-invasive species that include all political, economic, social, and academic stakeholders are necessary to achieve biological feasibility, sociocultural acceptance, economic viability, and institutional tractability during environmental rehabilitation. Scientific knowledge of natural and rehabilitating ecosystems is indispensable for advancing these discussions and achieving more sustainable mining. Both mining companies and public institutions are responsible for obtaining this knowledge.

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Phytotreatment capping in closed landfills is a promising, cost-effective, in situ option for sustainable leachate treatment and might be synergistically coupled with energy crops to produce renewable energy (e.g.: biodiesel or bioethanol). This study proposes to use 0.30 m of soil as growing substrate for plants cultivated on the temporary cover of closed landfills. Once the leachate phytotreatment process is no longer required, 0.70 m of the same soil would be added to attain the final top cover configuration. This solution would entail saving the costs of excavation and backfilling. However, worsening of the initial soil quality due to potential contaminant transfer from the liquid to the solid matrix must be avoided because EU legislation (such as that in Italy) fixes concentration limits for contaminants in soil. In this research, samples of soil used as substrate in a lab-scale leachate phytotreatment test with sunflowers were analysed to provide chemical characterization before, during, and at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the phytotreatment activity did not increase initial contaminant concentrations. These results are reinforced by those from ecotoxicological bioassays in which Eisenia fetida (earthworms), Lepidium sativum (cress), Folsomia candida (collembola), and Caenorhabditis elegans and Steinernema carpocapsae (nematodes) were used. It was observed that, by the end of the experiment, the substrate soil did not affect the earthworms, collembola and nematode behaviour, or the growth of cress.

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RESUMO Tendo em vista a grande quantidade de resíduos sólidos descartados nos lixões a céu aberto, contaminando o solo, as águas e o ar, observou-se a necessidade de fazer um estudo para melhoria e adequação da disposição final desses detritos. O objetivo principal foi identificar áreas potenciais para a construção de um aterro sanitário municipal, visando à redução dos impactos ambientais gerados pela disposição final incorreta desses resíduos no município de Conceição das Alagoas, Minas Gerais. A metodologia adotada no levantamento das áreas potenciais foi baseada em um mapeamento digital, utilizando técnicas de geoprocessamento. Em uma primeira etapa foram realizados os levantamentos das zonas restritivas e potenciais no município de Conceição das Alagoas para a implantação do aterro. Na segunda etapa foram avaliadas todas as áreas inseridas na zona potencial, nas quais se determinou seis áreas adequadas à implantação de aterro sanitário conforme critérios de restrição.

ABSTRACT Given the large amount of solid waste disposed in open dumps, contaminating the soil, the water and the air, there was a need to improve and adjust the final disposal of such waste. The main objective was to identify potential areas for the construction of a municipal landfill, in order to reduce the environmental impacts generated by incorrect disposal of this waste in the municipality of Conceição das Alagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The methodology used in the survey of potential areas was based on a digital mapping using geographic information system techniques. In the first step, the surveys of restrictive and potential zones in the municipality of Conceição das Alagoas were conducted for the landfill implementation. In the second step, we evaluated all areas inserted in the potential zone, in which six areas were determined as suitable for the landfill deployment according to restriction criteria.