Estimating industrial process emission and assessing carbon dioxide equivalent of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts in China

Air pollution and climate change are closely linked because many greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants come from the same source. Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are new pollutants that have received high attention in recent years, as they are not only harmful to human health, but also important contributors to climate change. Therefore, PFCs are the key gases for the coordinated governance of air pollution and climate change. With the geographical shift of fluoropolymer production, the main emitters of perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts (PFOA/PFO) moved from North America, Europe and Japan to emerging Asian economies, especially China. In this study, industrial sources of PFOA/PFO in the Chinese atmosphere were identified, and its atmospheric emissions, carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions and environmental risks were assessed. China released about 38.19 tons PFOA/PFO into the atmosphere through industrial activities in 2019, 97 % of which originated from the production of fluoropolymers. PFOA/PFO showed aggregative emission along the eastern coastal zone, especially in the Yangtze River Delta. Cumulative PFOA/PFO emission from all provinces equaled to 0.28-0.47 million tons CO₂e, of which Jiangsu and Zhejiang took the lead, while Shanghai's CO₂-equivalent emissions intensity of PFOA/PFO in terms of area, population, gross domestic product (GDP), and industrial added value took the first in China. The available monitoring data on atmospheric concentration of PFOA in urban and rural China implied that its distribution pattern was similar to PFOA/PFO emissions, that is, the concentrations in the eastern regions with the highest degree of industrialization were significantly higher than that in the central and western regions, and the PFOA concentrations in urban China were higher than that in the rural, which proved that industrial use was an important source of PFOA pollution and would cause significant risks to the environment.

Analytical framework and data for a municipal solid waste environmental performance assessment

This article contains (i) a set of spreadsheets with data compiled from municipal sanitation or solid waste plans, and (ii) data of the individual and aggregate performance indicators. These indicators have been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production in the article entitled "A municipal solid waste indicator for environmental impact: assessment and identification of best management practices." The data contained in the spreadsheets are divided as follows: worksheet 1 includes the municipal solid waste generation data from the Brazilian municipalities studied; worksheet 2 presents the individual indicators that form the aggregate indicator; worksheet 3 presents the aggregate indicator and the classification of the municipalities; worksheet 4 provides data correlation; worksheets 5 to 10 depict boxplot graphs of the data; and worksheets 11 to 14 present graphs of individual indicators on a per capita basis and the ranking of municipalities.

Legume-based rotation enhance long-term soil carbon storage in eastern Oregon dryland wheat systems

The potential for increasing soil carbon (C) storage in dryland croplands is still under debate, and there is a lack of comprehensive data regarding storage capacity under conservation management practices. In this study, we analyze the potential for sequestration and stabilization by soil minerals in agricultural land in Eastern Oregon when legume-based rotations are incorporated into cereal cropping systems. This study encompasses long-term experiments that compare the traditional conventional tillage (CT) with winter wheat-summer fallow (WW-SF) cropping system to winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (WW) - spring pea (Pisum sativum L.) (SP) rotation (WW-SP) under both CT and no-till (NT). Soil C sequestration rates were estimated by analyzing mid-infrared spectral data in archived soil samples from the WW-SP and WW-SF systems. Partial least squares (PLS) models were trained to predict different properties in archived soil samples, such as total C and nitrogen (N) in bulk soil and C in mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). Our findings show that over nearly 60 years in the WW-SP cropping system, soil C in the top 30 cm depth profile increased annually by at least 0.16 t C per hectare under CT and 0.25 t C per hectare under NT following conversion from WW-SF systems. The WW-SF cropping system was highly susceptible to C losses in the MAOM fraction, while the NT cereal legume-based rotation showed significantly higher C levels in this fraction. Furthermore, the NT WW-SP resulted in a 60% increase in C sequestration in this fraction following the incorporation of cereal-legume systems. Although the studied sub-basin represents less than 1% of the state's croplands, we estimate that incorporating legumes into the WW-SF system could sequester enough C to offset approximately 0.20% of Oregon's annual agricultural CO₂ emissions. Our findings indicate that incorporating legumes into arable WW-SF systems can effectively increase C stock and stabilize eastern Oregon's dryland farms, promising to offset GHG emissions.

Potential impacts of optimised care pathways on carbon impact of anaesthesia consultation-A monocenter prospective study

BACKGROUND

Global warming presents major public health challenges, with healthcare transportation significantly contributing to carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (eCO2). While the greenhouse effects of anaesthetic gases are well-documented, the eCO2 of pre-anaesthesia consultations remains underexplored. This study aims to evaluate and propose strategies to reduce the carbon impact of these consultations at a Tertiary University Hospital.

METHODS

In a prospective, observational study over one month, data were collected from patients attending pre-anaesthesia consultations. ECO2 emissions from transportation and electricity were calculated. To reduce emissions, several modifications to the care pathway were investigated, including teleconsultation, remote consultation, grouping of consultations, carpooling, and the promotion of public transport. The effects of current and optimised care pathways were then compared.

RESULTS

Data from 213 patients showed that 75% attended the hospital solely for pre-anaesthesia consultations, mostly by car (82%). The mean eCO2 per consultation was 22.4 kgCO2 (95% CI: 14.6-30.2). Implementing optimisation strategies in 65% of cases could reduce emissions to 5.6 kg CO2 (95% CI: 0.2-10.9) per consultation, leading to a 74% reduction and an annual saving of 274 t of eCO2.

DISCUSSION

Our study highlights the potential for significant reductions in the eCO2 of pre-anaesthesia consultations. The adaptation of the care pathway would largely involve grouping consultations and developing teleconsultations. These potential savings in greenhouse gas emissions are in the same order of magnitude as not using desflurane in the operating theatre and could be the next step towards greener anaesthesia.

Life Cycle Assessment of an Avocado: Grown in South Africa-Enjoyed in Europe

Food production is known to have significant environmental impacts, with the main contributors residing in the farming and transportation life cycle phases. Of the various food products transported around the world, avocados have increasingly gained attention as a high-commodity superfood. Avocados require specific climatic and agricultural conditions for farming, with the most fertile land and conditions located outside Europe. Consequently, most avocados consumed in Europe are imported over vast geographical distances, with little information available to quantify the environmental impacts of this imported superfood. This paper aims to present the most detailed life cycle assessment results of an avocado cultivated, grown and harvested in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and exported to the European market for sale and consumption. A life cycle assessment was developed for the farming, harvesting, handling, packaging, ripening, transportation, and carbon sequestration potential of the avocado, and it was used to conduct a holistic life cycle assessment. Input data was obtained through an 18-month data collection campaign across the relevant stakeholders. A baseline 'business-as-usual' scenario is focused on throughout this study, and scope for optimisation is identified for each life cycle phase where applicable, accompanied by uncertainty analyses. Results show a total carbon input of 904.85 kg CO2e/tonne. Mitigating this, 521.88 kg CO2e/tonne is offset, resulting in a net carbon footprint of 382.97 kg CO2e/tonne with uncertainty ranges of -23.22 to +58.69 kg CO2e/tonne, normalised to 57.45 g CO2e/avocado grown in South Africa and sold in Europe. The environmental impacts of the avocado industry under consideration are largely mitigated by the "nature first" philosophy of the farming and logistics enterprises, which have made significant investments in reducing emissions. Sensitivity analyses indicate that implementing large-scale renewable energy, using alternative packaging instead of cardboard, and selling avocados unripened could further enable the farming enterprise to achieve Net Zero objectives. These measures could reduce baseline emissions from 382.97 kg CO2e/tonne to a theoretical -68.54 kg CO2e/tonne, representing a 117.9% decrease. Although this study does not quantify climate change impacts, qualitative analyses suggest that climate change will have a net negative effect on the avocado industry in South Africa. These regions, typically located in micro-climates, are projected to become wetter and warmer, adversely affecting crop phenology, pest control, road conditions, management complexity, farmer livelihoods, and food security. The study recommends large-scale implementation of the optimisation strategies identified to achieve Net Zero objectives and the development of proactive climate change mitigation strategies to enhance the resilience of avocado supply chains to future stressors. These insights are crucial for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers aiming to promote sustainability in the avocado market.