Comfort monitoring? Environmental assessment follow-up under community–industry negotiated environmental agreements

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bram Noble ◽  
Jasmine Birk
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Agreements

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN FINLAND: AN EVALUATION OF THE SEA ACT APPLICATION

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
TARJA SÖDERMAN ◽  
TUOMAS KALLIO
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Definition Of

Experiences from the Finnish Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Act were studied by surveying 35 SEA processes. Integration of plan or programme preparation and assessment, organisation of assessment, public participation and consultation, treatment of alternatives, scoping, impact assessment methods, effectiveness, environmental reporting, follow-up, effects on plan or programme preparation, assessment costs and consistency of the assessment were examined and evaluated. The results suggest that SEA is not yet used properly in decision-making. Several shortcomings characterised assessment practices in public participation, establishment and comparison of alternatives, definition of environmental problems, recognition of significant impacts and readiness to use SEA as a planning tool to integrate environmental considerations into the planning. In consequence, the assessments had only minor effects on the adopted plans and programmes. The most critical challenges in Finnish SEA practise are focusing on the most significant environmental issues and strengthening the links between planning, participation and decision-making.

DESIGNING A MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF URBAN PLANS IN CHINA

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 451-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
CUN-KUAN BAO ◽  
YING-WEI GAO ◽  
YING-LIE ZHOU ◽  
LI OU-YANG ◽  
HE HUANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Urban Plan ◽  
Urban Master Plan ◽  
The Relationship

Based on the revision of the Methods for Urban Plan Formulation and the Technical Guidelines of Environmental Impact Assessment for Urban Master Plan (in draft), this paper proposes a management framework for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Urban Plans. In this context, the urban plan compilation system and the requirements for Urban Plan SEAs are explained. This is followed by the introduction of three types of urban plan SEAs, namely forecasting SEA, monitoring or follow-up SEA, and retrospective SEA. The relationship among the institutions/agencies involved in urban planning SEAs is discussed and three implementation modes are proposed, including an internal-implementation mode, an external-implementation mode and a mixed-implementation mode. Finally, substantive SEA aspects for various types of urban plans are identified.

OFFSHORE HYDROCARBON AND SYNTHETIC HYDROCARBON SPILLS IN EASTERN CANADA: THE ISSUE OF FOLLOW-UP AND EXPERIENCE

2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (02) ◽  
pp. 173-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
GAIL S. FRASER ◽  
JOANNE ELLIS
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Synthetic Hydrocarbon ◽  
Environmental Monitoring Data ◽  
Do So

The Environmental Assessment (EA) process should involve the generation of testable predictions generated using clearly stated methods and followed by the collection of environmental monitoring data. Follow-up programs should aim to determine the accuracy of the initial predictions. We examined the follow-up process for six oil and gas extraction projects in eastern Canada with respect to assessing batch spill (< 50 barrels of hydrocarbons and synthetic hydrocarbons) predictions. For three projects we compared oil spill frequency predictions to observed data. All three projects exceeded their predicted frequencies and two projects by ratios (actual to predicted) greater than six. Spill histories from earlier projects, clearly exceeding predictions of future projects, are not provided in subsequent oil and gas EAs for the region, when there were opportunities to do so. We provide recommendations on how to strengthen the quality of EAs and increase protection of the marine environment in Canada.

A DECISION-MAKER'S TOOL FOR SUSTAINABILITY-CENTRED STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER CROAL ◽  
ROBERT B. GIBSON ◽  
CHARLES ALTON ◽  
SUSIE BROWNLIE ◽  
ERIN WINDIBANK
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Sustainability Criteria ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Key Issues

This paper outlines a Decision-Maker's Tool (DM Tool), designed to guide practitioners and their inter-disciplinary teams through a typical strategic environmental assessment (SEA) process. While SEA properly includes post-decision follow-up, the DM Tool covers the SEA process up to the creation of a Briefing Note for the decision maker. Together, use of the DM Tool and the Briefing Note should facilitate positive contributions to sustainability through well considered and aligned policies, plans and programmes (PPPs), by enhancing the comprehensiveness, consistency, clarity, accessibility and credibility of decision making information. The discussion presumes that the SEA is central to the PPP development process, rather than being a separate exercise. The DM Tool and Briefing Note are designed to recommend PPP action based on clearly stated needs and purposes, addressing the key issues, and application of explicit sustainability criteria in the comparative evaluation of feasible alternatives. Particular attention is paid to recognising trade-offs and residual risks, and presenting all this information concisely for the decision maker.

scholarly journals Environmental Assessment of Cytotoxic Drugs in the Oncology Center of Cyprus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ◽  
Sofia C. Economidou ◽  
Artemis Tsivitanidou ◽  
Petros Polyviou ◽  
Amanda Lorimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Employee Training ◽  
Cytotoxic Drugs ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Sample Contamination ◽  
Cleaning Procedures ◽  
Oncology Center

AbstractBackgroundCytotoxic drugs constitute an important workplace hazard in the hospital environment. Our aim was to conduct an environmental assessment of hazardous drugs in the Oncology center of Cyprus.MethodsWipe samples were obtained from 42 workplace areas of the Oncology Center including two pairs of gloves in an initial assessment, while 10 samples were obtained at follow-up 3 years later. Potential contamination with cyclophosphamide (CP), ifosphamide (IF) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and other cytotoxic medications was examined using the GC-MSMS system (CP, IF) and the HPLC system with UV detection (5-FU) method, respectively.ResultsWipe sample contamination was detected at 11.9% and 15% in the initial and follow-up assessment, respectively. Both pairs of gloves assessed were free from contamination. The results showed contamination with cyclophosphamide on the work space inside the isolator, on a day-care office phone and on the central pharmacy bench. Ifosphamide was only detected on the floor of a patient’s room. Contamination with 5-fluorouracil was found only on the surface of a prepared IV infusion bag. The levels of contamination in the positive samples ranged from 0.05 to 10.12 ng/cm2.ConclusionsThe overall percentage of sample contamination at the Oncology Center was very low compared to other centers around the world. In addition, the detected levels of contamination with cytotoxic drugs were relatively low with the exception of the workspace inside the biological safety cabinet.These results in both assessments may reflect the implementation of comprehensive control measures including employee training, technological equipment and effective cleaning procedures.

USE AND ABUSE OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT LAW AND PRACTICE: A CANADIAN EXAMPLE AND GENERAL LESSONS

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 425-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARLENE J. KWASNIAK
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Canadian Experience ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
The Impact

Adaptive management theory recognises that we cannot make foolproof predictions of environmental impacts of human interventions into complex ecosystems. It mandates that environmental managers retain the ability to respond to change and inaccurate predictions. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) authorises government to implement adaptive management into project follow-up. A key Canadian court decision has interpreted this to mean that adaptive management enables projects to proceed when mitigation measures are uncertain, that could be used in tempering the significance of impacts, and that it offsets the impact of the precautionary principle. Taking a legal perspective, the paper discusses how adaptive management may benefit environmental assessment, how the CEAA uses it, how a court has misinterpreted its role in the CEAA, and how it relates to the precautionary principle. In closing the paper sets out general lessons from the Canadian experience for the use of adaptive management in environmental assessment generally.

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