scholarly journals Study of a test methodology to assess potential drift generated by air-assisted sprayers

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Balsari ◽  
Paolo Marucco ◽  
Claudio Bozzer ◽  
Mario Tamagnone

During pesticide application spray drift may cause diffuse pollution phenomena in the environment. In the last years the European Union, through the Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides (128/2009 EC), has recommended the adoption of measures enabling to prevent spray drift. Among these measures, the adoption of buffer zones beside the sprayed fields requires to consider different widths for these no spray zones according to the amount of spray drift generated by the spraying equipment used for application. It is therefore necessary to classify the different sprayer models according to drift risk. For what concerns the sprayers used on arboreal crops, in order to make this classification in a simple and quick way as it was already proposed for the field crop sprayers (ISO FDIS 22369-3), a study was started aimed at defining a methodology to assess potential drift produced by the different sprayer models in absence of wind, using ad hoc test benches. On the basis of the positive first experimental data obtained, a first proposal for a new ISO standard methodology was prepared.

2020 ◽  
Vol 714 ◽  
pp. 136666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Torrent ◽  
Eduard Gregorio ◽  
Joan R. Rosell-Polo ◽  
Jaume Arnó ◽  
Miquel Peris ◽  
...  

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 1212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oihane Gómez-Carmona ◽  
Diego Casado-Mansilla ◽  
Diego López-de-Ipiña

The adaptation of cities to a future in which connectivity is at the service of the citizens will be a reality by creating interaction spaces and augmented urban areas. The research on this field falls within the scope of Smart Cities (SC) with the advantages that the common public spaces provide as new points for information exchange between the city, the urban furniture and their citizens. Kiosk systems have been recognized as an appropriate mean for providing event-aware and localized information to the right audience at the right time. Hence, in this article, we provide a vision of an eco-system of multifunctional urban furniture, where kiosks are part of them, designed not only for digital interaction but for sustainable use and symbolic integration into the urban environment as well. The proposed approach is conceived to drive services through digital urban nodes that facilitate tailored citizen-city communication and interaction. The central element of the designed platform consists on an intelligent digital kiosk which features a series of hardware and software components for sensing different environmental conditions, multimodal interaction with users and for conveying the captured data to the Cloud. The custom-based contents visualized to the users are controlled remotely through a management tool that allows to set-up and configure the digital kiosk. This system is not presented as an ad-hoc solution for one specific purpose but instead, it becomes a platform that can accommodate and solve the needs of every kind of user that populates urban shared-use spaces.


2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1808-1813
Author(s):  
María José González de la Huebra ◽  
Piotr Robouch ◽  
Håkan Emteborg ◽  
Stefano Bellorini ◽  
Aneta Cizek-Stroh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Phytase-based preparations are important feed additives currently authorised in the European Union (EU). The European Standard (EN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 30024 describes a harmonized method for the determination of phytase activity and is fit-for-purpose for official control of a group of phytase products. However, it is not suitable for the determination of the phytase activity of a new feed additive encoded as 4a16 in the EU Register of Feed Additives, to which a slightly different phytase activity definition has been attributed. Objective: To establish a robust conversion factor to support official control laboratories that apply the EN ISO method when monitoring feed products containing 4a16. Methods: The phytase activity of test materials was determined by the participants using the EN ISO and/or the “applicant” methods. Results: Robust relative SDs for repeatability and for reproducibility of the methods applied for the determination of the phytase activity in the materials containing the 4a16 feed additive ranged from 2.6 to 22% (EN ISO method) and from 2.4 to 39% (applicant method). Conclusions: The data obtained confirmed the performance characteristics published for other phytase-based feeds in the related standard methods. These results allowed us to estimate a factor of 2.68 to convert phytase activities measured with the EN ISO method into the enzyme activity measured with the applicant method. Highlights: The obtained conversion factor will allow EU official laboratories to screen feed samples supplemented with the 4a16 phytase by applying EN ISO Standard 30024.


2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Pötzelsberger ◽  
Katharina Lapin ◽  
Giuseppe Brundu ◽  
Tim Adriaens ◽  
Vlatko Andonovski ◽  
...  

Abstract Europe has a history rich in examples of successful and problematic introductions of trees with a native origin outside of Europe (non-native trees, NNT). Many international legal frameworks such as treaties and conventions and also the European Union have responded to the global concern about potential negative impacts of NNT that may become invasive in natural ecosystems. It is, however, national and regional legislation in particular that affects current and future management decisions in the forest sector and shapes the landscapes of Europe. We identified all relevant legal instruments regulating NNT, the different legal approaches and the regulatory intensity in 40 European countries (no microstates). Information on hard and effective soft law instruments were collected by means of a targeted questionnaire and consultation of international and national legislation information systems and databases. In total, 335 relevant legal instruments were in place in June/July 2019 to regulate the use of NNT in the investigated 116 geopolitical legal units (countries as well as sub-national regions with their own legislation). Countries and regions were empirically categorized according to ad hoc-defined legislation indicators. These indicators pay respect to the general bans on the introduction of non-native species, the generally allowed and prohibited NNT, approval mechanisms and specific areas or cases where NNT are restricted or prohibited. Our study revealed a very diverse landscape of legal frameworks across Europe, with a large variety of approaches to regulating NNT being pursued and the intensity of restriction ranging from very few restrictions on species choice and plantation surface area to the complete banning of NNT from forests. The main conclusion is that there is a clear need for more co-ordinated, science-based policies both at the local and international levels to enhance the advantages of NNT and mitigate potential negative effects.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 144-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Minas

Our ability to protect and sustainably use the high seas is ultimately subject to our ability to understand this vast and remote environment. The success of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) will depend, in part, on utilizing technology to access ocean life, to analyze it, and to implement measures for its conservation and sustainable use. Indeed, technology, broadly defined, is integral to meeting the ILBI's objectives: not just the mandate to address “capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology,” but also the sustainable use and conservation of marine genetic resources, the implementation of environmental impact assessments, and biodiversity conservation measures such as area-based management tools. To maximize marine technology deployment to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, transferring technology to developing countries will be critical. Provisions for the transfer of technology, generally from developed to developing countries, are included in many international environmental agreements and declarations, but these provisions have often proven difficult to implement. Part of the difficulty is that the relevant technology is dispersed among states; universities, research institutes and other nonstate actors; and private industry. The particular challenge in crafting an ILBI is, as the European Union has identified, to avoid repeating existing provisions and instead to “focus on added value.” One opportunity for an ILBI to add value on technology transfer is to further develop a network model to facilitate marine technology transfer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1808-1813
Author(s):  
María José González de la Huebra ◽  
Piotr Robouch ◽  
Håkan Emteborg ◽  
Stefano Bellorini ◽  
Aneta Cizek-Stroh ◽  
...  

Background: Phytase-based preparations are important feed additives currently authorised in the European Union (EU). The European Standard (EN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 30024 describes a harmonized method for the determination of phytase activity and is fit-for-purpose for official control of a group of phytase products. However, it is not suitable for the determination of the phytase activity of a new feed additive encoded as 4a16 in the EU Register of Feed Additives, to which a slightly different phytase activity definition has been attributed. Objective: To establish a robust conversion factor to support official control laboratories that apply the EN ISO method when monitoring feed products containing 4a16. Methods: The phytase activity of test materials was determined by the participants using the EN ISO and/or the “applicant” methods. Results: Robust relative SDs for repeatability and for reproducibility of the methods applied for the determination of the phytase activity in the materials containing the 4a16 feed additive ranged from 2.6 to 22% (EN ISO method) and from 2.4 to 39% (applicant method). Conclusions: The data obtained confirmed the performance characteristics published for other phytase-based feeds in the related standard methods. These results allowed us to estimate a factor of 2.68 to convert phytase activities measured with the EN ISO method into the enzyme activity measured with the applicant method. Highlights: The obtained conversion factor will allow EU official laboratories to screen feed samples supplemented with the 4a16 phytase by applying EN ISO Standard 30024.


Economica ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 48 (190) ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Richard ◽  
Edward E. Leamer
Keyword(s):  

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Glicksman ◽  
Thoko Kaime

AbstractMarkets in ecosystem services have the potential to provide financial incentives to protect the environment either in lieu of or in addition to more traditional regulatory programmes. If these markets function properly, they can provide enhanced levels of environmental quality or more efficient mechanisms for protecting natural resources that provide vital services to humans. The theoretical benefits of ecosystem services markets may be undercut, however, if care is not taken in creating the legal infrastructure that supports trading to ensure that trades actually provide the promised environmental benefits. This article identifies five essential pillars of an ecosystem services market regime that are necessary to provide operational accountability safeguards. These include financial safeguards, verifiable performance standards, transparency and public participation standards, regulatory oversight mechanisms, and rule of law safeguards. The article assesses whether the laws of the United States (US) and European Union (EU) are well designed to provide such accountability. It concludes that despite recognition of the risk of market manipulation and outright fraud, regulators in the US and the EU to date have responded to these risks largely in an ad hoc and incomplete fashion, rather than embedding the mechanisms for operational accountability discussed in this article into the regulatory framework that governs ecosystem services trading markets.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document