Industrial area environmental monitoring based on transducers with MODBUS communication

The monitoring of environmental parameters in industrial areas where potential sources of pollution exist is very important from the point of view of prevention of environmental accidents. In this paper, we propose a solution for the monitoring of the environmental parameters with the local acquisition through specific environmental and movement sensors and data transmission to a higher hierarchical level through the use of MODBUS communications. A flexible hardware structure and software development concept are presented to offer local information and to be integrated into an environmental quality monitoring network.

Green methods that are used to ensure the sustainable development of the environment and the society

Nowadays, pollution is one of the biggest challenges for human society. Many types of research are directed toward finding sustainable solutions with minimum or no environmental impact. The contaminants affect the ecosystem components and the people's health equally. Cardiovascular and cancer are only two examples of diseases for which air and food adulteration are directly influenced. For each situation, the conditions need to be evaluated. Environmental accidents or rehearsal ones can determine the risk sources. Regardless of the case, prevention measures are always recommended. Different organic wastes recovery represents a possible solution ensuring an endurable process. Such an approach has to be also looked at from an economic point of view. Renewable natural raw materials usually have lower costs. Independent of the considered strategies, they all have to be based on two pilings. One acts by the authority’s involvement using legislation and standards, and the other refers to society through awareness and implication. The paper highlights some of the most recent and significant findings regarding eco-friendly and sustainable techniques newly developed that were presented in recently published articles. The topics considered essential for this approach regarded the improvements made to increase the city life, the industrial environment, and the laboratory techniques.

Methodology for improving the decision support system in order to reduce the probability of environmental accidents at gas production industry

The aim of this work is to establish the key correlations between the technological, economic and environmental characteristics of gas production industry. To solve this problem, methods of mathematical modeling, fuzzy logic, and management theory were used. A generalized criterion was constructed that serves to assess the cost characteristics of measures for the implementation of management decisions developed by the decision support system and aimed at reducing the probability of environmental accidents.

Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration after Oil Spill: Bioremediation, Phytoremediation, Biofibers and Phycoremediation

Environmental accidents involving spills of oil and its derivatives in mangroves present themselves as difficult problems to be solved in the short term, as for example in the construction of emergency strategies to combat the arrival of oil stains and fragments. Petroleum its derivatives and the residues generated in this chain, have a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and are considered dangerous substances. This mixture is difficult to degrade and can cause multiple problems in the ecosystem. Our developed biofiber barrier removes oil more than five times in relation to its mass in a simple way and in a short time. However when the spilled oil reaches the mangroves, other biotechnologies were developed and applied such as phytoremediation (87% efficiency), the use of microalgae (94% efficiency) and the use of fungi and bacteria (70% efficiency). This chapter will present biotechnologies developed, patented and applied in cases of oil spills in tropical mangrove of Brazil. These generated biotechnologies have been applied together with civil society in tropical ecosystems that were hit by the Venezuelan oil spill in 2019. The use of advanced molecular biology (studies of genomics, transcriptome, proteomics and metabolomics) in the biotechnologies presented has shown a promising path to faster, viable economically and ecologically correct mangrove restoration.

A Comparative Study of Mining Control in Latin America

This study analyzes various regulatory framework mechanisms applied to prevent, minimize, and mitigate environmental accidents and disasters, within the extractive mining industry, in seven Latin American countries. The selected countries offer an ample view of the mining industry specter since each one of them is at the different development stages, such as Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, and Brazil. Nevertheless, some of the countries have similar technical characteristics, as is the case of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. Controls and regulations employed in each of the countries reveal particularities that should be appreciated and understood. In conclusion, the existence of mining regulations has not diminished the occurrence of environmental accidents in those countries. However, the existing environmental controls allow authorities to quantify with substantial precision the degree of impact coming from Latin America’s mining industry. Furthermore, for more than a decade, mining industries have been subjected to several global initiatives to integrate elements of corporative social responsibility into their management systems—mainly in strong cooperation with different governmental formalization programs. The key focus is, cooperation among different scales (industry and small-scale and artisanal mining) which challenged, but also improved the capacities of environmental authorities and the effectiveness of different legal frameworks.

Multidimensional Analysis of Ethical Leadership for Business Development

Tremendous progress has been made in industry including artificial intelligence, robotics and 4th generation of industry. People in most countries work smarter, hard work is supplied by machines and automatics do constantly repeated operations. Modern technology has made work smarter, quicker and more precise than human works. But there are still many problems to tackle. Tension on effective work is much than higher. Companies prioritize well educated people. The value of the company is measured not only by the level of financial capital, either intellectual capital is also rated. There are economic reasons for prioritizing effectivity in industrial development, and intellectual capital increasing level of effectivity. On the other hand, there are some arguments for prioritizing social and ethical responsibility. Economic growth could not be the only reason for development in business. In addition, involvement in corruption scandals and environmental accidents can severely damage the reputation of a company. Innovation in management is needed. Some results of investigations in that area suggested that ethical leadership could gain negative consequences of human behavior. Finally, it has been found that the development in ethical leadership could bring the benefits for employee and employers and can increase level of productivity and thus profits of companies. The main aim of the article is to describe an investigation of ethical leadership influence on companies.

Integration of Statistical Models and Computer Simulation in Environmental Accidents: A Study on Leakage of Red Mud in the Pará River, Amazon, Brazil

The introduction of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from industrial activities in water bodies, highlights the vulnerability of the environment and the need for actions focused on the implementation of mechanisms that help in the control and remediation of these impacts. The objective of the study was based on the integration of instrumental analytical methods, multivariate statistics, and computer simulation models, with the proposal of implementing realistic scenarios of the red mud plume behavior in the Pará River. The selected location was the municipality of Barcarena-PA, where is located an important alumina/aluminum industrial center. With the aid of the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP OES), the chemical elements Al, B, Cr, Fe, Mn, P, Ti, and Zn were quantified and the principal component analysis (PCA) allowed to select Al, B, Fe, P, and Zn as the most relevant with 98.68% of the accumulated variance. Some scenarios were proposed by the simulated hydrodynamic model, which evidenced that the Trambioca community would be the most affected in the first 13 h after the effluent overflowed, and the other locations in domino effect. The main scientific gain of the proposal is the possibility of the predictive scenarios to help the actions of containment and mitigation of environmental damages by public control agencies, institutions involved, and other competent bodies.

Acidentes ambientais em áreas portuárias: Percepção de risco e reações na visão ecossistêmica

The purpose of this book is based on the principles of precaution and solidarity. Its main objective is to contribute to the activities of prevention, preparedness and response to environmental accidents in port areas, from the ecosystem point of view. Studies on risk perception surveys, on causes and consequences of accidents, and about people´s behavior during these accidents, are useful to enrich risk management programs, and emergency plans. This content was elaborated based on the postgraduate studies in Environmental Sciences at USP/SP, and the post-doctorate in Psychology at PUC/SP. All of them involved analysis of environmental accidents in port areas of São Sebastião and Santos (SP), and risk perception surveys. Adds to this the author's 30-year experience at the environmental agency of São Paulo state (1988/2018). This book comments on 60 accidents, technological and/or influenced by natural phenomena, in the Brazilian ports and abroad, from 1900/2019. There were highlighted topics such as: people´s reactions in dangerous situations, social and environmental consequences, risk perception of effects on human health, and oily fauna, among others. The work concludes that people which are very curious, opportunistic and reckless can amplify the consequences of these episodes. It highlights that cautious, supportive and altruistic people help to minimize them, when they act with knowledge, discernment and goodwill. The investments in prevention and preparedness have helped to reduce the number of accidents and it´s severity, so they should have continuity, in an effort that catastrophic situations do not repeat.