GEOECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF POLLUTION BY OIL PRODUCTS IN THE VICINITY OF THE BOGANDINSKY SETTLEMENT OF THE TYUMEN REGION

The working settlement of Bogandinsky being a large industrial suburban settlement of the Tyumen district of the Tyumen region, significantly affects the geoecological situation in the municipality. A distinctive negative geoecological feature of the environs of the village of Bogandinsky is the identification of areas of unfavorable environmental legacy from the household activities of dual-use facilities, characterized by the long-term development of conditions for pollution with oil products, primarily fuel oil. To conduct a geoecological assessment of the environs of the village of Bogandinsky, Tyumensky district, studies were carried out, as a result of which pollution with oil products was established on an area of more than 7 thousand sq. m. The results of the field study formed the basis for the development of recommendations for the organization of environmental protection measures.

Assessing the potential environmental factors affecting cladoceran assemblage composition in arsenic-contaminated lakes near abandoned silver mines

Silver mining has a long history in Cobalt (Ontario, Canada), and it has left a complex environmental legacy where many lakes are contaminated with arsenic-rich mine tailings. In this exploratory survey, we examined subfossil Cladocera remains in the surface sediments of 22 lakes in the abandoned mining region to assess which environmental variables may be influencing the recent assemblage structure. Further, using a “top-bottom” paleolimnological approach, we compared the recent (top) and older (bottom) assemblages from a subset of 16 lakes to determine how cladoceran composition has changed in these lakes. Our regional survey suggests that the cladoceran assemblages in the Cobalt area are primarily structured by differences in lake depth, while site-specific limnological characteristics, including those related to past mining activities, may have limited roles in shaping the recent cladoceran compositions. The top-bottom paleolimnological analysis suggests that the cladoceran assemblages have changed in most lakes around Cobalt, however the magnitude and nature of changes varied across the study sites. As with most regional biological surveys, the responses to historical mining activities were not uniform across all sites, which further emphasizes the importance of considering site-specific limnological characteristics and multiple environmental stressors when assessing the impacts of mining pollution.

Lockdown Litter: A critical analysis of global COVID-19 PPE litter and measures for mitigation

Personal protection equipment was adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce transmission of the virus. However, masks, gloves and wipes must be disposed of responsibly. Anecdotal accounts of litter throughout 2020 suggest an environmental legacy to mismanaged PPE. Here we show the emergence of COVID-related litter over a 14-month period using the citizen science application Litterati. Observational data suggests that face mask litter became a new litter type as a result of COVID-19 legislation, increasing from <0.01% to over 0.8% in the countries observed. Glove and wipe litter was already prevalent at around 0.2% prior to the pandemic, doubling to around 0.4% throughout the pandemic. Citizen science enabled observation of littering behaviours between nations, highlighting where transferable practice could be beneficial in reducing littering impacts in other nations.

Bomb 137Cs in modern honey reveals a regional soil control on pollutant cycling by plants

Abstract137Cs is a long-lived (30-year radioactive half-life) fission product dispersed globally by mid-20th century atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Here we show that vegetation thousands of kilometers from testing sites continues to cycle 137Cs because it mimics potassium, and consequently, bees magnify this radionuclide in honey. There were no atmospheric weapons tests in the eastern United States, but most honey here has detectable 137Cs at >0.03 Bq kg−1, and in the southeastern U.S., activities can be >500 times higher. By measuring honey, we show regional patterns in the biogeochemical cycling of 137Cs and conclude that plants and animals receive disproportionally high exposure to ionizing radiation from 137Cs in low potassium soils. In several cases, the presence of 137Cs more than doubled the ionizing radiation from gamma and x-rays in the honey, indicating that despite its radioactive half-life, the environmental legacy of regional 137Cs pollution can persist for more than six decades.

Warrior for Clean Skies: Anti-Geoengineering Activist Rosalind Peterson’s Environmental Legacy

US citizen scientist, researcher, and anti-geoengineering activist Rosalind Peterson of Mendocino, California, proved both pioneer and prophet. She helped catalyze a global grassroots anti-geoengineering movement through her decades-long work crusading for clearer skies, cleaner water, healthier trees and plants, and a more resilient planet free of geoengineering fallout. Peterson combined scientific data collection and research, publishing, public speaking, and political advocacy to educate the world about the many negative environmental consequences of clandestine geoengineering. In 2002 Peterson founded California Skywatch (CSW), and in 2006 the Agricultural Defense Coalition (ADC). The two organizations merged in January 2011 and remain vital online public repositories of scientific data, legislative documents, and visual evidence of covert geoengineering programs. Peterson’s indefatigable efforts over three decades to call global public attention to the environmental consequences of geoengineering exemplify the potential power of the citizen scientist to shape scientific and political processes and outcomes. Peterson’s decades-long effort to uncover the myriad toxic environmental impacts of clandestine geoengineering also provides a compelling, scientifically researched alternative to the widely accepted theory advanced by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that global warming is primarily caused by anthropogenically released carbon dioxide.

Setting maximum levels for lead in game meat in EC regulations: An adjunct to replacement of lead ammunition

Each year, hunters from 12 of the 27 European Union (EU) countries and the UK shoot over 6 million large game mammals, 12 million rabbits and hares and over 80 million birds. They support an international game meat market worth over 1.1 thousand million Euros. Animals shot with lead ammunition frequently contain lead fragments in the carcass which contaminate meals made from game meat with concentrations of lead substantially above the maximum allowable level (ML) set by European Commission Regulation EC1881/2006 for meat from domesticated animals. This poses a health risk to frequent consumers of wild-shot game meat, with children and pregnant women being particularly vulnerable. Total replacement of lead rifle and shotgun ammunition with available non-toxic alternatives is needed for all hunting in EU nations to prevent exposure of humans and wildlife to ammunition-derived lead and to allow the depletion of the long-term environmental legacy of lead from spent ammunition. We propose that EC1881/2006 is amended to incorporate an ML for game meats as a supplementary measure to the replacement of lead ammunition. This would harmonise food safety standards for lead in meats traded across and imported into the EU.