Category: Risk Assessment

The Environmental Consequences of War

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Destroyed armored vehicle amidst ruins of the Azerbaijani part of Shusha. Credit: Yz-Wu/Adobe Stock.

Podcast Summary:

In this special episode of the IEAM podcast, we speak with authors from the special series “Consequences of Modern Warfare on Ecology and the Environment.” The series presents a collection of views from global experts on the broad environmental consequences raised by ecocide as a result of war. We hear from experts on a range of topics including legacy chemicals in Ukraine, the concept of warfare ecology, using remote sensing to track environmental damage when it’s too dangerous to be on the ground, and applying a natural resource damage assessment in Ukraine.

All of our authors acknowledge the importance and priority of addressing the human suffering that occurs during armed conflict. But these experts take a longer, broader view beyond the acute suffering to ask what is needed to sustain the survivors during and especially after the conflict. What will these people need as they rebuild their lives and communities? Access the series in the March 2023 issue of IEAM.

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A new era for ERA? Using Bayesian Network Models to improve ERA, with Jannicke Moe

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Credit: antishock – stock.adobe.com

“Not difficult, just different,” is how one author in the latest IEAM podcast describes Bayesian Network models (BNs) to researchers that are unfamiliar with—and often intimidated by—them. A recent special series aims to dispel the esoteric aura that surrounds this approach by showing how BNs have improved ecological risk assessments in the past 20 years, with the goal of encouraging more practitioners to employ BNs and continue evolving the practices of ERA and environmental management. The Guest Editors of the series are Jannicke Moe, John Carriger, and Miriam Glendell.

Guest Editor Jannicke Moe talks to us about advantages of BNs, recent developments, and highlights the research presented in the series—10 articles demonstrating the application of BNs to various environmental assessment and management scenarios involving climate change, ecological and socioeconomic endpoints, machine learning, diagnostic inference, and model evaluation.

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Gene drives: Navigating perils of engineered eradication, with Christoph Then

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Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Imagine a world without natural enemies like parasites or deadly pathogens. Where crops grow unfettered by rodent and insect pests. Advances in genetic engineering now hold the possibility to alter genomes at the population level, but is it too good to be true? A critical review in the September 2020 issue of IEAM delves into environmental risk assessments for controversial gene drives in the European Union. Lead author Christoph Then talks with us about the challenges facing risk assessors of gene drives and a potential cut-off criteria presented in the study. Access the article in the September 2020 issue of IEAM.

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Cleaning products: The fine print, with Alison Pecquet

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“Sculpture by the sea” by Dushan and Miae, CC BY-SA 2.0

Do you know what’s in your household cleaning product? A new article in IEAM spotlights chemicals that are common in household cleaning products yet are lacking sufficient data to allow for proper environmental risk assessments. The chemicals of focus in this study are polymers, organic compounds with a wide range of functions including emulsifiers, dispersants, or defoaming agents. Read More »

From individuals to populations: Assessing endocrine impacts of pesticides, with Mark Crane

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Starling_Murmuration_-_RSPB_Minsmere_(21446738793)
Starling murmuration. Credit: Airwolfhound, CC BY-ND 2.0.

The European Commission recently proposed to protect vertebrate wildlife using hazard-based approaches for regulating pesticides with endocrine-disrupting properties. Researchers are familiar enough with using lab-based studies to test whether chemicals cause adverse effects in the usual animal models, but how do we identify those substances that will have adverse effects at the population level? Mark Crane and co-authors present an approach for evaluating protection goals for these compounds based on population responses within an ecosystem services framework. Read More »

A deep dive into the complexities of deep-sea mining, with Andrea Koschinsky

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CSmith deep sea cnidarian
A cnidarian (Relicanthus sp.) with 8-foot long tentacles attached to a dead sponge stalk on a manganese nodule in the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Credit: Diva Amon and Craig Smith.

The world’s growing population increases the already heavy demand on mineral resources on land, and so people are looking once more to the minerals found on the ocean floor, sometimes buried thousands of meters below the surface. The November 2018 issue of IEAM contains a critical review that explores the complexities of deep-sea mining, including the environmental, legal, economic, and societal impacts. In this episode we speak with lead author Andrea Koschinsky to learn more about this fascinating topic and the long road ahead to make it a reality.

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Finding balance: Resilience in ERA, with Marco Vighi and Andreu Rico

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resilience graphic
Credit: Phil Loring, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

The concept of resilience has been discussed in ecology since the 1970s, but practitioners are now applying the concept to improve accuracy and realism in ecological risk assessments. The September 2018 issue of IEAM features invited commentaries that discuss ecological resilience and what it means in practice for risk and impact assessments. Join us as we talk with authors Marco Vighi and Andreu Rico about how to incorporate resilience into ecological risk assessment, and the challenges and opportunities facing the regulatory community.

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What lies beneath: The fallout of biomobilization at the Hanford site, with Sara Lovtang

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BC Overlook IMG_3648
Hanford Site, Washington, USA. Credit: Stacy James, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Soil caps are a commonly employed technique in remediation efforts at contaminated sites. Once cleanup efforts are complete, however, plants and animals at these sites may inadvertently disrupt the best laid plans if not properly accounted for. In this episode we explore what happens when natural biota and processes kick in post remediation. We chat with Sara Lovtang, lead author on an IEAM article that defends the established depth of the biologically active zone at Hanford, a nuclear waste site that processed plutonium fuel during World War II at the height of its operations.

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No small deal: Evaluating nanomaterials with alternatives assessment, with Rune Hjorth

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Zn nanoflowers
Zinc nanoflowers combined with graphene oxide layers help to extend battery life (scanning EM image). Credit: Dilek Ozgit, Engineering, Cambridge Univ., CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Nanomaterials are small but key components in consumer products like electronics, sunscreens, and antimicrobial clothing, just to name a few. Despite their widespread use, scientists are still struggling to assess their potential hazards, with regulatory policy hinging on these assessments. Author Rune Hjorth discusses how alternatives assessment frameworks can be adapted to evaluate nanomaterials. Access the article, “The applicability of chemical alternatives assessment for engineered nanomaterials,” in the January 2017 issue of IEAM.

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Pulling it all together: Harmonizing marine environmental assessment, with Ruud Jongbloed

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mt-fuji
Port of Tagonoura, Japan, with Mt. Fuji in the background. Credit: Hoshner Sigmaniax, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and brightened from original).

Human activities and other pressures on marine ecosystems are ever increasing, underscoring the need for responsible, sustainable management. Several types of environmental assessment exist, but which is the most appropriate for your assessment needs? Enter CUMULEO, a framework that defines common EA elements and introduces consistency, while remaining adaptable to assessments for marine and other ecosystems. We chat with Ruud Jongbloed to get the highlights of CUMULEO. Access the critical review in the October 2016 issue of IEAM.

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