Search Results (283)

Asbestos dust exposure remains a significant public health concern, particularly in areas with unrehabilitated asbestos mines. This study aims to evaluate the spatial distribution of asbestos and community awareness and perceptions of the risk of asbestosis in Ga-Mathabatha, a rural settlement in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery, remote sensing techniques, and GIS mapping, we predicted areas containing different types of minerals associated with asbestos, validated by field observations at Makapeng, Moleke, Maseleseleng, Success, Masioneng, Olifants River, Mphogodima River, and Tongwane River sites. A mixed-methods research approach, including 18 in-depth interviews and 250 survey questionnaires, assessed community awareness and perceptions of potential asbestosis risk. Remote sensing analysis results indicated high concentrations of chrysotile asbestos in the eastern part of the study area, tremolite asbestos in the southern part, and minor serpentine deposits in the east. Field observations confirmed asbestos deposits along riverbanks and in the surrounding villages. Survey results revealed that 45.6% of participants were not aware of areas of high asbestos concentration in Ga-Mathabatha, while 28% (15% + 13%) did not perceive passing near asbestos dumps with or without herds as another source of exposure. These findings underscore the need for targeted education and awareness programs for communities living near asbestos deposits and those whose day-to-day activities increase their risk of exposure. Full article

The operation and maintenance (O and M) phase of offshore wind farms is often simplified in life cycle assessments (LCA), especially with respect to scour-related activities. This study develops a refined O and M–LCA model that explicitly includes scour monitoring, repair, and protection measures, and applies it to a 202 MW offshore wind farm in China. The analysis focuses on the environmental burdens of scour-related O and M activities under predefined engineering scenarios, rather than on the prediction of structural fatigue life or reliability-based intervention timing. Two representative scour-protection strategies were compared: rock dumping (S1) and cement-stabilized soil (S2). The results show that scour protection can substantially increase the environmental burdens of the O and M phase. Relative to the baseline O and M carbon intensity of 4.36 kg CO₂-eq/MWh, S1 causes only a slight increase in global warming potential but greatly increases air pollution- and resource-related impacts because of large-scale rock extraction and transport. In contrast, S2 reduces mineral resource scarcity from 2.14 to 0.042 kg Cu-eq/MWh, corresponding to a 98% reduction compared with S1, but raises the global warming potential to 9.94 kg CO₂-eq/MWh, mainly because of cement production and offshore treatment. Sensitivity analysis shows that S1 is more affected by hydrodynamic-driven intervention frequency in air pollution-related categories, whereas S2 is more sensitive to seabed conditions and stabilization efficiency in terms of GWP. A site-specific screening framework is proposed by integrating geotechnical and hydrodynamic constraints, regional environmental concerns, and targeted mitigation options. The results provide O and M-stage environmental evidence for the site-specific screening of scour-protection strategies and for improving the environmental performance of offshore wind O and M. Full article

Open-pit lignite mining causes significant environmental alterations, particularly through the removal of soil deposits and the creation of external dumps, which necessitate effective reclamation to restore landscape structures. This study evaluates the potential of using multi-temporal remote sensing data to assess the effectiveness of forest reclamation on selected external dumps of the Adamów, Bełchatów, and Turów Lignite Mines in Poland. Using Landsat imagery spanning five decades from 1976 to 2023, the study monitors vegetation development through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI). Reclaimed forest stands were compared against undisturbed reference forests within a 30 km buffer zone, with recovery defined as achieving 95% of the reference values. The results indicate that most studied sites reached a state of recovery, with success closely linked to the specific reclamation measures implemented and the age of the forest stands. Notably, the Adamów mine, which utilized Bender’s target species method, demonstrated rapid results, achieving high similarity to reference forests early in the analyzed period. In contrast, recovery in Bełchatów and Turów was more gradual, following trajectories influenced by pioneer and biodynamic afforestation methods. Ultimately, the study confirms that remote sensing is a highly efficient tool for monitoring extensive post-mining areas over long periods, providing a general assessment of biological restoration success. Full article

In developing countries, final disposal sites exhibit different levels of operational control, which influence their environmental performance. This study evaluated the environmental performance of four types of final disposal sites in Mexico: sanitary landfill with energy recovery (SLF+ER) and sanitary landfill with gas flaring (SLFGF), controlled site (CS), and open dump (OD), using life cycle assessment for 1 t of municipal solid waste. Biogas generation was estimated using the Mexican Biogas Model 2.0, and Ecoinvent processes were adapted to local conditions; six impact categories were assessed, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted. The SLF+ER scenario showed the lowest impact in global warming, followed by SLFGF and CS, while OD recorded the highest impact, mainly associated with biogas management. In contrast, scenarios with gas capture and treatment showed higher contributions in categories related to combustion processes. Normalized results indicated that freshwater eutrophication and human carcinogenic toxicity are the dominant impact categories. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the influence of the organic fraction on CH₄ generation without altering the relative ranking among scenarios. Overall, increasing the level of environmental control reduces impacts from fugitive emissions but introduces trade-offs across other impact categories, highlighting the need for comprehensive assessments to support decision-making. Full article

In the context of occupational environments and sustainable employment, this review explores the effects of declining workers’ health, environmental degradation, and the depletion of marine resources on workers’ psychological well-being. As seas and oceans are increasingly exploited and used as dumping sites for both solid and liquid waste, marine ecosystems are severely degraded, with negative impacts on biodiversity, water quality, and ecosystem processes. Marine biodiversity is crucial to maintaining global food security and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Moreover, this study examines the role of digital technology in the marine industry in safeguarding workers’ sustainable well-being. It emphasizes the complementary roles of law and technology in promoting it. The risks to the health and well-being of marine workers are greatly increased by the occupational consequences of climate change on the sustainable environment and the effects of working in marine environments. Working conditions, incomes, and even unemployment among marine workers have been directly affected by the degradation of marine environments and the depletion of marine resources. Anxiety, panic, depression, rage, and other unpleasant emotions that affect workers’ health and pose mental health risks are detrimental to the psychological well-being of marine workers. The challenges of employment in the marine industry adversely affect the physical and mental well-being of marine employees and hinder economic growth. However, digital technology in marine environments has fundamentally altered the regulations governing marine operations. Full article

This study applies InSAR time series analysis derived from Sentinel-1 satellite data (ascending and descending orbits) processed with ISCE2 and StaMPS (v.4.1) software to evaluate deformation dynamics in three landfill types near Gijón, Spain. Initially, the data were validated against the European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) dataset using a set of Persistent Scatterers (PS) in an urban control area through two analytical approaches (EGMS protocol and PSDefoPAT(2023)). The results showed high consistency, with 82–85% of points classified as highly reliable. Subsequently, this control group was compared with PS from each landfill type (active sanitary, operational inert, and closed inert). Significant deformation differences were found in each landfill type: the active sanitary landfill exhibited distinct anomalies depending on orbit, with strong residual variance instability detected (p < 0.003) in both. Operational inert landfills showed significant anomalies (p < 0.001) in both orbits with variable stability, while closed inert landfills displayed strong stability (p > 0.7) and variable anomalies. These results confirm the efficacy of InSAR approaches for detecting active landfill zones to aid in locating illegal or unauthorized dumping sites and to direct in situ inspection planning. Full article

Latin America faces growing challenges in the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). This is particularly evident in medium-sized and metropolitan cities where rapid urbanization, limited infrastructure, and high proportions of organic waste (40–70%) converge. This review synthesizes the most recent advances in organic waste management, valorization strategies, environmental performance, and policy frameworks in Mexico and Latin America. To provide a comprehensive overview, evidence from studies on informal recycling systems, route optimization, sustainable landfill siting, food waste valorization, life cycle assessments (LCAs), and biogas production is integrated. Techno-economic analyses of energy recovery from organic fractions are specifically reviewed. This review highlights that valorization of organic waste through composting, anaerobic digestion, food supplementation, and bioproduct generation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40–70% compared to landfilling, with AD–composting hybrids achieving the highest reductions of 60–70%. Community composting achieved moderate reductions, 30–50%, but at significantly lower cost and with greater social co-benefits. These alternatives for valorizing the organic fraction extend the lifespan of both confined and open landfills. It also contributes to mitigating the public health impacts related to open dumping, disease vectors, and contaminated leachate. In short, this review also highlights shortcomings in policy coherence, financial mechanisms, source separation, and technology adoption. A strategic framework is proposed that prioritizes decentralized treatment systems, the integration of informal recyclers, tax incentives, community-based waste separation, and planning based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The findings point to a viable strategy for transitioning from landfill dependency to circular waste management systems that improve the quality of life for the population of Latin America and the Caribbean. Full article

As Stack Overflow considers asking for any sort of recommendation to be off-topic, Stack Exchange Network launched Software Recommendations, a particular question-answering (Q&A) community for this purpose. Out of 182 such Q&A sites, Software Recommendations has been the least-answered site for the last 5 years, with only a 57% answered rate. We analyzed the complete data dump of Software Recommendations, containing data from its inception in 2014 to October 2025, to determine what makes it the least-answered site. We observed that incorrect tagging reduces the chances of questions being discovered by experts, and for this reason, certain topics receive better answers than others. Most questions are asked by users with a reputation of less than 300, while most of the answers are provided by those having a higher reputation. In total, 78.86% of users registered on the site act as silent observers and only 21.14% are involved in Q&A activities. Although knowledge-sharing activities on the site have decreased over this period, new users keep joining, which shows the need for software recommendations despite the increasing popularity of AI tools. Although similar questions are often asked and get closed as off-topic on sister sites, a very small proportion of such questions are migrated to Software Recommendations due to the lengthy migration process and reputation reversal on that site, which holds Software Recommendations back from attracting knowledgeable users and gaining popularity. Our findings suggest that the Stack Exchange community needs to revise its incentive mechanisms and devise ways to attract knowledgeable Stack Overflow users to the Software Recommendations site. Full article

This study addresses a research gap in integrated environmental and spatial assessments of municipal solid waste (MSW) systems in rapidly growing secondary cities in Central Asia. Using a mixed-method approach that combines field audits, GIS-based spatial analysis, environmental monitoring, and greenhouse gas modeling, the study evaluates waste composition, infrastructure coverage, and ecological risks in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. The results reveal uneven distribution of legal waste containers, a 5–7% annual increase in illegal dumping sites, and dust (TSP) concentrations exceeding WHO thresholds near active disposal zones. Spatial hotspot mapping identifies critical pressure areas in peripheral districts, while morphological audits show a rising share of plastics and construction debris. The findings support district-specific policy interventions, infrastructure modernization, and behavior-driven recycling incentives. The proposed methodology provides a replicable framework for sustainable MSW governance in urban contexts. These results contribute to evidence-based municipal waste governance and regional sustainability planning. Full article

Mosses (Bryophyta) are well-established biomonitors of atmospheric deposition, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and microplastics (MPs). Using German Moss Survey 2020 data, this study identified factors influencing POPs and MPs in mosses through correlation and random forest analyses. For 10 of 11 POP groups, the models explained a variance of more than 20%. Key predictors included atmospheric deposition and the density of urban–industrial and agricultural land uses within 100–300 km. Population density and the density of extraction and dump sites within radii of <5 km (PCDD/Fs, PCDD/F TEQ values, HBCD, 23 PBDEs, BDE-209, DBDPE, PBT, and HBBz), as well as distances to residential areas and transport infrastructure (PCDD/Fs, HBCD, PBDEs, DP, and DBDPE), also proved to be highly relevant, although a direct causal relationship seems unlikely for flame retardants. These findings indicate that POP concentrations in mosses are influenced not only by large-scale atmospheric deposition but also by local emission sources near sampling sites. Vegetation parameters, particularly the leaf area index, showed additional effects. For MP, only two polymer groups (SBR and PE) yielded models with sufficient predictive strength, again dominated by proximity to local sources. Minimum sample size analysis demonstrated that a denser sampling network is required to achieve a 20% tolerance error in future monitoring campaigns. Full article

Landfills represent areas of pronounced anthropogenic disturbance, with substantial impacts on local vegetation. The composition and structure of plant communities serve as indicators of eco-system alteration and may function as reservoirs of species with potential utility in ecological restoration. This study provides the first detailed assessment of vegetation structure on a closed MSW landfill in Kokshetau (Akmola Region, northern Kazakhstan; semi-arid steppe/forest-steppe setting) and demonstrates an integrative, restoration-oriented monitoring and target-setting workflow, including a localized phytoremediation screening framework integrating field performance, ecological indicator values, and literature-based functional traits, with a risk/governance filter. A total of 76 vascular plant species were recorded during the field survey, predominantly comprising annual herbaceous taxa adapted to highly disturbed environments. The families Asteraceae and Poaceae were the most species-rich, while Chenopodiaceae and Brassicaceae were also notably represented. Meadow-steppe species constituted the majority (45.5%) of the phytosociological spectrum. Multivariate ecological and statistical analyses revealed that community composition was primarily influenced by the degree of disturbance (p = 0.016), rather than soil pH, with Cannabis sativa and Bassia scoparia emerging as key indicators of less disturbed sectors, contrasting with actively disturbed dumping areas. Consequently, restoration efforts should prioritize mesophytic species adapted to open, sunlit habitats and capable of establishing on slightly alkaline soils, while accounting for site-specific constraints to support long-term vegetation recovery. Notably, Artemisia absinthium and Bassia scoparia were identified as candidate taxa for phytoremediation-oriented restoration, based on their in situ ecological performance and literature-reported traits, albeit with limitations due to allergenic pollen and invasive tendencies, respectively. These findings support phytoremediation strategy design on disturbed landscapes by emphasizing regionally adapted species selection that balances ecological suitability with potential ecological risks. Full article

Illegal dumping poses serious risks to ecosystems and human health, requiring effective and timely monitoring strategies. Advances in uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), photogrammetry, and deep learning (DL) have created new opportunities for detecting and characterizing waste objects over large areas. Within the framework of the EMERITUS Project, an EU Horizon Europe initiative supporting the fight against environmental crimes, this study evaluates the performance of pre-trained prompt-based multimodal (PBM) DL models integrated into ArcGIS Pro for object detection and segmentation. To test such models, UAV surveys were specially conducted at a semi-controlled test site in northern Italy, producing very high-resolution orthoimages and video frames populated with simulated waste objects such as tyres, barrels, and sand piles. Three PBM models (CLIPSeg, GroundingDINO, and TextSAM) were tested under varying hyperparameters and input conditions, including orthophotos at multiple resolutions and frames extracted from UAV-acquired videos. Results show that model performance is highly dependent on object type and imagery resolution. In contrast, within the limited ranges tested, hyperparameter tuning rarely produced significant improvements. The evaluation of the models was performed using low IoU to generalize across different types of detection models and to focus on the ability of detecting object. When evaluating the models with orthoimagery, CLIPSeg achieved the highest accuracy with F1 scores up to 0.88 for tyres, whereas barrels and ambiguous classes consistently underperformed. Video-derived (oblique) frames generally outperformed orthophotos, reflecting a closer match to model training perspectives. Despite the current limitations in performances highlighted by the tests, PBM models demonstrate strong potential for democratizing GeoAI (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence). These tools effectively enable non-expert users to employ zero-shot classification in UAV-based monitoring workflows targeting environmental crime. Full article

Earthwork operations constitute a substantial share of infrastructure project costs and are critical to overall project efficiency. However, the construction industry still relies on conventional approaches and there is a lack of integrated fleet management systems for collaboratively working equipment. While telematics is widely used in other industries, its applications to monitor the complex interactions between excavators, dump trucks, and dozers in real time remain limited. This study proposes an intelligent fleet monitoring system that utilizes only satellite navigation data (GNSS) to analyze the real-time productivity of multiple earthwork machines without relying on additional sensors, such as IMU or accelerometers, thereby eliminating the need for separate measurement procedures. A lightweight site configuration step is required to define the work area/loading/dumping geofences on an existing site map. This research provides novel developed algorithms that facilitate a real-time productivity assessment for several earthwork equipment and provide planning-level recommendations for equipment deployment combinations. Dedicated motion classification algorithms were developed for excavators, dump trucks, and dozers to distinguish activity states, to compute working and idle times, and to quantify operational efficiency. The system integrates a web-based e-Fleet Management platform and a mobile e-Map application for visualization and equipment optimization. Field validation was conducted on two active earthwork projects to evaluate accuracy and feasibility. The results demonstrate that the developed algorithms achieved classification and productivity estimation errors within 2.5%, while enabling optimized equipment combinations and improved cycle time efficiency. The proposed system offers a practical, sensor-independent approach for enhancing productivity monitoring, real-time decision-making, and cost efficiency in large-scale earthwork operations. Full article

Spontaneous liquefaction in the Lusatian lignite dump sites has raised significant geotechnical and environmental concerns. While mechanical influences have been extensively studied, hydrochemical investigations suggest an inner initial that is highly correlated to CO₂ generation, attributed to buffering reactions, which lays the foundation for this study. This study aims to understand the process behind and to quantify the transient evolution of excess pore-pressure induced by CO₂ accumulation, both dissolved and as free gas, in saturated medium using a series of column experiments. Excess pore-pressures up to 7.7 kPa were recorded following a period of buffering reaction, with discharged gas confirmed as CO₂. The results demonstrate that the buffering process strongly influences the elevated pressure, while, in turn, elevated pressures affect the chemical conditions within the column. Secondary mineral precipitation, as one of the effects, was observed to reduce buffering reactivity and modify pore structure, thereby altering pore-pressure response. These findings highlight hydrochemical feedback as critical internal triggers and amplifiers in liquefaction events, complementing mechanical explanations and advancing understanding of coupled hydro-chemo-mechanical processes in dump site stability. Full article

The environmental and human health impacts of mono-crystalline silicon (mono-Si) module assembly in Mexico were estimated using a regionalized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A detailed inventory was completed through fieldwork consisting of arranged visits to four manufacturers to collect on-site data. The main findings demonstrate that, on average, between 10% and 35% of the photovoltaic cells imported from China for module assembly in Mexico are discarded during the manufacturing process. Furthermore, experimental studies conducted in our laboratories with samples collected from the manufacturing plants showed that the busbars and finger contacts on the cells and strings indicate the presence of lead and a lack of silver in the aluminum-based alloys used for soldering and coating the strings. The LCA study includes end-of-life scenarios, with particular attention to open-dump waste disposal, the most common option in Mexico, which generates three-times-greater environmental impacts than waste incineration. The impact of different transport options for importing cells from China yielded Global Warming Potential (GWP) values of 157.52 kg CO₂ eq and a Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) of 2204.9 MJ eq, compared to 8.9 kg CO₂ eq and 123.3 MJ eq, respectively, obtained for sea transport. These results highlight the importance of including transport and end-of-life scenarios to obtain realistic environmental and human health impacts from photovoltaic module manufacturing. Full article