Search results for: environmental impact
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Environmental risk assessment of Polish wastewater treatment plant activity
PublicationWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an extremely important role in shaping modern society's environmental wellbeing and awareness, however only well operated and supervised systems can be considered as environmentally sustainable. For this reason, an attempt was undertaken to assess the environmental burden posed by WWTPs in major Polish cities by collecting water samples prior to and just after wastewater release points....
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Dimethyl ether (DME) as potential environmental friendly fuel
PublicationIn recent years, there has been a growing interest in replacing petroleum fuels with so-called second generation environmental friendly fuels. Compared to traditional petroleum fuels dimethyl ether (DME) could be used as a clean high-efficiency compression ignition fuel with reduced particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) as well as combustion noise. Compared to some of the other leading...
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Evaluation of the Electronic Nose Used for Monitoring Environmental Pollution
PublicationAir pollution is a one of the major concern of civilized world, which has a significant impact on human health and the environment. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring. Electronic-nose systems based on sensors are an interesting and promising technology in...
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Climate Change Impacts on Environmental and Human Exposure to Mercury in the Arctic
PublicationThis paper reviews information from the literature and the EU ArcRisk project to assess whether climate change results in an increase or decrease in exposure to mercury (Hg) in the Arctic, and if this in turn will impact the risks related to its harmful effects. It presents the state-of-the art of knowledge on atmospheric mercury emissions from anthropogenic sources worldwide, the long-range transport to the Arctic, and it discusses...
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Assessment of Environmental Loads in the Life Cycle of a Retail and Service Building
PublicationIn order to achieve the European Union’s climate and energy goals, investments are required, mainly in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and infrastructure. Buildings are responsible for almost half of total energy consumption, and nearly 80% of them are energy and ecologically inefficient. The policy of European countries is increasingly more focused on facilities with the highest potential in the areas...
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EIA in teaching sustainable development and environmental protection in engineering education
PublicationA multifaceted approach in teaching the environmental impact assessment (EIA) as a way to stress the role of environmental education in technical sciences is the focus of this article. The EIA is an example of an effective tool that supports spatial planning in implementing sustainable development. The aim is to present the idea and benefits of a facilitative and collaborative approach in teaching the EIA, stressing the role of...
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Unveiling the Green Mirage: Unearthing Weaknesses in Pro-Environmental Applications
PublicationGrowing ecological concerns and a general shift towards tailored digitized solutions in cities lead to an increased popularity of pro ecological applications, especially those associated with transport-oriented functionalities. This research focuses on the results from a testbed of a pro-environmental application deployment among early adopters. Based on quantitative and cartographic analysis enriched with interviews’ results,...
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Environmental aspects of shale gas recovery in Baltic Basin
PublicationFactors limiting shale gas exploration and exploitation in Pomorskie Voivodeship are presented. In particular, ground and surface water availability and land/community impact is discussed. Production from unconventional reservoirs requires proper well completion through hydraulic fracturing, hence voluminous streams of water are needed – in total 8000 to 20000 m3 per 1000 m of borehole length. 17 major groundwater basins were characterized....
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Analysis of the Usefulness of Cheap Audio Recorders for Spectral Measurement of Environmental Noise
PublicationEnvironmental noise pollution is nowadays one of the most serious health threats. The impact of noise on the human body depends not only on the sound level but also on its spectral distribution. Reliable measurements of the environmental noise spectrum are often hampered by the very high price of top quality measuring devices. This paper explores the possibility of using much cheaper audio recorders for the frequency analysis....
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Enhancing environmental literacy through urban technology-based learning. The PULA app case
PublicationThis study addresses the need to enhance environmental literacy, focusing on urban adults through mobile applications, based on the example of PULA app that engages early adopters in gamified pro- environmental activities, offering insights into informal learning. Grounded in 'urban pedagogy,' the study combines semi-structured interviews with 17 application testers and quantitative data analysis, unveiling motivations, user feedback,...
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Ionic liquids in extraction techniques: Determination of pesticides in food and environmental samples
PublicationThe intensive use of pesticides in agricultural practices has promoted the appearance of environmentaland public health problems. Due to that, scientists face challenges with developing simple, fast, sensitive,selective, and low-cost methods dedicated to determining pesticide residues in food and environmentalsamples. Following thefifth principle of Green Analytical Chemistry, chemists are searching for greeneralternatives for...
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Bioassays as one of the Green Chemistry tools for assessing environmental quality: A review
PublicationFor centuries, mankind has contributed to irreversible environmental changes, but due to the modern science of recent decades, scientists are able to assess the scale of this impact. The introduction of laws and standards to ensure environmental cleanliness requires comprehensive environmental monitoring, which should also meet the requirements of Green Chemistry. The broad spectrum of Green Chemistry principle applications should...
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The environmental dimension of city dwellers’ quality of life and the city’s social and spatial variability
PublicationThe purpose of this paper is to attempt an analysis of the environmental dimension of the quality of life using quantitative surveys conducted among residents of Gdańsk. In the paper, we make reference to the theoretical assumptions ensuing from the concept of a comprehensive and integrated approach to the development of the urban environment, whilst noting the profound impact humans bring to their evaluation of the environmental...
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Determination of Surfactants in Environmental Samples. Part III. Non-Ionic Compounds
PublicationNon-ionic surface active agents are a diverse group of chemicals which have an uncharged polar head and a non-polar tail. They have different properties due to amphiphilic structure of their molecules. Commercial available non-ionic surfactants consist of the broadest spectrum of compounds in comparison with other types of such agents. Typically, non-ionic compounds found applications in households and industry during formulation...
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Resource productivity and environmental degradation in EU-27 countries: context of material footprint
PublicationThis study explores the relationship between the resource productivity and environmental degradation in European Union-27 countries. This study tests this relationship in context of high, moderate, and low material footprint sub-samples; these samples are formed utilizing the expectation–maximization machine learning algorithm. Using the panel data set of EU-27 countries from 2000 to 2020, linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed...
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Environmental exposure to cadmium in breast cancer – association with the Warburg effect and sensitivity to tamoxifen
PublicationThe association between cadmium and breast cancer remains unexplained due to inconsistent epidemiological data and unknown underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to assess the relationship between environmental exposure to cadmium and the Warburg effect in breast cancer and, thus, its possible interference with breast cancer treatment. The observational study in two groups of breast cancer patients indicated a positive correlation between...
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Arctic catchment as a sensitive indicator of the environmental changes: distribution and migration of metals (Svalbard)
PublicationArctic regions experience metal pollution, despite their remote location, and the distribution and migration of those metals determine their potential impact on the local environment. Here, a High-Arctic catchment (Revelva, Svalbard) located remotely from human-induced pollution sources is studied with respect to the distribution and migration of chosen trace elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Mo, Ni, Pb,...
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Multimedia System for Environmental Noise Monitoring. [Multimedialny System Monitorowania Hałasu Środowiskowego]
PublicationIntroductionNumerous reports relating to noise threats in Poland indicate that they occur commonly. The noise has an enormous impact on the health and life quality of the human beings. Noise pollution in Poland is greater than in others UE countries, moreover it has been increased recently. Taking into account 2002/49/WE directive related to the control and assessment of environmental noise a necessity of monitoring these threats...
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Bio-mitigation of organic pollutants using horseradish peroxidase as a promising biocatalytic platform for environmental sustainability
PublicationA wide array of environmental pollutants is often generated and released into the ecosystem from industrial and human activities. Antibiotics, phenolic compounds, hydroquinone, industrial dyes, and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are prevalent pollutants in water matrices. To promote environmental sustainability and minimize the impact of these pollutants, it is essential to eliminate such contaminants. Although there are...
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Multivariate Assessment of Procedures for Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Synthesis for Pesticides Determination in Environmental and Agricultural Samples
PublicationIn the case of quantitative and qualitative analysis of pesticides in environmental and food samples, it is required to perform a sample pre-treatment process. It allows to minimalize the impact of interferences on the final results, as well as increase the recovery rate. Nowadays, apart from routinely employed sample preparation techniques such as solid-phase extraction (SPE) or solid-phase microextraction (SPME), the application...
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Anthropogenic trace metals in Setiu Wetland: Spatial and seasonal distribution and implications for environmental health
PublicationThe growing urban wastewater volume poses a major global environmental challenge, especially in developing nations where inadequate treatment and discharge impact clean water availability. This study focused on Setiu Wetland, aiming to analyze seasonal and spatial variations of trace metals in particulate form from anthropogenic and pathogenic sources. Surface water samples were collected from multiple stations, measuring physical...
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Environmental characteristics of a tundra river system in Svalbard. Part 2: Chemical stress factors
PublicationBacterial communities in the Arctic environment are subject to multiple stress factors, including contaminants, although typically their concentrations are small. The Arctic contamination research has focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because they are bioaccumulative, resistant to degradation and toxic for all organisms. Pollutants have entered the Arctic predominantly by atmospheric and oceanic long-range transport,...
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Comprehensive Comparison of a Few Variants of Cluster Analysis as Data Mining Tool in Supporting Environmental Management
PublicationA few variants of hierarchical cluster analysis (CA) as tool of assessment of multidimensional similarity in environmental dataset are compared. The dataset consisted of analytical results of determination of metals (Na, K, Ca, Sc, Fe, Co, Zn, As, Br, Rb, Mo, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Sm, Hf and Th) in ambient air dried and kept alive, by the means of hydroponics, moss baskets collected in 12 locations on the area of Tricity (Poland)....
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Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour through an educational mobile application: Preliminary insights from early adopters
PublicationThis article aims to explore the extent to which the educational mobile application PULA supports and promotes pro-environmental behaviours, identify the most utilised functionalities by early adopters, and explore the least engaged functionalities. The study employs a quantitative approach based on data collected from the application. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of users' experiences and behaviours within...
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Encouraging Pro-environmental Behaviour Through an Educational Mobile Application: Preliminary Insights from Early Adopters
PublicationThis article aims to explore the extent to which the educational mobile application PULA supports and promotes pro-environmental behaviours, identify the most utilised functionalities by early adopters, and explore the least engaged functionalities. The study employs a quantitative approach based on data collected from the application. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of users' experiences and behaviours within...
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How does environmental regulation affect the city's domestic value-added rate of export? New spatial evidence from Chinese cities
PublicationProtecting the environment and increasing the domestic value-added rate of exports (DVARE) are hot issues for high-quality economic development. This paper explores how environmental regulation affects the DVARE. This paper constructs a dynamic spatial econometric model using the data of 285 Chinese cities from 2000 to 2020. It empirically tests the impact of environmental regulation on the DVARE. The research results show that...
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Investigation on environmental chemistry changes in the Antarctic Special Management Area (ASMA 1): King George Island, South Shetlands Islands
PublicationThe doctoral dissertation included a review of the scientific literature that resulted in the selection of the research area, type of samples and chemical species that were marked. The published series of articles contains an in-depth description of the results of chemical analyses of surface water, sediment and snow samples from the Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA 1) – King George Island. In addition, studies have been...
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The life cycle cost of a building from the point of view of environmental criteria of selecting the most beneficial offer in the area of competitive tendering
PublicationThe article analyses environmental and ecological criteria of selecting the most beneficial offer in the aspect of LCC. Construction works contracts and the potential method of defining the above criteria, among others, is pondered on (for example by the recommendation of a material, which is supposed to be used, a ban on substances that are harmful for human health as well for the environment). In the relation to the above, it...
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Environmental problems and health risks with disposable baby diapers: Monitoring of toxic compounds by application of analytical techniques and need of education
PublicationDue to the widespread use of disposable diapers in healthy babies as well as children prone to allergiesand premature babies with reduced immunity, disposable diapers should only be made of non-toxic andnatural ingredients. Unfortunately, disposable diaper manufacturers are reluctant to present their exactchemical composition, claiming that their trade secrets apply. However, several reports show thatdisposable diapers of well-known...
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DETERMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON THE CORROSION OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM BASED ON ANALYSIS OF ON-LINE CORROSION MONITORING RESULTS
PublicationCorrosion of water distribution system is a significant issue causing problems with quality, safety and continuity of distribution. The changes of corrosion rates of the water distribution systems in Cracow made of carbon steel were investigated by analysis of online corrosion monitoring system results. Corrosion rates were determined using the linear polarization method. The impact of rain, temperatures, conductivity, dissolved...
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Genotoxicity of selected pharmaceuticals, their binary mixtures, and varying environmental conditions – study with human adenocarcinoma cancer HT29 cell line
PublicationPharmaceutical residues are present in the environment in mixtures and their adverse effects may also result from interactions that occur between compounds. Studies presented in this work focus on genotoxicity of pharmaceuticals from different therapeutic groups in mixtures and in individual solutions impacted with different environmental conditions assessed using comet assay (alkaline approach). Binary mixtures of pharmaceuticals...
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Pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern in Admiralty Bay as a result of untreated wastewater discharge: Status and possible environmental consequences
PublicationConsidering how the impact of human activity in Antarctica is growing, the aim of this study was to conduct the first assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), other emerging contaminants (ECs), and antibiotic resistance genes present in the western shore of the Admiralty Bay region of King George Island. In total, more than 170 substances were evaluated to assess the potential environmental risks they pose...
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Nexus between stock markets, economic strength, R&D and environmental deterioration: new evidence from EU-27 using PNARDL approach
PublicationThis research investigates the impact of stock market indices, economic strength, and research and development expenditures on environmental deterioration in the EU-27 countries for the period 2000–2020. This study utilized linear and non-linear panel ARDL to estimate the short- and long-run effect. According to the results, the stock market indices have negative effect on environmental deterioration in the symmetric form. However,...
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Study the impact of design method preference on the usefulness of concrete and on CO2 emissions
PublicationPurpose – The research investigates the impact of concrete design methods on performance, emphasizing environmental sustainability. The study compares the modified Bolomey method and Abrams’ law in designing concretes. Significant differences in cement consumption and subsequent CO2 emissions are revealed. The research advocates for a comprehensive life cycle assessment, considering factors like compressive strength, carbonation...
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Analysis of the impact of wastewater discharge on recipients: synergistic approach
PublicationThe dissertation presents the analysis of chemical and microbial composition of wastewater and examines the impact of wastewater discharge on the environment. Various case studies were analysed: from small settlements in a pristine European Arctic, to large municipal wastewater treatment plants in areas subjected to greater anthropogenic pressure. In order to comprehensively analyse the impact of wastewater discharge on the receiving...
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Karolina Zielińska-Dąbkowska dr inż. arch.
PeopleKarolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, Ph.D., Eng. Arch., M. Arch., is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of Gdańsk University of Technology (GUT). In 2002, she completed her studies of Architecture and Urban Planning at Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech) and in 2004, Architectural Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK) in Hildesheim, Germany. After graduation, she worked for several...
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Environmental contamination of food
PublicationOpisano źródła zanieczyszczeń środowiska oraz obecność w środowisku szeregu związków organicznych i nieorganicznych podejrzewanych o właściwości rakotwórcze. W rozdziale skupiono się na: pestycydach, PCB, WWA, PCDD/F, fenolach, azbeście oraz metalach ciężkich (AS, Be, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb). Zestawiono typowe stężenia tych zanieczyszczeń w wodzie, deszczu i żywności, omówiono biokumulacje i biowzbogacanie w łańcuchu pokarmowym, a także...
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High-Performance Machine-Learning-Based Calibration of Low-Cost Nitrogen Dioxide Sensor Using Environmental Parameter Differentials and Global Data Scaling
PublicationAccurate tracking of harmful gas concentrations is essential to swiftly and effectively execute measures that mitigate the risks linked to air pollution, specifically in reducing its impact on living conditions, the environment, and the economy. One such prevalent pollutant in urban settings is nitrogen dioxide (NO2), generated from the combustion of fossil fuels in car engines, commercial manufacturing, and food processing. Its...
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Organomercury Compounds in Environmental Samples: Emission Sources, Toxicity, Environmental Fate, and Determination
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Organomercury compounds in environmental samples: emission sources, toxicity, environmental fate and determination.
PublicationIn view of the specific properties of mercury and its capability of forming compounds that can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified at successive levels of the trophic pyramid, it has become necessary to gather detailed information on the sources of emission of this element into the environment and its fate there. Moreover, the increasing awareness of the relationship between the toxicity of mercury and its chemical form has sharpened...
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Design and implementation of an illumination system to mimic skyglow at ecosystem level in a large‐scale lake enclosure facility
PublicationLight pollution is an environmental stressor of global extent that is growing exponentially in area and intensity. Artificial skyglow, a form of light pollution with large range, is hypothesized to have environmental impact at ecosystem level. However, testing the impact of skyglow at large scales and in a controlled fashion under in situ conditions has remained elusive so far. Here we present the first experimental setup to mimic...
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Traffic-induced vibrations. The impact on buildings and people
PublicationTraffic-induced vibrations have recently been of major concern to engineers as one of the aspects of so called physical environmental pollution. The interest is related to the observations of serious negative effects of such kind of vibrations on buildings and their inhabitants. Traffic-induced vibrations may cause plaster cracks, structural damage and even failure and collapse of the structure. They may also be the reason of serious...
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Environmental risk measure of ships
PublicationW artykule wyszczególniono najistotniejsze zanieczyszczenia uwalniane podczas eksploatacji statków. Przedyskutowano norweską propozycję indeksacji środowiskowej statków. Zaproponowano probabilistyczny model do oceny ryzyka stwarzanego przez statki względem środowiska morskiego oraz miarę tego ryzyka. Przedstawiono także wyniki badań wpływu niezawodnośći elementów technicznych i poziomu wyszkolenia załogi na roczne ryzyko środowiskowe...
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Environmental failure of dental biomaterials
PublicationW pracy przedstawiono problematykę związaną z zagadnieniem trwałości biomateriałów stomatologicznych. Scharakteryzowano kryteria doboru materiałów i na przykładzie koron stomatologicznych pokazano wyniki oceny prawidłowości doboru w oparciu o metodę elementów skończonych. Przedstawiono wyniki weryfikacji doświadczalnej i wskazano na możliwości wykorzystania tej metody do konstruowania odpornych na zniszczenie koron metalowo-ceramicznych.
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Remote Monitoring of Environmental Pollutants
PublicationAtmospheric air quality is one of the key factors influencing human health. Air quality evaluation is not an easy task as the atmosphere is a complex system subjected to continuous changes in time. Observed progress in the development of measurement devices and technologies is fundamental for acquisition of more reliable information about condition and quality of atmospheric air. Unfortunately, this process leads to an increase...
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Application of biotests in environmental research
PublicationPrzedstawiono możliwości wykorzystania testów opartych na wykorzystaniu materiału biologicznego w badaniach środowiskowych. Dokonano klasyfikacji znanych typów biotestów wykorzystywanych do sumarycznej oceny stopnia skażenia poszczególnych elementów środowiska. Przedstawiono również zebrane informacje na temat wrażliwości niektórych gatunków roślin i zwierząt na substancje toksyczne obecne w środowisku.
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An environmental risk measure of ships
PublicationW referacie wyszczególniono najistotniejsze rodzaje zanieczyszczeń emitowanych przez statki do środowiska naturalnego. Przeprowadzono krótką dyskusję norweskiej propozycji indeksacji środowiskowej statków. Zaproponowano probabilistyczny model do oceny ryzyka stwarzanego przez statki względem środowiska morskiego. Jest to model strategii liniowej. Wiąże w jedną wartość liczbową prawdopodobieństwa uwolnienia zanieczyszczeń ze statku...
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Trends in environmental analytics and monitoring
PublicationObserwuje się ciągły wzrost zainteresowania procedurami analitycznymi i odpowiednimi urządzeniami kontrolno-pomiarowymi, które mogą znaleźć zastosowanie w badaniach środowiskowych. W tym rozdziale przedstawiono podstawowe informacje dotyczące zadań analityki i monitoringu środowiskowego oraz głównych kierunków rozwojowych w tym zakresie. Przedstawiono szczegółowe informacje nt. niektórych z tych trendów, które można podzielić na...
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Green Chemistry Metrics with Special Reference to Green Analytical Chemistry
PublicationThe concept of green chemistry is widely recognized in chemical laboratories. To properly measure an environmental impact of chemical processes, dedicated assessment tools are required. This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge in the field of development of green chemistry and green analytical chemistry metrics. The diverse methods used for evaluation of the greenness of organic synthesis, such as eco-footprint, E-Factor,...
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Impact of Intelligent Transport Systems Services on the Level of Safety and Improvement of Traffic Conditions
PublicationThe positive effects of the services of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) on the level of transport systems operation was confirmed by long-term studies conducted, inter alia, in the USA, Japan and Europe. Benefits resulting from the application of ITS services can be presented through performance indicators. The indicators represent in a numerical or qualitative manner to what extent ITS services can contribute to improving...