News

Legislation

Europe strikes deal on industrial pollution

The EU is set to introduce a new regime for regulating industrial pollution following an agreement between the European Parliament and national governments. The revision of the so-called Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive will lead to a new law incorporating IPPC and six other pollution laws.

One of the revision's most controversial aspects has been provisions relating to large combustion plants (LCPs), particularly derogations from complying with stricter NO_x and SO₂ emission limits proposed by the European Commission in 2007. Under the agreement, certain LCPs will have until June 2020 to comply with the limits and only plants operating less than 17 500 h in total will be able to obtain a derogation against these requirements. Plants using indigenous solid fuels, such as lignite, will be allowed to apply minimum desulfurisation rates rather than complying with SO₂ limits, a condition that will be reviewed in 2019.

Another controversial aspect of the IPPC revision was the proposed conditions for deviating from best available techniques (BAT), where studies showed that too many pollution permits were subject to variations. Under the deal, applicants will only be able to deviate from applying BAT if they can show it would lead to “disproportionately high costs”.

Adopting a proposal put forward by German MEP Holger Krahmer, the deal sets minimum emission limit values for sectors with a high environmental impact or where BAT is not properly implemented. The limits will be decided through the co-decision procedure following sectoral assessments. No deadline has been set for the first reports.

NGOs gave a muted reaction. EEB said the new scheme contained some improvements but also many weaknesses, especially regarding LCP derogations. In particular, it criticised the UK, Italy and Poland for their “inflexibility and stubbornness” during the negotiations. The agreement must be formally adopted by the Parliament's full assembly and the Council of Ministers before becoming law.

EU emissions of sulfur oxides (SO_x) fell by 20% in 2008, according to an annual emission inventory released by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The findings confirm a trend observed last year.¹ EEA attributes the sharp decline to lower emissions from power plants in Spain, Bulgaria and Poland. Road transport and energy production remain the highest emitting sectors. NO_x emissions from aviation have increased significantly, up 88% since 1990. But better technology and stricter EU regulation of heavy goods vehicles has led to a 40% decrease in the road transport sector. emissions from aviation have increased significantly, up 88% since 1990. But better technology and stricter EU regulation of heavy goods vehicles has led to a 40% decrease in the road transport sector.

Meanwhile, plans for revisions of EU air quality laws have been put on hold in favour of other environmental priorities. The Commission indicated that it would not be pressing ahead with proposals to revise laws such as the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) directive and a law limiting sulfur in marine fuels until at least 2013. A spokesperson for Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said the Commission would be focusing on biodiversity, resource efficiency and water instead. Green groups expressed disappointment at the decision.

EEA: http://www.eea.europa.eu; European Commission: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/air_pollution/l21050_en.htm; EEB: http://www.eeb.org

Water framework law off target?

Green group the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has severely criticised the water framework directive, the EU's flagship law on water quality. In a report issued to mark the tenth anniversary of the directive's approval, the group says the law is “toothless” and will fail to deliver its target of 'good status' for Europe's waters by 2015.

Most EU governments are doing very little to improve the quality of inland waters, abusing exemptions provided under the directive, especially that of 'disproportionate cost' to take minimal or no action, the report claims. To date only 14 countries have adopted river basin management plans under the directive. Governments were due to submit these plans to the European Commission by last December.² The EEB had warned even before then of a general lack of ambition.³

Based on the handful of plans that provide specific objectives for nutrients abatement, only 30% of the surface waters affected by excessive nutrients is planned to be restored to good status by 2015, the report claims. Robust nutrient pollution parameters and targeted measures are “unnecessarily drowning in complexity and ignorance”, the report states. It urges the Commission to address these issues in its planned 2012 review of the directive.⁴

In the UK, meanwhile, a government watchdog has criticised efforts to combat diffuse water pollution in England as poor value for money. The Environment Agency spends around £8m (€9.6m) per year on such measures. But the UK's National Audit Office recommends the Agency focuses on improving its understanding of diffuse pollution, raising farmers' awareness and giving them better incentives to pollute less. Inspection activities and enforcement of sanctions should also improve, the NAO says.

EEB: http://www.eeb.org; National Audit Office: http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1011/hc01/0188/0188.pdf

EPA weighs up superfund taxes

Lapsed taxes under the Superfund program should be reinstated so as to preserve the “polluter pays” principle, according to the EPA.

Superfund is the US federal program to investigate and clean-up America's most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. Until December 1995 the program was partly financed through taxes on crude oil, imported petroleum products, hazardous chemicals, and imported substances that use hazardous chemicals as a feedstock. A certain element was also financed through corporate taxation. Since these provisions expired, the program has been largely financed from general taxation, thus burdening the taxpayer with the costs of cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites. The Obama Administration is proposing to reinstate the taxes as they were last in effect. Under the administration's proposal, the excise taxes and corporate environmental taxes would be reintroduced for a period of 10 years beginning in January 2011.

“Our taxes should be paying for teachers, police officers and infrastructure that is essential for sustainable growth - not footing the bill for polluters”, observed Mathy Stanislaus, of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

In a letter to Congress, the Agency says reinstating the Superfund provision would provide a stable, dedicated source of revenue for the program and increase the pace of cleanup. It would also ensure that parties who benefit from the manufacture or sale of substances that commonly cause environmental problems at hazardous waste sites, and not taxpayers, help bear the cost of cleanup when responsible parties cannot be identified.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/

Iceland cracks down on ‘bad eggs’

The Icelandic government is to regulate the level of hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere for the first time. The gas—which is traditionally associated with the smell of bad eggs—emanates from geothermal power plants and can have negative environmental and health impacts.

Environment Minister, Svandis Svavarsdottir said she had received many complaints from the public since the Hellisheidi power station started operating about 30 km east of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, especially from those living nearest to the plant.

The World Health Organisation sets an occupational exposure limit of 150 μg m⁻³ because of the acute effects of the gas on eyes. Because very little is known about the long-term effects of breathing in the gas, the minister has decided to limit the level to 50 μg m⁻³, measured as an average over 24 h. Until July 2014, higher levels will be permissible five times a year after which fines will be levied.

Other measures for limiting pollution from geothermal power stations are also being investigated, the Environment Ministry said.

Icelandic Environment Ministry: http://eng.umhverfisraduneyti.is

Environmental quality

Europe turns the screw on deep sea drilling…

As Europe's politicians and policy-makers left for their summer break, the ramifications of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster were beginning to hit home.

The scale of the problem was brought into stark relief in a report by German-based environmental and social rating agency Oekom. The oil and gas industry is increasingly conducting risky deep-water drilling in order to extract the Earth's “dwindling” fossil fuel reserves, according to the report, with approximately half of all fossil fuels now coming from below the seafloor. There are currently about 3000 operational drilling rigs, and this figure is on the rise. “If the industry does not change course, further disasters are likely,” warned Oekom Research Director, Kristina Ruter.

Earlier the European Parliament's Environment Committee had expressed its frustration over the apparent inability of industry and the European Commission to give a clear account of EU offshore oil platforms' safety, and the environmental risks they pose. In a hearing in late June, German MEP Peter Liese said the information received by MEPs was inconsistent. He urged the Commission to provide concrete figures about, for example, how many oil platforms there are in the EU and how deep the oil can be drilled. Ireland's intention to explore deep-sea drilling is causing particular concern.

A Commission official told the Committee that the average depth of oil rigs in European waters is 90 metres, but the deepest one is 700 metres. Upcoming meetings with national regulators would include Norway and the Faroe Islands, he said, adding that new rules would not be put forward at least until the cause of the US oil spill was determined. Green MEPs called for a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration until there is more clarity on the legal and regulatory framework. What is drilled and where is largely down to national authorities.

MEPs' concerns appeared to be vindicated when just two weeks later the Commission announced that it would be reviewing EU rules on oil drilling. In a joint statement, EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger and his environment colleague Janez Potočnik said the Commission wanted to strengthen licensing procedures, set technical standards at EU level, and extend liability laws to all EU waters instead of just coastal areas. Oil companies could also be required to show they are able to deal with a spill before obtaining a permit.

The announcement came between the commissioners' meetings with 22 industry representatives from companies including BP, Chevron, DONG and GDF Suez, seeking reassurances that drilling practices are safe. Mr Oettinger also met with national regulators, asking them to consider a moratorium. He stressed the need for international cooperation in this area, possibly through the Barcelona convention's protocol on integrated coastal zone management.

Oekem rated 27 companies on a scale from A+ to D− according to a series of criteria such as efforts to transform the energy market, environmental protection and occupational safety. EU firms performed the best, with Austria's OMV coming on top with a ‘B'. It was followed by Italy's Snam Rete Gas and France's Total. BP ranked ninth, just below Oekom's 'prime' best-in-class rating. The agency said the oil giant's investment in renewable energy and its climate protection strategy were tarnished by a very poor safety record, which has led to numerous breaches of environmental law.

Oekom: http://www.oekom-research.com; European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/oil/licensing_en.htm; International Association of Oil & Gas Producers: http://www.ogp.org.uk; Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org; European Parliament, Environment Committee: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/home.do?language=en

…as Agency assesses effects of dispersants

The concern in Europe came as authorities in the US released the first results of independent toxicity tests on the use of dispersants during the Gulf spill. There was concern in some quarters that the dispersants being used to fight the spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig could be endocrine disrupters. A directive issued to BP by EPA in late May led to the company reducing the volume of dispersants used in the clean-up by around 68%.⁵

The independent, peer-reviewed results indicate that none of the eight dispersants tested, including Corexit 9500, the product in use in the Gulf, displayed biologically significant endocrine disrupting activity. While the dispersant products alone—not mixed with oil—have roughly the same impact on aquatic life, JD-2000 and Corexit 9500 were generally less toxic to small fish and JD-2000 and SAF-RON GOLD were least toxic to mysid shrimp.

In the next phase of testing EPA will assess the acute toxicity of multiple concentrations of Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil alone and with each of the eight dispersants for two test species.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants-testing.html

World must act for mangrove forests

Rare and critically important mangrove forests continue to be lost at a rate three to four times higher than land-based global forests, despite positive restoration efforts by some countries. This is the bleak conclusion from the first global assessment of mangroves in over a decade.

UNEP's World Mangrove Atlas estimates that around one-fifth of all mangroves are thought to have been lost since 1980. Although losses are slowing at 0.7% a year, the authors warn that any further destruction due to shrimp farming and coastal development will cause significant economic and ecological decline.

“Mangrove forests are the ultimate illustration of why humans need nature,” noted Dr Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy and the report's lead author. “The trees provide hard, rot-resistant timber and make some of the best charcoal in the world. The waters all around foster some of the greatest productivity of fish and shellfish in any coastal waters. What's more, mangrove forests help prevent erosion and mitigate natural hazards from cyclones to tsunamis.”

Economic assessments provide some of the most powerful arguments in favour of mangrove management, protection or restoration. Studies estimate that mangroves generate between US$2000–9000 per hectare annually, considerably more than alternative uses such as aquaculture, agriculture or insensitive tourism. Restoration efforts now cover some 400 000 hectares, as foresighted countries make the link between these coastal forests and economically-important services from flood defences and fish nurseries, to carbon storage to combat climate change.

UNEP: ‘World Mangrove Atlas’, available from http://www.earthscan.co.uk/isbn/9781844076574

Radioactive discharges down; Finns back nuclear plants

Discharges of radioactive substances into the Atlantic ocean have been reduced significantly, experts say. The claim is made in a report by a Committee under the OSPAR Convention for the protection of the Northeast Atlantic.

Two types of discharges, ‘total-alpha' and ‘total-beta' were about fifteen times lower in 2008 than in 1990, the report shows. The reductions are attributed to changed practices and improved waste treatment. Discharges of tritium, the third type, are not decreasing significantly because abatement measures have yet to be developed. A further report covering all OSPAR pollution goals is expected shortly. The European Commission is currently considering EU legislation on management of radioactive wastes.⁶

Meanwhile, Finland's parliament has endorsed proposals to build two new nuclear reactors. The government approved the proposals in April.⁷ One of the reactors will be built by Finnish energy firm TVO on its Olkiluoto site and the other elsewhere by Fennovoima. MPs also approved the extension of a permanent nuclear waste storage facility at Olkiluoto to take spent nuclear fuel from the new facility. Both firms say that the new reactors will be operational by 2020. Greenpeace said the move would make Finland the world's largest producer of nuclear waste per capita.

OSPAR: http://www.ospar.org; Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/finland/

Chemical hazards

Authority delays BPA advice

An EU scientific opinion on the safety of the controversial plastics additive bisphenol-A (BPA), used in food contact materials, will not be issued until September, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced. EFSA said the delay was because the scientific panel considering the matter needed more time to complete its review.

In any case, the Authority said it was ruling out recommending a change to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for BPA of 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight. It has also concluded that a study used by Denmark as justification for its BPA ban does not provide adequate evidence that the chemical affects neurobehavioral endpoints.

The delay and lack of action did nothing to pacify a group of scientists and NGOs who just weeks earlier had written to EFSA urging a quick response to reduce levels of BPA in high-risk groups such as children. The Authority's current advice puts too much emphasis on a minority of studies concluding that BPA is safe, the letter claims. EU experts gave BPA the all clear in 2002.⁸

In their letter the 19 scientists and 41 environmental and health groups refer to several new studies raising risks of exposure relating to increased likelihood of, for example, developing diabetes and breast cancer. “Any objective and comprehensive review of the scientific literature will lead to the conclusion that action is necessary to reduce the levels of BPA exposure,” the authors say.

Concern over the need to take action is growing. In recent months France has introduced a temporary ban on the use of BPA in baby feeding bottles, while Germany has issued guidance encouraging manufacturers, importers and users to use alternative substances. In May, Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said that unless the EU acted quickly, Sweden would proceed unilaterally on BPA in baby bottles. US and Canadian regulators have already taken action to limit BPA exposure.⁹

European Food Safety Authority: http://www.efsa.europa.eu; Health and Environment Alliance: http://www.env-health.org

Commission rejects cyanide ban

The European Commission has rejected a call by the European Parliament for a ban on the use of cyanide leaching technology in mining.

In a resolution adopted before the summer recess, MEPs had called for an EU-wide ban on the use of cyanide mining technologies before the end of 2011. In his response, Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said that existing legislation on cyanide was sufficient. A general ban on cyanide use would cause the closure of existing mines operating in safe conditions and ultimately be detrimental to employment without additional environmental and health benefits, Mr Potočnik maintained.

Environmental group Bankwatch called the Commission's decision a clear example of “veiled decision-making to the tune of the mining industry's interests”. Mining industry representatives welcomed the move. In a statement, industry association Euromines said EU rules on cyanide and its compounds in mining waste were among the most stringent legal regimes worldwide to safeguard human health and the environment.

European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu; Bankwatch: http://bankwatch.org; Euromines: http://www.euromines.org

FDA joins Tox21

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become the latest agency to join Tox21, a collaboration of federal agencies involved in developing more effective approaches to chemical screening.

The collaboration was established in 2008 to develop models that will be better able to predict how chemicals will affect humans. Partners include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the National Institute of Health Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC). FDA will provide additional expertise and chemical safety information to improve current chemical testing methods.

“This collaboration is revolutionising the current approach to chemical risk assessment by sharing expertise, capabilities and chemical information, which will lead to both a faster and deeper understanding of chemical hazards,” said Dr Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Research and Development. “Through the Tox21 collaboration, 2000 chemicals have already been screened against dozens of biological targets and we are working to increase the number of chemicals to 10 000 by the end of the year.”

A major part of the Tox21 partnership is the robotic screening and informatics platform at NCGC that uses fast, automated tests to screen thousands of chemicals a day for toxicological activity in cells. “Our robots screen in a day what would take one person a year to do by hand, allowing a fundamentally different approach to toxicology, which is comprehensive and based on molecular mechanisms,” explained NCGC Director Dr Christopher Austin.

EPA: http://epa.gov/ncct/Tox21/

Size the only criterion for nano

The size of particles should be the only defining factor when deciding what is and is not a nanomaterial in EU legislation, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has said. The advice follows an earlier request from MEPs for a precise definition.¹⁰

There have been complaints about ambiguity in recent legislation, with explicit mention of nanomaterials in areas such as the cosmetic products regulation and the novel foods regulation.¹¹ The JRC recommends that a “nanoscale” between 1 and 100 nanometres be used.

Though a general definition should only consider size, some specific legislation may need to consider other properties such as bio-persistence, origin of the material or state of agglomeration, it says. A Commission spokesperson said the EU executive would use the advice to develop an official definition. It is already considering the requirements for inventories of nano-materials following a recent EU consultation.¹²

On the experimental front, researchers at Poland's Institute of Physical Chemistry have developed an innovative sewage treatment process that allows nano-size pollutants to be separated. The method relies on adding two substances, a surfactant and a polymer, to the polluted solution. Physical mechanisms within the mixture—involving structures known as micelles—cause any particles in the original solution to gather in the rich surfactant layer. The polymer remains in the aqueous phase allowing it to be almost completely recovered, a factor that is particularly important for the process to be applied on an industrial scale.

JRC: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_100702_newsrelease_nano_en.pdf; Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, http://www.ichf.edu.pl

Public and occupational health

Europe goes its separate ways on GM

EU states are to be able to restrict or ban the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops under new legislative proposals issued by the European Commission. Unlike existing law, governments would not need to invoke a safeguard clause to impose national bans. The move offers a way out of Europe's GM impasse which has seen EU countries divided over the commercialisation of GM crops.

Under the proposals, national GM bans could be decided on grounds other than environmental protection and safety reasons, and they would not need EU approval. Effectively Member States will be allowed to pursue their own policies rather than adhere to strict EU rules. However, they would have to inform the Commission and other countries one month before adoption.

Approval of GM crops for cultivation would remain at EU level. Two GM varieties have been allowed for cultivation so far: maize MON 810, banned in six countries, and the potato Amflora, authorised in March but banned in three countries.

Green groups IFOAM and Greenpeace questioned the Commission's motives, saying that although its proposals would allow national bans they would also help accelerate GM crop approvals. “In reality the proposals aim to open Europe's fields to GM crops,” claimed Greenpeace policy adviser Stefanie Hundsdorfer. But the Commission insisted that there would be “no speeding up of authorisations or weakening of the rigorous environmental risk assessment requirements”.

The Commission has also published a policy paper explaining its approach and a non-binding recommendation replacing guidance on the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops issued in 2003.¹³ The new guidance allows national authorities to limit the GM content in conventional food and feed to levels below the EU's 0.9% threshold. However organic farming association IFOAM warned the proposals would do little to solve either GM contamination problems or the economic consequences for producers of GM-free food. It called for “binding rules” to prevent contamination and the implementation of the polluter pays principle for GM producers.

The Commission is also considering whether to strengthen the post-market environmental monitoring of GM crops, a priority for Health Commissioner John Dalli. An EU report on the socio-economic implications of GMOs is due by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, research by Swiss scientists has drawn attention to the influence of the environment in the resistance of genetically-modified wheat. The experiments show that it is not always possible to identify plants which will be able to assert themselves in a natural environment by performing trials in the protected setting of a greenhouse. The complex relationships between plants and their environment are only revealed in field trials.

European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/ (reference=IP/10/921) and http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/evaluation/index_en.htm; Swiss National Science Foundation: http://www.snf.ch

Freshwater shrimp reveal river quality

Scientists at France's CEMAGREF institute are pioneering techniques that use a small freshwater shrimp called Gammarus as a biological marker of water quality. Researchers say the techniques may be used in implementing the European Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Chemical substances released by human activities may be classified in a variety of different ways, depending on how they affect an animal's metabolism: neurotoxic if they affect the nervous system; endocrine disruptors if they affect the hormonal system; and genotoxic if they attack the DNA of the exposed animal. CEMAGREF's researchers are attempting to develop a biological marker for each class of contaminants. They have notably developed a marker for neurotoxicity that measures AChE or acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme involved in neurotransmission. Experiments have shown that two insecticides commonly found in aquatic environments cause a 40% drop in AChE activity, with consequences for the quantity of food ingested by the animal.

A very visual test, called the comet test, measures the damage done to DNA. After withdrawing Gammarus cells, the DNA nuclei are isolated and subjected to an electric field in an electrophoresis apparatus. If the DNA is not damaged by the tested pollutant, it forms a compact sphere. However, if the DNA is damaged, it forms a comet with a ‘nucleus’ and a ‘tail’ corresponding to the damaged DNA. In CEMAGREF labs in Lyon, Émilie Lacaze uses Gammarus spermatozoids because they are more sensitive. She measured damage levels of up to 20% that can result in developmental problems in the young produced using the spermatozoids. Over the long term, this situation may impact on food supplies for species higher up in the food chain, e.g. trout which eat great quantities of the small shrimp.

Other work by CEMAGREF scientists in Bordeaux is studying the use of diatoms as biological indicators and also as an indicator of metal pollution. Recent work elsewhere has demonstrated that samples of human bone can act as a biological marker for dozens of metals and toxic elements.¹⁴

CEMAGREF: http://www.cemagref.fr/English/

MRL compliance improves

The proportion of fruit, vegetables and cereals samples breaching EU maximum residue levels decreased to 3.5% in 2008, compared with 4.2% in 2007. The findings are given in the European Food Safety Authority's latest annual compliance report.

More MRL breaches were found in food imported into the EU than in products grown domestically. The percentage of samples where no pesticide residues were detected increased to 62.1%, compared with 52.7% in 2007.

EFSA cautioned that the report is not fully compatible with previous results because of the harmonisation of MRL rules that took effect in September 2008. Before then there was a mixed system of EU and national limits. Last year, Europe lowered the MRLs for 11 pesticides.¹⁵

EFSA: http://www.efsa.europa.eu; European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/protection/pesticides/index_en.htm

Toxin variants affect hormone systems

Research by Norwegian scientists has led to the discovery that individual variants of the environmental pollutants PCB and PFC can affect the body's hormone systems in a more complex way than previously supposed.

In a doctoral thesis Marianne Kraugerud studied the effects of different variants of the environmental toxins polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and perfluorinated compounds (PFC) on sheep and on cells grown in the laboratory. PCB and PFC are chemicals that only break down naturally to a very small degree and therefore have a strong tendency to accumulate in the environment. Humans and animals are constantly exposed to these toxins through the food they eat and the air they breathe.

Kraugerud studied the effects of PCB 118 and PCB 153, which are two separate PCB variants with different chemical characteristics. In lambs exposed to these substances while in the womb and via their mother's milk, effects were demonstrated both on the formation of egg cells in the ovaries and on the hormones that control the function of the ovaries in female lambs. Kraugerud also found sheep foetuses that had been exposed to these PCB variants had a diminished ability to produce the vital hormone cortisol. Work with laboratory cell cultures also demonstrated that both PCB and PFC can directly affect hormones associated with the reproductive system.

Since PCBs and PFCs are widespread in the environment, Kraugerud recommends that these effects are emphasized when risk appraisals on these substances are drawn up.

Norwegian School of Veterinary Science: http://www.nvh.no

Research activities

Small firms key to eco-innovation

Small companies are to be given a more prominent role in EU innovation policy so as to help them overcome existing barriers to eco-innovation. Competitiveness ministers meeting in Louvain, Belgium, agreed the position in discussions on the upcoming review of the EU's Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP).¹⁶ Studies have repeatedly emphasized the key role of public funding in the commercialisation of environmental technologies.¹⁷

Business groups had earlier given their support to the move in a statement entitled the Bilbão Declaration on Eco-innovation. SMEs have a central role to play in the transition towards a greener economy, the declaration notes. It makes recommendations in a range of areas, such as policies to accelerate demand for clean technologies, green investment, and skills and training needs in SMEs. Small companies can be drivers of innovation, growth and job creation provided they receive adequate support, it says.

The ministerial meeting, hosted under the Belgian Presidency of the EU, focused on the European Commission's flagship initiatives on innovation and industrial policy announced earlier this year as part of the EU's 2020 strategy for growth.

The Presidency presented a report warning that Europe's resource-intensive industries are reeling from a combination of lower demand due to the economic crisis and competition from non-OECD countries that are heavily subsidising fossil fuels. Failure to address the challenges facing industry could result in a shift from EU to non-EU based production, ministers were told, with adverse global environmental impacts. Carbon leakage issues should be taken into account when drawing up energy and environmental regulations, the report adds.

Belgian Presidency: http://www.eutrio.be/

Leveraging the power of social networks

EPA is hoping to bring the power of social networking to the solution of environmental problems with a new online tool for environmental researchers. The Integrated Environmental Modelling Hub (iemHUB) allows scientists to collaborate and share their knowledge on environmental models so that a better understanding of the environment can be developed—everything from keeping beaches clean to predicting climate effects.

“We've all seen the power of social networking in helping people stay connected, with the launch of this new site that potential is now available on a professional level to environmental researchers and modellers”, said Dr Paul Anastas, of EPA's Office of Research and Development.

The iemHUB supports the development of integrated models and their use in conducting research and informing the decision making process. Originally developed by Purdue University, the website is run by the EPA-supported Community of Practice for Integrated Environmental Modeling (CIEM), an informal collaborative forum for scientists and researchers.

iemHUB: http://www.iemhub.org

Look, no wires!

With environment and climate models demanding an ever wider range of data, researchers at Norway's SINTEF institute are investigating the use of wireless sensor networks as a smart way of reliably monitoring large areas of the Arctic ocean.

In a project sponsored by the Research Council of Norway, SINTEF and partners tested the technology on board a boat off Horten in the Oslofjord. Five metre-long yellow plastic tubes packed with electronics and batteries were dropped into the sea at intervals of several hundred metres. This gave the scientists a network of sensor nodes capable of both sending and receiving information.

“Such information centres can either be moored to the seabed or act as untethered current-driven floaters; the whole thing is rather like building a subsea GSM system,” explained SINTEF scientist Tor Arne Reitan. “For example, if one of the sensors registers a high concentration of a particular environmental toxin, it could trigger the whole network to monitor just the same chemical. This would provide more rapid and reliable mapping of such occurrences than would a single sensor that could only provide the same warning several weeks or months later.”

The tests showed that the network was capable of configuring itself, and that it automatically included new nodes as these were dropped into the sea. The scientists also managed to route the signals among the sensor nodes in such a way that they could send and receive information without “talking over each other”.

In practical situations hundreds or even thousands of units might well be needed. For this reason, the scientists believe that the best solution would be to monitor particularly important areas and events. The units would not need to be moored in fixed positions, but could be released wherever they are needed.

SINTEF is pursuing the work through two EU projects and has launched a network known as Ocean Space Surveillance. Here data from subsea sensor networks are combined with sophisticated ocean models in order to improve the interpretation of the measurements. The Norwegian government is interested in the technology as an element of BarentsWatch, a programme for an integrated monitoring system for the oceans of the Arctic region.

SINTEF: http://www.sintef.com

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