Environmental digest

Legislation

Nuclear safety report recommends improvements

Operators of nuclear power plants across Europe should take measures to strengthen their plants' robustness, such as the installation of hardened fixed equipment. This is one of four key recommendations in a long-awaited safety report commissioned by governments after last year's Fukushima incident in Japan.¹

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) looked at nuclear power plants in 15 EU Member States plus Switzerland and Ukraine. While safety standards were generally very high, it found some shortcomings, for example large disparities in the way countries deal with natural hazards such as earthquakes and floods. One of its recommendations is to draw up European guidance on how to assess such hazards. The other three recommendations are: to carry out safety reviews at least every 10 years; to increase plants' ability to contain an accident; and to take measures to limit damage, such as using mobile equipment and emergency response centres.

The findings were approved at an ENSREG meeting on 25 April. Members also discussed issues not included in the report, such as the risks of airplane crashes and the need for a review of EU nuclear safety legislation. Most of those present felt it was too early to discuss legislative changes at this stage.

The European Commission is consulting on proposals to improve safety, including technical criteria for the design, construction and operation of nuclear plants.² Proposals are likely to come out in June, alongside a plan to implement the ENSREG recommendations and an action plan being drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Meanwhile, the German government will consider setting up a publicly administered fund to manage the disposal of nuclear waste from its power plants. Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen made the announcement in response to a report by Greenpeace. The NGO has called for a public fund because it fears German nuclear operators Eon, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall may go bankrupt or otherwise default on their obligations after 2022, when the last of Germany's reactors are due to close. The report calls for greater transparency regarding the end-of-life provisions for each reactor and an increase in the total amount that operators must assign to decommissioning from about €30bn to €44bn.

ENSREG: http://www.ensreg.eu/node/407; IAEA: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/actionplan.html.

Does biofuels certification have teeth?

European authorities have given their backing to an eighth sustainability certification scheme for biofuels. The approval means that wheat-based bioethanol produced according to the industry-led scheme can be counted towards the EU biofuel target. But doubts about the veracity of certification remain.

The new certification scheme was established by British refinery Ensus and will only be used to certify bioethanol produced at its plant. Two more approvals are expected shortly for UK-based agricultural certification schemes Red Tractor and Scottish Quality Crops. This follows a first batch of approvals announced by the European Commission last July. The Commission refused to say how many other schemes have sought approval or why the second round of approvals, expected last year, has taken longer than foreseen.

The news came in the light of government figures which show that half of UK biofuels do not meet sustainability criteria. Only 53% of the 1517 million litres of biofuel supplied during 2010/11 complied with environmental requirements, well short of the 80% target fuel suppliers were supposed to meet under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Additionally, rather than making up 3.5% of all road transport fuel in 2011, as targeted by the RTFO, biofuels comprised just 3.27% of the total during 2010/11, down from 3.3% during the previous year.

Sweden, on the other hand, is well ahead of EU requirements. Government figures there show biofuels accounted for 9.8% of all transport fuels last year, almost in line with the EU's objective for 2020. Sweden's action plan on renewable energy sets its own biofuel target at 12.4%. Other countries, such as Finland, have even more ambitious objectives, but in Europe generally, biofuels are growing at a slower rate than forecasted.³

Increasing biofuel use is seen as one of the main ways of achieving Sweden's goal of making its vehicle fleet ‘fossil-fuel independent’ by 2030. In its spring national budget, published on 16 April, the government said it would maintain tax exemptions for biofuels such as E85. Other fuels, such as hydrogenated vegetable oils, will also get tax breaks.

Spain has imposed quotas on imports of biodiesel from outside the EU in retaliation to Argentina's decision to nationalise energy firm YPF, which was partly own by Spain-based Repsol. Most of Spain's biodiesel comes from Argentina.

European Commission: http://eur-lex.europa.eu (reference: L:2012 : 110 : 0042 : 0043); UK Department for Transport: http://www.dft.gov.uk.

Fracking statement divides legislators

A draft resolution on shale gas has received mixed reactions from Members of the European Parliament's Environment Committee, with some MEPs saying it endorses exploration using fracking too readily.

The resolution was drafted by Polish MEP Boguslaw Sonik, who claims that water contamination as a result of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, are unfounded. “No official or other reputable sources worldwide have demonstrated any cases where hydraulic fracturing has led to contamination of drinking water,” Mr Sonik says in the paper. Echoing the findings of a recent consultancy report for the European Commission,⁴ Mr Sonik adds there is no need for new legislation to improve shale gas safety. Instead, he calls on the Commission to continue investigating any possible environmental impacts. Previously the Parliament has called for a directive on shale gas extraction and restrictions on the chemicals used.⁵

In a strongly worded introduction, Mr Sonik also complains the public is misinformed. “Sadly, public discourse has included wilful suppression of some data and much extrapolation from hypothetical or individual incidents to the totality of shale gas extraction,” he says.

In its debate on the issue the Committee tended to divide along the lines of nationality rather than political affiliation. In the liberal ALDE party, for example, Corinne Lepage – an MEP from France which has banned fracking – called for a moratorium on exploration in Europe while her German colleague Holger Krahmer said shale gas “contributes to solving the [energy] problem” in Europe. Others, including British conservative MEP Martin Callanan and his Polish colleague Tadeusz Cymanski, hailed Mr Sonik's “professionalism” and “balanced report”.

Further scientific support for fracking has come from the British Geological Survey. In a report commissioned by the UK Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC), the BGS and academic experts recommend the “cautious continuation” of fracking.

The report says fracking-related earthquakes, such as those caused in north-west England last year by Cuadrilla Resources, may be more common than thought. However, their power would be unlikely to exceed 3 on the Richter scale, equivalent to tremors caused by the collapse of coal mines. At typical fracking depths of two to three kilometres underground, no structural damage would be caused above ground. Fracking should be halted if a tremor exceeding 0.5 on the Richter scale is detected, which could preclude a more powerful shock, the experts say.

While the main focus in hydraulic fracturing has been on water pollution, air emissions are also a concern. These emissions include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air toxics including benzene and hexane, and methane, the primary constituent of natural gas but also a contributor to global warming. In the US, EPA has finalised standards that it says will reduce harmful air emissions by 95% while reducing cost of compliance. Half of fractured oil and natural gas wells in the United States already deploy relevant technologies, the Agency said. It had been forced to update the standards, required under the Clean Air Act, in response to a court deadline. US standards for wastewater discharges are also under development,⁶ alongside a study of the full water cycle in fracking.⁷

European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu; DECC: http://www.decc.gov.uk; EPA: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas.

Environmental quality

Emissions up as warming warnings rise

US emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change rose in 2010, ending a brief downward turn as the world's largest economy gradually recovers from recession, official data show. The news came as the International Energy Agency (IEA), a highly respected energy thinktank, warned that global temperatures were set to rise by 6 degrees unless radical measures are taken to combat global warming.

Data issued by the US EPA show that the United States – the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China – would need to move aggressively if it seeks to reach President Obama's targets for tackling climate change. US greenhouse gas emissions grew by 3.2% in 2010 compared with the previous year – to 6.82 billion metric tons – after two consecutive year-on-year falls. The total was still below the 7.25 billion recorded in 2007 before the onset of the global recession. These figures reinforce results from the Global Carbon Project showing global emissions rebounding to record levels.⁸

In a submission to the UN climate organization, EPA said that the rise in emissions was “primarily due to an increase in economic output resulting in an increase in energy consumption across all sectors.” In what could be considered a chicken-and-egg dilemma in holding back rising temperatures, the Agency noted Americans burned more coal and gas in 2010 partly because an unusually warm summer raised demand for air conditioning.

In Europe, emissions from sites covered by the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) dropped by about 2.4% in 2011, according to initial data released by the European Commission. Analysts had expected an increase of up to 2.4%. If confirmed, the fall is a major change from the previous year when emissions increased by 3.2% after two years of falls. The Commission will publish a full analysis based on final figures shortly.

While progress is being made on renewable energy, most clean energy technologies are not being deployed quickly enough, according to the IEA's annual progress report presented to ministers.

The report highlights the rapid progress made in some renewable technologies, notably the solar panels easily installed by households and businesses (solar PV), and in onshore wind technologies. Onshore wind has seen 27% average annual growth over the past decade, and solar PV has grown at 42%, albeit from a small base, while PV system costs have been reduced by 75% in some countries. This serves as evidence that rapid technology change is possible. However, the report concludes that most clean energy technologies are not on track to make their required contribution to reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and thereby provide a more secure energy system.

“We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act,” said IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard H. Jones. “Energy-related CO₂ emissions are at historic highs. Under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO₂ emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. This would likely send global temperatures at least 6 °C higher. Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships – a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave behind.”

EPA: ‘The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2010’ http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html; European Commission: ETS data, http://http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/index_en.htm; IEA: ‘Tracking Clean Energy Progress’, http://www.iea.org.

Coalition tackles climate and clean air issues

A new international grouping has pledged to fast-track actions towards reducing black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the battle against climate change.

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition was launched in February at an event hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At a recent meeting in Stockholm, Colombia, Japan, Nigeria, Norway and the European Commission announced they would be joining the Coalition along with the World Bank, bringing the number of partners to thirteen. Five countries – Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom along with delegates from the private sector – also attended as observers to learn first-hand the Coalition's plans.

The Stockholm meeting marked the beginning of the implementation phase, with the launch of five initiatives aimed at accelerating and scaling-up action against so-called short lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).

More than 10 years of scientific research and assessment indicates that substances such as black carbon, or ‘soot’, and methane are triggering wide-ranging health, climate and crop-damaging impacts. Introducing cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to HFCs fluorinated gases are also part of the Coalition's aims as a result of their high potential to impact climate change if widely taken up over the coming years.

The Coalition is based on the premise that fast action to reduce SLCPs can have a direct impact on climate change, with the potential to reduce warming by up to 0.5 °C by 2050 and help keep global temperature increases below 2 °C. Reductions of SLCPs would also help address rapid melting in the Arctic and in mountain regions with glaciers, like the Himalayas. UN agencies have also targeted what they call ‘short-lived climate forcers’ (SLCFs) and are proposing action at this month's Rio Summit.⁹

The Coalition emphasizes that the climate benefits need to be backed by cuts in other greenhouse gases including CO₂ if temperature increases over this century are to be contained. However, addressing near-term warming from SLCPs may be crucial to avoid the most serious impacts over the coming decades.

Europe co-operates for clean lakes

Good lake restoration practices will be assessed and shared throughout Europe in a new EU project called LakeAdmin.

Despite remarkable reductions of nutrient loading from municipalities and industry, many European lakes are still not in a good state. The problems are particularly acute around densely populated areas where lakes are of local and regional significance. European water policy requires that all watercourses achieve a good state by 2015. This target is extremely challenging and in many cases the timeline has already been extended to 2027.

The project brings together partners from 10 European countries, led by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). They will share best water management practices, compile a lake restoration database, and develop mechanisms for better knowledge and experience transfer between countries.

SYKE: http://www.ymparisto.fi and http://lakeadmin.savonia.fi/.

Chemical hazards

Pesticide resubmissions anger NGOs

Green groups have accused European regulators of bowing to industry pressure by approving a swathe of pesticides that could breach EU health and environmental rules.

In a report NGOs PAN Europe and Générations Futures strongly criticise a resubmission regime created in 2007 for pesticides that could not be authorised under the pesticides directive because of missing data. According to the report, 64 of the 87 pesticides being considered at that time have now been approved and only 14 have been rejected, despite considerable limitations in the available evidence. Recent research has pointed to pesticides as pervasive pollutants¹⁰ and even linked them to the decline of bee populations.¹¹

In a sample of ten approvals, all were missing some of the data needed to complete a full environmental risk assessment and eight were missing health data. This is despite the industry being given extra time to carry out safety tests, says the report. Seven of the ten approvals were backed despite evidence of high environmental risk. These approvals are in direct breach of the pesticides directive and are the result of national and Commission officials “twisting and bending” rules to accommodate pesticide companies, the NGOs claim.

The Commission rejected these claims, saying the report contained multiple inaccuracies. It said the regime was set up to speed up evaluation, rather than as a result of industry pressure. The EU executive also insisted it is not trying to avoid taking legal action. Some 35 court cases have been launched since 2007, of which 6 are still pending, it added.

A recent example is the reapproval of the soil fumigant metam. It was banned in 2009 because of gaps in safety data but 15 Member States continued to use it under ‘essential use’ provisions. National representatives approved the reauthorisation on 9 March, with expiry in June 2022. Hans Muilerman, of PAN Europe, said the decision was a political one pushed by Member States. “Metam has an unacceptable environmental impact and helps maintain agricultural monocultures”, he added.

In a separate move, Paris-based Générations Futures has criticised France's approach to aerial spraying, saying many of the pesticides used pose high risks to human health. The substances appear in a government note from early March, which was leaked to the press. The note lists seven authorised products, including fenpropidin, difenoconazole and propiconazole. The NGO says that, according to the US EPA, these substances are likely to be carcinogenic. It points out that the risk of exposure using aerial spraying is much higher. The Agriculture Ministry said the use of products listed in its note, which also includes 16 substances awaiting authorisation, will not necessarily be allowed if authorities believe they are not safe. Derogations based on individual requests are being assessed.

Elsewhere, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is to support efforts by 12 countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia to manage their vast stocks of obsolete pesticides. FAO has formed a partnership with the EU to invest €7 million in the region. An estimated 200 000 tons of obsolete pesticides – nearly half the world's stockpiles – can be found in 12 former Soviet republics. The region is a major centre for trade in illegal pesticides.¹²

PAN-Europe: http://www.pan-europe.info; Générations Futures: http://www.generationsfutures.net; European Commission (Metam decision): http://eur-lex.europa.eu (reference: L:2012 : 114 : 0001 : 0007); FAO: http://www.fao.org.

ECHA gets good report

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has performed well in most areas since its launch in 2007, according to a review carried out for the European Commission by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Among the plus points noted by PwC in a generally positive report are the way ECHA dealt with unforeseen circumstances, such as the unexpectedly high number of pre-registrations under REACH.¹³ However, some non-essential activities, such as the work done to encourage formation of substance forums, could have been avoided, PwC says.

The review notes that dissemination of information collected under the REACH regime and classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) regulations has been insufficient and has fallen behind schedule. Some stakeholders think the Helsinki-based Agency pays more attention to industry than to NGOs and governments.

A separate report that, like the PwC study, will feed into the Commission's review of REACH, calls for better enforcement of chemical bans. This requires that national regulators share more information, do more desk-based research and give customs authorities a greater role, according to consultancy Milieu. It looked in detail at ten of the 60-odd restrictions listed under REACH's annex XVII. In all, 22 EU countries had taken some kind of action on one or more of these. But Milieu found that some restrictions are more widely enforced than others. More than half of EU states have taken specific measures to enforce five of the bans, including restrictions on nickel in articles coming into contact with skin and phthalates in toys. By contrast, only five have targeted a restriction on the solvent trichlorobenzene.

The main limitations at the moment are in terms of resources and testing facilities. But the consultants suggest that national authorities can maximise their resources by carrying out detailed research on the uses of the chemical being targeted and its supply chain. They should also look at sharing test facilities.

The Commission expects to publish its review of REACH in June having taken account of a wide range of inputs.¹⁴ A stakeholder meeting will be held in September.

Meanwhile, ECHA has introduced new measures to help downstream users understand and fulfil their obligations. This takes the form of a Question and Answer document on downstream user reports and a template for reporting conditions of use under Article 38 of REACH, both of which are available via the Agency's website. An update to the Guidance on data sharing has also been published following a recent consultation.

European Commission: REACH review: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/chemicals/documents/reach/review2012/echa_en.htm; ECHA: http://echa.europa.eu.

The next step for global chemicals management

Sweden is urging world governments to improve chemicals management and to ensure appropriate measures are put in place at the Earth Summit in Rio in June. The call came at a conference to celebrate 40 years of environmental protection since the landmark Stockholm conference in 1972.

At the meeting, the Swedish hosts launched a platform involving a wide range of stakeholders to discuss implementation of priority areas. Eight key areas have been identified, building on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) framework.

A global objective on the sound management of chemicals, agreed at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg, must be met by 2020. SAICM was launched in 2006 to help deliver these objectives.¹⁵ But Sweden says cross-sector cooperation and multi-stakeholder involvement are needed to make sure this commitment is met. It wants to see greater efforts in raising awareness of sound chemicals management, using less-toxic alternatives and health impacts.

With a similar emphasis on stakeholder participation (and picking up on one of the Swedish themes), a group of environmental and consumer associations is seeking input from industry to build a database of chemical substitutes. The free ‘Subsport’ database will give successful examples of alternatives to toxic substances. Companies that submit case studies are asked to provide as much detail as possible, including the exact use of the chemicals replaced and, if possible, the cost of substitution. They can refer to any hazardous substance, but the focus is on a list of ten priority substances that includes bisphenol-A (see separate item below), formaldehyde and lead. The initiative was launched by seven NGOs, including ChemSec, Greenpeace, BEUC and EEB, at the Helsinki Chemicals Forum on 24 May. It is the latest move in a high-profile campaign which includes the ‘SIN’ list of chemicals requiring substitution¹⁶ and the ‘naming and shaming’ of chemicals producers.¹⁷

With an eye on EU chemicals policy more generally, a group of twelve NGOs and campaigning organizations has written a letter to environment ministers calling for greater action on chemicals under the EU's forthcoming Seventh Environmental Action Programme.¹⁸ The letter raises a number of concerns including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), chemical mixtures and nanomaterials, as well as better protection from substances of very high concern, in order to promote a healthy environment and healthy communities.

Government of Sweden: http://www.sweden.gov.se; Chemsec: http://www.chemsec.org; EEB (for NGOs letter): http://www.eeb.org.

Experts consult on nanosilver

EU experts have recently closed a consultation on the health and environmental effects of nanosilver particles used in medical and consumer products. Information received by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) will feed into a European Commission review due to be completed by early 2013.

Nanosilver is one of the most common nanomaterials in consumer goods because of its antimicrobial properties. But there are concerns about its effects on bacteria in sewage works and rivers, as well as its potential to increase antibiotic resistance.

MEPs wanted nanosilver banned from electrical and electronic products under the RoHS directive, while some NGOs have called for restrictions on its use in consumer goods until there has been a more thorough risk assessment.

Following a separate request from the Commission, SCENIHR is also considering the health effects of nanomaterials used in medical devices.

SCENIHR: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/index_en.htm.

EPA extends electronic reporting

Electronic reporting of information submitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is to be extended under a rule being proposed by EPA. The Agency says the action will increase the speed with which information is made publicly available, increase accuracy, and provide the public with quick and easier access to chemical data.

Specifically, the proposed rule would require electronic reporting rather than paper-based reporting for various TSCA actions including submission of information relating to chemical testing, health and safety studies, and other information. When final, EPA will only accept data, reports, and other information submitted through EPA's Central Data Exchange, a centralized portal that enables streamlined, electronic submission of data via the internet.

A final rule will be implemented following a sixty-day consultation period.

In a separate move, EPA has released an innovative web-based mapping tool designed to improve environmental reviews and planning. NEPAssist was developed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for use by federal agencies in increasing efficiency and effectiveness of environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires all federal agencies to incorporate environmental considerations in their planning and decision-making through a systematic interdisciplinary process.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/transparency.html; and http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/nepassist-mapping.html.

Public and occupational health

New technology brings meaning to dose estimates

A new technology for measuring personal exposure levels will help scientists better understand the relationship between environmental contaminants in the air and potential adverse health effects. The pioneering approach uses personal exposure monitors with built-in acceleration sensors to determine individual activity levels while predicting how fast adults, and potentially children, breathe pollutants in their environment. The advancement enables scientists to calculate potential dosage – how much pollutant enters the respiratory system – in real time.

“While scientists have been measuring exposure levels in the air for decades, knowing the pollutant concentration doesn't necessary indicate how much is taken into the body,” said Dr Charles Rodes, lead author of the study. “By knowing how fast someone is breathing, we can now estimate how much of a pollutant is actually making it into the respiratory system.”

The research team included scientists from RTI International, Columbia University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University, and was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Exposure Biology Program (EBP).

“When NIEHS began the program, we had a goal of integrating technologies across aspects of the personal environment, from chemical exposures to physical activity to diet and stress, ” said Dr David Balshaw, the EBP program coordinator. “We hoped that this integrated view would allow the environmental health community to test novel hypotheses and gain further insight into the connections between personal environment and disease.” He continued: “the vision was accurate; when we integrate measures of physical activity with particulate matter exposure we are able to analyze the health effects of exposure at a new level of sophistication.”

In the innovative pilot program, participants wore prototype exposure monitors while conducting a variety of activities (sitting, standing, walking on a treadmill, climbing stairs, sweeping, etc.). By appropriately processing the motion data collected on the built-in accelerometer, the research team was able to reasonably predict breathing rates for a fairly wide range of typical daily activities.

The researchers anticipate that the technology could help reduce the cost of linking exposures more closely with diseases that develop over a relatively short time period, such as cardiopulmonary diseases.

‘Predicting adult pulmonary ventilation volume and wearing compliance by on-board accelerometry during personal level exposure assessments’, C.E. Rodes et al., in Atmospheric Environment, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.03.057

Bisphenol-A back in the spotlight

The controversial plastics additive bisphenol-A (BPA) is back in the news, with Sweden proposing to ban the chemical from food and drink packaging at the same time as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is initiating a new scientific review.

Sweden is proposing to ban BPA from packaging for food and drink products aimed at children under three, and is also considering restrictions on its use in till receipts and water-pipe lining. EU-wide rules banning BPA from baby bottles entered force last year and Denmark already restricts its use in food packaging for the under-threes.¹⁹ France will extend this ban to all food containers from 2014. But in the US, food safety agency FDA said recently it has no intention to ban BPA in food containers.

The Swedish government has notified the European Commission and other member states of its proposal and can approve the measures without parliamentary approval if no objections are raised. The move was welcomed by campaign group ChemSec, which raised concerns about BPA in water pipes in a report published last December.²⁰

Meanwhile, experts on EFSA's Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) have begun work on the new risk assessment of BPA, focussing in particular on exposure of vulnerable groups. The new opinion will complement earlier scientific advice provided at the request of the European Commission.

EFSA will review all the available data and scientific studies on dietary exposure published since its 2006 opinion on BPA and also take into consideration the contribution of non-dietary sources to overall exposure to BPA. Experts will further evaluate uncertainties about the possible relevance to human health of some BPA-related effects observed in rodents at low dose levels.

New findings from ongoing studies on low dose effects as well as on dietary and non-dietary exposure to BPA will be considered as they become available during 2012. EFSA is also convening a Colloquium of international experts to debate the most recent scientific evidence of low dose effects in toxicology and the challenges this poses for risk assessment.

EFSA: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/120424.htm; Government of Sweden: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/15926/a/190565; CHEMSEC: http://www.chemsec.org FDA: http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm064437.htm.

Research activities

Pushing the frontier in oil and gas research

Three US federal agencies are to work together to find new ways of exploiting unconventional natural gas and oil resources.

The new partnership – known as the Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources – will see the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior coordinate current and future research and scientific studies. A primary aim will be to identify research topics where collaboration among the three agencies can support sound policy decisions while promoting safe practices and human health.

“Science, research and innovation continue to play a vital role in our efforts to further expand oil and gas production in the United States and make sure it's done safely and responsibly,” said Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes. Collaboration would help “meet the need of increasing public understanding and public confidence of these critical technologies so that we can continue safe and responsible exploration and production for many decades to come”, he added.

Over recent years technological advancements like hydraulic fracturing – innovation supported by public research – have allowed development of previously uneconomic natural gas and oil deposits. Since 2008, US oil and natural gas production has increased each year and both are currently running at record levels. Overall, US oil imports have been falling since 2005, and oil import dependence declined from 57% in 2008 to 45% in 2011 – the lowest level since 1995.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracture/oil_and_gas_research_mou.pdf.

‘Warming hole’ delayed climate change over eastern US

Research by scientists at Harvard University has provided further evidence for the interaction between air pollution and climate change at local level. They discovered that particulate pollution in the late 20th century created a “warming hole” over the eastern United States – a cold patch where the effects of global warming were temporarily obscured.

While greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane warm the Earth's surface, tiny particles in the air can have the reverse effect on regional scales. “What we've shown is that particulate pollution over the eastern United States has delayed the warming that we would expect to see from increasing greenhouse gases,” said lead author Eric Leibensperger, Ph.D. of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Most of these particles in the atmosphere were made of sulphate, originating as sulphur emissions from coal-fired power plants. Compared to greenhouse gases, particulate pollution has a very short lifetime (about 1 week), so its distribution over the Earth is uneven. Emissions cuts as a result of the Clean Air Acts had caused “the greenhouse warming in this region to ramp up to match the global trend”, explained Dr Leibensperger.

“The primary driver of the warming hole is the aerosol pollution, small particles”, said Leibensperger. “What they do is reflect incoming sunlight, so we see a cooling effect at the surface.” This effect has been known for some time, but the new analysis demonstrates the strong impact that decreases in particulate pollution can have on regional climate. The researchers found that interactions between clouds and particles amplified the cooling. Particles of pollution can act as nucleation sites for cloud droplets, which can in turn reflect even more sunlight than the particles would individually, leading to greater cooling at the surface.

The work carries significant implications for the future climate of industrial nations, like China, that have not yet implemented air quality regulations to the same extent as the United States.

‘Climatic effects of 1950–2050 changes in US anthropogenic aerosols – Part 2: Climate response,’ E. M. Leibensperger et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 3349–3362, doi: 10.5194/acp-12-3349-2012, 2012.

Climate change creating pressure on mountain flora

A pan-European study published in Science shows that mountain plants across the continent are moving to higher altitudes. This often results in raised species numbers on mountain tops, when colonizers from lower down start to dwell on the summits. This study, however, also shows that upward shifts can lead to a reduction in species richness.

The paper is based on detailed surveys of 66 mountain summits distributed between the north of Europe and the southern Mediterranean Sea. An international research group, led by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna, mapped all plant species at each site in 2001 and 2008 using the same standardized procedures. Increasing species numbers were only found on summits of northern and central Europe. By contrast, species numbers were stagnating or declining at nearly all sites in the Mediterranean region.

Harald Pauli from the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) programme, which coordinated the study, said, “Our results showing a decline at the Mediterranean sites is worrying because these are the mountains with a very unique flora and a large proportion of their species occur only there and nowhere else on Earth”.

On summits further north in Europe, more plant species are prospering. This could be taken to indicate that these are much safer sites for alpine flowers. Michael Gottfried from GLORIA's coordination team said, “I'm afraid that this is not necessarily the case because the newly appearing plants are predominantly more widespread species from lower elevations and will pose increasing competition pressure on the rarer cold-loving alpine flowers”.

The uppermost tips of Mediterranean mountains are rather small patches of cold habitats, spread like islands over a sea of much warmer lowlands. Lowland areas and the mountains are exposed to a characteristic dry season in summer. In the higher altitudes, precipitation mainly falls as snow during winter and spring and snowmelt is crucial for water supply of mountain plants during the arid growing season. “The cold habitat of alpine flowers may shrink faster than expected – we observed declines in species numbers in southern Europe within less than a decade” said Harald Pauli.

The paper expands on previous results published earlier this year.²¹

‘Recent plant diversity changes on Europe's mountain summits', Harald Pauli, et al., Science, April 19, 2012. DOI: doi/10.1126/science.1219033.

Phytoplankton can adapt to ocean acidification

Acidification of the oceans as a result of climate change might not have such serious impacts as initially thought, scientists say. Long-term experiments have shown that phytoplankton can adapt to acidified oceanic conditions via evolutionary adaptations.

Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) have for the first time demonstrated the potential of the unicellular algae Emiliania huxleyi to adapt to changing pH conditions and thereby at least partly to mitigate negative effects of ocean acidification.

Experimental Emiliania huxleyi strains were isolated in Norwegian coastal waters and cultured in the laboratory under projected future ocean CO₂ conditions. After about one year, which translates into 500 generations in this rapidly reproducing species, the biologists detected adaptation to high CO₂. Adapted populations grew and calcified significantly better than non-adapted control populations when tested under ocean acidification conditions.

“From a biogeochemical perspective the most interesting finding was probably a partial restoration in calcification rates” noted Prof. Ulf Riebesell. Emiliania huxleyi covers its cell surface with minute calcite scales that were found to decrease in weight under increased CO₂ concentrations. “This is what we expected from the literature. But we were fascinated to find impaired calcification to partly recover after only 500 generations,” added biologist Kai Lohbeck.

Despite their finding, the GEOMAR scientists warn that this is far from an all-clear signal for ocean acidification. The potential for adaptive evolution may be confined to rapidly reproducing species with large population sizes such as Emiliania huxleyi. Long-lived species and especially those having only a few offspring per generation commonly have a much lower adaptive potential. Another open question is the extent to which the evolutionary changes observed under laboratory conditions are transferable to the oceans where other environmental factors and ecological interactions play along. The GEOMAR researchers are planning follow-up experiments to address these issues.

‘Adaptive evolution of a key phytoplankton species to ocean acidification’, Lohbeck, T. Kai et al., 2012. Nature Geoscience, doi: 10.1038/NGEO1441.

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