RESUMO
Four breeding piggeries and eight growing-fattening piggeries were analyzed to estimate potential environmental impacts of heavy pig production (>160kg of live height at slaughtering). Life Cycle Assessment methodology was adopted in the study, considering a system from breeding phase to growing fattening phase. Environmental impacts of breeding phase and growing-fattening phase were accounted separately and then combined to obtain the impacts of heavy pig production. The functional unit was 1kg of live weight gain. Impact categories investigated were global warming (GW), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EU), abiotic depletion (AD), and photochemical ozone formation (PO). The total environmental impact of 1kg of live weight gain was 3.3kg CO2eq, 4.9E-2kg SO2eq, 3.1E-2kg PO4(3-)eq, 3.7E-3kg Sbeq, 1.7E-3kg C2H4eq for GW, AC, EU, AD, and PO respectively. Feed production was the main hotspot in all impact categories. Greenhouse gases responsible for GW were mainly CH4, N2O, and CO2. Ammonia was the most important source of AC, sharing about 90%. Nitrate and NH3 were the main emissions responsible for EU, whereas P and NOx showed minor contributions. Crude oil and natural gas consumption was the main source of AD. A large spectrum of pollutants had a significant impact on PO: they comprised CH4 from manure fermentation, CO2 caused by fossil fuel combustion in agricultural operations and industrial processes, ethane and propene emitted during oil extraction and refining, and hexane used in soybean oil extraction. The farm characteristics that best explained the results were fundamentally connected with performance indicators Farms showed a wide variability of results, meaning that there was wide margin for improving the environmental performance of either breeding or growing-fattening farms. The effectiveness of some mitigation measures was evaluated and the results that could be obtained by their introduction have been presented.
Assuntos
Agricultura/métodos , Monitoramento Ambiental , Suínos , Animais , Cruzamento , Aquecimento Global , ItáliaRESUMO
This study quantifies the environmental impact of milk production of Italian Mediterranean buffaloes and points out the farm characteristics that mainly affect their environmental performance. Life cycle assessment was applied in a sample of 6 farms. The functional unit was 1 kg of normalized buffalo milk (LBN), with a reference milk fat and protein content of 8.3 and 4.73%, respectively. The system boundaries included the agricultural phase of the buffalo milk chain from cradle to farm gate. An economic criterion was adopted to allocate the impacts on milk production. Impact categories investigated were global warming (GW), abiotic depletion (AD), photochemical ozone formation (PO), acidification (AC), and eutrophication (EU). The contribution to the total results of the following farm activities were investigated: (1) on-farm energy consumption, (2) manure management, (3) manure application, (4) on-farm feed production (comprising production and application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides), (5) purchased feed production, (6) enteric fermentation, and (7) transport of purchased feeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides from producers to farms. Global warming associated with 1 kg of LBN resulted in 5.07 kg of CO2 Eq [coefficient of variation (CV)=21.9%], AD was 3.5 × 10(-3) kg of Sb Eq (CV=51.7%), PO was 6.8 × 10(-4) kg of C2H4 Eq (CV=28.8%), AC was 6.5 × 10(-2) kg of SO2 Eq (CV=30.3%), and EU was 3.3 × 10(-2) kg of PO4(3-) Eq (CV=36.5%). The contribution of enteric fermentation and manure application to GW is 37 and 20%, respectively; on-farm consumption, on-farm feed production, and purchased feed production are the main contributors to AD; about 70% of PO is due to enteric fermentation; manure management and manure application are responsible for 55 and 25% of AC and 25 and 55% of EU, respectively. Methane and N2O are responsible for 44 and 43% of GW, respectively. Crude oil consumption is responsible for about 72% of AD; contribution of CH4 to PO is 77%; NH3 is the main contributor to AC (92%); NO3(-) and NH3 are responsible for 55 and 41% of EU, respectively; contribution of P to EU is only 3.2%. The main characteristics explaining the significant variability of life cycle assessment are milk productivity and amount of purchased feed per kilogram of LBN. Improvement of LBN production per buffalo cow is the main strategy for reducing GW and PO; improvement of the efficiency of feed use is the strategy proposed for mitigating AD, PO, AC, and EU.
Assuntos
Búfalos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Leite/química , Amônia/análise , Animais , Dióxido de Carbono/análise , Bovinos , Indústria de Laticínios/métodos , Meio Ambiente , Feminino , Fertilizantes/análise , Aquecimento Global , Esterco/análise , Nitratos/análiseRESUMO
LCA as a decision-supporting tool in planning integrated municipal solid waste management is not, as yet, widely used in Italy. This paper presents a study concerning the application of the LCA methodology to support the development of the new waste management plan for the Bologna District. The main goal of the study was to show decision-makers at the political level the benefits obtainable with the use of LCA, in terms of the identification and quantification of the potential environmental impacts of different waste management strategies. The integrated waste management system of the Bologna District includes waste collection and transport, sorting, recycling, composting, incineration and landfilling. Three scenarios, referring to 2006 and assuming the presence of 950,000 inhabitants and the production of approximately 566,000 t of waste in the district, have been compared. A detailed model has been developed in order to capture effects related to the waste fraction from separated collection and to the different waste treatments. The discussion of the results has focussed in particular on the greenhouse effect and the acidification potential. On the basis of the results obtained, the analysis of an additional scenario characterised by a further increase in separated collection has been put forward.
Assuntos
Eliminação de Resíduos/métodos , Poluição do Ar/análise , Dióxido de Carbono/análise , Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Técnicas de Apoio para a Decisão , Efeito Estufa , Itália , SoloRESUMO
The identification of significant pollutants emitted from the contamination source is the first step in evaluating the impact associated with anthropic activity. Municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators are still generally perceived as great pollutant sources, in particular due to their gaseous emissions from the stack, which constitute the major effluent from the plant. In this work a life cycle assessment and an integrated environmental monitoring system were applied together, in order to obtain complete information about the incineration process and its environmental impact. The former is a proven methodology, but its application to waste management systems constitutes a relatively new field of application with a great developmental potential. The contribution of the incineration process to the different environmental impact categories was investigated, finding many avoided impacts due to energy recovery. The latter is an innovative approach that allows a remarkable understanding of impact due to a contamination source; interesting correlations were found between heavy metals both in gas emissions and in natural matrices in the surroundings.
Assuntos
Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental/métodos , Incineração , Modelos Teóricos , Coleta de DadosRESUMO
We tested 187 blood samples to measure Primidone and Phenobarbital plasma levels. 63 were on monotherapy, whereas 124 on polytherapy. We founded a good relationship between PRI dosage and PB plasma levels. However, from our data, we can't find any correlation between PRI dosage and PRI level. Looking at correlations of polytherapy, BDZ and DPA do not change PRI and PB levels, whereas CBZ and DPH increase PB and decrease PRI, probably by inducing the biotransformation of the drug. In conclusion, we suggest the usefulness to measure together PRI and PB levels in order to obtain the best evaluation.
Assuntos
Fenobarbital/sangue , Primidona/sangue , Adolescente , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Benzodiazepinas/administração & dosagem , Carbamazepina/administração & dosagem , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Humanos , Lactente , Fenitoína/administração & dosagem , Ácido Valproico/administração & dosagemRESUMO
The results of a randomized, double blind clinical trial are described. Niaprazine (1.5 mg/kg/day) or placebo were administered for 1 month to 20 patients (17 M-3 F; age range 6-11 years) suffering from behaviour disorders. Both the active drug and placebo induced an improvement of behaviour in the various conditions assessed in the family, during the play, at school, in the doctor's office but the percent variation induced by niaprazine was always higher than that with placebo (mean -49.4% vs. -24.6). The difference between the treatments was highly significant. No relevant side effects were observed: only in two cases treated with niaprazine the daily dose was reduced due to drowsiness. The authors conclude confirming the therapeutic efficacy of niaprazine in the treatment of behaviour disorders.