Environmental impact assessment of the electrokinetic adsorption barriers to remove different herbicides from agricultural soils.

In this study, the sustainability of the electrokinetic remediation soil flushing (EKSFs) process integrated without and with adsorption barriers (EKABs) have been evaluated for the treatment of four soils contaminated with Atrazine, Oxyfluorfen, Chlorosulfuron and 2,4-D. To this purpose, the environmental effects of both procedures (EKSFs and EKABs) have been determined through a life cycle assessment (LCA). SimaPro 9.3.0.3 was used as software tool and Ecoinvent 3.3 as data base to carry out the inventory of the equipment of each remediation setup based on experimental measurements. The environmental burden was quantified using the AWARE, USEtox, IPPC, and ReCiPe methods into 3 Endpoint impact categories (and damage to human health, ecosystem and resources) and 7 Midpoints impact categories (water footprint, global warming potential, ozone depletion, human toxicity (cancer and human non-cancer), freshwater ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity). In general terms, the energy applied to treatment (using the Spanish energy mix) was the parameter with the greatest influence on the carbon footprint, ozone layer depletion and water footprint accounting for around 70 % of the overall impact contribution. On the other hand, from the point of view of human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity of soil treatments with 32 mg kg-1 of the different pesticides, the EKSF treatment is recommended for soils with Chlorosulfuron. In this case, the carbon footprint and water footprint reached values around 0.36 kg of CO2 and 114 L of water per kg of dry soil, respectively. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed assuming different scenarios.

Adapting the low-cost pre-disinfection column PREDICO for simultaneous softening and disinfection of pore water.

In previous works, a low-cost predisinfection column that combined coagulation-flocculation and GAC filtration was proposed for combination with electrodisinfection in the successful treatment of highly faecal polluted surface water. In this work, this column is adapted for the treatment of pore water by transforming the coagulation chamber into a chemical reactor with lime and replacing the GAC of the filter with ion exchange resins. This adapted system can soften water, remove nitrate and condition water for very efficient electrochemical disinfection, where 4 logs and 3 logs in the removal of E. coli and P. aeruginosa, respectively, were reached using commercial electrochemical cells, i.e., CabECO ® or MIKROZON®. The availability and low cost of the technology are strong points for usage in poor areas of developing countries.

Techno-economic analysis of the scale-up process of electrochemically-assisted soil remediation.

This work presents a techno-economic study of the scaling-up of the electrochemically-assisted soil remediation (EASR) process of polluted soil. Four scales have been selected for the study: laboratory, bench, pilot and prototype, with a capacity of treating a volume of soil of 1 × 10-4, 2 × 10-3, 0.11 and 21.76 m3, respectively. This study analyses the technical information produced by studies carried out at each scale, and informs about the fixed costs (construction of the electrokinetic remediation reactor, installation of auxiliary services and purchase of analytical equipment) and variable costs (start-up, operation and dismantling of the test) derived from running a test at each of the evaluated scales. The information discussed in based on the experience gained with many evaluations carried out over the last decade at these scales. This information can provide useful guidance for developing a scaling-up of the EASR for many researchers starting on the evaluation of this important environmental remediation technology.

Vaccine confidence and hesitancy in Brazil.

Despite the overall benefits of immunization, vaccine hesitancy has been a growing trend and has been associated with the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. The aim of this study was to assess vaccine confidence and hesitancy in Brazil, as part of a wider project to map vaccine confidence globally. One thousand subjects were interviewed, either online or face-to-face, based on a general questionnaire regarding perceptions on vaccines and vaccination. Further exploratory questions were used with the subset of respondents who were parents of children aged under 5. Such questions extracted information regarding vaccination behavior, opinions on vaccination and government health services, and vaccine hesitancy. Reasons for hesitancy were classified as relating to confidence, convenience and/or complacency, and the population was also analyzed socio-demographically. The results showed that overall confidence in immunization was higher than confidence in family planning services, community health workers and emergency services. Seventy-six people reported hesitancy to vaccinate. The commonest reasons for hesitancy were issues with confidence (41.4%), efficacy/safety of the vaccine (25.5%) and concerns about adverse events (23.6%). The sociodemographic analysis revealed that vaccine hesitancy was associated with marital status, level of education and income. Despite overall vaccine confidence being high, a clear trend toward lower levels of confidence was associated with higher levels of hesitancy, which warrants on-going monitoring, due to the dynamic and changing nature of vaccine hesitancy.

Vaccine confidence and hesitancy in Brazil / Confiança nas vacinas e hesitação em vacinar no Brasil / Confianza y renuencia a las vacunas en Brasil

Despite the overall benefits of immunization, vaccine hesitancy has been a growing trend and has been associated with the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. The aim of this study was to assess vaccine confidence and hesitancy in Brazil, as part of a wider project to map vaccine confidence globally. One thousand subjects were interviewed, either online or face-to-face, based on a general questionnaire regarding perceptions on vaccines and vaccination. Further exploratory questions were used with the subset of respondents who were parents of children aged under 5. Such questions extracted information regarding vaccination behavior, opinions on vaccination and government health services, and vaccine hesitancy. Reasons for hesitancy were classified as relating to confidence, convenience and/or complacency, and the population was also analyzed socio-demographically. The results showed that overall confidence in immunization was higher than confidence in family planning services, community health workers and emergency services. Seventy-six people reported hesitancy to vaccinate. The commonest reasons for hesitancy were issues with confidence (41.4%), efficacy/safety of the vaccine (25.5%) and concerns about adverse events (23.6%). The sociodemographic analysis revealed that vaccine hesitancy was associated with marital status, level of education and income. Despite overall vaccine confidence being high, a clear trend toward lower levels of confidence was associated with higher levels of hesitancy, which warrants on-going monitoring, due to the dynamic and changing nature of vaccine hesitancy.

Apesar dos benefícios globais da imunização, a hesitação em vacinar é uma tendência crescente que tem sido associada ao ressurgimento das doenças imunopreveníveis. O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a confiança nas vacinas e a hesitação em vacinar no Brasil, como parte de um projeto mais amplo para mapear a confiança em vacinas em nível global. Foram entrevistadas mil pessoas, direta ou virtualmente, usando um questionário geral sobre percepção em relação às vacinas e à vacinação. Foram utilizadas perguntas exploratórias adicionais no subconjunto de entrevistados que eram pais de crianças abaixo de cinco anos de idade. Essas perguntas produziram informações sobre o comportamento em relação à vacinação, opiniões sobre vacinação e serviços públicos de saúde e hesitação em vacinar. Os motivos da hesitação foram classificados em relação à confiança, conveniência e/ou acomodação, e a população também foi analisada conforme as características sociodemográficas. Os resultados mostraram que a confiança geral na imunização foi maior do que nos serviços de planejamento familiar, agentes comunitários de saúde e serviços de emergência. Setenta e seis pessoas relataram hesitação em vacinar. Os motivos mais frequentes da hesitação diziam respeito a confiança (41,4%), eficácia/segurança da vacina (25,5%) e preocupações com eventos adversos (23,6%). A análise sociodemográfica mostrou que a hesitação em vacinar estava associada ao estado civil, escolaridade e renda. Apesar da alta confiança geral na vacinação, uma clara tendência para níveis de confiança mais baixos esteve associada a níveis mais altos de hesitação, o que justifica o monitoramento permanente dessa tendência, em função da natureza dinâmica da hesitação em vacinar.

A pesar de lo beneficios generales de la inmunización, la renuencia a la vacunación ha sido una tendencia en crecimiento que ha sido asociada con el resurgimiento de las enfermedades prevenibles por vacunación. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la confianza y renuencia a las vacunas en Brasil, como parte de un proyecto más amplio para mapear la confianza en las vacunas globalmente. Mil sujetos fueron entrevistados, bien en línea o cara-a-cara, mediante un cuestionario general respecto a sus percepciones sobre las vacunas y la vacunación. Se utilizaron otras preguntas exploratorias con el subconjunto de encuestados, que eran padres de niños con una edad inferior a los cinco años. Tales preguntas recabaron información respecto al comportamiento sobre la vacunación, opiniones sobre vacunación y servicios de salud gubernamentales, así como su renuencia a las vacunas. Las razones para esta última se clasificaron como aquellas relacionadas con la confianza, conveniencia y/o complacencia, y la población fue también analizada sociodemográficamente. Los resultados mostraron que la confianza general en inmunización fue más alta que la confianza en servicios de planificación familiar, trabajadores de salud comunitarios y servicios de emergencia. Setenta y seis personas informaron de renuencia a la vacunación. Las razones más comunes para la renuencia fueron temas relacionados con la confianza (41,4%), eficacia/seguridad de la vacuna (25,5%) y preocupaciones sobre efectos adversos (23,6%). El análisis sociodemográfico reveló que la renuencia a la vacunación estaba asociada con el estado civil, nivel de educación e ingresos. A pesar de que la confianza general en las vacunas es alta, existe una clara tendencia hacia niveles más bajos de confianza, que estaba asociada con altos niveles de renuencia, lo que garantiza una supervisión permanente, debido a la dinámica y naturaleza cambiante del rechazo a las vacunas.

Treatment of real effluents from the pharmaceutical industry: A comparison between Fenton oxidation and conductive-diamond electro-oxidation.

Wastewater produced in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants (PMPs), especially the one coming from organic-synthesis facilities, is characterized by its large variability due to the wide range of solvents and chemical reagents used in the different stages of the production of medicines. Normally, the toxicity of the organic compounds prevent the utilization of biological processes and more powerful treatments are needed becoming advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) a valid alternative. In this work, the efficiency in abatement of pollution by Fenton oxidation (FO) and conductive-diamond electro-oxidation (CDEO) are compared in the treatment of 60 real effluents coming from different processes carried out in a pharmaceutical facility, using standardized tests. In 80% of the samples, CDEO was found to be more efficient than FO and in the remaining 20%, coagulation was found to exhibit a great significance in the COD abatement mechanism during FO, pointing out the effectiveness of the oxidation promoted by the electrochemical technology. Mean oxidation state of carbon was found to be a relevant parameter to understand the behavior of the oxidation technologies. It varied inversely proportional to efficiency in FO and it showed practically no influence in the case of CDEO.