Lexikon

process or tools aimed at alerting decision makers to pollution (exceeding of critical values) early enough to fend off damage or failing that, to manage events in such a way that the worst consequences are mitigated (Source: EUGRIS)

the outermost layer of the Earth is the crust. The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The crust comprises the continents and ocean basins. It has a variable thickness, being 35–70 km thick in the continents and 5-10 km thick in the ocean basins. The crust is composed mainly of alumino-silicates. The oceanic crust of the Earth is different from its continental crust. The oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt, diabase, and gabbro. The continental crust is mostly composed of slightly less dense rocks than those of the oceanic crust. Some of these less dense rocks, such as granite, are common in the continental crust but rare to absent in the oceanic crust. The crust is underlain by the Mantle. The boundary between the crust and mantle is conventionally placed at the Mohorovièiæ discontinuity, a boundary defined by a contrast in seismic velocity. The crust and the underlying relatively rigid mantle make up the lithosphere.

the interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core. Earth's mantle is about 2,900 km thick rocky shell that constitutes about 84 percent of Earth's volume. It is predominantly solid. The mantle is divided into sections based upon results from seismology. These layers (and their depths) are the following: the upper mantle, around 7 to 35 km, downward to 410 km starting from the base of the crust or Mohorovièiæ discontinuity (the boundary between the crust and mantle defined by a contrast in seismic velocity), the transition zone (410–660 km), the lower mantle (660–2891 km), and in the bottom of the latter region there is the anomalous D" layer with a variable thickness (on average ~200 km thick). The uppermost mantle plus overlying crust are relatively rigid and form the lithosphere. Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 kilometers below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. The boundary between the lower mantle and the outer core is defined by the Gutenberg discontinuity (core-mantle boundary).

the three European lists of substances from the previous EU chemicals regulatory framework, EINECS, ELINCS and the NLP-list, in combination are called the EC Inventory. The EC Inventory is the source for the EC Number as an identifier of substances.

the three European lists of substances from the previous EU chemicals regulatory framework, EINECS, ELINCS and the NLP-list, in combination are called the EC Inventory. The EC Inventory is the source for the EC Number as an identifier of substances.

European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances, EINECS: these are substances, excluding polymers, that were commercially available in the EU from 1 January 1971 to 18 September 1981. These were considered registered registered under Article 8(1) of directive 67/548/EEC, dangerous substance directive The identifying number of these substances is called the EINECS number.

European List of Notified Chemical Substances, ELINCS: these are substances that became commercially available after 18 September 1981. The identifying number of these substances is called the ELINCS number.

The "No-longer Polymers" list, NLP-list: the definition of polymers was changed in April, 1992 with the result that substances previously considered to be polymers were no longer excluded from regulation. Consequently, a list, called the NLP-list, was made of such substances that were commercially available between after 18 September 1981 and 31 October 1993. The identifying number of these substances is called the NLP number.

the three European lists of substances from the previous EU chemicals regulatory framework, EINECS, ELINCS and the NLP-list, in combination are called the EC Inventory. The EC Inventory is the source for the EC Number as an identifier of substances.

the European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.
The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners. There is one Commissioner per member state, though Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission

European Coalition to End Animal Experiments was established in 1990 by animal organisations across Europe to successfully campaign to ban cosmetics testing on animals and to ensure that the Cosmetics Directive introduced a ban on the marketing of cosmetics tested on animals.

The ECEAE opposes the use of animals for experimentation on scientific and ethical grounds. Committed to using strictly peaceful means to end all animal experiments, the ECEAE promotes modern, non-animal research techniques.

See also: http://www.eceae.org/

European Centre for ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals.

The Association's main objective is to identify, evaluate, and through such knowledge help the industry to minimise any potentially adverse effects on human health and the environment that may arise from the manufacture and use of chemicals. To achieve this, ECETOC facilitates the networking of suitably qualified scientists from its member companies and co-operates in a scientific context with international agencies, government authorities and professional societies.

Its visionis to be the leading European health and environmental sciences organisation enabling the safe manufacture, handling and use of chemicals, biomaterials and pharmaceuticals.

Its mission is to promote the use of good science in human and environmental risk assessment of chemicals, biomaterials and pharmaceuticals.

The approach of ECETOC pursues its vision and mission according to an issue-based science strategy that was launched in 2007. It is broken down into 13 science areas that are grouped according to 5 main themes:

• Presence of chemicals in humans
• Presence of chemicals in the environment
• Effects in humans and ecosystems
• Methods
• Science of risk assessment

See also: http://www.ECETOC.org

The REACH database of registered substances can be found here:
http://apps.echa.europa.eu/registered/registered-sub.aspx

see ecoremediation

ecology means the scientific study of the distributions, abundance and relations of organisms and their interactions with the environment. Ecology includes the study of plant and animal populations, plant and animal communities and ecosystems. Ecosystems describe the web or network of relations among organisms at different scales of organization. Since ecology refers to any form of biodiversity, ecologists research everything from tiny bacteria's role in nutrient recycling to the effects of tropical rain forest on the Earth's atmosphere. The discipline of ecology emerged from the natural sciences in the late 19th century. Ecology is not synonymous with environment, environmentalism, or environmental science. Ecology is closely related to the disciplines of physiology, evolution, genetics and behavior.

Like many of the natural sciences, a conceptual understanding of ecology is found in the broader details of study, including:

• life processes explaining adaptations
• distribution and abundance of organisms
• the movement of materials and energy through living communities
• the successional development of ecosystems, and
• the abundance and distribution of biodiversity in context of the environment.

Ecology is distinguished from natural history, which deals primarily with the descriptive study of organisms. It is a sub-discipline of biology, which is the study of life.

There are many practical applications of ecology in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agriculture, forestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic & applied science and it provides a conceptual framework for understanding and researching human social interaction (human ecology).

Forrás: Wikipedia

the change over a period of time in the value (monetary and non-monetary) of goods and services and the ability and capacity to produce goods and services. It is economic growth which generates the wealth necessary to provide social services, health care, and education. It is the basis for ongoing job creation. However, sustainable development requires that there be a change in the nature of economic growth, to ensure that goods and services are produced by environmentally sound and economically sustainable processes. This will require efficient use of resources, value-added processing, sustained yield management of renewable resources, and the consideration and accounting of all externalities and side-effects involved in the extraction, processing, production, distribution, consumption and disposal of those goods.

the characteristic of prolonged, careful, efficient and prudent (wise and judicious) use of resources (natural, fiscal, human), products, facilities, and services. It is based on thorough knowledge and involves operating with little waste and accounting for all costs and benefits, including those which are not marketable and can result in savings.

ecoremediation is based on the co-operation of plants, soil and soil living microorganisms, mainlyof the rhyzosphere. Ecoremediation comprises systems, processes and technologies which function in natural ecosystems, or as an artificial part of a natural ecosystem. In ecoremedial technologies the man-made artificial ecosystem is able to compensate adverse environmental effects of chemical substances or contaminated environmnetal compartments or phases. Its function is based on the close co-operation of soil microbes and plants, and its proper function depends on the balanced and controlled element- and water-cycle of the artificial ecosystem designed for remedial purposes.

Ecoremedial technologies can be applied for waste water treatment, for the remediation and maintenance of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands, for complex rehabilitation and reclamation of landfills and for the complex rehabilitation or remediation of contaminated or deteriorated soil.

Ecoremediation is used for long term and sustainable protection, restoration and complex rehabilitation of environment of damage or exposed to potential damage. Ecoremedial technologies are cost- and eco-efficient in protection of water resources, streams, rivers, lakes, groundwater and the sea and in ensuring the sustainable quality of the environment on long term.The most important characteristics of ecoremedial technologies are their adaptive character, their high buffer and self-protective capacities against adverse affects of antropogenic origin, and they are highly potent in preservation of natural habitats and biological diversity.

Eco-remediation has more areas, such as bioremediation, utilising soil microflora; phytoengineering utilising plants for many purposes, artifically built lakes, aerobic and anaerobic wetlands, reactive soil zones, etc., are all considered as ecoremedial technologies.

ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight. It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment. The entire array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called a community. In a typical ecosystem, plants and other photosynthetic organisms are the producers that provide the food. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs.

Ecosystems are functional units consisting of living things in a given area, non-living chemical and physical factors of their environment, linked together through nutrient cycle and energy flow.

1. Natural ecosystem

• Terrestrial ecosystem
• Aquatic ecosystems (Lentic, the ecosystem of a lake, pond or swamp; Lotic, the ecosystem of a river, stream or spring

2. Ecosystem of artificial, man-made environments.

ecosystems management is an approach to natural resource management that focuses on sustaining ecosystems to meet both ecological and human needs in the future. Ecosystem management is adaptive to changing needs and new information. It promotes shared vision of a desired future by integrating social, environmental and economic perspectives to managing geographically defined natural ecological systems.

Ecosystems promote human well being through the various services they provide.

One of the six priorities of the UNEP medium‑term strategy for 2010–2013 is that “countries utilize the ecosystem approach to enhance human well-being”. The UNEP Ecosystem Management Programme is centred on the functioning and resilience of the ecosystems and the services they provide. The programme aims to support countries and regions to:

1. increasingly integrate an ecosystem management approach into development and planning processes;
2. acquire the capacity to use ecosystem management tools; and
3. realign their environmental programmes and financing to tackle the degradation of selected priority ecosystem services.

The programme is guided by five major interlinked elements: human well-being, indirect and direct drivers of change, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services. As ecosystem services are interlinked and cannot be treated in isolation, UNEP promotes a holistic perspective for dealing with bundles of interlinked services to reverse their decline through improved ecosystem functioning and increased resilience. The services fall under the following categories: regulating, provisioning, supporting and cultural services

The UNEP programme focuses on 11 of the 15 degraded ecosystem services mainly comprising:
Regulating services: climate, water, natural hazard and disease regulation, water purification and waste treatment, which are often strongly affected by the overuse of provisioning services;
Provisioning services: freshwater, energy (especially the emerging issues around biofuel production) and capture fisheries;
Cultural services: Recreation and ecotourism service;
Supporting services: nutrient cycling and primary production which underlie the delivery of all the other services but are not directly accessible to people.

Source: http://www.unep.org/ecosystemmanagement/Introduction/tabid/293/language/en-US/Default.aspx

humankind benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and include products like clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of wastes. While scientists and environmentalists have discussed ecosystem services for decades, these services were popularized and their definitions formalized by the United Nations 2004 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a four-year study involving more than 1,300 scientists worldwide. This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits.

Experts currently recognize four categories of ecosystem services. The following lists represent samples of each:

ECOTOXICITY TESTING METHODS TO BE USED BY THE REACH REGULATION are enlisted in the COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 440/2008 of 30 May 2008 laying down test methods pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

(1) Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, test methods are to be adopted at Community level for the purposes of tests on substances where such tests are required to generate information on intrinsic properties of substances.

(2) Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances laid down, in Annex V, methods for the determination of the physico-chemical properties, toxicity and ecotoxicity of substances and preparations. Annex V to Directive 67/548/EEC has been deleted by Directive 2006/121/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with effect from 1 June 2008.

(3) The test methods contained in Annex V to Directive 67/ 548/EEC should be incorporated into this Regulation.

(4) This Regulation does not exclude the use of other test methods, provided that their use is in accordance with Article 13(3) of Regulation 1907/2006.

(5) The principles of replacement, reduction and refinement of the use of animals in procedures should be fully taken into account in the design of the test methods, in particular when appropriate validated methods become available to replace, reduce or refine animal testing.

(6) The provisions of this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established under Article 133 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006

Article 1: The test methods to be applied for the purposes of Regulation 1907/2006/EC are set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2: The Commission shall review, where appropriate, the test methods contained in this Regulation with a view to replacing, reducing or refining testing on vertebrate animals.

Article 3: All references to Annex V to Directive 67/548/EEC shall be construed as references to this Regulation.

Article 4: This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 June 2008.

LIST OF METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ECOTOXICITY

C.1. Acute toxicity for fish
C.2. Daphnia sp. Acute immobilisation test
C.3. Algal inhibition test
C.4. Determination of ‘ready’ biodegradability
Part i. General considerations
Part ii. Doc die-away test (method C.4-a)
Part iii. Modified oecd screening test (method C.4-b)
Part iv. Co2 evolution test (method C.4-c)
Part v. Manometric respirometry test (method C.4-d)
Part vi. Closed bottle test (method C.4-e)
Part vii. M.I.T.I. Test (method C.4-f)
C.5. Degradation — biochemical oxygen demand
C.6. Degradation — chemical oxygen demand
C.7. Degradation — abiotic degradation: hydrolysis as a function of ph
C.8. Toxicity for earthworms
C.9. Biodegradation — Zahn-Wellens test
C.10. Biodegradation — activated sludge simulation tests
C.11. Biodegradation — activated sludge respiration inhibition
C.12. Biodegradation — modified SCAS test
C.13. Bioconcentration: flow-through fish test
C.14. Fish juvenile growth test
C.15. Fish, short-term toxicity test on embryo and sac-fry stages
C.16. Honeybees — acute oral toxicity test
C.17. Honeybees — acute contact toxicity test
C.18. Adsorption/desorption using a batch equilibrium method
C.19. Estimation of the adsorption coefficient (koc) on soil and on sewage sludge using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
C.20. Daphnia magna reproduction test
C.21. Soil microorganisms: nitrogen transformation test
C.22. Soil microorganisms: carbon transformation test
C.23. Aerobic and anaerobic transformation in soil
C.24. Aerobic and anaerobic transformation in aquatic sediment systems

European Crop Protection Association representing the pest control industry and promoting modern agricultural technology in the context of sustainable development.

Source:
http://www.ecpa.eu/

European Environmental Bureau is an NGO (Non Governmental Organisation), created in 1974. EEB is now Europe's largest federation of environmental organisations with 140+ member organisations who gain their membership from the general public.

EEB stands for sustainable development, environmental justice, global equity, transparency, participatory democracy and shared but differentiated responsibilities. It promotes the principles of prevention, precaution and the polluter pays.

The EEB is the environmental voice of its members and European citizens. It focuses on influencing EU policymaking and implementation and assessment of its agreed policies. It aims to be effective by combining knowledge with representativeness, active involvement of its members and coalition building.

See also: http://www.eeb.org/

European Economic Community (EEC), also referred to as simply the European Community, or the Common Market was an international organization that existed between 1957 and 1993 which was created to bring about economic integration (including a single market) among Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
It was enlarged later to include six additional states and, from 1967, its institutions also governed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) under the term European Communities.
When the European Union (EU) was created in 1993, the EEC was transformed into the European Community, one of the EU's three pillars, with EEC institutions continuing as those of the EU.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Community

estradiol equivalent. The effective concentration of an estrogenic xenobioticum expressed in 17-β-estradiol (E2) concentration (ng E2/litre).

the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an agency of the European Union that provides independent scientific advice and communication on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain[citation needed].

The Authority’s work covers all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety, including animal health and welfare, plant protection and plant health and nutrition.

EFSA supports the European Commission, European Parliament and EU member states in taking effective and timely risk management decisions that ensure the protection of the health of the European consumers and the safety of the food and feed chain.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was set up in January 2002, following a series of food crises in the late 1990s, as an independent source of scientific advice and communication on risks associated with the food chain.

EFSA was created as part of a comprehensive programme to improve EU food safety, ensure a high level of consumer protection and restore and maintain confidence in the EU food supply.

In the European food safety system, risk assessment is done independently from risk management. As the risk assessor, EFSA produces scientific opinions and advice to provide a sound foundation for European policies and legislation and to support the European Commission, European Parliament and EU Member States in taking effective and timely risk management decisions.

EFSA’s remit covers food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, plant protection and plant health. In all these fields, EFSA’s most critical commitment is to provide objective and independent science-based advice and clear communication grounded in the most up-to-date scientific information and knowledge.

EFSA’s goal is to become globally recognized as the European reference body for risk assessment on food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, nutrition, plant protection and plant health.

EFSA’s independent scientific advice underpins the European food safety system. Thanks to this system, European consumers are among the best protected and best informed in the world as regards risks in the food chain.

See also: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/

see omega-3 fatty acids

electrical resistive heating is an in-situ electrical heating technology that uses electricity and applies it into the ground/soil through electrodes. The electrodes can be installed either vertically to about 100 feet or horizontally underneath buildings.

electrokinetics relies upon application of a low-intensity direct current through the soil between ceramic electrodes that are divided into a cathode array and an anode array. This mobilizes charged species, causing ions and water to move toward the electrodes. Metal ions, ammonium ions, and positively charged organic compounds move toward the cathode. Anions such as chloride, cyanide, fluoride, nitrate, and negatively charged organic compounds move toward the anode.

Removal of contaminants at the electrode may be accomplished by several means, among which are: electroplating at the electrode; precipitation or co-precipitation at the electrode; pumping of water near the electrode; or complexing with ion exchange resins.

Source: US-EPA, Clu-In: http://www.clu-in.org/techfocus/default.focus/sec/Electrokinetics%3A_Electric_Current_Technologies/cat/Overview/

electroporation is a process using high-voltage current to make cell membranes permeable to allow the introduction of new DNA; commonly used in recombinant DNA technology.

elemental iron or zero-valent iron has performed so successfully in PRB technology that it is now being applied directly for source zone treatment. Though this measure is not considered a PRB, examples of the technology will be included in the PRB pages because the reactive media and treatment mechanism are related. Pneumatic fracturing and injection, hydraulic fracturing, and injection via direct push rigs have been used successfully to introduce the reactive media to the ground-water or soil source area.

Source: US-EPA, Clu-In: http://www.clu-in.org/techfocus/default.focus/sec/Permeable_Reactive_Barriers%2C_Permeable_Treatment_Zones%2C_and_Application_of_Zero-Valent_Iron/cat/Overview/