Lexikon

environmental objectives laid down in Article 4(1) of WFD require Member States to prevent deterioration of the status of all bodies of surface water and groundwater and to achieve good status as a rule by 2015. In addition, pollution from priority substances has to progressively be reduced, emissions of hazardous substances shall be ceased or phased out, and any significant upward trend in pollution in groundwater has also to be reversed by appropriate measures.

environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Governments try to protect environment from human activities of adverse effects by legal tools. The most risky human activities are waste production and pollution due to industrial, mining and agricultural activities. Science and technology offer traditional and new methods for studying, managing and engineering environment.

Environmental protection includes the assessemtn and monitoring of the environment and keep it in a condition which does not endager biodiversity and humans.

environmental sample is a sample of any material that is collected from an environmental source.

provides a selection of techniques to take solid, liquid or gasous samples for measurements. (Source: EUGRIS)

the results of environmental toxicology are mainly used for the prediction of hazard and risk of single chemical substances or contaminated environment at local, regional and global scale. Their important role is supporting decision making in environmental management and policy by setting risk based priorities, establishing environmental quality criteria, to design monitoring systems, to select risk reduction measures, to establish land use specific target values and so on. Environmnetal toxicity results are suitable for direct decision making, when building decision only on the effects.

environmental toxicology is the science and practice of the adverse effects – mainly of chemicals and other man-made agents – in the environment and through the environment. The targeted receptors of these adverse effects maybe both ecosystem and human.

Environmental toxicology includes the study of chemical substances – potential and actual contaminants – polluting air, water, soil and food, their impacts upon the structure and function of ecological systems, including man as well as the use of these results for decision making and environmental management.

technology, method, service or activity, which has minimal load on the environment due to energy-consumption and discharge of contaminating substances or agents, and is socio-economically efficient at the same time.

environmentally sound is a technology or activity, which ensures the maintenance of a healthy environment and the protection of life-sustaining ecological processes. It is based on thorough knowledge and requires or will result in products, manufacturing processes, developments, etc. which are in harmony with essential ecological processes and human health.

Source: http://www.iisd.org/sd/glossary.aspx

environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of statutes, common law, treaties, conventions, regulations and policies which, very broadly, operate to regulate the interaction of humanity and the rest of the biophysical or natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing or minimizing the impacts of human activity, both on the natural environment for its own sake, and on humanity itself. Environmental law draws from and is influenced by principles of environmentalism, including ecology, conservation, stewardship, responsibility and sustainability. From an economic perspective it can be understood as concerned with the prevention of present and future externalities.

Areas of concern in environmental law include air quality, water quality, global climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, species protection, pesticides and hazardous chemicals, waste management, remediation of contaminated land and brownfields, smart growth, sustainable development, impact review, and conservation, stewardship and management of public lands and natural resources. (Source: Wikipedia)

to select and adapt the proper sampling and analytical/testing protocols for the environment and its specific contaminants as well as for specific applications is essential for environmental risk management. Environmental sampling concept and design, sampling techniques, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) are essential to acquire quality environmental data. The deviation of sampling may multiply exceed the error of chemical analyses or biological tests.

Main problem of site assessment and monitoring is the heterogeneity of the environment. Sample is able to represent the real environment, only when sampling design takes into consideration the heterogeneity and the statistics, the necessary number and volume (or mass) of the sample, the space and time dimensions of the samples. The aim of sampling is also an important factor: which analyses (physical, chemical?) or testing (biological, ecological, ecotoxicological?) will be carried out with the sample. Identification, trasportation, storage, conservation of the sample should be decided also in advance and make the necessary preparatory tasks.

It is reasonable to carry out sampling in more steps: first the screening, than a detailed sampling and assessment. To use in situ mesurements and testings, on site or laboratory testing or the combination of these two, is also an important decision.

Sampling may differ according to the phisical phase of the sample: air sampling (athmosphere, soil air, dissolved air, indoor air, outdoor air, technological gases, etc.); water sampling (surface waters, subsurface waters, pore water, leacheate, drainage, moisture, industrial waters, waste waters, etc.); soil and solid matter (soil, sediment, solid waste) or sludges (waste-water sludge, sediments, waste sludges, etc.).

enzyme unit is the amount of enzyme that catalyzes the transformation of 1 micromole of substance per minute at 30°C.

enzymes are single or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts. Specifically, an organic catalyst that accelerates catalyzes specific transformations of material in microorganisms, plants and animals.

Enzymes are produceed by cells, but their action is independent of life processes and they are not consumed in the course of their action.

Enzymes can be produced by artificially grown microorganisms or tissues under laboratory or industrial conditions in fermetation processes.

Emzymes occur in all tissues, they are responsible for all synthesis, transformation and degradation going on in the living cells and tissues or in the environment by the secreted enzymes, which remain active outside the living organism.

The most well-known enzymes are secreted by the digestive system of animals for utilization of food. The enzymes are classified accordibng to the reaction they catalyse:

• EC 1 Oxidoreductases: catalyze oxidation/reduction reactions
• EC 2 Transferases: transfer a functional group e.g. a methyl or phosphate group
• EC 3 Hydrolases: catalyze the hydrolysis of various bonds
• EC 4 Lyases: cleave various bonds by means other than hydrolysis and oxidation
• EC 5 Isomerases: catalyze isomerization changes within a single molecule
• EC 6 Ligases: join two molecules with covalent bonds.

Endo- or exo-enzymes are produced by the microorganisms for degrading biodegradable organic matter in the environment and utilizing them as nutrients. These processes play extremely important role in the environment, being responsible for element cycling mineralization of dead prganic matter and making the products available for plant uptake again and contaminant biodegradation in waters and soils.

Environmental biotechnologies such as biological waste water treatment, composting, anaerobic digestion and biogas production, contaminated soil and sediment bioremediation are all based on the biodegradative activity of microorganisms.

epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease or health status in a population; the study of the occurrence and causes of health effects in humans.

Epidemiology is closely related to toxicology, due to the possibility to find association between contamination in food, or drinking water as well as in the environment. Epidemiology is the study of patterns of health and illness and associated factors at the population level. Epidemiology supports evidence-based medicine with statistically proper data on risk factors for disease including the risk of environmental pollution or the accident-type exposure to toxicants. Epidemiology is based on good study design, data collection, statistical analysis and documentation. The methods and concept of epidemiology is a suitable tool and has the chance to find association between the GIS-based pollution maps and the health-quality of human or even animal or plant population in the future.

epigenetics refers to mechanisms that persistently alter gene expression without actual changes to the gene/DNA sequence. DNA methylation is an example of an epigenetic mechanism. Scientists have shown that DNA methylation is an important component in a variety of chemical-induced toxicities, including carcinogenicity, and is a mechanism that should be assessed in the overall hazard assessment

Source: Watson, R.E. & Goodman, J.I. (2002). Epigenetics and DNA methylation come of age in toxicology. Toxicol. Sci. 67, 11−16.

see adrenaline

ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability.

The International ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows: "ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance."

ergonomics is employed to fulfill the two goals of health and productivity. It is relevant in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines.

the wearing away of land surface by wind or water, intensified by land-clearing practices related to farming, residential or industrial development, road building, or logging. (Source: EUGRIS)

any discrepancy between a computed, observed, or measured quantity and the true, specified, or theoretically correct value of that quantity.

is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that either cannot be synthesized by the body at all, or cannot be synthesized in amounts adequate for good health (e.g. niacin, choline), and thus must be obtained from a dietary source.

Essential nutrients are also defined by the collective physiological evidence for their importance in the diet, as represented in government approved tables for Dietary Reference Intake.

Some categories of essential nutrients include vitamins, dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. Water and oxygen are also essential for human health and life, as oxygen cannot be synthesized by the body, and water is not created in sufficient amounts. Both are necessary as biochemical reactants in some processes, and water is used in various ways such as a solvent, carrier, coolant, and integral polar structural member, but both are often not included as nutrients.

Different species have very different essential nutrients. For example, most mammals synthesize their own ascorbic acid, and it is therefore not considered an essential nutrient for such species. It is, however, an essential nutrient for human beings, who require external sources of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).

European Society of Toxicology in Vitro (ESTIV) is a society that aims to promote in vitro toxicology , both scientifically and educationally, in all countries of Europe, by:

promoting regular exchange of information on in vitro toxicology.
encouraging and extending research in in vitro toxicology in Europe.
encouraging education and training in in vitro toxicology at all levels in Europe.
co-operation with other organisations and societies concerned with in vitro approaches to toxicology.
facilitating communication between professionals in government, business and academia to promote effective application of in vitro methods of hazard identification and risk assessment, as they become available.
developing other activities that are pertinent to in vitro toxicology.

You can find further information about alternatives to eliminate animal testsings in the ENFO knowledge base.

Source: http://www.estiv.org/