With a coastline of 8500km, Brazil has 34 public ports and various private terminals, which together in 2012 handled 809 million tonnes of goods. The solid wastes produced (from port activities, ships and cargoes) pose a highly relevant problem, both due to the quantity and diversity, requiring a complex and integrated set of practices resulting from legal requirements and proactive initiatives. The main Brazilian law on solid waste management is recent (Law 12,305/2010) and the specific rules on solid waste in ports are badly in need of revision to meet the challenges caused by expansion of the sector and to harmonize them with the best global practices. This paper analyzes the current legal/regulatory framework for solid waste management at Brazilian ports and compares this structure with the practice in Europe. At the end, we suggest initiatives to improve the regulation of solid wastes at Brazilian ports.

This study examined the effects of boat noise on the behavioural and biochemical parameters of the Mediterranean spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas).The experiment was conducted in a tank equipped with a video and audio recording system. 18 experimental trials, assigned to boat noise and control conditions, were performed using lobsters in single and group of 4 specimens. After a 1h habituation period, we audio- and video-recorded the lobsters for 1h. During the experimental phase, the animals assigned to the boat groups were exposed to boat noise pollution (a random sequence of boat noises). Exposure to the noise produced significant variations in locomotor behaviours and haemolymphatic parameters. Our results indicate that the lobsters exposed to boat noises increased significantly their locomotor activities and haemolymphatic bioindicator of stressful conditions such as glucose, total proteins, Hsp70 expression and THC when tested both singly and in groups.

A sorbent for oil spill cleanup was prepared through a novel strategy by treating polyurethane sponges with silica sol and gasoline successively. The oil sorption capacity, oil/water selectivity, reusability and sorption mechanism of prepared sorbent were studied. The results showed that the prepared sorbent exhibited high sorption capacity and excellent oil/water selectivity. 1g of the prepared sorbent could adsorb more than 100g of motor oil, while it only picks up less than 0.1g of water from an oil–water interface under both static and dynamic conditions. More than 70% of the sorption capacity remained after 15 successive sorption–squeezing cycles, which suggests an extraordinary high reusability. The prepared sorbent is a better alternative of the commercial polypropylene sorbent which are being used nowadays.

The dispersion effectiveness of dispersants containing Tween 80, Span 80, and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS) was characterized using a modified Swirling Flask test, and was correlated with both initial and dynamic interfacial tension produced by those dispersants at an oil–water interface. Compositional trends in effectiveness were shown to be governed by: (1) initial oil–water interfacial tension observed upon dispersant–oil–saltwater contact; (2) rate of increase (or decrease) from the initial interfacial tension as DOSS was rapidly lost to the aqueous phase; and (3) gradually slowing kinetics of dispersant adsorption to the oil–water interface as Span 80 concentration was increased, which ultimately diminished dispersion effectiveness considerably even as dynamic interfacial tension remained <10−3mN/m. It is proposed that this third phenomenon results not only from the hydrophobicity of Span 80, but also from the dependence of mixed Tween–Span–DOSS reverse micelles’ stability in crude oil on dispersant composition.

Seagrass beds are globally declining due to human activities in coastal areas. We here aimed to identify threats from eutrophication to the valuable seagrass beds of Curaçao and Bonaire in the Caribbean, which function as nursery habitats for commercial fish species. We documented surface- and porewater nutrient concentrations, and seagrass nutrient concentrations in 6 bays varying in nutrient loads. Water measurements only provided a momentary snapshot, due to timing, tidal stage, etc., but Thalassia testudinum nutrient concentrations indicated long-term nutrient loads. Nutrient levels in most bays did not raise any concern, but high leaf % P values of Thalassia in Piscadera Bay (∼0.31%) and Spanish Water Bay (∼0.21%) showed that seagrasses may be threatened by eutrophication, due to emergency overflow of waste water and coastal housing. We thus showed that seagrasses may be threatened and measures should be taken to prevent loss of these important nursery areas due to eutrophication.

Seagrasses that are distributed over a large area of the Swan Lake, Weihai, China, support a productive ecosystem. In recent years, however, frequent macroalgal blooms have changed the ecosystem structure and threatened the seagrasses. To understand the bloom-forming macroalgae we conducted a yearly field survey of Swan Lake. Results indicated that the macroalgae Chaetomorpha linum and Ulva pertusa both exhibited a much higher productivity and attained a greater maximum biomass (of 1712±780gDWm−2 and 1511±555gDWm−2, respectively) than was the case for the seagrasses. The mean annual atomic ratios of C/N, C/P and N/P in C. linum were 14.31±4.45, 402.82±130.25, and 28.12±2.08, respectively. The δ15N values (11.09±0.91‰ for C. linum; 9.27±2.83‰ for U. pertusa) indicated a land-based source of N enrichment to the macroalgal blooms. High concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the lagoon, particularly near the river mouth, supported the blooms.

The Florida Panhandle continental shelf environment was exposed to oil from the BP oil well failure in the Gulf of Mexico during 2010. Floating mats of oil were documented by satellite, but the distribution of dissolved components of the oil in this region was unknown. Shipek® grab samples of sediments were taken during repeated cruises between June 2010 and June 2012 to test for selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as indicators of this contamination. Sediments were collected as composite samples, extracted using standard techniques, and PAHs were quantified by GC/MS-SIM. PAHs in samples from the continental slope in May 2011 were highest near to the failed well site and were reduced in samples taken one year later. PAHs from continental shelf sediments during the spill (June 2010) ranged from 10 to 165ngg−1. Subsequent cruises yielded variable and reduced amounts of PAHs across the shelf. The data suggest that PAHs were distributed widely across the shelf, and their subsequent loss to background levels suggests these compounds were of oil spill origin. PAH half-life estimates by regression were 70–122days for slope and 201days for shelf stations.

Terrestrial sediments are a significant stressor on coastal ecosystems, with both suspended and deposited sediment having adverse effects on aquatic organisms. However, information on the effect of suspended sediments on fertilization success for urchin species is lacking. Using sediment levels similar to those encountered in situ, a controlled experiment was conducted to test whether suspended sediment affects fertilization success in the urchin Evechinus chloroticus. Analyses used generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and hierarchical Bayesian (HB) regression. Both approaches showed a significant decrease in fertilization success with increased suspended sediment levels. Uncertainties in estimates were narrower for HB models, suggesting that this approach has advantages over GLMMs for sparse data problems sometimes encountered in laboratory experiments. Given future global change scenarios, this work is important for predicting the effects of stressors such as sedimentation that may ultimately impact marine populations.

This study aimed to evaluate airborne meso–and–thermophilic actinomycete concentrations and their types at a wastewater treatment plant and a biosolid landfill, in Egypt. Air samples were collected at 200m upwind, and onsite and 300m downwind by using liquid impinger sampler, calibrated to draw 12.5L/min, for 20 minutes. The concentrations ranged between 0.0–7 360CFU/m3 for mesophilic, and 106–586CFU/m3 for thermophilic actinomycetes. Airborne actinomycete concentrations exceeded the suggested occupational exposure limit value of 100CFU/m3. No significant correlations were found between actinomycete concentrations onsite and 300m downwind distance. At the biosolid landfill, upwind thermophilic actinomycetes significantly differed (p<0.05) from onsite and 300m downwind. A total of 40 and 69 airborne actinomycete isolates belonging to 8 genera were identified at the wastewater treatment plant and biosolid landfill. Streptomyces were the dominant actinomycete species. Streptomyces diastaticus, Pseudonocardia compacta and Catellatospora ferruginea were only detected at the biosolid landfill site. Meso–and–thermophilic actinomycetes positively associated with relative humidity, and wind speed positively correlated with onsite thermophilic actinomycetes (r=0.65) at the biosolid landfill. Temperature showed negative effect on survivability of mesophilic actinomycetes (r=-0.8) onsite of the wastewater treatment plant. Waste application facilities increase actinomycete concentrations onsite which may consequently deteriorate air quality in the nearby areas.

Lipid and fatty acid (FA) composition and selected oxidative stress parameters of freshwater clams (Dipolodon chilensis), from a sewage-polluted (SMA) and a clean site, were compared. Trophic markers FA were analyzed in clams and sediment. Saturated FA (SAFA), and bacteria and sewage markers were abundant in SMA sediments, while diatom markers were 50% lower. Proportions of SAFA, branched FA, 20:5n−3 (EPA) and 22:6n−3 (DHA) were higher in SMA clams. Chronic exposure of D. chilensis to increasing eutrophication affected its lipid and FA composition. The increase in EPA and DHA proportions could be an adaptive response, which increases stress resistance but could also lead to higher susceptibility to lipid peroxidation TBARS, lipofuscins (20-fold) and GSH concentrations were higher in SMA clams. FA markers indicated terrestrial plant detritus and bacteria are important items in D. chilensis diet. Anthropogenic input in their food could be traced using specific FA as trophic markers.