p. 1-125 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-24T20:22:59Z No. of bitstreams: 3 33333.pdf: 103506 bytes, checksum: 3588e32e3a5ac258c9c5268355af0d50 (MD5) 2222.pdf: 303177 bytes, checksum: b7859d0960cd577abdc67b86cbcbb89b (MD5) 1111.pdf: 35401 bytes, checksum: 39d8133d00cdb3ab1b21b0b95a85f337 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva(mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-05-04T17:06:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 3 33333.pdf: 103506 bytes, checksum: 3588e32e3a5ac258c9c5268355af0d50 (MD5) 2222.pdf: 303177 bytes, checksum: b7859d0960cd577abdc67b86cbcbb89b (MD5) 1111.pdf: 35401 bytes, checksum: 39d8133d00cdb3ab1b21b0b95a85f337 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-04T17:06:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 33333.pdf: 103506 bytes, checksum: 3588e32e3a5ac258c9c5268355af0d50 (MD5) 2222.pdf: 303177 bytes, checksum: b7859d0960cd577abdc67b86cbcbb89b (MD5) 1111.pdf: 35401 bytes, checksum: 39d8133d00cdb3ab1b21b0b95a85f337 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / A expressão segurança sanitária (SS) tem sido freqüentemente referida no debate internacional, sobretudo, em função das crises sanitárias emergentes. Todavia, o sentido conferido a essa expressão não se faz claro, sendo tratada como uma noção. A dissertação tem por objetivo analisar a noção de segurança sanitária incorporada na vigilância sanitária brasileira com a criação da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa). Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de caso, do tipo exploratório, contemplando a análise de documentos de cunho técnico e normativo emitidos pela Anvisa, referente ao período de 1999 a 2004, bem como a realização de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com informantes-chave que participaram do processo de formulação do desenho institucional. A partir da massa de dados, identificaram-se situações, em que o termo foi utilizado, extraindo os significados associados à expressão em estudo. Constatou-se que a noção de segurança sanitária, no caso em estudo, gira em torno dos binômios risco-benefício ou risco-proteção da saúde, apresentando-se tanto como uma relação risco/benefício aceitável na perspectiva da proteção e promoção da saúde individual e coletiva quanto uma relação de obrigação do Estado para com a sociedade com vistas à proteção da saúde. No que concerne à extensão da noção, observa-se que ela abrange produtos e serviços de interesse à saúde humana; incorpora ainda, de forma pouco expressiva, questões ambientais, incluindo meio ambiente e ambiente de trabalho. As preocupações em relação à SS recaem sobre questões referentes à produção e ao consumo de medicamentos e tecnologias de interesse da saúde, sobretudo, aquelas que têm como finalidade o diagnóstico e tratamento médico; entretanto, os dados revelam que tem havido uma ampliação do escopo da noção de segurança sanitária. / Salvador

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Sheri Smith / America’s landfill space is quickly depleting as the population continues to experience rapid growth; as the population grows the amount of daily waste generated increases at an alarming as well. In fact, by the year 2024, America would have exhausted all land areas dedicated to landfills. Currently, nationwide mandated regulations or standards to decrease the amount generated solid waste, construction waste, composting waste, or reducing waste at the source; do not exists. The following report researches effective practices that would make a waste management system sustainable. In order to rate the sustainability of the management system, a score sheet was created drawing from literature written. By creating a score sheet, individual waste management systems are able to determine if they are indeed sustainable and/or in need of improvement. The City of Chicago, Illinois, was chosen as the city to be measured and has proven to have a promising future as a prototype in effective sustainable waste management practices.

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are measures aimed at the protection of human, animal and plant life and health within specified territories from the risks associated with the introduction and spread of pests and diseases through trade. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) developed an agreement on the application of SPS measures. South Africa is a member of both the WTO and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In SADC, SPS measures are provided for in the SADC Sanitary and Phytosanitary Annexure to the Protocol on Trade of 1996. International Standard Setting Bodies (ISSBs) facilitate the effective application of the main elements of the relevant SPS agreements, especially harmonization and equivalence by establishing scientifically justified standards on which members may base their SPS measures. The relevant ISSB’s in terms of SPS measures are the OIE, IPPC and Codex Alimentarius. SPS measures have the potential to become or be used as non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs). The SADC Protocol on Trade 1996 stipulates that policies and measures are to be implemented by members to eliminate existing forms of NTBs. Additionally members may not enforce new NTBs affecting or related to intra-SADC trade. The most relevant South African legislation in the context of SPS measures and this study is as follows: Agricultural Pests Act 36 of 1983, the Agricultural Products Act 119 of 1990; the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947, the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989, Meat Safety Act 40 of 2000, Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972, Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 and National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act 5 of 2008. The purpose of this study is to establish to what extent the South African legal framework complies with its obligations in terms of the SADC SPS Annexure to the Protocol on Trade / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are measures aimed at the protection of human, animal and plant life and health within specified territories from the risks associated with the introduction and spread of pests and diseases through trade. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) developed an agreement on the application of SPS measures. South Africa is a member of both the WTO and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In SADC, SPS measures are provided for in the SADC Sanitary and Phytosanitary Annexure to the Protocol on Trade of 1996. International Standard Setting Bodies (ISSBs) facilitate the effective application of the main elements of the relevant SPS agreements, especially harmonization and equivalence by establishing scientifically justified standards on which members may base their SPS measures. The relevant ISSB’s in terms of SPS measures are the OIE, IPPC and Codex Alimentarius. SPS measures have the potential to become or be used as non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs). The SADC Protocol on Trade 1996 stipulates that policies and measures are to be implemented by members to eliminate existing forms of NTBs. Additionally members may not enforce new NTBs affecting or related to intra-SADC trade. The most relevant South African legislation in the context of SPS measures and this study is as follows: Agricultural Pests Act 36 of 1983, the Agricultural Products Act 119 of 1990; the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947, the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989, Meat Safety Act 40 of 2000, Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972, Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 and National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act 5 of 2008. The purpose of this study is to establish to what extent the South African legal framework complies with its obligations in terms of the SADC SPS Annexure to the Protocol on Trade / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Today the water industry faces a huge challenge in supplying a sustainable, energy efficient and safe supply of drinking water to an increasing world population. Slow sand filters (SSFs) have been used for hundreds of years to provide a safe and reliable source of potable drinking water, with minimal energy requirements. However, a lack of knowledge pertaining to the treatment mechanisms, particularly the biological processes, underpinning SSF operation, has meant SSFs are still operated as “black boxes”. This lack of knowledge pertaining to the underlying ecology and ecophysiology limits the design and optimisation of SSFs. This thesis represents the most comprehensive microbial community survey of full-scale SSFs to-date. Using traditional microbiological methods alongside up-to-date molecular techniques and extensive water quality analyses, specific taxa and community metrics are linked to changes in water quality production. Furthermore, it has been verified that laboratory scale SSFs can mimic the microbial community and water quality production of full-scale filters. This allowed rigorous experiments pertaining to operational differences, pathogen and novel contaminant removal to be performed. This has revealed, for the first time, that multiple trophic interactions within SSFs are integral to optimal performance. This thesis has shown that SSFs are phylogenetically and metabolically diverse systems capable of producing high quality water, with the ability to adapt to remove novel contaminants. Using the information gathered, improvements to filter maintenance and operation can be achieved. Future work will apply the microbial and macrobial community dynamics and impact of novel contaminants on filter performance discovered in this thesis into predictive models for water quality.

With a rising demand for nanomaterials and their continual increase in production, the release of nanoparticles (NPs) into the environment is inevitable (Petosa et al., 2010). Problematically, NPs can have a wide range of toxic effects, which are exacerbated by their size (at least one dimension smaller than 100 nm)(Engineering., 2004). Detrimental effects include brain, intestinal and respiratory injury, delayed embryonic development, DNA damage which ultimately lead to increased mortality (Trouiller et al., 2009), (Handy et al., 2008). Natural and manufactured NPs also have the ability to bind and transport chemical pollutants, thus enhancing their toxicity (Moore, 2006). While an array of techniques are available for in situ remediation of numerous groundwater contaminants, there are currently none for in situ remediation of nanoparticles. This fundamental technology gap means we are poorly prepared to deal with nanoparticle pollution events. The aim of this PhD was to develop mechanisms to immobilise and remove nanoparticles from water and waste water in order to prevent the transport of nanoparticles to sites where they have the potential to cause harm. Experiments conducted demonstrate the potential of microbially mediated mineral formation to immobilise nanoparticles from water. The ureolytic bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii was used to induce calcium carbonate precipitation in batch and column experiments. Nanoparticle immobilisation was tested as a function of nanoparticle size and surface charge. The results demonstrate the successful immobilisation of negatively charged nanoparticles (both large and small, 150 and 35 nm respectively), while failing to remove positively charged nanoparticles from solution. In order to capture positively charged nanoparticles a second mineral, struvite, was tested. The precipitation of struvite successfully immobilised positively charged nanoparticles. However, in comparison to the calcite precipitation experiments the removal of positively charged nanoparticles was found to be pH and ionic strength dependant. Finally, the ability of Bacillus subtilis, a common groundwater bacterium and wastewater treatment biofilm to adsorb and remove nanoparticles from solution was examined. Here both biosorbent materials were highly efficient at removing positively charged nanoparticles from solution whilst negatively charged nanoparticles remained in suspension. The research presented here demonstrates that microbially induced mineral precipitation may be used as a tool to immobilise nanoparticles from contaminated groundwater. In addition, bacteria and wastewater treatment biofilm were found to be highly efficient biosorbents of positively charged nanoparticles. These findings hold implications for the fate and transport of nanoparticles through environmental systems and wastewater treatment plants.

A new Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) has been designed and developed to address a wide spectrum of semi-structured spatial decision problems. These problems are related to site selection, site ranking and impact assessment. The proposed SDSS is conceptualised as a holistic, informed and impact-based multicriteria decision framework. The system has been developed using the .NET C# programming language and open source geoinformatics technologies such as DotSpatial and SpatiaLite. A combination of existing Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, with a few novel variations have been developed and incorporated into the SDSS. The site selection module utilises a theme-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC). Two site ranking techniques have been introduced in this research. The first technique is based on the systematic neighbourhood comparison of sites with respect to key indicators. The second technique utilises multivariate ordering capability of the one-dimensional Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to rank the sites. The site impact assessment module utilises a theme-based Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM). A spatial variant of the General Regression Neural Networks (GRNN) with a genetic algorithm for optimisation has been developed for the prediction and regression analysis. A number of other spatial knowledge discovery and geovisual-analytics tools have been provided in the system to facilitate spatial decision making process. An application of the SDSS has been presented to investigate the potential of Coalbed Methane (CBM) development in Wales, UK. Most potential sites have been identified by utilising the site selection and site ranking tools of the developed SDSS. An impact assessment has been carried out on the best sites by using Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix. Further analysis has uncovered the spatial variability expected in the potential impacts of the sites, considering key indicators. The application has demonstrated that the developed system can help the decision makers in providing a balanced regime of social, environmental, public health and economic aspects into the decision making process for engineering interventions. The generic nature of the developed system has extended the concept of Spatial Decision Support System to address a range of spatial decision problems, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the decision making process. The developed system can be considered as a useful modern governance tool, incorporating the key factors into decision making and providing optimal solutions for the critical questions related to energy security and economic future of the region.

The local climate of Malaysia with high air temperature and relative humidity and inconsistent air movement throughout the day provides challenges for architects and designers to design a building including a mosque that can provide better indoor thermal condition. Thermally uncomfortable indoor environment in a typical Malaysian mosque can be sensed due to the poor attendance of believers during communal prayers conducted five times a day at the mosque. A study was carried out in four typical mosques in Malaysia to investigate the thermal comfort level together with what and how the thermal comfort factors affecting the condition. They study also looks at the influence of roof design of the mosque in affecting thermal condition inside the prayer hall since the roof design is a significant feature of the building not only as a filter to the outdoor climate but also as the identity of the building and the society. From the investigation, it has been revealed that air temperature is the primary factor in affecting thermal comfort. When the air temperature is at neutral or comfort temperature, the presence of other factors can be ignored. However, when the primary factor is no longer at its neutral condition, the secondary factors which are air movement and humidity will play their roles in influencing thermal comfort in naturally ventilated mosques in Malaysia. In many cases, air movement is always desirable and able to improve the thermal comfort level. Therefore, the need for the availability of air movement should be particularly considered in designing a mosque to ensure that the mosque is thermally comfortable. The research has also discovered that the pitched and doomed roofs have different abilities to control the distribution of air, for examples, the pitch roof mosque has the ability to circulate the air inside the prayer hall to achieve the equilibrium state whereas the domed roof mosque has the ability to stratify the air according to the temperature where the coolest air located at the lowest level of the space. With the pitch roof, a mosque is able to create air movement inside the space whereas the dome roof mosque will provide stagnant but cooler air at the active level due to the stratification process. Due to these findings, the pitched roof mosque is considered a better option for this climate for its ability to provide natural air circulation inside the space which is desirable by the users. With the understanding on the ability of the roof designs namely, domed and pitched roof in controlling air movement of the interior and the interdependencies of the main factors affecting thermal comfort, strategies for improvement on the design of the mosque can be made to achieve better indoor thermal condition of the prayer hall.

Oil pipelines play a significant role in crude oil transportation and bring danger close to communities along their paths. Pipeline accidents happen every now and then due to factors ranging from operational cause to third party damage. In the Niger Delta pipeline system, interdiction is common; therefore, every length and breadth of land covered by a pipeline is vulnerable to oil pollution, which can pose a threat to land use. Weak enforcement of rights of way led to encroachment by farmers and human dwellings, thereby bringing people in close proximity to pipelines. Considering the impact exposure can have on human health, a method was developed for identifying vulnerable communities within a designated potential pipeline impact radius, and generic assessment criteria developed for assessing land use exposure. The GIS based model combines four weighted criteria layers, i.e. land cover, population, river and pipeline buffers in a multi-criteria decision making with analytical hierarchy process to develop an automated mapping tool designed to perform three distinct operations: firstly, to delineate pipeline hazard areas; secondly, establish potential pipeline impact radius; and thirdly, identify vulnerable communities in high consequence areas. The model was tested for sensitivity and found to be sensitive to river criterion; transferability on the other hand is limited to similar criteria variables. To understand spatial distribution of oil spills, 443 oil spill incidents were examined and found to tend towards cluster distribution. Meanwhile, the main causes of spills include production error (34.8%) and interdiction (31.6%); interdiction alone discharged about 61.4% of crude oil. This brings to light the significance of oil pipeline spills and the tendency to increase the risk of exposure. The generic assessment criteria were developed for three land uses using CLEA v 1.06 for aromatic (EC5-EC44) and aliphatic (EC5-EC44) fractions. The use of the model and screening criteria are embedded in a framework designed to stimulate public participation in pipeline management and pipeline hazard mitigation, which policy makers and regulators in the oil industry can find useful in pipeline hazard management and exposure mitigation.

In Britain, projected population rise and climate change threaten future water availability. UK water companies run education programmes to encourage more efficient usage, but these tend to focus on primary schools and adults, missing the opportunity to engage secondary school pupils as the next generation of homeowners and bill payers. Educational interventions also traditionally follow the theory of rational choice, envisaging learners as able to change their attitudes and behaviours in accordance with newly acquired information. Sociological research on social practices and ordinary consumption, however, sees water as playing an inconspicuous role in daily domestic activities. Technological infrastructure and prevalent social norms mould behaviour and limit the ability of water users to alter their consumption. This interdisciplinary thesis attempts to break the impasse between works from educational and sociological perspectives, using the theoretical lens of water citizenship. A review of current water education provision in the East Midlands region was undertaken, and a school-based study involving questionnaires, focus groups and exploratory lessons around water. The young people involved in the study tended to show ambivalence towards water conservation, despite general pro-environmental motivations. While some teenagers perceived they were ‘doing their bit’ for the environment, this tended to be limited to accepting and invoking ‘water saving tips’, and many teenagers eschewed water conservation altogether. These findings indicate that innovative educational programmes are needed to raise the standard of water literacy in the UK. This thesis argues firstly for making water use more ‘visible’ in daily activities, by deconstructing the routines and habits that use water, and by recognising the influences that social norms exert on water use. Secondly, it argues that educational initiatives for water literacy could develop young people’s sense of citizenship and responsibility towards water resources by connecting personal actions to impacts at local, national and global scales.