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This thesis is a regional interdisciplinary analysis of the environmental challenge to the liberal democratic state. It situates these new problems of governance in one of the dominating political conflicts of our time, the battle between market and state for the 'commanding heights'. By the end of the 1970s, environmental concerns had added to the social crises associated with the overloaded, welfare state. The study sets the political context through an exposition of the perceived problems of the overloaded state, analysed by neo-Marxist theorists in terms of rationality and legitimacy deficits and by public choice theorists in terms of the incentives and calculations confronting rational individuals. It draws out the association between these alternative perspectives on 'state overload' and the political philosophies of corporatism and neo-liberalism, showing that, on the neo-Marxist understanding, corporatism addresses the functional requirements of late capitalism, while public choice precepts are strongly influential on leading elements of neo-liberalism. This political analysis is developed through the history of a landmark piece of legislation, the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act (NSW) 1985, in toxic chemicals policymaking from the late 1970s to the end of 1997. The interpretation of the case material shows that the response in NSW to the environmental problematic has been driven by the reform agenda of the successive political programs of corporatism and neo-liberalism for the state, the bureaucracy and the democratic process. Neither the corporatist nor the neo-liberal programs succeeded in meeting environmental criteria. Examination of the inadequate responses of both corporatism and neo-liberalism, when measured against sustainability criteria, leads to a deeper understanding of the institutional reforms required if these criteria are to be addressed. The thesis concludes that the failure to effect successful reform of toxic chemicals policy in NSW reflects the failure of leading political theorems of the liberal democratic state to incorporate sustainability criteria successfully into their reform agenda for the state, the bureaucracy and the democratic process. These regional issues are shown to be thematic for the nation-state when raised in the context of the globalisation of the environmental challenge and the inter nationalisation of market forces. The thesis concludes with a brief review of some recent political theory in relation to the programmatic issues of sustainability and democracy which it has pursued.

Activated sludge treatment systems rely on a microbial consortium structurally organized in bioflocs to treat pollutants present in wastewater. The treatment process efficiency in these systems can be severely affected by toxic chemicals present in the influent wastewater. The effects of chemical toxins at the treatment process level are determined by the mechanisms that occur at the biofloc and cellular levels, which can be physical, chemical and physiological in nature. We believe that the overall process effects of chemical toxins on activated sludge systems likely result from a combination of all three types of mechanisms and that they are interdependent, in the sense that specific bacterial stress response mechanisms (physiological mechanisms that protect the cell from toxic conditions) may lead to physical/chemical alterations at the floc level, and vice-versa. Ultimately, understanding the mechanisms that occur at the floc and metabolic scales will help to design more robust and efficient treatment systems, and to develop tools to prevent and mitigate the effects of toxic chemicals on activated sludge systems. In this research, we set out to establish the link between the effects of chemical toxins on activated sludge cultures at the process, floc and metabolic scales. First, the effects of shock loads of different toxic sources (1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), cadmium, 1-octanol, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), weakly complexed cyanide, pH 5, 9 and 11, and high ammonia levels) on activated sludge process parameters (biomass growth, respiration rate, flocculation, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, dewaterability and settleability) were studied. For all chemical shocks except ammonia and pH, concentrations that caused 15, 25 and 50% respiration inhibition were used to provide a single pulse chemical shock to sequencing batch reactor (SBR) systems containing a nitrifying (10 day solids retention time – SRT) and a non-nitrifying (2 day SRT) biomass. We found that cadmium and pH 11 shocks were the conditions that most detrimentally affected all the processes, followed by CDNB. DNP and cyanide primarily led to effects on respiration, while pH 5, 9, octanol and various ammonia concentrations did not impact the treatment process to a significant extent. Additionally, there was a clear correlation between biomass deflocculation and increases in the effluent soluble COD of the shocked reactors for different chemical sources. With this study, we were able to establish a source-effect matrix linking classes of chemical toxins to their potential inhibitory effects on activated sludge processes, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the potential effects of toxic industrial discharges into biological treatment systems. The findings of the first phase of the research, specifically the correlation between chemical-induced deflocculation and increases in soluble COD, served as a motivation to explore the role of floc structure in the response of activated sludge cultures to toxic compounds, and to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the supernatant (soluble phase) of toxin-exposed activated sludge. In one study, we evaluated the respiration inhibition induced by octanol, cadmium, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), cyanide and DNP on activated sludge biomasses with different floc structures but similar physiological characteristics, with the objective of assessing the role of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in flocs as a protection barrier against chemical toxins. Mechanical shearing was applied to fresh mixed liquor to produce biomasses with different floc structure properties and specific oxygen uptake rate assays were conducted on the sheared and unsheared mixed liquors. The results showed that the respiration inhibition by octanol and cadmium was more intense in sheared mixed liquor (which had less EPS material available in the flocs and smaller floc sizes) than in the unsheared biomass. Conversely, the respiration inhibition induced by NEM and cyanide was similar for the different mixed liquors tested. These results allowed us to conclude that the EPS matrix functions as a protective barrier for the bacteria inside activated sludge flocs to chemicals that it has the potential to interact with, such as hydrophobic (octanol) and positively-charged (cadmium) compounds, but that the toxicity response for soluble, hydrophilic toxins (NEM and cyanide) is not significantly influenced by the presence of the polymer matrix. In the final study that was conducted, we used the metabolomics-based technique metabolic footprinting to assess if the soluble phase of mixed liquor exposed to different chemical toxins exhibited a toxin-specific biochemical composition. We hypothesized that toxin-specific effects could be distinguished through footprint patterns of those soluble samples. The impact of cadmium, DNP and NEM shock loads on the composition of the soluble fraction of activated sludge mixed liquor was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The results from this study indicated that there was a significant release of biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates and humic acids) from the floc structure into the bulk liquid due to chemical stress. More importantly, using a multivariate statistical method called discriminant function analysis with genetic algorithm variable selection (GA-DFA), we were able to show that the soluble phase samples from the different reactors could be differentiated, thereby indicating that the footprints generated by LC-MS were different for the four conditions tested and, therefore, toxin-specific. These footprints, thus, contain information about specific biomolecular differences between the samples, and we found that only a limited number of m/z (mass to charge) ratios from the mass spectra data was needed to differentiate between the control and each chemical toxin-derived samples. In addition, since the experiments were conducted with mixed liquor from four distinct wastewater treatment plants, the discriminating m/z ratios may potentially be used as universal stress biomarkers. These results are promising and indicate that LC-MS may be used for the discovery of activated sludge stress biomarkers, to allow the development of new toxin detection technologies for prevention of upset events in activated sludge systems. / Ph. D.

A contaminação do ambiente por elementos químicos é um problema crescente em várias regiões do planeta. Muitos destes elementos químicos, que incluem o Cd, Pb e As são tóxicos aos humanos.De acordo com os órgãos de saúde como a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), 90% da ingestão destes elementos tóxicos ocorre por meio do consumo de alimentos (Tavares et al., 1992; Virga et al., 2007). Neste sentido, a estimativa da exposição pela alimentação é fundamental para avaliação de risco de possíveis efeitos adversos. A avaliação da exposição alimentar consiste em associar os dados de consumo alimentar de uma determinada população com as concentrações observadas dos elementos químicos em sua dieta (Nasreddine, 2010). Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi, determinar a ingestão diária dos elementos químicos tóxicos (As, Pb e Cd) em crianças em idade escolar através dos alimentos fornecidos pela Prefeitura de Ribeirão Preto nas merendas escolares. A metodologia utilizada no trabalho foi de dupla dieta, onde os alimentos analisados já estão prontos para o consumo. As merendas fornecidas por duas escolas municipais (infantil e ensino fundamental) e a cozinha piloto foram coletadas durante todos os dias letivos dos meses de março, junho, agosto e novembro de 2011. Os alimentos coletados foram congelados e liofilizados para posterior análise. As análises foram feitas utilizando a espectrometria de massas com plasma acoplado (ICP-MS) com prévia solubilização ou digestão ácida das amostras, com hidróxido de tetrametilamônio (TMAH) eácido nítrico (HNO3)/peróxido de hidrogênio (H2O2), respectivamente. A concentração média de As no arroz, feijão, legumes/verduras, carne vermelha, frango, peixe de água doce, peixe de água salgada e carne suína foi respectivamente de: 111 ng g-1, 17,3 ng g-1, 35,6 ng g-1, 34,3 ng g-1, 27,4 ng g-1, 65 ng g-1, 3,3 ?g g-1 e 33,6 ng g-1. A concentração de Cd encontrada nos mesmos alimentos foi respectivamente de: 11,4 ng g-1, 2,9 ng g-1, 24,6 ng g-1, 4,9 ng g-1, 2,6 ng g-1, 4,9 ng g-1, 63,6 ng g-1 e 5,1 ng g-1. Já a concentração de Pb encontrada foi respectivamente: 1,1 ng g-1, 3,4 ng g-1, 23,6 ng g-1, 8,1 ng g-1, 5,1 ng g-1, 4,4 ng g-1, 6,9 ng g-1 e 18,6 ng g-1. Com estes valores encontrados, calculou-se a ingestão média destes elementos químicos tóxicos pelas crianças durante o almoço servido pelas escolas municipais de Ribeirão Preto. A ingestão média de As, Cd e Pb na escola de ensino infantil foi respectivamente de 5,3 ?g, 0,6 ?g e 0,4 ?g; na escola de ensino médio foi respectivamente 6,9 ?g, 0,9 ?g e 0,6 ?g. Estes valores estão abaixo dos valores de referência toxicológicos fornecidos pela Autoridade Europeia de Segurança Alimentar (EFSA) e Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS). / Chemical\'s contamination in the environment is a growing worldwide problem. Many of these chemical elements, including Cd, Pb and As are toxic to humans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 90% of the intake of these toxic elements occurs through the food consumption (Tavares et al., 1992; Virga et al., 2007). Therefore, the estimation of exposure to these chemicals in the diet is essential for risk assessment and, possibly, to determine the relationship between the adverse effects observed in humans and dietary exposure to certain substances. Dietary exposure assessment is an association between the data of food consumption of a specific population with the observed concentrations of chemical elements in their diet (Nasreddine, 2010).In this sense, the objective of this study was to determine the daily intake of toxic elements (As, Pb and Cd) in children through the food provided by the city hall of Ribeirão Preto in school lunches. The methodology used in this study was double-diet, where the foods analyzed are ready for consumption. The meals provided by two local schools and the kitchen pilot were collected during all school days in March, June, August and November of 2011. The food collected was frozen and lyophilized for further analysis. The analyzes were performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after the solubilization with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or acid digestion with nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) of the samples. The average concentration of As in rice, beans, vegetables, beef, poultry, freshwater fish, saltwater fish and pork were respectively: 111.2 ng g-1, 17.3 ng g-1 35.6 ng g-1, 34.3 ng g-1, 27.4 ng g-1, 65.6 ng g-1, 3.3 mg g-1 and 33.6 ng g-1. The Cd concentration found in the same foods were respectively: 11.4 ng g-1, 2.9 ng g-1, 24.6 ng g-1, 4.9 ng g-1, 2.6 ng g-1, 4.9 ng g-1, 63.6 ng g-1 and 5.1 ng g-1. The Pb concentration was found respectively, 1.1 ng g-1, 3.4 ng g-1, 23.6 ng g-1, 8.1 ng g-1, 5.1 ng g-1, 4.4 ng g-1, 6.9 ng g-1 and 18.6 ng g-1. With these values found, we calculated the average intake of these toxic elements by children during the lunch served by public schools in Ribeirão Preto. The average intake of As, Cd and Pb in elementary school children was respectively 5.3 mg, 0.6 mg and 0.4 mg; in high school was respectively 6.9 g, 0.9 g and 0 , 6 g. These intake values of As, Cd and Pb calculated are below the toxicological reference values provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

L’exposition cutanée aux produits chimiques par des rejets criminels ou accidentels impose une méthode de décontamination rapide et efficace pour sauver des vies et limiter le transfert de la contamination. L’exploration bibliographique recense des produits toxiques (armes chimiques, toxiques industriels) ainsi que les décontaminants naturels ou synthétiques et leurs méthodes d’application dans un contexte d’intervention sur le terrain. Le sujet vise à la qualification d’un outil de décontamination, la terre de foulon dans des formulations simples, faciles à mettre en œuvre en urgence par les services de Sécurité civile (sapeurs-pompiers). Le travail réalisé comporte :La caractérisation chimique et structurale de la poudre de terre de foulon NBC-Sys qui a permis d’identifier le composant principal : la palygorskite, La formulation et la caractérisation galénique et physico-chimique (granulométrie, zêta potentiel) en milieu concentré et milieu dilué des systèmes dispersés,La capacité d’adsorption de la terre de foulon et ses formulations vis-à-vis d’un modèle contaminant, le 4-cyanophenol, d’intérêt pour l’évaluation de la décontamination, in vitro en milieu aqueux, ex vivo sur explant cutané. L’adsorption du 4-CP en solution aqueuse (10, 100 et 500 mg/L-1) est rapide (5-15min) au contact de la terre de foulon, varie avec le ratio terre de foulon/4-CP, atteint un plateau (saturation) entre 45 et 60 min, l’équilibre entre 60 min et 120 min. Les suspensions de terre de foulon sont plus efficaces (90%) pour la décontamination que les poudres (70%) et l’eau (60%) dans des conditions expérimentales identiques. L’évaluation de la terre de foulon et ses formulations sur les paramètres physiologiques de la peau (perte insensible en eau et conductance) in vivo chez l’homme ne montre pas d’altération de la fonction barrière cutanée.L’ensemble est un premier pas vers une référence (qui n’existe pas actuellement), incluant une méthodologie de décontamination chimique / Cutaneous exposure to contaminants chemicals after criminal or accidental release enforces a rapid and efficient decontamination to save lives and avoid cross contamination. A bibilographic exploration of this work identifies toxic chemical (chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals), raw and synthetic decontaminants and their application methods applied in emergency. The aim of this study focuses on a decontamination tool qualification, the fuller’s earth (FE), simple formulated, easy to apply in emergency by civil Security services (fire fighter brigades). The work performed includes :The chemical and structural characterization of the powder of fuller’earth NBC-Sys , that lead to identify the palygorskite as main component, The formulation of dispersed systems and their physico chemical characterization (granulometry, zêta potentiel) in concentrated or diluted medium. The adsorption capacity of the FE and formulations for a contaminant model, the 4-cyanophenol, to assess decontamination in vitro, in aqueous medium, ex vivo on cutaneous explant.4-CP adsorption in aqueous solutions (10, 100 et 500 mg/L-1) is rapid (5-15min), when contact with FE, vary with the ratio FE/ 4-CP, to reach a plateau phase (saturation) between 45 and 60 minutes, and an steady state between 60 and 120 min. FE suspensions are more efficient (90%) than powder (70%) and water (60%) in the same experimental conditions. L’évaluation de la terre de foulon et ses formulations sur les paramètres physiologiques de la peau (perte insensible en eau et conductance) in vivo chez l’homme ne montre pas d’altération de la fonction barrière cutanée. FE and its suspensions were assessed on physiological skin parameters (Transepidermal water loss and conductance) in vivo in a human study and exhibit no alteration on the skin barrier function. Results obtained is a first step towards a reference (that actually don’t exist) including a chemical decontamination method

A contaminação do ambiente por elementos químicos é um problema crescente em várias regiões do planeta. Muitos destes elementos químicos, que incluem o Cd, Pb e As são tóxicos aos humanos.De acordo com os órgãos de saúde como a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), 90% da ingestão destes elementos tóxicos ocorre por meio do consumo de alimentos (Tavares et al., 1992; Virga et al., 2007). Neste sentido, a estimativa da exposição pela alimentação é fundamental para avaliação de risco de possíveis efeitos adversos. A avaliação da exposição alimentar consiste em associar os dados de consumo alimentar de uma determinada população com as concentrações observadas dos elementos químicos em sua dieta (Nasreddine, 2010). Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi, determinar a ingestão diária dos elementos químicos tóxicos (As, Pb e Cd) em crianças em idade escolar através dos alimentos fornecidos pela Prefeitura de Ribeirão Preto nas merendas escolares. A metodologia utilizada no trabalho foi de dupla dieta, onde os alimentos analisados já estão prontos para o consumo. As merendas fornecidas por duas escolas municipais (infantil e ensino fundamental) e a cozinha piloto foram coletadas durante todos os dias letivos dos meses de março, junho, agosto e novembro de 2011. Os alimentos coletados foram congelados e liofilizados para posterior análise. As análises foram feitas utilizando a espectrometria de massas com plasma acoplado (ICP-MS) com prévia solubilização ou digestão ácida das amostras, com hidróxido de tetrametilamônio (TMAH) eácido nítrico (HNO3)/peróxido de hidrogênio (H2O2), respectivamente. A concentração média de As no arroz, feijão, legumes/verduras, carne vermelha, frango, peixe de água doce, peixe de água salgada e carne suína foi respectivamente de: 111 ng g-1, 17,3 ng g-1, 35,6 ng g-1, 34,3 ng g-1, 27,4 ng g-1, 65 ng g-1, 3,3 ?g g-1 e 33,6 ng g-1. A concentração de Cd encontrada nos mesmos alimentos foi respectivamente de: 11,4 ng g-1, 2,9 ng g-1, 24,6 ng g-1, 4,9 ng g-1, 2,6 ng g-1, 4,9 ng g-1, 63,6 ng g-1 e 5,1 ng g-1. Já a concentração de Pb encontrada foi respectivamente: 1,1 ng g-1, 3,4 ng g-1, 23,6 ng g-1, 8,1 ng g-1, 5,1 ng g-1, 4,4 ng g-1, 6,9 ng g-1 e 18,6 ng g-1. Com estes valores encontrados, calculou-se a ingestão média destes elementos químicos tóxicos pelas crianças durante o almoço servido pelas escolas municipais de Ribeirão Preto. A ingestão média de As, Cd e Pb na escola de ensino infantil foi respectivamente de 5,3 ?g, 0,6 ?g e 0,4 ?g; na escola de ensino médio foi respectivamente 6,9 ?g, 0,9 ?g e 0,6 ?g. Estes valores estão abaixo dos valores de referência toxicológicos fornecidos pela Autoridade Europeia de Segurança Alimentar (EFSA) e Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS). / Chemical\'s contamination in the environment is a growing worldwide problem. Many of these chemical elements, including Cd, Pb and As are toxic to humans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 90% of the intake of these toxic elements occurs through the food consumption (Tavares et al., 1992; Virga et al., 2007). Therefore, the estimation of exposure to these chemicals in the diet is essential for risk assessment and, possibly, to determine the relationship between the adverse effects observed in humans and dietary exposure to certain substances. Dietary exposure assessment is an association between the data of food consumption of a specific population with the observed concentrations of chemical elements in their diet (Nasreddine, 2010).In this sense, the objective of this study was to determine the daily intake of toxic elements (As, Pb and Cd) in children through the food provided by the city hall of Ribeirão Preto in school lunches. The methodology used in this study was double-diet, where the foods analyzed are ready for consumption. The meals provided by two local schools and the kitchen pilot were collected during all school days in March, June, August and November of 2011. The food collected was frozen and lyophilized for further analysis. The analyzes were performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after the solubilization with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or acid digestion with nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) of the samples. The average concentration of As in rice, beans, vegetables, beef, poultry, freshwater fish, saltwater fish and pork were respectively: 111.2 ng g-1, 17.3 ng g-1 35.6 ng g-1, 34.3 ng g-1, 27.4 ng g-1, 65.6 ng g-1, 3.3 mg g-1 and 33.6 ng g-1. The Cd concentration found in the same foods were respectively: 11.4 ng g-1, 2.9 ng g-1, 24.6 ng g-1, 4.9 ng g-1, 2.6 ng g-1, 4.9 ng g-1, 63.6 ng g-1 and 5.1 ng g-1. The Pb concentration was found respectively, 1.1 ng g-1, 3.4 ng g-1, 23.6 ng g-1, 8.1 ng g-1, 5.1 ng g-1, 4.4 ng g-1, 6.9 ng g-1 and 18.6 ng g-1. With these values found, we calculated the average intake of these toxic elements by children during the lunch served by public schools in Ribeirão Preto. The average intake of As, Cd and Pb in elementary school children was respectively 5.3 mg, 0.6 mg and 0.4 mg; in high school was respectively 6.9 g, 0.9 g and 0 , 6 g. These intake values of As, Cd and Pb calculated are below the toxicological reference values provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).