Chemical and ecotoxicological indicators for evaluating the treatment of coal mining wastes.

This paper consists of the evaluation in regards to the ecotoxicological effectiveness of a treatment applied to a coal mining waste. The treatment consisted of separating the particles based on gravimetric concentration in spirals, generating three fractions: heavy, intermediate, and light, with high, moderate, and low pyrite content, respectively. The intermediate fraction represents the larger disposal volume of the waste on soils.

Ecotoxicological assessment of bauxite residue (red mud) overflow treated by dissolved air flotation (DAF).

In this study, the effluent from the Bayer process of transforming bauxite into alumina, followed by dissolved air flotation (DAF) treatment, was evaluated to identify the best experimental conditions that generate less toxic or nontoxic effluent for discharge. Two freshwater organisms, the Chlorophyceae microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata (96-h algal growth inhibition test), and the microcrustacean Daphnia similis (48-h acute immobility test), were used to analyze the efficiency of effluent treatment by detecting and comparing the toxicity of the treated effluent. Experimental factorial planning used different concentrations of the coagulant ferric chloride and the flocculant Nalco® N-99-005B, and different recycle ratios.

Triclocarban: UV photolysis, wastewater disinfection, and ecotoxicity assessment using molecular biomarkers.

Triclocarban (TCC) is an antibacterial agent found in pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP). It is potentially bioaccumulative and an endocrine disruptor, being classified as a contaminant of emerging concern (CEC). In normal uses, approximately 96% of the used TCC can be washed down the drain going into the sewer system and eventually enter in the aquatic environment.

[Health in the post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda].

This paper evaluates health as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) in the context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, between 2012 and 2014. Health was part of the debate since the Millennium Summit and the MDGs (2000), and it also appears in the documents discussing the Post-2015 Agenda, from the Rio+20 to the Open Working Group (OWG), whose report was submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) 2014-2015, and in the Global Consultation on Health and the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons reports. The Authors concluded that the treatment of health in all these documents is uniform.

Selecting a sensitive battery of bioassays to detect toxic effects of metals in effluents.

The use of bioassay batteries is necessary to evaluate toxic effects at various biological levels. The selection of bioassays without prior testing and determination of the most sensitive/suitable groups for each impact may allow the discharge of effluents that pose a threat to the environment. The present study tested and selected a battery of sensitive ecotoxicological bioassays for detecting toxic effects of metals.

[Health and environmental governance for sustainable development].

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, will address the challenges for sustainable development (SD), 'green economy and poverty eradication' and the 'institutional structure of sustainable development'. Therefore it will address the governance needed to achieve such goals. This paper discusses the structure of global, regional and national governance of and for health and environment in the context of SD.

[Health and the green economy: challenges for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty].

In a scenario where ecosystemic services are being eroded and there is high social inequity, a new model of development is necessary, namely one capable of promoting social development with a reduction of its ecological footprint. The 'Green Economy' model is one of the proposed models. This paper seeks to analyze the environmental, social and individual impacts on human health in the context of a 'brown economy', and discusses the contributions of a green economy on the promotion of equity and health.

Analysis of individual versus group behavior of zebrafish: a model using pH sublethal effects.

An image analysis biomonitoring system was used to evaluate sublethal effects of pH on the mean swimming velocity of zebrafish. Responses to stress were tested comparing individual and group responses. Group analysis indicated no effect for all acid pH and for pH 9.

Behavioral response of zebrafish Danio rerio Hamilton 1822 to sublethal stress by sodium hypochlorite: ecotoxicological assay using an image analysis biomonitoring system.

We evaluated behavioral responses of zebrafish Danio rerio exposed to sublethal concentrations of sodium hypochlorite using an image analysis biomonitoring system (IABS). First, the limits of normal variation in swimming activity of zebrafish were determined by monitoring traveled distance of 40 control fishes using the IABS. An acute toxicity test was performed to determine the LC(50(24 h)) for D.