Publications

In 1999, Georgia signed the UNECE Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes as well as the Protocol on Water and Health. One of the Protocol goals is the protection of human health from waterborne disease and ensuring well-being in the framework of sustainable development in all the relevant national, transboundary and international contexts.

The study proves the feasibility of a technical realisation of Article 10(1) of the BPD and elaborates a first concept for the cumulative environmental exposure assessment of biocides.

The ECHA Guidance Documents R.12 to R.18 include detailed provisions on how to conduct an exposure assessment as part of the Chemical Safety Report. The guidance documents, however, only restrictedly address the consideration of a substance’s emissions into the environment, if the local releases from various uses of the same substance result in a cumulative exposure.

Emissions from building products considerably impair the quality of indoor air. The AgBB scheme has been used to evaluate the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from building products. The hygienic evaluation according to the AgBB scheme requires product-specific measurement methods which are already available for a number of products.

We are all aware of the importance of climate protection. We are also aware that time is running out. What is needed is the creation of a climate-neutral society where the amount of CO₂ and other climate-damaging gases released into the environment does not cause further damage. We must start now and make essential elements of a climate-neutral lifestyle part of our daily lives.

In the national assessment for authorisation in Germany the leaching behaviour of a plant protection product is determined in a stepwise procedure in accordance with FOCUS groundwater report (2009). The recommendations given in this paper here are related to tier 1 and tier 2, only.

Environmental protection has developed into an important factor in the German economy. This can be seen from the development of the environmental economy, a cross-sectoral industry comprising all businesses that supply environmental goods and services.

Apart from the requirements traditionally defined in the building legislation the European Construction Products Directive (CPD) explicitly demands construction works to be built with construction products that meet the requirements on hygiene, health and environment in force in their place of use and not to endanger the health of the occupants and neighbours.

The buildings sector accounts for about 40% of final energy consumption in Germany, and by far the largest part of this is due to old buildings. In total, more than 80% of the final energy consumed in households is used for space heating and hot water (Federal Statistical Office 2010).

A discussion paper about whether the shift in re-sponsibility from emitters or investors to host country government would limit or even elimi-nate emitters’ incentives to engage in seeking cost-effective mitigation options and if so, by which means such outcome could be avoided or limited.

Lake Tegel and Schlachtensee in Berlin show a uniquely pronounced trophic recovery in response to an abrupt and drastic (40- to 100-fold) reduction of their external phosphorus (P) load through P-stripping at their main inflow which exchanges the lake water volume about 5 times per year for Lake Tegel and about 1.5 times for Schlachtensee.

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) intends to enable farmers to engage in multifunctional production by providing incentives or compensating farmers for measures and public goods not sufficiently remunerated by the markets but for which there is a societal demand.