Publications | Umweltbundesamt

Chemicals

Georeferenced Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Pesticides

Further Advances in Assessing the Risk to Aquatic Ecosystems by Spray Drift from Permanent Crops

The current exposure assessment for pesticide entries into water bodies considers a water body model which represents a realistic worst case for water bodies in the agricultural landscape. For the factors determining the pesticide exposure in the model a variety of deterministic assumptions are made such as that it is a stagnant water body of a default depth of 30 cm which is directly situated in...read more

Air, Soil | Land

Air Quality and the Nitrogen Cycle

Factsheet

Nitrogen emissions in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOX) or ammonia (NH3) contribute to the formation of groundlevel ozone and secondary fine particulates, which, together with nitrogen dioxide, are major air pollutants with significant impacts on human health. In addition, ammonia and ground-level ozone cause damage to crops and natural ecosystems. Excess reactive nitrogen lost to the environment...read more

Climate | Energy

Assessing the costs of adaption to climate change in developing countries (AdaptCosts)

Unterstützung bei der Ausgestaltung der Kopenhagen- Vereinbarung und der Verhandlung eines Post-2012- Abkommens

The aim of the study was to fill knowledge gaps regarding the estimation of adaptation costs and to develop a concept towards comparing costs between developing countries. In the first part a conceptual approach is presented to estimate adaptation costs of various sectors. Based on a literature analysis, existing costs estimations regarding adaptation were identified and fields for potential advan...read more

Chemicals

Selection and use of chemicals in small and medium sized enterprises

Analysis of their sustainability

The criteria for the sustainable selection and use of chemicals were developed by the Umweltbundesamt between 2008 and 2010 and reflect the current state of the expert discussion. They were compiled in a guide for small and medium sized enterprises (SME). These criteria and the systematic approach outlined in the guide were to be further tested and analysed within the scope of the current project...read more

Agriculture

Ecological Focus Areas – Crucial for biodiversity in the agricultural landscape!

Position of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the German Federal Environment Agency and the Agriculture Commission at the German Federal Environment Agency (KLU) on the issue of the national implementation of ecological focus areas

With its reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU Commission strives for not only a fairer distribution of agricultural funds but, in particular, for a more environmentally friendly, a “greener” CAP. The dramatic decline in farmland biodiversity, persistently high nutrient deposition in soils and watercourses, and European as well as global biodiversity targets demonstrate the need f...read more

Chemicals, Waste | Resources

Behaviour of mercury and mercury compounds at the underground disposal in salt formations and their potential mobilisation by saline solutions

Within the next 40 years, in the European Union approximately 11,000 t of metallic mercury has to be disposed that is no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry or is gained from non-ferrous metal production or the cleaning of natural gas. One disposal option is permanent storage in underground storage sites in salt rock. As a liquid, metallic mercury has been ex-cluded from this disposal option...read more

Climate | Energy, Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

Environmental Innovation Policy – Greater resource efficiency and climate protection through the sustainable material use of biomass - Short version

The overarching goal of the research project is to develop strategies and instruments for sustainable material use of biomass in order to contribute to the German federal government’s climate protection and resource conservation objectives. Political debate about biomass in recent years has focussed primarily on energy use. Clear development objectives were set for the use of bioenergy and a numbe...read more

Chemicals

Ecotoxicological combined effects from chemical mixtures Part 2

Development of ecotoxicological tests with biocidal products and eluates: investigating the suitability of biotests with algae and daphnids to estimate mixture toxicity

Three different wood preservative products, their eluates produced by leaching tests, mixtures of some of their ingredients and some of their ingredients as single substances were tested for growth inhibition of green algae as well as acute and chronic toxicity to Daphnia magna. The tests were conducted according to OECD standard guidelines and supported by analyticalchemistry. The model deviation...read more