ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2021/2022
- Teacher
- LUISA GIARI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/07
Training objectives
- The course aims to provide to the students the knowledge of human actions effects, especially in the use and handling of resources and management of ecosystems.
During the course the students will acquire basic knowledge about ecosystems and ecotoxicology, study the main environmental emergencies, and understand the possible ecological solutions in light of the European and Italian legislation on environmental protection.
Knowledge – the student will know:
- key concepts in ecotoxicology
- main types of pollution and classes of contaminants
- methods and procedure to assess the environmental impact
- main laws on environmental protection
Ability – the student will be able to:
- use the proper terminology of ecotoxicology
- choose the best methods to evaluate the environmental impact
- understand the possible consequences of anthropic impacts on environmental and human health and how
to prevent or limit them Prerequisites
- The student must have basic knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Biology especially of Ecology to be able to get closer culturally to the matter.
Course programme
- The course is composed of two distinct modules: the first one is general and the second one is specific.
Module 1 (about 36 hours)
Introduction to the course. Definition of environmental impact. How human activities affected and affect the ecosystems functioning and health. Examples of environmental disasters. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Alterations of biogeochemical cycles (C,N,F,S) and consequences on environment. Sustainability. The Anthropocene.
Ecotoxicology: definition, methods, aims and historical evolution of this science. Definitions of xenobiotics, contaminants and pollutants. Origin, nature, modes of formation and interaction, effects of pollutants. Toxicity and factors influencing toxicity. Toxicity curves, acute and chronic toxicity, ecotoxicological parameters. Mutagen and carcinogenic agents. Main test to evaluate genotoxicity.
Fate, mechanisms of transport and degradation of pollutants in ecosystems and inside the organisms: bioconcentration, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Bioremediation. Bioindicators and biomarkers.
Risk analysis: risk assessment, risk management, risk communication.
Main methods to assess environmental impacts: Life Cycle Assessment (theory and application) and DPSIR model. Analysis of the main European and national laws on environmental protection and environmental impact assessment. REACH and CLP. Procedure of Environmental Impact Assessment.
Module 2 (about 12 hours)
Description of specific classes of contaminants and types of pollution:
- plastics
- perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs)
- fine powders
- endocrine disruptors
- light pollution
- biological pollution: alien species Didactic methods
- Didactic methods are mainly based on front lectures (48 hours) using slides. The lectures are set as an interactive and discussed dialogue student-teacher.
Learning assessment procedures
- The exam will be in presence or remote (through google meet) and may be written or oral at the student's choice. The exam will verify the knowledge of the two modules of the course program. A minimum of 18 points out of 31 (31 = 30 cum laude) is needed to pass the exam.
The oral exam lasts about 20-30 minutes and consists of three queries on the first module and one question chosen by the student on the second module. The answers are evaluated both for the content and for the use of an appropriate scientific language.
The written exam consists of 17 multiple choice questions (1 point for each correct answer, 0 point for incorrect or missing answers) and two open questions (from 0 to 7 point for each answer based on the exactness, the completeness and the language used), homogeneously distributed in all the topics covered in the course. The time for the test is 45 minutes.
For DSA students, the procedure and the duration of the exam will be evaluated individually. Reference texts
- Galassi, Ferrari, Viaroli – Introduzione all'Ecologia Applicata – Città Studi Edizioni 2014
AAVV – Genomica e mutagenesi ambientale a cura di Lucia Migliore – Zanichelli 2018
Walker, Sibly, Hopkin, Peakall – Principles of Ecotoxicology (4th Edition) – CRC Press 2012
The teacher will provide the power-point slides (at the end of the course), scientific articles and reports.
