EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2015/2016
- Teacher
- ELISA ANNA FANO
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/07
Training objectives
- The course has a strong social bringing students to the knowledge and expertise of the danger that determine human actions, especially in the management / handling of resources and management of ecosystems for productive purposes.
During the course students acquire basic knowledge about issues environmental associated with the release into natural ecosystems of synthetic substances, foreign to the ecosystem, and always introduction in the ecosystems of natural substances, but in excessive amounts. It will be also considered the main European and Italian legislation on the subject. Prerequisites
- No preliminary course is required but the student must have basic knowledge of exact sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics), he learned since high school, and a knowledge of the basics of Biology to be able to get closer culturally to the matter. Must have basic knowledge in Ecology.
Course programme
- The course is composed of two distinct sections.
The first one is General, the second one is Specific Administrative Procedure of Environmental Impact Assessment with the analysis of case studies.
General (3 CFU, 24 hours)
After a brief introduction (1 hours), also necessary for the understanding of the terminology, it covers the following topics:
Ecotoxicology: (6 hours) Historical evolution of these science and environmental/social expectations. The concept of risk to the environment and to human health and the need to control.
Biogeochemical cycles and natural and synthetic pollutants. (2 hours). Fate of pollutants in natural ecosystems.
Biological mechanisms of transport in the various sectors of ecosystem. (4 hours) bio-concentration, bio-accumulation and bio-magnification.
The degradation of pollutants. (1 hour). Mechanisms of physical, chemical and biological degradation of natural and synthetic pollutants.
Biodegradation. (2 hours).
The concept of ecological quality in ecosystems. (4 hours). Models for the estimation of anthropogenic pressures on ecosystem components. DPSIR model. Bioindication. Life Cycle Assessment.
The concept of Risk. (4 hours). REACH law. Risk assessment methods. Toxicity tests.
Specific Administrative Procedure of Environmental Impact Assessment
The Laws concerning environmental impact assessment.(4 hours). Analysis of the main European and national laws relating to environmental protection and environmental impact assessment.
Estimate of the impacts. (10 hours). The method of coaxial arrays. Flowcharts methods. GIS method.
Case studies.(10 hours). Didactic methods
- 6 CFU (48 hours). 3 CFU (24h) per General Part, and 3 CFU (24h) for the Special Part
In the weekly classes, one hour a week is devoted to a discussion of environmental issues applied, at the request of students. If they are available, the students themselves, the hour reserved weekly for discussion, may be the main actors of presentations in power-point presentation of issues of common interest, based on literature. The topics discussed are often preceded by the presentation recent papers on the arguments. Learning assessment procedures
- At the end of the course there will be the possibility to take the exam either as written or oral examination. After that it will be only possible to take the exam as oral examination.
Written examination: multiple choice test with 28 questions (1 point each), and 2 open questions (maximum 4 points each). Wrong answers are not assigned to a negative value. The total is then corrected by the maximum number of points and the mark is given from 0 to 30. The exam is passed with a mark over 18/30. A mark between 10 and 17 leads to a necessary oral examination. A mark lower than 10 show that the exam has not be passed, and the oral examination can only be taken after some time.
Oral examination: three questions, the first one can be chosen by the student. The mark is given from 0 to 30, and the exam is passed with a mark over 18/30. Reference texts
- Provini, Galassi e Marchetti Eds. – Ecologia Applicata – CittàStudiEdizioni, 1998
Vighi, Bacci – Ecotossicologia - Utet Editore, 1998
The professor will provide the power-point slides used during classes, and, if needed, relevant scientific articles in English.
