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Environmental risk assessment in a contaminated estuary: An integrated weight of evidence approach as a decision support tool

2016-10-07Journal article Restricted access
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dc.contributor.authorCaeiro, Sandra
dc.contributor.authorVaz-Fernandes, Paula
dc.contributor.authorMartinho, Ana Paula
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Pedro
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Maria João
dc.contributor.authorLavinha, João
dc.contributor.authorMatias-Dias, Carlos
dc.contributor.authorMachado, Ausenda
dc.contributor.authorCastanheira, Isabel
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Maria Helena
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-03T19:20:43Z
dc.date.available2017-03-03T19:20:43Z
dc.date.issued2016-10-07
dc.description.abstractEnvironmental risk assessment of complex ecosystems such as estuaries is a challenge, where innovative and integrated approaches are needed. The present work aimed at developing an innovative integrative methodology to evaluate in an impacted estuary (the Sado, in Portugal, was taken as case study), the adverse effects onto both ecosystem and human health. For the purpose, new standardized lines of evidence based on multiple quantitative data were integrated into a weight of evidence according to a best expert judgment approach. The best professional judgment for a weight of evidence approach in the present study was based on the following lines of evidence: i) human contamination pathways; ii) human health effects: chronic disease; iii) human health effects: reproductive health; iv) human health effects: health care; v) human exposure through consumption of local agriculture produce; vi) exposure to contaminated of water wells and agriculture soils; vii) contamination of the estuarine sedimentary environment (metal and organic contaminants); viii) effects on benthic organisms with commercial value; and ix) genotoxic potential of sediments. Each line of evidence was then ordinally ranked by levels of ecological or human health risk, according to a tabular decision matrix and expert judgment. Fifteen experts scored two fishing areas of the Sado estuary and a control estuarine area, in a scale of increasing environmental risk and management actions to be taken. The integrated assessment allowed concluding that the estuary should not be regarded as impacted by a specific toxicant, such as metals and organic compounds hitherto measured, but by the cumulative risk of a complex mixture of contaminants. The proven adverse effects on species with commercial value may be used to witness the environmental quality of the estuarine ecosystem. This method argues in favor of expert judgment and qualitative assessment as a decision support tool to the integrative management of estuaries. Namely it allows communicating environmental risk and proposing mitigation measures to local authorities and population under a holistic perspective as an alternative to narrow single line of evidence approaches, which is mandatory to understand cause and effect relationships in complex areas like estuaries.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipThe present research was financed by FCT, Portugal, and co- financed by the European Community FEDER through the program COMPETE (project reference PTDC/SAU-ESA/100107/2008). The authors acknowledge the contributions from Miguel Pinto, Henriqueta Louro, Susana Silva, Ines Coelho, Mario Diniz and Angel Del Valls (from University of Cadiz, and consultant in the project) to this work.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.citationOcean Coast Manage. 2017 Jul 1; 143:51-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.09.026. Epub 2016 Oct 7.pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.09.026pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn0964-5691
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/4479
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevierpt_PT
dc.relation.publisherversionhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569116302216pt_PT
dc.subjectEnvironmental Risk Assessmentpt_PT
dc.subjectIntegrative Managementpt_PT
dc.subjectHuman and Ecosystem Healthpt_PT
dc.subjectCombined Pollutantspt_PT
dc.subjectWeight of Evidencept_PT
dc.subjectExpert Judgmentpt_PT
dc.subjectSado Estuarypt_PT
dc.subjectSegurança Alimentarpt_PT
dc.subjectDeterminantes da Saúde e da Doençapt_PT
dc.subjectGenotoxicidade Ambientalpt_PT
dc.titleEnvironmental risk assessment in a contaminated estuary: An integrated weight of evidence approach as a decision support toolpt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/5876-PPCDTI/PTDC%2FSAU-ESA%2F100107%2F2008/PT
oaire.citation.titleOcean & Coastal Managementpt_PT
oaire.fundingStream5876-PPCDTI
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.rightsembargoedAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isProjectOfPublicationf42f4d14-05ea-421c-a11a-97277847498f
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryf42f4d14-05ea-421c-a11a-97277847498f

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