Zoltán Török

Microplastic (MPs) contamination is an environmental issue with significant impact on public health, economic growth, and the natural ecosystem. This study evaluates public perceptions of MPs pollution in Romania through a structured questionnaire administered to 456 respondents, including members of the general public, students, and local authority representatives from urban and rural areas. The survey focused on economic, health, and environmental impacts using a seven-point Likert scale to quantify perceived probability, impact, and risk. Results indicate that health and environmental domains are perceived as the most affected, with over one-third of respondents assigning the highest probability rating, while economic impacts were viewed as moderate. The mean perceived probability was 65.14%, with higher variability for health (45.89%) and environment (47.16%) than for economic impacts (28.62%). Impact scores were moderate for economic concerns and high for health and environmental concerns. Risk scores, calculated by integrating probability and impact, increased proportionally with perceived likelihood, highlighting strong public awareness of potential consequences. These findings reveal nuanced public perceptions, emphasising the importance of addressing health and environmental risks while recognising the comparatively lower perceived economic threat. The study provides evidence-based insights to inform policymakers and stakeholders in developing strategies to mitigate the impacts of MPs pollution.

Industrial accidents triggered by natural events (Natech) are becoming more frequent in the context of climate change, highlighting the need to analyze these risks and integrate them into land-use planning (LUP) decision-making processes. In Romania, LUP relies on the combination of individual accident scenario frequencies and impact zones, overlapped with functional land-use categories. However, this approach does not integrate the vulnerability of the population, nor the individual risk (IR) associated with Natech accidents. This paper proposes improved LUP criteria, based on the assessment of social vulnerability to Natech accidents triggered by earthquakes, and the quantification of IR. First, the Natech Vulnerability Index (NVI) was developed, at local administrative unit level in a county with eleven Seveso sites, by the additive integration of the Social Seismic Vulnerability Index (SSVI) and the Technological Vulnerability Index (TVI). Second, a quantitative Natech risk analysis was performed for a pilot site, resulting the Natech IR levels. These combined with the NVI serve as a new decision-making criterion in the LUP process, highlighting the importance of social, natural and technological aspects. The methodology is adaptable also to other natural hazards by selecting the specific vulnerability indicators and the Natech risk analysis models.

In recent years, devastating wildfires have occurred in less fire-prone areas, and an increase in boreal region wildfires is expected in the future. Using a qualitative comparative approach based on a literature review and policy document analysis, this study aims to examine the wildfire management systems and practices in Sweden and Finland, focusing on the remarkably different outcomes of the 2018 wildfire season. Despite experiencing similar climatic conditions, in Sweden a total of approximately 25,000 hectares of forest burned, compared to the 1200 hectares in Finland. The analysis examines thematic areas from general disaster management and wildfire-specific elements. The main differences in the organizational structures between the two countries are identified. Ecological aspects of boreal forests, fire suppression effectiveness, and response times are compared, and current and emerging technologies for fire detection and suppression, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, are presented. The role of volunteer fire brigades and their sustainability in rural areas, together with the effectiveness of host nation support arrangements and international cooperation mechanisms, are discussed. Based on this comparison of identified best practices and lessons learned, the authors provide recommendations for improving wildfire resilience both in Finland and Sweden, as well as in other boreal region countries.

This study addresses the challenges of characterizing aerosol optical depth (AOD) dynamics from satellite observations, which are often hindered by data gaps and variability. A long short-term memory (LSTM) network was trained on an extended AOD dataset from Sicily to capture temporal patterns. The trained model was then applied to AOD data from distinct geographical regions: Cluj-Napoca and the central Mediterranean Sea. While the LSTM effectively captured general seasonal trends, it tended to smooth extreme AOD events. To mitigate this, a post-processing algorithm was developed to enhance the representation of AOD peaks and valleys. This enhancement method refines the characterization of historical AOD, providing a more accurate representation of observed atmospheric variability, particularly in capturing high and low AOD episodes. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the hybrid approach in improving the characterization of AOD dynamics across different regions.

This study addresses the challenges of characterizing Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) dynamics from satellite observations, which are often hindered by data gaps and variability. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network was trained on an extended AOD dataset from Sicily to capture temporal patterns. The trained model was then applied to AOD data from distinct geographical regions: Cluj-Napoca and the Central Mediterranean Sea. While the LSTM effectively captured general seasonal trends, it tended to smooth extreme AOD events. To mitigate this, a post-processing algorithm was developed to enhance the representation of AOD peaks and valleys. This enhancement method refines the characterization of historical AOD, providing a more accurate representation of observed atmospheric variability, particularly in capturing high and low AOD episodes. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the hybrid approach in improving the characterization of AOD dynamics across different regions.

Urbanization and industrial activities are responsible for the increasing quantities of wastes each year leading to environmental and health consequences. Wastes are also generated from household, commercial, agricultural or medical activities industrial, mining or metallurgical sectors. Hazardous wastes can be identified as any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste that, in its chemical and physical characteristics, represents a potential harm to human health and/or the environment. Therefore, it requires specific management, such as compliance with the EU Waste Framework Directive for waste prevention and reduction. This study explores the hazardous waste management process to identify potential hazards during the treatment phase. It analyses the risk to the population using the qualitative preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) method and performs consequence analysis using Effects modelling software. The results of the PHA indicate a low to moderate risk, if specific safety measures are applied. The most severe accident scenario may result in reversible effects outside the establishment over short distances. These analyses can support decision-making in land-use and emergency planning procedures.

Historically, Romania is known as a mining site of mineral substances, including gold, silver, copper, lead, zin, uranium, manganese, salt, and coal, whereby their long periods of exploitation and extraction affected human health and the environment in various ways. In Moldova Nouă southwest region of Romania, we investigated the environmental impacts of mining activities on air quality over 2021. We quantified PM₁₀ emission rates through in situ monitoring, dispersion modelling, and horizontal and vertical fluxes. Statistical metrics, including the fraction within factor 2 (FAC2), mean bias (MB), mean gross error (MGE), normalized mean bias (NMB), normalized mean gross error (NMGE), coefficient of efficiency (COE), index of agreements (IOAs), and Taylor diagram signifying standards deviation (SD), root mean squared error (RMSE), and correlation coefficient (R), were used to evaluate the reliability of modelling results against observation. Results conclude that PM₁₀ dispersion agrees with MB, MGE, NMB, NMGE, COE, IOA, and Taylor diagram and moderately with FAC2 metrics. PM₁₀ hotspot was investigated in the vicinity of the tailings ponds of 115.5 µg m⁻³ annual mean, 563.7 µg m⁻³ daily mean, 63.3 µg m⁻² s⁻¹ annual horizontal flux, and 3.0 µg m⁻² s⁻¹ annual vertical flux. PM₁₀ dispersion was identified to expand to Moldova Nouă City and nearby country Serbia. Findings concluded that a windy air mass accumulation across the overburdened dumps and ponds causes the increase of PM₁₀ in the air, resulting in the region’s pollution. Therefore, results recommend adopting a strategic mitigation measure for residents, policymakers, stakeholders, and urban planners.

A technological accident in a fertilizer production plant often results from the interaction between several hazards. Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) being a general level, qualitative method, it is easily applicable for all types of operations and functions of a system. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of using PHA in the context of preventive and predictive maintenance, and to highlight the potential benefits of these strategies in mitigating the risks of potential accidents related to the granulation process of fertilizer grade AN. The results of the study show that the most dangerous scenarios identified, in terms of consequences, are potential explosions of AN due to friction and melting in case of rotative equipment failure, or auto-decomposition and explosion of AN due to contamination with organic substances. Since qualitative deterministic approaches are lacking in uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, their use should be completed by more complex quantitative analyses, in order to support efficient decision making for risk mitigation and balanced maintenance efforts.

"The complexity of the urban environment causes a continuous change in the different variables of vulnerability: social, economic and environmental protection, energy, health, water, traffic, climate and security- in connection with sustainable development. Multi-hazard and multi-risk assessment for urban areas, in the context of territorial planning policies, is a priority for increasing the resilience of local communities. Vulnerability, as a factor in risk analysis, can influence the likelihood of negative consequences for man, the environment, and infrastructure. A detailed analysis of the vulnerability indicators in the area of industrial hazard sources can improve the correctness of the decisions in the territorial planning process. The paper presents the analysis of the influence of vulnerability, through the presented factors, in the technological risk assessment of major industrial accidents involving hazardous substances. "