Issue 1

Citizen concerns about environmental management practices will usually lead to public attention and
legislative proposals. This paper intends to assess the behaviour of potential environmental polluting
industries. In order to accomplish this objective, a survey composed of twenty-five questions was sent
to large, medium and small enterprises located in Portugal. To analyse the data obtained, statistical
methods – descriptive, bivariate and multivariate – were applied using SPSS 10.0 (Statistical Program
for Social Sciences). The results of the present research allow the conclusion, with a confidence level
of ë=95%, that potential polluting companies can be aggregated into five strategic groups, each one
pursuing a distinct environmental strategy. Each group has specific characteristics that are reported
namely in terms of identification variables and environmental strategic factors. The data analysis
reveals that large environmental efforts are directly related with the company size. It also shows that
most of the companies that are investing to protect the environment are those that include environmental
facts (accidents) in their accounts.

In this paper a review of most recent practices in the field of Risk analysis are presented. Then the
available data for oil spill incidents in the area of Crete covering the period 1995-1999 are analysed and
discussed in detail. Risk analysis tables are produced in order to formulate the spatial, temporal (yearly
and monthly) risk of an incident, the correlation with the prevailing wind fields in both northern and
southern Crete, and the possibility of an early intervention the relevant authorities located at the major
port of Heraklion. Then the possible risk of an oil spill incident is discussed in relation to various sensitive
social or financial activities as well as to environmentally protected areas. Finally a formula is proposed
and applied in order to combine the various risks from an oil spill incident. As it was found,
northern Crete and especially the marine areas of Heraklion and Chania are most prompt for an oil
spill accident and its consequences. The area of Sitia follows. Southern Crete seems to be less vulnerable
to such risks.

Á mathematical model is applied to calculate the water circulation in the marina of Latsi in Cyprus.
The flow field in the marina shows the general behavior of coastal, wind driven flows, being strongly
influenced by the characteristics of the entrance of the marina. The small dimension and the location
of the entrance do not permit the inflow or outflow of significant flow rates, thus resulting to long flushing
times. The use of two openings has been investigated. Computations show that the first opening
plays a very important role, while the effect of the second opening is only of local and minor importance.
This behavior is due to the orientation and the position of these openings with respect to the
entrance. The use of the first opening results to a significant increase of the flow-rate passing through
the inner part of the marina, which increases the magnitude of the velocities and reduce the flushing
times. The use of the second opening leads to a significant short-circuiting path of the flow between the
opening and the entrance. The first opening has been proposed for construction.

Laboratory column tests were conducted to study the efficiency of lignite fly ash barriers in removing
heavy metal ions, such as Fe, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cd, Co, Al and Cu, present in high concentrations in acidic
leachates produced in mining and waste disposal sites. The experimental configuration comprised two
40 cm long plexiglas continuous flow columns installed in series. An upward flow of synthetic acidic
solutions spiked with high concentrations of contaminants was maintained in order to simulate field
flow rates and residence times. Sampling ports fitted along the column walls allowed sampling and provided
information on geochemical mechanisms within the barrier and contaminant degradation rates
in the presence of the reactive material.
The geochemical speciation/mass transfer computer code PHREEQC and the MINTEQ database
were used for geochemical modeling of the process.
The experimental results underline the potential of lignite fly ash permeable reactive barriers to
remove almost completely, over a long period, high loads of inorganic contaminants from very acidic
leachates. The main mechanisms involved in contaminants removal are adsorption at the surface of fly
ash and the produced hydrous iron oxides, precipitation and co-precipitation. The toxicity of the reactive
material at the end of the treatment period, regarding all heavy metals studied, is limited.