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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 14795

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Dr. Iveta Marková

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Department of Fire Engineering, Faculty of Security Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia
Interests: environment protection; environmental risk assessment; fire safety engineering; fire ecology; fire extinguisher; fire
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental protection, thanks climatic change, obtained new dimension. There is need find opportunities for environmental risk assessment and use Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection. This issues offers interesting, actual and very important topic.

This Special Issue, “Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment”, seeks high-quality works focusing on the latest novel advances and processes concerning the dangerous chemical substances, novel progressive materials (in industries such as waste industry, construction, engineering, automotive, etc.), biomass resources and waste processes of specific technologies and conditions. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Evaluation of state of the natural and working environment which will be exposed to physical, chemical and biological factors;
The impact of harmful factors on the environment in industrial and urbanized countries;
Watching the effects of light pollution, electromagnetic radiation, the impact of industrial noise on environment, impact of vibration and microclimate conditions on human in the work environment;
Industry accidents;
Evaluation of the use of renewable resources, secondary use of materials and raw materials;
Dispersion models and models for predicting changes of future climate change.

Dr. Iveta Marková
Guest Editor

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Keywords

climatic change
environment protection
risk assessment
renewable resources
water treatment

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 5638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing of Protective Gas Masks with an Emphasis on Subjective Opinions

by Jozef Kubás, Boris Kollár, Michal Tonhauser, Jozef Ristvej, Katarína Petrlová and Kateřina Blažková

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(16), 7179; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167179 - 15 Aug 2024

Viewed by 598

Abstract

This article focuses on the testing and evaluation of gas protective masks based on subjective aspects, since most studies focus on objective indicators without ascertaining the opinions of those who use gas protective masks. Three types of modern anti-gas protective masks were selected for testing. Multi-criteria decision making and the expert method were used to develop the criteria. Mathematical relationships were used to evaluate the test results. For the purpose of testing, a methodological procedure was developed that integrates the established subjective criteria. The test results identified the key parameters in evaluating gas protection masks; at the same time, the results pointed out the possible shortcomings of the OM-90 anti-gas protective mask and its use in the civilian sector. By evaluating the data, the most appropriate gas protective mask was selected that best met the subjective criteria. The study provides insightful findings for decision support in the field of civil protection material but also protective equipment of rescue units. It is the subjective assessment that is essential in a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of gas protective masks, as the user himself often perceives the quality of the product differently from the manufacturer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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12 pages, 634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Dust in Underground Coal Mine

by Eva Sventeková, Pavol Prievozník, Juraj Mlčoch and Miroslava Vandlíčková

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(14), 6038; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14146038 - 10 Jul 2024

Viewed by 747

Abstract

This paper considers extreme dusty conditions at workplaces in underground coal mine. These extreme conditions stem from various physical factors that affect employees’ performance. The extreme effect of the dust can significantly contribute to permanent health damage or even the death of employees. In this study, we present and discuss the results of measurements of airborne dust and respiratory dust taken during wall cutting in a coal mine and propose effective measures to reduce the burden on the life and health of employees and the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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16 pages, 2064 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on a Multi-Dimensional Indicator Assessment Model for Evaluating Landslide Risk near Large Alpine Reservoirs

by Hanyin Hu, Hu Ke, Xinyao Zhang and Jianbo Yi

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5201; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125201 - 14 Jun 2024

Viewed by 803

Abstract

Geological disasters in large alpine reservoirs primarily take the form of landslide occurrences and are predominantly induced by slope instability. Presently, risk monitoring and assessment strategies tend to prioritize sudden alerts overlooking progressive trajectories from the onset of creeping deformations within the slope to its critical state preceding landslides. Hence, analyzing landslide safety risks over time demonstrates a significant degree of hysteresis, highlighting the necessity for a comprehensive approach to risk assessment that encompasses both gradual and sudden precursors to landslide events. This study analyzes the factors affecting slope stability and establishes a slope evaluation indicator system that includes terrain morphology, meteorological conditions, the ecological environment, soil conditions, human activity, and external manifestation. It proposes a quantitative model for slope landslide risk assessment based on a fuzzy broad learning system, aiming to accurately assess slopes with different risk levels. The overall assessment accuracy rate reaches 92.08%. This multi-dimensional risk assessment model provides long-term monitoring of slope conditions and scientific guidance on landslide risk management and disaster prevention and mitigation on a long time scale for risky slopes in reservoir areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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16 pages, 4123 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of the Influence of Heat Flow on the Time to Ignition of Spruce and Beech Wood

by Jozef Harangozó, Ivana Tureková, Iveta Marková, Alena Hašková and Roman Králik

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 4237; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14104237 - 16 May 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 887

Abstract

Adherence to fire safety regulations for wood is one of the most important tasks in its use in structural and architectural applications. This article deals with determining the influence of heat flux on the ignition process of spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) and beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.). The heat flux was generated by an electric radiant panel. The analysed parameters included the ignition time of the spruce and beech wood samples, the influence of wood density, and sample moisture, and the course of sample combustion, both with and without flame, was observed. The heat flux was maintained at constant values, depending on the distance of the examined sample from the panel, along with the specific power of the radiation panel. The power of the radiation panel was set to constant values of 5 kW and 10 kW. The samples were placed at distances of 50, 70, 100, 150, and 200 mm from the heat source, and heat fluxes in the range of 13–92 kW·m⁻² were observed. At a power of 5 kW and a heat flux of 64 kW·m⁻², neither the sample of beech nor that of spruce wood, placed at the distance of 100 mm from the radiation panel, exhibited flaming combustion. The ignition time for the beech wood was approximately twice that of the spruce wood, likely due to the higher average wood density. It can be stated that wood density, as one of the main factors, significantly influences the ignition phase of burning. The statistical analysis examined variables including wood type, radiant panel output, distance, and heat flux in relation to ignition time. The analysis revealed a significant difference between ignition time and distance (p-value = 0.0000, H = 37.51583) as well as between ignition time and heat flux (p-value = 0.0000, H = 37.69726). Similarly, the time to ignition for all tested beech wood samples was longer than for spruce wood. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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17 pages, 24884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Large-Scale Fire Tests of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV): Slovak Case Study

by Jozef Svetlík, Zoltan Tancos, Petr Tancos, Iveta Markova and Kristian Slastan

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 4013; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14104013 - 9 May 2024

Viewed by 1683

Abstract

Due to the increasing number of battery electric vehicles (BEV) on the roads and the number of BEV accidents with the occurrence of a fire, full-scale fire tests of BEVs were carried out. For initiation, the BEVs were mechanically damaged, forming a gap with a size of 15 cm × 15 cm. The external heat source was a 300 kW propane burner with a maximum power of 54.0 kW and a length of 54 cm. The flame of the propane–butane fuel mixed in air at a temperature of 1970 °C was inserted directly into the battery pack. The increase in the temperature was monitored as a function of time through thermocouples at selected locations of the BEV until the point of initiation. Thermocouples were placed 10, 30, and 50 cm from the place of BEV surface. Accordingly, to obtain the temperature–time curves from the experiment measurement, critical temperatures were subsequently evaluated. The fire tests on BEVs can be described according to the individual phases of the fire. The external heat source started the initiation process at the 25 min time mark. Consequently, the phase of a developed fire with a dynamic course started. A sharp rise in temperature occurred. Within two minutes, the temperature rose to 1056.9 °C. After the initiation source was removed, there was decline in temperature and re-ignition to the stage of a fully developed fire. Thermocouples recorded temperatures in the range of 900 °C. The resulting dynamic process of a BEV fire with a sharp increase in temperature is a problem for the implementation of firefighting works and the liquidation of traffic accidents. Furthermore, foam extinguishing was part of the experiments. In both cases after the foam application, the temperature on the thermocouple T1 (distance was 10 cm from the surface of the BEV) dropped from 486.1 °C to 76 °C after 10 s of application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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19 pages, 3392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing Protective Clothing with an Emphasis on Subjective Opinions

by Jozef Kubás, Boris Kollár, Jozef Ristvej, Stanislava Strelcová, Katarína Petrlová and Adéla Stolínová

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(2), 484; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14020484 - 5 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1198

Abstract

This paper focuses on the testing and evaluation of special anti-chemical protective suits. The testing and evaluation focused on the subjective aspect of the protective suits, which is best perceived by their wearers; however, the subjective aspect only accounts for a certain proportion of the overall evaluation. For this reason, the proposed objective evaluation criteria are also presented in the thesis. Four types of anti-chemical protective suits were selected for testing. In this way, it was possible to compare their design specificities. An older type of civil protection suit and three modern types were selected for evaluation. Multi-criteria decision making and the expert method were used to develop the criteria. Mathematical relationships were used to evaluate the test results. A methodological procedure was developed to integrate the established subjective criteria in order to test. The results of the testing confirmed the construction and design advances of the protective suits over the older type of civil protection suit. At the same time, they pointed out possible shortcomings in the work and execution of the movements of the individual selected protective suits. By evaluating the data obtained, the most suitable protective suit was selected that best met the subjective criteria. However, these results need to be supplemented by an assessment of the objective criteria in the final evaluation. This paper also presents the characteristics of the selected protective suits in terms of technical parameters and objective criteria. The results of the study can further serve as a complementary way of evaluating the quality of protective suits. It is the subjective evaluation that is essential in a comprehensive assessment of the quality of protective suits, as the user himself often perceives the quality of the product differently from the manufacturer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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16 pages, 3472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Spruce Wood Density on Selected Fire-Technical Parameters during Thermal Loading

by Patrik Mitrenga, Linda Makovická Osvaldová and Milan Konárik

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010170 - 24 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1076

Abstract

The paper evaluates the effect of spruce wood density on the parameters of mass loss and mass loss rate during exposure to thermal load. The intention was to determine whether the effect of density is still evident after the application of flame retardants to the test samples. Groups of samples with different densities under the same retardant treatment were compared. The differences in densities of the compared groups of samples were different for each flame retardant. Water-soluble flame retardants based on inorganic salts were used. For testing, a simple test method was used in which the samples were exposed to direct flame from a Bunsen burner. The results of the study are the findings of how wood density affects the burning process of the samples treated with flame retardants. Statistical evaluation of the experimental results shows a significant effect of wood density on the monitored parameters even when flame retardants are used. For a difference in sample densities of 244 kg·m⁻³, there was a density dependence of the mass loss rate, with the lower density samples having a higher mass loss rate (0.158%·s⁻¹) over the whole experimental period compared to the higher density samples (0.077%·s⁻¹). The ANOVA test also demonstrated the influence of density on the mass loss of the samples at the above density difference. At lower density differences (51 kg·m⁻³ and below), the effect of sample density on the observed parameters was no longer evident. The fire spread rate parameter was also investigated. Here, a linear correlation between the difference in sample densities and the difference in the values of the above parameter at high and low densities is observed with a reliability coefficient R² = 0.99. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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18 pages, 2934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Filling Stations: Assessing the Risks and Consequences of the Release of Hazardous Substances

by Katarína Mäkká, Anton Šiser, Ladislav Mariš and Katarína Kampová

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010022 - 19 Dec 2023

Viewed by 2496

Abstract

In today’s world, where environmental protection and sustainability are increasingly important, it is essential to pay attention to the environmental impact of different industries. One of these industries with a potentially significant impact on life, human health, the environment, and property is gas stations, which are essential links in the fuel supply chain. This article focuses on the topic of assessing the impact of gas stations on surrounding environments and will examine the potential negative impacts that these operations can have on society and the environment. The aim of the paper is to analyze how gas stations affect their surroundings in the event of an incident involving a spill of hazardous substances. The scope of the paper is to assess the impacts of a spill of hazardous substances from a gas station, with an emphasis on assessing the risks and consequences on the life and health of the people in the immediate vicinity of the gas station. The selected gas station’s location in the High Tatras National Park enhances the study’s significance due to the unique environmental context, heightened environmental sensitivity, and potential legislative implications. ALOHA software version 5.4.7 was chosen for simulating the release of hazardous substance due to its extensive substance database, mathematical models, support for various release sources, internet availability, and graphical result representation. This manuscript argues for risk assessment beyond current legislation, addressing unclassified sources of risk. This research contributes by utilizing predictive modeling, recognizing environmental contexts, and emphasizing legislative attention. It discusses the consequences of emergency scenarios involving gasoline and LPG, addresses potential limitations and uncertainties, and advocates for accident prevention and risk assessment, especially in environmentally sensitive areas. The conclusion suggests improvements in predictive modeling, legislative adaptation, collaboration, and an expanded scope of analysis for future research. The aim of the paper is also to discuss measures that can be taken to minimize these impacts and ensure sustainable and safe operation. Assessing the risks arising from the operation of gas stations contributes to the development of measures to protect and preserve our environment for future generations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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13 pages, 1776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Proposal for Risk Assessment of Low-Frequency Noise in the Human–Machine–Environment System

by Michaela Balážiková, Hana Pačaiová and Marianna Tomašková

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(24), 13321; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132413321 - 17 Dec 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1492

Abstract

Low-frequency noise, the frequency range from approximately 10 Hz to 200 Hz, has been recognized as a special environmental noise problem. The World Health Organization recognizes the special place of low-frequency noise as an environmental problem. Noise can damage hearing, and it affects the whole body. Low-frequency sound is heard by humans, but infrasound is not audible. Low-frequency sound is most often measured based on a weighting function of the frequency. The A-weighted level underestimates the effects of low-frequency noise. For the detrimental effects of low-frequency sound, it would be appropriate to apply measurements using Z-weighting. The aim of this paper was to propose a comprehensive method of acoustic risk assessment (CMARA) that implements the effects of low-frequency values of noise exposure. The proposed methodology has been applied in practice at four workplaces for seven work activities. A risk assessment using the proposed CMARA method for individual activities shows that the noise exposure time may pose a health risk in the occupational and environmental process due to exposure to low-frequency noise at the limit of audibility. A high risk was assessed for activities WA2 (machining) and WA3 (spot welding). This paper highlights the need to measure low-frequency noise using Z-filter weighting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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13 pages, 6597 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Mechanical, Physical and Chemical Influences on Protective Clothing

by Linda Makovická Osvaldová, Jozef Kubás, Katarína Hollá, Karel Klouda and Kateřina Bátrlová

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9123; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169123 - 10 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1204

Abstract

The article is focused on testing the mechanical, physical and chemical characteristics of the selected protective clothing. Old anti-chemical protective clothing formerly used in tactical exercises (but never during a real intervention) was selected. Protective clothing has an expected lifespan when used correctly. When in use, external influences can negatively affect and function of these garments. The article describes the preparation of individual samples of protective clothing which were exposed to the effects of selected inorganic and organic chemicals, water vapor, UV radiation and long-term exposure to elevated temperatures. The prepared samples were subsequently torn on the tearing device, and the change of mechanical and physical properties was monitored. The stress at which the samples broke and the length they reached at the moment of breaking were measured. The exposure to individual chemicals, UV radiation and elevated temperature resulted in decreases in the modulus of elasticity in each case. The largest decrease was recorded in samples treated with hydrogen peroxide and the smallest in samples exposed to long-term thermal load. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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Review

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12 pages, 14752 KiB

Open AccessReview

Selective Collection and Management of Biowaste from the Municipal Sector in Poland: A Review

by Wojciech Czekała

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(19), 11015; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131911015 - 6 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1322

Abstract

Municipal waste management is an important aspect in the context of the environmental protection of any country. Biowaste is the dominant stream among all municipal waste in Poland (32.4% in 2020). It can be processed through recycling and recovery processes. It is also possible to dispose of it, although according to the waste hierarchy, such action should be the last option. For biowaste to be recycled, e.g., through anaerobic digestion or composting, it must have suitable properties to be processed through the processes mentioned above. This study aims to discuss the selective collection and management of biowaste from Poland’s municipal sector and identify limiting factors. The paper also indicates selected aspects of possible changes in the waste management sector, considering the role of society and waste management companies. The factors limiting the collection and further use of biowaste from the municipal sector in Poland can be divided into economic, social, technical, and technological. This article refers to the situation in Poland, but some problems occur analogously in other countries. This is because the barriers limiting the selective collection and management of biowaste in many countries are similar and differ mainly in the degree of intensity and the scope they cover. Given the increasingly stringent requirements for waste management, measures must be taken to achieve the legally required levels of recycling of biowaste and to recycle it as well as possible. The development of installations for biological waste management will be crucial. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Environment Protection and Environmental Risk Assessment)

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