Other language confidence: 0.5960761793124975
The proposed regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH) requires demonstration of the safe manufacture of chemicals and their safe use throughout the supply chain. There is therefore a strong need to strengthen and advance human and environmental risk assessment knowledge and practices with regard to chemicals, in accord with the precautionary principle. The goal of the project OSIRIS is to develop integrated testing strategies (ITS) fit for REACH that enable to significantly increase the use of non-testing information for regulatory decision making, and thus minimise the need for animal testing. To this end, operational procedures will be developed, tested and disseminated that guide a transparent and scientifically sound evaluation of chemical substances in a risk-driven, context-specific and substance-tailored (RCS) manner. The envisaged decision theory framework includes alternative methods such as chemical and biological read-across, in vitro results, in vivo information on analogues, qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationships, thresholds of toxicological concern and exposure-based waiving, and takes into account cost-benefit analyses as well as societal risk perception. It is based on the new REACH paradigm to move away from extensive standard testing to a more intelligent, substance-tailored approach. The work will be organised in five interlinked research pillars (chemical domain, biological domain, exposure, integration strategies and tools, case studies), with a particular focus on more complex, long-term and high-cost endpoints. Case studies will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new ITS methodologies, and provide guidance in concrete form. To ensure optimal uptake of the results obtained in this project, end-users in industry and regulatory authorities will be closely involved in monitoring and in providing specific technical contributions to this project.
Objective: As consumption of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, drugs and certain medicines are likely to endanger the drivers aptitude and impaired driving is still one of the major causes for road accidents, some active steps have to be taken to reach the goal of a 50% reduction in the number of road deaths in the EU. The objective of DRUID is to give scientific support to the EU transport policy to reach the 2010th road safety target by establishing guidelines and measures to combat impaired driving. DRUID will - conduct reference studies of the impact on fitness to drive for alcohol, illicit drugs and medicines and give new insights to the real degree of impairment caused by psychoactive drugs and their actual impact on road safety - generate recommendations for the definition of analytical and risk thresholds - analyse the prevalence of drugs and medicines in accidents and in general driving, set up a comprehensive and efficient epidemiological database.
Objective: The European PV market is developing rapidly, with new products and services, new actors and technologies emerging constantly while overall business grows by over 30Prozent a year. During such growth of market and industry it is of particular importance to lay a sound basis of understanding of the quality and performance of products and systems, harmonise procedures for their testing and labelling and disseminate this knowledge to all involved players. Customers, manufacturers and service providers today ask for increased transparency and increased confidence and planning reliability. And they will all benefit from a joint effort on pre-normative research on performance assessment of photovoltaics presented here. The PERFORMANCE project covers all pre-normative as pects from cell to system level and from instantaneous device characterisation and system measurement to their life-time performance prediction and assessment. The limitations of current indoor and outdoor calibration measurement technology will be investi gated and precision will be improved, covering current technologies as well as new and advanced cell and module concepts. Methods will be developed to connect from measurements of module power to module energy production. In a third pillar, methodologies f or the assessment of the life-time performance of PV modules will be developed. Based on all these work packages, a modelling and analysis programme will provide the analytical understanding of PV performance in the broad and systematic manner mentioned ab ove. Following this work programme, PERFORMANCE will produce a consistent set of measurement and modelling methodologies to create the transparency needed for the European market and industry. Next to this significant scientific effort, intense involvement of all European companies along the value chain will be organised systematically through feedback loops. Project results will be fed directly into standardisation processes on CENELEC and IEC level.
CARBOOCEAN IP aims at an accurate assessment of the marine carbon sources and sinks. Target is to reduce the present uncertainties in the quantification of net annual air-sea CO2 fluxes by a factor of 2 for the world ocean and by a factor of 4 for the Atlantic Ocean. The IP will deliver description, process-oriented understanding and prediction of the marine carbon sources and sinks with special emphasis on the Atlantic and Southern Oceans on a time scale -200 to +200 years from now. Expected breakthroughs by CARBOOCEAN IP will be firm answers to the following as yet unresolved questions: How large are the Atlantic and Southern Ocean CO2 sinks precisely, i.e. how efficient is the downward transport of carbon in the deep-water production areas of the world ocean? What do European rivers and shelf seas contribute to the large scale CO2 sources and sinks pattern of the North Atlantic Ocean in relation to uptake within Western Europe ? What are the key biogeochemical feedbacks that can affect ocean carbon uptake and how do they operate? What is the quantitative global and regional impact of such feedbacks when forced by climatic change in the next 200 years? CARBOOCEAN IP will answer these questions through basic research in a strategic combination of extensive large-scale observations, process studies and advanced computer models focusing on all quantitatively important aspects to the problem. The project is based on three elements - observations, process studies, and integrative modelling - equivalent to description, understanding and prediction: A marine carbon balance for the last 200 years based on high quality observations. A process-based understanding of the marine carbon cycle response to a change in forcing as derived from process studies in the field, in the laboratory, and through modelling. Integrated carbon budgets for the interval -200 to +200 years from now by synthesis of a modelling framework with observations and new feedback. Prime Contractor: University of Bergen, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research; Bergen; Norway.
Objective: During the past six years two RTD-projects have been performed by a consortium of seven European partners to investigate ice forces on marine structures. The aim of this work has been to establish new methods for ice load predictions. The work has been supported by the EC under the projects LOLEIF and STRICE. The data compiled by these projects are of great importance for the future development of offshore wind energy converters, OWECS, in the ice-covered seas of Europe. Because the ice forces on marine structures are internationally heavily disputed the present design codes for OWECS as well as for all marine structures in ice-infested waters are not been considered reliable. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to contribute to the development of an international standard for the design of marine structures such as OWECS against ice loads with special emphasis on European sub-arctic ice conditions.
The overall objective of ERAP harm is to improve and complement existing knowledge and procedures for the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Based on EU regulatory frameworks on the ERA of pharmaceuticals and on the outcome of previous projects ERAP harm will address the following aspects: It will investigate previously unstudied major routes leading to exposure of the terrestrial and aquatic environment and subsequent fate of pharmaceuticals in surface water and sediment. Factors and processes affecting the behavior of pharmaceuticals in the environment will be studied on the laboratory, semi-field and fieldscale. A scenario-based exposure assessment system will be developed for predicting concentrations of pharmaceuticals in soils, surface waters and sediments and leaching to groundwater. It will be investigated if environmentally relevant concentrations of pharmaceuticals pose a risk to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Pharmaceuticals and selected transformation products will be screened using in vitro and low complexity bioanalytical tests in order to provide a first hazard characterization and to target higher tier testing. Higher tier test methods will be improved and applied for detecting the effects of long-term, low-level exposure to pharmaceuticals on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and fish. It will be evaluated if information on pharmaco- and toxicodynamics in mammalian species can be used to predict effects of pharmaceuticals on environmental organisms. Moreover, the effects of antibiotics on microbial communities will be studied with a main focus on the spread of genetically encoded resistance. Based on the developed approaches recommendations will be provided on how to improve the ERA procedures for pharmaceuticals. A guidance document will be compiled that will be made available to regulators, industry and the scientific community.
The project focuses on R&D concerning ash related problems in biomass combustion and co-firing of biomass in coal fired plants. The main objectives of the project will be to investigate the release of ash forming compounds from biomass fuels in fixed-bed and pulverised fuel combustion systems, to determine presently not available thermodynamic data concerning the melting behaviour of Na, Zn and Pb-rich ashes, to further develop simulation tools for aerosol and deposit formation and to develop and test a new technology (an aerosol condenser) for efficient and cost effective aerosol precipitation in small-scale biomass combustion units. The project will also investigate the influence of particulate emissions from biomass combustion and co-firing plants on the regional air quality and parameters influencing health effects caused by these emissions. Comprehensive laboratory, pilot-scale and large-scale test runs at biomass combustion and co-firing plants as well as modelling of relevant mechanisms for aerosol and deposit formation will form the basis of the work performed and will complement each other. By reaching the aims of the project deposit formation in biomass combustion and co-combustion shall be significantly reduced by optimisation of furnace and boiler designs as well as control systems and by a better choice of fuel blends used. Concerning small-scale biomass combustion, aerosol emissions will significantly be reduced by the application of the new precipitation technology. New data concerning the influence of particulate emissions from biomass combustion and co-firing on health risks will be evaluated and form the basis for a recommendation of emission limits. The project results will contribute to a higher energy efficiency and availability of biomass combustion and co-firing plants and to a significant reduction of aerosol emissions from small-scale biomass combustion plants, promoting the increased use of biomass for energy production in Europe.
Objective: The aim of this project is to turn 4 core communities (Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, Poland) with clearly defined system borders and 14 - 20.000 inhabitants each into CONCERTO communities. A mix of different EE and RES demonstrations (including refurbishment of old buildings, eco-buildings and polygeneration, all underpinned with complete business plans) will allow to avoid about 300 GWh/yr end energy from fossil sources, thus avoiding 94.000 tons CO2/yr, and saving 22.9 mio Euro/yr of disbursements for extra-communal electricity and heat deliveries. The application of the Decentralised Energy Management System (DEMS) will allow for local and inter-communal operation, monitoring and control of energy consumption, storage and generation units and grids, including DSM and LCP, thereby exploring a EE potential of at least 5Prozent. The target in RES coverage for 2010 is of resp. 39 to 62Prozent of the then remaining electricity and heat demand. EnerMAS, a low-threshold version of the European environmental management system.
Objective: The project aims to develop highly integrated solar heating and cooling systems for small and medium capacity applications which are easily installed and economically and socially sustainable. The envisioned applications are residential houses, small office buildings and hotels. The goal is to use the excess solar heat in summer to power a thermally driven cooling process in order to provide cooling for air-conditioning. In the heating season the solar system is used to provide direct heating. The proposed project therefore aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility, reliability and cost effectiveness of these systems, specially conceived as integrated systems to be offered on the market as complete packages which will make better use of the available solar radiation as present systems.
Objective: The project focuses on the demonstration of an innovative and sustainable CHP concept using residues from olive oil production (olive wastes) as fuel. A first plant based on the new concept will be realised in Greece. The main objective of the project is to demonstrate a closed cycle concept able to reduce landfill problems and emissions and to promote the use of renewable electricity production in Southern Europe. The project will be based on an approach integrating the whole chain (fuel logistics and preparation, energy production, by-product utilisation). An optimised fuel logistic concept will guarantee for a secured fuel supply over the whole year. The fuel will not only be dewatered and dried but also a marketable by-product will be produced. By this means a better fuel quality can be achieved and solid wastes as well as waste- water can be omitted. The development and design of the combustion unit focuses on a technology tailored to the special characteristics of the olive waste.
| Organisation | Count |
|---|---|
| Bund | 128 |
| Europa | 2 |
| Land | 1 |
| Wirtschaft | 1 |
| Wissenschaft | 59 |
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| Förderprogramm | 128 |
| License | Count |
|---|---|
| Offen | 128 |
| Language | Count |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | 15 |
| Englisch | 126 |
| Resource type | Count |
|---|---|
| Keine | 67 |
| Webseite | 61 |
| Topic | Count |
|---|---|
| Boden | 95 |
| Lebewesen und Lebensräume | 127 |
| Luft | 91 |
| Mensch und Umwelt | 128 |
| Wasser | 118 |
| Weitere | 128 |