Occurrence and risk assessment of glycidyl and 3-monochloropropanediol esters in infant formulas marketed in Taiwan.

Glycidyl esters (GEs) and 3-monochloropropanediol esters (3-MCPDEs) are process contaminants commonly found in refined edible oils which are often added to infant formulas. The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) launched regulations for GEs in infant formulas that went into effect on 1 July 2021. To investigate levels of GEs and 3-MCPDEs in infant formula powder, 45 products were sampled and analysed during 2020-2021. The contents of GEs and 3-MCPDEs in formulas of different brands significantly varied, but their concentrations in all of the formulas complied with European Union (EU) regulations. Infant formulas containing palm oil had significantly higher 3-MCPDE levels in both extracted oils and milk powder than those without palm oil. Concentrations of GEs and 3-MCPDEs in infant formula powder and extracted oils were significantly lower in products from Europe than those from Australia and New Zealand. Infants aged 0-1 years in Taiwan who consumed only infant formula showed a margin of exposure (MoE) exceeding 25,000. Mean consumer exposures to 3-MCPDEs stayed below the tolerable daily intake (TDI), while high exposures at the 95th percentile (P95) exceeded the TDI by 1.7-fold. Herein, we present the changing trends in the risk assessment results of infant formula across various countries in the decade. Implementation of regulations and mitigation strategy effectively reduced the risk of infants being exposed to GEs and 3-MCPDEs through infant formula.

Dynamic life cycle assessment for water treatment implications.

Long-term impact tracking of urban water services is an important scientific basis for the sustainable development goals of future foreground systems. This study developed a dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA) method that considers temporal variation and the resulting impacts to address the challenges of water treatment facilities based on the principles of life cycle assessment (LCA) and system dynamics (SD) models. The model was then demonstrated and validated for a water treatment facility in the Kinmen Islands, Taiwan. The SD model simulates long-term water demand in terms of growth in the domestic, agriculture, livestock, and manufacturing sectors, which provides specific inventory data for LCA calculations, with the aim of showing the impact change for future water treatment scenarios. The results showed that using imported water and reclaimed water reduced Kinmen's reliance on groundwater from 77 % to 43 % and reduced the vulnerability of urban water services. The environmental impact of water treatment plants is determined to be strongly related to the efficiency of water treatment. In the long run, wastewater treatment plants can reduce their impacts with an increase in efficiency (3.7 % impact reduction). Additionally, the development of reclaimed water technology and water savings can reduce the impact by 19 % and 13.7 %, respectively, compared to the implementation of desalination. In terms of energy policy, more profound energy savings were observed when energy saving and structure transformation were simultaneously carried out. On the other hand, desalination poses the most political risk and has energy-associated environmental impacts. The DLCA results from this study showcase the trend of impact variation over time and thus provide valuable insights for future policy-making in mapping out the benefits and priorities of policy promotion.

Spatial allocation of LID practices with a water footprint approach.

Urban water problems due to stormwater have been aggravated by the higher frequency of high-intensity precipitation events and the increase of paved surfaces. However, with appropriate stormwater management practices, such as low-impact development (LID), stormwater can provide an additional urban water resources rather than cause damage. This study aims to apply a water footprint to location determination of LID practices in the urban area. The LID planning procedure was demonstrated with the highest population density region in Taipei, Taiwan. In order to improve the spatial resolution of LID allocation, the "first-level dissemination area" with 450 residents was used as a spatial unit. The performance of LID practices was then evaluated with the simulation using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Three LID practices, rainwater harvesting systems, permeable pavements, and bioretention systems, were selected. After the water footprint accounting, ten sites were suggested for LID implementation. The runoff reduction rate reached up to 65 % by rainwater harvesting systems or at least 3 % by permeable pavements. This study provides a simpler and more effective approach to ways of integrating an urban water footprint into LID planning and stormwater management in urban areas.

Improving urban sustainability and resilience with the optimal arrangement of water-energy-food related practices.

Water-, energy-, and food (WEF) related practices, such as low impact development (LID), residential solar panels, and rooftop urban agriculture, have been applied to improve urban sustainability and resilience under climate change and urbanization. However, most practices require space. This requirement may result in competition for land. In addition, not all newly built practices benefit the environment from the life cycle perspective. Therefore, this study aims to develop a systematic WEF-related practice planning method to improve urban sustainability and resilience in a limited space. The core method is a multi-objective optimization model that considers the performance and environmental impacts of the selected practices. The assessment was conducted in a densely populated area in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, to describe the planning processes and demonstrate the feasibility of the methods. In the Taipei case, five goals were defined: the supply of WEF, the sponge city development target, and the greenhouse gas reduction target. The optimal results of the multi-objective optimization model indicated the closeness of the optimal implementation of WEF-related practices to achieving the goals. The results showed that the optimal arrangement of WEF-related practices could provide water supply benefits and was favorable for developing a sponge city. According to the sensitivities, to achieve urban sustainability and resilience, the priorities in order of importance are as follows: establish a rainwater harvesting system for buildings, encourage the implementation of rooftop photovoltaic systems, and improve the materials and processes used solar panel and bioretention cell production. The systematic planning method provides a quantitative assessment and delivers practical cross-sectoral integrated strategies for decision-making.

Lifecycle cost and carbon implications of residential solar-plus-storage in California.

Capacities of residential photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage are rapidly growing, while their lifecycle cost and carbon implications are not well understood. Here, we integrate PV generation and load data for households in California to assess the current and future lifecycle cost and carbon emissions of solar-plus-storage systems. Our results show that installing PV reduces $180-$730 and 110-570 kgCO2 per year per household in 2020. However, compared to solar-only system, adding battery storage increases lifecycle costs by 39%-67%, while impact on emissions is mixed (-20% to 24%) depending on tariff structure and marginal emission factors. In 2040, under current decarbonization and cost trajectories, solar-plus-storage leads to up to 31% higher lifecycle costs and up to 32% higher emissions than solar-only systems. Designing a tariff structure with wider rate spreads aligned with marginal carbon emissions, and reducing the costs and embodied emissions of batteries are crucial for broader adoption of low-carbon residential solar-plus-storage.