Mapping the coordination and cooperation mechanisms of risk communication on feed/food safety in the EU.

The mapping of the EU coordination and cooperation mechanisms of risk communication in the field of food safety (i.e. encompassing all matters pertaining to the feed and food chain) was conducted for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), following a mandate by the European Commission, to inform the General Plan for Risk Communication that the Commission will set out. This study focuses on communication activities in 'peacetime' situations (i.e. non-crisis) on the published outputs of risk assessment and risk management. This is a specific part of the risk communication process defined in the General Food Law. Data were collected through an online survey of competent authority organisations involved in risk communication at national and regional levels in the EU-27 Member States and Norway; and interviews with selected organisations at Member State, EU and international levels. Based on these data, this report provides an overview of the current information flow of risk communication, in terms of whether and how organisations at all levels receive, produce, and disseminate risk communication material. The existing flows in each country are described and mapped in flow charts. Flows are also presented for each of the EU/international organisations involved in risk communication on food safety. A number of relevant networks are identified that actively engage in sharing/exchanges of risk communication material on food safety, including networks managed by EFSA. This project also highlighted certain challenges in current risk communication systems, and recommendations are made to address them. At national level, these are: an increase in resources dedicated to coordinating communication on EU food safety issues, to improve capacity to undertake this task; strengthen the cooperation and coordination between authorities involved in risk communication activities to ensure a more proactive approach. In addition, recommendations are provided to enhance further collaboration of communication activities at all levels (between Member States and with EFSA; between EU Agencies), so that the coordination of risk communication at EU level follows a partnership approach.

Catalogue of Communication Tools and Dissemination Guidelines: benchmarking current practice in EU and Member State bodies.

A comprehensive benchmarking exercise on current best practices on communication tools and dissemination processes of EU Member State organisations plus Iceland and Norway, selected ENVI EU agencies (EFSA, EMA, ECHA, ECDC), and EU bodies (DG SANTE, JRC, EU COUN) was carried out via an online survey, remote qualitative interviews, and a desk analysis of documents and web content.These current practices have been compiled into a catalogue of communication tools and a guide to their effective dissemination. Both elements are designed to help inform the EC General Plan for Risk Communication (GPRC)andfacilitate a coordinated communication framework at the EU and national level on matters relating to the food chain. The reportsets out a broad overview of the current tools that are commonly used, their intended communication purposes and target audiences. It also describes dissemination channels andmethods to optimise outreach. This work provides a solid platform for EU and Member State bodies to build on going forward. The report should be viewed as a living document that will evolve to meet fast-changing information needs and the requirements of the future GPRC.The catalogue highlights that multimedia tools show relatively high impact scores and high mention rates by the respondents participating in the online survey. Editorial tools are still very important, especially to reach the media. Both physical meetings and events and educational tools have very high impact scores but limited mention rates. All communication tools can be effective if properly designed (i.e. right content and tone of voice for the intended target audience(s) and disseminated through the right channels). Social media and the website are the most used dissemination channels. The reliance on campaigns is widespread as they help achieve a stronger impact on the target audience. Moreover, communication tools supported by best practices in dissemination perform much better and are used by a wider audience than tools that are merely published on an organisation's website. A systematic phased approach to dissemination (1. planning, 2. preparation, 3. publication and distribution, and 4. post-publication and distribution) is, therefore, crucial for a successful communication strategy. Effective leverage of amplifiers (planned and prepared in the first two phases) substantially increases communication tools' outreach in the publication and distribution phase. The usage of Key Performance Indicators, set during the planning phase, allows an organisation to improve both communication tools and their dissemination strategy. Post-publication and distribution is a strategic phase to learn from the outcomes and fine-tune subsequent communication practices.

Nitrogen removal in an integrated constructed wetland treating domestic wastewater.

The nitrogen (N) removal performance of a 3.25 ha Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) treating domestic wastewater from Glaslough village in County Monaghan, Ireland, was evaluated in this study. The ICW consists of two sludge ponds and five shallow vegetated wetland cells. Influent and effluent concentrations of two N species, namely, ammonia-nitrogen (NH(3)-N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)-N), which were measured weekly over 2 years, together with hydrology of the ICW provided the basis for this evaluation. The influent wastewater typically contained 40 mg L(-1) NH(3)-N and 5 mg L(-1) NO(3)-N. Concentrations of N in the ICW effluent were typically less than 1.0 mg L(-1) for both species. Overall, a total load of 2802 kg NH(3)-N and 441 kg NO(3)-N was received by the ICW and a removal rate of 98.0 % and 96.9 %, respectively, was recorded. Average areal N loading rate (245 mg m(-2) d(-1) NH(3)-N and 38 mg m(-2) d(-1) NO(3)-N) had a significant linear relationship with areal N removal rate (240 mg m(-2) d(-1) and 35 mg m(-2) d(-1), respectively) for both species. The areal first-order N removal rate constants in the ICW averaged 14 m yr(-1) for NH(3)-N and 11 m yr(-1) for NO(3)-N. Temperature coefficients (θ) for N reduction in the ICW were lower and less than unity for NO(3)-N, suggesting that the variability in N removal by the ICW was marginally influenced by temperature.

Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICW) for livestock wastewater management.

Social, economic and environmental coherence is sought in the management of livestock wastewater. Wetlands facilitate the biogeochemical processes that exploit livestock wastewater and provide opportunities to achieve such coherence and also to deliver on a range of ecosystem services. The Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) concept integrates three inextricably linked objectives: water quantity and quality management, landscape-fit to improve aesthetic site values and enhanced biodiversity. The synergies derived from this explicit integration allow one of the key challenges for livestock management to be addressed. An example utilizing twelve ICW systems from a catchment on the south coast of Ireland demonstrates that over an eight year period mean reduction of total and soluble phosphorus (molybdate reactive phosphorus) exceeded 95% and the mean removal of ammonium-N exceeded 98%. This paper reviews evidence regarding the capacity of ICWs to provide a coherent and sustainable alternative to conventional systems.

Application of the self-organizing map as a prediction tool for an integrated constructed wetland agroecosystem treating agricultural runoff.

A self-organizing map (SOM) model was applied as a prediction tool for the performance of an integrated constructed wetland (ICW) agroecosystem treating agricultural runoff to protect receiving watercourses. By utilizing the SOM model, the time-consuming to measure expensive biochemical oxygen demand outflow concentrations were predicted well by other inexpensive variables, which were quicker and easier to measure. Correct predictions for the outflow biochemical oxygen demand concentrations were between 89% and 100%. This novel approach allows for the real time control of the outflow water quality of the ICW and potentially also of other treatment system applications. Moreover, the missing values and outliers from the large but incomplete ICW data set were replaced accurately by most likely values determined by the SOM model. This was important because the proportions of unusable entries for chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and biochemical oxygen demand were very high: 41%, 54%, and 61%, respectively.

Assessment of the nutrient removal performance in integrated constructed wetlands with the self-organizing map.

The self-organizing map (SOM) model was applied to predict outflow nutrient concentrations for integrated constructed wetlands (ICWs) treating farmyard runoff. The SOM showed that the outflow ammonia-nitrogen concentrations were strongly correlated with water temperature and salt concentrations, indicating that ammonia-nitrogen removal is effective at low salt concentrations and comparatively high temperatures in ICWs. Soluble reactive phosphorus removal was predominantly affected by salt and dissolved oxygen concentrations. In addition, pH and temperature were weakly correlated with soluble reactive phosphorus removal, suggesting that soluble reactive phosphorus was easily removed within ICWs, if salt concentrations were low, and dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH values were high. The SOM model performed very well in predicting the nutrient concentrations with water quality variables such as temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen, which can be measured cost-effectively. The results indicate that the SOM model was an appropriate approach to monitor wastewater treatment processes in ICWs.