title: Waste to energy projects, the circular economy, and the law

authors: Barton, Barry

abstract: Two proposals for large waste-to-energy plants are under consideration and causing a great deal of debate. They will use the most common waste-to-energy (WTE) technology, disposing of waste by burning it in an incinerator to raise steam in a boiler, to generate electricity or supply heat for industrial processes. They employ elaborate equipment to reduce air pollution. The issues raised by WTE are significant; New Zealand is among the top waste producing nations in the OECD (3.2 tonnes of waste per capita per annum), and the worst for reuse and recycling: NZ Infrastructure Commission, Rautaki Hanganga o Aotearoa 2022-2052 New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy (2022) at 98. At the same time air pollution from combustion of different kinds already has significant adverse health impacts: Gerda Kuschel and others, Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand 2016 (2022); Stats NZ, “Health Impacts of Exposure to Human-Made Air Pollution” (2023). It seems useful to ask whether the current legal and policy framework for WTE projects is satisfactory.

text: Waste to energy projects, the circular economy, and the law Two proposals for large waste-to-energy plants are under consideration and causing a great deal of debate. They will use the most common waste-to-energy (WTE) technology, disposing of waste by burning it in an incinerator to raise steam in a boiler, to generate electricity or supply heat for industrial processes. They employ elaborate equipment to reduce air pollution. The issues raised by WTE are significant; New Zealand is among the top waste producing nations in the OECD (3.2 tonnes of waste per capita per annum), and the worst for reuse and recycling: NZ Infrastructure Commission, Rautaki Hanganga o Aotearoa 2022-2052 New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy (2022) at 98. At the same time air pollution from combustion of different kinds already has significant adverse health impacts: Gerda Kuschel and others, Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand 2016 (2022); Stats NZ, “Health Impacts of Exposure to Human-Made Air Pollution” (2023). It seems useful to ask whether the current legal and policy framework for WTE projects is satisfactory.

year: 2024-07

title: Treating Water Using a Perforated Electrode Flow Through Cell

authors: Hettiarachchi, Jayani

abstract: Perforated Electrode Flow Through cell (PEFT cell) is an undivided electro –chlorination cell designed by the University of Waikato. A new design was developed that consists of two sets of perforated electrodes assembled in a 3D printed casing. The aim of this research was to test the new PEFT cell for chlorine production, trial it for E-coli disinfection and iron and manganese removal by coupling it to a DMI-65 column. Maximum chlorine concentration was achieved at 0.1 mol/L NaCl concentration at a flow rate of 1.8 ml/s at 5 volts and 10 amps, and a current density of 44 mA/cm2, resulting in a chlorine concentration of 510 mg/L. Chlorine production increased with increasing salt concentration but decreased with flow rate. Maximum chlorine production rate was at 0.14 mg/s.amp at 7.41 ml/s flow rate. Total inactivation of E-coli bacteria was achieved for all conditions tested. Iron and manganese removals of 92.5% and 90% respectively were achieved for synthetic bore water when the PEFT cell was coupled to a DMI-65 column.

text: Treating Water Using a Perforated Electrode Flow Through Cell Perforated Electrode Flow Through cell (PEFT cell) is an undivided electro –chlorination cell designed by the University of Waikato. A new design was developed that consists of two sets of perforated electrodes assembled in a 3D printed casing. The aim of this research was to test the new PEFT cell for chlorine production, trial it for E-coli disinfection and iron and manganese removal by coupling it to a DMI-65 column. Maximum chlorine concentration was achieved at 0.1 mol/L NaCl concentration at a flow rate of 1.8 ml/s at 5 volts and 10 amps, and a current density of 44 mA/cm2, resulting in a chlorine concentration of 510 mg/L. Chlorine production increased with increasing salt concentration but decreased with flow rate. Maximum chlorine production rate was at 0.14 mg/s.amp at 7.41 ml/s flow rate. Total inactivation of E-coli bacteria was achieved for all conditions tested. Iron and manganese removals of 92.5% and 90% respectively were achieved for synthetic bore water when the PEFT cell was coupled to a DMI-65 column.

year: 2017

title: Equity of travel required to access first definitive surgery for liver or stomach cancer in New Zealand

authors: Gurney, Jason

subjects: Humans

abstract: In New Zealand, there are known disparities between the Indigenous Māori and the majority non-Indigenous European populations in access to cancer treatment, with resulting disparities in cancer survival. There is international evidence of ethnic disparities in the distance travelled to access cancer treatment; and as such, the aim of this paper was to examine the distance and time travelled to access surgical care between Māori and European liver and stomach cancer patients. We used national-level data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis to describe the distance travelled by patients to receive their first primary surgery for liver or stomach cancer, as well as the estimated time to travel this distance by road, and the surgical volume of hospitals performing these procedures. All cases of liver (ICD-10-AM 3rd edition code: C22) and stomach (C16) cancer that occurred in New Zealand (2007-2019) were drawn from the New Zealand Cancer Registry (liver cancer: 866 Māori, 2,460 European; stomach cancer: 953 Māori, 3,192 European), and linked to national inpatient hospitalisation records to examine access to surgery. We found that Māori on average travel 120km for liver cancer surgery, compared to around 60km for Europeans, while a substantial minority of both Māori and European liver cancer patients must travel more than 200km for their first primary liver surgery, and this situation appears worse for Māori (36% vs 29%; adj. OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.01). No such disparities were observed for stomach cancer. This contrast between cancers is likely driven by the centralisation of liver cancer surgery relative to stomach cancer. In order to support Māori to access liver cancer care, we recommend that additional support is provided to Māori patients (including prospective financial support), and that efforts are made to remotely provide those clinical services that can be decentralised.

text: Equity of travel required to access first definitive surgery for liver or stomach cancer in New Zealand In New Zealand, there are known disparities between the Indigenous Māori and the majority non-Indigenous European populations in access to cancer treatment, with resulting disparities in cancer survival. There is international evidence of ethnic disparities in the distance travelled to access cancer treatment; and as such, the aim of this paper was to examine the distance and time travelled to access surgical care between Māori and European liver and stomach cancer patients. We used national-level data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis to describe the distance travelled by patients to receive their first primary surgery for liver or stomach cancer, as well as the estimated time to travel this distance by road, and the surgical volume of hospitals performing these procedures. All cases of liver (ICD-10-AM 3rd edition code: C22) and stomach (C16) cancer that occurred in New Zealand (2007-2019) were drawn from the New Zealand Cancer Registry (liver cancer: 866 Māori, 2,460 European; stomach cancer: 953 Māori, 3,192 European), and linked to national inpatient hospitalisation records to examine access to surgery. We found that Māori on average travel 120km for liver cancer surgery, compared to around 60km for Europeans, while a substantial minority of both Māori and European liver cancer patients must travel more than 200km for their first primary liver surgery, and this situation appears worse for Māori (36% vs 29%; adj. OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.01). No such disparities were observed for stomach cancer. This contrast between cancers is likely driven by the centralisation of liver cancer surgery relative to stomach cancer. In order to support Māori to access liver cancer care, we recommend that additional support is provided to Māori patients (including prospective financial support), and that efforts are made to remotely provide those clinical services that can be decentralised.

year: 2022