Browsing by Autor "Seghezzo, Lucas"

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Development of a relative risk model for drinking water regulation and design recommendations for a peri urban region of Argentina.
(2015) Rodriguez-Alvarez, María Soledad; Weir, Mark H; Pope, Joanna M; Seghezzo, Lucas; Rajal, Verónica B; Salusso, María Mónica; Moraña, Liliana B
Argentina is a developing Latin American nation that has an aim of achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for potable water supplies. Their current regulations however, limit the continued development of improved potable water quality and infrastructure from a microbiological viewpoint. This is since the current regulations are focused solely to pathogenic Eschericia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and fecal indicators. Regions of lower socioeconomic status such as peri-urban areas are particularly at risk due to lessened financial and political ability to influence their environmental quality and infrastructure needs. Therefore, a combined microbiological sampling, analysis and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) modeling effort were engaged for a peri-urban area of Salta Argentina. Drinking water samples from home taps were analyzed and a QMRA model was developed, results of which were compared against a general 1:10,000 risk level for lack of a current Argentinian standard. This QMRA model was able to demonstrate that the current regulations were being achieved for E. coli but were less than acceptable for P. aeruginosa in some instances. Appropriate health protections are far from acceptable for Giardia for almost all water sources. Untreated water sources were sampled and analyzed then QMRA modeled as well, since a significant number of the community (∼9%) still use them for potable water supplies. For untreated water E. coli risks were near 1:10,000, however, P. aeruginosa and Giardia risks failed to be acceptable in almost all instances. The QMRA model and microbiological analyses demonstrate the need for improved regulatory efforts for the peri-urban area along with improved investment in their water infrastructure.
Participatory, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods as a Means to Increase the Legitimacy and Sustainability of Land Use Planning Processes. The Case of the Chaco Region in Salta, Argentina.
(2017) Seghezzo, Lucas; Venencia, Cristian; Buliubasich, E Catalina; Iribarnegaray, Martín A; Volante, José N
Conflicts over land use and ownership are common in South America and generate frequent confrontations among indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers, and large-scale agricultural producers. We argue in this paper that an accurate identification of these conflicts, together with a participatory evaluation of their importance, will increase the social legitimacy of land use planning processes, rendering decision-making more sustainable in the long term. We describe here a participatory, multi-criteria conflict assessment model developed to identify, locate, and categorize land tenure and use conflicts. The model was applied to the case of the "Chaco" region of the province of Salta, in northwestern Argentina. Basic geographic, cadastral, and social information needed to apply the model was made spatially explicit on a Geographic Information System. Results illustrate the contrasting perceptions of different stakeholders (government officials, social and environmental non-governmental organizations, large-scale agricultural producers, and scholars) on the intensity of land use conflicts in the study area. These results can help better understand and address land tenure conflicts in areas with different cultures and conflicting social and enviornmental interests.
The water footprint of lithium extraction technologies: Insights from environmental impact reports in Argentina's salt flats.
(2025) Díaz Paz, Walter Fernando; Seghezzo, Lucas; Salas Barboza, Ariela Griselda; Escosteguy, Melisa; Arias-Alvarado, Paula Valentina; Kruse, Eduardo; Hufty, Marc; Iribarnegaray, Martín Alejandro
This study estimates water consumption in two lithium mines (Olaroz and Fénix) that use different extraction technologies in Argentina's salt flats. Based on Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs), we assess the water footprint (WF) and brine consumption (BC) in both mines. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to estimate WF and BC for lithium extraction and provides data to assess water consumption and better understand its implications for local ecosystems and communities. We also contextualize freshwater consumption in lithium extraction projects by estimating the blue water intensity (WIblue) and the population equivalent (PE), namely the number of local inhabitants that would consume an equivalent volume of water. Total WF was 51.0 and 135.5 m3/ton of lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) for Olaroz and Fénix, respectively. Per unit of product, WF was 2.7 times higher in Fénix but BC was higher in Olaroz. WIblue indicates that, while Fénix had a higher WFblue, its impact on local blue water availability is moderate due to greater local water availability. WFblue in Olaroz and Fénix was equivalent to the water consumption of 32,238 and 141,047 inhabitants of their nearest towns (Susques and Antofagasta de la Sierra, respectively, both with a current population of less than 2,100 inhabitants). Our findings underscore that the water consumption of lithium mining can have important impacts that vary significantly with geographic context. EIRs provide a useful basis for estimating WF and BC, though certain limitations and challenges persist, particularly regarding incomplete or insufficiently detailed data.