The research institution INEGI, based in Porto in northern Portugal, has been commissioned by the Portuguese port authority APDL with developing solutions aimed at improving environmental monitoring and environmental management at its ports and freight terminals. The aim here, according to a press release, is to achieve integrated monitoring and a more robust management processes in relation to environmental quality and the factors influencing this.
“APDL has been intensifying efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its activities and improve the quality of life for local populations”, as Marta Gabriel, project manager at INEGI, explains in the press release. She adds: “This project is an important step in defining strategies for modernizing the environmental management infrastructure of ports and terminals”.
The project encompasses the ports of Leixões and Viana do Castelo on the Douro waterway, the logistics platform of the Port of Leixões, and the Leixões and Guarda freight terminals. In the first phase of the project, INEGI collected data to identify and categorize the main sources of pollution from port and railway terminal activities. The second phase is now focused on defining the technical requirements, which will enable a strategy to be developed that implements new, integrated, real-time monitoring and management solutions for air, water, and noise quality. According to the press release, the system will also include alarm mechanisms tailored to specific needs to support the rapid identification of risk events and to facilitate decision-making processes.
