Rapport

Screening of compounds in tire wear road run off

Hanssen, Linda; Schmidt, Natascha; Nikiforov, Vladimir

Tire related additive chemicals can leach out and enter the environment. Road run-off and recipient waters are particularly prone to contamination by these chemicals, though data from large screening studies is lacking. Here, we present data from water (road run-off & recipients, atmospheric deposition (rain), snow), sediment (marine, snow dumping sites) and biota (blue mussels) samples collected in the Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to provide a first assessment of the presence of tire related chemicals in road run-off and associated samples in the Nordic countries. Tire related additive chemicals were detected in 85 out of 87 samples, with varying concentrations depending on the sample type and location.

Nordic Council of Ministers

Investigating snow deposition of cyclic siloxanes in an Arctic environment

Nipen, Maja; Hartz, William Frederik; Bäcklund, Are; Schulze, Dorothea; Christensen, Guttorm; Løge, Oda Siebke; Nikiforov, Vladimir; Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla

cVMS are high production volume chemicals that are used for a wide range of industrial and domestic applications. Given the high volatility of cVMS, emissions occur mainly to the atmosphere, and cVMS are present in the Arctic atmosphere, e.g. at the Zeppelin Observatory near Ny Ålesund, Svalbard, suggesting potential for long-range atmospheric transport. A study to investigate whether cVMS have the potential to deposit to surface media, and thereby represent a potential risk to the terrestrial or marine environment in polar and Arctic regions was carried out. Overall, cVMS levels in samples of vegetation, soil, sediment and marine biota were low. D4 was detected in most samples at concentrations above LOD, but below LOQ, while D5 and D6 were generally not detected. The low cVMS concentrations in soil, vegetation, sediments, and fish are in line with most current research on cVMS in remote regions, which together suggest that input of cVMS from atmospheric deposition and snow melt is likely not a major contributing source.

NILU

Transboundary particulate matter, photo-oxidants, acidifying and eutrophying components

Fagerli, Hilde; Benedictow, Anna Maria Katarina; Blake, Lewis R.; van Caspel, Willem Elias; Denby, Bruce; Gauss, Michael; Jonson, Jan Eiof; Klein, Heiko; Lange, Gunnar Felix; Mousing, Erik Askov; Nyiri, Agnes; Oliviè, Dirk Jan Leo; Segers, Arjo; Simpson, David; Tsyro, Svetlana; Valdebenito Bustamante, Alvaro Moises; Wind, Peter Ariaan; Aas, Wenche; Fiebig, Markus; Hjellbrekke, Anne-Gunn; Solberg, Sverre; Tørseth, Kjetil; Yttri, Karl Espen; Redeyoff, Oscar; Matthews, Bradley; Schindlbacher, Sabine; Ullrich, Bernhard; Wankmüller, Robert; Scheuschner, Thomas; Kuenen, Jeroen J.P.; Guevara, Marc; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc; Dominutti, Pamela; Uzu, Gaelle; Conil, Sébastien; Favez, Olivier; Močnik, Griša

Norwegian Meteorological Institute

Air quality around ports

Pozzoli, Luca; Gressent, Alicia; Soares, Joana; Colette, Augustin; Monge, Silvia; Ortiz, Alberto González

Monitoring air quality in ports and nearby cities is crucial to understanding the role of emissions from shipping and other port activities. This report analyzes air quality in 23 European ports, revealing limited observations in and around port areas. Only 5 of the 23 ports had at least one air quality sampling point for NO2 and PM10 inside the port area. Concentrations in nearby cities can be up to double (NO2) and 74% higher (PM10) when the wind comes from the port. EEA air quality maps showed higher annual mean NO2 concentrations in port areas compared to surrounding regions, with some ports exceeding the 2030 limit value of 20 µg/m³. Annual mean PM10 concentrations were also higher in port areas, with nine ports exceeding the new limit value. The limited number of sampling points makes it challenging to assess trends in NO2 and PM10 concentrations. International shipping emissions significantly contribute to NO2 levels in port cities, as shown by pollution episodes in Antwerpen and Barcelona.

ETC/HE

Monitoring of microplastics in the Norwegian environment (MIKRONOR) 2023

Alling, Vanja Karin Gunilla; Lund, Espen; Lusher, Amy Lorraine; Knight, Jemmima; Hjelset, Sverre; Singdahl-Larsen, Cecilie; Martínez Francés, Elena; Rødland, Elisabeth Strandbråten; Pakhomova, Svetlana; Snekkevik, Vilde Kloster; Consolaro, Chiara; van Bavel, Bert; Schmidt, Natascha; Herzke, Dorte

The MIKRONOR monitoring program aims to establish baseline levels of microplastics in the Norwegian environment and to identify potential sources and sinks. This third MIKRONOR report focuses mainly on results from air samples, including data on tyre wear particles (TWP), as well as river and fjord surface water samples, and their correlation to rainfall and river discharge levels. Additionally, it presents data from sand samples taken from an OSPAR beach in the outer Oslofjord. The results for 2023 provide evidence of the omnipresence of microplastics in the environment. However, levels were higher near cities and populated areas, with decreasing levels further from human activities. This trend was observed in both air and surface water samples. Sand samples from the OSPAR beach in the Oslofjord showed levels of microplastics comparable to, or slightly higher than studied eabches at Svalbard. Since no other beach studies have been conducted in the MIKRONOR program, it is difficult to determine typical microplastic levels on a beach in the outer Oslofjord. Determined levels of microplastics in the beach samples were comparable to levels in marine bottom sediment at remote areas along the coast and lower than levels in sediments from the Oslofjord. Main conclusions of this report highlight the need for further research into the processes that control the levels and variations of microplastics and TWPs, such as weather conditions, river discharge, and air mass movement. Sampling of different matrices should, where possible, be conducted using similar strategies and equipment to improve the comparability of results. Additionally, the high spatial and temporal variability between samples must be considered to determine the appropriate number of analyses needed to obtain reliable results.

Norsk institutt for vannforskning og Miljødirektoratet