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Car Tire Crumb Rubber: Does Leaching Produce a Toxic Chemical Cocktail in Coastal Marine Systems?
Crumb rubber granulate (CRG) produced from end of life tires (ELTs) is commonly applied to synthetic turf pitches (STPs), playgrounds, safety surfaces and walkways. In addition to fillers, stabilizers, cross-linking agents and secondary components (e.g., pigments, oils, resins), ELTs contain a range of other organic compound and heavy metal additives. While previous environmental impact studies on CRG have focused on terrestrial soil and freshwater ecosystems, many sites applying CRG in Norway are coastal. The current study investigated the organic chemical and metal additive content of ‘pristine’ and ‘weathered’ CRG and their seawater leachates, as well as uptake and effects of leachate exposure using marine copepods (Acartia and Calanus sp.). A combination of pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (py-GC-MS) and chemical extraction followed by GC-MS analysis revealed similar organic chemical profiles for pristine and weathered CRG, including additives such as benzothiazole, N-1,3-dimethylbutyl-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine and a range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenolic compounds (e.g., bisphenols). ICP-MS analysis revealed g kg–1 quantities of Zn and mg kg–1 quantities of Fe, Mn, Cu, Co, Cr, Pb, and Ni in the CRG. A cocktail of organic additives and metals readily leached from the CRG into seawater, with the most abundant leachate components being benzothiazole and Zn, Fe, Co (metals), as well as detectable levels of PAHs and phenolic compounds. Concentrations of individual components varied with CRG source material and CRG to seawater ratio, but benzothiazole and Zn were typically the organic and metal components present at the highest concentrations in the leachates. While organic chemical concentrations in the leachates stabilized within days, metals continued to leach out over the 30-day period. Marine copepods exposed to high CRG leachate concentrations exhibited high mortalities within 48 h. The smaller lipid-poor Acartia had a higher sensitivity to leachates than the larger lipid-rich Calanus, indicating species-specific differences in vulnerability to leachates. The effect on survival was alleviated at lower leachate concentrations, indicating a dose-response relationship. Benzothiazole and its derivatives appear to be of concern owing to their proven toxicity, while bisphenols are also known to be toxic and were enriched in the leachates relative to the other compounds in the CRG.
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020
In the beginning of April 2020, large fires that started in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) established after the Chernobyl accident in 1986 caused media and public concerns about the health impact from the resuspended radioactivity. In this paper, the emissions of previously deposited radionuclides from these fires are assessed and their dispersion and impact on the population is examined relying on the most recent data on radioactive contamination and emission factors combined with satellite observations. About 341 GBq of 137Cs, 51 GBq of 90Sr, 2 GBq of 238Pu, 33 MBq of 239Pu, 66 MBq of 240Pu and 504 MBq of 241Am were released in 1st–22nd April 2020 or about 1,000,000,000 times lower than the original accident in 1986 and mostly distributed in Central and East Europe. The large size of biomass burning particles carrying radionuclides prevents long-range transport as confirmed by concentrations reported in Europe. The highest cumulative effective doses (> 15 μSv) were calculated for firefighters and the population living in the CEZ, while doses were much lower in Kiev (2–5 μSv) and negligible in Belarus, Russia and Europe. All doses are radiologically insignificant and no health impact o
Nature Portfolio
2020
As part of the ongoing key comparison BIPM.QM-K1, a comparison has been performed between the ozone standard of Norway maintained by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and the common reference standard of the key comparison, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The instruments have been compared over a nominal ozone amount-of-substance fraction range from 0 nmol/mol to 500 nmol/mol.
2020
Air quality mitigation in European cities: Status and challenges ahead
Cities are currently at the core of air quality (AQ) improvement. The present work provides an overview of AQ management strategies and outcomes in 10 European cities (Antwerp, Berlin, Dublin, Madrid, Malmö, Milan, Paris, Plovdiv, Prague, Vienna) in 2018, and their evolution since 2013 (same cities, plus Ploiesti and Vilnius), based on first-hand input from AQ managers. The status of AQ mitigation in 2018, and its evolution since 2013, were assessed. While results evidenced that the majority of mitigation strategies targeted road traffic, emerging sources such as inland shipping, construction/demolition and recreational wood burning were identified. Several cities had in 2018 the ambition to continue decreasing air pollution concentrations to meet WHO guidelines, an ambition which had not yet been identified in 2013. Specific needs identified by all of the cities assessed were tools to quantify the effectiveness of mitigation strategies and for cost-benefit analysis, as well as specific and up to date technical guidance on real-world road vehicle emissions. The cities also requested guidance to identify mitigation measures promoting co-benefits, e.g., in terms of AQ, climate change, and noise. Support from administrations at local-regional-national-EU scales, and especially involving local policy-makers early on in the air quality management process, was considered essential. This work provides insight into the drivers of successful/unsuccessful AQ policies as well as on the challenges faced during their implementation. We identify knowledge gaps and provide input to the research and policy-making communities as to specific needs of cities.
Elsevier
2020
2020
2020
Regionalized environmental impacts of construction machinery
PURPOSE:
This study aims to establish a regionalized environmental impact assessment of construction machinery equipped with diesel engines certified by the European emission standard Stage V, and operated in cold climatic zones in Europe.
METHOD:
The study quantifies potential environmental impacts associated with construction machinery over the entire lifecycle, from extraction of materials to the end-of-life. For the operation phase, a meso-level emission accounting method is applied to quantify tailpipe emissions for certain subcategories of construction machinery. This is achieved by determining the operational efficiency of each machine in terms of effective hours. The quantified emission data are then adjusted based on engine deterioration models to estimate the rate of increase in emissions throughout the lifetime of each machine. Finally, the CML impact assessment method is applied to inventory data to quantify potential environmental impacts.
RESULTS:
The study shows that tailpipe emissions, which largely depend on an engine’s fuel consumption, had the largest contribution to environmental impacts in most impact categories. At the same time, there was a positive correlation between the operation weight and the impacts of the machinery. Also, machinery with similar operation weight had relatively similar impact patterns due to similar driving factors and dependencies. In addition, network, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses were performed to quantify the source of impacts and validate the robustness of the study. Results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the responsiveness of the studied systems is very sensitive to changes in the amount of fuel consumption. In addition, the uncertainty results showed that the domain of uncertainty increased as the operation weight subcategory of machinery increased.
CONCLUSION:
This study extends previous work on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of construction machinery, and the methodology developed provides a basis for future extension and improvement in this field. The use of effective hours as the unit of operational efficiency helps to resolve uncertainties linked to lifetime and annual operation hours. Also, the obtained results can be of use for decision support and for assessing the impacts of transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuel types.
2020
Large-eddy simulation (LES) experiments have been performed using the Parallelized LES Model (PALM). A methodology for validating and understanding LES results for plume dispersion and concentration fluctuations in an atmospheric-like flow is presented. A wide range of grid resolutions is shown to be necessary for investigating the convergence of statistical characteristics of velocity and scalar fields. For the scalar, the statistical moments up to the fourth order and the shape of the concentration probability density function (p.d.f.) are examined. The mean concentration is influenced by grid resolution, with the highest resolution simulation showing a lower mean concentration, linked to larger turbulent structures. However, a clear tendency to convergence of the concentration variance is observed at the two higher resolutions. This behaviour is explained by showing that the mechanisms driving the mean and the variance are differently influenced by the grid resolution. The analysis of skewness and kurtosis allows also the obtaining of general results on plume concentration fluctuations. Irrespective of grid resolution, a family of Gamma p.d.f.s well represents the shape of the concentration p.d.f. but only beyond the peak of the concentration fluctuation intensity. In the early plume dispersion phases, the moments of the p.d.f. are in good agreement with those generated by a fluctuating plume model. To the best of our knowledge, our study demonstrates for the first time that, if resolution and averaging time are adequate, atmospheric LES provides a trustworthy representation of the high order moments of the concentration field, up to the fourth order, for a dispersing plume.
Springer
2020
Apex predators are characterized by high levels of biomagnifying organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) which have been found to induce detrimental health effects in wildlife, such as immune system impairment. The leukocyte coping capacity (LCC) assay is a functional real-time measure of an innate immune response essential in pathogen resistance, known as the respiratory burst. The current study suggests the novel use of this tool to test whether OHCs impair the innate immune system of a sentinel top predator, the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla; WTE). The LCC analysis was performed in the field on WTE nestlings (n = 84) from northern Norway over two breeding seasons. Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) dominated the total OHC load, surpassing the levels of legacy organochlorines. In addition, we detected significant negative correlations between concentrations of all polychlorinated biphenyls, p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids and the LCC of WTE nestlings. Based on our current findings reflecting a potential negative effect of both emerging and legacy OHCs on innate immune capacity, we suggest LCC to be a relevant and accessible test expanding the ecotoxicological toolbox to assess sub-lethal effects of OHCs in apex avian wildlife.
Elsevier
2020
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are not
declining in Arctic air despite reductions in their global emissions.
In Svalbard, the Longyearbyen coal-fired power plant
is considered to be one of the major local sources of PAHs.
Power plant stack emissions and ambient air samples, collected
simultaneously at 1 km (UNIS) and 6 km (Adventdalen)
transect distance, were analysed (gaseous and particulate
phases separately) for 22 nitro-PAHs, 8 oxy-PAHs,
and 16 parent PAHs by gas chromatography in combination
with single quadrupole electron capture negative ionization
mass spectrometry (GC-ECNI-MS) and gas chromatography
in combination with triple quadrupole electron ionization
mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS/MS). Results confirm low
levels of PAH emissions (Sum 16 PAHs D 1:5 μg/kg coal)
from the power plant. Phenanthrene, 9,10-anthraquinone, 9-
fluorenone, fluorene, fluoranthene, and pyrene accounted for
85% of the plant emission (not including naphthalene). A dilution
effect was observed for the transect ambient air samples:
1.26+/- 0.16 and 0.63+/- 0.14 ng/m3 were the sum of all
47 PAH derivatives for UNIS and Adventdalen, respectively.
The PAH profile was homogeneous for these recipient stations
with phenanthrene and 9-fluorenone being most abundant.
Multivariate statistical analysis confirmed coal combustion
and vehicle and marine traffic as the predominant
sources of PAHs. Secondary atmospheric formation of 9-
nitroanthracene and 2C3-nitrofluoranthene was evaluated
and concluded. PAHs partitioning between gaseous and particulate
phases showed a strong dependence on ambient temperatures
and humidity. The present study contributes important
data which can be utilized to eliminate uncertainties in
model predictions that aim to assess the extent and impacts
of Arctic atmospheric contaminants.
2020