Social and Cultural Sustainability: Criteria, Indicators, Verifier Variables for Measurement and Maps for Visualization to Support Planning

Policies on economic use of natural resources require considerations to social and cultural values. In order to make those concrete in a planning context, this paper aims to interpret social and cultural criteria, identify indicators, match these with verifier variables and visualize them on maps. Indicators were selected from a review of scholarly work and natural resource policies, and then matched with verifier variables available for Sweden’s 290 municipalities. Maps of the spatial distribution of four social and four cultural verifier variables were then produced. Consideration of social and cultural values in the studied natural resource use sectors was limited. The spatial distribution of the verifier variables exhibited a general divide between northwest and south Sweden, and regional rural and urban areas. We conclude that it is possible to identify indicators and match them with verifier variables to support inclusion of social and cultural values in planning.     

Factors influencing PM10 emissions from road pavement wear

Accelerated pavement wear is one of the major environmental disadvantages of studded tyres in northern regions and results in increased levels of PM₁₀. Measurements of PM₁₀ in a road simulator hall have been used to study the influence of pavement properties, tyre type and vehicle speed on pavement wear. The test set-up included three different pavements (one granite and two quartzite with different aggregate sizes), three different tyre types (studded, non-studded, and summer tyres) and different speeds (30–70 km h^?1). The results show that the granite pavement was more prone to PM₁₀ production compared to the quartzite pavements. Studded winter tyres yield tens of times higher PM₁₀ concentrations compared to non-studded winter tyres. Wear from summer tyres was negligible in comparison. It was also shown that wear is strongly dependent on speed; every 10 km h^?1 increase yielded an increase of the PM₁₀ concentration of 680 μg m^?3 in one of the simulator experiments.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ash: determination of total and leachable concentrations

Before wood ash can be used as a soil fertilizer, concentrations of environmentally hazardous compounds must be investigated. In this study, total and leachable concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in four ash samples and one green liquor sludge. The ash sample with the highest carbon content also contained high levels of PAHs; three of the ash samples had total concentrations exceeding the limit permitted by the Swedish Forest Agency for recycling to forest soils. The leachable concentrations were higher for the non-stabilized samples; this was probably due to colloid-facilitated transport of the contaminants in these samples. However, the leachable concentrations were overall relatively low in all the samples studied. The amounts of PAHs introduced to forest soils by additions of stabilized, recyclable ash products will be determined primarily by the rate of weathering of the ash particles and the total concentration of contaminants.     

Phthalate levels in Norwegian indoor air related to particle size fraction

Phthalates are found in numerous consumer products, including interior materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Several studies have identified phthalates in indoor air. A recent case-control study demonstrated associations between allergic symptoms in children and the concentration of phthalates in dust collected from their homes. Here we have analyzed the content of selected phthalates in particulate matter (PM): PM(10) and PM(2.5) filter samples collected in 14 different indoor environments. The results showed the presence of the phthalates di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) in the samples. The dominating phthalate in both PM(10) and PM(2.5) samples from all locations was DBP. More than a 10-fold variation in the mean concentration of total phthalates between sampling sites was observed. The highest levels of total phthalates were detected in one children's room, one kindergarten, in two primary schools, and in a computer room. The relative contribution of total phthalates in PM(10) and PM(2.5) was 1.1 +/- 0.3% for both size fractions. The contribution of total phthalates in PM(2.5) to total phthalates in PM(10) ranged from 23-81%, suggesting different sources. Of the phthalates that were analyzed in the PM material, DBP was found to be the major phthalate in rubber from car tyres. However, our analyses indicate that tyre wear was of minor importance for indoor levels of both DBP as well as total phthalates. Overall, these results support the notion that inhalation of indoor PM contributes to the total phthalate exposure.     

Improving soil investigations at brownfield sites using a flexible work strategy and screening methods inspired by the US Environmental Protection Agency's triad approach

Investigations of polluted brownfield sites and sample analyses are expensive, and the resulting data are often of poor quality. Efforts are needed, therefore, to improve the methods used in investigations of brownfield sites to both reduce costs and improve the quality of the results. One approach that could be useful for both of these purposes is the triad strategy, developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, in which managing uncertainty is a central feature. In the investigations reported here, a field study was conducted to identify possible ways in which uncertainties could be managed in practice. One example considered involves optimizing the uncertainty by adjusting the sizes of samples and the efforts expended in analytical work according to the specific aims of the project. In addition, the potential utility of several toxicity assessment methods for screening sites was evaluated. As well as presenting the results of these assessments, in this contribution we discuss ways in which a flexible work strategy and screening methods inspired of the triad philosophy could be incorporated into the Swedish approach to remediate brownfield sites. A tiered approach taking advantage of field and screening methods is proposed to assess brownfield sites focusing on the response and acceptable uncertainty that are required for the task.     

Experimental determination of efficiency of capping materials during consolidation of metal-contaminated dredged material

Capping has received considerable attention as a method to reduce contaminant transport from contaminated sediments and sub-aqueous disposed dredged materials. Consolidation of dredged material after capping can result in a substantial advection of pore water, into or through the capping layer. The effect of two different capping materials (crushed limestone and gneiss) on the transport of heavy metals and phosphorus during consolidation was studied with a novel experimental design. Capped dredged material was placed in a consolidation cell and pore water expelled during the consolidation was collected for chemical analysis. To support interpretation of the results from this test, interactions between the capping material and the dredged material were also studied in batch tests. The study revealed large differences in the capping efficiency (CE) between the two materials. Both materials were efficient caps for Fe and P (CE>99% with 2cm cap), while limestone also was efficient for Mn (CE>92% with 2cm cap). Contrary to what was expected, capping of dredged material with crushed gneiss increased the release of Ca, Mn, Co, Ni, Cd, and Cu, resulting in negative CE. The batch tests showed that leaching from the crushed gneiss was the source of the observed release of metals. The results also show that the high concentrations of heavy metals in the dredged material were immobilised, probably by sulphides. Protection against re-suspension and oxidation will therefore in many cases be the most important effect of the cap.     

First compound-specific chlorine-isotope analysis of environmentally-bioaccumulated organochlorines indicates a degradation-relatable kinetic isotope effect for DDT

Compound-specific chlorine-isotope analysis (CSIA-Cl) of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (p,p'-DDE) in blubber from Baltic Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) was performed in order to investigate if a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) could be observed concomitant to environmental degradation of DDT. The delta(37)Cl of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE were -0.69 +/- 0.21 per thousand and -2.98 +/- 0.57 per thousand (1s igma, n = 3), respectively. Both samples were enriched relative to the hypothesized initial isotope composition (-4.34 per thousand), thus indicating a composite KIE associated with the degradation mechanisms pertaining to DDT. An isotope fractionation factor for degradation of dichloromethane, from the literature, was adapted and modified for use in the calculation of DDT degradation. A subsequent simplified Rayleigh distillation model of the DDT chlorine-isotope composition yielded an estimated fraction (f) of 7 +/- 2% of released DDT presently remaining as undegraded compound in the environment. The consistency between the result of the Rayleigh model (f approximately 7%) and the use of the DDT/(DDT + DDE) ratio as a measure of DDT degradation ( approximately 10% undegraded DDT) suggests that the KIE of DDT degradation may be significant, and that the novel approach of CSIA-Cl may be a valuable tool for degradation/persistence studies of lipophilic organochlorines in the environment.     

Vegetation monitoring in South-Varanger, Norway – species composition of ground vegetation and its relation to environmental variables and pollution impact

The area along the Norwegian-Russian border is threatened by air pollution from emission sources on the Kola Peninsula. A permanent network of 78 systematically chosen monitoring sites has been established in eastern Finnmark, Norway. Species abundance data from the ground vegetation have been recorded from 1320 systematically chosen permanent plots inside 66 of these sites, using frequency in subplots and visual estimates of percentage cover. Environmental variables were obtained for the whole site. Multivariate data analysis has been used to describe the variation in the species composition and to study its relation to environmental variables and pollution impact. The analyses show that much of the variation in the species composition, based on average species abundance at the sites, is well explained by different soil and climatic conditions. However, estimated SO₂ deposition, Ni, and Cu in the soil, and Ni in Cladina tissue have also been found to be statistically significantly correlated with the variation in the species data, but they explain only a minor part of the variation. The pollution impact over several years may have lead to a reduced lichen cover in the bottom-layer vegetation. Further development in an either negative or positive direction can be detected by re-investigations of the monitoring sites.     

Estimation of riverine loads of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Baltic Sea, 1970–1993

This article presents the results of the first critical examination of time series of riverine nutrient-load data for the entire Baltic Sea drainage area. Water quality data collected by or for the different national environmental agencies were compiled and analysed statistically to identify and remove inconsistent or obviously incorrect observations. Moreover, sampling tours were undertaken to acquire additional information about the present nutrient concentrations in the largest rivers in the study area. Gaps in the time series of approved data were then filled in by employing statistical interpolation and extrapolation methods. Thereafter, the concentration and runoff data were combined to obtain estimates of monthly nutrient loads for the time period 1970–93. The results of the calculations showed that although there had been substantial changes in land use, atmospheric deposition and wastewater treatment in many parts of the study area, the total riverine loads of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to the Baltic Sea have been fairly constant since 1980, and most likely also since 1970. Moreover, the interannual variation was clearly correlated to the runoff. The mean annual loads for the time period 1980–93 were found to be about 825 000 tonnes N and 41 000 tonnes P, respectively. This implies that (i) several other investigators have strongly underestimated the riverine loads of nutrients, especially the nitrogen, and that (ii) the riverine loads by far exceed the input to the Baltic Sea from other sources, {i.e.} atmospheric deposition, direct emissions from cities and industries along the Baltic Sea coast and nitrogen fixation by marine algae.