Mobility and Methylation of Mercury in Forest Soils Development of an In-Situ Stable Isotope Tracer Technique and Initial Results

A method for investigating in-situmethylation and mobility of mercury has beendeveloped and applied to forest soil. The methodis based on additions of stable ¹⁹⁹Hgisotopes to forest soil plots followed bysampling and analysis of isotope ratios of totalmercury and MeHg using ICP-MS. Initial resultsindicate that a fraction (30%) of the mercuryadded to the forest soils is immobilised over atime scale of 16 months. A small but significantfraction of the mercury is methylated during thesame time scale. Higher methylation rates werefound in wetland soil than in dry forest podzolsoil.     

Examining Source-Receptor Relationships for Mercury in Scandinavia Modelled and Empirical Evidence

The atmosphere remains the major source of mercuryin Swedish ecosystems. Since the late eighties,atmospheric emissions of mercury have drasticallydecreased in Europe. Wet deposition of mercury hasdecreased over the last decade but still exhibitsa clear south-to-north gradient, greatlyinfluenced by source areas in northern and centralEurope. The decreases in emissions can beattributed to both direct measures to close knownpoint sources and a declining economy and energyconsumption in many East European countries.Further reductions of mercury emissions willrequire that other source categories such asindirect emissions from mercury-containingproducts and crematories are be considered.     

Correction to: the relative importance of subjective and structural factors for individual adaptation to climate change by forest owners in Sweden

Regional Environmental Change - The published online version contains mistake. Anna Maria Jönsson was inadvertently omitted in the author group section. Correct author group section is shown...     

丹麦企业利用最有效技术进行废物处理

在<污染综合预防和控制法>的背景下,丹麦一家企业Kommunekemi帮助编写了有关更安全地处理有害废物的最有效技术的欧盟参考文献.几年前Kommunekemi面临着环境影响和职业健康与安全问题.1990年代安装了两个新的圆桶自动卸料系统(一个用于废液,一个用于固体和糊状废物).本文介绍了Kommunekemi公司内部和周围改善环境和安全条件所采用的方法.     

Sodium borohydride reduction of individual polybrominated diphenyl ethers

Many chemicals in use today lack appropriate documentation on their environmental properties, fate, and effects. To counteract this lack of documentation it is vital to thoroughly investigate a compound’s fate in the environment before it comes into use. The present study is describing a novel method for assessing the reduction potential of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as a part of a project aimed to create an experimental model for determination of chemical persistence. The reductive transformation of 15 PBDE congeners using sodium borohydride was determined. Pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants of the transformations were determined by monitoring the disappearance of the investigated congeners. The reductions lead primarily to formation of lower brominated PBDEs. Each PBDE congener was tested in a total of ten replicates which showed a relative standard deviation of 31% or less. The decaBDE, BDE-209 was approximately 3 times as prone to reductive transformation as BDE-207. The three nonaBDEs, BDE-206, BDE-207, and BDE-208, showed similar reductive potential. The reactivity of the tested octaBDEs was quite variable, from 5% to 24% of the reactivity of BDE-209 for BDE-196 and BDE-198, respectively. The heptaBDEs studied were in the range of the less reactive octaBDEs, except for BDE-181 which was as high as 13% of the reactivity of BDE-209. The results presented give a method for measuring the propensity of PBDEs, and possibly similar compounds, to undergo reductions. They indicate a potential route to a vital piece of information in the assessment of environmental persistence of chemicals.     

Temporal change estimation of mercury concentrations in northern pike (Esox lucius L.) in Swedish lakes

Adequate temporal trend analysis of mercury (Hg) in freshwater ecosystems is critical to evaluate if actions from the human society have affected Hg concentrations ([Hg]) in fresh water biota. This study examined temporal change in [Hg] in Northern pike (Esox lucius L.) in Swedish freshwater lakes between 1994 and 2006. To achieve this were lake-specific, multiple-linear-regression models used to estimate pike [Hg], including indicator variables representing time and fish weight and their interactions. This approach permitted estimation of the direction and magnitude of temporal changes in 25 lakes selected from the Swedish national database on Hg in freshwater biota. A significant increase was found in 36% of the studied lakes with an average increase in pike [Hg] of 3.7 ± 6.7% per year that was found to be positively correlated with total organic carbon. For lakes with a significant temporal change the dataset was based on a mean of 30 fish, while for lakes with no temporal change it was based on a mean of 13 fish.     

Environmental exposure to POPs and heavy metals in urban children from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals are well known environmental pollutants. Even though numerous studies have been carried out to assess human exposures to these compounds, there is still a lack of data on humans from developing countries, especially in underprivileged children. The objective of this study was to assess the exposure to POPs and heavy metals in children from Dhaka, Bangladesh. One specific aim was to investigate whether children working at, or living close to, open waste disposal sites (WDSs) were more heavily exposed than other urban children. In 2008, blood and serum were collected from 73 children aged 7-16 from five neighbourhoods. Some of the children lived and worked at WDSs (N = 31), others lived next to a WDS (N = 17), whereas some children lived far from such sites (N = 25). Blood levels of lead (B-Pb), cadmium (B-Cd), and selenium (B-Se) were determined by ICP-MS for all subjects. The metal levels were high, with B-Pb overall mean 120 μg L(-1) (range 40-220), B-Cd 0.74 μg L(-1) (0.22-4.1), and B-Se 120 μg L(-1) (81-170). There were no marked differences between children from the different neighbourhoods, or between WDS workers and other children. PCB levels were low and with no contrast between neighbourhoods, for CB-153 the overall mean was 7.0 ng g(-1) fat (2.8-51). In contrast, high levels of DDTs were observed in all children, for 4,4'-DDE 1300 ng g(-1) fat (420-4600), and for 4,4'-DDT 326 ng g(-1) fat (44-1400), indicating ongoing exposure. PBDE levels were low, and BDE-209 was quantitated mainly in children working at or living close to WDSs. In conclusion, the high levels of DDTs, lead and cadmium observed in children from Dhaka are of concern. Many children were exposed at levels where health effects have been observed, or at levels without safety margins.     

Organophosphate and phthalate esters in indoor air: a comparison between multi-storey buildings with high and low prevalence of sick building symptoms

An extensive study has been conducted on the prevalence of organophosphorous flame retardants/plasticizers and phthalate ester plasticizers in indoor air. The targeted substances were measured in 45 multi-storey apartment buildings in Stockholm, Sweden. The apartment buildings were classified as high or low risk with regard to the reporting of sick building symptoms (SBS) within the project Healthy Sustainable Houses in Stockholm (3H). Air samples were taken from two to four apartments per building (in total 169 apartments) to facilitate comparison within and between buildings. Association with building characteristics has been examined as well as association with specific sources by combining chemical analysis and exploratory uni- and multivariate data analysis. The study contributes to the overall perspective of levels of organophosphate and phthalate ester in indoor air enabling comparison with other studies. The results indicated little or no difference in the concentrations of the target substances between the two risk classifications of the buildings. The differences between the apartments sampled within (intra) buildings were greater than the differences between (inter) buildings. The concentrations measured in air ranged up to 1200 ng m(-3) for organophosphate esters and up to 11?000 ng m(-3) for phthalate esters. Results in terms of sources were discerned e.g. PVC flooring is a major source of benzylbutyl phthalate in indoor air.     

Integrating Swedish water resource management: a multi-level governance trilemma

This paper analyses proposals for new multi-level governance of Swedish water resources to implement the EU Water Framework Directive. The question is, do they satisfy the criteria for ecologically rational and democratically legitimate governance? The core of the analysis concerns an administrative 'trilemma' encountered in designing ecologically effective and democratically acceptable multi-level governance. This trilemma is characterised by tensions between effectiveness, participation and legitimacy, all core values of 'good governance'. The Swedish proposal constitutes an effort to achieve cost-effective implementation of the EU Directive through an ecosystem-based multi-level organisation. It also seeks to bring about democratically legitimate governance through stakeholder networks and negotiations at the sub-catchment level, and governance 'partnerships' among local governments and organised interests. In particular, the assessment addresses issues of integrating such 'super-local' and local alternatives within the larger web of multi-level water resource governance. Although intended to escape the 'trilemma', the proposed combination of formal government and informal governance is found wanting in terms of effectiveness as well as participation and legitimacy.