Comparing the flammability of fabrics in accordance with EN 531 and ENV 50354.

The purpose of protective clothing and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is to provide escape time, to reduce the burn injury level, and to prevent aggravation of the consequences to workers during exposure to an electric arc. In this study the flammability properties of 12 different types of flame-retardant fabrics were compared with the normally used flame spread test method (EN 532:1994) and electric arc test method (ENV 50354:2001). In the arc test at the lower testing current level of 4 kA, the requirement was passed by materials which did not pass the flame spread test. These materials contained a large amount of melting fibres, and therefore tended to shrink or melt. In order to meet the current level of 7 kA, a rather thick and heavy flame-retardant fabric is needed to pass the requirement. Lighter fabrics tended to break open in the tests. The flame retardancy of the under layer fabric is therefore important to ensure the needed protection.     

Industrial symbiosis and the policy instruments of sustainable consumption and production

Industrial symbioses (ISs) and eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are key concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The aim of ISs and EIPs is to minimise inefficient material and energy use by utilising local by-product and energy flows. Industrial symbioses tend to develop through spontaneous action of economic actors, for gaining of economic benefit, but these systems can be designed and promoted via policy instruments as well. A literature review showed that national programmes for eco-industrial parks can be found in different parts of the world. In the action programmes and other sustainable consumption and production (SCP) policy documents of the EU, on the other hand, industrial symbioses gain less recognition as a path to enhanced sustainable production. In this article, we consider this and also analyse how the evolution and environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis system centred on a Finnish pulp and paper mill have been affected by SCP policy instruments. With regard to the system forming the subject of the case study, and Finnish industrial systems in general, policy instruments have succeeded in reducing emissions but not in systematically encouraging operators toward symbiosis-like activities. All in all, few studies exist on the overall impact of policy instruments promoting design of eco-industrial parks. It is not self-evident that symbiosis-like production systems would be sustainable in every case, as the background assumptions for political promotion of EIPs suggest. We concluded that industrial symbioses should be analysed and developed on a life cycle basis, with documentation of the real environmental benefits due to efficient resource use and decreased emissions in comparison to standalone production. ISs can then bring eco-competitiveness to companies in relation to SCP tools, such as environmental permits, ecolabels, and future product regulation based on the Ecodesign Directive in Europe. Indirect encouragement of symbiosis through land-use regulation and planning, in such a way that material fluxes between companies are possible both in operations and in financial terms, may prove effective. The same holds for waste policies that encourage increased reuse of a company’s waste by other enterprises.     

mtDNA control region and D-HPLC analysis: a method to evaluate the mating system in Syngnathidae (Teleostei)

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been used extensively in animals for phylogenetic and population studies but it has been applied only occasionally to mating systems analysis, where nuclear markers are usually preferred. We used denaturing-high performance liquid chromatography (D-HPLC) to detect mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms to assess the genetic mating system in Syngnathus abaster. Our study of ten pregnant males, revealed polygyny in 30% of the males, who carried embryos originating from multiple females. In addition, 30% of the pregnant males carried embryos with the same mitochondrial haplotype. This is not sufficient to demonstrate polyandry but allows a rapid selection and a reduced sample size for further studies. In conclusion, the proposed technique is time- and cost-effective, allows the certain identification of polygyny and provides useful information to study polyandry.     

On the road to ‘research municipalities’: analysing transdisciplinarity in municipal ecosystem services and adaptation planning

Transdisciplinary research and collaboration is widely acknowledged as a critical success factor for solution-oriented approaches that can tackle complex sustainability challenges, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate-related hazards. In this context, city governments’ engagement in transdisciplinarity is generally seen as a key condition for societal transformation towards sustainability. However, empirical evidence is rare. This paper presents a self-assessment of a joint research project on ecosystem services and climate adaptation planning (ECOSIMP) undertaken by four universities and seven Swedish municipalities. We apply a set of design principles and guiding questions for transdisciplinary sustainability projects and, on this basis, identify key aspects for supporting university–municipality collaboration. We show that: (1) selecting the number and type of project stakeholders requires more explicit consideration of the purpose of societal actors’ participation; (2) concrete, interim benefits for participating practitioners and organisations need to be continuously discussed; (3) promoting the ‘inter’, i.e., interdisciplinary and inter-city learning, can support transdisciplinarity and, ultimately, urban sustainability and long-term change. In this context, we found that design principles for transdisciplinarity have the potential to (4) mitigate project shortcomings, even when transdisciplinarity is not an explicit aim, and (5) address differences and allow new voices to be heard. We propose additional guiding questions to address shortcomings and inspire reflexivity in transdisciplinary projects.     

Assessing the effects of domestic and international energy scenarios and emission reduction strategies on acidification in Finland

An integrated model system was developed and used to assess the effects of alternative energy production scenarios and reduction policies on acidification of lakes and forest soils in Finland. The analysis covered different energy scenarios and resulting emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in Finland, as well as ammonia emissions with various control requirements. In addition, emission reduction scenarios of varied ambition levels in the bordering areas of Finland and in other parts of Europe were included in the analysis. The impacts of the different scenarios were quantified with exceedances of critical loads for acidification and with the total areas where the critical loads are exceeded. The possibilities for reducing the areas with critical load exceedances with national or bilateral measures were investigated. The differences in areas at risk, if depositions from domestic and nearby sources are estimated with a regional model and point-source databases or with a continental scale model and coarser-scale emission data, were analyzed. The reasons for the differences and the implications for national-level assessment are discussed.     

Contribution of vegetation and water table on isoprene emission from boreal peatland microcosms

Boreal peatlands are substantial sources of isoprene, a reactive hydrocarbon. However, it is not known how much mosses, vascular plants and peat each contribute to isoprene emission from peatlands. Furthermore, there is no information on the effects of declining water table depth on isoprene emission in these naturally wet ecosystems, although water table is predicted to decline due to climate warming. We studied the relative contribution of mosses vs. vascular plants to isoprene emission in boreal peatland microcosms in growth chambers by removing either vascular vegetation or both vascular vegetation and mosses. The microcosms represented wet hollows and dry hummocks of a boreal ombrotrophic bog. A water table drawdown treatment was applied to the hollows with naturally high water table. The mean (±SE) isoprene emission from hummocks with intact vegetation, 30 ± 6 μg m^?2 h^?1, was decreased by over 90% with removal of vascular plants or all vegetation. Thus, our results indicate that vascular plants, in contrast to mosses, were the main source of isoprene in the studied peatland ecosystem. Water table drawdown also significantly decreased the emissions; the mean isoprene emission from hollows with intact vegetation, 45 ± 6 μg m^?2 h^?1, was decreased by 25% under water table drawdown. However, water table drawdown reduced net ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO₂) exchange more dramatically than isoprene emission. Isoprene emission strongly correlated with both CO₂ exchange and methane emission. In conclusion, isoprene emissions from peatlands will decrease, but the proportion of assimilated carbon lost as isoprene will increase, if the naturally high water table declines under the changing climate.     

Large variation in breast milk levels of organohalogenated compounds is dependent on mother's age, changes in body composition and exposures early in life

We identified factors that are important determinants of body burdens (breast milk levels) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PCBs, PCDD/Fs and PBDEs were analysed in breast milk from up to 325 first-time mothers in Uppsala, Sweden, who delivered between 1996 and 2006. Hierarchical clustering was used as a method for identification of groups of compounds with common sources of exposure and similar toxicokinetics. Based on correlations between levels of single compounds/congeners in breast milk, distinctly separated clusters were formed, strongly dependent on structural similarities of the organohalogen molecules. In a multiple regression model, levels of PCBs (except PCB 28), PCDD/Fs and BDE-153 were positively associated with age of the mother and weight loss after delivery and inversely associated with pre-pregnancy BMI (body mass index) and weight gain during pregnancy. Higher levels of mono-ortho PCB TEQ, non-ortho PCB TEQ and BDE-153 in milk were found among women with high physical activity. Women who were breastfed during infancy and grew up on the Baltic coast of Sweden, with high availability of contaminated fish from the Baltic sea, had higher levels of PCBs and PCDD/Fs in breast milk indicating that exposure early in life from breast milk and contaminated fish may still affect body burdens at the time of pregnancy. The importance of current consumption of fatty Baltic fish as a source of exposure was supported by the positive association with breast milk levels of mono-ortho PCB TEQ, PCDF TEQ and BDE-153. The results show that, in contrast to the lower brominated PBDE congeners, the hexa-brominated BDE-153 resembles the chlorinated compounds with regards to determinants in breast milk. This suggests that some of the PBDEs may have toxicokinetic properties and that are similar to the PCBs and PCDD/Fs. Our results show that a few simple advices to women regarding weight changes in connection with pregnancy and consumption of contaminated fatty fish during the whole lifetime may lower the levels of dioxins in breast milk by up to 60%.     

Digit ratios have poor indicator value in a wild bird population

Early androgen exposure is known to have long-lasting effects on phenotype, behaviour and even fitness, but difficulties in measuring the exposure hinders the study of its importance in evolutionary context. Digit ratios have been highlighted as a potential easy-to-measure indicator of early steroid exposure, as they have been suggested to reflect steroid, mainly testosterone levels during prenatal development. However, evidence for digit ratios reflecting early steroid levels is weak, as experimental studies, especially in wild populations, are scarce. We studied the association between maternally derived yolk androgens and digit ratios (2D:4D, 2D:3D and 3D:4D) using both correlative data and a rather high level of experimental elevation of yolk androgens in a passerine bird, the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). We also examined whether digit ratios have indicator value in an evolutionary context by studying correlations between digit ratios and reproductive traits, secondary sexual traits and exploratory behaviour. We did not find any association between digit ratios and yolk androgen level either in correlative or experimental data. Digit ratios were neither related to any of the reproductive and secondary sexual traits or exploratory behaviour measured. There was, however, a sex difference in 2D:3D and 3D:4D of adult birds (due to second and fourth digits being shorter in females), which was not apparent in fledglings or captivity-raised juveniles. This suggests that either the sex difference may develop as late as during the sexual maturation for breeding. These results indicate that, in this species, digit ratios are not reliable markers of maternally derived yolk androgen exposure and that they bear little relevance as correlates of the adaptive traits we measured.     

Finnish stakeholder engagement in the restoration of a radioactively contaminated food supply chain

An expert group was established in 2001 representing various organisations and authorities responsible for primary production, food processing, the distribution and consumption of foodstuffs, food safety and availability, catering and extension services, nature conservation, research into environmental impacts, and the media. The aim was to strengthen networking and improve the stakeholder response to accidental radioactive contamination of rural areas through participation in the FARMING network project. A hypothetical contamination of a large milk-producing area provided a suitable framework for evaluation of actions ensuring clean feeding of dairy cows during grazing. The following year the group received a compilation of rural countermeasures and waste disposal methods, described by the STRATEGY project. The robust, uncomplicated approach of the evaluation meetings was fruitful and efficient, and the multidisciplinary group was capable of taking shared views on various measures after updating their knowledge together. High priority was given to measurements of radioactivity and the provision of information and advice to a wider audience.     

Seasonal Fluctuations in the Nutritional Value of Particulate Organic Matter in A Lagoon

Water samples were collected on a fortnightly basis in the lagoon of S. Gilla (Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea) in order to study seasonal nutritional fluctuations of particulate organic matter. the lagoon is characterized by high quantities of suspended matter throughout the year. Thermohaline conditions had no effect on particulate matter quantity and composition, but the quantity as well as quality of suspended particles was drastically affected by the wind, the major effecter of sediment resuspension. As a result of sediment resuspension, seston was always richer in inorganic fraction. However, throughout the year of investigation, most particulate organic carbon was quite appealing for filter feeding communities, although the best POM quality was available during phytoplankton blooming. the phytoplankton pool of suspended matter was just a small fraction of the bulk, accounting for only 13% on average of particulate organic carbon. in terms of energy available in the seston, the highest amount was stored in organic matter heterotrophic fraction, whilst the smallest was to be found in living phytoplankton.