Report: waste refinery in the municipality of Bor?s.

This paper briefly describes waste treatment trends in Sweden and describes an example of state-of-the-art treatment in a local integrated waste treatment system (Bor?s). The focus is on treatment of household waste, to illustrate what can be done to establish a sustainable waste treatment system with high recovery of materials and energy. The various processes have resulted in a low amount of landfilled household waste, and high proportions of recovered energy and materials. Heat, electricity, vehicle fuel and fertilizers, metals and construction materials are recovered from the local waste in Bor?s, with less than 4% of domestic waste being sent to landfill.     

Use of Industrial Hemp Fibers to Reinforce Wheat Gluten Plastics

The next generation of manufactured products must be sustainable and industrially eco-efficient, making materials derived from plants an alternative of particular interest. Wheat gluten (WG) is an interesting plant material to be used for production of plastic similar materials due to its film-forming properties. For usage of plastics in a wider range of applications, composite materials with improved mechanical properties are demanded. The present study investigates the possibilities of reinforcing WG plastics with hemp fibers. Samples were manufactured using compression molding (130 °C, 1600 bar, 5 min). Variation in fiber length, content (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%) and quality (poor, standard, good) were evaluated. Mechanical properties and structure of materials were examined using tensile testing, light and scanning electron microscopy. Hemp fiber reinforcement of gluten plastics significantly influenced the mechanical properties of the material. Short hemp fibers processed in a high speed grinder were more homogenously spread in the material than long unprocessed fibers. Fiber content in the material showed a significant positive correlation with tensile strength and Young’s modulus, and a negative correlation with fracture strain and strain at maximum stress. Quality of the hemp fibers did not play any significant role for tensile strength and strain, but the Young’s modulus was significantly and positively correlated with hemp fiber quality. Despite the use of short hemp fibers, the reinforced gluten material still showed uneven mechanical properties within the material, a result from clustering of the fibers and too poor bonding between fibers and gluten material. Both these problems have to be resolved before reinforcement of gluten plastics by industrial hemp fibers is applicable on an industrial scale.     

Pooled Analysis of Two Swedish Case-Control Studies on the Use of Mobile and Cordless Telephones and the Risk of Brain Tumours Diagnosed During 1997–2003

Here we present the pooled analysis of 2 case–control studies on the association of brain tumours with mobile phone use. Use of analogue cellular phones increased the risk for acoustic neuroma by 5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2-9% per 100 hrs of use. The risk increased for astrocytoma grade III—IV with latency period with highest estimates using >10-year time period from first use of these phone types. The risk increased per one year of use of analogue phones by 10%, 95% CI = 6-14%, digital phones by 11%, 95% CI = 6-16%, and cordless phones by 8%, 95% CI = 5-12%. For all studied phone types OR for brain tumours, mainly acoustic neuroma and malignant brain tumours, increased with latency period, especially for astrocytoma grade III—IV.     

The influence of ventilation on indoor/outdoor air contaminants in an office building

The air quality in a newly built preschool was investigated in a longitudinal study. Typical air contaminants emanating from building materials were determined, their variation over time (0–18 months) was measured, and the influence of the ventilation system (81%–91% recirculation of return air) on contaminant concentrations was studied. Volatile organic compounds were sampled by adsorption on porous polymer, analysed by a GC/FID system, and identified by MS. A spatial build-up in concentration (ppb or μg/m³ levels) is evident for all the organic compounds, as well as for CO₂, from the outdoor air, through the ventilation system, and through the rooms to the exhaust air. The longitudinal comparison over time shows that all the organic compounds decline in concentration mainly within the first 6 months of occupancy: 1-butanol 4–14 times, toluene and pentanal + hexanal 2–4 times, while formaldehyde remained at a constant low level of 90 ppb (110 μg/m³). It is difficult to believe that the problems of poor air quality in 100 preschools in Stockholm are caused by the organic compounds alone unless interactions occur. A preschool building needs to be gassed off during the first 6 months after its construction with no recirculation of return air allowed (outdoor air rate approx 4–5 ach). During at least 1–2 additional years, it is desired that the recirculation rate of return air is restricted, perhaps to 50%.     

Organically bound halogens in coniferous forest soil -Distribution pattern and evidence of in situ production

We examined organically bound halogens in a coniferous soil profile and in Norway spruce litter enclosed in litter bags and subjected to degradation in field. Throughout the soil profile the total amount of organically bound halogens (TOX, μg Cl/g soil) was related to organic matter, i.e. amounts decreased with increasing depth. In contrast, the organic chlorine to organic carbon ratio (mg Cl_org:g C_org) increased with increasing depth, and a pronounced increase in this ratio was observed in the transition between the O-horizon and the A-horizon, strongly indicating that in situ production of organically bound halogens occur in soil. This conclusion was strengtened by the results of the litter bag study, which clearly showed that a net-production of organically bound halogens occurred during decomposition of the spruce needle litter. Furthermore, this part of the study showed that organically bound halogens are not a static factor of organic matter. On the contrary, the results strongly indicated that during decomposition of organic matter, organically bound halogens are subjected to both production, i.e. incorporation of inorganic halides into organic matter, and mineralisation, i.e. release of inorganic halides from organic matter. A method previously developed in our laboratory to determine TOX in soil was further evaluated; there were no indications that inorganic halides interfere with the determination.     

A wasting syndrome in Swedish moose (Alces alces): background and current hypotheses

In the 1980s, people in Sweden frequently responded to moose (Alces alces) found dead or in poor physical condition. The number of moose submitted for routine investigations to the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) increased tenfold and the hunters in Alvsborg County were especially concerned. Later, a complex wasting syndrome was described and reports of moose suffering from the syndrome have been collected since 1991. Today, there is no definitive answer as to the underlying causel(s) of the syndrome, but there are several plausible hypotheses that can be divided into two groups: food-related and host-parasite related. The food-related hypotheses are postulated to have any of the following ultimate causes: acidification/liming, browser density/food production or pollution. Our view is that few of the hypotheses have been critically tested. Most of the hypotheses are supported by some observations, which is to be expected because these are post-hoc attempts to explain these very observations.     

Estimating PM2.5 over southern Sweden using space-borne optical measurements

In the present study Bremen aerosol retrieval (BAER) columnar aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data, according to moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and medium resolution imaging sensor (MERIS) level 1 calibrated satellite data, have been compared with AOT data obtained with the MODIS and MERIS retrieval algorithms (NASA and ESA, respectively) and by AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). Relatively good agreement is found between these different instruments and algorithms. The R² and relative RMSD were 0.86 and 31% for MODIS when comparing with AERONET and 0.92 and 21% for MERIS. The aerosols investigated were influenced by low relative humidity. During this period, a relatively large range of aerosol loadings were detected; from continental background aerosol to particles emitted from agricultural fires. In this study, empirical relationships between BAER columnar AOT and ground-measured PM_2.5 have been estimated. Linear relationships, with R² values of 0.58 and 0.59, were obtained according to MERIS and MODIS data, respectively. The slopes of the regression of AOT versus PM_2.5 are lower than previous studies, but this could easily be explained by considering the effect of hygroscopic growth. The present AOT–PM_2.5 relationship has been applied on MERIS full resolution data over the urban area of Stockholm and the results have been compared with particle mass concentrations from dispersion model calculations. It seems that the satellite data with the 300 m resolution can resolve the expected increased concentrations due to emissions along the main highways close to the city. Significant uncertainties in the spatial distribution of PM_2.5 across land/ocean boundaries were particularly evident when analyzing the high resolution satellite data.     

Biodiversity, distributions and adaptations of Arctic species in the context of environmental change

The individual of a species is the basic unit which responds to climate and UV-B changes, and it responds over a wide range of time scales. The diversity of animal, plant and microbial species appears to be low in the Arctic, and decreases from the boreal forests to the polar deserts of the extreme North but primitive species are particularly abundant. This latitudinal decline is associated with an increase in super-dominant species that occupy a wide range of habitats. Climate warming is expected to reduce the abundance and restrict the ranges of such species and to affect species at their northern range boundaries more than in the South: some Arctic animal and plant specialists could face extinction. Species most likely to expand into tundra are boreal species that currently exist as outlier populations in the Arctic. Many plant species have characteristics that allow them to survive short snow-free growing seasons, low solar angles, permafrost and low soil temperatures, low nutrient availability and physical disturbance. Many of these characteristics are likely to limit species' responses to climate warming, but mainly because of poor competitive ability compared with potential immigrant species. Terrestrial Arctic animals possess many adaptations that enable them to persist under a wide range of temperatures in the Arctic. Many escape unfavorable weather and resource shortage by winter dormancy or by migration. The biotic environment of Arctic animal species is relatively simple with few enemies, competitors, diseases, parasites and available food resources. Terrestrial Arctic animals are likely to be most vulnerable to warmer and drier summers, climatic changes that interfere with migration routes and staging areas, altered snow conditions and freeze-thaw cycles in winter, climate-induced disruption of the seasonal timing of reproduction and development, and influx of new competitors, predators, parasites and diseases. Arctic microorganisms are also well adapted to the Arctic's climate: some can metabolize at temperatures down to -39 degrees C. Cyanobacteria and algae have a wide range of adaptive strategies that allow them to avoid, or at least minimize UV injury. Microorganisms can tolerate most environmental conditions and they have short generation times which can facilitate rapid adaptation to new environments. In contrast, Arctic plant and animal species are very likely to change their distributions rather than evolve significantly in response to warming.     

Determination of antibiotic substances in hospital sewage water using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and group analogue internal standards

A method for determination of antibiotics in hospital sewage water has been developed and validated. Analogue internal standards for fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, beta-lactams (penicillins and cephalosporins), nitroimidazoles and tetracyclines were successfully used for calibration and shown to generally improve precision compared to external calibration. Matrix components caused ion suppression/enhancement effects during the MS detection for all analytes studied. Two effects were observed: general suppression and short-term variations in the MS response. In the hospital sewage water large temporal variations in the analyte concentration were observed during the course of the sampling period (seven grab samples in 13 h). Analyte concentrations varied within the following ranges (in microg l(-1)): ciprofloxacin, 3.6-101.0; metronidazole, 0.1-90.2; sulfamethoxazole, 0.4-12.8; ofloxacin, 0.2-7.6; trimethoprim, 0.6-7.6; and doxycycline, 0.6-6.7.