Dissolution and characterization of HEV NiMH batteries

Metal recovery is an essential part of the recycling of hybrid electric vehicle battery waste and the first step in a hydrometallurgical treatment is dissolution of the solid material. The properties of separated battery electrode materials were investigated. Focus was put on both the solid waste and then the dissolution behaviour. The cathode contains metallic nickel that remains undissolved when utilizing non-oxidizing conditions such as hydrochloric or sulphuric acid in combination with a low oxygen atmosphere. In these conditions the cathode active electrode material is fully dissolved. Not dissolving the nickel metal saves up to 37% of the acid consumption for the cathode electrode material. In the commonly used case of oxidizing conditions the nickel metal dissolves and a cobalt-rich phase remains undissolved from the cathode active material. For the anode material a complete and rapid dissolution can be achieved at mild conditions with hydrochloric, nitric or sulphuric acid. Optimal parameters for all cases of dissolution was pH 1 with a reaction time of approximately ?20,000 s.     

Comparison of different multielement techniques for analysis of mosses used as biomonitors

Mosses are used as biomonitors on a regular basis to study trends in the atmospheric deposition of trace elements in Norway. In this paper the analytical scheme used so far, based on a combination of instrumental neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry (INAA/AAS) is compared with inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-ES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). ICP-ES provided satisfactory data for nearly 20 elements, but detection limits were inadequate for some elements of importance. For ICP-MS quantitative data were obtained for 33 elements including the heavy metals of key interest in air pollution studies. In most cases where comparison was possible the ICP-MS data compared favourably with data obtained by the reference scheme or by ICP-ES. On the basis of this study ICP-MS is considered to be an equivalent alternative to INAA/AAS in multielement studies using mosses as biomonitors. In addition ICP-MS offers some promise for the study of elements such as Be, Ga, Mo, Te, Tl, and Bi, for which very little information exists regarding their behaviour as air pollutants.     

Intra- and intercompartmental associations between levels of organochlorines in maternal plasma, cord plasma and breast milk, and lead and cadmium in whole blood, for indigenous peoples of Chukotka, Russia

Long-range transport of pollutants towards circumpolar regions emphasizes the need for up-to-date and reliable biological monitoring data. This paper explores the use, reliability and availability of maternal blood (MB) and plasma (MP), cord blood (CB) and plasma (CP) and mother's milk (MM) in terms of assessing exposure to persistent toxic substances (PTSs). It is concluded that MP has the best combination of availability, sensitivity in terms of number of PTSs, their detection frequency and concentrations, and physiological relevance. The study group consisted of 48 pregnant women of indigenous origin from the Chuchki district in the eastern Russian arctic. Blood, CB and MM specimens were collected from all women and MP, CP and MM were analyzed for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) suite of organochlorines (OCs) and metals (Pb and Cd in MB and CB). Generally speaking, the levels of PTSs coincided with those indicated in several AMAP publications from Chukotka and other areas of northern Russia. The correlations of PTS concentrations between the three body fluid compartments exceeded the minimum statistical requirements of alpha = 0.05 and beta = 0.20 for most of the compounds, with r > 0.46 except for Cd (r = 0.05); lipid adjustments for the OCs did not affect the r-values to any significant extent. The majority of the inter-OC correlations within compartments also fulfilled the indicated statistical condition. Careful consideration is given to the replacement of concentrations below the detection limit, OC detection frequency, the criteria for log-transformation of the data, analytical uncertainty, and biological variability. Practical implications of the findings are explored.     

Environmental conditions for safety work – Theoretical foundations

This paper reviews literature on environmental conditions for safety work. By “environmental conditions for safety work”, we refer to conditions that influence the opportunities an organisation, organisational unit, group, or individual has to control the risk of major accidents and working environment risk. The purpose of the review was to document how international safety science literature uses “environmental conditions” or synonymous concepts, to help build a common conceptualisation of environmental conditions for safety work, and to link environmental conditions to safety work and risks.We did not find a uniform and systematic approach to environmental conditions for safety work in the literature. We therefore turned to a broader range of organisational research literature, where we found a diversity of complementary answers to our research question aimed at investigating the ways in which environmental conditions may constrain or facilitate safety work and thus influence risks. Due to the diversity of these theoretical resources, we have refrained from trying to reduce them to a single model.Our conceptualisation of environmental conditions includes definitions, the “sender–receiver” metaphor, and a selection of theoretical resources. The “sender–receiver” metaphor may be used as a starting point for exploring the ways in which some actors influence the environmental conditions of other actors, and how actors may resist, co-create or re-create the environmental conditions for their own safety work.     

Landscape protection as a tool for managing agricultural landscapes in Norway

Norwegian Protected Landscapes aim to preserve landscape character. As most of the agricultural land in Protected Landscapes is privately owned, the attitudes and behaviour of farmers are crucial in achieving this goal. We present results of a nationwide questionnaire to farmers who owned or managed farmland in Protected Landscapes. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents claimed that their farm business had been changed as a consequence of landscape protection. Niche products and alternative income possibilities, commonly forwarded as potential benefits of landscape protection status, had generally not been realised. Although we found that most farmers agreed on the importance of taking care of cultural landscapes, 76% felt that this was best done by using rather than protecting the landscape. The study revealed negative attitudes towards municipal authorities. A quarter of respondents were strongly against the establishment of new Protected Landscapes, even if they were compensated for economic losses. Based on results of the study we suggest that major improvements to the protection system could be made by improving communication between management authorities and farmers, and ensuring real involvement of farmers in making and carrying out management plans.     

Impairment due to alcohol,tetrahydrocannabinol, and benzodiazepines in impaired drivers compared to experimental studies

Objective: In some countries, per se laws for other drugs than alcohol are used to judge drunk and drugged drivers. These blood concentration limits are often derived from experimental studies on traffic relevant behavior of healthy volunteers. Knowledge about how results from experimental studies could be transferred to a real-life setting is missing. The aim of this study was to compare impairment seen in experimental studies to the impairment seen at equivalent concentrations in apprehended drunk and drugged drivers.

Methods: Results from previously performed meta-analyses of experimental studies regarding impairment from alcohol, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and benzodiazepines were compared to impairment in apprehended drunk and drugged drivers as judged by a clinical test of impairment. Both experimental studies and real-life cases were divided into 4 groups according to increasing blood drug concentration intervals. The percentage of impaired test results in experimental studies was compared to the percentage of impaired subjects among drivers within the same blood drug concentration window.

Results: For ethanol, the percentage of impaired drivers (n = 1,223) increased from 59% in the lowest drug concentration group to 95% in the highest drug concentration group, compared to 7 and 72% in the respective groups in experimental studies. For THC, the percentage of impaired drivers (n = 950) increased from 42 to 58%, the corresponding numbers being 11 and 42% for experimental studies. For benzodiazepines, the percentage of impaired drivers (n = 245) increased from 46 to 76%, the corresponding numbers being 16 and 60% for experimental studies. The increased odds ratio for impairment between 2 concentration groups was comparable for experimental studies and impaired drivers.

Conclusions: Fewer test results indicated impairment in experimental studies compared to impaired drivers in real life when influenced by similar blood concentrations of either ethanol, THC, or benzodiazepines. In addition, a comparable relationship between drug concentration and impairment was seen for both experimental studies and real-life cases.

We believe that the present study strengthens the background for using experimental studies to establish fixed concentration limits for drunk and drugged drivers, but experimental studies in an impaired driver population could further expand our knowledge.     

Local opposition against high-voltage grids: public responses to agency-caused science–policy trolls

High-voltage (hV) transmission grids are projects of societal importance that potentially have controversial social and environmental impacts. Former research shows that public opposition is sparked by the perception of negative local impacts and unjust concessionary processes. In this paper, we complement these perspectives by assessing the institutional practices of the regulatory agencies in dealing with scientific uncertainties. The regulatory agencies’ ‘ways of doing things’ are often designed to serve policy and management needs. A critical point is that the demarcation between scientifically based facts, values and assessments is often blurred in the decision-making process. This paper draws on two Norwegian case studies to investigate how the regulatory agencies dealt with (1) electromagnetic fields and health risks and (2) overhead lines versus sea cables. We argue that ambiguities and uncertainties that arise in the hV transmission line processes create ‘trolls’, and we explore how the local inhabitants and affected stakeholders in the two cases responded to these and how it triggered further opposition. By investigating how and why trolls appear and are handled, we conclude by discussing how public opposition related to hV transmission grids may be reduced – and how some ‘trolls’ may crack.     

Validation of model calculation of ammonia deposition in the neighbourhood of a poultry farm using measured NH3 concentrations and N deposition

Substantial emission of ammonia (NH₃) from animal houses and the related high local deposition of NH₃-N are a threat to semi-natural nitrogen-deficient ecosystems situated near the NH₃ source. In Denmark, there are regulations limiting the level of NH₃ emission from livestock houses near N-deficient ecosystems that are likely to change due to nitrogen (N) enrichment caused by NH₃ deposition. The models used for assessing NH₃ emission from livestock production, therefore, need to be precise, as the regulation will affect both the nature of the ecosystem and the economy of the farmer. Therefore a study was carried out with the objective of validating the Danish model used to monitor NH₃ transport, dispersion and deposition from and in the neighbourhood of a chicken farm. In the study we measured NH₃ emission with standard flux measuring methods, NH₃ concentrations at increasing distances from the chicken houses using passive diffusion samplers and deposition using ¹⁵N-enriched biomonitors and field plot studies. The dispersion and deposition of NH₃ were modelled using the Danish OML-DEP model. It was also shown that model calculations clearly reflect the measured NH₃ concentration and N deposition. Deposition of N measured by biomonitors clearly reflected the variation in NH₃ concentrations and showed that deposition was not significantly different from zero (P < 0.05) at distances greater than 150–200 m from these chicken houses. Calculations confirmed this, as calculated N deposition 320 m away from the chicken farm was only marginally affected by the NH₃ emission from the farm. There was agreement between calculated and measured deposition showing that the model gives true estimates of the deposition in the neighbourhood of a livestock house emitting NH₃.     

Arctic marine mammal population status,sea ice habitat loss,and conservation recommendations for the 21st century

Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also examined species diversity, the extent of human use, and temporal trends in sea ice habitat for 12 regions of the Arctic by calculating the dates of spring sea ice retreat and fall sea ice advance from satellite data (1979–2013). Estimates of AMM abundance varied greatly in quality, and few studies were long enough for trend analysis. Of the AMM subpopulations, 78% (61 of 78) are legally harvested for subsistence purposes. Changes in sea ice phenology have been profound. In all regions except the Bering Sea, the duration of the summer (i.e., reduced ice) period increased by 5–10 weeks and by >20 weeks in the Barents Sea between 1979 and 2013. In light of generally poor data, the importance of human use, and forecasted environmental changes in the 21st century, we recommend the following for effective AMM conservation: maintain and improve comanagement by local, federal, and international partners; recognize spatial and temporal variability in AMM subpopulation response to climate change; implement monitoring programs with clear goals; mitigate cumulative impacts of increased human activity; and recognize the limits of current protected species legislation.