Report

Assessment of transboundary pollution with heavy metals and POPs

Travnikov, Oleg; Gačnik, Jan; Ali, Saeed Waqar; Kosjek, Tina; Ogrinc, Nives; Horvat, Milena; Poupa, Stephan; Bernhard, Ullrich; Wankmüller, Robert; Schindlbacher, Sabine; Redeyoff, Oscar; Aas, Wenche; Halvorsen, Helene Lunder; Pfaffhuber, Katrine Aspmo

Meteorological Synthesizing Centre – East (MSC-E)

Utslipp og spredning av støv fra LKAB i Narvik

Weydahl, Torleif; Grythe, Henrik; Vallejo, Islen; Markelj, Miha

Denne rapporten presenterer spredningsberegninger som estimerer LKAB sitt bidrag til forurensningssituasjonen i Narvik. Spredningsberegningene er basert på et anslag for det samlede støvutslippet fra både punktkilder og diffuse kilder via målt støvavsetning rundt anlegget. Spredningsberegningene som er utført med partikkelmodellen Flexpart-WRF, viser ingen overskridelse av grenseverdiene for PM10 eller PM2,5 utenfor LKABs industriområde.

NILU

Monitoring of long-range transported air pollutants in Norway. Annual report 2023.

Aas, Wenche; Eckhardt, Sabine; Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Hjellbrekke, Anne-Gunn; Platt, Stephen Matthew; Solberg, Sverre; Yttri, Karl Espen

This report presents results from the monitoring of atmospheric composition and deposition of air pollution in 2023, and focuses on main components in air and precipitation, particulate and gaseous phase of inorganic constituents, particulate carbonaceous matter, ground level ozone and particulate matter. The level of pollution in 2023 was generally low though a few episodes occurred. There was an increase in the PM levels in southern Norway during June, caused by a mixture of sources, including emissions from wildfires in Canada

NILU

Måling av flyktige organiske forbindelser hos Fjord Base AS

Håland, Alexander

NILU

Målinger av SO2 i omgivelsene til Elkem Carbon. Januar 2023 – desember 2023.

Hak, Claudia; Stensrød, Anna Maria Røyset; Andresen, Erik

På oppdrag fra Elkem Carbon AS har NILU utført målinger av SO2 i omgivelsene til Elkem Carbon i Vågsbygd (Kristiansand kommune). Målingene ble utført med SO2-monitor i boligområdet på Fiskåtangen (Konsul Wilds vei). I tillegg har Elkem Carbon AS valgt å måle med passive SO2-prøvetakere ved 3 steder rundt bedriften. Rapporten dekker målinger i perioden 1. januar – 31. desember 2023. Norske grenseverdier for luftkvalitet (SO2) ble overholdt ved Konsul Wilds vei for alle midlingsperioder (årsmiddel, vintermiddel, døgnmiddel og timemiddel). En døgnmiddelverdi var over nedre vurderingsterskel (50 µg/m3). Passive luftprøver viste at de mest belastede stedene i måleperioden var Konsul Wilds vei nordøst og Fiskåveien rett sør for bedriften.

NILU

Towards a circular phosphorus economy in Norway - Strategies for integrating agriculture and aquaculture at multiple scales

Müller, Daniel Beat; Las Heras Hernandez, Miguel; Pandit, Avijit Vinayak; Øgaard, Anne Falk; Reitan, Kjell Inge

Phosphorus is a building block for all life and therefore plays an essential role in food production. Currently, large amounts of phosphorus enter the Norwegian food system from abroad in the form of mineral fertilizer, feedstuff, food, as well as micro-ingredients for animal feed, mainly in salmon farming. However, only a small fraction of this phosphorus ends up as food for humans, while the largest part accumulates in soil and water systems. This inefficiency entails two challenges:

1. Phosphorus supply is critical. Phosphate rock, the primary source of phosphorus for fertilizer and micro-ingredient production, is a limited resource that is highly concentrated in a few countries. Over 80% of global phosphate rock reserves are found in only 5 countries, and ~70% are located in Morocco and Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. The high concentration renders many countries vulnerable to geopolitical and economic instabilities and threatens food safety. The EU has therefore included phosphate rock on its list of Critical Raw Materials.
2. The accumulation of phosphorus in water systems can lead to eutrophication and dead zones, threatening fish stocks and other aquatic life. The high phosphorus concentration in soils due to overfertilization over long periods of time increases the danger of losses to water systems by runoff, further exacerbating the eutrophication risk.

A more circular use of phosphorus could simultaneously reduce supply and pollution risks. This is particularly relevant in Norway, where the government has an ambition to increase salmon and trout production from currently 1,5 to 5 million tons by 2050.

Achieving a circular phosphorus economy is a complex task: (i) The land- and the sea-based food systems are increasingly interlinked, for example through agricultural production of fish feed or the application of fish sludge on agricultural land. (ii) The Norwegian phosphorus cycle is increasingly interlinked with that of other countries as trade flows along the entire food supply chain are growing. (iii) Phosphorus fertilizers, both primary and recycled, are often contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium, uranium, and zinc, which tend to accumulate in soils. Cleaning the phosphorus cycle is therefore vital for soil fertility and human health.

This report is based on the MIND-P project, which studied the Norwegian phosphorus cycle for both agriculture and aquaculture at a farm-by-farm basis and explored options for increasing circularity. The project identified farm-level and structural barriers to managing phosphorus resources more effectively.

We propose four fundamental strategies to overcome these barriers:
1. Develop and maintain a national nutrient accounting.
2. Minimize phosphorus losses and accumulations at farm level.
3. Establish infrastructures for capturing, processing, trade, and use of manure and fish sludge to produce high-quality recycled fertilizers that are tailored to the needs of the users in Norway and abroad.
4. Adopt a regulatory framework to promote a market for recycled fertilizer.
The strategies proposed here were developed with the support of an Advisory Panel consisting of representatives from government, industry, industry associations, and NGOs in an online and two physical workshops conducted in 2022.

NTNU Open

Air quality in Sandefjord, Norway. November 2021 – August 2023.

Salamalikis, Vasileios; Castell, Nuria

This report examines the air quality patterns in terms of particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in Sandefjord, Norway. PM2.5 was monitored through five low-cost sensors in hourly resolution from November 2021 to August 2023. The sensors’ reliability is high, with consistent PM2.5 measurements and similar variation over time. Occasional extreme PM2.5 was attributed to local contributions with higher values observed during cold months, or specific long-range transport events. Overall, Sandefjord maintained good air quality for most of the measurement period with daily PM2.5 levels below the air quality criteria. Residential heating activities (wood burning) is the most significant local source, being more pronounced during winter.

NILU

Homologue group profiles of ΣPCAs C14-17 in environmental samples from Norwegian monitoring programmes

Nipen, Maja; Borgen, Anders

Recently, chlorinated paraffins with carbon chain lengths in the range C14–17 and chlorination levels at or exceeding 45 per cent chlorine by weight have been proposed for listing under the Stockholm Convention. To aid the process of determining the identification of sum polychlorinated alkanes ΣPCAs C14-17 under the regulation (i.e. number of chlorines), there is a need for data from environmental samples that specifies the homologue group profiles, not just ΣPCAs.

In this report we present data on PCAs with a focus on ΣPCAs C14-17 from the Norwegian Environment Agency’s monitoring programmes in more detail than available in the programmes reports, focusing on homologue group patterns and chlorination degree. The programmes are i) Environmental pollutants in the terrestrial and urban environment ii) Atmospheric contaminants iii) Environmental contaminants in an urban fjord. Data presented are from the 2022 (Halvorsen et al., 2023; Heimstad et al., 2023; Ruus, 2023) and 2023 (reports in prep) programmes.

NILU

The FAIRness of ACTRIS Data Centre

Myhre, Cathrine Lund; Fiebig, Markus; Rud, Richard Olav; Mona, Lucia; Dema, Claudio; Pascal, Nicolas; Henry, Patrice; Picquet-Varrault, Bénédicte; Brissebrat, Guillaume; Boonne, Cathy; O'Connor, Ewan; Tukiainen, Simo

The purpose of this report is to document the status and implementation of FAIRness within ACTRIS Data centre as of March 2023, developed over the period January 2019 – March 2023.

The report is an extended version of ENVRI-FAIR deliverable D8.4 due March 2023 and available through Zenodo: ENVRI-FAIR D8.4: The FAIRness of ACTRIS | Zenodo, only including the work until autumn 2022. This present report adds more information to the implementation of the FAIR principles by ACTRIS Data Centre over the period January 2019 – March 2023. In addition to D8.4, the present report provides a comprehensive external FAIRness assessment covering the entire period 2019 - 2023, along with an evaluation of the implementation in the years 2022 and the first half of 2023. It's important to note that the project deliverable only encompasses the period from 2019 to 2021.

NILU

Måling av luftkvalitet i Forsvarets forlegning i Bamako. Målinger for Det norske forsvaret 2022.

Johnsrud, Mona; Tørnkvist, Kjersti Karlsen; Uggerud, Hilde Thelle; Vadset, Marit; Andresen, Erik; Schmidbauer, Norbert; Halse, Anne Karine

NILU

Alcoa Mosjøen. Measurements of CF4 and C2F6 emissions from Alcoa Aluminium’s smelter at Mosjøen, Norway.

Schmidbauer, Norbert; Hermansen, Ove; Lunder, Chris Rene

NILU performed a test campaign for measurements of CF4 and C2F6 for stack emissions at Alcoa Mosjøen Smelter. Time-integrated samples were taken with evacuated canisters combined with low-flow restrictors for continuous sampling periods as long as 4 weeks. The samples were analyzed at NILU with a Medusa preconcentration method combined with GC-MS SIM. As a main conclusion, time integrated sampling together with Medusa GC-MS methodology is a very precise alternative to the traditional attempts to quantify PFC-emission.

NILU

Health Risk Assessment of Air Pollution: assessing the environmental burden of disease in Europe in 2021

Soares, Joana; Plass, Dietrich; Kienzler, Sarah; Ortiz, Alberto González; Gsella, Artur; Horálek, Jan

This report presents the results of the environmental burden of disease (or health risk) assessment related to air pollution in 2021. The estimates include all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality and morbidity health outcomes, with ten risk-outcome pairs considered for the cause-specific estimates. Cause-specific mortality and morbidity estimates are combined to allow assessing the overall impact on population health based on a common indicator, the disability-adjusted life year. Using estimates disaggregated by mortality and morbidity components allows for the identification of the related shares across European countries.

ETC/HE