NILU contributes to a sustainable sports industry. We offer analyses of a variety of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in sportswear and textiles. We also work with impregnation agents and lubricants.
NILU uses liquid chromatography with a mass spectrometer to detect and measure PFAS. We can also assist by measuring microplastics in biota and wastewater, and we are working on a method to measure them in air.
Services we offer the sports and leisure sector:
- Screening analyses
- Analyses of PFAS in sportswear and textiles
- Analyses of PFAS in impregnating agents
- Random sampling from the undersides of skis
- Fluoride analyses of ski wax
- Measurement of microplastics in biota and wastewater
Examples of NILU’s commissions
Together against fluoride:
In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany, NILU has developed a fast and simple method for testing ski wax during ski tournaments. Samples are taken from the bottoms of skis by means of a special tape, which is then submitted for analysis that may reveal the use of fluorides in the wax.
Read more: NILU og Norges Skiforbund
jobber sammen mot fluor (Norwegian only)
Check your artificial soccer turf:
Every year, around 3000 tonnes of crumb rubber disappear from the artificial turf of Norwegian soccer fields. Many hours of soccer playing, research and data collection by teachers and students have yielded new knowledge about crumb rubber and how it escapes from artificial soccer turf in Norway. The results are available in a report from NILU, Akvaplan-niva AS, Sintef Ocean, Norway’s Institute of Marine Research, the Research Council of Norway and the Network for Environmental Education (SUSTAIN.NO).
Read more: Thousands played soccer for science