Publications

Prioritization, screening and identification of organosilicon contaminants in the environment. NILU F

Kierkegaard, A.; McLachlan, M.S.; Breivik, K.; Arnot, J.A.; Wania, F.

A mass balance model of chemical fate and bioaccumulation in the environment was used to rank 287 high- and low-production volume organosilicon compounds for their concentration in the environment and in top predators. Key physical chemical properties of each chemical were estimated using quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) and a total emission estimate of each chemical was made using information, which included amounts entering commerce and emission factors. Based on the model predicted concentrations in air, sediment and human tissue, chemicals were selected for screening through environmental sampling and analysis. Known environmental organosilicon contaminants such as the cyclic and linear volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) were excluded as well as structures subject to rapid hydrolysis, a feature which was not taken into account in the model simulations because of current limitations in predicting hydrolysis half-lives with QSARs. Analytical standards were only commercially available for half of the remaining 30 organosilicon compounds. Ten of these were not stable in solution, which left 5 organosilicon compounds eligible for environmental screening. These were tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane, phenyl-tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane, trifluoropropyltrimethylcyclotrisiloxane, trifluoropropylmethylcyclotetrasiloxane and tetraphenyltrisiloxane. Four of these chemicals were identified in sewage sludge, in sediment from Stockholm harbor, and in Stockholm ambient air samples. The trifluoropropyl-substituted siloxanes were analysed with UPLC-MS/MS, the others with GC-MS. Trifluoropropyltrimethylcyclotrisiloxane was solely detected as its corresponding linear diol. To date it is unclear whether the diol is present in the environment as such or formed during extraction or cleanup. The concentrations of the chemicals ranged from pg m-3 in air up to ng g-1 d.w. in sewage sludge, which are orders of magnitude below the levels of cyclic VMS (such as D5) in the same matrices.

Aerosols and their relation to global climate and climate sensitivity.

Myhre, G.; Myhre, C.E.L.; Samset, B.H.; Storelvmo, T.

Report on integrating the traffic/individual modelling with the air quality modelling. UncertWeb Consortium Deliverable 8.3.

Gerharz, L.; Helle, K.; Pebesma, E.; Pross, B.; Stasch, C.; Rasouli, S.; Timmermans, H.; Denby, B.; Walker, S.E.

Toward the next generation of air quality monitoring: Mercury.

Pirrone, N.; Aas, W.; Cinnirella, S.; Ebinghaus, R.; Hedgecock, I.M.; Pacyna, J.; Sprovieri, F.; Sunderland, E.M.

Air quality zone delimitation in Norway. Evaluation and delimitation proposal. NILU OR

Lopez-Aparicio, S.; Tønnesen, D.

An evaluation of the air quality in Norway over the last five years has been performed to set up the basis for a new Air Quality zone (AQ-zone) delimitation for reporting to European Commission concerning compliance of air quality directives. Air pollution levels (i.e. PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, benzene, heavy metals, B(a)P) have been assessed regarding exceedances of limit values, target values, Norwegian national targets, and upper/lower assessment thresholds (UAT/LAT) defined for the protection of human health, vegetation and/or natural ecosystems. The results from this evaluation complemented with information regarding background concentration levels in Norway have been used to define a new delimitation: 1) AQ-zone delimitation for PM10, NO2, NOx, benzene and B(a)P, 2) AQ-zone delimitation for SO2 and heavy metals, 3) AQ-zone delimitation for ozone and 4) AQ-zone delimitation for CO.

Measurements of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from imported consumer products and estimations of diffuse emissions. NILU F

Vestergren, R.; Cousins, I.T.; Herzke, D.

NILU 2013. Et historisk tilbakeblikk. Min arbeidsplass gjennom 43 år. NILU F

Sivertsen, B.

Recommendations for reporting "black carbon" measurements.

Petzold, A.; Ogren, J. A.; Fiebig, M.; Laj, P.; Li, S.-M.; Baltensperger, U.; Holzer-Popp, T.; Kinne, S.; Pappalardo, G.; Sugimoto, N.; Wehrli, C.; Wiedensohler, A.; Zhang, X.-Y.

Levels and source regions of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) measured in background air in Leova, Moldova. NILU PP

Nordum, M.; Breivik, K.; Aas, W.; Eckhardt, S.; Schlabach, M.; Balan, V.

Ecological and spatial factors drive intra- and interspecific variation in exposure of subarctic predatory bird nestlings to persistent organic pollutants.

Eulaers, I.; Jaspers, V.L.B.; Bustnes, J.O.; Covacic, A.; Johnsen, T.V.; Halley, D.J.; Moum, T.; Ims, R.A.; Hanssen, S.A.; Erikstad, K.E.; Herzke, D.; Sonne, C.; Ballesteros, M.; Pinxten, R.; Eens, M.

The impact of organic acids on varnishes in museum environments.

Bonaduce, I.; Colombini, M.P.; Di Girolamo, F.; Orsini, S.; Odlyha, M.; Rutkowska, S.; Scharff, M., Grøntoft, T.

Time series analysis of significant wave height data for identification of trends in the ocean wave climate.

Vanem, E.; Walker, S.E.