Found 9746 publications. Showing page 22 of 390:
The Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks advises the European Commission on whether the uses of titanium dioxide in toys and toy materials can be considered to be safe in light of the identified exposure, and the classification of titanium dioxide as carcinogenic category 2 after inhalation. Four toy products including casting kits, chalk, powder paints and white colour pencils containing various amounts of TiO2 as colouring agent were evaluated for inhalation risks. For the oral route, childrens’ lip gloss/lipstick, finger paint and white colour pencils were evaluated.
When it can be demonstrated with high certainty that no ultrafine fraction is present in pigmentary TiO2 preparations used in toys and toy materials, safe use with no or negligible risk for all products considered is indicated based on the exposure estimations of this Opinion. However, if an ultrafine fraction is assumed to be present, safe use is not indicated, except for white colour pencils.
Elsevier
2024
An extraordinary charge transfer kinetics and chemical stability make a boron-doped diamond (BDD) a promising material for electrochemical applications including wastewater treatment. Yet, with flat geometrical surfaces its scaling options are limited. In this study, the reticulated Vitreous Carbon (RVC) served as a substrate for boron-doped diamondized nanocarbons (BDNC) film growth resulting with complex heterogeneity carbon structures with different morphologies defined by using electron microscopy, microtomography, activation energy studies, and Raman spectroscopy.
The proposed modification significantly boosted the electrochemical Fe(CN)63−/4− redox activity. The voltammetry and impedimetric studies revealed its origin as a significantly higher share of electrochemically active sites at the BDNC@RVC electrode (increased by 114 %) combined with enhanced heterogeneous rate constant (2× increase up to 8.24·10−4 cm s−1). Finally, to establish its applicability for water treatment, the BDNC@RVC was studied as the anode in electrochemical paracetamol decomposition. Boron-enriched nanoarchitecture formed at the RVC electrode surface substantially reduced the oxidation energy barrier manifested as a decrease in activation overpotential by 212 mV, which gave a consequence in a 78 % removal rate (in 4 h, at 0.7 mA cm−2), 12 % higher than bare RVC and yielding lower amounts of APAP decomposition intermediates.
2024
To quantify the relative contributions of Arctic sea ice and unforced atmospheric internal variability to the “warm Arctic, cold East Asia” (WACE) teleconnection, this study analyses three sets of large-ensemble simulations carried out by the Norwegian Earth System Model with a coupled atmosphere–land surface model, forced by seasonal sea ice conditions from preindustrial, present-day, and future periods. Each ensemble member within the same set uses the same forcing but with small perturbations to the atmospheric initial state. Hence, the difference between the present-day (or future) ensemble mean and the preindustrial ensemble mean provides the ice-loss-induced response, while the difference of the individual members within the present-day (or future) set is the effect of atmospheric internal variability. Results indicate that both present-day and future sea ice loss can force a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation with a WACE pattern in winter. The magnitude of ice-induced Arctic warming is over four (ten) times larger than the ice-induced East Asian cooling in the present-day (future) experiment; the latter having a magnitude that is about 30% of the observed cooling. Sea ice loss contributes about 60% (80%) to the Arctic winter warming in the present-day (future) experiment. Atmospheric internal variability can also induce a WACE pattern with comparable magnitudes between the Arctic and East Asia. Ice-loss-induced East Asian cooling can easily be masked by atmospheric internal variability effects because random atmospheric internal variability may induce a larger magnitude warming. The observed WACE pattern occurs as a result of both Arctic sea ice loss and atmospheric internal variability, with the former dominating Arctic warming and the latter dominating East Asian cooling.
Science Press
2024
2023
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
2023
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2023
Monitoring of microplastics in the Norwegian environment (MIKRONOR)
Norsk institutt for vannforskning
2023
Utslipp og spredning av støv fra LKAB i Narvik
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
2023
Aerosols are an important constituent of the atmosphere both influencing the climate system and contributing to increasing pollution of the Arctic. At the same time, their adequate monitoring is a big challenge, as instruments on the ground only can sample aerosols in the lowermost atmosphere. For this reason, these measurements are complemented with observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) which quantify the total amount of aerosols throughout the atmosphere from the attenuation of direct sunlight (and moonlight). This procedure requires extremely careful instrument calibration and removal of cloud contaminated data. In Svalbard, such measurements have been performed by several research groups with different instruments, mostly in Ny-Ålesund and in Hornsund, but also on research vessels offshore. In the framework of the SSF Strategic Grant project ReHearsol, all AOD data from the Svalbard region since 2002 have been collected and made available to the SIOS research community. They indicate that number and intensity of Arctic haze episodes occurring in late winter and spring have decreased consistently and significantly in the last 20 years, while pollution events in summer/early autumn, caused by boreal biomass burning, are on the rise, though not as consistently. Comparison between in-situ measurements at Gruvebadet Atmosphere Laboratory in Ny-Ålesund and AOD measurements indicate that most (more than 65%) of the episodes with high aerosol load are not captured by surface measurements. This finding does not change when one includes in-situ measurements at Zeppelin Observatory (475 m a.s.l.). Studying extensive high-AOD episodes such as those in summer 2019 requires a multi-tool approach including in-situ and remote-sensing measurements combined with model tools.
2023
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
2023
2023
2023