Publications

The time for ambitious action is now: Science-based recommendations for plastic chemicals to inform an effective global plastic treaty

Brander, Susanne M.; Senathirajah, Kala; Fernandez, Marina; Weis, Judith S.; Kumar, Eva; Jahnke, Annika; Hartmann, Nanna B.; Alava, Juan José; Farrelly, Trisia; Almroth, Bethanie Carney; Groh, Ksenia J.; Syberg, Kristian; Buerkert, Johanna Sophie; Abeynayaka, Amila; Booth, Andy; Cousin, Xavier; Herzke, Dorte; Monclús, Laura; Morales-Caselles, Carmen; Bonisoli-Alquati, Andrea; Al-jaibachi, Rana; Wagner, Martin

The ubiquitous and global ecological footprint arising from the rapidly increasing rates of plastic production, use, and release into the environment is an important modern environmental issue. Of increasing concern are the risks associated with at least 16,000 chemicals present in plastics, some of which are known to be toxic, and which may leach out both during use and once exposed to environmental conditions, leading to environmental and human exposure. In response, the United Nations member states agreed to establish an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, the global plastics treaty. The resolution acknowledges that the treaty should prevent plastic pollution and its related impacts, that effective prevention requires consideration of the transboundary nature of plastic production, use and pollution, and that the full life cycle of plastics must be addressed. As a group of scientific experts and members of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, we concur that there are six essential “pillars” necessary to truly reduce plastic pollution and allow for chemical detoxification across the full life cycle of plastics. These include a plastic chemical reduction and simplification, safe and sustainable design of plastic chemicals, incentives for change, holistic approaches for alternatives, just transition and equitable interventions, and centering human rights. There is a critical need for scientifically informed and globally harmonized information, transparency, and traceability criteria to protect the environment and public health. The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment must be upheld, and thus it is crucial that scientists, industry, and policy makers work in concert to create a future free from hazardous plastic contamination.

Do simple screening criteria capture a chemical’s potential for adverse effects in remote regions?

Breivik, Knut; McLachlan, Michael; Wania, Frank

Atmospheric Microplastics in Two Norwegian Cities, Composition and Temporal Trends

Schmidt, Natascha; Herzke, Dorte; Schulze, Dorothea; Celentano, Samuel; Zeng, Xinyi

Analysis of polychlorinated n-alkanes (PCAs) in food from the Swedish market

Beloqui, Idoia; Yuan, Bo; Borgen, Anders; Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla; Wang, Thanh

Tire Related Additive Chemicals in Road Run-Off & Recipient Waters, Snow and Sediment Samples from Six Nordic Countries

Schmidt, Natascha; Hanssen, Linda; Nikiforov, Vladimir

Dechloranes and chlorinated paraffins in sediments and biota of two subarctic lakes

Arriola, Aline; Saify, Insam Al; Warner, Nicholas Alexander; Herzke, Dorte; Harju, Mikael; Amundsen, Per-Arne; Evenset, Anita; Möckel, Claudia; Krogseth, Ingjerd Sunde

Our understanding of the environmental behavior, bioaccumulation and concentrations of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) and Dechloranes (Dec) in the Arctic environment is still limited, particularly in freshwater ecosystems. In this descriptive study, short chain (SCCPs) and medium chain (MCCPs) CPs, Dechlorane Plus (DP) and analogues, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in sediments, benthic organisms, three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in two Sub-Arctic lakes in Northern Norway. Takvannet (TA) is a remote lake, with no known local sources for organic contaminants, while Storvannet (ST) is situated in a populated area. SCCPs and MCCPs were detected in all sediment samples from ST with concentration of 42.26–115.29 ng/g dw and 66.18–136.69 ng/g dw for SCCPs and MCCPs, respectively. Only SCCPs were detected in TA sediments (0.4–5.28 ng/g dw). In biota samples, sticklebacks and benthic organisms showed the highest concentrations of CPs, while concentrations were low or below detection limits in both char and trout. The congener group patterns observed in both lakes showed SCCP profiles dominated by higher chlorinated congener groups while the MCCPs showed consistency in their profiles, with C14 being the most prevalent carbon chain length. Anti- and syn-DP isomers were detected in all sediment, benthic and stickleback samples with higher concentrations in ST than in TA. However, they were only present in a few char and trout samples from ST. Dec 601 and 604 were below detection limits in all samples in both lakes. Dec 603 was detected only in ST sediments, sticklebacks and 2 trout samples, while Dec 602 was the only DP analogue found in all samples from both lakes. While there were clear differences in sediment concentrations of DP and Dec 602 between ST and TA, differences between lakes decreased with increasing δ15N. This pattern was similar to the PCB behavior, suggesting the lake characteristics in ST are playing an important role in the lack of biomagnification of pollutants in this lake. Our results suggest that ST receives pollutants from local sources in addition to atmospheric transport.

A conceptual framework to enable the implementation of circular economy strategies in support of sustainable production and consumption

Müller, Stephanie; Lachat, Ambroise; Morgado, Joana Francisco; Wäger, Patrick; Wewer, Valentin; Mintjes, Berend A.; Fernández, Elena; Bouman, Evert Alwin; Abbasi, Golnoush

Are parents driving air pollution at schools?

Grythe, Henrik; Santos, Gabriela Sousa; Castell, Nuria

Hvordan oppstår skogbranner og hva kan vi gjøre for å unngå dem

Grythe, Henrik (interview subject)

Global relevance of atmospheric observations in the Antarctica

Eckhardt, Sabine; Aas, Wenche; Platt, Stephen Matthew; Lunder, Chris Rene; Fjæraa, Ann Mari; Svendby, Tove Marit; Stebel, Kerstin; Tørseth, Kjetil

Linking nanomaterial-induced mitochondrial dysfunction to existing adverse outcome pathways for chemicals

Murugadoss, Sivakumar; Vinković Vrček, Ivana; Schaffert, Alexandra; Paparella, Martin; Pem, Barbara; Sosnowska, Anita; Stępnik, Maciej; Martens, Marvin; Willighagen, Egon L.; Puzyn, Tomasz; Cimpan, Mihaela Roxana; Lemaire, Frauke; Mertens, Birgit; Dusinska, Maria; Fessard, Valérie; Hoet, Peter H.

The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework plays a crucial role in the paradigm shift of tox­icity testing towards the development and use of new approach methodologies. AOPs developed for chemicals are in theory applicable to nanomaterials (NMs). However, only initial efforts have been made to integrate information on NM-induced toxicity into existing AOPs. In a previous study, we identified AOPs in the AOP-Wiki associated with the molecular initiating events (MIEs) and key events (KEs) reported for NMs in scientific literature. In a next step, we analyzed these AOPs and found that mitochondrial toxicity plays a significant role in several of them at the molecular and cellular levels. In this study, we aimed to generate hypothesis-based AOPs related to NM-induced mitochondrial toxicity. This was achieved by integrating knowledge on NM-induced mitochondrial toxicity into all existing AOPs in the AOP-Wiki, which already includes mitochondrial toxicity as a MIE/KE. Several AOPs in the AOP-Wiki related to the lung, liver, cardiovascular and nervous system, with extensively defined KEs and key event relationships (KERs), could be utilized to develop AOPs that are relevant for NMs. However, the majority of the studies included in our literature review were of poor quality, particularly in reporting NM physicochemical characteristics, and NM-relevant mitochondrial MIEs were rarely reported. This study highlights the potential role of NM-induced mitochondrial toxicity in human-relevant adverse outcomes and identifies useful AOPs in the AOP-Wiki for the development of AOPs for NMs.

Elsevier

Hybelkaniner kan være giftige: – Støvsug ofte, sier forsker

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

Citizen engagement and innovative approaches in sustainable urban transitions

Liu, Hai Ying