Found 9763 publications. Showing page 79 of 391:
Health Risk Assessment of Air Pollution in Europe. Methodology description and 2017 results
This report describes the methodology applied to assess health risks across Europe in 2016, published in the European Environmental Agency’s Air Quality in Europe – 2019 report. The methodology applied is based on the work by de Leeuw and Horálek (2016), with a few adjustments. To estimate the health risk related to air pollution, the number of premature deaths and years of life lost related to exposure to fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide exposure were calculated for 41 countries across Europe. The results show that the largest health risks are estimated for the countries with the largest populations. However, in relative terms, when considering e.g., years of life lost per 100 000 inhabitants, the largest relative risks are observed in central and eastern European countries, and the lowest are found for the northern and north-western parts of Europe. Additionally to the assessment, a sensitivity analysis was undertaken to comprehend how much the presumed baseline concentration levels, the concentration below which no health effects are expected, affect the estimations. In addition, a benefit analysis, assuming attainment of the PM2.5 WHO guidelines across Europe, shows a reduction over 30 % of the 2017 premature deaths and years of life lost numbers.
ETC/ATNI
2020
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2020
2020
Crumb rubber toxicity in coastal marine systems
Crumb rubber granulate (CRG) produced from end of life tires (ELTs) is commonly applied on indoor and outdoor synthetic turf pitches (STPs), playgrounds, safety surfaces and walkways. In addition to fillers, stabilizers, cross-linking agents and secondary components (e.g. pigments, oils, resins, fibers), ELTs contain high levels of organic additive compounds and heavy metals. While previous environmental studies have focused on terrestrial soil and freshwater ecosystems, in Norway many sites applying CRG are coastal. In the current study, the organic chemical and metal content of 'fresh' and 'weathered' CRG and their seawater leachates was investigated, and the uptake of crumb rubber by the brown crab (Cancer pagurus) was studied as an example of an exposure route for CRG to coastal marine organisms. A combination of pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (py-GC-MS) and chemical extraction followed by GC-MS analysis revealed similar organic chemical profiles for pristine and weathered CRG, including additives such as benzothiazole, N-1,3-dimethylbutyl-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine and a range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenolic compounds (e.g. bisphenols). ICP-MS analysis indicated g/kg quantities of Zn and mg/kg quantities of Fe, Mn, Cu, Co, Cr, Pb and Ni in the CRG. A mixture of organic additives, metals and other inorganic compounds readily leached from the CRG into seawater. Benzothiazole was the organic compound with highest concentration (average of 136 mg/L), while PAHs (ranging from <LOD to 0.58 mg/L) and phenolic compounds (e.g. 2,4-bisphenol F and 4,4’-bisphenol F at 0.012 and 0.006 mg/L, respectively) were present in low abundance. Zn was the most abundant metal in the leachates (23.8 mg/L) followed by Fe (0.08 mg/L) and Co (0.06 mg/L). While organic chemical concentrations in the leachates stabilized within days, metals continued to leach out over the 30 day period. Brown crabs were exposed to two concentrations of CRG (0.5 and 0.05 g/L) in two size fractions (5 mm and 250 µm diameter) for 24 hours. Ingestion of the rubber and subsequent gut evacuation were studied over 5 days. Image analysis of filtered stomach contents confirmed uptake of rubber particles in different sizes, but also efficient gut evacuation upon transfer to clean water. We discuss the implications of CRG and leachate toxicity in acute and long-term exposure scenarios for marine coastal ecosystems.
2020
In this report, we investigate the relative expanded uncertainty (REU) formula for comparing low-cost sensors (microsensors) and reference measurements. The purpose of the REU formula is to check if microsensor measurements follow the data quality objective (DQO) of the European Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC to be considered equivalent to a reference instrument. The project aimed to obtain a good understanding of the REU formula for its proper use in current and future projects involving microsensors.
NILU
2020
2020
Determining the Bio‐Based Carbon Content of Surfactants
In response to a mandate from the European Commission, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) called on the technical committee CEN/TC 276 to develop a European standard (EN 17035) to define bio‐based surfactants and enable quantification of the bio‐based carbon content of surfactants based on radiocarbon analyses. This analytical approach was tested through directly contracted analyses and through a round robin procedure at commercial facilities in Europe. Initial results were unsatisfactory and further investigation identified issues surrounding the degree of homogenization in the samples. In general, the samples were only homogeneous at the gram level while the maximum quantity of material that could be introduced to the analytical process was at the milligram level. Having identified the root cause of the discrepancies between measured and expected results, new samples were sent to six European laboratories. The results were satisfactory indicating linearity and accuracy across the measurement range.
AOCS Press
2020
The geographic distribution of NO2-concentrations in air in the area around E16 Arna – Vågsbotn (Bergen) was mapped by
NILU after request by Statens vegvesen. Measurements were carried out with passive air samplers at 10 sites in the area
Gaupås-Kalsås-Blinde. The project was carried out in winter (28. January – 24. March 2020) in an area which often is subject to inversion conditions in wintertime.
The winter 2019-2020 proved to be a mild winter, no inversion conditions were registered. The NO2-concentration was highest in the first week and decreased gradually every week. During the two last weeks, traffic was reduced as a consequence of pandemia measures. The average concentration at the most polluted site over the entire measurement period was 22.9 μg/m3. Comparison of results from the measurement area with observations from monitoring stations in Bergen showed that the NO2-level close to E16 was as high as at traffic stations in Bergen.
NILU
2020
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Denne rapporten presenterer databasen i ICP Materialer for perioden oktober 2017 – november 2018. Den inkluderer
miljødata fra ICP Materialer trend-eksponeringsprogrammet for 2017 – 2018, og i tillegg data for temperatur, relativ
fuktighet og nedbørsmengde tilbake til slutten av forrige års-eksponering i oktober/november 2015. Databasen består av
meteorologiske data (T, RF og nedbørsmengde) og forurensningsdata, som gasskonsentrasjoner, mengde ioner i nedbør, partikkelkonsentrasjoner og mengde avsatte partikler.
NILU
2020
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