Publications

Using different TROPOMI XCH4 retrieval products in atmospheric inversions of CH4: a comparison and reconciliation over Europe

Thompson, Rona Louise; Schneider, Philipp; Stebel, Kerstin

Vil et endret kosthold påvirke miljøgifter i arktiske sjøfugler?

Ruud, Ingunn Marie

Heavy metals and POP measurements 2023

Aas, Wenche; Halvorsen, Helene Lunder; Pfaffhuber, Katrine Aspmo

This report presents an overview of the annual statistics and results from the monitoring programme of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in EMEP in 2023.

NILU

Investigating oxidative potential of particulate matter from an urban sampling station in Oslo (Norway)

Froment, Jean Francois; Honza, Tatiana; Hudecova, Alexandra Misci; Hak, Claudia; Yttri, Karl Espen; Longhin, Eleonora Marta

EEA´s revision of the European air quality index bands

Ortiz, Alberto González; Soares, Joana; Targa, Jaume; Colina, Maria; Azcón, Laia; Banyuls, Lorena; Tobollik, Myriam; Monge, Silvia; Finnbjornsdottir, Ragnhildur

The European Air quality index has been updated and now its bands take into consideration the World Health Organization global air quality guidelines, published in 2021. A subindex per pollutant is calculated based on hourly data (including for PM, for which running 24-hours averages were considered before) and on the risk of short-term mortality. The worst pollutant subindex categorizes the index. The health messages linked to the different index categories remain unchanged.

European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment (ETC HE)

Modelling the Transport Externalities of Urban Sprawl Development in Polish Cities Between 2006 and 2023

Drabicki, Arkadiusz; Lopez-Aparicio, Susana; Grythe, Henrik; Kierpiec, Urszula; Tobola, Kamila; Kud, Bartosz; Chwastek, Konrad

Protokoll: Krav til konsekvensutredning ved planlegging av vindkraftprosjekter for å hindre forurensning av drikkevann

Alexander, Jan; Kvalem, Helen Engelstad; Mariussen, Espen; Schlabach, Martin; Steffensen, Inger-Lise Karin; Hannisdal, Rita; Ruus, Anders; Amlund, Heidi; Lisbeth, Dahl; Olsen, Ann-Karin Hardie; Samdal, Ingunn Anita; Knutsen, Helle Katrine

VKM skal lage oversikt over hvilke krav som bør stilles til konsekvensutredninger ved planlegging av nye vindkraftprosjekter. Det er laget en protokoll som beskriver hvordan VKM vil gå frem for å løse oppdraget.

Bakgrunn for oppdraget
Et vindkraftverk kan forurense omgivelsene både under etablering, drift og avvikling. Dersom området ligger innenfor et vanntilsigsområde for drikkevann, kan det utgjøre en forurensningsfare for drikkevannet.

Mattilsynet er høringsinstans når vindkraftverk skal etableres, og de ønsker en oversikt over hvilke krav som bør stilles til konsekvensutredningene.

Dette er en bestilling fra Mattilsynet, som fører tilsyn med drikkevann.

Om protokollen
VKM har utarbeidet en protokoll for hvordan vi skal løse oppdraget som går på å utarbeide krav til informasjon om, og risikovurdering av farene ved søknad om etablering av vindkraftverk. Protokollen favner bruk av kjemiske stoffer og annen aktuell forurensing som kan utgjøre en risiko for drikkevann gjennom hele vindkraftverkets livsløpssyklus (anlegg, drift, vedlikehold og avvikling)

Uptake of chemicals from tire wear particles into aquatic organisms - search for biomarkers of exposure in blue mussels

Foscari, Aurelio; Herzke, Dorte; Mowafi, Riham; Seiwert, Bettina; Witte, Bavo De; Delbare, Daan; Heras, Gustavo Blanco; Gago, Jesus; Reemtsma, Thorsten

Little is known about the exposure of aquatic biota to tire and road wear particles (TRWP) washed away from roads. Mussels were exposed for 7 days to model TRWP (m-TRWP), produced by milling tire tread particles with pure sand, and analyzed for 21 tire-related compounds by liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Upon exposure to 0.5 g/L of m-TRWP, 15 compounds were determined from 944 μg/kg wet weight (diphenylguanidine, DPG) over 18 μg/kg for an oxidation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6-PPDQ) to 0.6 μg/kg (4-hydroxydiphenyl amine). Transfer into mussels was highest for PTPD, DTPD and 6-PPDQ and orders of magnitude lower for 6-PPD. During 7 days depuration the concentration of all determined chemicals decreased to remaining concentrations between ~50 % (PTPD, DTPD) and 6 % (6-PPD). Suspect and non-target screening found 37 additional transformation products (TPs) of tire additives, many of which did not decrease in concentration during depuration, among them ten likely TPs of DPG, two of 6-PPD and PTPD and two of 1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline. A wide variety of chemicals is taken up by mussels upon exposure to m-TRWP and a wide range of TPs is formed, enabling the differentiation of biomarkers of exposure to TRWP and biomarkers of exposure to tire-associated chemicals.

The impact of tropospheric blocking on the duration of the sudden stratospheric warmings in boreal winter 2023/24

Vorobeva, Ekaterina; Orsolini, Yvan

The winter of 2023/24 exhibited remarkable stratospheric dynamics with multiple sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Based on the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5) polar-cap-averaged 10 hPa zonal wind, three major SSWs are identified. Two of the three SSWs were short-lived, lasting under 7 d. In this study, we give an overview of the three SSWs that occurred in the winter of 2023/24 and focus on the impact of tropospheric forcing on their duration. Blocking high-pressure systems are shown to modulate wave activity flux into the stratosphere through interactions with tropospheric planetary waves, depending on their location. The rapid termination of the first SSW (14–19 January 2024) is linked to a developing high-pressure system over the North Pacific. The second SSW (16–22 February 2024) terminated quickly due to more contributing factors, one of which was a high-pressure system that developed over the Far East. The third SSW (3–28 March 2024) was a long-duration canonical event extending to levels below 100 hPa. In contrast to the two short-lived SSWs in the winter of 2023/24, tropospheric forcing was sustained around the SSW onset in March 2024, allowing a long event to develop. We also note that conditions for these SSWs were particularly favorable due to external factors, including an easterly Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), the presence of El Niño conditions of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and the proximity to the solar maximum.

Revidert tiltaksutredning for lokal luftkvalitet i Tromsø

Weydahl, Torleif; Markelj, Miha; Walker, Sam-Erik; Lysø, Tonje

Stiftelsen NILU har, i samarbeid med Transportøkonomisk institutt (TØI), utarbeidet en revidert tiltaksutredning for lokal luftkvalitet i Tromsø kommune for perioden 2025 til 2030. Arbeidet omfatter en kartlegging av luftkvaliteten basert på trafikk-, utslipps- og spredningsberegninger for PM10, PM2,5 og NO2 for Dagens situasjon 2023, Referansesituasjonen 2030 og 2030 med tiltak. Det er beregnet risiko for overskridelse av dagens grenseverdier i forurensningsforskriften og for grenseverdier i nytt EU-direktiv som ennå ikke er tatt inn i norsk lovgiving.

NILU

Health Risks from Pollutants in Plastic Recycling: Lessons from Tanzania, 2025

Nipen, Maja

Inverse modeling of 137Cs during Chernobyl 2020 wildfires without the first guess

Tichý, Ondřej; Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Selivanova, Anna; Šmídl, Václav