Found 2229 publications. Showing page 34 of 223:
Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM)
2019
Plastic pollution is a global and increasing threat to ecosystems. Plastics in the oceans are unevenly distributed, are transported by currents and can now be found in the most remote environments, including Arctic sea ice. The entanglement of wildlife by large plastic debris such as ropes is an obvious and well documented threat. However, the risks associated with the ingestion of smaller plastic particles, including microplastics (< 5mm) have been largely overlooked. Recent studies show that microplastic accumulates in the food web. Even in the Arctic and the deep sea, fish frequently contain microplastics in their guts. This, together with the fact that small microplastic particles can pass from the gut into blood and organs and also leach associated toxic additives raises health concerns for wildlife that ingest microplastic.
Within the North Atlantic, plastic ingestion in seabirds has been studied systematically only in the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), for which plastic particles > 1mm found in the stomachs of dead (beached or bycaught) birds are quantified. With the origin of these birds being unknown, it is, however, impossible to assess how plastics affect populations even of this one monitored species, let alone for other seabird species that differ in their foraging behaviour and risk to ingest plastics.
This report sums up the results of a workshop which aimed to identify possibilities for long-term monitoring of (micro-) plastic ingestion by seabirds in the framework of SEAPOP, the basal programme monitoring the performance of Norwegian seabird populations (www.seapop.no). The key conclusions were: 1) There is a need for baseline information on plastic ingestion across all seabird species to identify which species and populations are most suitable for monitoring. To obtain this information, the best approach is to investigate the stomach contents of dead birds (i.e. comparable methodology across all species). For long-term monitoring, not only species with high plastic ingestion are of interest, but also those with low plastic prevalence. 2) In the absence of information from (1), eight species that are complementary in their foraging behaviour and have a wide distribution range were selected as preliminary species of interest to monitor plastic ingestion. 3) For minimally invasive monitoring, regurgitates, fresh prey items and faeces are most suitable; 4) More information on prevalence of plastic ingestion is needed to identify optimal sample sizes for long-term monitoring. We therefore highlight the need for several pilot studies before establishing a plastic monitoring protocol within SEAPOP.
Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA)
2019
2019
CON+AIR: Addressing Conflicts of Climate and Air Pollution
The CON+AIR project presents two counterfactual scenarios for emissions and concentrations of air pollutants in Ireland in the year 2030.
Environmental Protection Agency
2019
Spredningsberegninger for ammoniakkutslipp. Leangen idrettsanlegg i Trondheim.
NILU har gjennomført spredningsberegninger for utslipp av ammoniakk (NH3) ved Leangen idrettsanlegg I Trondheim. Beregningene er utført for å undersøke hvilke konsentrasjoner av ammoniakk som kan forekomme i bakkenivå for ulike høyder av avkast for ammoniakkdamp. Beregningene viser at avkastet bør være 21 m over bakkenivå for å overholde grenseverdi for arbeidsatmosfære. Så lenge utslippet pågår vil det forekomme timemiddelkonsentrasjoner av ammoniakk over luktegrensen nedvinds for utslippet.
NILU
2019
This report presents VOC measurements carried out during 2017 at EMEP monitoring sites. In total, 20 sites reported VOC data from EMEP VOC sites this year. Some of the data sets are considered preliminary and are not included in the report. The monitoring of NMHC (non-methane hydrocarbons) has become more diverse with time in terms of instrumentation. Starting in the early 1990s with standardized methods based on manual sampling in steel canisters with subsequent analyses at the lab, the methods now consist of a variety of instruments and measurement principles, including automated continuous monitors and manual flask samples. For oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), sampling in DNPH-tubes with subsequent labanalyses is still the only method in use at EMEP sites. Within the EU infrastructure project ACTRIS-2, data quality issues related to measurements of VOC have been an important topic. Many of the institutions providing VOC data to EMEP have participated in the ACTRIS-2 project, either as formal partners or on a voluntary basis. Participation in ACTRIS-2 has meant an extensive effort with data checking including detailed discussions between the ACTRIS community and individual participants. There is no doubt that this extensive effort has benefited the EMEP program and has led to improved data quality in general. Comparison between median levels in 2017 compared to the medians of the previous 10-years period, revealed a similar north-to-south pattern for several species. Changes in instrumentation, procedures, station network etc. during the last two decades make it difficult to provide a rigorous and pan-European assessment of long-term trends of the observed VOCs. In this report we have estimated the longterm trends in NMHC over the 2000-2017 period at six selected sites by two independent statistical methods. These estimates indicate marked differences in the trends for the individual species. Small or non-significant trends were found for ethane over this period followed by propane which also showed fairly small reductions. On the other hand, components linked to road traffic (ethene, ethyne and toluene) showed the strongest drop in mean concentrations, up to 60-80% at some stations. The trend in n-butane was between these two groups of species with an estimated drop in the annual mean concentration of 20-50% over the 2000-2017 period.
NILU
2019
Monitoring of environmental contaminants in air and precipitation, annual report 2018
This report presents environmental monitoring data from 2018 and time-trends for the Norwegian programme for Long-range atmospheric transported contaminants. The results cover 200
organic compounds (regulated and non-regulated), 11 heavy metals, and organic chemicals of potential Arctic concern.
NILU
2019
Målet med studien er å vurdere effekten av tilskudd til utskifting av gamle vedovner til nye rentbrennende ovner, og i hvilken grad ordningen har påvirket det totale partikkelutslippet og luftkonsentrasjoner i Oslo kommune. NILU har utført tre beregninger; 1) utslippsmodellering og spredningsberegninger for 4 ulike scenarioer; 2) utslippsreduksjon fra tilskuddsordningen i Oslo kommune; og 3) vurdering av tidsutvikling av vedfyringsutslipp, vedforbruk og utslippsfaktorer for kommuner med og uten tilskuddsordning. Modellering og vurdering av den potensielle utslippsreduksjonen som kan tilskrives tilskuddsordningen, viser at tilskuddsordningen potensielt har en stor effekt på reduksjon av partikkelutslipp og konsentrasjoner av PM2.5 og PM10. Beregnigene viser at tilskuddsordningen i Oslo kommune gir betydelig redusert utslippsfaktor over tid, men effekten på totalt PM-utslipp er liten.
NILU
2019
Air quality in Europe — 2019 report
This report presents an updated overview and analysis of air quality in Europe from 2000 to 2017. It reviews the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established in the two EU Ambient Air Quality Directives and towards the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines (AQGs). It also presents the latest findings and estimates of population and ecosystem exposure to the air pollutants with the greatest impacts.
Publications Office of the European Union
2019