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Human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via the consumption of fish leads to exceedance of safety thresholds
Get PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) receive global attention due to their adverse effects on human health and the environment. Fish consumption is a major source of human PFAS exposure. The aim of this work was to address the lack of harmonization within legislations (in the EU and the USA) and highlight the level of PFAS in fish exposed to pollution from diffuse sources in the context of current safety thresholds. A non-exhaustive literature review was carried out to obtain PFAS concentrations in wild fish from the Norwegian mainland, Svalbard, the Netherlands, the USA, as well as sea regions (North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic Ocean), and farmed fish on the Dutch market. Median sum wet weight concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS ranged between 0.1 µg kg−1 (farmed fish) and 22 µg kg−1 (Netherlands eel). Most concentrations fell below the EU environmental quality standard (EQSbiota) for PFOS (9.1 µg kg−1) and would not be defined as polluted in the EU. However, using recent tolerable intake or reference dose values in the EU and the USA revealed that even limited fish consumption would lead to exceedance of these thresholds – possibly posing a challenge for risk communication.publishedVersio
Modelling the Effects of Forest use Change on Brownification of Finnish Rivers under Atmospheric Pressure
Get PDFBrowning of surface waters due to increased terrestrial loading of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is observed across the Northern Hemisphere. The effects influence several ecosystem services from freshwater productivity to water purification. Brownification is often explained by changes in large-scale anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem functioning (acidification, climate change, and land cover changes). This study examined the effect of forest use changes on water browning in Finland, considering the effects of global pressures. Our goal was to find the ecosystems and geographic areas that are most sensitive to environmental pressures that increase the loading of DOM. We were also looking for land use strategies that decrease browning. We combined mathematical watershed modelling to scenarios of climate change, atmospheric deposition, and forest use change. Changes included scenarios of forest harvest and protection on forest, that were derived from European Union’s regulation. The study area covered 20 watersheds from south to north of Finland. In northern Finland brownification continue. In southern Finland global influence (atmospheric deposition, climate change) seem to weaken, giving more space for local forest use change having an influence on brownification. Forest use change was more influential in river basins dominated by organic soils than in mineral soils. Extending forest protection decreased brownification especially in areas where the influence of atmospheric pressure is decreasing. When forest protection is planned to provide a carbon storage and sequestration potential and to favor biodiversity, it has favorable effect on surface water quality as well.publishedVersio
Floating microplastics in Svalbard fjords: High spatial variability requires methodological consistency in estuarine systems
Get PDFMicroplastic pollution was studied in surface waters of Isfjorden, Svalbard in July 2021 as a part of an international regional harmonisation exercise. Surface microplastics (0.5–5 mm) were sampled with a neuston net in triplicate per study site in several branches of Isfjorden, covering populated and unpopulated fjords. High spatial variability of microplastic abundance (0–32,700 items/km2) was observed within a single fjord resulting from the hydrodynamic pattern formed through the interaction of surface currents, freshwater runoff, and wind conditions. Maximum microplastic abundance was not correlated with the distance from the local source and was instead defined by local small-scale hydrodynamics. Future recommendations for correct assessment of surface microplastics concentration in estuarine environments are presented.publishedVersio
Modeling boreal forest soil dynamics with the microbially explicit soil model MIMICS+ (v1.0)
Get PDFUnderstanding carbon exchange processes between land reservoirs and the atmosphere is essential for predicting carbon–climate feedbacks. Still, considerable uncertainty remains in the representation of the terrestrial carbon cycle in Earth system models. An emerging strategy to constrain these uncertainties is to include the role of different microbial groups explicitly. Following this approach, we extend the framework of the MIcrobial-MIneral Carbon Stabilization (MIMICS) model with additional mycorrhizal groups and a nitrogen cycle that includes a novel representation of inorganic nitrogen sorption to particles via a Langmuir isotherm. MIMICS+ v1.0 is designed to capture and quantify relationships between soil microorganisms and their environment, with a particular emphasis on boreal ecosystems. We evaluated MIMICS+ against podzolic soil profiles in Norwegian forests as well as the conventional Community Land Model (CLM). MIMICS+ matched observed carbon stocks better than CLM and gave a broader range of C:NpublishedVersio
Modelling plastic fluxes with INCA-macroplastics in the Imus catchment: impacts of long-term accumulation and extreme events
Get PDFPlastic environmental pollution is threatening water resources, aquatic ecosystems, and human wellbeing but is still highly uncertain with global fluxes to sea of 0.4–13 Mt\yr, and up to 517 Mt of mismanaged plastics on land. Catchment modelling tools are required to challenge current knowledge, simulate impacts of management initiatives, and complement global and observation-based studies. Here we present the first spatiotemporally explicit model for mismanaged plastic mobilization and transport from land to sea from the INtegrated CAtchment (INCA) family. INCA-Macroplastics encompasses all components of the catchment, is driven by available data (weather, population, solid waste) and enables calibration and validation against diverse observations (river monitoring, household surveys). INCA-Macroplastics was applied to the Imus River, Philippines, one of World's most polluted rivers. Given large uncertainties on catchment plastic retention, two calibrations and two emission scenarios were developed to describe catchment plastic fluxes, residence time and stocks over 1990–2020. Plastic fluxes to the sea are highly variable over years and seasons (55–75% exported during the wet season) and have increased exponentially over 1990–2020 from 5–100 to 2000–15000 tons\yr. INCA-Macroplastics is the first model handling plastic accumulation on land and highlights the importance of extreme flooding events in mobilizing and transporting legacy plastics. Model outputs explicitly show that current land plastic pollution can impact fluxes to the ocean for up to 30 years into the future. INCA-Macroplastics is useful to provide tailored recommendations for local monitoring, testing waste management scenarios and pointing towards future research avenues.publishedVersio
Climate change vulnerability of Arctic char across Scandinavia
Get PDFClimate change is anticipated to cause species to shift their ranges upward and poleward, yet space for tracking suitable habitat conditions may be limited for range-restricted species at the highest elevations and latitudes of the globe. Consequently, range-restricted species inhabiting Arctic freshwater ecosystems, where global warming is most pronounced, face the challenge of coping with changing abiotic and biotic conditions or risk extinction. Here, we use an extensive fish community and environmental dataset for 1762 lakes sampled across Scandinavia (mid-1990s) to evaluate the climate vulnerability of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), the world's most cold-adapted and northernly distributed freshwater fish. Machine learning models show that abiotic and biotic factors strongly predict the occurrence of Arctic char across the region with an overall accuracy of 89 percent. Arctic char is less likely to occur in lakes with warm summer temperatures, high dissolved organic carbon levels (i.e., browning), and presence of northern pike (Esox lucius). Importantly, climate warming impacts are moderated by habitat (i.e., lake area) and amplified by the presence of competitors and/or predators (i.e., northern pike). Climate warming projections under the RCP8.5 emission scenario indicate that 81% of extant populations are at high risk of extirpation by 2080. Highly vulnerable populations occur across their range, particularly near the southern range limit and at lower elevations, with potential refugia found in some mountainous and coastal regions. Our findings highlight that range shifts may give way to range contractions for this cold-water specialist, indicating the need for pro-active conservation and mitigation efforts to avoid the loss of Arctic freshwater biodiversity.publishedVersio
GIS mapping of agricultural plastic waste in southern Europe
Get PDFThe escalating use of plastics in agriculture, driven by global population growth and increasing food demand, has concurrently led to a rise in Agricultural Plastic Waste (APW) production. Effective waste management is imperative, prompting this study to address the initial step of management, that is the quantification and localization of waste generated from different production systems in diverse regions. Focused on four Southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal) at the regional level, the study uses Geographic Information System (GIS), land use maps, indices tailored to each specific agricultural application and each crop type for plastic waste mapping. Furthermore, after the data was employed, it was validated by relevant stakeholders of the mentioned countries. The study revealed Spain, particularly the Andalusia region, as the highest contributor to APW equal to 324,000 tons per year, while Portugal's Azores region had the lowest estimate equal to 428 tons per year. Significantly, this research stands out as one of the first to comprehensively consider various plastic applications and detailed crop cultivations within the production systems, representing a pioneering effort in addressing plastic waste management in Southern Europe. This can lead further on to the management of waste in this area and the transfer of the scientific proposition to other countries.publishedVersio
Tiltaksorientert overvåking av sjøområdet utenfor Elkem Carbon og REC Solar i Kristiansand i 2022
Get PDFProsjektleder: Sigurd ØxnevadRevidert versjon av rapport 7838-2023.NIVA har gjennomført tiltaksorientert overvåking av sjøområdet utenfor Elkem Carbon og REC Solar i Kristiansand i 2022. I overvåkingen er det gjort analyser av blåskjell fra fem stasjoner og konsentrasjonen av polysykliske aromatiske hydrokarboner (PAH-forbindelser), tungmetaller (arsen, bly, kadmium, kobber, krom, kvikksølv, nikkel og sink), silisium og kalsium er bestemt. Det var høyest konsentrasjoner av PAH-forbindelser i blåskjellene fra Lumber. Blåskjellene som var samlet inn ved Lumber, Fiskå, Timlingen og Svensholmen hadde konsentrasjoner av PAH-forbindelsen benzo(a)pyren som oversteg grenseverdien for dette prioriterte stoffet. Blåskjellene fra Lumber og Timlingen hadde også konsentrasjoner av fluoranten som var høyere enn grenseverdien. Kjemisk tilstand for stasjonene Lumber, Fiskå, Timlingen og Svensholmen klassifiseres derfor til «ikke god». Blåskjellene fra Flekkerøygapet hadde ingen konsentrasjoner som var høyere enn grenseverdiene for de prioriterte stoffene, og stasjonen klassifiseres til «god» kjemisk tilstand. De to siste årene har det vært høyere konsentrasjoner av PAH-forbindelser i blåskjellene enn i de tre foregående årene. I forbindelse med oppstart av nytt renseanlegg for PAH og tilkobling av prosessvannsutslippet til dette renseanlegget hadde Elkem Carbon et uhellsutslipp i mars 2022. Dette kan ha bidratt til de økte konsentrasjonene av PAH-forbindelser i blåskjell i 2022.Elkem Carbon og REC SolarpublishedVersio
Interim report: Quantification of microplastic and plastic additives in water and fish in RAS (WP1)
Get PDFProsjektleder: Amy LusherPlastic material has been collected from three recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and their infrastructure. All plastic sources were analysed to identify their polymer and additive contents and a reference library created. This was used for targeted analysis when investigating the presence of microplastics within RAS facilities, specifically looking at intake water, recirculating water, sludge, fish, and fish feed. Analysis of these samples showed low levels but identified several potential sources of microplastics, including plastic infrastructure and consumables. There were low numbers of microplastics >300 μm in RAS samples. Comparatively, particle analysis of the smaller size fraction (50-300μm) suggests some degree of microplastic generation within the RAS although data is limited. Potential sources originating from the RAS infrastructure were identified as the fix bed bioreactor (FBBR) and moving bed bioreactor (MBBR), and biomedia. Initial analysis of fish tissue and stomachs showed low levels of microplastic and based on these results no conclusion could be drawn on ingestion by the fish. Screening for additives identified that several plastic-related chemicals were ubiquitous in RAS recirculating waters, including selected antioxidants and plasticisers. The source and distribution of these chemicals was compound specific. Fewer chemicals were quantified in sludge and fish compared with water. But specific compounds including antioxidants and plasticisers were consistently found in fish.FHFpublishedVersio
Monitoring of environmental contaminants in freshwater food webs (MILFERSK), 2023
Get PDFProsjektleder: Asle ØkelsrudThis report presents data from the third year of a 5-year period of the MILFERSK program. In 2023 the monitoring program reports on the sampling and analyses of the pelagic food chain in Lake Mjøsa, with the following sample types: zooplankton, Mysis, E. smelt, vendace, and brown trout, in addition to brown trout from Lake Femunden. A total of 205 single compounds/isomers were determined, and frequent detections were found of specific PFAS, PBDEs, Hg and siloxanes through the food chain with biomagnifying properties. Some contaminants, such as octocrylene is found in higher concentrations in the lower trophic levels. A slight downwards trend is observed from 2014 – 2023 for PFOS in Lake Mjøsa. We also observe a lower length adjusted mercury concentration for brown trout in Lake Mjøsa for the period 2014 to 2023, compared to the 9 years prior (2006 – 2014).MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio