Chemical substitution with a life cycle perspective: The case of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in durable water repellents

The aim of the research presented in this thesis was to support the process of substitution of side-chain fluorinated polymers in durable water repellents (DWRs), that give rise to emissions of hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). The focus was on: i) the provision of improved decision support regarding the environmental and human health performance of alternatives, and ii) public readiness for substitution and what messages can motivate consumers to voluntary substitution.This research explored the applicability of life cycle assessment (LCA) for the provision of a life cycle perspective in chemical alternatives assessment (CAA). To improve the relevance of LCA in the CAA of DWR alternatives, contributions were made to the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of (eco)toxicity, and characterisation factors were calculated (Papers II and III). Case study results (Paper IV), together with a literature review (Paper V), showed that LCA can provide relevant information for CAAs. Potential problem-shifting was identified between DWR alternatives, and the scenario assessment in the LCA provided useful input to the CAA. The hazard assessment (Paper I) together with the LCA support the recommendation to phase-out all non-essential use of PFASs in DWR. Performing such a phase-out through regulation can be a slow process. The potential to accelerate a phase-out by motivating consumers to voluntary substitution was investigated using a web-survey experiment. This study (Paper VI) found that Swedish readiness to voluntarily act to substitute hazardous fluorinated chemicals is already high and that detailed information on the hazards associated with these chemicals can raise this potential even higher.The present research strengthens the potential for LCA to be used in CAA and identifies its limitations. The work will help policy makers and analysts who are faced with challenges such as prioritising regulatory and design interventions for substitution and shaping information campaigns to encourage voluntary substitution

Environmental Assessment of Alternative Durable Water Repellent Chemicals. First steps towards a holistic assessment.

Durable water repellent (DWR) finishes are applied to textiles to impart water and in some cases oil repellency. Water (and oil) repellency can be an important contribution to a textile’s performance, for comfort or for the protection of human lives under extreme conditions. DWRs incorporating side-chain fluorinated polymers based on long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are being phased out due to the recognition of the hazard they pose to humans and the environment. In this thesis the first steps towards a holistic environmental assessment of alternative DWRs are presented. A hazard assessment focussing on diffusively released substances showed that the available alternatives have better hazard profiles compared to the DWRs based on long-chain PFAS. Hydrocarbon based DWRs were assessed as most benign while properties of concern were identified for both side-chain-fluorinated polymers based on short-chain PFASs and silicones. To fully assess the human health and environmental toxicity impacts of the alternatives, including the possible trade-offs creating other types of negative impacts, risk assessment and life cycle assessment (LCA) are recommended methods and will be used to establish a substitution scheme. In addition to risks to human health and the environment due to chemical releases, a sound substitution scheme must also consider risks connected to DWR failure, and strive towards minimal release of hazardous substances. Further research needs to focus on filling the data gaps in the hazard profiles of the existing alternatives and to develop high performance DWRs with less problematic hazard profiles

Checking-in to Create Instructor-Student Immediacy in Honors

Weekly, self-evaluative briefs are used to assess students’ general wellbeing during the coronavirus crisis. Authors discuss the efficacy of personalized check-ins and remote, interpersonal rapport, suggesting a positive impact on student learning outcomes

Att angöra en brygga – en diskursanalys av omnichannel som buzzword och brygga mellan kanaler

Denna kvalitativa studie ämnar undersöka krafterna bakom managementtrender, genom att skapa en förståelse för uppkomsten och implementeringen av fenomenet omnichannel. Studien utgår från auktoritativa texter från fältet där omnichannel figurerar, och kompletteras med intervjuer med medarbetare på både lednings- och butiksnivå hos klädkedjan MQ, där omnichannel nyligen implementerats. Empirin har vidare satts i en neoinstitutionell kontext och studerats utifrån teorier om diskurser och management fashions. Studien visar att uppkomsten och implementerandet av omnichannel går att se som ett nära växelspel, där det blir viktigt att dra en distinktion mellan omnichannel som koncept och som ord. Vidare konstateras att omnichannel kan ha uppkommit och implementerats på grund av ett teknologiskt, i förlängningen vinstdrivet, behov hos MQ. Utöver det har en rad påverkande faktorer i form av maktspelet bakom uppkomsten samt aspekter som kan hindra implementeringen identifierats.This qualitative study aims to investigate the dynamics behind management trends, by attempting to develop an understanding of the inception and implementation of the omnichannel phenomenon. The study is based on defining writings from the fields in which omnichannel appears. In addition, interviews with both management and store level personnel are made at the clothes retailer MQ, who recently implemented omnichannel. The empirical evidence is put in a neoinstitutional context and is studied with the aid of theories on discourse and management fashions. The study shows that the inception and implementation of omnichannel are happening in close relation to each other, and it becomes important to make a distinction between the word omnichannel and the concept behind it. It is also stated that omnichannel may have appeared due to a technological, and thus economical, need within MQ. A set of influential powers is identified, defined as the power dynamics behind the inception and implementation of omnichannel

Student Preferences for Faculty-Led Honors Study Abroad Experiences

A critical component of any education, particularly an honors education, is an interdisciplinary curriculum that enriches the college experience. At South Dakota State University (SDSU), the Fishback Honors College strives to provide a robust and holistic educational experience through innovative honors courses paired with enriching co-curricular programs. One way to meet these goals is an honors study abroad experience included as part of the Fishback Honors College curriculum. The study abroad course is an integral part the honors curriculum, fulfilling the requirement of an interdisciplinary colloquium course and thus making it accessible to students from every field of study

What difference can drop-in substitution actually make? A life cycle assessment of alternative water repellent chemicals

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are used in durable water repellents (DWRs) on outdoor garments and manufacturers are currently phasing out hazardous PFASs. A critical question is: which alternatives should be chosen? The answer should depend on a holistic assessment, but the published inventory data and methodological guidance for assessing PFAS in products is slim and typically limited to hazard assessment. We aim to provide a holistic assessment of the potential environmental consequences of this phase out of DWRs, going beyond the more traditional hazard-focused substitution assessment to also include a broad life-cycle-based assessment of PFASs and their drop-in alternatives. In this study, potential environmental consequences of the phase out were evaluated by applying a life cycle assessment (LCA) to shell jackets with side-chain fluorinated polymer based (i.e., PFASs) or non-fluorinated alternative DWRs with the aim to support a substitution assessment. We demonstrated an innovative approach to impact assessment by inclusion of PFAS related fate and toxicity and invested effort towards contributing new primary inventory data by using a combination of industry dialogue and performance measurements from our larger project context. From a methodological point of view, this paper demonstrates the state-of-the-art in product LCA of persistent textile chemicals and identifies the current limits of this assessment approach. It also delivers new LCI data of use to other analysts. The LCA results in this paper suggest that jackets without PFASs are environmentally preferable. Potential problem shifting due to increased washing and reimpregnation of the jackets did not outweigh PFAS-related potential toxicity impacts as indicated by LCA results. Based on the results presented here, specific DWRs within the non-fluorinated DWR group could not be identified as preferable to others. This LCA does however provide a relevant starting point for more detailed studies on specific DWR systems and it supports moves to phase-out PFASs from non-essential DWR uses

How uncertainties are handled in LCA – focus on the wastewater and textile sectors

Life cycle assessment (LCA) relies on large data samples and includes numerous choices and assumptions. This study aimed at reviewing to what extent relevant uncertainties are communicated and considered when interpreting LCA results, looking at current practices in LCAs on wastewater and textile systems. Our review showed that uncertainties are seldom communicated or considered in relation to the conclusions of the study, despite the availability of methods for propagating uncertainties in LCAs. We discuss that uncertainties and variation should at least be qualitatively assessed, and ideally be propagated from the life cycle inventory through the impact assessment

An (Eco)Toxicity Life Cycle Impact Assessment Framework for Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

A framework for characterizing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is proposed. Thousands of PFASs are used worldwide, with special properties imparted by the fluorinated alkyl chain. Our framework makes it possible to characterize a large part of the family of PFASs by introducing transformation fractions that translate emissions of primary emitted PFASs into the highly persistent terminal degradation products: the perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). Using a PFAA-adapted characterization model, human toxicity as well as marine and freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity characterization factors are calculated for three PFAAs, namely perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS). The model is evaluated to adequately capture long-term fate, where PFAAs are predicted to accumulate in open oceans. The characterization factors of the three PFAAs are ranked among the top 5% for marine ecotoxicity, when compared to 3104 chemicals in the existing USEtox results databases. Uncertainty analysis indicates potential for equally high ranks for human health impacts. Data availability constitutes an important limitation creating uncertainties. Even so, a life cycle assessment (LCA) case study illustrates practical application of our proposed framework, demonstrating that even low emissions of PFASs can have large effects on LCA results

Supply chain guide for identification of regulated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

This report is a deliverable from task 4.4 of the POPFREE project (stage 3). Based on the OECD Comprehensive Global Database of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) more than 4700 substances have been categorised for their current regulatory status in Sweden, the EU and globally. For example, more than 1000 substances were categorised as covered by the Regulation (EU) No 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) for Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds. The categorisations are associated with a high level of uncertainty due to the limited size of this project. Substance by substance evaluations have not been possible and all categorisations are based on group level criteria. Next steps forward are discussed, including the development of digital tools, to support the manufacture and use of products without PFAS.  This report is a deliverable from task 4.4 of the UDI stage 3 project “POPFREE – Promotion of PFAS-free alternatives. POPFREE is funded by Vinnova, the Swedish Innovations Agency and coordinated by RISE. Among the tasks is 4.4, which is led by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and executed in collaboration with Volvo Cars, RISE and the Swedish Chemicals Agency. The POPFREE project ran from 2020 to 2022

How do children´s development and learning benefit from aesthetic forms of expression?

The purpose of our study is to increase knowledge about how preschool teachers support children's development and learning through the aesthetic forms of expression in preschool education. We chose to use a qualitative study with a phenomenographic methodological approach and this method is based on interviews in a semi-structured form. Through the choice of method, we wanted to capture the preschool teachers' different perceptions of aesthetic forms of expression. Our results show that there are different views on aesthetics and how it is experienced by children and educators. What emerges in our study is that preschool teachers describe that aesthetic forms of expression are about giving children opportunities for varied learning. The result also emphasizes that aesthetic forms of expression are integrated through projects in teaching, which the preschool teachers emphasize is important. They mention that children learn differently and have different conditions for absorbing knowledge and therefore it is good to vary the teaching with aesthetic expressions. Another result that has emerged from our interviews is that aesthetics support children's development and learning because children explore and learn through their senses and use the body in aesthetic forms of expression. Syftet med vår studie är att öka kunskapen om hur förskollärare gynnar barns utveckling och lärande genom de estetiska uttrycksformerna i förskolans utbildning. Vi valde att använda oss av en kvalitativ studie med en fenomenografisk metodansats och denna metod bygger på intervjuer i en semistrukturerad form. Genom metodvalet ville vi fånga förskollärarnas olika uppfattningar kring estetiska uttrycksformer. Vårt resultat visar att det finns olika synsätt på estetik och hur det upplevs av barn och pedagoger. Det som framkommer i vår studie är att förskollärarna beskriver att estetiska uttrycksformer handlar om att ge barn möjligheter till ett varierat lärande. I resultatet lyfts även att estetiska uttrycksformer integreras genom projekt i undervisningen, vilket förskollärarna lyfter är viktigt. De nämner att barn lär olika och har olika förutsättningar för att ta till sig kunskap och därför är det bra att variera undervisningen med estetiska uttryckssätt. Ett annat resultat som har kommit fram utifrån våra intervjuer är att estetik gynnar barns utveckling och lärande för att barn utforskar och lär genom sina sinnen och använder kroppen i estetiska uttrycksformer