Pilaantuneen maaperän ekologinen riskinarviointi

Ekologinen riskinarviointi (ERA) on muodollinen, tieteellisiin menetelmiin perustuva menettely, jossa arvioidaan ja määritellään jonkun stressitekijän aiheuttamien, kasveihin tai eläimiin kohdistuvien haitallisten vaikutusten suuruus, todennäköisyys ja ajallinen ja alueellinen ulottuvuus.Tässä oppaassa esitellään menettelytapa, jota käyttäen voidaan tehdä pilaantuneen maa-alueen ekologinen riskinarviointi. Menettelytavan yhtenäistämisellä saavutetaan etuja päätöksenteon helpottuessa, eri arvioiden vertailun yksinkertaistuessa, oleellisten seikkojen mukana olon varmistuessa ja raportoinnin selkeytyessä. Oppaassa esitellään myös muita riskinarvioinnin menettelytapoja ja testimenetelmiä.Ekologinen riskinarviointi esitetään suoritettavaksi kuusivaiheisena prosessina:  Tiedon keruu (1) ja alustavien arviointien tekeminen (2) ovat tarpeen jatkosuunnittelun pohjaksi. Tavoitteiden määrittelyn (3) yhteydessä määritellään tiedon tarpeet sen suorittamiseksi. Arvioinnin kohteiden tunnistuksessa (4) selvitetään, mitkä eliöt, yhteisöt tai ekologiset prosessit saattavat olla vaarassa haitta-aineiden takia ja mitä näistä halutaan suojella. Koottujen tietojen ja alustavien arviointien perusteella tehdään työsuunnitelma (5) puuttuvien tietojen hankkimiseksi. Riskien määrittäminen (6) tehdään yhdistämällä kootut tiedot niin, että voidaan päätellä, miten tarkasteltavat haitta-aineet vaikuttavat valittuihin kohdeorganismeihin tai prosesseihin.Menettelytapaa selkeytetään käytännön esimerkkien avulla

Perceptions of Management Control in Post-acquisition Integration Context Through Sense-making : An Interpretive Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of a management control system (MCS) in a post-acquisition integration context through sense-making using interpretive case study methodology. The study draws from the theories of the two types of bureaucratic formalization, sense-making in organizations and MCSs. The study material consists of semi-structured interviews with the managers at the corporate, divisional, and business unit levels. At the time of the study, the case company was growing through several acquisitions per year, which created constant challenges with post-acquisition integration and a need for more formal MCS. The article shows how the backgrounds of the acquired business units are related to the perceptions of the MCS. We found that the identity threat and retrospection were properties of sense-making that explained the business unit managers’ attitudes towards the corporate MCS. Particularly prior experiences of production-centred line-manager positions in small entrepreneurial firms seem to foster coercive perceptions of MCS. The results of this study contribute to MCS literature.© 2023 Sage. The article is protected by copyright and reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses. Users may also download and save a local copy of an article accessed in an institutional repository for the user's personal reference.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Improved Calibration for the Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in Wastewater Using Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

The focus of this paper is to present techniques to overcome certain difficulties in quantitative analysis with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). The method is based on conventional solid-phase extraction, followed by reversed-phase ultra high performance liquid chromatography of the extract, and mass spectrometric analysis. The target compounds included atenolol, atrazine, caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, estrone, ibuprofen, naproxen, simazine, sucralose, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan. The matrix effects caused by high concentrations of organic compounds in wastewater are especially significant in electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy. Internal-standard calibration with isotopically labeled standards corrects the results for many matrix effects, but some peculiarities were observed. The problems encountered in quantitation of carbamazepine and triclosan, due to nonlinear calibration were solved by changing the internal standard and using a narrower mass window. With simazine, the use of a quadratic calibration curve was the best solution.Peer reviewe

Chemical leaching from polyethylene mulching films to soil in strawberry farming

Mulching is a widely practiced agricultural technique able to boost crop productivity and to reduce weed growth and water evaporation. One of the most common materials used for mulching is polyethylene. Polyethylene films are known to contain phthalates, plasticizers recognized as endocrine disruptors, thus able to endanger the hormonal system. Only few data exist on the possible transfer of plasticizers from polyethylene mulching films to agricultural soil, especially in Europe, or on the potential implications for the environment and human health. In this study, we analyzed the occurrence of plasticizers such as phthalates and acetyl tributyl citrate from polyethylene mulching films and soil samples collected from strawberry fields where polyethylene films have been used. The samples were analyzed with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and the results indicated that the soil exposed to polyethylene mulches contained a significantly higher concentration, compared to the control soil, of some of the most common plasticizers, including dibuthyl phthalate, benzylbutyl phthalate and acetyl tributyl citrate. These outcomes highlight the need to carry out further research to understand the potential risks that mulching practices can cause for the environment and human health.Peer reviewe

Anticancer Drugs Gemcitabine, Letrozole, and Tamoxifen in Municipal Wastewater and Their Photodegradation in Laboratory-Scale UV Experiments

The occurrence of three anticancer drugs (gemcitabine, letrozole, tamoxifen) was studied in wastewater samples from two local wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Finland. Studied pharmaceuticals were selected, as anticancer drugs are potential to cause adverse effects on organisms even at low concentrations, but they are seldom included in the analysis of emerging contaminants. The concentration of anticancer drugs was determined by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). Tamoxifen and letrozole were detected from influent samples ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 ng/L, respectively. Letrozole was detected from effluent samples at a concentration up to 2.4 ng/L. Letrozole has been detected in wastewater effluent only once before, at a lower concentration of 0.28 ng/L. Gemcitabine was not detected in any of the samples. UV irradiation is used in many wastewater treatment plants to disinfect the effluent. Such tertiary treatment might degrade also these potentially harmful drugs and, therefore, photodegradation of the chosen pharmaceuticals was studied in laboratory-scale experiments. Tamoxifen showed high degradation rates, 94% in spiked wastewater with UV fluence 4830 mJ/cm(2) and 98% in pure water with UV fluence 2520 mJ/cm(2), respectively. Letrozole showed the lowest degradation rates of 24% in wastewater and 34% in pure water, respectively. The degradation rate at the fluence level typical for UV disinfection stage of wastewater treatment plants was 37% for tamoxifen but only 5% for letrozole. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report to show the effectiveness of UV irradiation to degrade letrozole.Peer reviewe

Utilization of dimeric lignin model compounds by mixed bacterial cultures

The degradation of dimeric phenylpropanoid lignin model compounds using mixed bacterial cultures was studied. The six model compounds contained the most common linkages of lignin: beta-O-4, beta-beta, beta-5 and beta-1. The results indicate that it is possible to enrich bacteria which are able to degrade all these compounds. Bacteria were also able to use these dimers as the sole source of carbon for growth. In view of these results it seems probable that bacterial inability to degrade polymeric lignin in due to the physical properties such as the molecular size of lignin.Peer reviewe