Lead concentrations in blood from incubating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the Baltic Sea

Here we investigate if lead may be a contributing factor to the observed population decline in a Baltic colony of incubating eiders (Somateria mollissima). Body mass and blood samples were obtained from 50 incubating female eiders at the Baltic breeding colony on Christianso during spring 2017 (n = 27) and 2018 (n = 23). All the females were sampled twice during early (day 4) and late (day 24) incubation. The full blood was analysed for lead to investigate if the concentrations exceeded toxic thresholds or changed over the incubation period due to remobilisation from bones and liver tissue. Body mass, hatch date and number of chicks were also analysed with respect to lead concentrations. The body mass (mean +/- SD g) increased significantly in the order: day 24 in 2018 (1561 +/- 154 g) < day 24 in 2017 (1618 +/- 156 g) < day 4 in 2018 (2183 +/- 140 g) < day 4 in 2017 (2359 +/- 167 g) (all p < 0.001). The lead concentrations increased significantly in the opposite order i.e. day 4 in 2017 (41.7 +/- 67.1 mu g/L) < day 24 in 2017 (55.4 +/- 66.8 mu g/L) < day 4 in 2018 (177 +/- 196 mu g/L) < day 24 in 2018 (258 +/- 243) (all p < 0.001). From day 4 to 24, the eider females had a 1.33-fold increase in blood lead concentrations in 2017 and a 1.46-fold increase in 2018. Three of the birds (13%) sampled in 2018 had lead concentrations that exceeded concentrations of clinical poisoning (500 mu g/L) and eleven (48%) had concentrations that exceeded the threshold for subclinical poisoning (200 mu g/L). In 2017, none of the birds exceeded the high toxic threshold of clinical poisoning while only one (4%) exceeded the lower threshold for subclinical poisoning. Three of the birds (6%) sampled in 2018 had lead concentrations that exceeded those of clinical poisoning while 12 birds (24%) resampled in both years exceeded the threshold for subclinical poisoning. In addition, lead concentrations and body mass on day 4 affected hatch date positively in 2018 (both p < 0.03) but not in 2017. These results show that bioavailable lead in bone and liver tissue pose a threat to the health of about 25% of the incubating eiders sampled. This is particularly critical because eiders are largely capital breeding which means that incubating eiders are in an energetically stressed state. The origin of lead in incubating eiders in the Christianso colony is unknown and it remains an urgent priority to establish the source, prevalence and mechanism for uptake. The increase in lead from day 4 to day 24 is due to bone and liver remobilization; however, the additional lead source(s) on the breeding grounds needs to be identified. Continued investigations should determine the origin, uptake mechanisms and degree of exposure to lead for individual birds. Such research should include necropsies, x-ray, lead isotope and stable C and N isotope analyses to find the lead sources(s) in the course of the annual cycle and how it may affect the population dynamics of the Christianso colony which reflects the ecology of the Baltic eiders being suitable for biomonitoring the overall flyway

Faktorer som påvirker aluminiumskjemien og dermed vannkvalitetsmålet for laks i Tovdal- og Mandalsvassdraget

Årsliste 2000Kalking av lakseelver skjer etter økologiske og økonomiske prinsipper. Det skal kalkes tilstrekkelig for å oppnå biologiske mål, men heller ikke mer for å gjøre tiltakene så optimale som mulig. Ved reetablering av laks etter kalking er det viktig å finne fram til riktige vannkvalitetsmål. I denne rapporten er det undersøkt hvordan generell vannkvalitet, hydrologi og temperatur påvirker aluminiumskjemien i Tovdals- og Mandalsvassdraget og dermed vannkvalitetsmålet. Vannprøver er tatt på faste steder i vassdragene og under ulike forhold. De er analysert ved tre laboratorier og i tillegg er det gjennomført in situ fraksjonering av Al etter molekylvekt og ladning. Resultatene viser at det er grunnlag for å differensiere vannkvalitetsmålet over året og mellom vassdrag. Høy temperatur (sommer) og høy konsentrasjon av løst organisk stoff (høst) er assosiert med lave konsentrasjoner av giftig Al. Det er viktigere å oppnå tilstrekkelig høy pH på lakseførende strekning enn det er å kalke høyt oppe i vassdraget. Vannføring hadde svært lav forklaringsgrad for variasjoner i Al-kjemi, men dette skyldes en ikke-lineær sammenheng. Laboratoriemålinger reflekterer ikke nødvendigvis Al-kjemien i vassdraget fordi vannkjemien endres etter prøvetaking.Direktoratet for naturforvaltning (DN

Monitoring of trace element atmospheric deposition using dry and wet moss bags: Accumulation capacity versus exposure time

To clarify the peculiarities of trace element accumulation in moss bags technique (active biomonitoring), samples of the moss Sphagnum girgensohnii Rusow were exposed in bags with and without irrigation for 15 days up to 5 months consequently in the semi-urban area of Belgrade (Serbia) starting from July 2007. The accumulation capacity for 49 elements determined by ICP-MS in wet and dry moss bags was compared. The concentration of some elements, i.e. Al, V, Cr, Fe, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Pb, and Sm increased continuously with exposure time in both dry and wet moss bags, whereas concentration of Na, Cl. K, Mn, Rb, Cs, and Ta decreased. Irrigation of moss resulted in a higher accumulation capacity for most of the elements, especially for Cr, Zn, As. Se, Br, and Sr. Principal component analysis was performed on the datasets of element concentrations in wet and dry moss bags for source identification. Results of the factor analysis were similar but not identical in the two cases due to possible differences in element accumulation mechanisms. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Monitoring of trace element atmospheric deposition using dry and wet moss bags: Accumulation capacity versus exposure time

To clarify the peculiarities of trace element accumulation in moss bags technique (active biomonitoring), samples of the moss Sphagnum girgensohnii Rusow were exposed in bags with and without irrigation for 15 days up to 5 months consequently in the semi-urban area of Belgrade (Serbia) starting from July 2007. The accumulation capacity for 49 elements determined by ICP-MS in wet and dry moss bags was compared. The concentration of some elements, i.e. Al, V, Cr, Fe, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Pb, and Sm increased continuously with exposure time in both dry and wet moss bags, whereas concentration of Na, Cl. K, Mn, Rb, Cs, and Ta decreased. Irrigation of moss resulted in a higher accumulation capacity for most of the elements, especially for Cr, Zn, As. Se, Br, and Sr. Principal component analysis was performed on the datasets of element concentrations in wet and dry moss bags for source identification. Results of the factor analysis were similar but not identical in the two cases due to possible differences in element accumulation mechanisms. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Benzotriazoles, Benzothiazoles and Trace Elements in an Urban Road Setting in Trondheim, Norway: Re-Visiting the Chemical Markers of Traffic Pollution

Road traffic emissions are known to contribute heavily to the pollution in urban environments. The aim of this study was to establish specific traffic pollution markers in an urban road setting based on the occurrence profiles of benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles and trace elements in road dust and relevant matrices, including airborne particulate matter and core asphalt. Benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles are high-production volume chemicals that are used as complexing and anticorrosive agents for metals, act as vulcanizing accelerators for rubber materials, and possess anti-freezing/anti-icing properties. In this study, six benzothiazoles (benzothiazole, 2‑morpholin‑4‑yl‑benzothiazole, 2‑hydroxy‑benzothiazole, 2‑thio‑benzothiazole, 2‑methylthio‑benzothiazole, and 2‑amino‑benzothiazole), seven benzotriazoles (1H‑benzotriazole, 1‑hydroxy‑benzotriazole, 5‑chloro‑1H‑benzotriazole, tolyltriazole, xylyltriazole, benzotriazole‑5‑carboxyl acid, and 5‑amino‑1H‑benzotriazole), and 66 trace elements were determined in road dust samples from a sub-arctic urban road setting in Norway, and seasonal occurrence profiles were assessed between the studded and the non-studded tire season. The road dust was collected as suspended particulate matter in an aqueous phase with the introduced dust sampler in Scandinavia, the Wet Dust Sampler. The concentrations of the sum of seven benzotriazoles (Σ(7)BTRs) and six benzothiazoles (Σ(6)BTHs) in road dust ranged from 191 to 3054 ng/L and 93.4 to 1903 ng/L, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, 1H‑benzotriazole and tolyltriazole are reported for the first time as suitable markers of metal corrosion in vehicles. From the benzothiazole class, 2‑thio‑benzothiazole was found to be a suitable marker of tire rubber particles, while its methylated derivative, 2‑methylthio‑benzothiazole, was found to be a marker of chemical leaching. In addition, different types of new unused tires (summer, studded, and non-studded) were analyzed to assess their benzothiazoles and benzotriazoles content. Based on the concentrations found for benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in airborne particulate matter, human exposure doses were calculated, and the estimated daily intake doses were found on the order of picograms per day

On the application of ICP-MS techniques for measuring uranium and plutonium: a Nordic inter-laboratory comparison exercise

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques are widely used for determination of long-lived radionuclides and their isotopic ratios in the nuclear fields. Uranium (U) and Pu (Pu) isotopes have been determined by many researchers with ICP-MS due to its relatively high sensitivity and short measurement time. In this work, an inter-laboratory comparison exercise among the Nordic countries was performed, focusing on the measurement of U and Pu isotopes in certified reference materials by ICP-MS. The performance and characters of different ICP-MS instruments are evaluated and discussed in this paper. <br/