A changing Arctic Ocean

The Arctic is the fastest changing region on the planet. It is also intrinsically tied to global processes, whether they are climatic, environmental or socio-economic. The impacts of climate change on the vast and multiple interacting Arctic systems are inherently complex, although can be broadly summarised as an increase in temperature and the subsequent loss of sea-ice cover. This will ultimately result in the emergence of new physical and ecological statesNon peer reviewe

Pollution in the Arctic Ocean: An overview of multiple pressures and implications for ecosystem services

The Arctic is undergoing unprecedented change. Observations and models demonstrate significant perturbations to the physical and biological systems. Arctic species and ecosystems, particularly in the marine environment, are subject to a wide range of pressures from human activities, including exposure to a complex mixture of pollutants, climate change and fishing activity. These pressures affect the ecosystem services that the Arctic provides. Current international policies are attempting to support sustainable exploitation of Arctic resources with a view to balancing human wellbeing and environmental protection. However, assessments of the potential combined impacts of human activities are limited by data, particularly related to pollutants, a limited understanding of physical and biological processes, and single policies that are limited to ecosystem-level actions. This manuscript considers how, when combined, a suite of existing tools can be used to assess the impacts of pollutants in combination with other anthropogenic pressures on Arctic ecosystems, and on the services that these ecosystems provide. Recommendations are made for the advancement of targeted Arctic research to inform environmental practices and regulatory decisions

Berlin statement on legacy and emerging contaminants in polar regions

Polar regions should be given greater consideration with respect to the monitoring, risk assessment, and management of potentially harmful chemicals, consistent with requirements of the precautionary principle. Protecting the vulnerable polar environments requires (i) raising political and public awareness and (ii) restricting and preventing global emissions of harmful chemicals at their sources. The Berlin Statement is the outcome of an international workshop with representatives of the European Commission, the Arctic Council, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), environmental specimen banks, and data centers, as well as scientists from various international research institutions. The statement addresses urgent chemical pollution issues in the polar regions and provides recommendations for improving screening, monitoring, risk assessment, research cooperation, and open data sharing to provide environmental policy makers and chemicals management decision-makers with relevant and reliable contaminant data to better protect the polar environments. The consensus reached at the workshop can be summarized in just two words: “Act now!” Specifically, “Act now!” to reduce the presence and impact of anthropogenic chemical pollution in polar regions by. •Establishing participatory co-development frameworks in a permanent multi-disciplinary platform for Arctic-Antarctic collaborations and establishing exchanges between the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) of the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AnMAP) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to increase the visibility and exchange of contaminant data and to support the development of harmonized monitoring programs. •Integrating environmental specimen banking, innovative screening approaches and archiving systems, to provide opportunities for improved assessment of contaminants to protect polar regions

Organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in water samples of the Rhine, Ems and Elbe Rivers in 2013

This study reports the occurrence and distribution of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers (OPEs) in the Elbe and Rhine rivers. A special focus of this investigation concerns the potential impacts of a major flood event in 2013 on the OPE patterns and levels in the Elbe River. In this river, 6 of 13 OPEs were detected, with tris-ethyl-phosphate (TEP, 168 ± 44 ng/L), tris-1,3-dichloro-2-propyl-phosphate (TDCPP, 155 ± 14 ng/L) and tris-1-chloro-2-propyl phosphate (TCPP, 126 ± 14 ng/L) identified as the dominant compounds. Relative to previous studies, an increase in the concentrations and relative contributions of TDCPP to the total level of OPEs was observed, which was likely caused by its increased use as a replacement for the technical pentaBDE formulation. During the flood event, the concentrations of OPEs were similar to the normal situation, but the mass fluxes increased by a factor of approximately ten (~16 kg/d normal versus ~160 kg/d flood peak). No input hotspots were identified along the transects of the Elbe and Rhine rivers, and the mass flux of OPEs appeared to be driven by water discharge

Fate-directed risk assessment of chemical mixtures: a case study for cedarwood essential oil

The environmental risk assessment of UVCBs (i.e., substances of unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products, or biological materials) is challenging due to their inherent complexity. A particular problem is that UVCBs can contain constituents with unidentified chemical structures and/or have variable composition of constituents from batch to batch. Moreover, the composition of a UVCB in the environment is not the same as that of the UVCB in a product, meaning that a risk assessment based on environmental exposure to the UVCB in a product does not represent the actual environmental risk. Here we propose an in silico fate-directed risk assessment framework for UVCBs using cedarwood oil as a case study. The framework uses Monte Carlo simulations and the mass-balance models SimpleTreat and RAIDAR to provide quantitative information on whether unidentified constituents within the physical-chemical property space of a UVCB can be the decisive factor for the environmental risk of the entire UVCB. Thereby the framework provides a robust decision tool to evaluate if a UVCB risk assessment requires additional tests or if the data on known constituents is representative for the risk of the entire UVCB. In the case of cedarwood oil, it could be shown that a risk assessment based on the known constituents (representing around 70% of the overall UVCB by weight) is representative for the environmental risk of the entire UVCB - reducing the need for additional testing and test animals

A Long Way From Home—Industrial Chemicals in the Arctic That Really Should Not Be There

It is hard to believe, but some of the chemicals in our couches,computers, and even phones can travel all the way to the Arctic. Howis that possible? That is exactly what we were asking when we foundchemicals that are used in everyday items—like computers, phones,and couches—in the Canadian Arctic. In this article, we will tell youabout our research into these chemicals in the Canadian Arctic andwhat we found out about their abilities to “fly” and “swim” north tothe Arctic. We will also share our ideas on how we can keep animalsand people in the Arctic—and around the world—safe from some ofthese chemicals

Brominated flame retardants and dechloranes in North Sea sediments in 2012/2013

53 brominated and chlorinated flame retardants were investigated in sediment samples from the German rivers Elbe and Weser, the German Bight, Jadebusen, East Frisian Coast as well as the UK East coast. The aim of the presented study was to investigate the prevalence of different halogenated flame retardant groups as contaminants in North Sea sediments, identify determining factors for the distribution and levels as well as to identify area specific fingerprints that could help identify sources. In order to do that a fast and effective ASE extraction method with an on-line clean-up was developed as well as a GC-EI-MSMS and LC-ESI-MSMS method to analyse PBDEs, MeOBDEs, alternate BFRs, Dechloranes as well as TBBPA and HBCDD. A fingerprinting method was adopted to identify representative area-specific patterns based on detection frequency as well as concentrations of individual compounds. Concentrations in general were low, with<1 ng/g dw for most compounds. Exceptions were the comparably high concentrations of BDE-209 with up to 7 ng/g dw in selected samples and TBBPA in UK samples with 2.7±1.5 ng/g dw. Apart from BDE-209 and TBBPA, alternate BFRs and Dechloranes were predominant in all analysed samples, displaying the increasing relevance of these compounds as environmental contaminants

Widespread Occurrence of Non-Extractable Fluorine in Artificial Turfs from Stockholm, Sweden

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are frequently used in the production of rubber and plastic, but little is known about the identity, concentration, or prevalence of PFAS in these products. In this study, a representative sample of plastic- and rubber-containing artificial turf (AT) fields from Stockholm, Sweden, were subjected to total fluorine (TF), extractable organic fluorine (EOF) and target PFAS analysis. TF was observed in all 51 AT samples (range: 16-313, 12-310, and 24-661 µg F/g in backing, filling, and blades, respectively), while EOF and target PFAS occurred in <42% of all samples (<200 and <1 ng F/g, respectively). A subset of samples extracted with water confirmed the absence of fluoride. Moreover, application of the total oxidizable precursor assay revealed negligible perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) formation across all three sample types, indicating that the fluorinated substance(s) in AT are not low molecular weight PFAA-precursors. Collectively, these results point towards polymeric organofluorine (e.g. fluoroelastomer, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride), consistent with patent literature. The combination of poor extractability and recalcitrance towards advanced oxidation suggests that the fluorine in AT does not pose an imminent risk to users. However, concerns remain surrounding the production and end-of-life of ATs, as well as the contribution of filling to environmental microplastic contamination

A user's guide to coping with estuarine management bureaucracy: An Estuarine Planning Support System (EPSS) tool

© 2017 Estuaries are amongst the most socio-economically and ecologically important environments however, due to competing and conflicting demands, management is often challenging with a complex legislative framework managed by multiple agencies. To facilitate the understanding of this legislative framework, we have developed a GISbased Estuarine Planning Support System tool. The tool integrates the requirements of the relevant legislation and provides a basis for assessing the current environmental state of an estuary as well as informing and assessing new plans to ensure a healthy estuarine state. The tool ensures that the information is easily accessible for regulators, managers, developers and the public. The tool is intended to be adaptable, but is assessed using the Humber Estuary, United Kingdom as a case study area. The successful application of the to ol for complex socio-economic and environmental systems demonstrates that the tool can efficiently guide users through the complex requirements needed to support sustainable development