Metal Pollution Around an Iron Smelter Complex in Northern Norway at Different Modes of Operation

The moss biomonitoring technique was employed to study the atmospheric deposition in and around the town of Mo i Rana, northern Norway, before and after closing an iron smelter and establishing alternative ferrous metal industries. Samples of Hylocomium splendens were collected from the same sites in 1989 and 1993. A combination of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry was used to obtain data for 38 elements in these moss samples, and the analytical data were subjected to factor analysis. In general, the deposition was higher when the iron smelter was still in operation, in particular for Fe and for many elements normally associated with crustal matter. For Cr there was a substantially increased deposition due to the operation of a new ferrochrome smelter. Also for Ni and Au an increased deposition was observed, whereas for metals such as Mn, Co, Ag, Sb, and W there was no appreciable change. INAA proved to be a powerful tool for this kind of study. The regional distribution of pollutants was strongly dependent on the local topography. Samples of natural surface soils collected simultaneously with the first moss series showed clear signs of contamination with a number of metals from atmospheric deposition. The approach described in this work could be advantageously used to study atmospheric deposition of heavy metals around iron smelters in Russia and elsewhere

Operational monitoring and other environmental monitoring studies at AF Environmental Base Vats in 2015

Dette er en revidert versjon. Endringer er gjort på side 55 30.05.2017 samt i tabell 14 og i vedlegg, avsnitt 8.2, 19.04.2016.Tiltaksrettet miljøovervåking ble utført i vannforekomstene Vatsfjorden og Yrkjefjorden som mottar utslipp fra AF Miljøbase Vats (AFMBV). Overvåkingsprogrammet er utført i henhold til vannforskriften og er godkjent av Miljødirektoratet. Sedimenter innenfor fjordterskelen i Vatsfjorden har dårligere miljøtilstand enn i Yrkjefjorden pga. dårligere vannutskifting og forekomst av forurensningsstoffer i konsentrasjoner over EQS. Miljømålene om god kjemisk tilstand (EUs prioriterte miljøgifter, EUPM) og/eller god tilstand for vannregionsspesifikke stoffer (VRSS) ble ikke nådd for fem av seks sedimentstasjoner. Sedimentstasjonen nærmest AFMBV var lite forurenset, utenom for TBT. Tidligere overvåking tilsier at TBT i Vatsfjorden primært skyldes eldre tilførsler. Kilden til dioksin i sediment langt unna AFMBV bør undersøkes nærmere. I prøver av blåskjell og fisk (torsk og rødspette) ble enkelte forurensningsstoffer målt i konsentrasjoner over EQS, som gir klassifisering til «ikke god» miljøtilstand for biota på stasjoner både nær AFMBV og ved referansestasjonen. Alle EUPM og VRSS som ble overskredet i biota hadde nye EQS-grenseverdier (i vannforskriften) på nivå med typiske verdier i blåskjell og fisk fra norskekysten. Nedgradering av miljøtilstand i biota skyldes endret klassifiseringssystem og ikke dårligere miljøtilstand. Klassifiseringen diskuteres opp mot kunnskap om typiske bakgrunnsverdier for de aktuelle miljøgiftene i blåskjell og fisk. Data fra utslippsrapportering og andre miljøundersøkelser ved AFMBV er inkludert i rapporten. Disse programmene viser at bedriftens utslipp er innenfor utslippstillatelsen, men nødvendige forbedringer ved utslippsovervåkingen (for hydrofobe stoffer med LOD>EQS) foreslås, og dessuten tilsier en gjentagende forekomst av PFOS i bedriftens utslipp til sjø et behov for forbedrende tiltak ved bedriftens renseanlegg.In 2015 NIVA has performed operational environmental monitoring in the coastal water bodies Vatsfjord and Yrkjefjorden commissioned by AF Environmental Base Vats (AFMBV). The monitoring was conducted according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and had been approved by the Norwegian Environment Agency. AFMBV is located at Raunes in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland and is a plant for the recycling of decommissioned oil installations. The reported monitoring consisted of chemical monitoring of EUs priority pollutants and river basin specific substances in sediments and marine biota (mussels, cod and plaice) from the two water bodies. Biological quality elements are not included in the study. Supplemental data from other environmental monitoring at AFMBV (emission monitoring, well water monitoring and surveillance of NORM) are included in the present report.AF Offshore Decom A

Derivation of transfer parameters for use within the ERICA Tool and the default concentration ratios for terrestrial biota

An ability to predict radionuclide activity concentrations in biota is a requirement of any method assessing the exposure of biota to ionising radiation. Within the ERICA Tool fresh weight whole-body activity concentrations in organisms are estimated using concentration ratios (the ratio of the activity concentration in the organism to the activity concentration in an environmental media). This paper describes the methodology used to derive the default terrestrial ecosystem concentration ratio database available within the ERICA Tool and provides details of the provenance of each value for terrestrial reference organisms. As the ERICA Tool considers 13 terrestrial reference organisms and the radioisotopes of 31 elements, a total of 403 concentration ratios were required for terrestrial reference organisms. Of these, 129 could be derived from literature review. The approaches taken for selecting the remaining values are described. These included, for example, assuming values for similar reference organisms and/or biogeochemically similar elements, and various simple modelling approaches