| 1. |
- Diamond, Miriam, et al.
(författare)
-
Exploring the planetary boundary for chemical pollution
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 78, s. 8-15
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rockström et al. (2009a, 2009b) have warned that humanity must reduce anthropogenic impacts defined by nine planetary boundaries if “unacceptable global change” is to be avoided. Chemical pollution was identified as one of those boundaries for which continued impacts could erode the resilience of ecosystems and humanity. The central concept of the planetary boundary (or boundaries) for chemical pollution (PBCP or PBCPs) is that the Earth has a finite assimilative capacity for chemical pollution, which includes persistent, as well as readily degradable chemicals released at local to regional scales, which in aggregate threaten ecosystem and human viability. The PBCP allows humanity to explicitly address the increasingly global aspects of chemical pollution throughout a chemical's life cycle and the need for a global response of internationally coordinated control measures. We submit that sufficient evidence shows stresses on ecosystem and human health at local to global scales, suggesting that conditions are transgressing the safe operating space delimited by a PBCP. As such, current local to global pollution control measures are insufficient. However, while the PBCP is an important conceptual step forward, at this point single or multiple PBCPs are challenging to operationalize due to the extremely large number of commercial chemicals or mixtures of chemicals that cause myriad adverse effects to innumerable species and ecosystems, and the complex linkages between emissions, environmental concentrations, exposures and adverse effects. As well, the normative nature of a PBCP presents challenges of negotiating pollution limits amongst societal groups with differing viewpoints. Thus, a combination of approaches is recommended as follows: develop indicators of chemical pollution, for both control and response variables, that will aid in quantifying a PBCP(s) and gauging progress towards reducing chemical pollution; develop new technologies and technical and social approaches to mitigate global chemical pollution that emphasize a preventative approach; coordinate pollution control and sustainability efforts; and facilitate implementation of multiple (and potentially decentralized) control efforts involving scientists, civil society, government, non-governmental organizations and international bodies.
|
|
| 2. |
- Gustavsson, Mikael, 1983, et al.
(författare)
-
Estimating the release of chemical substances from consumer products, textiles and pharmaceuticals to wastewater
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 287
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chemical emissions from households originate from a wide range of sources and results in highly diverse mixtures. This makes traditional monitoring based on analytical chemistry challenging, especially for compounds that appear in low concentrations. We therefore developed a method for predicting emissions of chemicals from households into wastewater, relying on consumption patterns from multiple data sources. The method was then used to predict the emissions of chemical preparations, chemicals leaching from textiles and prescription pharmaceuticals in Sweden. In total we predicted emissions of 2007 chemicals with a combined emission of 62,659 tonnes per year - or 18 g/person and day. Of the emitted chemicals, 2.0% (w/w) were either classified as hazardous to the environment or were both persistent and mobile. We also show that chemical emissions come from a wide range of uses and that the total emission of any individual chemical is determined primarily by its use pattern, not by the total amount used. This emphasizes the need for continuous updates and additional knowledge generation both on emission factors and excretion rates as well as a need for improved reporting on the intended use of individual chemicals. Finally, we scrutinize the model and its uncertainty and suggest areas that need improvement to increase the accuracy of future emission modelling. We conclude that emission modelling can help guide environmental monitoring and provide input into management strategies aimed at reducing the environmental effect caused by hazardous chemicals.
|
|
| 3. |
- Eriksson, Martin, 1970, et al.
(författare)
-
Triclosan changes community composition and selects for specific bacterial taxa in marine periphyton biofilms in low nanomolar concentrations
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Ecotoxicology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0963-9292 .- 1573-3017. ; 29:7, s. 1083-1094
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The antibacterial agent Triclosan (TCS) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant due to its widespread use. Sensitivity to TCS varies substantially among eu- and pro-karyotic species and its risk for the marine environment remains to be better elucidated. In particular, the effects that TCS causes on marine microbial communities are largely unknown. In this study we therefore used 16S amplicon rDNA sequencing to investigate TCS effects on the bacterial composition in marine periphyton communities that developed under long-term exposure to different TCS concentrations. Exposure to TCS resulted in clear changes in bacterial composition already at concentrations of 1 to 3.16 nM. We conclude that TCS affects the structure of the bacterial part of periphyton communities at concentrations that actually occur in the marine environment. Sensitive taxa, whose abundance decreased significantly with increasing TCS concentrations, include the Rhodobiaceae and Rhodobacteraceae families of Alphaproteobacteria, and unidentified members of the Candidate division Parcubacteria. Tolerant taxa, whose abundance increased significantly with higher TCS concentrations, include the families Erythrobacteraceae (Alphaproteobacteria), Flavobacteriaceae (Bacteroidetes), Bdellovibrionaceae (Deltaproteobacteria), several families of Gammaproteobacteria, and members of the Candidate phylum Gracilibacteria. Our results demonstrate the variability of TCS sensitivity among bacteria, and that TCS can change marine bacterial composition at concentrations that have been detected in the marine environment.
|
|
| 4. |
- Arrhenius, Åsa, 1973, et al.
(författare)
-
Combined effects of antifoulants – synergistic, additive or antagonistic effects?
- 2010
-
Ingår i: the 15th International Congress on Marine Corrosion and Fouling, 25-29 July 2010, Newcastle.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Antifoulants are often used in combinations in paints. A survey of the scientific literatures shows that the effects of such antifoulant combinations are often predictable with a reasonable accuracy by the classical mixture toxicity concepts of Concentration Addition (CA) and Independent Action (IA). However, some studies also reported mixture effects that were substantially higher (synergistic) or lower (antagonistic) than predicted by either CA or IA. We therefore systematically explored the frequency and quantitative importance of such interactions within a group of 6 antifoulants using settling and growth of marine periphytic communities as the endpoint. All 15 possible 2-compound combinations that can be composed from the pool of six antifoulants were experimentally tested in three different ratios per mixture and their observed toxicity was compared to the predictions by CA and IA. The results show that the toxicities of the mixtures in most cases are at least roughly in agreement with the predictions, but that in several cases antagonistic effects occurred, which were related to the mixture-ratio and concentrations applied. No cases of synergism were observed for any of the investigated combinations. Implications for paint production as well as for the environment will be discussed. This study is part of the Marine Paint research programme funded by MISTRA, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research.
|
|
| 5. |
- Brack, Werner, et al.
(författare)
-
The SOLUTIONS project : Challenges and responses for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 503, s. 22-31
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- SOLUTIONS (2013 to 2018) is a European Union Seventh Framework Programme Project (EU-FP7). The project aims to deliver a conceptual framework to support the evidence-based development of environmental policies with regard to water quality. SOLUTIONS will develop the tools for the identification, prioritisation and assessment of those water contaminants that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. To this end, a new generation of chemical and effect-based monitoring tools is developed and integrated with a full set of exposure, effect and risk assessment models. SOLUTIONS attempts to address legacy, present and future contamination by integrating monitoring and modelling based approaches with scenarios on future developments in society, economy and technology and thus in contamination. The project follows a solutions-oriented approach by addressing major problems of water and chemicals management and by assessing abatement options. SOLUTIONS takes advantage of the access to the infrastructure necessary to investigate the large basins of the Danube and Rhine as well as relevant Mediterranean basins as case studies, and puts major efforts on stakeholder dialogue and support. Particularly, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working groups, International River Commissions, and water works associations are directly supported. with consistent guidance for the early detection, identification, prioritisation, and abatement of chemicals in the water cycle. SOLUTIONS will give a specific emphasis on concepts and tools for the impact and risk assessment of complex mixtures of emerging pollutants, their metabolites and transformation products. Analytical and effect-based screening tools will be applied together with ecological assessment tools for the identification of toxicants and their impacts. The SOLUTIONS approach is expected to provide transparent and evidence-based candidates or River Basin Specific Pollutants in the case study basins and to assist future review of priority pollutants under the WFD as well as potential abatement options.
|
|
| 6. |
- Corcoll, Natàlia, 1981, et al.
(författare)
-
Copper affects composition and functioning of microbial communities in marine biofilms at environmentally relevant concentrations
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Copper (Cu) pollution in coastal areas is a worldwide threat for aquatic communities. This study aims to demonstrate the usefulness of the DNA metabarcoding analysis in order to describe the ecotoxicological effect of Cu at environmental concentrations on marine periphyton. Additionally, the study investigates if Cu-induced changes in community structure co-occurs with changes in community functioning (i.e. photosynthesis and community tolerance to Cu). Periphyton was exposed for 18 days to five Cu concentrations, between 0.01 and 10 μM, in a semi-static test. Diversity and community structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms were assessed by 16S and 18S amplicon sequencing, respectively. Community function was studied as impacts on algal biomass and photosynthetic activity. Additionally, we studied Pollution-Induced Community Tolerance (PICT) using photosynthesis as the endpoint. Sequencing results detected an average of 9504 and 1242 OTUs for 16S and 18S, respectively, reflecting the high biodiversity of marine periphytic biofilms. Eukaryotes represent the most Cu-sensitive kingdom, where effects were seen already at concentrations as low as 0.01 µM. The structure of the prokaryotic part of the community was impacted at slightly higher concentrations (0.06 µM), which is still in the range of the Cu concentrations observed in the area (0.08 µM). The current environmental quality standard for Cu of 0.07 µM therefore does not seem to be sufficiently protective for periphyton. Cu exposure resulted in a more Cu-tolerant community, which was accompanied by a reduced total algal biomass, increased relative abundance of diatoms and a reduction of photosynthetic activity. Cu exposure changed the network of associations between taxa in the communities. A total of 23 taxa, including taxa within Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Stramenopiles and Hacrobia, were identified as being particularly sensitive to Cu. DNA metabarcoding is presented as a sensitive tool for community-level ecotoxicological studies that allows to observe impacts simultaneously on a multitude of pro- and eukaryotic taxa, and therefore to identify particularly sensitive, non-cultivable taxa.
|
|
| 7. |
- Gustavsson, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
-
Chemical monitoring of Swedish coastal waters indicates common exceedances of environmental thresholds, both for individual substances as well as their mixtures
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - : Elsevier BV. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 122:1-2, s. 409-419
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chemical pollution was monitored and assessed along the Swedish west coast. 62 of 172 analyzed organic chemicals were detected in the water phase of at least one of five monitored sites. A Concentration Addition based screening-level risk assessment indicates that all sites are put at risk from chemical contamination, with total risk quotients between 2 and 9. Only at one site did none of the individual chemicals exceeded its corresponding environmental threshold (PNEC, EQS). The monitoring data thus demonstrate a widespread blanket of diffuse pollution, with no clear trends among sites. Further issues critical for the environmental chemical risk assessment include the challenges to achieve sufficiently low levels of detection, especially for hormones and cypermethrin (a pyrethroid insecticide), the appropriate consideration of non-detects and the limited availability of reliable PNECs and EQS values.
|
|
| 8. |
- Selck, H., et al.
(författare)
-
Assessing and managing multiple risks in a changing worldThe Roskilde recommendations
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. - Hoboken, NJ : Wiley. - 0730-7268 .- 1552-8618. ; 36:1, s. 7-16
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Roskilde University (Denmark) hosted a November 2015 workshop, Environmental RiskAssessing and Managing Multiple Risks in a Changing World. This Focus article presents the consensus recommendations of 30 attendees from 9 countries regarding implementation of a common currency (ecosystem services) for holistic environmental risk assessment and management; improvements to risk assessment and management in a complex, human-modified, and changing world; appropriate development of protection goals in a 2-stage process; dealing with societal issues; risk-management information needs; conducting risk assessment of risk management; and development of adaptive and flexible regulatory systems. The authors encourage both cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to address their 10 recommendations: 1) adopt ecosystem services as a common currency for risk assessment and management; 2) consider cumulative stressors (chemical and nonchemical) and determine which dominate to best manage and restore ecosystem services; 3) fully integrate risk managers and communities of interest into the risk-assessment process; 4) fully integrate risk assessors and communities of interest into the risk-management process; 5) consider socioeconomics and increased transparency in both risk assessment and risk management; 6) recognize the ethical rights of humans and ecosystems to an adequate level of protection; 7) determine relevant reference conditions and the proper ecological context for assessments in human-modified systems; 8) assess risks and benefits to humans and the ecosystem and consider unintended consequences of management actions; 9) avoid excessive conservatism or possible underprotection resulting from sole reliance on binary, numerical benchmarks; and 10) develop adaptive risk-management and regulatory goals based on ranges of uncertainty. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:7-16. (c) 2016 SETAC
|
|
| 9. |
- Sigmund, G., et al.
(författare)
-
Addressing chemical pollution in biodiversity research
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 29:12, s. 3240-3255
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution are planetary-scale emergencies requiring urgent mitigation actions. As these "triple crises" are deeply interlinked, they need to be tackled in an integrative manner. However, while climate change and biodiversity are often studied together, chemical pollution as a global change factor contributing to worldwide biodiversity loss has received much less attention in biodiversity research so far. Here, we review evidence showing that the multifaceted effects of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment are posing a growing threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, failure to account for pollution effects may significantly undermine the success of biodiversity protection efforts. We argue that progress in understanding and counteracting the negative impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity requires collective efforts of scientists from different disciplines, including but not limited to ecology, ecotoxicology, and environmental chemistry. Importantly, recent developments in these fields have now enabled comprehensive studies that could efficiently address the manifold interactions between chemicals and ecosystems. Based on their experience with intricate studies of biodiversity, ecologists are well equipped to embrace the additional challenge of chemical complexity through interdisciplinary collaborations. This offers a unique opportunity to jointly advance a seminal frontier in pollution ecology and facilitate the development of innovative solutions for environmental protection.
|
|
| 10. |
- Slunge, Daniel, 1968, et al.
(författare)
-
The implementation of the substitution principle in European chemical legislation: a comparative analysis
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Environmental Sciences Europe. - : Springer. - 2190-4707 .- 2190-4715. ; 35
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The substitution of hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives is an important objective in European chemical policy, but implementation has been slower than expected. We conduct a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the implementation of the substitution principle in European regulations for pesticides, biocides, and industrial chemicals. Specifically, we examine and compare the criteria and processes associated with the identification of candidates for substitution and the assessment of alternatives. Results: We find only minor differences in the criteria applied to identify candidates for substitution amongst pesticides, biocides, and industrial chemicals, but larger differences concerning the processes used. While all substances that are to be approved as a pesticide and biocide are systematically evaluated against the established criteria for substitution, the substitution process for industrial chemicals only focuses on those substances identified as substances of very high concern. The main reason candidates for substitution remain on the market is the lack of identified safer chemical alternatives and the insufficient consideration of non-chemical alternatives, caused, at least to a large extent, by the comparatively weak incentives provided by current regulations. Conclusions: The systematic approach for the identification of industrial substances of very high concern (SVHC) under ECHAs “Integrated Regulatory Strategy” is much welcome. However, no final conclusion on SVHC properties or the need for regulatory action has been drawn for approximately 90% of the REACH-registered substances, as often even basic hazard and exposure data are missing. Hence, at least a screening-level evaluation of SVHC properties should become a mandatory part of the substance registration under REACH. To reduce the risk of strategic behaviour in the search for alternatives to industrial chemicals identified as SVHC, a setup in which regulatory authorities play a larger role as information and knowledge brokers should be considered. Investments in innovation as well as improved sharing of information and a better distribution of the workloads amongst European authorities might also improve the identification of safer alternatives. However, without stronger incentives, making it more costly for companies to continue using hazardous substances relative to safer alternatives, initiatives to promote substitution are likely to have limited success.
|
|
