10
July 2008 - Hazardous substances, both heavy
metals and some man-made organic chemicals,
are today widely distributed in the Baltic
marine environment. Elevated levels of especially
toxic contaminants are of concern, because
they can pose a risk to sensitive ecosystems
in the Baltic Sea. The objective is to compare
and evaluate different classification systems
for assessing pollution with hazardous substances
in the marine environment presently used
by the Nordic countries surrounding the
Baltic Sea. The intention is also to propose
an operational approach, which can bring
the current monitoring strategies more in
line with the objectives for environmental
assessments in the EU Water Framework Directive.
The authors argue that
an ecotoxicological approach should be developed
and it should be based mainly on concentration
levels in sediment and biota like mussels
and fish and not on concentration levels
in seawater. The comparisons and the evaluation
of the different classification systems
are based on available data for tributyltin
(TBT), cadmium (Cd) and polychlorinated
bisphenyls (PCBs) as three examples of hazardous
substances occurring in the Baltic Sea region.
NERI has contributed
to this report from the Nordic Councils
of Ministers.
Contact: Senior scientist Jakob Strand,
NERI
+ More
Air pollution 2007:
Continued exceedances for nitrogen dioxide
and particulate matter
8 July 2008 - The concentrations
of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and of particulate
matter (PM10 ) exceeded the EU limits in
2007 at two Danish streets. The concentrations
of most air pollutants have fallen considerably
since the measurements started in 2007.
This is revealed by the annual report from
Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme
which the National Environemental Research
Institute at University of Aarhus has published.
The concentrations were
in 2007 almost the same or slightly lower
as in 2006. Changes may mainly be due to
meteorological conditions. Two exceedances
of the limit value occurred for PM10, while
1 exceedance of the limit value + plus margin
of tolerance were measured for NO2.
The limit value + the
margin of tolerance for the annual average
of NO2 (46 µg/m3 in 2007) was exceeded
in Copenhagen at the street station on H.C.
Andersens Boulevard. The limit value (to
be complied with in 2010) of the annual
average of NO2, was in 2007 exceeded at
two street stations in Copenhagen. The NO2
concentrations seem to have been almost
constant during the last ten years. Model
calculations at selected streets in Copenhagen
and Aalborg showed that the limit value
+ margin of tolerance was exceeded on several
streets in central Copenhagen and Aalborg
.
The ozone level was
in 2007 slightly lower than in 2006 at all
rural and urban background stations but
no clear trend is observed. The long-term
objectives were exceeded at several non-traffic
stations. The O3 pollution in Denmark is
to a large extent caused by long distance
transport of pollutants from other European
countries.
The limit value for
the 35th highest daily average value for
PM10 (50 µg/m3) was in 2007 exceeded
at two stations. The limit value for the
annual average was not exceeded . Emission
in other European countries contributes
significantly to the PM10 levels in Denmark
.
The SO2 and lead levels
have been decreasing for more than two decades
and are far below the limit values. The
limit values for benzene and CO are not
exceeded and the levels have been decreasing
for the last decade.
Measurements of the
concentrations of particle bound PAH were
started up in June 2007 at H.C. Andersens
Boulevard, Copenhagen. The average concentration
of benzo[a]pyrene was 0,32 ng/m3 and it
is therefore unlikely that the target value
for benzo[a] pyrene (1 ng/m3) was exceeded
in 2007.
About the air pollution
monitoring
The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme
(LMP IV) has been revised and is still under
revision in accordance with the EU Frame-work
Directive and the four daughter directives
of SO2, NOx/NO2, PM10, lead, benzene, CO,
ozone, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel
and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The
data sets for year 2007 are almost complete
for most stations. The monitoring programme
consists of 11 stations.
Actual data, quarterly
reports, annual and multi-annual summaries
are available at the website of NERI (http://www.dmu.dk/International/Air).
