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Veröffentlichung Effective abatement of railway noise in Germany(2020) Myck, Thomas; Weinandy, RenéVeröffentlichung The fate of silver nanoparticles in riverbank filtration systems - The role of biological components and flow velocity(2020) Degenkolb, Laura; Leuther, Frederic; Klitzke, Sondra; Lüderwald, SimonRiverbank filtration is a natural process that may ensure the cleaning of surface water for producing drinking water. For silver nanoparticles (AgNP), physico-chemical interaction with sediment surfaces is one major retention mechanism. However, the effect of flow velocity and the importance of biological retention, such as AgNP attachment to biomass, are not well understood, yet. We investigated AgNP (c=0.6 mg L-1) transport at different spatial and temporal scales in pristine and previously pond water-aged sediment columns. Transport of AgNP under near-natural conditions was studied in a long-term riverbank filtration experiment over the course of one month with changing flow scenarios (i.e. transport at 0.7m d-1, stagnation, and remobilization at 1.7m d-1). To elucidate retention processes, we conducted small-scale lab column experiments at low (0.2m d-1) and high (0.7m d-1) flow rate using pristine and aged sediments. Overall, AgNP accumulated in the upper centimeters of the sediment both in lab and outdoor experiments. In the lab study, retention of AgNP by attachment to biological components was very effective under high and low flow rate with nearly complete NP accumulation in the upper 2mm. When organic material was absent, abiotic filtration mechanisms led to NP retention in the upper 5 to 7cm of the column. In the long-term study, AgNP were transported up to a depth of 25cm. For the pristine sediment in the lab study and the outdoor experiments only erratic particle breakthrough was detected in a depth of 15cm. We conclude that physico-chemical interactions of AgNP with sediment surfaces are efficient in retaining AgNP. The presence of organic material provides additional retention sites which increase the filtration capacity of the system. Nevertheless, erratic breakthrough events might transport NP into deeper sediment layers. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Veröffentlichung Statement on advancing the assessment of chemical mixtures and their risks for human health and the environment(2020) Drakvik, Elina; Altenburger, Rolf; Aoki, Yasunobu; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Reiber, LenaThe number of anthropogenic chemicals, manufactured, by-products, metabolites and abiotically formed transformation products, counts to hundreds of thousands, at present. Thus, humans and wildlife are exposed to complex mixtures, never one chemical at a time and rarely with only one dominating effect. Hence there is an urgent need to develop strategies on how exposure to multiple hazardous chemicals and the combination of their effects can be assessed. A workshop, "Advancing the Assessment of Chemical Mixtures and their Risks for Human Health and the Environment" was organized in May 2018 together with Joint Research Center in Ispra, EU-funded research projects and Commission Services and relevant EU agencies. This forum for researchers and policy-makers was created to discuss and identify gaps in risk assessment and governance of chemical mixtures as well as to discuss state of the art science and future research needs. Based on the presentations and discussions at this workshop we want to bring forward the following Key Messages: - We are at a turning point: multiple exposures and their combined effects require better management to protect public health and the environment from hazardous chemical mixtures.
- Regulatory initiatives should be launched to investigate the opportunities for all relevant regulatory frameworks to include prospective mixture risk assessment and consider combined exposures to (real-life) chemical mixtures to humans and wildlife, across sectors.
- Precautionary approaches and intermediate measures (e.g. Mixture Assessment Factor) can already be applied, although, definitive mixture risk assessments cannot be routinely conducted due to significant knowledge and data gaps.
- A European strategy needs to be set, through stakeholder engagement, for the governance of combined exposure to multiple chemicals and mixtures. The strategy would include research aimed at scientific advancement in mechanistic understanding and modelling techniques, as well as research to address regulatory and policy needs. Without such a clear strategy, specific objectives and common priorities, research, and policies to address mixtures will likely remain scattered and insufficient. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Veröffentlichung A review of methods and data to determine raw material criticality(2020) Schrijvers, Dieuwertje; Hool, Alessandra; Blengini, Gian Andrea; Kosmol, Jan; Nuss, PhilipThe assessment of the criticality of raw materials allows the identification of the likelihood of a supply disruption of a material and the vulnerability of a system (e.g. a national economy, technology, or company) to this disruption. Inconclusive outcomes of various studies suggest that criticality assessments would benefit from the identification of best practices. To prepare the field for such guidance, this paper aims to clarify the mechanisms that affect methodological choices which influence the results of a study. This is achieved via literature review and round table discussions among international experts. The paper demonstrates that criticality studies are divergent in the system under study, the anticipated risk, the purpose of the study, and material selection. These differences in goal and scope naturally result in different choices regarding indicator selection, the required level of aggregation as well as the subsequent choice of aggregation method, and the need for a threshold value. However, this link is often weak, which suggests a lack of understanding of cause-and-effect mechanisms of indicators and outcomes. Data availability is a key factor that limits the evaluation of criticality. Furthermore, data quality, including both data uncertainty and data representativeness, is rarely addressed in the interpretation and communication of results. Clear guidance in the formulation of goals and scopes of criticality studies, the selection of adequate indicators and aggregation methods, and the interpretation of the outcomes, are important initial steps in improving the quality of criticality assessments. © 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.Veröffentlichung Decreasing trends of particle number and black carbon mass concentrations at 16 observational sites in Germany from 2009 to 2018(2020) Sun, Jia; Bath, Olaf; Birmili, Wolfram; Hermann, Markus; Gerwig, Holger; Ries, Ludwig; Schwerin, Andreas; Meinhardt, Frank; Sohmer, Ralf; Wirtz, KlausAnthropogenic emissions are a dominant contributor to air pollution. Consequently, mitigation policies have attempted to reduce anthropogenic pollution emissions in Europe since the 1990s. To evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation policies, the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) was established in 2008, focusing on black carbon and sub-micrometer aerosol particles, especially ultrafine particles. In this investigation, trends of the size-resolved particle number concentrations (PNC) and the equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration over a 10-year period (2009-2018) were evaluated for 16 observational sites for different environments among GUAN. The trend analysis was done for both, the full-length time series and on subsets of the time series in order to test the reliability of the results. The results show generally decreasing trends of both, the PNCs for all size ranges as well as eBC mass concentrations in all environments, except PNC in 10-30 nm at regional background and mountain sites. The annual slope of the eBC mass concentration varies between -7.7% and -1.8% per year. The slopes of the PNCs varies from -6.3% to 2.7%, -7.0% to -2.0%, and -9.5% to -1.5% per year (only significant trends) for 10-30 nm, 30-200 nm, and 200-800 nm particle diameter, respectively. The regional Mann-Kendall test yielded regional-scale trends of eBC mass concentration, N[30-200] and N[200-800] of -3.8%, -2.0% and -2.4%, respectively, indicating an overall decreasing trend for eBC mass concentration and sub-micrometer PNC (except N[10-30]) all over Germany. The most significant decrease was observed on working days and during daytime in urban areas, which implies a strong evidence of reduced anthropogenic emissions. For the seasonal trends, stronger reductions were observed in winter. Possible reasons for this reduction can be the increased average ambient temperatures and wind speed in winter, which resulted in less domestic heating and stronger dilution. In addition, decreased precipitation in summer also diminishes the decrease of the PNCs and eBC mass concentration. For the period of interest, there were no significant changes in long-range transport patterns. The most likely factors for the observed decreasing trends are declining anthropogenic emissions due to emission mitigation policies of the European Union. Quelle: https://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/Veröffentlichung Very high stratospheric influence observed in the free troposphere over the Northern Alps - just a local phenomenon?(2020) Trickl, Thomas; Ries, Ludwig; Vogelmann, HannesThe atmospheric composition is strongly influenced by a change in atmospheric dynamics, which is potentially related to climate change. A prominent example is the doubling of the stratospheric ozone component at the summit station Zugspitze (2962 m a.s.l., Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany) between the mid-seventies 15 and 2005, roughly from 11 ppb to 23 ppb (43 %). Systematic efforts for identifying and quantifying this influence have been made since the late 1990s. Meanwhile, routine lidar measurements of ozone and water vapour carried out at Garmisch-Partenkirchen (German Alps) since 2007, combined with in-situ and radiosonde data and trajectory calculations, have revealed that stratospheric intrusion layers are present on 84 % of the yearly measurement days. At Alpine summit stations the frequency of intrusions exhibits a seasonal cycle with a 20 pronounced summer minimum that is reproduced by the lidar measurements. The summer minimum disappears if one looks at the free troposphere as a whole. The mid- and upper-tropospheric intrusion layers seem to be dominated by very long descent on up to hemispheric scale in an altitude range starting at about 4.5 km a.s.l. Without interfering air flows, these layers remain very dry, typically with RH =< 5 % at the centre of the intrusion. Pronounced ozone maxima observed above Garmisch-Partenkirchen have been mostly related to a 25 stratospheric origin rather than to long-range transport from remote boundary layers. Our findings and results for other latitudes seem to support the idea of a rather high contribution of ozone import from the stratosphere to tropospheric ozone. Copyright: Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 LicenseVeröffentlichung Spatial distribution and temporal trends of pharmaceuticals sorbed to suspended particulate matter of German rivers(2020) Boulard, Lise; Dierkes, Georg; Schlüsener, Michael P.; Koschorreck, JanAlthough several studies confirmed a wide distribution of pharmaceuticals in rivers and streams, a limited knowledge is available about the partitioning of pharmaceuticals between the water phase and suspended particulate matter (SPM). To close this gap of knowledge, we developed and validated a sensitive and high throughput analytical method for the analysis of 57 pharmaceuticals, 42 metabolites and transformation products (TP) as well as the artificial sweetener acesulfame sorbed to SPM. The method was based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by a clean-up via solvent exchange and detection via direct injection-reversed phase LC-MS/MS and freeze-drying-HILIC-MS/MS. Freundlich isotherms were determined for 90 analytes. All showed a linear sorption behavior. Distribution coefficients (Kd) ranged from 0.64 L/kg to 9300 L/kg. For 18 pharmaceuticals, Kd values were found to be above 100 L/kg. SPM of annual composite samples were analyzed to determine the pharmaceutical concentrations between 2005 and 2015 at four sites of the river Rhine: Weil, Iffezheim, Koblenz and Bimmen as well as between 2006 and 2015 at one site of the river Saar, at Rehlingen. In these SPM samples, up to 61 of the 100 analytes were detected with concentrations up to 190 ng/g d.w. (dry weight) for guanylurea, a transformation product of the antidiabetic metformin. For most analytes, increasing concentrations were found along the length of the Rhine and higher concentrations were measured in Rehlingen/Saar. Normalization of the data with the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine as an intrinsic tracer for municipal wastewater indicated possible industrial discharges for four analytes. For most pharmaceuticals, the annual concentrations exhibited a good correlation with the consumption volumes in Germany. © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.Veröffentlichung Retrospective analysis of cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes in archived German fish samples covering a period of two decades(2020) Radermacher, Georg; Böhnhardt, Anna; Rüdel, Heinz; Koschorreck, Jan; Wesch, CharlotteCyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) are widely applied chemicals used as intermediates in the production of silicon polymers or as ingredients in personal care products. cVMS are under scrutiny due to their environmental properties and their potential for long-range atmospheric transport, persistence and food web magnification. In 2018, the cVMS octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) were identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) under the European REACH regulation. To obtain current data on the presence of cVMS in German waters, the spatial and temporal occurrence of D4, D5 and D6 in fillets of bream from major rivers archived in the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) was analyzed with a GC-ICP-MS/MS coupling method. The spatial comparison of 17 sites for the year 2017 revealed that highest cVMS burdens occurred in samples from the Saar river (near to the French/German border). cVMS levels in fish from a lake in northern Germany did not exceed the limits of detection. For selected sites, time series covering the period from 1995 to 2017 were investigated. In most years D5 concentrations in fish were clearly higher than the observed D4 and D6 concentrations. Overall maximum D4 and D5 concentrations (about 320 and 7600 ng gâ Ì1 wet weight, respectively) were found at one Saar site in 2009. In three of five analyzed time series D5 concentrations peaked 2007â€Ì2011. In recent years, cVMS levels in fish decreased at almost all sites. To allow an assessment of the relevance of the detected cVMS fish concentrations these were compared to environmental quality standards (EQS) for D4 and D5 which were recently enacted in the context of the Swedish implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The D5 EQS in fish was exceeded at four sites in several years in the investigated period and in the Saar even till 2017.Veröffentlichung Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in blood plasma - results of the German environmental survey for children and adolescents 2014-2017 (GerES V)(2020) Bandow, Nicole; Conrad, André; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Murawski, Aline; Sawal, GeorgeThe German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014-2017 (GerES V) investigated the current internal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticides (OCP). These analyses were carried out for a population-representative sub-sample of 1135 children and adolescents (aged 3-17 years) of all 2394 GerES V participants. Blood plasma samples were analyzed for seven indicator PCB (PCB 28, PCB 52, PCB 101, PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180) and selected OCP (hexachlorobenzene, three hexachlorocyclohexane isomers, 4,4'-DDT, 4,4'-DDD and 4,4'-DDE). Despite risk mitigation measures and bans put into force some decades ago children and adolescents living in Germany are still exposed to PCB and OCP: Highest geometric mean plasma concentrations were measured for 4,4'-DDE (0.158 g/L), followed by PCB 138 (0.049 g/L), PCB 153 (0.066 g/L) and PCB 180 (0.032 g/L). Different application patterns of compounds between former East and former West Germany are still reflected by differences in plasma concentrations. Significant differences between age groups and by sexes were found. Moreover, the influence of breastfeeding and fish consumption, which was also found in other studies, was confirmed. Comparison with the results of GerES 2003-2006 confirms a decreasing trend in blood samples observed world-wide. Currently, health-based guidance values for PCB are still exceeded, though to a very limited extent. Also, the widespread occurrence of these compounds underlines the need for further monitoring of these compounds in humans although they are no longer marketed. Quelle: https://www.sciencedirect.comVeröffentlichung Regulating water reuse for agricultural(2020) Fries, Elke; Helmecke, Manuela; Schulte, ChristophIn recent years, more and more countries see irrigation using reclaimed water as an opportunity to secure and enhance agricultural production. Despite the benefits of water reuse, the scientific community raised several concerns and challenges for human health and the environment. This includes chemical risks. Effluents from urban wastewater treatment plants usually contain a wide range of organic chemicals. Such chemicals remaining in the water after the treatment process may cause hazards for human health, contaminate surrounding soil and water resources, and even compromise drinking water sources. Once crops on irrigated sites are exposed to chemicals, the potential transport to and accumulation in the edible parts of fruits and vegetables need to be controlled to rule out their introduction into the food chain. Finally, problems concerning the release of wastewater-borne antibiotics into the environment are starting to gain attention. For these reasons, agricultural irrigation should face more stringent quality requirements in order to minimize chemical risks. Combinations of measures reducing chemicals at the source, technical and natural water treatment processes especially to remove chemicals with persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), or persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) properties, good agricultural practices, and supplementary preventive measures (e.g. knowledge transfer to the stakeholders involved) will be necessary to bring about and ensure safe irrigation in the future. While internationally many regulations and guidelines for water reuse have successfully been implemented, questions remain whether the current knowledge regarding chemical risks is sufficiently considered in the regulatory context. The introduction of a new regulation for water reuse, as attempted in the European Union, poses a good opportunity to better take chemicals risks into account. Quelle: https://link.springer.com