Toxic and essential elements in seafood from Mausund, Norway.

In annual surveys conducted during the period 2012-2015, concentrations of the toxic or essential elements B, Se, Cd, Sn, Cs, Hg, Pb, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and As were analyzed in brown meat of edible crab (Cancer pagurus), and filets of cod (Gadus morhua) and halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in one of the most important commercial crab fishing areas in Norway, at Mausund in Frøya municipality in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Concentrations of the elements were analyzed in sediments in 2015. Several salmon farms are located in this area. Samples were extracted by HNO3 and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Crab, cod, and halibut were caught in a total of five locations. One of these locations was in the proximity of a salmon farm. In edible crabs, the mean ranks were significantly different between two locations only for Sn (p = 0.034). When all data were pooled, the mean ranks statistics showed significant difference between all years for the elements Se (p = < 0.001), Cs (p = 0.005), Mn (p = 0.002), Zn (p = 0.006), and As (p = 0.001) in edible crab. The study showed elevated levels of Cd in edible crabs in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, with the highest levels in 2015. In cod, there were significant differences between locations for the elements B (p = 0.003), and Pb (p = 0.04), as well as between the years for the elements B, Sn, Cs, Hg, Cr, and As (p = < 0.01). The study showed elevated level of Pb in cod in 2013. Halibut showed no significant differences between years or locations for any elements. The Cd, Hg, and Pb values of the sediments in this study indicate that local geogenic sources cannot be considered a major cause of high values in local biota.

Submarine and deep-sea mine tailing placements: A review of current practices, environmental issues, natural analogs and knowledge gaps in Norway and internationally.

The mining sector is growing in parallel with societal demands for minerals. One of the most important environmental issues and economic burdens of industrial mining on land is the safe storage of the vast amounts of waste produced. Traditionally, tailings have been stored in land dams, but the lack of land availability, potential risk of dam failure and topography in coastal areas in certain countries results in increasing disposal of tailings into marine systems. This review describes the different submarine tailing disposal methods used in the world in general and in Norway in particular, their impact on the environment (e.g. hyper-sedimentation, toxicity, processes related to changes in grain shape and size, turbidity), current legislation and need for future research. Understanding these impacts on the habitat and biota is essential to assess potential ecosystem changes and to develop best available techniques and robust management plans.

Element contents in leaves of four plant species (birch, mountain ash, fern and spruce) along anthropogenic and geogenic concentration gradients.

Forty samples each of leaves of birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.), European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia (L.)) and bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn) as well as spruce needles (Picea abies (L.) Karsten) were collected along a 120 km south-north transect running through Norway's largest city, Oslo. Concentrations of 25 chemical elements (Ag, Au, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Sr, Ti, and Zn) as well as loss on ignition for the 4 sample materials are reported. The decline of input of sea spray with distance from the coast, geology, pH and anthropogenic contamination all played a role for the observed element concentrations in the leaves. Although growing under exactly the same natural conditions each plant species displayed quite unique uptake characteristics. Plant-species dependency and individual differences in the reaction of the plant leaves to different element sources make the investigated species of very limited value as bioindicators of anthropogenic activities. Anthropogenic contamination influences plant-leaf element content within a limited distance ( approximately 20 km) from the source.

White HDPE bottles as source of serious contamination of water samples with Ba and Zn.

During a recent study of surface water quality factory new white high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles were used for collecting the water samples. According to the established field protocol of the Geological Survey of Norway the bottles were twice carefully rinsed with water in the field prior to sampling. Several blank samples using milli-Q (ELGA) water (>18.2 MOmega) were also prepared. On checking the analytical results the blanks returned values of Ag, Ba, Sr, V, Zn and Zr. For Ba and Zn the values (c. 300 microg/l and 95 microg/l) were about 10 times above the concentrations that can be expected in natural waters. A laboratory test of the bottles demonstrated that the bottles contaminate the samples with significant amounts of Ba and Zn and some Sr. Simple acid washing of the bottles prior to use did not solve the contamination problem for Ba and Zn. The results suggest that there may exist "clean" and "dirty" HDPE bottles depending on manufacturer/production process. When collecting water samples it is mandatory to check bottles regularly as a possible source of contamination.

PAH-concentrations and compositions in the top 2 cm of forest soils along a 120 km long transect through agricultural areas, forests and the city of Oslo, Norway.

The top 2 cm of forest soils were collected along a 120 km long south-north transect running through Norway's largest city Oslo. Forty samples were analysed for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH(16) as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) concentrations and compositions. Local variations in the PAH values are high and the reported concentrations are in general low (maximum sumPAH16: 2.6 mg/kg). The transect shows distinct differences of sumPAH16 values from south to north. PAH concentrations are substantially lower in the less populated areas at the north end of the transect than at the urbanised and much more populated south end. Several high values occur in a forested area to the north of Oslo, used for recreation purposes. The PAH distribution patterns point towards a predominantly pyrogenic origin. Local Cambrian carbon-rich black shales can be excluded as sources for PAHs in the forest soils.

The influence of a city on element contents of a terrestrial moss (Hylocomium splendens).

Forty terrestrial moss (Hylocomium splendens) samples were collected along a 120-km-long south-north transect running through Norway's largest city Oslo. Concentrations of 29 chemical elements (Ag, Al, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Pt, S, Sb, Sr, Th, Ti, and Zn) and values for loss on ignition (475 degrees C) are reported. Silver (Ag), Al, Au, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sb, Th, Ti, and Zn all show a characteristic Oslo peak when element concentrations are plotted against location of the sample site along the transect. Gold (Au) and Pt show the greatest relative enrichment of all elements in the city (ca. 10x "background"). Titanium (Ti), which is related to local minerogenic dust rather than anthropogenic emissions, shows a significant peak in Oslo. Loss on ignition, a measure of the amount of organic material in a sample, shows a negative peak in Oslo and at sites close to a known dust source. Input of fine dust thus appears to dominate many of the observed element concentrations in moss. The concentrations of Na are clearly influenced by the input of marine aerosols and show decreasing concentrations from south (near Oslo Fjord) to north (inland). The major plant nutrients Ca, K, Mg, P and S, as well as Hg, are the few elements displaying no spatial dependency along the transect. Element concentrations reach background variation levels at a distance of 20-40 km from the city centre.