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The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has 32 measurement stations distributed across Sweden, of which 16 are situated north of 60°N (Table 6, #6.1). They mainly measure radiation from radioactive compounds on the soil surface and automatically sound the alarm if the radiation increases. Every seventh month, radioactivity is measured on the soil surface at 4 to 5 spots in every municipality to check eventual radiation changes and to retain knowledge at an acceptable level (Table 6, #6.2). Special programs monitor 137Cs in humans (whole body), reindeer, fish, moose, and roe deer (Table 6, #6.3). The main incentive for this is the remains from the Chernobyl accident in 1986.
One focus of SEPA’s subprogram for human biological data concerns metals in human bodies (Table 4, #9.1). It includes studies on lead concentration in human blood, mercury in hair, and cadmium concentration in urine. Old hair samples have been collected and analyzed for mercury. Methyl mercury may damage the central nervous system, and at the fetal stage effects may occur already after low exposure. A study in Uppsala is investigating persistent organic compounds in breast milk. Concurrently, the young mothers answer a questionnaire, and hair samples are collected to analyze methyl mercury. Cadmium in urine is an indicator of the load on kidneys, and especially women with low iron storage have an elevated risk for increased cadmium uptake. A program on cadmium in women that started in Gothenburg, then expanded to Stockholm, Lund, and Umeå is under way. In 2007, a second round started in Gothenburg. A questionnaire is filled in concurrently with collection of a urine sample.
Organic compounds, especially persistent organic pollutants (POP), are of special interest and are included in one of SEPA’s subprograms (Table 4, #9.2). The subprogram includes different groups in the population. On military enlistment, young men are tested for persistent organic compounds in the body. Mercury content is measured in high consumers of fish, and the concentration of flame retardants is measured in samples of breast milk from women who breast-feed. The National Food Administration stores important data from control of pesticides in vegetables, where more than 2 000 samples are taken per year and residues from more than 200 different pesticides are analyzed. To date, no data have been analyzed and reported from this material, but it will be done in the first phase of this SEPA subprogram. Sampling of breast milk will continue with the intent to monitor organic environmental pollutants. Already existing is a long time series on the concentration of flame retardants and PCB in breast milk. Concurrently, samples will be transferred to the environmental sample bank at the Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM), which means that samples will be available for comparison in the future.
Studies of human exposure to cancer-inducing air pollutants (Table 4, #9.3) are being conducted in Gothenburg, Umeå, Stockholm, and other sites. The importance of smoking habits, traffic, and other potential sources will be determined for a better risk evaluation. Measurements will be conducted according to a rolling schedule, with one city at a time and a group of 40 randomly chosen people, 20 to 50 years of age. The background concentrations in air will be followed at the same time. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide is particularly severe during winter. An estimate of the number of people exposed to nitrogen dioxide concentrations in excess of current limits is performed every fifth year. An improved method of calculation, i.e. the urban model, has been used since winter 2006/2007. The urban model will also be used to calculate the number of people that are overexposed to particles.
The Seal and Sea Eagle subprogram (Table 4, #8.2.6) monitors marine top consumers as indicator species to assess harmful effects of environmental toxics. Hopefully, in the long run, the program will show that these species have natural reproduction, health, and population. At present the subprogram has no sampling network. In the Bothnian Bay, the Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) monitors grey seals, ringed seals, and European sea eagles. These observations will show the state and trends of population size, development, and health of seals and of reproduction, population size, and development of European sea eagles. The aim of early warning is to detect changes in reproduction, health, survival, and population trends that may result from changes in the marine environment.
The Integrated Coastal Fish Monitoring subprogram (Table 4, #8.2.5) documents the composition of the stationary fish community as well as the growth, general health situation, and reproduction success of perch (Perca fluviatilis) and burbot (Lota lota) as indicators of environmental toxics. Fish from one site close to Umeå is sent to Gothenburg University for analysis of biochemical, physiological, histological and pathogenic variables in perch.
The Free Water Body subprogram (Table 4, #8.2.4) aims to describe the effects of primarily overfertilization by means of hydrographical, chemical, and biological methods. One part of the program collects samples as frequently as 18 to 25 times per year at a few sea and coastal stations. Another part collects samples only once per year, during winter, to map the extent of areas with low oxygen content and the size of the nutrient pool, which gives the prerequisites for algal bloom in spring.
Metals and Organic Environmental Pollutants subprogram (Table 4, #8.2.3) will report mainly on environmental toxics in biota in the large sea basins, of which the Bothnian Bay and the Gulf of Bothnia are the farthest north. Sea mussels, fish, and bird eggs are collected and analyzed for the content of metals and organic toxics. The material is then stored at the Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) for possible later retrospective analyses.
At present, Sweden has 4 integrated monitoring (IM) sites that are part of a European network on integrated monitoring with an extensive measurement program. One of these sites, Gammtratten, situated in central Västerbotten, monitors several variables (Table 4, #3.2). SGU conducts groundwater sampling at 3 of the sites. In total, 18 stations are sampled 4 times per year. A program for comprehensive information on the state of forests in Europe was launched 1985 in response to acid deposition and fear of forest decline. The program was named the European ICP-Forest Program (International Co-operative Program on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests operating under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, Table 6, #5). ICP-Forest monitors forest conditions in Europe and operates at two levels of intensity. Level I is a systematic 16 km by 16 km transnational grid having around 6 000 observation plots in Europe. Level II is comprised of around 800 sites in selected forests throughout Europe with more intense observations. The Level I measurements consist of three parts: crown condition assessment, soil condition assessment, and foliar survey. The crown condition assessment includes the degree of defoliation, discoloring, and damage visible on trees. The soil condition assessment addresses possible nutrient imbalances caused by, e.g. acid deposition. The foliar survey assesses foliar nutrient concentrations, because changes in environmental conditions may affect foliar nutrient concentrations. The Swedish contribution is made by the national forest inventory (SLU-FRM), which estimates the degree of crown defoliation and discoloring on 700 permanent plots around the country. The Swedish Forest Agency (SST) organizes the Level II observational plots. They manage a program with more than 200 permanent plots throughout Sweden, on which they estimate forest vitality (several measures), forest growth, soil chemistry, and field vegetation. Of these plots, 100 are connected to the international network, and 20 are north of 60°N. Foliage chemistry is determined on 100 plots, deposition and soil water chemistry on 50 plots, air quality on 25 plots, and climate on 14 plots. The sampling intensity varies from once in 5 years to once per hour depending
Samples in moose (Table 4, #3.4) from Norrbotten and Jämtland counties (and 3 counties in southern Sweden) have been analyzed every autumn since 1996. The Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) organizes this work and stores some of the material, and the Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA) performs chemical analyses on some of the tissues. Hunting associations organize much of the field sampling. Analyses: As, Cs, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Sr, V, Zn. 2007 screening of organic compounds Sites: Norrbotten, Jämtland, Western Götaland, Jönköping, and Kronoberg Counties Intensity: Each autumn since 1980 (Grimsö), else from 1996
Metals in tissue samples from reindeer are analyzed at 3 sites along the mountain ridge once per year. The Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) organizes this work and stores some of the material, and the Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA) performs chemical analyses on some of the tissues. Reindeer samples are gathered once per year in connection with sluaghter. The samples are stored by NRM and on some material the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) make analyses. The program is part of SEPA:s program for monitoring in the mountains Analyses: Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Hg every year, PCB, dioxiner, DDT 1/5yr Sampling sites: Abisko, Ammarnäs, Funäsdalen Intensity: 1/year, at slaughter
An alternative for metal deposition measurements is to analyze their abundance in mosses since metals bind strongly to cation exchange sites in them. The concentration of metals in mosses would therefore act as an index for metal deposition. It is also assumed that uptake of most water and dissolved substances comes directly from precipitation; even if it has been shown that capillary transport of dissolved metals may be substantial. A national inventory of metals in mosses takes place at 5-year intervals (Table 4, #1.11). The two-to-three last years growth is identified and collected for chemical analysis ICP-AES and ICP-MS (As, Cd, Hg) Metals are adsorbed by mosses and metal concentration in mosses are therefore seen as a proxy for metal deposition. Moss species: Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens Analyzed metals: As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn Sampling sites: More than 700 sites over Sweden Time period: 1/5 years, first report 1975 and last reported 2005.
The total column amount of ozone and other trace gases are measured with mm-wave instruments, FT-IR and DOAS spectrometers, at IRF in Kiruna (Table 6, #8.1). With the sun or moon as infrared light sources, FT-IR spectrometers can quantify the total column amounts of many important trace gases in the troposphere and stratosphere. At present the following species are retrieved from the Kiruna data: O3 (ozone), ClONO2, HNO3, HCl, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC- 22, NO2, N2O, NO, HF, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH4, CO, COF2, H2O, HCN, HO2NO2, NH3, N2, and OCS. Together with Russian and Finnish institutes at the same latitude, IRF studies the stratospheric ozone and its dependence on polar atmospheric circulation and precipitation of charged particles. The ground-based instruments are also used to validate satellite measurements of vertical ozone distribution (Odin, SAGE III, and GOME). Aerosols and thin clouds are measured at IRF in Kiruna. For example, researchers use Lidars (Light Detection and Ranging) to measure polar stratospheric and noctilucent clouds. Winds and structures are measured with ESRAD MST radar at IRF in Kiruna. At IRF in Kiruna measurements are used to assess the physical and chemical state of the stratosphere and upper troposphere and the impact of changes on the global climate. Particle precipitation is measured by relative ionospheric opacity meters (riometers) at IRF in Kiruna. Riometers measure the absorption of cosmic noise at 30 and 38 MHz and provide information about particles with energies larger than 10 keV. The electron density of the ionosphere is measured by ionosonds and digisondes at IRF in Kiruna.
SMHI measures the thickness of the ozone layer at 2 sites in Sweden, one at Norrköping in southeast Sweden and one at Svartberget Forest Research Park, Vindeln, 70 km NW of Umeå. At Svartberget a Dobson and a Brewer Spectrophotometer are operational. The measurements are part of SEPA’s Environmental Monitoring Program.
Organic environmental pollutants in air and precipitation are assessed by the Department of Applied Environmental Sciences (ITM), Stockholm University in a program with 3 sampling sites in Sweden and northern Finland. The analyses include 31 variables, comprised of 12 PAHs, 7 PCBs, 3 DDTs, 3 chlordanes, 2 HCHs, 1 HCB, and 3 PBDEs (Table 4, #1.7).
Deposition measurements are mainly made in forest injury observation plots laid out by the Swedish Forestry Agency (SST). The observations made are: Air Chemistry: SO2, NO2, NH3, O3 Soil Water Chemistry: pH, Alk, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn, Fe, ooAl, oAl, Al-tot, TOC Deposition open field precipitation: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn Deposition in forest throughfall: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn A notorious problem in deposition assessments is dry deposition on forest canopies. If throughfall is sampled below the canopy it will consist not only of dry and wet deposition, but also of canopy leakage, i.e. exudates and diffusion of substances from within the leaves. However, it has been argued that throughfall sampling, even if not free from problems, may add information to the normal wet deposition sampling. IVL operates a throughfall sampling network comprised of 10 forest sites for sampling, from which monthly samples are analyzed for pH, SO4, NO3, NH4, Kjeldahl-N, Cl, K, Ca, Na, Mg, TOC, conductivity, alkalinity, and amount of throughfall.
Calculating deposition in a grid over Sweden showed the lack of information on deposition at high altitude. SMHI applied the meso scale MATCH model to calculate the deposition field and the matched model is called MATCH-Sweden. The result is found at http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5640&l=sv The observations made at these stations are: Particles in air: SO4-S, NO3-N, NH4-N, Cl, Na, Ca, Mg, K Gase:s NH3-N, HNO3-N, SO2-S Deposition open field precipitation: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K Deposition in forest throughfall: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K To integrate the relatively few deposition measurement sites, SMHI has adopted the Mesoscale Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry Model (MATCH) that uses emission data, meteorological data, routines for chemical processes, and a transport model to calculate long-range transport and deposition of air pollutants (Table 4, #1.5). Time series of gridded data over Sweden for deposition of different inorganic chemical compounds calculated with the MATCH-Sweden model are available at SMHI (Appendix, Table 11). When the MATCH-Sweden model was first tested, the deposition network lacked high elevation sites. Hence, a monitoring program for deposition at higher elevations (Table 4, #1.9) was started. It consists of 4 sites in high elevation forests along the Swedish mountain ridge, where NO3, NH4, NH3, HNO3, SO2, SO4, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, pH, conductivity, and amount of precipitation are analyzed on monthly accumulated precipitation samples.
The subprogram main task is to check if international agreements as the UN Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLTRAP) are followed. EMEP = European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. The network comprises 10 stations, out of which three are in northern Sweden. Air chemistry is monitored by diffusion samplers. The following compounds are measured: SO2, SO4, tot-NH4, tot-NO3, soot, NO2, O3 Precipitation quality is monitored by samplers with lid, open only when it rains. The following compounds are measured: SO4-S, NO-N, Cl, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, pH, EC. Ozone near ground is analyzed every hour and is part of an European warning system PM10 is particles Metals in air and precipitation is analysed at Bredkälen only. The following elements are analyzed: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V, Hg, metyl-Hg.
The PMK Network is part of the national network for deposition measurements. The aim is a longterm monitoring concentration and deposition of different air transported compounds. The aim is also to generate knowledge about longterm variation in the deposition field, and to give background data from low polluted areas for calculation of pollution deposition in more polluted areas. The Air and Precipitation Chemistry Network includes about 25 sites (14 in northern Sweden) where precipitation from open accumulating samplers are collected and analyzed for pH, SO4, NO3, NH4, Cl, Ca, Mg, Na, K, conductivity, and amount of precipitation (Table 4, #1.2). At 3 sites (one in northern Sweden) precipitation is analyzed for heavy metals, mercury, and methyl-mercury (Table 4, #1.3).
The general objective is to assess time trends and deposition loads of mercury and persistent organic pollutants from long-range atmospheric transport in Arctic environments (Greenland and north Swedish mountains) using lake sediments. The specific aims are: 1. Mercury - Study pre-industrial and industrial temporal changes in Hg concentrations in sediment records of remote lakes in Greenland and north Swedish mountains. - Address the hypothesis of 'cold condensation' (the progressive re-volatilization in relatively warm locations and subsequent condensation and deposition in cooler environments) of mercury, using a series of lake sediment cores along climate gradients: in Greenland from the inland ice sheet towards the coast and in the Swedish mountains from high altitudes down to the boreal forest. 2. POPs - Make a screening to establish which persistent organic pollutants are present in recent lake sediments in remote sites in Greenland and the north Swedish mountains. Besides PCBs, HCH, DDT and other pesticides, there are new environmental threats such as brominated flame retardants, such as PDBEs, which are of particular interest. The increasing use of PBDE and other brominated compounds may lead to increasing concentrations in the Arctic environment. However, very little is known about the levels of PBDEs as well as other POPs in sediments from the Arctic. - Analyse test series of selected POPs using a lake sediment core to assess temporal trends and a number of surface sediment samples from different lakes to assess spatial variability in concentrations and cumulative fluxes of POPs in Greenland and Swedish mountain lakes. - The main purpose of this pilot study of POPs is to determine the concentrations of selected POPs in sediments from Greenland and the northern Swedish mountains and to assess how useful lake sediments are for studying temporal and spatial pollution loads of POPs in Arctic environments.