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Gigault J, Guilmette C, Cai H, Carrier-Belleau C, Le Bagousse M, Luthi-Maire A, Gibaud M, Decaulne A, Alam M, Baalousha M. Waste Combustion Releases Anthropogenic Nanomaterials in Indigenous Arctic Communities. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39140835 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
Arctic autochthonous communities and the environment face unprecedented challenges due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. One less-explored aspect of these challenges is the release and distribution of anthropogenic nanomaterials in autochthonous communities. This study pioneers a comprehensive investigation into the nature and dispersion of anthropogenic nanomaterials within Arctic Autochthonous communities, originating from their traditional waste-burning practices. Employing advanced nanoanalytical tools, we unraveled the nature and prevalence of nanomaterials, including metal oxides (TiO2, PbO), alloys (SnPb, SbPb, SnAg, SnCu, SnZn), chromated copper arsenate-related nanomaterials (CuCrO2, CuCr2O4), and nanoplastics (polystyrene and polypropylene) in snow and sediment near waste burning sites. This groundbreaking study illuminates the unintended consequences of waste burning in remote Arctic areas, stressing the urgent need for interdisciplinary research, community engagement, and sustainable waste management. These measures are crucial to safeguard the fragile Arctic ecosystem and the health of autochthonous communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Gigault
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Caroline Guilmette
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Huiwen Cai
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Charlotte Carrier-Belleau
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Marie Le Bagousse
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Adèle Luthi-Maire
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Manon Gibaud
- Takuvik Laboratory, IRL3376 CNRS-Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, G1 V 0A6, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
| | - Armelle Decaulne
- LETG Nantes, UMR6554 CNRS-Université Nantes, Institut de géographie et d'aménagement de Nantes Université Campus du Tertre BP 81227, 44312 Nantes Cedex 3, France
| | - Mahbub Alam
- South Carolina University, Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, 921 Assembly Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Mohammed Baalousha
- South Carolina University, Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, 921 Assembly Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
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Haarr ML, Bach L, Chambers CP, Falk-Andersson J, Juul-Pedersen T, Metcalfe RD, Sinisalo A, Strand J, Svendsen H, Baak JE, Björnsdóttir HH, Brenner EMK, Christiansen S, Delattre C, Gauthier M, Georgiou RH, Günther L, Hägg F, Markussen U, Parga Martínez KB, le Pevedic A, Refosco A, Tandberg BKR, Tulatz F, Van Broeck S, Visser NT, Wittwer L. Beach litter sources around Nuuk, Greenland: An analysis by UArctic summer school graduate course students. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 191:114914. [PMID: 37080021 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Modeling studies illustrate the potential for long-range transport of plastics into the Arctic, although the degree to which this occurs remains relatively undocumented. We utilised a teaching exercise at a UArctic summer school graduate course in Nuuk, Greenland to conduct a preliminary in-depth analysis of beach litter sources in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord. Students and instructors collected and analysed 1800 litter items weighing 200 kg from one location in the fjord and another at its mouth. The results suggest a predominance of local sources to macrolitter, rather than long-range transport from Europe. Fisheries-related items and rope were common. Packaging which could be identified was largely suspected to be products distributed in Greenland, and soft plastics, which rarely disperse far from its source, were also common. The results suggest local measures to reduce mismanaged waste and emissions from fisheries are important for reducing marine litter in West Greenland.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lis Bach
- Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Jakob Strand
- Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience, Denmark.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Fanny Hägg
- UArctic International Secretariat, Finland
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Eriksen M, Borgogno F, Villarrubia-Gómez P, Anderson E, Box C, Trenholm N. Mitigation strategies to reverse the rising trend of plastics in Polar Regions. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 139:105704. [PMID: 32278194 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Plastic marine pollution in the Arctic today illustrates the global distribution of plastic waste of all sizes traveling by wind and waves, entering food chains, and presenting challenges to management and mitigation. While currents move plastics from lower latitudes into the Arctic, significant waste is also generated by remote communities, as well as maritime activities, such as shipping, fishing and tourism, which are increasing their activities as seasonal sea ice diminishes. Mitigation strategies may include monitoring programs of plastic waste abundance and distribution, improved waste management in Arctic communities, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to reverse the transport of waste plastics and packaging from remote communities, incentivized gear recovery of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), gear tagging and tracking, and restricting tourism and employing "leave no trace" policies. Here we report how these mitigation strategies are employed in the Arctic to minimize plastic waste impacts, and move Arctic communities toward better materials management and circular economic practices. The evidence of harm from waste plastics exacerbated by the ubiquity of plastic marine pollution in all biomes, and the rapid reporting of ecological and social costs, together suggest that we know enough to act quickly to manage and mitigate plastics from all sources to the Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Eriksen
- 5 Gyres Institute, 5792 Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Leap Lab, 2122 S. Spaulding Ave, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | | | | | | | - Carolynn Box
- 5 Gyres Institute, 5792 Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nicole Trenholm
- University Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA; Ocean Research Project Inc., Annapolis, MD, USA.
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Zhou H, Hopke PK, Zhou C, Holsen TM. Ambient mercury source identification at a New York State urban site: Rochester, NY. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 650:1327-1337. [PMID: 30308819 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and particle-bound mercury (PBM) were measured continuously in Rochester, NY (NY43) from January 2012 to December 2014. Continuous measurements of ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5), and meteorological data were also made at this site. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the resulting 15 variables showed that the ambient mercury in Rochester was primarily produced by non-local sources in contrast to earlier studies that showed that local sources were present. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of the atmospheric mercury and other pollutant species concentrations showed that transport and atmospheric processes have become the major source of mercury in Rochester. Conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF) and potential source contribution function (PSCF) were used to identify local and distant mercury sources. The results in this study showed that the closure of a coal-fired power plant and promulgation of several fuel quality policies reduced local mercury emissions making long-distance transport the major source of mercury in Rochester.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhou
- Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, United States of America
| | - Philip K Hopke
- Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, United States of America; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America.
| | - Chuanlong Zhou
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, United States of America
| | - Thomas M Holsen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, United States of America
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Starostina V, Damgaard A, Rechberger H, Christensen TH. Waste management in the Irkutsk Region, Siberia, Russia: environmental assessment of current practice focusing on landfilling. WASTE MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTES AND PUBLIC CLEANSING ASSOCIATION, ISWA 2014; 32:389-396. [PMID: 24692457 DOI: 10.1177/0734242x14526633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The municipal waste management system of the region of Irkutsk is described and a life cycle assessment (LCA) performed to assess the environmental performance of the system. Annually about 500 000 tons of waste are managed. The waste originates from three sources: household waste (27%), commercial waste (23%) and office & institutional waste (44%). Other waste of unknown composition constitutes 6%. Only 3% of the waste is recycled; 97% of the municipal waste is disposed of at the old Alexandrovsky landfill. The environmental impact from the current system is dominated by the landfill, which has no gas or leachate collection system. The global warming contribution is due to the emission of methane of the order of 420 000 tons CO2-equivalents per year. Collection and transport of the waste are insignificant compared with impacts from the landfill. As the old landfill runs out of capacity in a few years, the LCA modelling showed that introduction of a new and modern landfill with gas and leachate collection could improve the performance of the waste management system significantly. Collection of landfill gas and utilization for 30 years for electricity production (gas turbine) would reduce the global warming completely and result in a net saving of 100 000 CO2-equivalents per year due to storage of biogenic carbon in the landfill beyond 100 years. Considering other first-order degradation rates for the landfilled organic matter did not overtly affect the results, while assumptions about the top cover oxidation of methane significantly affected the results. This shows the importance of controlling the gas escape from the landfill.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlada Starostina
- 1Department of Mineral Processing and Engineering Ecology, National Research Centre, Irkutsk State Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia
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