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Summary: Trees are known to be atmospheric methane (CH4) emitters. Little is known about seasonal dynamics of tree CH4 fluxes and relationships to environmental conditions. That prevents the correct estimation of net annual tree and forest CH4 exchange.We aimed to explore the contribution of stem emissions to forest CH4 exchange. We determined seasonal CH4 fluxes of mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica) stems and adjacent soil in a typical temperate beech forest of the White Carpathians with high spatial heterogeneity in soil moisture.The beech stems were net annual CH4 sources, whereas the soil was a net CH4 sink. High CH4 emitters showed clear seasonality in their stem CH4 emissions that followed stem CO2 efflux. Elevated CH4 fluxes were detected during the vegetation season. Observed high spatial variability in stem CH4 emissions was neither explicably by soil CH4 exchange nor by CH4 concentrations, water content, or temperature studied in soil profiles near each measured tree. The stem CH4 emissions offset the soil CH4 uptake by up to 46.5% and on average by 13% on stand level.In Central Europe, widely grown beech contributes markedly to seasonal dynamics of ecosystem CH4 exchange. Its contribution should be included into forest greenhouse gas flux inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between the fuel quality and the gaseous and particulate pollutant emissions generated from a hot-water boiler during the combustion of different types of innovative processed fuels: smokeless coal, smokeless briquettes 1–3, smokeless pellets and unprocessed hard coal. The aim of our research was to prove the presumption that smokeless processed coals produce less gaseous and particulate emissions. By using modern fuels in already used and manufactured older boilers, there is a possibility to significantly reduce emissions of organic gaseous compounds (OGC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The emission situation in the heating season can be significantly improved even without costly production, and thus consumption of natural resources and energy, and installation of modern boilers. Physical and chemical characterization of solid-fuel samples, including determination of moisture content, ash, volatile organic content, calorific value and elemental composition analysis, were performed. Fuels were burned in one type of hot-water boiler class 1 according to EN 303-5 to determine the impact of applied fuel types on pollutant emissions. The pollutant emissions were characterized by the contents of gaseous components: nitrogen oxides NOx, sulfur dioxide SO2, carbon monoxide CO, carbon dioxide CO2, organic gaseous compounds OGC and particle components: total suspended particles TSP, particulate matter less than 2.5 µm and 10 µm (PM2.5 and PM10, respectively) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs in both phases. The emission factors from six types of fuel were compared with applicable European standards. The lowest NOx content was observed for smokeless briquette 1, while the lowest SO2 content was observed for smokeless pellets. The emission of CO was at a similarly low level of 200 g/kg for smokeless briquette 1, smokeless briquette 2 and hard coal. Gaseous and pollutant emissions described by PM2.5 and TSP were observed to be the lowest for smokeless coal, smokeless briquette 1 and smokeless briquette 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential heating sector accounts for a large share of the worldwide annual primary energy consumption. In order to reduce CO2-emissions, it is therefore particularly important to analyse this sector for potential efficiency improvements. In Europe, natural gas boilers are the most widely used heating technology since they are cost-effective and can be installed in any type of building. The energy efficiency of these boilers is already high. However, in their internal process, heat is generated at a high temperature level which is only used for space heating and therefore a high amount of exergy remains unused. This research aims to develop the potential of using the exergy to further improve the efficiency of the systems. A novel combination of methods is applied to analyse the thermodynamic behaviour of gas-fired boilers in detail and over the cycle of a year. The analysis is performed in two steps: In the first step a system is examined in stationary operating points. This is carried out through an experimental setup and a three-dimensional numerical simulation. In the second step, the obtained data is applied to a transient annual building simulation. The results show the temporal distribution and total amount of the annual exergy loss for a common residential building. The exergy loss accumulates to 16,271 kWh per year, which shows the high potential to partially convert the exergy to electrical energy and significantly reduce the external electricity demand and CO2-emissions of the building. Based on this, new technologies such as Thermoelectric Generators can be developed, which can enable this potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present-day world is characterized by the intense development of air transport. However, along with it, significant problems appear. Among these problems, the most important are those relating to safety and negative impact of air transport on the environment. Air transport efficiency and profitability issues, although not critical, must also be taken into account because they decide about the intensity of development of this branch of transport. There are currently two large programs in Europe oriented at improving safety, environmental, and efficiency indicators. These are SESAR 2020 and Clean Sky 2, being a continuation of previous ones. One of the ways to reduce negative impact of air transport on the environment and improve its efficiency is to reduce fuel consumption and pollutants emissions resulting from fuel combustion. To find solutions with the abovementioned features, it is necessary to have sufficiently accurate models to estimate the amount of fuel consumed and the amount of pollutants emitted. Developing a sufficiently accurate model to determine fuel consumption and pollutants emission was performed. Due to the specificity of the missions carried out by passenger aircraft, the focus was on the cruise stage when aircraft flies at a constant altitude with a constant air speed. The result of the analysis was the development of methodology for fuel consumption and emission of main pollutants in cruise conditions. Specific fuel consumption is calculated for the thrust required for horizontal flight at cruising altitude. Emission indexes for CO, NOx, HC, and CO2 for the cruise have been determined based on known indexes for the landing and take-off cycle phase, after applying appropriate corrections. An illustration of the application of the developed methodology was the optimization of a medium-sized transport aircraft trajectory on a selected connection to determine a trajectory characterized by a minimum emission value taking into account weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of granulates as infill for artificial turf is able to process 21% of the end-of-life tyres in Europe, approximately 600 million kg per year. In doing so it avoids an annual CO2 emission comparable with the amount that could be absorbed by around 30 km2 of forest. However, dispersal of rubber infill to the environment is perceived as a problem. An amount of 3000–5000 kg granulate per field per year is currently used as underpinning for a European proposal to ban rubber infill as part of the intended restriction on intentionally added microplastics in 2021. By reviewing grey research reports, we found out that the dispersal rates are based on the false assumption that the annual granulate demand for refilling is necessary because of granulate losses to the environment. However, it has been ignored that part of the refill is needed because the infill layer settles and becomes more dense (compaction) and that part of the lost infill is collected and reused on the fields. In combination with unawareness and improper piling of snow in the past, these are the causes of the high estimates of infill dispersal per year. This paper shows the current state-of-knowledge about ELT granulate dispersal and shows that approximately 600–1200 kg refill is required annually to compensate for compaction and for some infill waste on pavements and in drainage sinks. Recommended mitigation measures are containment through optimized field and drainage construction, suitable maintenance equipment and practices and good-housekeeping rules for players and groundkeepers and handling end-of-life pitches. If these recommendations are implemented, the emission of ELT granulates to the environment can be reduced to virtually zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a procedure to quantify emissions of chemicals for environmental protection, assessment, and management purposes. The procedure uses production and use volumes from registration dossiers and combines these with Specific Environmental Release Category data. The procedure was applied in a case study. Emission estimations were made for chemicals registered under the European Union chemicals regulations for industrial chemicals (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals [REACH]) and for the active ingredients of medicines and crop protection products. Emissions themselves cannot be validated. Instead, emission estimates were followed by multimedia fate modeling and mixture toxic pressure modeling to arrive at predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) and toxic pressures for a typical European water body at steady state, which were compared with other such data. The results show that screening‐level assessments could be performed, and yielded estimates of emissions, PECs, and mixture toxic pressures of chemicals used in Europe. Steady‐state PECs agreed fairly well with measured concentrations. The mixture toxic pressure at steady state suggests the presence of effects in aquatic species assemblages, whereby few compounds dominate the predicted impact. The study shows that our screening‐level emission estimation procedure is sufficiently accurate and precise to serve as a basis for assessment of chemical pollution in aquatic ecosystems at the scale of river catchments. Given a recognized societal need to develop methods for realistic, cumulative exposures, the emission assessment procedure can assist in the prioritization of chemicals in safety policies (such as the European Union REACH regulation), where "possibility to be used safely" needs to be demonstrated, and environmental quality policies (such as the European Union Water Framework Directive), where "good environmental quality" needs to be reached. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1839–1851. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Environmental and welfare implications of intermodal competition between the CR Express and maritime shipping are examined. • While increasing the welfare, CR Express increases emissions unless it is sufficiently emission efficient. • Such impacts are enhanced with more CR Express operators, or fewer shipping carriers. • The competition among Chinese local governments in supporting their own CR Express services also strengthens the impacts. • The analytical model is further calibrated with real market and operational data. China Railway Express (CR Express) has been fast developed, offering an alternative to transportation of the containerized cargo between China and Europe. This paper examines CO 2 emissions and social welfare implications of the intermodal competition between the emerging CR Express and incumbent maritime shipping. An analytical model is developed, which shows that the implications depend in general on the relative emission intensities of the two transport modes on a per-trip basis. The entry of CR Express and the resultant intermodal competition, while likely improving welfare, will increase emissions unless CR Express is sufficiently emission efficient. Such impacts on emissions and welfare are enhanced when there are more CR Express operators, or when there are fewer shipping carriers. The competition among Chinese local governments in supporting their own CR Express services also strengthens the impacts. The analytical model is further calibrated with real market and operational data on the route between China's Yangtze River Delta and Central Europe. Our numerical simulations show that intermodal competition leads to more emissions unless CR Express can achieve an approximately 90% reduction in emission intensity and that overall welfare is nonetheless improved. Policy and managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first absorption spectra recorded in Europe using synchrotron radiation as the X-ray source were the K-edge of Al and the LIII-edge of Cu taken at Frascati electron synchrotron in May 1963 by the French-Italian group comprised of Y. Cauchois, C. Bonnelle and G. Missoni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of circular economy supports mitigation of climate change and other environmental pressures to the planet. Circulating materials in anthropogenic processes come with the risk of accumulating hazardous substances and compounds. In this concept, waste incineration or waste-to-energy (WtE) is a necessary technology to remove these compounds from the life cycle. In this mini-review, contaminants of major importance in the flue gas from waste incineration plants and their environmental impact are discussed. Air pollution of WtE is often seen as the most relevant environmental impact of this treatment option. The emission values parameter set for different countries is presented and compared. The most stringent legally set of emission values could be found in parts of Europe and South Korea. Japan also permits similar strict values when authorising individual incineration plants. In North America, the values are partially less strict as the best available technologies in Europe suggest being possible. Emerging economies, such as India and China, have shown efforts to improve their environmental protection standards but still have room to improve. This could be set in relation to other industrial emitting processes and therefore could be used to assess the relevance of this industry sector to the national emission inventories.

Abstract: This study aims to compare the relative impact of biogenic emissions on ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations between North America (NA) and Europe. The simulations are conducted with the Polyphemus air quality modeling system over July and August 2006. Prior to the sensitivity study on the impact of biogenic emissions on air quality, the modeling results are compared to observational data, as well as to the concentrations obtained by other modeling teams of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) study. Over Europe, three distinct emission inventories are used. Model performance is satisfactory for O3, PM10 and PM2.5 with all inventories with respect to the criteria described in the literature. Furthermore, the rmse and errors are lower than the average rmse and errors of the AQMEII simulations. Over North America, the model performance satisfies the criteria described in the literature for O3, PM10 and PM2.5. Polyphemus results are within the range of the AQMEII model results. Although the rmse and errors are higher than the average of the AQMEII simulations for O3, they are lower for PM10 and PM2.5. The impact of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions on O3 and PM concentrations is studied by removing alternatively biogenic and anthropogenic emissions in distinct simulations. Because biogenic species interact strongly with NOx, the impact of biogenic emissions on O3 concentrations varies with variations of the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)/NOx ratio. This impact is larger over NA than Europe. O3 decreases by 10–11% on average over Europe and 20% over NA. Locally, the relative impact is also higher in NA (60% maximum) than in Europe (35% maximum). O3 decreases near large urban centers where biogenic emissions are large (e.g. Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston in NA, Milan in Europe). Most of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed at the continental scale over Europe and NA are biogenic aerosols. Eliminating biogenic emissions reduces SOA by 72–88% over Europe and by 90% over NA. However, biogenic SOA are not only impacted by biogenic but also by anthropogenic emissions: eliminating all anthropogenic emissions affects oxidant levels and the absorbing carbon mass, reducing the formation of SOA by 15–16% over Europe and by about 10% over NA; Furthermore, locally, the reduction may be as large as 50%, especially over large urban centers in Europe and NA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The international agreements, made by International Maritime Organization in 2008 are an encouraging start to reduce the SO2 emissions caused by the use of bunker oil. Port authorities are confronted with a dilemma. From an environmental point of view, a proactive attitude is preferred. However, a unilateral initiative may jeopardize their bunker oil market share. In this article, we study the benefits and drawbacks of collaboration on emissions reduction between the ports of Rotterdam and Singapore. Many options for reducing SO2 emissions and several policies strategies are discussed. Collaboration instead of competition may give a strategic financial advantage as compared to other would-be bunker harbors on the route Europe-Asia. Without a group of dedicated and critical actors, both port authorities do not have the power to enforce policies or options. The Rotterdam system can be regarded as a decentralized multi-actor network. The Singaporean situation may be characterized as a centralized authority. The process design towards cooperation should take into account these differences. Overall, it can be concluded that cooperation between the port authorities of Singapore and Rotterdam has extra benefits compared to a situation without cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollution of our planet is one of the major problems nowadays. European commission gave warnings to some EU countries, because they are not able to achieve goals for the greenhouse gas emissions reduction, to which they were obligated by signing the Kyoto protocol. The data for Slovenia shows, that the 2010 greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with year 1990 were increased for 4,7% instead of being reduced for 8%. 21% of all greenhouse gas emissions in EU are produced by traffic (without international air and sea traffic) and its shear is growing from year to year. Around 12% of emissions are produced by personal vehicles. EU givesaway yearly subventions for the traffic in amount between 270 and 290 billion euros and almost half of that amount is intended for road traffic, which is one of the less appropriate ways of transport. One of the most appropriate solutions for the existing technology is conversion of vehicles to run on LPG. This paper presents comparative emission study of converted Otto engine with the high class LPG system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores a new micro environmental data set, the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), by identifying limitations and potential strengths. We find that reporting requirements exclude on-site abatement through end-of-the-pipe techniques and cleaner technologies causing underestimation of firms' actual abatement. In addition, the lack of a mandatory section on production volume and firm size hinders data normalization and the use of control variables in economic analysis. Addressing the above limitations can make the E-PRTR more usable for policy-makers, environmentalists and academicians. Furthermore, the paper proposes a normalization procedure based on calculating how much beyond the threshold a firm has abated or emitted; and normalized values are used to approximate the environmental performance of firms. Analysis based on a sample of manufacturing firms suggests that industrial facilities in Europe have performed well in terms of abating a higher percentage of their gross pollution. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate how green certificates markets have developed in the European Union, with a view to producing consistent recommendations that could be used in future environmental strategies and policies to improve existing schemes for renewable energy promotion and support. Design/methodology/approach - The study was conducted by combining a wide variety of sources, such as regulations, position papers, road-maps, as well as articles and research reports. European experiences in using green certificates to support renewable energies were compared from the point-of-view of the legislative framework and national support systems. Findings -- The findings reveal that improvements in three major areas (legislative framework, national support systems, and cost reduction) are needed in order to achieve a better support for renewable energy generation. Practical implications - The conclusions justify the effort invested in developing green certificates markets and are relevant for policy makers in a very sensitive sector to accomplish sustainability goals - the use of renewable energy. The study may represent a starting-point for further research into renewable energy support systems, environmental issues and economic implications. Originality/value - The paper provides a rational and comparative approach for finding solutions to the problems of green certificates markets in the European Union. The methodology and the results reported in this research could be used for exploring green certificates markets opportunities in other European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of various transport facilities used in Europe is rapidly growing. They release a big amount of pollutants into the atmosphere. Therefore, environment protection from these pollutants ejected by internal combustion engines is a key problem facing us today and which will be acute in the future. Biofuel is the only effective and widely used alternative fuel which can reduce pollution of the environment. The main aim of the present paper is to perform a comparative analysis of burnt gases of engines using rapeseed oil methyl ester and petroleum diesel oil and to determine ecological effectiveness of biofuel used in diesel locomotive engines in railway transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH3) emissions from agriculture commonly account for >80% of the total NH3 emissions. Accurate agricultural NH3 emission inventories are therefore required for reporting within the framework of the Gothenburg Protocol of the UN Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. To allow a co-ordinated implementation of the Protocol, different national inventories should be comparable. A core group of emission inventory experts therefore developed a network and joint programme to achieve a detailed overview of the best inventory techniques currently available and compiled and harmonized the available knowledge on emission factors (EFs) for nitrogen (N)-flow emission calculation models and initiated a new generation of emission inventories. As a first step in summarizing the available knowledge, six N-flow models, used to calculate national NH3 emissions from agriculture in different European countries, were compared using standard datasets. Two scenarios for slurry-based systems were run separately for dairy cattle and for pigs, with three different levels of model standardisation: (a) standardised inputs to all models (FF scenario); (b) standard N excretion, but national values for EFs (FN scenario); (c) national values for N excretion and EFs (NN scenario). Results of the FF scenario showed very good agreement among models, indicating that the underlying N flows of the different models are highly similar. As a result of the different national EFs and N excretion rates, larger differences among the results were observed for the FN and the NN scenarios. Reasons for the differences were primarily attributed to differences in the agricultural practices and climatic factors reflected in the EFs and the N excretion rates. The scientific debate necessary to understand the variation in the results generated awareness and consensus concerning available scientific data and the importance of specific processes not yet included in some models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Agricultural emissions in Europe are important to several atmospheric transport-related environmental issues. These include local and regional air quality problems, such as PM exposure, eutrophication and acidification, toxics and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a number of environmental impacts. Over Europe, agricultural emissions are variable in space and time and the contribution to the different issues are variable. Most important are ammonia (90%), PM (20%) and methane and nitrous oxide (both 5%). Policies have been developed to combat some of the emissions with success in some countries. However, future, national and European policies are necessary to successfully decrease emissions and its related problems. Current research issues include the quantification of non-point sources, the atmosphere–biosphere exchange of ammonia, the quantification of landscape processes and the primary and secondary emissions of PM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The brominated flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is extensively used in Europe, but data on the environmental concentrations of this chemical are scarce. A first screening has been performed concerning the environmental occurrence of HBCD in Sweden, a country where the chemical is not produced and the current industrial use is very limited. Possible emission sources were identified through a systematic analysis of the use in a life cycle perspective. In addition to a few point sources, diffuse emissions from polymeric products are possible. Measurements have been performed close to certain possible point sources, in the urban environment and in remote regions, and included air, deposition, water, soil, sediments, sludge, biota and foodstuffs. HBCD was detected in all media analysed and in all environments. The relatively high concentrations detected in herring and foodstuffs provide evidence for bioaccumulation of HBCD. The presence of HBCD in remote background air implies that HBCD has potential for long-range atmospheric transport. There are also some indications that diffuse emissions of HBCD occur in the urban environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Europe has been successful in reducing the emissions of several nitrogenous pollutants over recent decades. This is reflected in concentrations and deposition rates that have decreased for several components. Emissions of nitrogen containing gases are estimated to have decreased in Europe by 10%, 21% and 14% for N2O, NOx and NH3, respectively, between 1990 and 1998. The main reductions are the result of a decrease in industrial and agricultural activities in the east of Europe. The reductions are a result of the economic situation, measures in the transport sector, industry, and the agricultural sector, with only a small part of the reduction due to specific measures designed to reduce emissions. The reduction is significant but far from the end goal for large areas in Europe, in relation to different environmental problems. The Gothenburg Protocol will lead to reductions of 50% and 12% in 2010 relative to 1990 for NOx and NH3, respectively. The N2O emissions are expected to grow by 9% between 1998 and 2010. Further reductions are necessary to reach critical limits for ecosystem protection, air quality standards, and climate change. Emissions of nitrogen compounds result from an overload of reactive nitrogen that is produced by combustion processes, by synthesis of ammonia, or by import from other areas as concentrated animal feeds. Some improvements can be made in the efficiency of combustion processes and agricultural systems. However, measures to reduce emissions substantially need to focus on decreasing the production or import of reactive N. Reactive N ceilings for regions, based on critical limits for all N-related effects, can help to focus such measures. An integrated approach might have advantages over the pollutant-specific approach, to combat nitrogen pollution. This could provide the future direction for European policy to reduce the impacts of excess nitrogen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Extremely high emissions of S and N compounds in Central Europe (both ∼280 mmol m-2 yr-1) declined by ∼70 and ∼35%, respectively, during the last decade. Decreased deposition rates of SO4-2, NO3-, and NH4+ in the region paralleled emission declines. The reduction in atmospheric inputs of S and N to mountain ecosystems has resulted in a pronounced reversal of acidification in the Tatra Mountains and Bohemian Forest lakes. Between the 1987–1990 and 1997–1999 periods, concentrations of SO4-2 and NO3- decreased (average ± standard deviation) by 22±7 and 12±7 μmol L-1, respectively, in the Tatra Mountains, and by 19±7 and 15±10 μmol L-1, respectively, in the Bohemian Forest. Their decrease was compensated in part (1) by a decrease in Ca2+ + Mg2+ (17±7 μmol L-1) and H+ (4±6 μmol L-1), and an increase in HCO3- (10± 10 μmol L-1) in the Tatra Mountains lakes, and (2) by a decrease in Al (7±4 μmol L-1), Ca2+ + Mg2+ (9±6 μmol L-1), and H+ (6±5 μmol L-1), in Bohemian Forest lakes. Despite the rapid decline in lake water concentrations of SO4-2 and NO3- in response to reduced S and N emissions, their present concentrations in some lakes are higher than predictions based on observed concentrations at comparable emission rates during development of acidification. This hysteresis in chemical reversal from acidification has delayed biological recovery of the lakes. The only unequivocal sign of biological recovery has been observed in Černé Lake (Bohemian Forest) where a cladoceran species Ceriodaphnia quadrangular has recently reached its pre-acidification abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement kilns firing hazardous waste are explicitly mentioned in the Stockholm Convention as an “industrial source having the potential for comparatively high formation and release of these chemicals to the environment”. The substitution of fossil fuels with alternative waste derived fuels is a well-developed practice in a number of countries. In the European cement industry about 6 million tonnes are used which corresponds to a thermal substitution rate of 17%. The current study evaluates around 2200 dioxin/furan stack emission measurements collected from various sources. It is demonstrated that most cement kilns can meet an emission level of 0.1ngTEQ/Nm3 if primary measures, i.e. process-integrated measures, are applied. Reducing the temperature to a level lower than 200°C at the inlet of the air pollution control device is the key factor which has shown to limit dioxin formation and emissions at all types of cement kilns, independent of waste feeding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Chromium is a controversial element, since it has been classified as essential trace element, to chemically and biologically inert compound, to potent intoxicator. Concerns have been risen for chromium effects on human and aquatic life because chromium has been accused for genotoxicity and carcinogenesis. Metals and their ions or complexes (and thus chromium substances) are included in the indicative list of main pollutants (Annex VIII of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)). Biological effects of chromium are strongly depended on chromium speciation. No universal Cr III or Cr VI discharge limits to the aquatic environment have been suggested by the EU. International bodies within the EU, such as the Helsinki Commission and the Oslo-Paris Convention, have issued recommendations on chromium discharge levels. National Cr VI and Cr III discharge limits vary in each EU Member State with respect to the receiving water body (marine water, lake, river, sewer system). The maximum discharge limit to the aquatic environment in EU is 1 and 5 mg L -1 for Cr VI and Cr total , respectively. The present work summarizes EU legislation, with respect to the discharge limits to the aquatic environment for Cr VI and Cr III . EU national limits that are currently effective are presented and compared to the limits in other parts of the world, such as Australia, Asia, USA, Latin America and South Africa. It is wise that future perspective of chromium policy should differentiate between Cr III and Cr VI discharge limits to the aquatic environment, as analytical techniques become more sensitive and chromium speciation specific, and environmental awareness rises., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We describe a procedure to quantify emissions of chemicals for environmental protection, assessment, and management purposes. The procedure uses production and use volumes from registration dossiers and combines these with Specific Environmental Release Category data. The procedure was applied in a case study. Emission estimations were made for chemicals registered under the European Union chemicals regulations for industrial chemicals (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals [REACH]) and for the active ingredients of medicines and crop protection products. Emissions themselves cannot be validated. Instead, emission estimates were followed by multimedia fate modeling and mixture toxic pressure modeling to arrive at predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) and toxic pressures for a typical European water body at steady state, which were compared with other such data. The results show that screening-level assessments could be performed, and yielded estimates of emissions, PECs, and mixture toxic pressures of chemicals used in Europe. Steady-state PECs agreed fairly well with measured concentrations. The mixture toxic pressure at steady state suggests the presence of effects in aquatic species assemblages, whereby few compounds dominate the predicted impact. The study shows that our screening-level emission estimation procedure is sufficiently accurate and precise to serve as a basis for assessment of chemical pollution in aquatic ecosystems at the scale of river catchments. Given a recognized societal need to develop methods for realistic, cumulative exposures, the emission assessment procedure can assist in the prioritization of chemicals in safety policies (such as the European Union REACH regulation), where "possibility to be used safely" needs to be demonstrated, and environmental quality policies (such as the European Union Water Framework Directive), where "good environmental quality" needs to be reached. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1839-1851. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC., (© 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.)

To protect human health and the environment (namely ecosystems), international air quality protocols and guidelines, like the Gothenburg protocol (1999) and the 2001 EU Air Quality Directive (NECD), conveyed national emission ceilings for atmospheric pollutants (Directive 2001/81/EC), including the reduction of sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions by 2010. However, to what degree this expected reduction in emissions had reflections at the ecosystem level (i.e. pollutant levels reaching and impacting ecosystems and their organisms) remains unknown. Here, we used lichens as ecological indicators, together with reported air and precipitation pollutant concentrations, to determine and map the consequences of the S and N atmospheric emission's reduction, during the implementation of the 2001 Directive (in 2002 and 2011), due primarily to the industrial-sector. The study area is a mixed-land-use industrialized Mediterranean agroforest ecosystem, in southwest Europe. The reduction of S emissions (2002-2011) was reflected at the ecosystem level, as the same S-declining trend was observed in atmospheric measurement stations and lichens alike (-70%), indicating that most S deposited to the ecosystem had an industrial origin. However, this was not the case for N with a slight N-reduction near industrial facilities, but mostly N-deposition in lichens increased in areas dominated by agricultural land-uses. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of going beyond emissions estimation and modeling, to assess the success of the implementation of the NECD in lowering pollutant accumulation in living organisms and their environment. This can only be achieved by measuring pollutant deposition at the ecosystem level (e.g. living organisms). By doing so, we were able to show that the 2001 NECD was successful in reducing S concentrations from Industry, whereas N remains a challenge. Despite the small reduction in N-emissions, deposition into ecosystems did not reflect these changes as agriculture and transport sectors must reduce NH 3 and NO x emissions., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)