Environmental risk assessment of antibiotics in the Swedish environment with emphasis on sewage treatment plants.

The potential risks associated with antibiotics present in the Swedish environment were assessed using concentrations found in hospital effluent, and sewage treatment waters and sludge, in combination with data on their environmental effects obtained from the literature. For the aqueous environment, measured environmental concentrations and effect/no observed effect concentration ratios were much lower than one in most cases. The only exceptions, where concentrations of the investigated substances were high enough to pose potential risks, were the concentrations of the two fluoroquinolones, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, in the hospital effluent.

Behavior of fluoroquinolones and trimethoprim during mechanical, chemical, and active sludge treatment of sewage water and digestion of sludge.

The behavior and fate of three fluoroquinolones (norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin), one sulfonamide (sulfamethoxazole), and trimethoprim were investigated at a sewage treatment plant in Umeå, Sweden, in 2004. This plant uses conventional mechanical, chemical, and activated sludge methods to treat the sewage water and digest the sludge; the dewatered digested sludge is pelleted (dry weight > 90% of total weight). Raw sewage water and particles as well as effluents and sludge from specific treatment areas within the plant were sampled.

Organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in Swedish sewage treatment plants.

The levels, distribution, and possible sources of 12 organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers, some of which are reported to be toxic to aquatic organisms, were investigated in samples of influents, effluents, and sludge from 11 Swedish sewage treatment plants (STPs). The organophosphorus compounds (OPs) studied were poorly removed from the wastewater; especially the chlorinated OPs tended to pass through the STPs without being removed or degraded, while alkyl-OPs, such as tributyl phosphate (TBP), were more successfully removed. In both influents and effluents, tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate and TBP were the most prominent substances followed by tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP).

Organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in air from various indoor environments.

Eleven organophosphorus compounds (OPs) that are used as plasticizers and flame retardants were analysed in duplicate samples of indoor air from 17 domestic and occupational environments. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns were used as adsorbents and analysis was performed using GC with a nitrogen phosphorus selective detector. The total amounts of OPs in the air samples ranged between 36 and 950 ng m(-3); tris(chloropropyl) phosphate (TCPP) and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) being the most abundant (0.

Traffic as a source of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in snow.

Snow samples collected in northern Sweden at a road intersection and an airport indicated that traffic is a source of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers (OPs) in the outdoor environment. Analysis of snow samples taken at distances of 2, 100, and 250 m from the road intersection showed that the total amount of OPs declined as distance increased. Of the 11 analyzed substances, tris-(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) dominated in the snow samples from the intersection, with levels of 170, 130, and 110 ng/kg snow at distances of 2, 100, and 250 m.

Screening of human antibiotic substances and determination of weekly mass flows in five sewage treatment plants in Sweden.

Twelve antibiotic substances for human use, including trimethoprim and representatives of the fluoroquinolone (FQ), sulfonamide (SA), penicillin (PE), cephalosporin (CE), nitroimidazole (NI), tetracycline (TC), and macrolide (MA) groups, were subjected to a screening study at five Swedish sewage treatment plants (STPs) during one week in 2002 and one week in 2003. The analytes were extracted from raw sewage water, final effluent, and sludge by solid-phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-solid extraction (as appropriate) and then identified and quantified by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The mostfrequently detected antibiotics in the matrices considered in this study were norfloxacin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, and doxycycline.

An experimental comparison of a kinetic model for the reaction of alpha-pinene and Delta(3)-carene with ozone and nitrogen oxides.

Unlabelled: A kinetic model was compiled to simulate reactions of the monoterpenes, alpha-pinene and Delta(3)-carene, with O(3), NO(2) and NO. The influence of different initial settings of O(3), NO(2) and NO on the monoterpene reaction was evaluated. At initial levels of 75 p.

Screening of organophosphorus compounds and their distribution in various indoor environments.

Twelve organophosphorus compounds (OPs), which are used for diverse purposes (e.g. as plasticizers and flame retardants), were analysed in settled house dust from 15 indoor environments and in wipe test samples from computer screens and covers.

Alcohol culture, family structure and adolescent alcohol use: multilevel modeling of frequency of heavy drinking among 15-16 year old students in 11 European countries.

Objective: Frequency of heavy alcohol use among adolescents is examined by family structure and propensity toward heavy alcohol use on the individual level, and by alcohol availability and drinking patterns among adolescents on the societal level. The analysis includes direct effects and moderating effects of societal-level indicators on individual-level associations between family structure and frequency of heavy alcohol use.

Method: The study drew upon self-reports from 34,001 students in Cyprus, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom participating in the 1999 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs study.

Long-term trends in drinking habits among Swedish teenagers: National School Surveys 1971-1999.

The purpose of the study is to describe the long-term trends in drinking habits among Swedish students aged 15-16 years. Data were collected from 1971 to 1999, using self-administered questionnaires from nationally representative random cluster samples of school classes, totalling on average 6000 students per year. The highest proportion of alcohol consumers among both boys and girls, about 90%, was seen in the 1970s; this percentage decreased to about 80% in the 1980s and remained at that level through the 1990s.

Emissions of aldehydes and ketones from a two-stroke engine using ethanol and ethanol-blended gasoline as fuel.

Besides aliphatic gasoline, ethanol-blended gasoline intended for use in small utility engines was recently introduced on the Swedish market. For small utility engines, little data is available showing the effects of these fuels on exhaust emissions, especially concerning aldehydes and ketones (carbonyls). The objective of the present investigation was to study carbonyl emissions and regulated emissions from a two-stroke chain saw engine using ethanol, gasoline, and ethanol-blended gasoline as fuel (0%, 15%, 50%, 85%, and 100% ethanol).