Chloroorganic chemicals emitted from the pulp and paper mill at Nekoski in central Finland were monitored for several years. Concentration time series are used for evaluating the environmental fate and the applicability and validity of an exposure models. Fitted elimination rates of 3,4,5-Tri-, 4,5,6-Tri-, Tetrachloroguaiacol and 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol are approx. 0.22 per day, or rather the half-lives are approx. 3 days. The elimination is most likely by biodegradation and transport-controlled. For 2,3,6-trichloro-p-cymene, fate simulations indicate significant volatilization and sedimentation. Good agreement is achieved with a one-dimensional steady-state box model, except for concentrations in fish. For a reliable assessment of environmental damage, laboratory experiments, monitoring and simulations need to be in tune.

Decades of intensive discharge from industrial activities into coastal systems has resulted in the accumulation of a variety of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in marine waters and sediments, having detrimental impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the resident biota. POPs are among the most hazardous chemicals originating from industrial activities due to their biotoxicity and resistance to environmental degradation. Bacterial communities are known to break down many of these aromatic compounds, and different members of naturally occurring bacterial consortia have been described to work in syntrophic association to thrive in heavily contaminated waters and sediments, making them potential candidates as bioindicators of environmental pollution. In this study environmental, sampling was combined with chemical analysis of pollutants and high-resolution sequencing of bacterial communities using Next Generation Sequencing molecular biology tools. The aim of the present study was to describe the bacterial communities from marine sediments containing high loads of POPs and to identify relevant members of the resident microbial communities that may act as bioindicators of contamination. Marine sediments were collected from a coastal bay area of the Baltic Sea historically influenced by intense industrial activity, including metal smelting, oil processing, and pulp and paper production. Different types of POPs were detected at high concentrations. Fiberbank sediments, resulting from historic paper industry activity, were found to harbour a clearly distinct bacterial community including a number of bacterial taxa capable of cellulolytic and dechlorination activities. Our findings indicate that specific members of the bacterial communities thrive under increasing levels of POPs in marine sediments, and that the abundances of certain taxa correlate with specific POPs (or groups), which could potentially be employed in monitoring, status assessment and environmental management purposes.

The boreal forest’s pulp and paper industry plays a major role in economic prosperity but, historically, caused an environmental burden. Remnants of discharges of contaminated suspended solids (fiberbanks) are continuously being discovered on the beds of shallow seas, rivers and lakes in the northern hemisphere. We investigated the dispersion of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn from deeper to surficial layers in fiberbanks in a Swedish estuary and the larger-scale transport of the same metals to distal areas of sediment accumulation. We also tested the C:N ratio as a common denominator for these anthropogenic, cellulose-rich deposits. Sampling and analyses of three fiberbanks located in the inner part of the estuary and from sediment accumulation sites outside and along the estuary reveals that metal concentrations are regressing to background levels towards the surface at the accumulation sites. The fiberbanks show a higher degree of contamination and C:N ratios demonstrate inclusion of cellulose fibers. C:N ratios also indicate that there is currently no significant transport of fiberbank material into the distal areas. A ∼10 cm natural cap of recently settled fine-grained sediment covering one of the fiberbanks seems to prevent metals dispersing into overlying water whereas the other two fiberbanks show signs of metal enrichment and potential mercury methylation in surficial layers. Although the estuarine system seems to recover from the impact of industrial waste, there is no evidence that the fiberbanks will be remediated naturally but instead will continue to threaten the aquatic environment.

An emission inventory of carbonyl sulfide (COS) from primary anthropogenic sources in China was compiled from 2010 to 2015. The national total emission was estimated at 174 Gg S yr⁻¹ in 2015, with an annually average sustainable growth rate of 7.2% from 2010 to 2015. Industrial sources, biomass burning, coal combustion, agricultural sources and vehicle exhaust contributed 68.2%, 22.0%, 6.1%, 2.2%, and 1.5%, respectively, of total COS emissions in 2015. Aluminum production, carbon black production, titania production, coke production, pulp and paper industry, were the main industrial sources of COS, with the emission about 118 Gg S yr⁻¹ COS in 2015, accounting for 98.5% of total direct emissions from the Chinese industry. The distribution of COS emissions in China showed significant differences at the provincial level. In Shandong and Xinjiang province, they were much bigger than other provinces, with total emissions of 31 and 15 Gg S yr⁻¹, respectively. Uncertainty analysis of COS emission inventories showed that the emission range was 70–267 Gg S yr⁻¹ at a 95% confidence interval. In this study, COS emissions in China were much higher than prior underestimated estimations, even for Asian and global emissions, which could be resolved part of missing sources in the global COS budget.

Carbendazim is a fungicide commonly used as active substance in plant protection products and biocidal products, for instance to protect facades of buildings against fungi. However, the subsequent occurrence of this fungicide and potential endocrine disruptor in the aqueous environment is a major concern. In this study, high resolution mass spectrometry shows that carbendazim can be detected with an increasing abundance from the source to the mouth of the River Rhine. Unexpectedly, the abundance of carbendazim correlates poorly with that of other fungicides used as active ingredients in plant protection products (r² of 0.32 for cyproconazole and r² of 0.57 for propiconazole) but it correlates linearly with that of pharmaceuticals (r² of 0.86 for carbamazepine and r² of 0.89 for lamotrigine). These results suggest that the occurrence of carbendazim in surface water comes mainly from the discharge of treated domestic wastewater. This hypothesis is further confirmed by the detection of carbendazim in wastewater effluents (n = 22). In fact, bench-scale leaching tests of textiles and papers revealed that these materials commonly found in households could be a source of carbendazim in domestic wastewater. Moreover, additional river samples collected nearby two paper industries indicate that the discharge of their treated process effluents is also a source of carbendazim in the environment. While characterizing paper and textile as overlooked sources of carbendazim, this study also shows the biocide as a possible ubiquitous wastewater contaminant that would require further systematic and worldwide monitoring due to its toxicological properties.

Lignin derived macromolecular compounds are the main constituents responsible for the hazardous effects of discharged effluents from the pulp and paper industry in receiving waters. It was shown by ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) and fluorescence spectroscopies that a selective photodegradation of these structures occurred upon irradiation of fulvic acids (FA) from a kraft pulp mill effluent. Though photodegradation was not remarkably affected by the presence of the natural photosensitizer nitrate, it was inhibited under the presence of chloride. These results indicate that the fate of macromolecular organic matter from kraft pulp mill effluents may be different depending on the type of receiving waters, having a higher persistence when effluents are discharged in estuarine or marine waters than when they are discharged in fresh water.

During the 20th century Idefjord was considered one of the most polluted marine areas in Scandinavia. For decades it received high discharges from paper/pulp industry, which made it anoxic and extremely polluted by heavy metals and organic contaminants. Today the fjord is close to fulfil a complete pollution-recovery cycle, which is recorded in its sediment archives. Here we report results from five sediment cores studied for TC, C/N, heavy metals and benthic foraminifera. All of the cores have laminations deposited during 1940–1980s and indicative of long-lasting anoxia; high TC and heavy metal content, poor foraminiferal faunas and lack of macrofauna. The upper part of the cores deposited since 1980s shows a gradual pollutant decrease and partial foraminiferal recovery. The majority of foraminiferal species in Idefjord are agglutinated opportunistic and stress-tolerant taxa, which to some extent tolerate hypoxia and are early colonisers of previously disturbed environments. The current study demonstrates a value of benthic foraminiferal stratigraphy as a useful tool in understanding processes driving environmental degradation and recovery of coastal ecosystems.

Idefjord (Skagerrak, North Sea) has had a long pollution history due to a heavy exposure to effluents from sawmills and pulp and paper industry, which had a detrimental effect on fjord life. Earlier we presented a paper on the pollution history and benthic recovery in the fjord by studying sediment geochemistry (TOC and heavy metals) and benthic foraminifera in the sediment cores taken in the inner and the outer Idefjord. At that stage the foraminiferal (~benthic recovery) record was limited to years 2000 (inner fjord) and 2002 (outer fjord), in contrast to pollutant data reaching all the way up to 2014. In this short note we extend the foraminiferal record to year 2014 and fill the gap in the benthic recovery in the inner and the outer fjord over the last 12years. The results show that both inner and outer fjord inlets currently undergo a steady benthic recovery reflected in comeback of transitional and pre-pollution benthic foraminiferal species after 2000–2002 and towards 2014. The recovery is also supported by increasing faunal diversity, low dominance and since 2000–2002 re-appearance of calcareous foraminiferal species (Bulimina marginata, Elphidium spp., Epistominella vitrea, Hyalinea balthica and Lagena spp), which all disappeared during the period of maximum effluent discharges. At the same time, detection of opportunistic newcomers (e.g. Stainforthia fusiformis) and persisting absence of some transitional species such as Ammoscalaria tenuimargo suggests a recolonization by foraminiferal population with a different species composition as compared to the original pre-pollution community either due to changed environmental conditions or/and increased competition.

The aim of the study is to select a cellulosic waste material from paper industry solid wastes and process it for sorbent production. Four different solid wastes were collected from a local paper production facility and rejects were selected due to its sorption capacity and processability. Oil sorption experiments were conducted according to the ASTM F 726-12 method. Effect of sorbent dosage, contact and dripping time, recovery of the oil, reusability of the sorbent and sorption from the water surface were also determined. Maximum oil sorption capacity was determined as 9.67, 12.92 and 12.84g/g for diesel oil, 0W30 and 10W30 motor oils respectively for the static test and 8.27, 10.45 and 11.69g/g for the dynamic test. An efficient and low-cost sorbent was produced from paper industry rejects that can be used on land and on water.