The European Construction Products Regulation provides a life cycle based framework for the environmental assessment of construction products. Harmonised European standards for the assessment of the release of dangerous substances and for declaration of environmental performance are in progress. Risk based limit values for the protection of soil and groundwater below construction works will still bet set nationally. In this paper we review the possibilities to expand the ongoing harmonisation to include risk assessment and life cycle assessment (LCA). Based on reviews of national European limit value models (LMVs) for assessment of release to soil and groundwater, two areas for harmonisation emerge:1- The toxicological criteria. Toxicological endpoints to protect human health and environment are similar, and data from the same toxicological data sets are used to establish acceptance criteria.2- The emission part of LIVIVs. We extracted six generic construction works for granular materials. These encompass the most common choices and span the different release scenarios applied.Harmonised emission models would also facilitate LCA and environmental product declaration (EPD). The immission or transport part of the LVMs is less promising for harmonisation. Locating the acceptance criteria point of compliance close to the construction works is advantageous from many aspects and would facilitate harmonisation of assessments. We have identified two different strategies to include recycling in the assessments:1- Tiered procedure where assessment and declaration of performance are made for the intended primary use of the product only and renewed assessments are made whenever the construction works are demolished and the product is recovered.2- Scenario based procedure where future recycling scenarios, into new products and construction works, are forecasted. In this case the initial assessment and declaration of environmental performance of a construction product is performed both for the intended primary use of the product and for the recycling scenarios. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A decision support tool aiming to facilitate discussion and transparency in land-use planning processes has been developed. It includes process steps initiating with an analysis of the current situation, identification of relevant actions and sustainability analysis steps. The sustainability was subdivided into human health and environment, resources, and social and economic impacts. The main difference between this risk analysis tool and others is the allowance of comparisons of present risks and consequences of measures early in the process. It also includes assessments from short-and long-term perspectives, such as taking into account climate change. It combines classic risk analysis with life-cycle assessment procedure. It has been developed and tested in co-operation with municipalities. The tests show that the tool is applicable and can be relevant in the planning process. It offers an iterative discussion framework that is systematic, condensed and yet a simplistic way of describing consequences. The criticism is that it is regarded as time demanding, but this can be managed by preparatory work.

Quick clay may be stabilised by increased magnesium concentrations in the pore water. Weathering has so far been cited as the source of magnesium, but is an unlikely process at 15 m depth in clays, where an increase was found at a test site in the south of Sweden. This study investigates how far ion exchange can explain the source of magnesium. A rough model in the program PHREEQC incorporating ion exchange, but not weathering, is used to model geochemical and transport processes since the latest ice age in a soil profile in the Gota River valley. Rain water, or rain water with added calcium or magnesium carbonate, is used as infiltrating solution. Calcium or magnesium could come from weathering in the dry crust. Advection, diffusion and ion exchange are sufficient to approximate concentrations in the pore water, if the infiltrating water contains calcium. Weathering at depths below 5 m is not included in the model, but observations of magnesium are reproduced nevertheless. The magnesium comes from the sea water at the end of the latest ice age and has been stored on the ion exchange sites in the clay. The magnesium is displaced into the pore water when calcium enters the soil, is transported downwards, and partly re-enters the exchange sites. The rough model supports the importance of ion exchange for the restabilisation of quick clay by natural magnesium at this site.

For a long time, the predominant method for detection of quick clay in Sweden has been to take undisturbed samples and to perform fall-cone tests on the clay in its undisturbed and remoulded state. In connection with a large stability investigation covering both sides of the Gota River, from the lake Vanern to the city of Gothenburg, the usefulness of CPTu and static pressure sounding for mapping of quick clay was studied. Evaluation of the correlation between the slope of the penetration force and the presence of quick clay was done within two areas of this investigation. In addition, a separate study was carried out with the purpose to investigate whether surface resistivity measurements together with sounding, using a CPTu-R with measurement of the total penetration force, in combination with fall-cone tests and chemical analyses in the laboratory could give a more complete picture of the presence of quick clay.

Nordic co-operationNordic co-operation is one of the world's most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture.It plays an important role in European and international collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe.Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community.Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world's most innovative and competitive.

Quick clay has a major impact on landslide risk and it is therefore of considerable interest to map its presence and extent. In Sweden, quick clay has been involved in most landslides in soft clay with serious consequences. The predominant method for detection of quick clay in Sweden has been to take undisturbed samples and to perform fall-cone tests on the clay in its undisturbed and remoulded state. Originally deposited in saltwater in a marine environment, the salt maintains the stability of the clay. When the salt is leached out, the clay can become quick. When salt is leached from clay of marine origin the resistivity increases. In this study the intention was to calibrate electrical imaging with cone penetration tests with resistivity measurements (CPTU-R) and measurement of the total penetration resistance, i.e. the total rod friction, together with both geotechnical and chemical analyses on specimens in the laboratory.The results show that electrical imaging can be used for separation of leached soil volumes in marine clays that may form quick clay, from those where the salt content remains too high for this. In the dry crust and thin weathered zone at the top, the resistivity is high but the clay is non-quick. Also soils with less clay content will have higher resistivity without being quick. The technique may thus be used as a screening tool in order to delimit areas where further investigations are needed from areas that do not require more attention. This has a potential of saving significant resources if used in a relatively early stage of the survey process. It can also increase the overall quality and reliability of the survey results.The induced polarization (IP) results are consistent and seem to be geologically realistic, and appear to contain additional information to the resistivity that is related to material or electrochemical properties, although it is not clear how due to lack of sufficiently detailed reference data.The electrical imaging gives a general picture of the variation in resistivity along soil sections. The CPTU-R gives variations at depth with very high vertical resolution in one specific location. There is generally good agreement between the models based on electrical imaging and the CPTU-R. The CPTU-R results may be used to calibrate the electrical imaging results with quick clay estimations based on rod friction.

Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) fly ashes constitute, together with Air Pollution Control(APC) residues, the last residues from municipal waste which are not yet recycled nor valorised. Somestudies aim to use such ashes, once treated, in cementitious materials. In this work, electrostaticprecipitator ashes have been characterised, treated and incorporated in cementitious materials. Theeffects due to the presence of chlorides, heavy metals, metallic aluminium have been identified and thetreatment has been adapted in order to solve the encountered problems. The treatment comprises threemain steps: a size-based separation is effective to decrease the heavy metal concentration in adetermined size fraction that could be further valorised; a washing (with only water) can remove up to97% of the initial chlorides; a reactive washing (with NaOH) prevents the paste from swelling.MSWI fly ash valorisation requires thus a deep treatment involving large reagent consumption.However, if the treated ashes may be valorised in cementitious materials, which may be dedicated tospecific applications, they will not be landfilled and their charge for the incineration industry, astherefore for the society, would decrease.

The European Construction Products Regulation (CPR, 305/2011/EU) requires environmental assessment of construction works, but performance data (CE-marking) are of construction products. Both environmental risk assessment (ERA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) need to derive emissions from construction works from harmonised tests on products. Several European countries use national assessment schemes with models of construction works, in order to calculate ERA limit values for construction products. We summarise a number of European construction work ERA schemes for emissions to soil and water. A typical construction works model scenario is a paved road or parking lot, 1m high, with 300 mm/a infiltration and emissions to the groundwater. The scenarios ranged from an infinite bare fill layer through a walking path to an enclosed material inside a road. Water movement modelling ranged from as “batch test” to detailed hydraulic modelling. It seems desirable to have several scenarios for the intended use of construction products in ERA and LCA. This paper shows several examples of existing scenarios, but more work will be needed to find a coherent framework for assessment of emissions from construction works with greater harmonisation.

(1) Harmoniserade prestandadeklarationer; (2) Informationen i den obligatoriska CE-markningen ar beroende av nationella krav; (3) Livscykelperspektiv och hallbar anvandning av resurser; (4) Sverige ...

Mercury in contaminated soil constitutes a wide spectrum of species with highly different properties due to the chemical complexity of the element. Assessments of risk, ecological effects and removal potential require process and mobility studies. Identification of various chemical states of mercury in soil systems can be achieved by selective extraction procedures that would demonstrate the mobility and potential reactivity. In this thesis, a selective extraction method for mercury is presented. The method is mainly based on a parallel extraction procedure. The method was used to investigate the mercury mobility in two soils collected at two different chlor-alkali industrial sites; Bohus and Bengtfors. Both soils are heavily contaminated with mercury, 80 and 180 mg Hg/kg, respectively. In Bohus soil mercury was associated to organic matter with low water solubility and to a very resistant phase, strongly indicated to be dominated by mercury sulphides. In Bengtfors soil some mercury appeared to be weakly adsorbed, bound to secondary precipitates and associated to soluble humic matter. These result indicates a higher mobility of mercury in Bengtfors compared to Bohus soil. Both soils are fine grained with a clay dominated matrix. The main difference is the sulphur content. 0.4% and 0.03% for Bohus and Bengtfors soil, respectively. The preference of mercury for sulphides and reduced sulphur groups in organic matter is well established. The corresponding phases are in general very insoluble. This indicates that sulphur contents in soil to some extent reflects geochemical speciation as well as mobility of mercury. Further, the possibility to mobilise insoluble mercury phases in soils using soil fungi as well as halogenides were investigated. This was made in an attempt to investigate possible in-situ technologies for remediation of mercury polluted soils. Some of the fungi studied were able to dissolve mercury sulphides. It was also indicated that the same fungi responded with volatilsation, accumulation and possible also precipitation of mercury, as soon as toxic levels of soluble mercury were reached. These latter responses can be of advantage or disadvantage depending on remediation design. In batch experiments made with acidic iodide solutions and Bohus soil, a very fast and extensively dissolution of mercury was shown. Mobilisation of the mercury sulphide fraction present, could not be achieved solely by competitive complexation. The mechanism suggested was formation of tri-iodide at low pH. The combination of complextion and oxidation in the same molecule, breaks the bond between inorganic mercury and the sulphide. Extensively and fast mobilisation was also seen in a bench experiment, where iodide in combination with electroremediation simulated a possible in-situ remediation of Bohus soil.

Electroremediation was applied to contaminated soils in order to study the transport of metals and organic compounds by the external electric field. The electric field caused acidic conditions near the anode, so that copper, zinc, lead, nickel, cadmium, calcium and manganese were released from soil from a chlor-alkali site. The metals were transported towards and immobilised near the cathode, where pH was high. The metals were very strongly attached to the soil, which was shown by selective extraction. Mercury was removed through the electromigration of a mercury-iodide complex. 89 % of the mercury was removed from the soil near the cathode, and 46 % had arrived in the anode solution after 3 days. Chloride mobilised less than 50 %. Clay had an over-all larger influence (retardation) then peat or goethite on the migration behaviour of metals in an artificial soil with sand base. The influence of clay on polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was the opposite. The presence of clay or fulvic acid increased the apparent solubility of pyrene and phenanthrene. However, when solid organic matter was added, pyrene and phenanthrene were sorbed to the soil, and the organic matter that was released into the soil solution could not compete for the PAH. Fulvic, citric, oxalic and gluconic acids, and phosphate were transported towards the cathode, while chloride, nitrate and sulphate moved towards the anode, as expected. The results from an in-situ pilot scale experiment on mercury-contaminated soil are presented as well as a discussion on the Swedish method of surveying contaminated sites (MIFO).

Mercury contaminated soil : remediation by the combination of iodide and electroreclamation

(1) Matrisverktyget; (2) Arbetsprocessen; (3) Arbetet med matrisverktyget; (4) Rad och tips vid tillampning; (5) Utveckling av resultat och process; Bilagor: (1) Grundmatriser: Matris 1 - Matris 4 ...

According to climate change scenarios, Swedish summers will be drier, but in large parts of Sweden there will also be increased annual precipitation, more intensive precipitation and periods with i ...