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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2009

2008

Abstract

Tunnel wash waters characterize all waters that run of after washing procedures of tunnels are performed. These waters represent a wide spectrum of organic and inorganic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals. Removal of such contaminants from water runoff was investigated using laboratory tests after washing procedure was performed on two road tunnels in eastern Norway (Hanekleiv and Bragernes). Due to diverse character of both, treatment media and treated wash waters, the whole investigation was divided into two separate laboratory experiments. The treatment efficiencies were established based on the levels of concentrations and reductions of the measured contaminants in the effluents released from the tested media. In the first part of the article, the contents of nonpolar oil (NPO), 16 individual PAHs, and total PAHs are described. This part revealed that the combination of two organic sorbent materials provided the highest treatment efficiency for wash waters released from the road tunnel and from electrostatic filters. The greatest reduction levels reached 97.6% for NPO, 97.2% for benzo[a]pyrene, and 96.5% for the total PAHs. In the second part of the article, the concentrations and the removal rates of toxic metals are reported.

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Abstract

This paper discusses the monitoring network for diffuse pollution from agriculture in Estonia in the context of implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Nitrate Directive (ND). Seven surface water monitoring stations in agricultural catchments represent two out of three river basin districts designated in Estonia according to the WFD criteria. The national monitoring programme of ground water quality involves 516 stations of which about half were monitored in 2005. The monitoring sites cover all main ground water bodies in Estonia but are largely concentrated in the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ). Analyses did not reveal any significant trends in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in studied rivers during the last 15 years except in one site. The ground water quality stabilised after decrease of nitrate concentrations in the early 1990s, especially in the south part of the NVZ, but even in 2005 the nitrate concentration exceeded 50 mg l1 in 42 out of 145 ground water samples in this region. The existing surface water quality monitoring network provides only restricted information to select between different management options when implementing action programmes for the NVZ and the river basin management plans (RBMP) under the WFD.