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Publikasjoner

NIBIOs ansatte publiserer flere hundre vitenskapelige artikler og forskningsrapporter hvert år. Her finner du referanser og lenker til publikasjoner og andre forsknings- og formidlingsaktiviteter. Samlingen oppdateres løpende med både nytt og historisk materiale. For mer informasjon om NIBIOs publikasjoner, besøk NIBIOs bibliotek.

2009

Sammendrag

Due to the exponential increase in production and marketing of engineered nanomaterials, concerns are raised about their inevitable spreading in the environment. Soils, with their high proportion of solid phase, are likely to constitute the major ultimate sink for engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). Regrettably, data are scarce on the potential environmental risks of ENPs on soil ecosystems. The main reason for this key knowledge gap was the lack of methodologies able to trace the ENPs in complex environmental matrices like soils, which already contain a high background of natural nanoparticles (e.g. clays, organic matter, iron oxides). Using neutron activation as a tracer technique enabled us to overcome this hurdle: neutron activated ENPs can readily be quantified by gamma spectrometry, in all kind of samples, including living organisms. Here we examined the uptake and excretion kinetics of cobalt (Co-NPs, APS 3.9 ± 0.8 nm) and silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs, APS 20.2 ± 2.5 nm) in the earthworm Eisenia fetida, as well as their internal distribution within worms. We compared the uptake, retention time and internal ditribution of Co-NPs and Ag-NPs with those of soluble salts of cobalt and silver. Earthworms were fed over a 28d period with horse manure contaminated with either neutron activated Co-NPs and Ag-NPs, or Co and Ag salts spiked with the radiotracers 60Co and 110mAg. Accumulation and excretion kinetics were assessed by gamma spectrometry on living earthworms along a three month period for silver treatments and a five month period for cobalt treatments. The patterns of accumulation were highly different for cobalt and silver. The concentration ratios [(Bq/g worm) / (Bq/g food)] after 28d uptake were 0.93 ± 0.36 and 2.02 ± 0.65 for Co-NP and Co2+, respectively, while corresponding values for Ag-NPs and Ag+ were 0.015 ± 0.016 and 0.054 ± 0.024, respectively. Almost all absorbed Co-NPs and Co2+ remained within the worms four months after transfer to clean soil, while Ag concentration ratios fell to almost zero within a few days. We investigated futher the distribution of Co-NPs and Co2+ in worms bodies by coupling autoradiography images of worm transects and gamma spectrometry on individual organs. The body wall, mainly composed of muscular fibers, and the reproductive organs (e.g. spermathecae and seminal vesicles) accumulated lower amounts of cobalt than the digestive tract. By far, the highest accumulation was found in the blood, namely in the pseudo-hearts.

Sammendrag

Denitrification is a key ecosystem process which is essential to avoid massive enrichment of nitrate in surface and ground water. A rather narrow group of bacteria are able to carry out denitrification, and they are known to be sensitive to environmentally toxic pollutants like e.g. heavy metals. Since these microorganisms carry out a key ecosystem function, they are strong candidates for testing and monitoring environmental effects of toxic substances likely to reach the soil environment. We conducted a series of experiments where either a pure strain of a denitrifying bacterium (Paracoccus denitrificans) or intact soil microbial communities containing indigenous denitrifiers were subjected to different types of silver nanoparticles (average particle size 20 and 1 nm) at a wide range of concentrations. The results showed that the smallest particles were far more toxic than the larger ones on a mass basis and completely killed off denitrifying bacteria in vitro at concentrations as low as 100 ppb. When soil was present, this concentration had no effect on respiration and even the far more sensitive process of denitrification, measured as production of the gases NO, N2O and N2, was unaffected. Results from experiments that are under way will also be presented. Here threshold levels for inhibition of denitrification by P. denitrificans and intact microbial communities are established for the two types of silver nanoparticles and where toxicity is compared when expressed on a mass basis vs. a surface area basis. Also the sensitivity of the different steps in the denitrification process will be compared and related to corresponding data for dissolved metals. The perspectives for using denitrification impediment as a way to assess ecotoxicity at a functional level will be discussed.

Sammendrag

Due to the exponential increase in production of engineered nanomaterials, concerns are raised about their inevitable spreading and fate in the environment. In this study we examined the uptake and excretion kinetics of cobalt and silver nanoparticles (NPs) in Eisenia fetida, as well as their internal distribution within earthworms. We hypothesised that the uptake, retention time and internal distribution of cobalt and silver depend on their speciation, i.e. whether they are absorbed as ions or nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were subjected to neutron activation prior to the experiment, in order to facilitate tracing and quantification in earthworms by gamma counting and autoradiography. Ions and NPs were added to the food, horse manure (HM). The treatments were Co2+ 0.70 µg/kg HM, CoNP 0.69 mg/kg HM, Ag+ 0.54 mg/kg HM, AgNP 0.45 mg/kg HM, and control. The experiment followed the OECD guidelines, with one month uptake and two months excretion for silver treatments, and four months excretion for cobalt treatments. The patterns of accumulation were highly different for cobalt and silver. The concentration ratios (Bq/g worm / Bq/g food) after one month uptake were 0.93 ± 0.36 and 2.02 ± 0.65 for CoNP and Co2+ respectively, and almost all absorbed CoNP and Co2+ remained within the worms after 4 months excretion. The Ag concentration ratios after one month uptake were 0.015 ± 0.016 and 0.054 ± 0.024 for AgNP and Ag+ respectively, with a subsequent excretion of almost all AgNP and Ag+ within a few days. In addition to information on uptake and excretion kinetics, gamma counting on individual organs, coupled to autoradiography on worm transects gave information on distribution of cobalt and silver NPs within the body, and the target organs for these NPs.

2008

Sammendrag

This report summarises the results from analysis of environmental samples collected at four fire training facilities in Norway: Mongstad oil refinery, Solberg Scandinavian, Gardermoen airport and Rygge Air Station. 40 soil samples including surface and subsoils, 14 samples of earthworm, 3 groundwater samples, 1 stream sample, 4 freshwater sediment samples (dried out ditches), 6 marine sediment samples and 7 samples of Sea snails (Patellidae) were collected. Concentrations of 19 polyfluorinated organic compounds including 6:2 fluorotelomer sulphonate, 4 perfluorsulphonates (C4-C10, including PFOS) and 9 perfluorcarboxylic acids (C6-C14, including PFOA) were determined in the samples.