Jasmin K. Schuster

Bio: Jasmin K. Schuster is an academic researcher from Lancaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers & Oil sands. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 29 publications receiving 893 citations. Previous affiliations of Jasmin K. Schuster include Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Perfluorinated compounds in the Asian atmosphere.

Abstract: There is interest in the production, use, and environmental occurrence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) across Asia and the Asian contributions to the burden of these compounds reaching the Arctic and other remote regions via long-range transport. A spatial survey of perfluorinated compounds was therefore undertaken across China, India, and Japan in 2009 using passive air samplers. Target analytes were fluorotelomer olefins (FTOs), acrylates (FTAs), alcohols (FTOHs), sulfonamides, and sulfonamidoethanols. Wide variations in concentrations and mixtures of compounds were apparent from the study. Generally the FTOHs were the most abundant, followed by 8:2 FTO in China and Japan and by the sulfonamides in India. There was a general decline in PFC concentration from urban, rural, to remote locations. Background stations reflected regional differences in air mass composition. A site in the west Pacific Ocean exhibited a Japanese profile in which 8:2 FTO and 8:2 FTOH were predominant. In contrast, a southern Indian profile with high 4:2 FTOH concentrations was observed at a background site in southern China.

Global atmospheric concentrations of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants and organophosphate esters

Abstract: Polyurethane foam (PUF) disk passive air samples, deployed during 2014 in the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network, were analyzed for a range of flame retardants (FRs) including polyb...

Has the Burden and Distribution of PCBs and PBDEs Changed in European Background Soils between 1998 and 2008? Implications for Sources and Processes

Abstract: Background soils were collected from 70 locations on a latitudinal transect in the United Kingdom and Norway in 2008, ten years after they had first been sampled in 1998. The soils were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCs), to see whether there had been any change in the loadings or distributions of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The same transect has also been used to sample air between the mid-1990s and the present, so the air and soil spatial and temporal trends provide information on air-soil transfers, source-receptor relationships, long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT), and recycling phenomena. Comparisons of the 2008 and 1998 data sets show a general decline for PBDEs in surface soil, and a smaller averaged net decline of PCBs. Changes between the years were observed for total POP concentrations in soil and also for correlations with site and sample characteristics assumed to affect those concentrat...

Trends in European Background Air Reflect Reductions in Primary Emissions of PCBs and PBDEs

Abstract: Data are presented for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyls ethers (PBDEs) in passive air samplers (PAS) collected along a rural/remote latitudinal transect from southern UK to northern Norway during 2004−2008. This study is part of an ongoing campaign, using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as PAS over two year intervals since 1994. Absolute sequestered amounts of selected PCB congeners have decreased in a first order fashion between 1994−2008, with the average time of 8.4 ± 3.2 years for atmospheric concentrations to decline by 50%. PCBs have continued to fractionate with latitude during this period. PBDE concentrations declined by 50% between 2000 and 2008 every 2.2 ± 0.4 years. Results are discussed in terms of sources, long-range atmospheric transport, global fractionation, and clearance processes. It is concluded that the spatial and temporal trends in background European air mainly reflect the strength of primary diffusive emissions of these compounds and subsequently...

Introduction to the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) and observed atmospheric composition change during 1972–2009

Abstract: . European scale harmonized monitoring of atmospheric composition was initiated in the early 1970s, and the activity has generated a comprehensive dataset (available at http://www.emep.int ) which allows the evaluation of regional and spatial trends of air pollution during a period of nearly 40 yr. Results from the monitoring made within EMEP, the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, show large reductions in ambient concentrations and deposition of sulphur species during the last decades. Reductions are in the order of 70–90% since the year 1980, and correspond well with reported emission changes. Also reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are reflected in the measurements, with an average decrease of nitrogen dioxide and nitrate in precipitation by about 23% and 25% respectively since 1990. Only minor reductions are however seen since the late 1990s. The concentrations of total nitrate in air have decreased on average only by 8% since 1990, and fewer sites show a significant trend. A majority of the EMEP sites show a decreasing trend in reduced nitrogen both in air and precipitation on the order of 25% since 1990. Deposition of base cations has decreased during the past 30 yr, and the pH in precipitation has increased across Europe. Large inter annual variations in the particulate matter mass concentrations reflect meteorological variability, but still there is a relatively clear overall decrease at several sites during the last decade. With few observations going back to the 1990s, the observed chemical composition is applied to document a change in particulate matter (PM) mass even since 1980. These data indicate an overall reduction of about 5 μg m−3 from sulphate alone. Despite the significant reductions in sulphur emissions, sulphate still remains one of the single most important compounds contributing to regional scale aerosol mass concentration. Long-term ozone trends at EMEP sites show a mixed pattern. The year-to-year variability in ozone due to varying meteorological conditions is substantial, making it hard to separate the trends caused by emission change from other effects. For the Nordic countries the data indicate a reduced occurrence of very low concentrations. The most pronounced change in the frequency distribution is seen at sites in the UK and the Netherlands, showing a reduction in the higher values. Smaller changes are seen in Germany, while in Switzerland and Austria, no change is seen in the frequency distribution of ozone. The lack of long-term data series is a major obstacle for studying trends in volatile organic compounds (VOC). The scatter in the data is large, and significant changes are only found for certain components and stations. Concentrations of the heavy metals lead and cadmium have decreased in both air and precipitation during the last 20 yr, with reductions in the order of 80–90% for Pb and 64–84% for Cd (precipitation and air respectively). The measurements of total gaseous mercury indicate a dramatic decrease in concentrations during 1980 to about 1993. Trends in hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) show a significant decrease in annual average air concentrations. For other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) the patterns is mixed, and differs between sites and between measurements in air versus precipitation.

Environmental Science & Technology期刊范例研究

Abstract: 本文通过对EnvironmentalScience＆Technology期刊的研究，学习和借鉴该刊的先进经验和成功实践，总结和凝练其创新发展的本质属性与规律，提出我国科技期刊未来发展的基本战略。

Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities

Abstract: We submit that the safe operating space of the planetary boundary of novel entities is exceeded since annual production and releases are increasing at a pace that outstrips the global capacity for assessment and monitoring. The novel entities boundary in the planetary boundaries framework refers to entities that are novel in a geological sense and that could have large-scale impacts that threaten the integrity of Earth system processes. We review the scientific literature relevant to quantifying the boundary for novel entities and highlight plastic pollution as a particular aspect of high concern. An impact pathway from production of novel entities to impacts on Earth system processes is presented. We define and apply three criteria for assessment of the suitability of control variables for the boundary: feasibility, relevance, and comprehensiveness. We propose several complementary control variables to capture the complexity of this boundary, while acknowledging major data limitations. We conclude that humanity is currently operating outside the planetary boundary based on the weight-of-evidence for several of these control variables. The increasing rate of production and releases of larger volumes and higher numbers of novel entities with diverse risk potentials exceed societies’ ability to conduct safety related assessments and monitoring. We recommend taking urgent action to reduce the harm associated with exceeding the boundary by reducing the production and releases of novel entities, noting that even so, the persistence of many novel entities and/or their associated effects will continue to pose a threat.

PAH molecular diagnostic ratios applied to atmospheric sources: a critical evaluation using two decades of source inventory and air concentration data from the UK.

Abstract: Molecular diagnostic ratios (MDRs)—the ratios of defined pairs of individual compounds—have been widely used as markers of different source categories of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, it is well-known that variations in combustion conditions and environmental degradation processes can cause substantial variability in the emission and degradation of individual compounds, potentially undermining the application of MDRs as reliable source apportionment tools. The United Kingdom produces a national inventory of atmospheric emissions of PAHs, and has an ambient air monitoring program at a range of rural, semirural, urban, and industrial sites. The inventory and the monitoring data are available over the past 20 years (1990–2010), a time frame that has seen known changes in combustion type and source. Here we assess 5 MDRs that have been used in the literature as source markers. We examine the spatial and temporal variability in the ratios and consider whether they are responsive to known di...