To investigate the prevalence of voice disorders in the general population.
Analysis of data from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.
A public health survey was distributed to an open cohort of ...114,538 adults >18 years of age in the area of Stockholm County, Sweden. The survey included one question about voice problems, estimating the extent of occurrence of voice problems, excluding voice problems during colds/upper airway infections. The question was tested for validity and reliability in n = 166 voice healthy individuals and n = 183 patients with benign voice lesions. The construct validity was tested against two established self-assessment questionnaires. The question was established to correspond to tiring, strain, and hoarseness. Prevalence of voice problems and correlations with age, gender, occupation, hearing, smoking, and socio-economic status were calculated.
The overall prevalence of voice disorders in the entire group was estimated to 16.9%, where 15.5% voice problems were rated to occur to a small extent and 1.4% to a great extent. Women were significantly more prone to report voice problems than men. The highest ratings of a great extent of voice problems were found in both women and men >85 years of age. As for occupation, the highest prevalence of voice problems was found in teaching and service occupations.
The prevalence of voice problems was estimated to 16.9% in the entire group. Women reported significantly more voice problems than men and voice problems were significantly more common in ages >65. This study of self-reported voice problems in a general population is one of the largest of its kind.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been measured using passive air samplers (PASs) over two years (2017–2018) in the city of Tunis within the framework of the UNEP/GEF GMP2 projects to support ...Stockholm Convention implementation. Several POPs, although banned for a long time from Tunisia, were registered in relatively high amounts in the atmospheric compartment. The most unexpected compound is hexachlorobenzene (HCB), with concentrations ranging from 5.2 ng/PUF to 16 ng/PUF. Furthermore, the current results seem to confirm the presence of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its transformation products and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) at relatively high concentrations (4.6 ng/PUF to 9.4 ng/PUF and 2.7 ng/PUF to 5.1 ng/PUF, respectively), followed by hexabromocyclododecane (HCBD), which varies from 1.5 ng/PUF to 7.7 ng/PUF. Nondioxin-like PCB (ndl-PCB) concentrations in Tunis were very high (62.0 ng/PUF to 419.3 ng/PUF), higher than those in other African countries participating in this project. Uncontrolled combustion seems to be one of the most important sources of the emanation of dioxin compounds dl-PCBs and Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins PCDD/polychlorinated dibenzofurans PCDF. Toxic equivalents (TEQs) ranged from 4.1 pg WHO-TEQ/PUF to 6.4 pg WHO-TEQ/PUF. The perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) and congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) show relatively low amounts that remain below the African continent average. The PFAS pattern suggests a local source rather than long-range transport. These results constitute the first exhaustive work capable of providing an overview of the levels of POPs in the air in Tunis. As a result, it will be possible to set up an adequate monitoring program with specific investigations and experimental studies.
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•Banned POPs for long time were registered in relatively high amounts in the atmospheric compartment (HCB, DDT, HCHs …).•The highest concentration of ndl-PCB in Africa is recorded in Tunisia.•Uncontrolled combustion is the main source of organochlorine pollutants.•Examination of POPs levels and profiles in Tunisian air.
Urban sustainable development is today seen as one of the keys towards unlocking the quest for a sustainable world. One feature of urban sustainability is the increased interest in developing ...sustainable urban districts. For many of these developments, guiding sustainability documents are developed to frame future goals. However, few of these documents specify on which grounds they determine the sustainability of goals and they are largely developed as independent islands of local sustainability. This is unfortunate as cities and their districts are fully dependent on surrounding environments. Failing to include a holistic approach into the local planning increases the risk of sub-optimisation, future lock-ins and missed targets on a higher level. The aim of this study is to analyse whether the environmental and sustainability programme for Stockholm Royal Seaport, a new urban district in Stockholm, Sweden, can guide development of the district towards holistic ecological sustainability. By using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development a holistic template for an ecologically sustainable planet has been described, important sectors for the built environment have been identified and the environmental and sustainability programme for the district has been analysed. This study showed that the vision and operational goals put forward in the Stockholm Royal Seaport programme complies relatively well with the designed template. However, important deviations in all sectors but land use have been identified. These deviations arise in the translation process between theory and practice. The vision for the district and the implementation phase are not aligned due to too narrow a perspective of a sustainable urban district, lack of robust sustainability principles including use of such to identify key strategic questions. In addition to the lack of an all-embracing conceptual framework, there is also a lack of structures for cooperation between stakeholders and conflicts between local and regional agendas. Use of a unifying framework can describe desirable future scenarios where the local level does not contribute to violation of the universal sustainability principles and identify step-wise routes towards such scenarios.
•The sustainability guiding document for Stockholm Royal Seaport is analysed.•The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development provides a basis for the study.•Vision and goals aligns relatively well with a holistic sustainability approach.•Deviations occur in the translation process between theory and practise.
This research presents release inventories of unintentionally generated dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCB) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), which so far have not been developed or assessed. ...For the inventory development, the amended Toolkit methodology as developed for reporting under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, has been applied. Based on the activity rate (AR) obtained from various statistical yearbooks, reports, or scientific literature, and the emission factors (EFs) suited to each technology level, we estimated the preliminary release inventories of unintentionally produced dl-PCB and HCB from 36 source categories in China for the reference year 2015. The result showed that in 2015, 656 g TEQ of unintentionally produced dl-PCB and 2,145,504 g (or 2146 kg) of unintentionally generated HCB were released in China from these 36 source categories. Most of dl-PCB and HCB was released to air, 71% or 60%, respectively. For comparison – and for the sources which could be estimated for all three unintentional POPs – the total releases of PCDD/PCDF were 5695 g TEQ per year. Of these, 78% were released to air. For dl-PCB and HCB, the vast majority of the releases from the source group 7 – Production and use of consumer goods - is found in the products and not in air. With respect to source attribution and releases to air, the source groups SG3 - Heat and power generation and SG2 - Ferrous and non-ferrous metal production dominate the air emission inventory. Due to the lack of EFs, the calculated releases to the water and land were not well covered, which overall results in an underestimation of the total releases for all unintentional POPs.
For comparison, the release inventories from Japan and from several other countries that were developed using methodologies other than the UNEP Toolkit are presented as well.
•Release inventories for dl-PCB and HCB as unintentional POPs in China developed.•‘Heat and power generation’ and ‘Ferrous/non-ferrous metal production’ dominate air emissions.•Within limits, releases of dl-PCB and HCB compare with PCDD/PCDF releases.•There are a few inventories from other countries for comparison.
Passive air sampling (PAS) was used to evaluate organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polybrominated biphenyl, hexabromocyclododecane, polychlorinated ...dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and perfluoroalkane substances in the atmosphere of Medellin, Colombia.
PAS was carried out for three months (four quarters per year) over two consecutive years (2017 and 2018). This study allowed establishing the baseline of some pollutants in the city against which future temporal trends can be assessed. Furthermore, monitoring results suggested releases of DDT in the city or surrounding areas despite this pollutant was banned many years ago in the country. Moreover, this study evidenced the limited scope of the national laboratories to analyze persistent organic pollutants, specially brominated and fluorinated contaminants. However, there is an installed capacity to analyze organochlorine pesticide and indicator PCB in future national monitoring plans. Therefore, it is essential to realize efforts to improve the analytical capacity and increase the scope of the national laboratories. Furthermore, the PAS strategy was valuable for monitoring these pollutants in air. Finally, the results provide an overall view of persistent organic pollutants levels and represent an initial attempt to monitor and surveillance the releases of these pollutants in the city.
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•OCP, PCB, PCDD/PCDF, PFOS, PFOA, HBCD, and PBDE were detected in the atmosphere of Medellin, Colombia.•A baseline level of some POPs was established.•PFAS were monitored for the first time in Medellín, Colombia.
The instrument collection at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences houses a historically significant 10-foot achromatic refractor crafted by London instrument maker John Dollond. The telescope came ...into use at the Academy’s Observatory in Stockholm in 1761 and remained in service into the 1820s. This paper aims to add to the biography of this instrument, encompassing its six decades of active service and, after 150 years in storage, its transformation into an exhibition showpiece. The paper begins by introducing the telescope, its maker and the conflict involving Dollond and the Swedish mathematician and physicist Samuel Klingenstierna over the discovery of the achromatic lens. This dispute ultimately resulted in the telescope finding its way to the Stockholm Observatory. Subsequently, the paper delves into how Academy astronomer Pehr Wargentin perceived and utilized this state-of-the-art refractor, along with brief mentions of its use by his successors. The final section narrates how the telescope ended up in the permanent exhibition of the Stockholm Observatory Museum.
The issues resulting from plastic waste in the marine environment have highlighted a general failure to control this pollutant on both land and at sea. The international community is now realising ...that the increasing growth in the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean is reaching a critical point. This has led to a questioning of the current international governance arrangements for marine litter. The environmental and socio-economic impacts of marine litter are a symptom of policy failures and greater action is required “upstream” by industry on land to reduce these impacts. The Stockholm and Basel Conventions are international binding instruments that offer the best opportunity to reduce the impacts of plastics and plastic waste globally. We examine weaknesses in how hazardous wastes are categorised and the options to close the gaps in the current framework that allow for and keep pace with innovation. Both conventions are found to be inadequate to manage the entire lifecycle of all plastic applications. Options are suggested for strengthening the international legal and policy framework in order to reduce on a global scale 1) the quantity of plastic waste generated, and 2) the hazard of plastics throughout their lifecycle.
•The lifecycle of plastics classified as non-hazardous is not adequately managed.•Policy must be designed to support supply and demand and stabilise end-markets.•Extended Producer Responsibility must incentivise “upstream” design changes.•Transparency in international trade can provide stability to domestic end-markets.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemicals that are designated as persistent organic pollutants. They were used for the production of multifarious products but their manufacture, and ...uses were banned under the Stockholm convention which took effect in 2004. The parties to the convention had prepared national implementation plans (NIPs) detailing management measures for persistent organic pollutants including PCBs. In the current review, the NIPs of 34 African countries were reviewed to assess the size of PCBs stockpiles, their storage conditions, and the management of PCBs contaminated sites. The results showed that each of the African countries examined, except Egypt, has stored PCBs stockpiles in open fields. There are several PCBs contaminated sites scattered across African countries with Malawi having the largest number of contaminated sites, 211 as of 2005. Many of these sites are not well managed and there are only few monitoring activities of the levels of PCBs. Thus, strict implementation of the Stockholm Convention and the NIPs to reduce the PCBs stockpiles size, and appropriate management of PCBs are required in Africa.
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•The National implementation plans (NIPs) of 34 African countries were reviewed.•There is not much difference in PCBs status in the updated NIPs with respect to the first NIPs.•PCBs stockpiles in many African countries are in poor storage condition.•Many African countries lack national legislation or regulatory measures for PCBs.
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•Twenty year data on OCP in multi-environmental matrices were critically analyzed.•The OCP contamination level in Indian environment is the highest globally.•DDT, HCH and endosulfan ...were the most investigated chemicals.•Use of more advanced and modernized analytical technique is needed for future study.
While the application of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) has increased agricultural production and prevented vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and leishmaniasis, their extensive use has resulted in OCPs residue in various environmental conditions compartments. This review discusses the current knowledge on India's distribution, occurrence, and tendencies of OCPs in multi-ecological conditions (air, water, soil, and sediments) and biota (plants and animals). Moreover, the available analytical technique for measuring OCP in India was reviewed and detailed. Twenty years (2001–2020) published data/work on residual OCP contamination in different environmental matrices were reviewed and critically analyzed. The reviewed literature revealed that the contamination level of OCPs in the Indian environment is the highest globally. DDT, HCH, and endosulfan were the most investigated OCP compounds (notably air and water) in the Indian environment. Although the residual OCP has been documented well in soil, water, and sediments matrice, very little work is available concerning air matrix, indicating prioritization of future research on residual OCP in air. In the absence of advanced and modernized measurement techniques in India, the usage of more sensitive and accurate methods such as gas chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry (MALD-TOF MS) or GC-TOF are warranted to capture the presence of secondary and tertiary metabolites of OCPs in environmental samples which are specific toxicant to human tissues and organs. There is a need for mass awareness and training to the farmer and other stakeholders about the fate of OCP pesticides in the environment.
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