TY - JOUR A1 - Mazzola, T. A1 - Hanna, S. A1 - Chang, J. A1 - Bradley, S. A1 - Meris, R. A1 - Simpson, S. A1 - Miner, S. A1 - Gant, S. A1 - Weil, J. A1 - Harper, M. A1 - Nikmo, J. A1 - Kukkonen, J. A1 - Lacome, J.-M. A1 - Nibart, M. A1 - Björnham, O. A1 - Khajehnajafi, S. A1 - Habib, Abdel Karim A1 - Armand, P. A1 - Bauer, T. A1 - Fabbri, L. A1 - Spicer, T. A1 - Ek, N. T1 - Results of comparisons of the predictions of 17 dense gas dispersion models with observations from the Jack Rabbit II chlorine field experiment JF - Atmospheric Environment N2 - The Jack Rabbit II (JR II) chlorine field trials in 2015 and 2016 involved nine 5–20 ton releases of pressurized liquefied chlorine from a tank mounted 1 m above a broad flat desert sand surface. A model comparison study was initiated, where 17 widely-used dense-gas dispersion models were run by scientists in seven countries. Predictions were submitted following specified formats, using specified emissions and meteorology inputs. To compare with the model predictions, sets of observations were defined for the arc-maximum 1–3 s averaged concentrations (arc max C) and for cloud widths and heights (to 20 ppm and 200 ppm contours) at distances from 0.2 to 11.0 km from the release. The initial focus is on the three field trials (1, 6, and 7) that have the highest observed concentrations and that have detailed emissions information. It is found that these models are able to satisfactorily simulate (generally within a factor of two) the observed arc max C’s and their variation with downwind distance at this flat desert site. At each downwind distance, the scatter in the arc max C predictions covers about 1 ½ orders of magnitude, but the observed arc max C is within the range of the predictions. The median of the cloud width predictions is about 50% larger than the observed value for the three trials. The median of the cloud height predictions is within about 10% of the observed value. For both cloud width and/or height, there are a few models with large (factor of 3 or higher) overpredictions. Of the 17 models, when compared to observations, there is a core group of 5 or 6 with consistently (across all three trials and all distances) less mean error and scatter in their predictions of arc max C and cloud width and height. However, as a group, the 17 models are performing adequately (using the “factor of two” rule of thumb). An important caveat is that, at the JR II desert site, chlorine deposition is minimal. At a site with vegetation and/or organic-rich soil, the effects of removal of chlorine by deposition are expected to be significant. KW - Jack rabbit II chlorine field experiment KW - Dense gas dispersion KW - Model evaluation PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117887 VL - 244 SP - 117887 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-51845 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Monikh, F. A. A1 - Baun, A. A1 - Hartmann, N. B. A1 - Kortet, R. A1 - Akkanen, J. A1 - Lee, J.-S. A1 - Shi, H. A1 - Lahive, E. A1 - Uurasjärvi, E. A1 - Tufenkji, N. A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Wiesner, Yosri A1 - Grossart, H.-P. A1 - Peijnenburg, W. A1 - Kukkonen, J. V. K. T1 - Exposure protocol for ecotoxicity testing of microplastics and nanoplastics JF - Exposure protocol for ecotoxicity testing of microplastics and nanoplastics N2 - Despite the increasing concern about the harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), there are no harmonized guidelines or protocols yet available for MNP ecotoxicity testing. Current ecotoxicity studies often use commercial spherical particles as models for MNPs, but in nature, MNPs occur in variable shapes, sizes and chemical compositions. Moreover, protocols developed for chemicals that dissolve or form stable dispersions are currently used for assessing the ecotoxicity of MNPs. Plastic particles, however, do not dissolve and also show dynamic behavior in the exposure medium, depending on, for example, MNP physicochemical properties and the medium’s conditions such as pH and ionic strength. Here we describe an exposure protocol that considers the particle-specific properties of MNPs and their dynamic behavior in exposure systems. Procedure 1 describes the top-down production of more realistic MNPs as representative of MNPs in nature and particle characterization (e.g., using thermal extraction desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry). Then, we describe exposure system development for short- and long-term toxicity tests for soil (Procedure 2) and aquatic (Procedure 3) organisms. Procedures 2 and 3 explain how to modify existing ecotoxicity guidelines for chemicals to target testing MNPs in selected exposure systems. We show some examples that were used to develop the protocol to test, for example, MNP toxicity in marine rotifers, freshwater mussels, daphnids and earthworms. The present protocol takes between 24 h and 2 months, depending on the test of interest and can be applied by students, academics, environmental risk assessors and industries. KW - Microplastics KW - TED-GC/MS KW - Cryo milling PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-023-00886-9 SN - 1754-2189 SP - 1 EP - 38 PB - Nature Protocols AN - OPUS4-58557 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -