TY - JOUR A1 - de Krom, I. A1 - Heikens, D. A1 - Horn, Wolfgang A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Baldan, A. T1 - Metrological generation of SI-traceable gas-phase standards and reference materials for (semi-) volatile organic compounds N2 - EN 16516 sets specifications for the determination of emissions into indoor air from construction products. Reliable, accurate and International System of Unit (SI)-traceable measurement results of the emissions are the key to consumer protection. Such measurement results can be obtained by using metrologically traceable reference materials. Gas-phase standards of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air can be prepared by a variety of dynamic methods according to the ISO 6145 series. However, these methods are not always applicable for semi-VOCs (SVOCs) due to their high boiling point and low vapour pressure. Therefore, a novel dynamic gas mixture generation system has been developed. With this system gas-phase standards with trace level VOCs and SVOCs in air can be prepared between 10 nmol mol−1 and 1000 nmol mol−1. The VOCs and SVOCs in this study have normal boiling points ranging from 146 °C to 343 °C. Metrologically traceable reference materials of the gas-phase standard were obtained by sampling of the VOC gas-phase standard into Tenax TA® sorbent material in SilcoNert® coated stainless steel tubes. Accurately known masses between 10 ng and 1000 ng per VOC were sampled. These reference materials were used to validate the dynamic system. Furthermore, the storage and stability periods of the VOCs in the reference materials were determined as these are crucial characteristics to obtain accurate and SI-traceable reference materials. In a round robin test (RRT), the reference materials were used with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of providing SI-traceable standard reference values for SVOCs for interlaboratory comparison purposes. Based on the results from the validation, the storage and stability studies and the RRT, gas-phase standards and reference materials of VOCs and SVOCs with relative expanded uncertainties between 5% and 12% (k = 2) have been developed. These reference standards can be used as calibrants, reference materials or quality control materials for the analysis of VOC emissions. KW - SVOC KW - Dynamic calibration gas mixtures KW - Reference materials KW - Indoor air KW - Thermal desorption PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-565978 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aca704 VL - 34 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-56597 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahnke, Annika A1 - Beck, Aaron J. A1 - Becker, Richard L. A1 - Bedulina, Daria A1 - Braun, Ulrike A1 - Gerdts, Gunnar A1 - Hildebrandt, Lars A1 - Joerss, Hanna A1 - Klein, Ole A1 - Korduan, Janine A1 - Laforsch, Christian A1 - Lannig, Gisela A1 - Leslie, Heather A. A1 - Lips, Stefan A1 - Menger, Frank A1 - Nabi, Deedar A1 - Oberbeckmann, Sonja A1 - Primpke, Sebastian A1 - Pröfrock, Daniel A1 - Ramsperger, Anja F.R.M. A1 - Römerscheid, Mara A1 - Schmitt-Jansen, Mechthild A1 - Scholz-Böttcher, Barbara M. A1 - Tröppner, Oliver A1 - Wendt-Potthoff, Katrin A1 - Kühnel, Dana T1 - Perspective article: Multisectoral considerations to enable a circular economy for plastics N2 - Plastics are widely used but improper disposal and release lead to increasing global pollution, threatening environmental and human health. To address this issue, we suggest intersectoral collaboration to achieve zero plastic pollution. The outcomes of the project P-LEACH demonstrated the enormous complexity and range of potential toxic effects of plastic-associated chemicals and micro-/nanoplastics released into water from UV-weathered plastics. We initiated an intersectoral dialogue amongst scientists, manufacturers, regulators and representatives of civil society about how to alleviate the negative impacts of plastic pollution. Circular economy offers a framework for selecting non-toxic chemicals, extending product (re)use, and waste reduction, which act to alleviate pollution when applied to plastics. We suggest three measures to advance a circular economy of plastics: 1.) Increase simplicity of chemicals in virgin plastics combined with transparent information on the contents; 2.) Consider recyclability already in plastic material and product design; 3.) Foster communication through intersectoral dialogue. Major cornerstones are the provision of standardized, easy-to-use tools to characterize plastics and plastic leachates chemically and (eco)toxicologically, the enhancement of citizen awareness enabling them to make informed choices, the creation of economic incentives for manufacturers, and sector-specific regulations to provide products that safeguard environmental and human health. KW - Plastics KW - Circular economy KW - Cross-sectoral dialogue KW - Recyclability KW - Plastic-associated chemicals PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638280 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139326 SN - 0304-3894 VL - 496 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-63828 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tang, Chi-Long A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - Measurement of sub-4 nm particle emission from FFF-3D printing with the TSI Nano Enhancer and the Airmodus Particle Size Magnifier N2 - The emission of ultrafine particles from small desktop Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers has been frequently investigated in the past years. However, the vast majority of FFF emission and exposure studies have not considered the possible occurrence of particles below the typical detection limit of Condensation Particle Counters and could have systematically underestimated the total particle emission as well as the related exposure risks. Therefore, we comparatively measured particle number concentrations and size distributions of sub-4 nm particles with two commercially available diethylene glycol-based instruments – the TSI 3757 Nano Enhancer and the Airmodus A10 Particle Size Magnifier. Both instruments were evaluated for their suitability of measuring FFF-3D printing emissions in the sub-4 nm size range while operated as a particle counter or as a particle size spectrometer. For particle counting, both instruments match best when the Airmodus system was adjusted to a cut-off of 1.5 nm. For size spectroscopy, both instruments show limitations due to either the fast dynamics or rather low levels of particle emissions from FFF-3D printing in this range. The effects are discussed in detail in this article. The findings could be used to implement sub-4 nm particle measurement in future emission or exposure studies, but also for the development of standard test protocols for FFF-3D printing emissions. KW - Air pollution KW - Ultrafine particles KW - Sub-4nm particles KW - FFF-3D printing KW - Emission testing PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-595952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2024.2320430 SN - 0278-6826 VL - 58 IS - 6 SP - 644 EP - 656 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London AN - OPUS4-59595 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tang, Chi-Long A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Röllig, Mathias T1 - Improving the comparability of FFF-3D printing emission data by adjustment of the set extruder temperature N2 - Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a material extrusion-based technique often used in desktop 3D printers. Polymeric filaments are melted and are extruded through a heated nozzle to form a 3D object in layers. The extruder temperature is therefore a key parameter for a successful print job but also one of the main emission driving factors as harmful pollutants (e.g., ultrafine particles) are formed by thermal polymer degradation. The awareness of potential health risks has increased the number of emission studies in the past years. However, studies usually refer their calculated emission data to the printer set extruder temperature for comparison purposes. In this study, we used a thermocouple and an infrared camera to measure the actual extruder temperature and found significant temperature deviations to the displayed set temperature among printer models. Our result shows that printing the same filament feedstocks with three different printer models and with identical printer set temperature resulted in a variation in particle emission of around two orders of magnitude. A temperature adjustment has reduced the variation to approx. one order of magnitude. Thus, it is necessary to refer the measured emission data to the actual extruder temperature as it poses a more accurate comparison parameter for evaluation of the indoor air quality in user scenarios or for health risk assessments. KW - Ultrafine particles KW - Infrared thermography KW - Thermocouple KW - Indoor air quality KW - FFF-3D printer PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-572842 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2023.100217 VL - 18 SP - 100217 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-57284 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Roesch, Philipp A1 - Wittwer, Philipp A1 - Piechotta, Christian A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Sommerfeld, Thomas A1 - Kluge, Stephanie A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Huthwelker, T. A1 - Borca, C. A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg T1 - Levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in various wastewater-derived fertilizers - Analytical investigations from different perspectives N2 - Solid wastewater-based fertilizers were screened for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the extractable organic fluorine (EOF) sum parameter method. The EOF values for ten sewage sludges from Germany and Switzerland range from 154 to 7209 mg kg−1. For thermal treated sewage sludge and struvite the EOF were lower with values up to 121 mg kg−1. Moreover, the application of PFAS targeted and suspect screening analysis of selected sewage sludge samples showed that only a small part of the EOF sum parameter values can be explained by the usually screened legacy PFAS. The hitherto unknown part of EOF sum parameter contains also fluorinated pesticides, pharmaceutical and aromatic compounds. Because these partly fluorinated compounds can degrade to (ultra-)short PFAS in wastewater treatment plants they should be considered as significant sources of organic fluorine in the environment. The combined results of sum parameter analysis and suspect screening reveal the need to update current regulations, such as the German fertilizer ordinance, to focus not solely on a few selected PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) but consider an additional sum parameter approach as a more holistic alternative. Moreover, diffusion gradient in thin-films (DGT) passive samplers were utilized as an alternative simplified extraction method for PFAS in solid wastewater-based fertilizers and subsequently quantified via combustion ion chromatography. However, the DGT method was less sensitive and only comparable to the EOF values of the fertilizers in samples with >150 mg kg−1, because of different diffusion properties for various PFAS, but also kinetic exchange limitations. KW - Combustion ion chromatography KW - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) KW - Sewage sludge KW - Fertilizer PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-583429 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d3va00178d SN - 2754-7000 VL - 2 IS - 10 SP - 1436 EP - 1445 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - London AN - OPUS4-58342 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg T1 - Potential use of incineration bottom ash in construction – Evaluation of the environmental impact N2 - Knowledge of the long-term leaching behavior of potentially harmful substances is crucial for the assessment of the environmental compatibility of reusing municipal solid-waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) in construction, i.e., as a road base layer. BA fractions obtained from wet-processing aiming at the improvement of environmental quality were used to investigate the mobility of relevant substances. Eluates from laboratory-scaled leaching procedures (column percolation and lysimeters) were analyzed to learn about the long-term release of substances. Unsaturated conditions and artificial rainwater (AR) were used in the lysimeter tests to simulate field conditions. In addition, batch test eluates were generated at usual liquid-to-solid ratios (L/S) for compliance testing purposes. A variety of cations and anions was measured in the eluates. The wet treatment reduces the leaching of chloride and particularly sulfate by more than 60%. The release of typical contaminants for the treated MSWI BA such as the heavy metals Cu and Cr was well below 1% in the conducted leaching tests. An increase in the Sb concentration observed in the lysimeter experiments starting at L/S 0.75 L/kg and in the column experiment at L/S 4 L/kg is assumed to be related to decreasing concentrations of Ca and thus to the dissolution of sparingly soluble calcium antimonate. The same leaching mechanism applies with V, but the concentration levels observed are less critical regarding relevant limit values. However, on the long term the behavior of Sb could be problematic for the application of MSWI BA in construction. KW - MSWI bottom ash KW - Leaching KW - Batch tests KW - Lysimeter KW - Antimony PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-508421 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01086-2 SN - 1877-2641 VL - 11 IS - 12 SP - 7055 EP - 7065 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-50842 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Ratte, M. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Ecotoxicological evaluation of construction products: inter-laboratory test with DSLT and percolation test eluates in an aquatic biotest battery N2 - Background A European inter-laboratory test with 29 participating laboratories investigated whether a battery of four ecotoxicological tests is suitable for assessing the environmental compatibility of construction products. For this purpose, a construction product was investigated with the dynamic surface leaching test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-2) and the percolation test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-3). The eluates were produced centrally by one laboratory and were tested by the participants using the following biotests: algae test (ISO 8692), acute daphnia test (ISO 6341), luminescent bacteria test (DIN EN ISO 11348), and fish egg test (DIN EN ISO 15088). As toxicity measures, EC50 and LID values were calculated. Results Toxic effects of the eluates were detected by all four biotests. The bacteria test was by far the most sensitive, followed by the algae test and the daphnia test; the fish egg test was the least sensitive for eluates of both leaching tests. The toxicity level of the eluates was very high in the bacteria, daphnia, and algae test, with lowest ineffective dilution values of LID = 70 to LID = 13,000 and corresponding EC50 values around or even below 1 volume percent. The reproducibility (approximated by interlaboratory variability) of the biotests was good (< 53%) to very good (< 20%), regardless of the toxicity level of the eluates. The reproducibility of the algae test was up to 80%, and thus still acceptable. Conclusion It can be confirmed that the combination of leaching and ecotoxicity tests is suitable to characterize with sufficient reproducibility the environmental impact posed by the release of hazardous substances from construction products. KW - Inter-laboratory test KW - Construction products KW - Leaching tests KW - Ecotoxicity tests KW - Grouts PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-529198 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00514-x VL - 33 IS - 1 SP - Article number: 75 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-52919 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiler, L. A1 - Pfingsten, J. A1 - Eickhoff, H. A1 - Geist, I. A1 - Hilbig, H. A1 - Hornig, U. A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Krause, K. A1 - Kautetzky, D. A1 - Linnemann, V. A1 - Gschwendtner, M. A1 - Lohmann, D. A1 - Overeem-Bos, E. A1 - Schwerd, R. A1 - Vollpracht, A. T1 - Improving consistency at testing cementitious materials in the Dynamic Surface Leaching Test on the basis of the European technical specification CENTS 16637–2 – Results of a round robin test N2 - The environmental impact assessment of materials is usually based on laboratory tests, mostly in combination with models describing the longterm fate of the substances of interest in the targeted environmental compartment. Thus, laboratory tests are the fundamental link to achieve appropriate assessment conclusions which makes it essential to generate consistent results. This just as applies to the leaching of cementitious materials. In Europe, the leaching behavior of monolithic building materials is tested in the Dynamic Surface Leaching Test following the specification CEN/TS 16637–2. An interlaboratory comparison on European level regarding this technical specification showed relatively high intra- and interlaboratory variations for the tested materials (monolithic copper slag and cement stabilized coal fly ash). Therefore the German Committee for Structural Concrete (DAfStb) framed a guideline to specify additional testing conditions for cementitious materials. To assess the possible improvement by this guidelines measures, a round robin test with 11 participants from Germany and the Netherlands was conducted. This work aims to provide insight into the factors to be considered in the testing of alkaline materials, including sample preparation, and highlights crucial procedures and their manifestation in the results. All evaluated parameters showed improved results compared to the earlier round robin test. The relative standard deviations for repeatability (RSDr) and reproducibility (RSDR) of the elements calcium, barium, antimony, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium, which are the parameters evaluated in both round robin tests, were RSDr = 4%, 4%, 2%, 5%, 5%, and 5% respectively (4% in average) for this work, in comparison to the European round robin test with an average RSDr of 29% (17%, 17%, 20%, 40%, 36%, and 42%). The RSDR improved from 41% (30%, 36%, 29%, 57%, 40%, and 56%) to 14% (12%, 8%, 6%, 28%, 15%, and 12%). CO2 ingress during testing and the inaccuracy of eluate analytics for concentrations close to the determination limits were identified as the main sources of error. KW - Environmental assessment KW - Leaching KW - Heavy metals KW - Round robin test KW - Building Material PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114959 SN - 0301-4797 VL - 314 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-54647 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steger, S. A1 - Horn, Wolfgang A1 - Eggert, G. A1 - Krekel, C. T1 - Are cellulose ethers safe for the conservation of artwork? New insights in their VOC activity by means of Oddy testing N2 - Cellulose ethers, like methyl cellulose (MC) or hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), are widely used in conservation. They also occur as additives and rheology modifiers in various products like dispersions or gels. Do such products release harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC) during their accelerated aging? A mass testing series utilizing the Oddy test of 60 commercial cellulose ethers ranks the products in safe for permanent use (P, no corrosion), only for temporary use (T, slight corrosion), and unsuitable at all (F, heavy corrosion). Results show that 55% of the products passed the test whereas 33% are for temporary use as slight corrosion occurred on at least one metal coupon and only 11% failed the Oddy test. Raman measurements of the corrosion products identified oxides like massicot, litharge, cuprite, and tenorite among carbonates (hydrocerussite, plumbonacrite), and acetates like basic lead acetate, lead acetate trihydrate as well as lead formate as main phases. For example, commercial, industrial Klucel® G (HPC) scored a T rating through slight corrosion on the lead coupon. Basic lead acetate among other phases indicates the presence of acetic acid. Additional measurements of the sample with thermal desorption GC–MS utilizing the BEMMA scheme confirm the high acetic acid outgassing and reveal the presence of a small amount of formaldehyde. KW - Cellulose ether KW - Corrosion KW - Oddy test KW - VOC KW - BEMMA PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547591 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00688-4 SN - 2050-7445 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Springer Open AN - OPUS4-54759 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Juritsch, Elevtheria A1 - Jann, Oliver T1 - Determination of recovery rates of adsorbents for sampling very volatile organic compounds (C1-C6) in dry and humid air in the sub-ppb range by use of thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry N2 - The reliable measurement of very volatile organic compounds (VVOC) in indoor air by use of thermal desorption gas chromatography (TD-GC) in order to include them into evaluation schemes for building products even nowadays is a great challenge. For capturing these small molecules with carbon numbers ranging from C 1 –C 6 , strong adsorbents are needed. In the present study, recovery rates of nine suitable adsorbents of the groups of porous polymers, graphitised carbon blacks (GCB) and carbon molecular sieves (CMS) are tested against a complex test gas standard containing 29 VVOC. By consideration of the recovery and the relative humidity (50% RH), combinations of the GCB Carbograph 5TD, the two CMS Carboxen 1003 and Carbosieve SII as well as the porous polymer Tenax® GR were identified to be potentially suitable for sampling the majority of the VVOC out of the gas mix. The results reveal a better performance of the adsorbents in combination than being used alone, particularly under humid sampling conditions. The recovery rates of the chosen compounds on each adsorbent should be in the range of 80–120%. KW - VVOC KW - Indoor Air: Adsorbent performance KW - Recovery rate KW - Thermal desorption KW - Gas chromatography PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461389 VL - 1626 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-51106 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -