Suomen ympäristökeskus

 

This document specifies a method for the determination of the gross calorific value of sludge at constant volume and at the reference temperature 25 °C in a bomb calorimeter calibrated by combustion of certified benzoic acid. The result obtained is the gross calorific value of the sample at constant volume with both the water of the combustion products and the moisture of the sludge as liquid water. In practice, sludge is burned at constant (atmospheric) pressure and the water is not condensed but is removed as vapour with the flue gases. Under these conditions, the operative heat of combustion to be used is the net calorific value of the fuel at constant pressure. The net calorific value at constant volume can also be used, equations for the calculation are given only as this requires less additional determinations. This method is applicable to all kinds of sludge.

 

This document provides guidance on characterizing the modifications of river hydromorphological features described in EN 14614:2020. Both standards focus more on morphology than on hydrology and continuity, and include a consideration of sediment and vegetation. This document will enable consistent comparisons of hydromorphological forms and processes between rivers within a country and between different countries in Europe, providing guidance for broad-based characterization across a wide spectrum of hydromorphological modification of river channels, banks, riparian zones and floodplains. Although of lesser focus, it considers the indirect effects of catchment-wide modifications to these river and floodplain environments. Its primary aim is to assess ‘departure from naturalness’ as a result of historical and modern human pressures on river hydromorphology, and it suggests suitable sources of information (see EN 14614:2020, Table A.1) which may contribute to characterizing the modification of hydromorphological properties. In doing so, it does not replace methods that have been developed for local assessment and reporting. Decisions on river management for individual reaches or catchments require expert local knowledge and vary according to river type.

 

This document is concerned with the assessment of fish survival in pumping stations and hydropower plants, defined as the fraction of fish that passes an installation without significant injury. It does not concern indirect consequences of such installations, usually included in the notions ‘fish safety’ or ‘fish-friendliness’, like avoidance of fish affecting migration, behavioural changes, injury during attempted upstream passage, temporary stunning of fish resulting in potential predation, or depleted oxygen levels. This document applies to pumps and turbines in pumping stations and hydropower plants that operate in or between bodies of surface water, in rivers, in streams or estuaries containing resident and/or migratory fish stocks. Installations include centrifugal pumps (radial type, mixed-flow type, axial type), Archimedes screws, and water turbines (Francis type, Kaplan type, Bulb type, Straflo type, etc.). The following methods to assess fish survival are described: — Survival tests involving the paired release of live fish, introduced in batches of test and control fish upstream and downstream of an installation, and the subsequent recapture in full-flow collection nets. The method is applicable to survival tests in the field and in a laboratory environment. (Clause 6); — A validated model-based computational method consisting of a blade encounter model and correlations that quantify the biological response to blade strike (Clause 7). The computational method can be used to scale results from laboratory fish survival tests to full-scale installations operating under different conditions (Clause 8). The survival tests and computational method can also be applied to open-water turbines, with the caveats mentioned in Annex C. The results of a survival test or a computed estimation can be compared with a presumed maximum sustainable mortality rate for a given fish population at the site of a pumping station or hydropower plant. However, this document does not define these maximum rates allowing to label a machine as “fish-friendly”, nor does it describe a method for determining such a maximum. This document offers an integrated method to assess fish survival in pumping stations and hydropower plants by fish survival tests and model-based calculations. It allows (non-)government environmental agencies to evaluate the impact on resident and migratory fish stocks in a uniform manner. Thus the document will help to support the preservation of fish populations and reverse the trend of declining migratory fish stocks. Pump and turbine manufacturers will benefit from the document as it sets uniform and clear criteria for fish survival assessment. Further, the physical model that underlies the computational method in the document, may serve as a tool for new product development. To academia and research institutions, this document represents the baseline of shared understanding. It will serve as an incentive for further research in an effort to fill the omissions and to improve on existing assessment methods.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of culturable microorganisms in water by counting the colonies on a low-nutrient agar culture medium after incubation at 22 °C for 7 d. The method is intended to measure the operational efficiency of the treatment process of public drinking water supplies, including the water in distribution systems and containers. The method is particularly suitable to monitor water for human consumption which is low in nutrients and is distributed in temperatures below 20 °C. The method can be applied to all types of water, including pool and spa waters. NOTE 1 The low-nutrient agar in use in this document usually gives higher colony counts from water samples than nutrient-rich formulations of culture media typically used for enumeration of culturable microorganisms. NOTE 2 The method is also applicable for waters of very low nutrient content such as de-ionised, distilled or reverse osmosis waters. NOTE 3 This document describes the use of R2A medium. There are other formulations available, e.g. R3A medium that might be suitable for certain applications but go beyond the scope of this document.

 

This document gives guidelines for the restoration of rivers, including their channels, riparian zones and floodplains. The word ‘river’ is used as a generic term to describe permanently flowing and intermittent watercourses of all sizes, with the exception of artificial water bodies such as canals. Some aspects of landscape restoration beyond the boundaries of what are often considered typical river processes are also considered. A clear framework of guiding principles to help inform the planning and implementation of river restoration work is provided. These principles are applicable to individuals and organizations wishing to restore rivers, and stress the importance of monitoring and appraisal. This document makes reference to existing techniques and guidance, where these are appropriate and within the scope of this document. This document gives guidelines on: - the core principles of restoration; - aims and overall outcomes of river restoration; - the spectrum of typical approaches to river restoration with a focus on those that are nature-based and restore both physical and ecological aspects; - identifying opportunities for restoration and possible constraints, with a focus on physical and natural rather than socio-economic aspects; - different scales of restoration and how restoration works across different catchments and landscapes; - the importance of monitoring and appraising restoration work across the range of approaches and scales.

 

This document specifies a method for the determination of selected polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE) (see Figure 1 and Table 1) in sediment, suspended particulate matter and biota using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS) in the electron impact (EI), negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) or atmospheric pressure ionization (APCI) mode. The method is applicable to sediment and suspended particulate matter samples with limits of quantification of 0,2 µg/kg dry weight (dw) for BDE-28 to BDE-183, of 2 µg/kg dry weight (dw) for BDE-209. The method is applicable as well with lower limits of quantification (LOQ), if specific clean-up methods, described in Clause 10, Table 3, method 1 and method 2 in combination with measurement methods GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS after electron impact ionization (El) or negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) for BDE-209 are used. Depending on the analytical capability of the instrument limits of quantification down to 0,003 µg/kg dw for BDE-28 to BDE-154 and 0,02 µg/kg dw for BDE-183 and 1 µg/kg dw for BDE-209 and lower are possible. The method is applicable to biota samples with limits of quantification down to 0,000 2 µg/kg fresh weight (fw) (BDE-28 to BDE-154) and 0,03 µg/kg fresh weight (fw) (BDE-183), if specific clean-up methods, described in Table 4 in combination with measurement methods GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS after electron impact ionization (El) are used.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of culturable microorganisms in water by counting the colonies on a low-nutrient agar culture medium by spread plate inoculation after incubation at 22 °C for 7 d. The method is intended to measure the operational efficiency of the treatment process of public drinking water supplies, including the water in distribution systems and containers. The method is particularly suitable to monitor water for human consumption which is low in nutrients and is distributed in temperatures below 20 °C (Reference [1]). The method can be applied to all types of water, including pool and spa waters. The low-nutrient agar in use in this document usually gives higher colony counts from water samples than nutrient-rich formulations of culture media typically used for enumeration of culturable microorganisms (References [2], [3], [4]).

 

This International Standard specifies a method for the determination of the genotoxic potential of water and waste water using the bacterial strains Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 in a fluctuation assay. This combination of strains is able to measure the genotoxicity of chemicals that induce point mutations (base pair substitutions and frameshift mutations) in genes coding for enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of the amino acid, histidine.

 

ISO 22032:2006 specifies a method for the determination of selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in sediment and sludge using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in the electron impact (EI) or negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) mode. When using GC-EI-MS, the method is applicable to samples containing 0,05 to 25 micrograms per kilogram of tetra- to octabromo congeners and 0,3 to 100 micrograms per kilogram of decabromo diphenyl ether (BDE-209), respectively.

 

This document specifies a method for the sampling and laboratory preparation of benthic diatoms for ecological status and water quality assessments. The sampling and preparation procedures described can be used for later investigations using either light microscopy or molecular methods. Data produced by this method are suitable for production of indices based on the relative abundance of taxa. Analysis using molecular methods is not within the scope of the document.

 

This document gives guidance on procedures for the pro-rata multi-habitat sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates in rivers and streams. The term “pro-rata” reflects the intention to sample all the main riverine habitats present at a monitoring site according to the proportion of the site that it covers. It is an objective way to divide sampling effort among the different habitats. This guidance is applicable to all flowing waters, both artificial, modified and natural. This design enables comparable samples to be collected from any type of river, regardless of the habitats present. The pro-rata multi-habitat sampling is an overall approach rather than a specific method. This document is designed to: - support environmental and conservation agencies to meet the monitoring requirements of the WFD (Article 8, Annex II, and Annex V); - generate data sets appropriate for monitoring and reporting of sites designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive ensure that samples for comparing the overall composition of invertebrates from different stream types are comparable; - ensure samples for environmental quality assessments across different stream types are comparable even when sampled by different people; and - support river management and restoration initiatives. The pro-rata multi-habitat sample (MHS) provides: - a consistent way of sampling sites that is not dependent on the presence of particular types of habitat; and - guidance on a user-friendly strategy for collecting biological data depending on the distribution of substrate type. It is also ideal for: - understanding the distribution of biological community types across different physical river types; and - quality assessments based on deviation from reference, as adopted in the European Water Framework Directive.

 

This document specifies a method for quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge, treated biowaste and soil using liquid column chromatographic clean-up methods and GC/HRMS. Detection by MS/MS can be used in an equivalent way. The analytes to be determined with this document are listed in Table 1. The limit of detection depends on the kind of sample, the congener, the equipment used and the quality of chemicals used for extraction and clean-up. Under the conditions specified in this document, limits of detection better than 1 ng/kg (expressed as dry matter) can be achieved. This method is “performance based”. The method can be modified if all performance criteria given in this method are met.

 

This document specifies approaches for the estimation of measurement uncertainty of chemical and physicochemical methods in single laboratories based on validation data and quality control data obtained within the field of water analysis. However, this approach can also be used in many other areas of chemical analysis. In this document, the quantification of measurement uncertainty relies on performance characteristics of a measurement procedure obtained from validation and the results of internal and external quality control.

 

This document contains details on the sampling of domestic and industrial waste water, i.e. the design of sampling programmes and techniques for the collection of samples. It covers waste water in all its forms, i.e. industrial waste water, radioactive waste water, cooling water, raw and treated domestic waste water. It deals with various sampling techniques used and the rules to be applied to ensure the samples are representative. Sampling of accidental spillages is not included, although the methods described in certain cases may also be applicable to spillages. ISO 5667-10 is not applicable to sampling of microplastics in waste waters. Appropriate guidance is described in ISO 5667-27[2].