The aim of the Nordic Screening Group is to gather data that increases the knowledge on the occurrence and distribution of hazardous substances in the Nordic environment in order to provide supporting information that may serve as fundament or support for regulatory action. To this end, the group regularly plans screening studies to obtain a snapshot of the occurrence of potentially hazardous substances, both in regions most likely to be polluted as well as in some very pristine environments. The focus of the group is on less known, anthropogenic substances and their derivatives, which are either used in high volumes or are likely to be persistent and hazardous to humans and other organisms.
In 2022, the project steering group decided to perform a study on short-, medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in urban air. This decision was taken based on results from a previous screening study from 2019. One matrix was selected for analyses (i.e. air – particle phase) and three capitals could perform sampling based on the criteria (i.e. Helsinki, Reykjavik and Oslo).
The Nordic screening project was run by a steering group with representatives from the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, Aarhus University, Denmark, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Environment Agency of Iceland, the Environment Agency of the Faroe Islands, the Climate and Pollution Agency in Norway, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and the Swedish Chemicals Agency. The project was financed and supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Nordic Working Group for Chemicals, Environment, and Health and the Nordic Working Group for Oceans and Costal Areas as well as the participating institutions.
The preparation of air sampling material and the chemical analyses in this project have been carried out by NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research. The participating Nordic countries organised selection of sampling sites, collection of air samples and transport of samples based on sampling guidelines provided by NILU.