In this study, a substance flow analysis (SFA) for copper (Cu) was conducted, in which theinflow, stock, and outflow (in the form of diffuse emissions to soil and water) for Stockholmwere estimated for 2013 and compared with a previous study from 1995, hence allowing adiscussion on changes over time. A large number of applications containing Cu were analyzed(including power cables, copper alloys, heavy electrical equipment, tap water systems, roofs,cars, various consumer electronics, wood preservatives, and contact cables for the railroad).The results show that the inflow of Cu to Stockholm has increased between 1995 and 2013,both in total and per person, mainly as the result of an increase in heavy electrical equipment,power cables, and cars. The stock remains relatively unchanged, whereas the outflow hasincreased. For the outflow, the emission increase from brake linings is of greatest quantitativeimportance, with an estimated 5.8 tonnes annual emission of Cu to the environment ofStockholm in 2013 compared to 3.9 tonnes in 1995. Given that increasing inflows of limitedresources drive the global demand, continuous monitoring of flows through society andmanagement of outflow routes are crucial, including improvement of national legislationand regional environmental plans as well as efforts to increase resource-use efficiency andrecycling

The importance of a circular economy is today widely accepted and advocated, but among the challenges in achieving this, we find difficulties in the implementation of legislation and policies designed to control various waste streams from society. The example used in this article is wood that has been treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), which, in Sweden, has been covered by the rules for hazardous waste since 2002. One year later, in 2003, a survey showed that only 42% to 50% of the expected amount of CCA waste could be traced to the public waste management system. An updated material flow analysis for 2010 revealed that the figure had increased to 73%, whereas the fraction of correctly treated CCA wood waste had increased from 11% to 35%. However, almost one third of the expected volume was still not tracable, and half of the amount that was correctly submitted was incinerated together with nontoxic waste fractions. This results in, for example, arsenic contamination of slag and fly ashes that prevents the further use of these residue products. So, despite legislative instruments, there is still an urgent need for an improved collection of hazardous wood waste, as well as better routines for identifying hazardous flows and separating them from nonhazardous ones. For a circular economy to be achievable, a key priority should be to reduce the gap between intended directions and legislation, on one hand, and activities in practice on the other.

Bismuth (Bi) and silver (Ag) are used in increasing amounts and are consequently being emitted from various sources and showing high accumulation rates in soils when sewage sludge is applied on arable land. This study aimed to analyze the amounts of Bi and Ag in three cosmetic products (foundation, powder, and eye shadow) in order to study the flows in urban wastewater in Stockholm, Sweden. Analyses showed that Bi was present in very high concentrations (7,000 to 360,000 milligrams per kilogram) in one third of the analyzed foundation and powder samples, whereas Ag concentrations all were below the detection limit. These cosmetic products explained approximately 24% of the measured total Bi amounts per year reaching the WWTP (wastewater treatment plant), making cosmetics a major Bi source, whereas for Ag the corresponding contribution was <0.1% of the measured annual Ag amounts. The results were roughly adapted for Europe and the United States, estimating the Bi flows from cosmetics to WWTPs. On a global scale, these flows correspond to a non-negligible part of the world Bi production that, every year, ends up in sewage sludge, limiting the reuse of a valuable metal resource. From an environmental and resource perspective, foundations and powder products should be considered as significant sources of measured Bi amounts in sludge. This large Bi flow must be considered as unsustainable. For Ag, however, the three analyzed cosmetic products are not a significant source of the total Ag load to WWTPs.

Bismuth (Bi) is a heavy metal that over recent years has shown increasing concentrations in sewage sludge in Swedish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), indicating an increasing Bi use in the society. The high accumulation rate of Bi in soil when sewage sludge is used as fertilizer on arable land is of environmental concern. Bismuth is used in various consumer products to replace lead, but which sources in the society that explain the increasing amount of Bi in sewage sludge in the municipal WWTPs is however unknown. This study aimed to analyze one product group suspected to contain Bi, cosmetics, and three different products were chosen (foundation, powder and eye shadow) in order to study the flows in urban wastewater in Stockholm, Sweden. The chemical analyses showed that Bi was present in very high concentrations (>100 000 mg/kg) in one third of the analyzed foundation and powder samples, while mainly low concentrations were found in eye shadow. These cosmetic products explained approximately 24 % of the measured total Bi amounts reaching the WWTP in 2012, making cosmetics a major Bi source. It is therefore recommended to monitor the Bi concentrations in sewage sludge regularly. Efforts should be made to further examine the sources of Bi to WWTPs and to decrease the emission from Bi in cosmetics to the WWTPs.

End products of society (e.g. sewage sludge and incineration ashes) can be used as indicators of the use of chemicals in consumer goods. Through upstream work the sources of substances released from goods may be identified before the emissions reach the end products.

This thesis is a result of five studies, of which four were conducted using substance flow analyses (SFA) for silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi) and copper (Cu) reaching sewage sludge. The fifth is an SFA that explores the implications of the presence of As (from CCA-treated wood) in ashes. These studies helped fulfil the specific and overall aims of the thesis; to contribute to the general knowledge on diffuse emissions reflected in end products, by examining emissions of some heavy metals from various societal goods and the implications for end products, in this case sewage sludge and, to some extent, ashes.

The results from the studies, of which four had Stockholm as a study object, show the urban flows and accumulated amounts (stocks) of the heavy metals. The largest sources of the metals Ag, Bi and Cu in sewage sludge were identified to be textiles (Ag), cosmetics (Bi) and brake linings (Cu). For As (in CCA-treated wood) and Cu updated SFAs were performed and compared with earlier studies in order to follow the development and changes in flows over time.

The current use of the heavy metals studied can also be seen as a loss of resources, and as the metals should ideally be recovered as a part of a circular economy, urban and landfill mining as well as recycling are alternatives that need further exploring. The legislation of chemicals in consumer goods was identified as an important step in handling corresponding diffuse emissions.

As the use of dangerous substances in consumer products increases, these substances may also be found in society’s end products, among them sewage sludge. Measuring concentrations in sewage sludge can be a way to reflect the consumption of a substance. By using substance flow analysis, the inflow, stock and outflow of the specific substance to, e.g. a city region, may be analysed. Bismuth is a heavy metal that is found in increasing levels in sewage sludge in Swedish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and a similar increase cannot be excluded for WWTPs around the world. This study aims to examine possible sources that could explain the amounts measured in one Swedish WWTP. Household products such as cosmetics (24 %) and plastics (14 %) are found to be major sources of Bi measured in sewage sludge. The remaining unidentified amounts in this study (approximately 50 %) are most likely found in effluent waters from industries or sources outside the household. There is, however, no information on measurements of Bi released by industry available and there is no legislation in place that may encourage industry to conduct such measurements.

Silver och vismut är två metaller som på sikt kan anrikas i mark i samband med slamspridning och som därför är prioriterade enligt REVAQ, ett certifieringssystem för svenska reningsverk.

I Naturvårdsverkets förslag till ny författning (slamförordning) föreslås gränsvärden för bland annat silver. Silver är en toxisk tungmetall med antibakteriella egenskaper som ger skadliga effekter på båda människors hälsa och miljö redan vid låga koncentrationer. Vismut är en tungmetall som anses vara ”ogiftig” men som också kan ge skadliga effekter vid högre koncentrationer.

En substansflödesanalys utfördes för båda metallerna för att kartlägga inflödet till, stocken (upplagrad mängd i teknosfären) och utflödet från Stockholm under 2012. Avgränsning har gjorts till utflöden som hamnar i avloppsvattnet och på det sättet påverkar Henriksdals reningsverk. Utflödet i substansflödesanalysen blir därmed lika med ett inflöde till reningsverket. Fokus ligger på diffusa utsläpp av silver och vismut, men identifierade punktkällor räknas in i det slutliga resultatet med målet att förklara så mycket som möjligt av de uppmätta halterna av silver och vismut i Henriksdals reningsverk. Källor som har ett utflöde till avfall eller återvinning har inte inkluderats i denna rapport.

För år 2102 uppmättes en tillförsel av 61 kg silver och 116 kg vismut för Henriksdals reningsverk i Stockholm. Källor har identifierats för ca 56 % av uppmätt silver och 49 % av uppmätt vismut i denna studie. De källor med störst bidrag silver bedöms vara textilier (19 %), urin och fekalier (från bland annat amalgamfyllningar och föda) (15 %) samt städprodukter (7 %). För vismut är det kosmetika (23 %), plast (13 %) samt fordonstvättar (9 %) som bedöms vara källor med störst bidrag.

Utifrån erhållna resultat föreslår vi några åtgärder/strategier för reduktion av silver respektive vismut i urbant avloppsvatten. Vi diskuterar även aktörer som har möjlighet/rådighet att genomföra åtgärderna (Svenskt Vatten, avloppsreningsverk, myndigheter, producenter, verksamhetsutövare samt individer/konsumenter). En strategi som föreslås är att myndigheter ska informera och påverka producenter och verksamhetsutövare när det gäller silver och vismut i olika produkter samt verka för ändrad lagstiftning. Producenter kan ta ett eget ansvar att minska silver- och vismutinnehåll i produkter. Två identifierade kunskapsluckor och potentiella källor är silver i städprodukter samt vismut i plast.

Silver (Ag) can be a problem for wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and their capability to use sewage sludge as a soil fertilizer. Due to a high accumulation rate in soils, the levels of Ag in the incoming water at the WWTP must be reduced. This study aims to identify major diffuse emission sources in the technosphere through a comprehensive substance flow analysis of Ag in Stockholm, Sweden. Large inflows and stocks of Ag were present in electrical and electronic goods and appliances as well as in jewellery and silverware. The total inflow was 3.2 tonnes (4.2 g/person), the total stock was 100 tonnes (140 g/person) and the total outflow was 330 kg (430 mg/person). Major identified Ag sources with emissions ending up in the WWTP (total 26 kg, 34 mg/person) were food, amalgam and beauty products (via urine and faeces, 12 mg/person or 11% of incoming amount), and textiles (via washing, 17 mg/person or 16% of incoming amount). This study explains approximately 35% of the total 80 kg Ag in the incoming water at Henriksdal WWTP in Stockholm. Plastic, photography and beauty products were identified as possible sources of Ag that need to be examined further.