Research is lacking on the process of identification and assessment of environmental aspects in an environmental management system (EMS) context. The aim of this paper is to contribute knowledge by identifying factors of importance for the process that can be used as a basis when developing existing methods for identification and assessment of environmental aspects. The empirical base is quantitative and qualitative data from 46 ISO 14001-certified or EMAS-registered organizations from three counties in Sweden. Problem areas are also identified through a review of the concept literature in the EMS area. Six important areas where the identification and assessment process can be improved are identified: the definition of environmental aspects, the procedures for update of aspects, the aggregation of aspects, the exclusion of business considerations in the assessment, employee and stakeholder participation, and the competence levels of people involved in the process. Since the empirical data is taken from Swedish organizations, the results of this study are valid for Swedish conditions and may not be valid for other countries.

Identification and assessment of environmental aspects are crucial to an environmental management system, since significant aspects are decisive for other parts of the system. Stringency and transparency in identification and assessment are necessary if this process is to be reproducible. Reproducibility is in turn important for the credibility of the entire management system. A survey of the identification and assessment processes within the integrated forest product company Stora Enso has shown inadequacies regarding the reproducibility. Positive features and areas of improvement have been identified. The results of the survey are the basis for the development of a new, more reproducible method. This paper includes an approach for this new method that focuses on the identification process. The method is based on life cycle assessment methodology according to the international standards ISO 14040-42 and the documentation format in ISO 14048. The environmental aspects are aggregated in a classification and characterisation into impact categories. The categories are then used as operations environmental performance indicators

Particulate and dissolved Fe and Mn were measured once a week from May to September 1982 in the Kalix River, north Sweden. During winter baseflow the dissolved Fe concentration was 450 mu g 1 super(-1). Early snow-melt discharge increased the concentration slightly but during springflood maximum the concentration decreased to a minimum value of 60 mu g 1 super(-1) in mid-July. Particulate matter in the Kalix River is dominated by Fe which ranges between 14% and 38% of the ashed suspended load, similar to 70-80% of the total Fe load being retained by 0.45- mu m filters. Approximately 10% of particulate Fe can be accounted for by a detrital phase. The particulate Fe/Al ratio showed a mean value of 6.5 which is more than ten times the ratio in mean world river. Particulate Fe showed a peak during early snowmelt and decreased during maximum discharge similar to dissolved Fe. Dissolved Mn concentrations ranged from 1.1 to 53.4 mu m 1 super(-1) with a mean value of 11.2 plus or minus 12.4 mu g 1 super(-1), whereas particulate Mn ranged from 3.1 ti 18.2 mu g 1 super(-1), with a mean concentration of 10.6 plus or minus 4.9 mu g 1 super(-1). During May and June most Mn was transported in the dissolved phase whereas in July and August the particulate fraction dominated. There was a drastic increase in non-detrital particulate Mn with a concomitant decrease in the dissolved fraction in early July with peak values in mid-July and early August. The decrease in dissolved Mn and increase of particulate Mn is probably the consequence of two processes, namely addition of non-detrital particulate Mn to the river, possibly from lakes, and transformation of dissolved Mn to a particulate phase within the river. A combination of increased pH, temperature and particulate Mn triggered the precipitation of dissolved Mn, although the significance of each factor can not be evaluated from this study.

River water samples were collected ten times during a 24-month period at 16 stations in the Raane, Toere, Kalix and Torne rivers in northern Sweden. Silicon, Al, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, Na, Ba and Sr were measured in the aqueous phase and in addition Cu, Ni, Zr, Cr, Zn and V were determined in the suspended fraction. This report is restricted to six stations in the Kalix River. Silicon, Ca, Mg, Na, Sr and Ba are predominantly transported in dissolved phase, whereas most of the Fe and Al are in the suspended fraction. Mn is almost equally distributed between the phases. The annual run off from the Kalix River to the Bothnian Bay shows very high concentrations of Fe and Mn in the suspended matter. Furthermore, this fraction consists of at least four independent phases. Fe and Mn are not correlated and Mn might be of biogeochemical origin.

An automated computer-controlled sequential reading monochromator system for optical emission spectrometry with an inductively-coupled plasma as source is described. The system selects the set of emission lines which are best suited for each type of sample. Multi-element analysis of major and trace elements is done automatically, including sample changing, calibration, background correction and presentation of results.

A comparative study has been made of different dissolution and calibration methods for analyses by optical emission spectrometry (OES) utilizing inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and capacitively coupled microwave plasma (MWP) as excitation sources. The test substances were geological standard rocks, in which SlO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO CaO, Na2O, Ba, and some traces were determined. The results show that analyses by MWP-OES are severely disturbed by matrix effects; only in the presence of large quantities of ionization buffers e.g., [Sr(NO3)2] can MWP-OES yield rock analyses of very good quality. No buffers are needed for analyses by ICP-OES, for which the matrix effects are remarkably low. ICP-OES may suffer from annoying nebulizer disturbances when concentrated solutions are used but, with properly diluted solutions, all major and many trace elements can routinely be analyzed in 50-mg rock samples. MWP-OES on the other hand is poorly suited for trace element determinationsA comparative study has been made of different dissolution and calibration methods for analyses by optical emission spectrometry (OES) utilizing inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and capacitively coupled microwave plasma (MWP) as excitation sources. The test substances were geological standard rocks, in which SlO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO CaO, Na2O, Ba, and some traces were determined. The results show that analyses by MWP-OES are severely disturbed by matrix effects; only in the presence of large quantities of ionization buffers e.g., [Sr(NO3)2] can MWP-OES yield rock analyses of very good quality. No buffers are needed for analyses by ICP-OES, for which the matrix effects are remarkably low. ICP-OES may suffer from annoying nebulizer disturbances when concentrated solutions are used but, with properly diluted solutions, all major and many trace elements can routinely be analyzed in 50-mg rock samples. MWP-OES on the other hand is poorly suited for trace element determinations. © 1979 American Chemical Society.

A comparative study has been made of different dissolution and calibration methods for analyses by optical emission spectrometry (OES) utilizing inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and capacitively coupled microwave plasma (MWP) as excitation sources. The test substances were geological standard rocks, in which SlO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO CaO, Na2O, Ba, and some traces were determined. The results show that analyses by MWP-OES are severely disturbed by matrix effects; only in the presence of large quantities of ionization buffers e.g., [Sr(NO3)2] can MWP-OES yield rock analyses of very good quality. No buffers are needed for analyses by ICP-OES, for which the matrix effects are remarkably low. ICP-OES may suffer from annoying nebulizer disturbances when concentrated solutions are used but, with properly diluted solutions, all major and many trace elements can routinely be analyzed in 50-mg rock samples. MWP-OES on the other hand is poorly suited for trace element determinations. © 1979 American Chemical Society.

and DWD at larger depths, but DWD does also occur in some protected depressions where bottom depths may be 20-30 meters or less. DWD represents Postglacial deposits, whereas SWD represents more or less reworked tills. SWD largely consist of little altered rock detritus and are rich in silty, sandy or coarser fractions. DWD contains much clay sized material, but silts and sand may occur occasionally. In general SWD are rich in quartz and feldspars, whereas the DWD are poor in these minerals, but instead show higher contents of X-ray amorphus (background producing) matter, and clay-minerals. The relation Quartz-Feldspar also varies latitudinally, the feldspar-richest sediments occurring towards the North. DWD are enriched in Ti, Fe, Mn, Ba and probably some trace elements (e.g. Cu, Cr) whereas SWD are relatively rich in Si. Al, Ca, Na, and some traces occur in the same concentrations in both sediment types. DWD are identical to average shale in composition and SWD to average granite. This is probably due to a mechanical action, the panning of sediments by waves, bottom currents etc. preferentially moving clay and mica minerals into the deep basins, whereas coarse weathering residues, rich in quartz and feldspar, remain in shallow waters. Iron-manganese concretions occur extensively on the bottom areas that are protected from excessive abrasion and rapid accumulation. The nodules in the Bothnian Bay, are richer in Mn, Cu, Ni and Co than in other parts of Gulf of Bothnia. It is concluded that, in addition to organic matter, hydroxides and other fines may be important adsorbers of pollutants in sediments