Annual report 2014 for environmental monitoring at AF Miljøbase Vats

Summary

NIVA performs a multi-year environmental monitoring program at the AF Miljøbase Vats facility (AFDO) in western Norway. This plant demolishes disused offshore installations and recycles metals. Several measures have been implemented to ensure environmentally sound operation of the plant, such as collection and cleansing of all surface water from the plant area prior to release to the sea and regularly watering of the area to minimize dust escape. Hazardous wastes are sorted and forwarded to appropriate disposal sites. The environmental monitoring of effluent water and contaminants in the adjacent fjord environment is carried out according to the requirements formulated in the permit from the Environmental Directorate for this facility. In 2014 this monitoring included measurements of:  Water samples from the water treatment plant (process water)  Water samples from wells in the quay  Samples of shellfish (mussels and crab) Analyses of water samples from the water treatment plant from the last quarter 2013 and all four quarter in 2014 showed that the plant's annual discharges were generally lower than those in the discharge permit. However, there was much variation in the content of individual components throughout the year. The presence of certain priority substances (octylphenol, PFOS and chlorinated paraffins) in the water samples indicated that these should be followed up extra carefully in future monitoring efforts. In water samples from groundwater wells on the quay area only very low concentrations of metals and oil were found and these results indicated that the quay area membrane functions as intended. In mussels and crabs, consistently low levels of the measured pollutants (corresponding state Class II or lower) were found. The levels measured were within what is normal for the west Norwegian fjords. The concentration of cadmium in crab was slightly higher previously, but these values were still lower than what are normal levels along the Norwegian coast. The potential weak tendency to increased mercury levels in mussels from 2013 was not confirmed in samples from 2014. A separate study of NORM (naturally occurring radioactive materials) in water samples from the treatment plant showed generally low values and verified that the NORM discharge was within the NORM discharge permit. Also NORM analyses in crab samples from Vatsfjord and Yrkjefjorden showed consistently low values lying within typical background values for west Norwegian fjords. The reported results for 2014 in NIVAs marine monitoring outside AF Miljøbase Vats show that the company have meet the requirements set in the permit from the environmental authorities.