https://hdl.handle.net/10481/49146 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:35:56 GMT 2026-04-06T06:35:56Z https://hdl.handle.net/10481/96416 Arseeni Pirkanmaalla - esiintyminen, riskinarviointi ja riskinhallinta (Summary and conclusions in English: Arsenic in the Pirkanmaa region in Finland: Occurrence in the Environment, Risk Assessment and Risk Management. Final results of the RAMAS project) Loukola-Ruskeeniemi, Kirsti; Ruskeeniemi, Timo; Parviainen, Annika Jenni Johana; Backman, Birgitta The RAMAS Project has investigated the occurrence of arsenic in the Tampere re- gion (Pirkanmaa) and has endeavored to assess the potentially arising health and eco- logical risks in regional scale, followed by the presentation of recommendations for the preventive and remediation actions. The three-year project (2004-2007) received nancial support from the LIFE Environment -program. The implementing partners were the Geological Survey of Finland, the Helsinki University of Technology, the Pirkanmaa Regional Environment Centre, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Agrifood Research Finland, Esko Rossi Oy and Kemira Kemwater. As a part of the work the project has mapped the areas where the natural arsenic con- centrations are elevated in bedrock, the soil cover or in ground water and surface waters. Also arsenic contents in arable land, crops, and in some wild berries and mushrooms were studied. Correspondingly, the most important potential anthropogenic sources have been located and evaluated. As to the health risk, the potable water from drilled wells turned out to be the main exposure route. The exposure for arsenic was demonstrated in the biomonitoring study. Arsenic concentrations in urine were clearly elevated among those households using arsenic-bearing well water. Additionally, an epidemiological survey showed that certain cancer types linked to arsenic are statistically more frequent in those areas where the limit of arsenic in well waters is commonly exceeded. Many of the local municipali- ties have made major efforts to extend the public water supply network to the areas suf- fering from elevated arsenic concentrations. This work is very important and should be continued. Arsenic is not a problem in arable lands and also the intake of plants seems to be very low. However, it is less appreciated that locally both the till cover and bed- rock in the region may contain naturally high arsenic concentrations. The most important anthropogenic arsenic sources in the region include few wood treatment plants, which have utilized copper-chromium-arsenic solutions in their production and closed sulphide mine sites. The environmental and ecological risks related to the various arsenic sources have been evaluated and the targets requiring remediation measures most urgently have been identi- ed. It is evident that preventive decisions made already during the planning phases of land use are the most effective risk management. The zone of naturally enriched arsenic extends southwards from the Tampere Region, through the Province of Häme towards the metropolitan area of Helsinki. Therefore, the work carried out will also bene t other parts of Finland. The Project outcome has been presented in numerous conferences held in Europe as well. Since arsenic is known to be a much more severe health and environmental problem in many other EU countries, such as Hungary and Romania, the risk management procedure developed in the RAMAS Project is expected to rise interest in other EU countries as well. The RAMAS Project has published several reports and risk area maps, which can be downloaded from the project’s website: www.gsf. /projects/ramas. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/96416 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/96415 Anthropogenic Arsenic Sources in the Tampere Region Parviainen, Annika Jenni Johana; Vaajasaari, Kati; Loukola-Ruskeeniemi, Kirsti; Kauppila, Tommi; Bilaletdin, Ämer; Kaipainen, Heikki; Tammenmaa, Jalle; Hokkanen, Tero This paper is the final report of TASK 2 which is part of the RAMAS project, in which scientists from the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), Pirkanmaa Regional Environment Centre (PREC) and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) participated. The work was performed during 2005/2006. In this report, information about anthropogenic sources of arsenic in the Pirkanmaa region (also called the Tampere region) was gathered and RAMAS performed complementary sampling and analyses in potentially contaminated areas. Data was acquired about chemicals containing arsenic (wood preservative agents, pesticides etc.), the metal industry and metallic products containing arsenic (e.g. gunshots), mining and waste management. Available data was gathered from the Chemical Register (KETU), the Register of Contaminated Land Areas and the Register of Surface Waters maintained by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Regional Environment Centers of Finland, from environmental authorities and other very diverse sources. Dozens of unpublished file reports on the risk assessments and remediation of contaminated soils provided by consulting companies and previous studies made by the Regional Environment Centers of Finland were studied to gather information about arsenic contamination. Information about environmental impacts of mining industry was obtained from geological publications. The data acquisition was difficult because information about contamination, concentrations and risk assessments of arsenic is scattered in unpublished reports and informal papers. RAMAS studied areas affected by soil and surface water contamination in one wood preservative plant (52 field analyses and 5 samples analyzed in laboratory), two mines (6 tailings samples analyzed for geochemical composition, leachability and toxicity, 6 lake and stream sediment samples and over 60 surface water samples), waste treatment and municipal waste water treatment plants. In total, over 100 samples were analyzed. The acquired data as well as sampling and analyses performed by RAMAS confirmed that wood preservation plants are the major source for arsenic in the Pirkanmaa region. They may pose a risk to nearby residents, surface waters and groundwater, but only affect rather small areas. Shotgun shooting ranges are possible arsenic contaminated areas though lead is the main concern in these sites. The mining industry may affect vast areas through air and especially through surface waters, which was shown in the RAMAS studies in the former Ylöjärvi mine. Arsenic is transported from the mine area along a seven kilometers long watercourse to Lake Näsijärvi. The mining activities can be traced from the lake and stream sediments as high concentrations of arsenic and other heavy metals. The studies of waste management also show that, in general, waste material does not contain high concentrations of arsenic. However, point source pollution from wood preservative product wastes or disposed CCA-treated wood can be a contamination risk in the surroundings of older, poorly isolated landfills. In addition to old landfills, the area around of scrap yards, closed factories, old refineries, foundries and tanneries are potentially arsenic contaminated areas. Animal shelters, like fur ranges, and the plastic industry among many other human activities are also probable contaminants though arsenic is not the main detrimental element. However, all of the contaminated sites in the Pirkanmaa region are relatively small compared to other European countries, such as extensive mining areas in southern Spain. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/96415 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/91112 XXX Reunión de la Sociedad Española de la Ciencia del Suelo. Cuaderno de Campo Fernández Ondoño, Emilia; Martín Peinado, Francisco José; Sierra Aragón, Manuel; Martínez Garzón, Francisco Javier; Ortega Bernaldo de Quirós, Eduardo; Ortiz Bernad, Irene; Sevilla Parea, Ana; Lorite Moreno, Juan Guía de campo con 4 intinerarios en los que se describen distintos suelos de la provincia de Granada que se incluyeron el la XXX Reunión Nacional de de Suelos (RENS 2015) https://hdl.handle.net/10481/91112 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/91100 Taller Docente. Enseñando Suelos Fernández Ondoño, Emilia; Ortiz Bernad, Irene; Sierra Aragón, Manuel; Martínez Garzón, Francisco Javier; Martín Peinado, Francisco José La propuesta de este taller es aportar un material que puede servir para enseñar las características básicas de los suelos, entender cómo se forman, cómo pueden erosionarse y cómo puede frenarse este proceso de degradación. XXX Reunión Nacional de Suelos de la Sociedad Española de la Ciencia del Suelo. Semana del Suelo https://hdl.handle.net/10481/91100