On the 7th of March 2024, the TecEUS project partners met at BOKU Schottenfeldgasse (Vienna) to conclude the project and discuss the overall outcomes and future directions. Attendees included Dominik Wiedenhofer (BOKU-SEC), Philipp Spörl (BOKU-IBLB), Simone Trimmel (MUL), Daniela Haluza (MedUni), Johanna Irrgeher (MUL), Ulrike Pitha (BOKU-IBLB) and André Baumgart (BOKU-SEC). Thomas Prohaska (MUL) participated online. With the project now completed, the team reflected on their findings and brainstormed potential areas for further investigation of TCE emissions, particularly in the urban spheres of Vienna.
A central topic of discussion was the material flow analysis performed by André Baumgart. This analysis revealed the total in-use TCE stocks in vehicles, photovoltaic systems and wind power within the city of Vienna, along with their predicted development. These findings are detailed in the manuscript “Accumulation and dissipation of technology-critical elements in the urban environment: A public health matter?” currently under review in the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
The team also discussed the necessity of establishing a more comprehensive dataset for the background levels of TCEs in pristine sites, which would provide a clearer baseline for comparison with urban areas. Furthermore, measuring TCEs in vertical gardens, which are highly exposed to human activities and provide benefits for sustainable development, was also considered of interest for future projects. Ensuring the safety of products from these gardens for consumption was identified as a key area of interest.
Additionally, plans were made for the wind tunnel developed in the beginning of the project. As discovered in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, the particle sensor would need to be repositioned to improve reproducibility.
The meeting was concluded with numerous ideas for future research on TCEs from various scientific perspectives and potential project ideas for follow-up questions.
