Press releases

Latest press releases

• Policy Brief: Limiting sulphate load of wastewaters calls for environmental quality standards 2024-11-07
  The clean energy transition and the green transition are bringing mining and battery technology industries to Finland. As a result, sulphate discharges into inland waters and the Baltic Sea will increase. Sulphate also has beneficial effects in water bodies, and it is not currently classified as a harmful substance. However, a high local load may adversely affect aquatic organisms, especially in lakes with a naturally low sulphate concentration. In its new Policy Brief, the Finnish Environment Institute issues recommendations for reducing the harmful effects of the sulphate load in wastewaters.
• Results released: The fuel tanks of coastal defence ship Ilmarinen can be emptied in a controlled way 2024-11-05
  The investigation of the wreck of coastal defence ship Ilmarinen continued in the northern Baltic Sea in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone from 12 to 19 August 2024. The objective of the expedition made to the Ilmarinen shipwreck was to determine whether authorities could extract the oil from the wreck and how. The expedition was carried out in cooperation between authorities, including the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), the Finnish Navy, and Border Guard.
• Baltic Sea monitoring cruises: Poor oxygen conditions in the northern Baltic Sea and the open Gulf of Finland 2024-10-30
  The Finnish Environment Institute’s (Syke) marine research vessel Aranda and the coastal monitoring vessel have returned from their late summer monitoring cruises. The oxygen situation in the deep waters of the open Gulf of Finland remains poor, and the seabeds are generally dead at depths over 60 meters. The influx of saline water at the end of last year was not sufficient to improve the oxygen conditions in the deep waters of the main basin. The state of the Bothnian Bay is still better than the southern sea areas. However, its phosphorus content has increased, and the oxygen situation in the deep waters of the Bothnian Sea has deteriorated. The eutrophication of the southern coastal waters is generally at a moderate or poor level.