Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic
atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their
atmospheric half-lives

J 2023

Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives

LUARTE, Thais, Victoria A. GOMEZ-ABURTO, Ignacio POBLETE-CASTRO, Eduardo CASTRO-NALLAR, Nicolas HUNNEUS et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives

Authors

Edition

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Göttingen, Germany, European Geosciences Union, 2023, 1680-7316

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10511 Environmental sciences

Country of publisher

Germany

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 6.300 in 2022

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/23:00131490

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8103-2023

UT WoS

001032496900001

Keywords in English

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE; ATLANTIC-OCEAN; NORTH-ATLANTIC; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CONTROLS; CHLORINATED PESTICIDES; PCB CONCENTRATIONS

Abstract

V originále

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are synthetic compounds that were intentionally produced in large quantities and have been distributed in the global environment, originating a threat due to their persistence, bioaccumulative potential, and toxicity. POPs reach the Antarctic continent through long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). In these areas, low temperatures play a significant role in the environmental fate of POPs, retaining them for a long time due to cold trapping by diffusion and wet deposition, acting as a net sink for many POPs. However, in the current context of climate change, the remobilization of POPs that were trapped in water, ice, and soil for decades is happening. Therefore, continuous monitoring of POPs in polar air is necessary to assess whether there is a recent re-release of historical pollutants back to the environment. We reviewed the scientific literature on atmospheric levels of several POP families (polychlorinated biphenyls - PCBs, hexachlorobenzene - HCB, hexachlorocyclohexanes - HCHs, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - DDT) from 1980 to 2021. We estimated the atmospheric half-life using characteristic decreasing times (TD). We observed that HCB levels in the Antarctic atmosphere were higher than the other target organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), but HCB also displayed higher fluctuations and did not show a significant decrease over time. Conversely, the atmospheric levels of HCHs, some DDTs, and PCBs have decreased significantly. The estimated atmospheric half-lives for POPs decreased in the following order: 4,4' DDE (13.5 years) > 4,4' DDD (12.8 years) > 4,4' DDT (7.4 years) > 2,4' DDE (6.4 years) > 2,4' DDT (6.3 years) > a-HCH (6 years) > HCB (6 years) > ?-HCH (4.2 years). For PCB congeners, they decreased in the following order: PCB 153 (7.6 years) > PCB 138 (6.5 years) > PCB 101 (4.7 years) > PCB 180 (4.6 years) > PCB 28 (4 years) > PCB 52 (3.7 years) > PCB 118 (3.6 years). For HCH isomers and PCBs, the Stockholm Convention (SC) ban on POPs did have an impact on decreasing their levels during the last decades. Nevertheless, their ubiquity in the Antarctic atmosphere shows the problematic issues related to highly persistent synthetic chemicals.

Citovat

LUARTE, Thais, Victoria A. GOMEZ-ABURTO, Ignacio POBLETE-CASTRO, Eduardo CASTRO-NALLAR, Nicolas HUNNEUS, Marco MOLINA-MONTENEGRO, Claudia EGAS, German AZCUNE, Andres PEREZ-PARADA, Rainier LOHMANN, Pernilla BOHLIN-NIZZETTO, Jordi DACHS, Susan BENGTSON-NASH, Gustavo CHIANG, Karla Andrea POZO and Cristobal J. GALBAN-MALAGON. Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Göttingen, Germany: European Geosciences Union, 2023, vol. 23, No 14, p. 8103-8118. ISSN 1680-7316. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8103-2023.

@article{2303826,
   author = {Luarte, Thais and GomezandAburto, Victoria A. and PobleteandCastro, Ignacio and CastroandNallar, Eduardo and Hunneus, Nicolas and MolinaandMontenegro, Marco and Egas, Claudia and Azcune, German and PerezandParada, Andres and Lohmann, Rainier and BohlinandNizzetto, Pernilla and Dachs, Jordi and BengtsonandNash, Susan and Chiang, Gustavo and Pozo, Karla Andrea and GalbanandMalagon, Cristobal J.},
   article_location = {Göttingen, Germany},
   article_number = {14},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8103-2023},
   keywords = {ENVIRONMENTAL FATE; ATLANTIC-OCEAN; NORTH-ATLANTIC; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CONTROLS; CHLORINATED PESTICIDES; PCB CONCENTRATIONS},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {1680-7316},
   journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
   title = {Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives},
   url = {https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/8103/2023/},
   volume = {23},
   year = {2023}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2303826
AU  - Luarte, Thais - Gomez-Aburto, Victoria A. - Poblete-Castro, Ignacio - Castro-Nallar, Eduardo - Hunneus, Nicolas - Molina-Montenegro, Marco - Egas, Claudia - Azcune, German - Perez-Parada, Andres - Lohmann, Rainier - Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla - Dachs, Jordi - Bengtson-Nash, Susan - Chiang, Gustavo - Pozo, Karla Andrea - Galban-Malagon, Cristobal J.
PY  - 2023
TI  - Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives
JF  - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
VL  - 23
IS  - 14
SP  - 8103-8118
EP  - 8103-8118
PB  - European Geosciences Union
SN  - 16807316
KW  - ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
KW  - ATLANTIC-OCEAN
KW  - NORTH-ATLANTIC
KW  - BIOGEOCHEMICAL CONTROLS
KW  - CHLORINATED PESTICIDES
KW  - PCB CONCENTRATIONS
UR  - https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/8103/2023/
N2  - Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are synthetic compounds that were intentionally produced in large quantities and have been distributed in the global environment, originating a threat due to their persistence, bioaccumulative potential, and toxicity. POPs reach the Antarctic continent through long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). In these areas, low temperatures play a significant role in the environmental fate of POPs, retaining them for a long time due to cold trapping by diffusion and wet deposition, acting as a net sink for many POPs. However, in the current context of climate change, the remobilization of POPs that were trapped in water, ice, and soil for decades is happening. Therefore, continuous monitoring of POPs in polar air is necessary to assess whether there is a recent re-release of historical pollutants back to the environment. We reviewed the scientific literature on atmospheric levels of several POP families (polychlorinated biphenyls - PCBs, hexachlorobenzene - HCB, hexachlorocyclohexanes - HCHs, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - DDT) from 1980 to 2021. We estimated the atmospheric half-life using characteristic decreasing times (TD). We observed that HCB levels in the Antarctic atmosphere were higher than the other target organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), but HCB also displayed higher fluctuations and did not show a significant decrease over time. Conversely, the atmospheric levels of HCHs, some DDTs, and PCBs have decreased significantly. The estimated atmospheric half-lives for POPs decreased in the following order: 4,4' DDE (13.5 years) > 4,4' DDD (12.8 years) > 4,4' DDT (7.4 years) > 2,4' DDE (6.4 years) > 2,4' DDT (6.3 years) > a-HCH (6 years) > HCB (6 years) > ?-HCH (4.2 years). For PCB congeners, they decreased in the following order: PCB 153 (7.6 years) > PCB 138 (6.5 years) > PCB 101 (4.7 years) > PCB 180 (4.6 years) > PCB 28 (4 years) > PCB 52 (3.7 years) > PCB 118 (3.6 years). For HCH isomers and PCBs, the Stockholm Convention (SC) ban on POPs did have an impact on decreasing their levels during the last decades. Nevertheless, their ubiquity in the Antarctic atmosphere shows the problematic issues related to highly persistent synthetic chemicals.
ER  -

LUARTE, Thais, Victoria A. GOMEZ-ABURTO, Ignacio POBLETE-CASTRO, Eduardo CASTRO-NALLAR, Nicolas HUNNEUS, Marco MOLINA-MONTENEGRO, Claudia EGAS, German AZCUNE, Andres PEREZ-PARADA, Rainier LOHMANN, Pernilla BOHLIN-NIZZETTO, Jordi DACHS, Susan BENGTSON-NASH, Gustavo CHIANG, Karla Andrea POZO and Cristobal J. GALBAN-MALAGON. Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic atmosphere over time (1980 to 2021) and estimation of their atmospheric half-lives. \textit{Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics}. Göttingen, Germany: European Geosciences Union, 2023, vol.~23, No~14, p.~8103-8118. ISSN~1680-7316. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8103-2023.

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