Assessing levels of POPs in air over the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America

CÉSAR N. PEGORARO; TOM HARNER; KYSU; MALISA S. CHIAPPERO

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 571 p. 172 - 177

0048-9697

The occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere of the near-coast South Atlantic Oceanwas studied. Airsamples were collectedusing a high-volumeair sampler(filterand polyurethane foam) on boardthe Argentinean research cruise R/V Puerto Deseado (CONICET). Samples were analyzed for 50 polychlorinatedbiphenyl (PCBs), 22 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 14 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). ThesePOPs classes showed a trend of decreasing levels from near-shore to open ocean sites. OCPs and PCBs were inthe same order of magnitude (2.71?87.1 pg/m3and 9.56?130 pg/m3, respectively) while PBDEs levels weresignificantly lower (0.69?2.58 pg/m3). Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), endosulfans, chlordanes, hexa-chlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and heptachlors were between 0.20 and 17.8 pg/m3, while drines and hexachloro-benzene (HCB) were at lower levels (0.28?3.71 pg/m3). The most frequently detected PCBs were congeners32, 28, 44, 52, 95, representingN50% of the total. The PBDEs congener pattern was dominated by congener 209(70%), followedby47and 99(16% and 7%,respectively). Air parcelback trajectoriesfor the studyperiod providedfew insights as trajectories mainly stemmed from the open ocean with limited inputs from continental sources.These results indicate that the concentration of POPs (namely PCBs, OCPs, and PBDEs) in air remain elevated inthe near-shore environment and then drop-off substantially beyond a distance of about 400 km. This has impli-cations for the loading of POPs and delivery to the marine environment in the near coastal zone.