Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Emerging Contaminants in Latin American Atmosphere

FILLMANN GILBERTO; KARINA S. B. MIGLIORANZA; BARRA RICARDO; GOMES COSTA P; ONDARZA PAOLA MARIANA; GAMBOA NADIA; JOHNSO RESTREPO BORIS; RESABALA ZAMBRANO C; FERNANDEZ R; EGUREN G; WANIA FRANK

Congreso; 11 th Biennial Meeting Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Latinoamérica.; 2015

The Latin American Passive Atmospheric Sampling Network (LAPAN) has been set up to enable studies of long-term spatial and temporal trends of atmospheric contaminants on a regional scale in a sustainable cost-effective way. It will also allow signatory countries to comply with Stockholm Convention (SC) demands on the identification of main sources and provide comparable data of POPs contamination. In addition, other contaminants such as current used pesticides (CUPs) are considered. The network employs passive samplers constituted by a stainless steel mesh cylinder filled with XAD-2 (styrene / divinylbenzene - copolymer resin). The passive atmospheric samplers have been deployed within Latin American countries since 2010. So far, the network runs 73 sites, covering areas with different backgrounds (low-impact (remote), urban, industrial and rural) including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Honduras. Moreover, sites from Antarctica were included. Thirty-nine PCBs congeners, twenty-seven organochlorine pesticides (DDTs, endosulfans, chlordanes, drins, metoxychlor, heptachlors, HCHs, mirex and HCB), and three CUPs (dichlofluanide, chlorothalonil and trifluralin) were quantified using a GC Perkin Elmer Clarus 500 gas chromatograph equipped with a 63Ni electron capture detector (ECD) and GC/MS Perkin Elmer Clarus 680 SQ-8T. In general, atmospheric (gas phase) contaminant levels were always higher at urban and rural than low-impacted sites. Bahia Blanca (Argentina) showed the highest levels of DDTs, endosulfans, PCBs and PBDEs while Puerto Maldonado (Peru) presented the highest chlordane levels. ΣPCBs were present in all sites with concentrations ranging from 3 to 29.1 pg m-3. Agricultural and urban areas showed the highest PCB levels (29.1 pg m-3). Although PBDEs levels were low (ranged from