Occurrence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Argentina, South America: use of passive atmospheric sampler (PAS) vs. pine needles.

MIGLIORANZA KARINA SILVIA BEATRIZ; ONDARZA PAOLA MARIANA; GOMES COSTA P; GONZALEZ MARIANA; MITTON, FRANCESCA; GRONDONA SEBASTIÁN; SILVA BARNI, FLORENCIA; WANIA FRANK; BARRA RICARDO; FILLMANN GILBERTO

Congreso; Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe 25th Annual Meeting.; 2015

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), included in the Stockholm Convention, arechemicals of global concern due to their persistence, long-range transport andtoxicity. Atmospheric transport is responsible for pollutant dispersal over longdistances. As part of the Latin American Atmospheric Passive Sampling Network(LAPAN), a monitoring program involving the use of pine needles and passive airsamplers (PAS) was conducted. PAS using XAD-2 resin as a sorbent weredeployed for three consecutive one-year periods (2010-2013) at seven sites inagricultural, urban, industrial and natural areas throughout different regions ofArgentina. The latitude of the sites ranged from Bahía Blanca(38°42′S-62°16′W) inBuenos AiresProvinceto Río Gallegos (51°38′S-69°14′W), the southernmost site ofArgentina. The main objectives of the project were: 1- To gather new data onatmospheric pollution (at improved spatial and temporal resolution); 2? To assessthe influence of local and global sources by deploying PAS in rural, industrial,urban and remote areas; 3- To compare the occurrence and distribution of POPs inPAS and pine needles. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determinedby GC-ECD and GC-MS and concentrations expressed in units of pg/m3. At sites atlower latitudes, which are close to agricultural zones endosulfans (150 pg/m3) were the predominant POPs in air, with a relative abundance of a-/b-isomers similar tothat of the technical mixture (7:3). DDTs levels were also higher at lower latitudeswith a predominance of the parent DDT (100 pg/m3). On the other hand, PCBsconcentrations, ranging from 3.7 to 46 pg/m3, increased with latitude with higheraverage values at Río Gallegos with a predominance of lower chlorinatedcongeners (#18, 44, 52, 118). The industrial area of Bahia Blanca appears to be asource of PBDEs (8.3 pg/m3), increasing in strength from 2010 to 2013. Ourprevious results for pine needles showed a similar pollutant distribution pattern asthe PAS. However, metabolites (DDE, endosulfan sulfate, heptachlor epoxide)were more dominant in pine needles. Although both samplers were useful to assessthe atmospheric pollution by POPs, an integrated study using PAS and biologicalsamplers is suggested in order to understand the behavior of these compounds in theatmosphere.