Afterthoughts from an environmental pollution discovery: Interview with Sören Jensen

Jensen, Søren Sindberg

doi:10.1007/s13280-020-01453-2

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A few years after Silent Spring ’s publication, Søren Jensen identified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in white-tailed eagle samples for the first time, while analyzing for DDT with this new technique . PCBs were later confirmed to be as ubiquitous in the environment and food chain as DDT.…”

Section: Why Were Pfas Not Considered By Rachel Carson?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 A few years after Silent Spring's publication, Søren Jensen identified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in white-tailed eagle samples for the first time, while analyzing for DDT with this new technique. 5 PCBs were later confirmed to be as ubiquitous in the environment and food chain as DDT. This discovery was rapidly accompanied by the detection of several other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), ultimately leading to the first "dirty dozen" POPs appearing in the United Nations Stockholm Convention, which was adopted in 2001, almost 40 years after Rachel Carson's book was first published.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Avoiding the Next Silent Spring: Our Chemical Past, Present, and Future

Arp

Aurich

Schymanski

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

R achel Carson's Silent Spring, 1 published just more than 60 years ago, outlined how the indiscriminate use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a potent, environmentally persistent insecticide, was damaging the world's ecosystems, animals, and food supply. There were many other chemicals more persistent than DDT accumulating in the environment when Carson was writing, including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). While man-made, PFAS were not intended to cause harm, contrary to pesticides such as DDT. Today, ambient PFAS levels are contaminating rain, soil, and drinking water resources worldwide to such an extent that they have caused substantial, irreversible health and environmental damage. 2 Like DDT, PFAS had long been in use by the time Rachel Carson was writing Silent Spring (see Figure 1). However, their environmental presence went unnoticed by Carson and other contemporary environmental researchers. PFAS were entering the environment under the radar, except to those who were manufacturing and emitting them. 3

show abstract

Section: Why Were Pfas Not Considered By Rachel Carson?mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding the Next Silent Spring: Our Chemical Past, Present, and Future

Arp

Aurich

Schymanski

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Significant reductions were already achieved in the 1990s. After detection of PCB in environmental samples in 1966 (Jensen 1966;Jensen 1972), PCB were detected for the first time in human tissue, including human milk, in 1970 (Acker and Schulte 1970a;Acker and Schulte 1970b;Schulte 1971;Schulte and Acker 1974a;Schulte and Acker 1974b). As a result, during 1971/ 2 the PCB producers of the Western world (at that time only 4 remained) introduced voluntary restrictions on use.…”

Section: European and Non-european Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time Trends in Human Milk Derived from WHO- and UNEP-Coordinated Exposure Studies, Chapter 1: Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans

Malisch,

Schächtele,

van Leeuwen

et al. 2023

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Human Milk

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Temporal trends of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) in human milk were assessed by consideration only of countries with repeated participation in WHO/UNEP-coordinated exposure studies performed between 1987 and 2019. In contrast to a general estimation of time trends from all participating countries, this is a more precise approach because levels among countries are often highly variable. Studies on time trends for contaminants in human milk are important components of the effectiveness evaluation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). There is no stipulation of a quantitative goal for the rate of reduction/decrease in POPs levels, however, as a quantitative objective for studies, these should have the ability to detect a 50% decrease in the levels of POPs within a 10-year period.For non-dioxin-like PCB (calculated as the sum of six indicator PCB), a decrease of about 50% to 60% over 10 years was achieved in most of the five UN Regional Groups. Considerable decreases in concentrations with reductions of up to 95% over three decades were observed in European countries with high concentrations at the end of the 1980s, compared to slower decreases in less polluted ones. For the toxic equivalents (TEQ) of PCDD/PCDF and the total TEQ of PCDD/PCDF and dioxin-like PCB, a decrease of about 50% over 10 years was found mainly in Western European and some other countries with initially relatively high concentrations. TEQ concentrations of PCDD/PCDF decreased by up to 90% over three decades. Lower decreases observed in many countries have to be seen in the context of the quite low levels in these countries in comparison with other countries.

show abstract

“…Swedish scientists reported high parts-per-million levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides in species and their potential for toxicological impacts. 10 This triggered one of the earliest examples of a "voluntary ban/restriction" on chemical manufacture and use. Monsanto was the major manufacturer of the estimated 1.4 million tonnes of PCBs produced globally.…”

Section: ■ How the Story Startedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Related Chemicals in the Global Environment: Some Personal Reflections

Jones

2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

131

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What are POPs and why are they interesting and important?In this article, I have been given the chance to 'tell the story' of POPs, through personal reflections on how the field has developed. I hope I can do that by conveying some of the sense of excitement, interest and importance for the environment and society that motivated me as a young research scientist and reflect on some of the ongoing needs and priorities for the environmental chemistry and chemicals management fields.Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and related chemicals are fascinating, because of their combination of physical-chemical properties and complex effects. 1 Most are man-made, but some also have natural origins. They are persistent in the environment -but can be broken down -variously by biodegradation, atmospheric reactions, and abiotic transformations. They can exist in the gas or particle phases -or both -in the atmosphere, and in the dissolved or particulate phases -or both -in water. These combinations mean that they may undergo long-range transport in the atmosphere or oceans, or they may stay close to sources. Hence, emissions from one country are frequently a source of contamination to another country. They are also usually lipophilic, so -combined with persistence -this means they can accumulate in organisms and bio-magnify through food chains. We all have a baseline of POPs residues in our tissues -even the unborn foetus via placental transfer and the newly born baby via mother's milk. POPs in biological systems occur in mixtures, so confirming effects caused by POPs on humans and other top predators is never straightforward. Depending on which papers you read, POPs may be relatively benign, or they could be responsible for key sub-chronic and chronic

show abstract

Afterthoughts from an environmental pollution discovery: Interview with Sören Jensen

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Avoiding the Next Silent Spring: Our Chemical Past, Present, and Future

Avoiding the Next Silent Spring: Our Chemical Past, Present, and Future

Time Trends in Human Milk Derived from WHO- and UNEP-Coordinated Exposure Studies, Chapter 1: Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Related Chemicals in the Global Environment: Some Personal Reflections

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About