Bulk atmospheric deposition of persistent organic pollutants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Central Europe

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are ubiquitous and toxic contaminants. Their atmospheric deposition fluxes on the regional scale were quantified based on simultaneous sampling during 1 to 5 years at 1 to 6 background/rural sites in the Czech Republic and Austria. The samples were extracted and analysed by means of gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. For all seasons and sites, total deposition fluxes for Σ 15 PAHs ranged 23–1100 ng m −2 d −1 , while those for Σ6PCBs and Σ12OCPs ranged 64–4400 and 410–7800 pg m −2 d −1 , respectively. Fluoranthene and pyrene were the main contributors to the PAH deposition fluxes, accounting on average for 19% each, while deposition fluxes of PCBs and OCPs were dominated by PCB153 (26%) and γ -hexachlorobenzene (30%), respectively. The highest deposition flux of Σ 15 PAHs was generally found in spring, while no seasonality was found for PCB deposition. For deposition fluxes for Σ 12 OCPs, no clear spatial trend was found, confirming the perception of long-lived regional pollutants. Although most OCPs and PCBs hardly partition to the particulate phase in ambient air, on average, 42% of their deposition fluxes were found on filters, confirming the perception that particle deposition is more efficient than dry gaseous deposition. Due to methodological constraints, fluxes derived from bulk deposition samplers should be understood as lower estimates, in particular with regard to those substances which in ambient aerosols mostly partition to the particulate phase. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11356-019-05464-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Atmospheric deposition of chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in central Europe analyzed by GC-MS/MS

“…Details of the deposition sampler were described in our previous study (Nežiková et al 2019 ). The deposition sampler is based on a sampler successfully applied in the MONARPOP project (Jakobi et al 2015 ; Offenthaler et al 2009 ), and improved later (Čupr and Pěnkava 2012 ; Nežiková et al 2019 ). It consists of a collection funnel (250 mm diameter) and a stainless-steel particulate filter holder at the bottom.…”

“…Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are exposed to POPs via atmospheric depositions (Mi 2012;Nežiková et al 2019). Deposition limits atmospheric residence time, and in combination with re-volatilization from soils and water bodies shapes the long-range transport potential of many POPs.…”

“…Deposition limits atmospheric residence time, and in combination with re-volatilization from soils and water bodies shapes the long-range transport potential of many POPs. Deposition fluxes for many POPs, such as PAHs, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and PCBs, have been measured and reported (Atlas and Giam 1988;Bidleman 1988;Škrdlíková et al 2011;Zhang et al 2012;Mi 2012;Jiménez et al 2015;Nežiková et al 2019). Previous studies reported that deposition of lipophilic organics in air is dominated by dry particle deposition (Mi 2012;Luo et al 2014;Luo et al 2016).…”

A miniaturized method for fast, simple, and sensitive pesticide analysis in soils

“…Both analyte groups are stable, lipophilic, and semi-volatile, and, as such, are distributed widely from their points of origin by water, air, and soil (Garrison et al 2014;Al Mahmud et al 2015;Chen et al 2017;Nežiková et al 2019), leading to further contaminations of, e.g., ground and surface waters. They can enter the food chain, which leads to their bioaccumulation in fat cells of several types of organisms (Kutz et al 1991;Nolan et al 2012) also posing a threat to human health.…”

Determinants of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Levels in Human Specimens: A Review

“…Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic chemical substances widely distributed in the environment, involving soil (1), air (2), and water (3). They can remain intact for a long period since they have long half-lives and could persist for years or decades in the environment (4).…”