Evidence for a decline of PCBs and PAHs in rural vegetation and air in the United Kingdom

Jones, Kevin C.; Sanders, Gordon; Wild, S. R.; Burnett, V.; Johnston, A. E.

doi:10.1038/356137a0

Cited by 130 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In the 1990s there was a long period of selection for M. graminicola resistance in wheat cultivars, yet the relative abundance of the pathogen was greater then than in the early 1980s when very susceptible cultivars were widely grown. There was no relationship between changes in the pathogen DNA ratio and changes in lead (26), cadmium (27), polychlorinated biphenyls, or polyaromatic hydrocarbons (28). There was, however, a close relationship between changes in the ratio of the two pathogens and changes in U.K. atmospheric SO 2 emissions (24, 25) over the 160-yr period (Fig.…”

Section: Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Wheat archive links long-term fungal pathogen population dynamics to air pollution

Bearchell

Fraaije

Shaw

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

164

143

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We used the PCR to study the presence of two plant pathogens in archived wheat samples from a long-term experiment started in 1843. The data were used to construct a unique 160-yr time-series of the abundance of Phaeosphaeria nodorum and Mycosphaerella graminicola, two important pathogens of wheat. During the period since 1970, the relative abundance of DNA of these two pathogens in the samples has reflected the relative importance of the two wheat diseases they cause in U.K. disease surveys. Unexpectedly, changes in the ratio of the pathogens over the 160-yr period were very strongly correlated with changes in atmospheric pollution, as measured by SO 2 emissions. This finding suggests that long-term, economically important, changes in pathogen populations can be influenced by anthropogenically induced environmental changes.Mycosphaerella graminicola ͉ quantitative PCR ͉ Phaeosphaeria nodorum ͉ septoria diseases ͉ sulfur

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Section: Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Wheat archive links long-term fungal pathogen population dynamics to air pollution

Bearchell

Fraaije

Shaw

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

164

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In addition there is a need to provide air quality information for the general public and to inform other scientific endeavours (for example, climate change research), and to provide an infrastructure that can readily respond to new and rapidly changing requirements, such as the specification of new pollutants requiring measurement, or assessment of episodes, such as local, regional or trans-boundary pollution events. Trends in ambient concentrations of a variety of pollutants in the UK, such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (Hassanin 2006;Coleman et al 1997), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Prevedourous et al 2004;Smith and Harrison 1996;Coleman et al 1997), polychlorinated biphenyls (Jones et al 1992;Coleman et al 1997), polybrominated diphenyl ethers ) and 1,3-butadiene (Dollard et al 2001), have been reported, but no such document exists describing concentration trends in particulate-bound metals.…”

Section: General Contextmentioning

confidence: 97%

Twenty-five years of nationwide ambient metals measurement in the United Kingdom: concentration levels and trends

Brown

Yardley

Muhunthan

et al. 2007

Environ Monit Assess

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Ambient air quality has been an important issue for humans and the environment for hundreds of years. More recently, definitive links have been identified between pollutants and adverse effects on human health and on environmental sustainability. Of particular concern since the last quarter of the twentieth century has been the presence of toxic 'heavy metals' in ambient air. In order to measure the concentrations of pollutants, including 'heavy metals', in ambient air, to assess human and environmental exposure, comply with developing legislation, and assess newly introduced abatement strategies, the UK government established nationwide air quality measurement networks in the late 1970s. The nationwide measurement of 'heavy metals' in ambient air began in the late 1970s, and in 1980 was developed into several national networks, aimed at different metals and different emissions sources. These networks were rationalised into the current UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network in 2003. The data produced by the current scientific operator of the Network, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), in 2005, marked 25 years of ambient 'heavy metals' measurement in the UK at a nationwide level. This paper celebrates this milestone and provides a novel and critical examination of Network operations, measured concentration levels, and trends, over the last quarter of a century.

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“…In response, we saw rapid declines of their concentrations in air, herbage, biota and foods (Alcock et al, 1993;Sanders et al, 1992;Jones et al, 1992;DeVault et al, 1996;Jeremiason et al, 1998). This most likely reflects the fact that following the production ban, emissions dramatically declined from point sources of industrial manufacture and major uses.…”

Section: Case Study: Pcbsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Chemicals that will not Go Away: Implications for Human Exposure to Reservoirs of POPs

Diamond

Harrad

2009

Persistent Organic Pollutants

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POPs continue to fascinate and at times disturb (horrify) researchers, policy-makers and the public. As earlier chapters of this book describe, POPs are found globally in every natural and disturbed ecosystem. Our understanding of the ability of POPs to cause a wide range of subtle adverse health effects at relatively low concentrations continues to grow. We continue to revise our estimates of their persistence upwards as monitoring shows their very slow degradation rates under a range of environmental conditions.In response to the continuing discovery of the persistence, bioaccumulative properties, and toxicity of POPs, regional, national and international policies ban the intentional production of compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), several organochlorine pesticides, such as mirex and dieldrin, and the brominated flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ethers (penta-BDE and octa-BDE, and most recently, deca-BDE). Policies and programs have also targeted the unintentional production and release of POPs such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs). Evidence of the success of these policies has been seen in immediate reductions of air concentrations, followed by declining concentrations in water bodies, soils, biota and our food supplies Persistent Organic PollutantsEdited by Stuart Harrad

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Evidence for a decline of PCBs and PAHs in rural vegetation and air in the United Kingdom

Cited by 130 publications

References 21 publications

Wheat archive links long-term fungal pathogen population dynamics to air pollution

Wheat archive links long-term fungal pathogen population dynamics to air pollution

Twenty-five years of nationwide ambient metals measurement in the United Kingdom: concentration levels and trends

The Chemicals that will not Go Away: Implications for Human Exposure to Reservoirs of POPs

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