Spatial distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and dechlorane plus in Northeast Asia
Highlights
► XAD-2 resin-based PAS were deployed for one year in three Asian countries. ► The spatial distributions of PCBs, OCPs, and DP were investigated. ► Different distributions were observed among Mongolia, China, and South Korea.
Introduction
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been released into the environment over the past several decades, and are now widely distributed due to their physico-chemical properties, such as persistence and capacity for long-range transport. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants specifies the need to identify the source of POPs (e.g. organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs)) and to monitor these chemicals. Under this treaty, signed in 2001, parties to the convention should develop a national inventory of POPs. However, it is very difficult to determine the past use of these chemicals. Whilst there is some information available on past usage and current inventories of chemicals in many countries, environmental measurements aid in better understanding of the sources and transport of POPs (Du et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2009; Zheng et al., 2010).
PCBs have been commercially produced for use in dielectric fluids and insulators, and high levels have been detected in industrialised and urban areas (Jamshidi et al., 2007; Du et al., 2009). Stockholm Convention OCPs include dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, chlordane, toxaphen, and mirex. Developed countries have banned many OCPs because of their toxicity to humans as well as ecosystems. In some developing countries, however, several OCPs are still in use. An emerging pollutant, dechlorane plus (DP), is a polychlorinated flame retardant produced in the last four decades (Hoh et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2010). Ever since the presence of DP was first reported in air, sediment, and fish around the manufacturing plant (Hoh et al., 2006), research activities on this chemical have increased dramatically.
The atmosphere plays an important role in the movement of POPs. POPs originating from the middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere are believed to be transported by westerly winds. China is a great user of OCPs such as HCHs and DDTs (Wei et al., 2007), and several recent studies in China have shown a high concentration of POPs in the air (Jaward et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2009). Korea is downwind of China and thus air masses passing over China flow into Korea (see Fig. S1 in supplementary data). Among the countries of Northeast Asia, the investigation of Mongolia in particular is a novel one, as there has been no POP monitoring in this area before the present study. Global monitoring networks have never included this area (Pozo et al., 2006; Lee et al., 2007; Shunthirasingham et al., 2010).
The purpose of this study was to compare the contamination levels of PCBs, OCPs, and DP and to better characterise the spatial distributions of those chemicals in Northeast Asia. XAD-2 resin-based passive air samplers (PAS) were deployed at eight cities in three Asian countries—Mongolia, China, and South Korea—for one year. This is the first, preliminary study of POPs in Mongolia, done for the purposes of expanding the atmospheric monitoring network.
Section snippets
Passive air sampling
Passive air sampling was conducted for a year at eight cities in northeast Asia: Khovd and Ulan Bator in Mongolia; Beijing and Yanji in China; and Seoul, Busan, Pohang, and Jeju in South Korea (Fig. 1). Sampling sites included not only the capital and largest city of each country (Beijing, Seoul, and Ulan Bator) but also regions which have never been included in POP monitoring studies (e.g. Khovd, Ulan Bator, and Yanji). Detailed sampling information is given in Table S1 (in supplementary
Introductory remarks
The amount sequestered in a PAS can be converted to an estimate of air concentration (pg m−3), using sampling rate (R: m3 day−1) and sampling period (day). R is dependent on ambient temperature and ambient pressure, which is correlated with T1.75/P (Wang et al., 2010). In previous studies, the average R was 0.52 and 2.1 m3 day−1 for Arctic regions and tropical environments, respectively (Wania et al., 2003; Gouin et al., 2008). In addition, R varies with the physico-chemical properties of
Conclusions
Since the early 2000s, worldwide regulations (e.g. the Stockholm Convention) have been implemented in an attempt to protect against significant adverse human health and environmental effects of POPs. Accordingly, individual countries have begun to regulate and ban the use and manufacturing of these chemicals. However, the scope and timing of the regulations differ among nations. Thus, the differing contamination levels among countries are to be expected. Furthermore, in many cases air pollution
Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (12162KFDA015) and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (No. 2011-0028723). We would like to thank Dr. Sungmin Hong at Inha University for his efforts in deploying samplers. We are very grateful to Dr. Sung-Deuk Choi at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) for his support and advice.
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Current address: Center for Analytical Chemistry, Division of Metrology for Quality of Life, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 267 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseoang-gu, Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea.