Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the European Atmosphere: An Updated Overview

POPs are a group of chemicals which share some specific characterictics, that make them of high international concern. Due to their semivolatility, POPs present a widespread distribution being able to reach remote locations and areas after traveling long distances in the atmosphere where they have never been produced nor used. Different chemical families are considered as POPs, such as PCBs, OCPs, PCDD/Fs, PAHs, and, PCNs. In addition, some emerging contaminants are currently considered as candidate POPs, like PBDEs and PFCs. POPs exist in the atmosphere as gases and bound to particles depending on their physico-chemical properties. This affinity to gas or particulate phase is of relevant importance in the processes of POP atmospheric global transport and degradation. POPs are delivered to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems by atmospheric deposition, air-water interchanges and direct discharges. The general hydrophobic nature of POPs results in high affinity to organic matter and biota tissues. Consequently, organisms and sediments become final sinks of POPs, due to low metabolic activity for these compounds and slow degradation processes in the environment. A number of national and international actions have been promoted to reduce or ban their production and control their emissions to the environment. The UNEP Stockholm Convention adopted in May 2001. The Artic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) is measuring atmospheric concentrations of POPs in the artic region since it was established in 1991. At a European scale a big effort is being carried out combining the update of existing monitoring programmes with the generation of new legislations. Such is the case of the largest monitoring network across Europe gathering concentrations of POPs in air and deposition (EMEP). On the political side, the brand new European legislation on chemicals, REACH, will regulate the production of chemicals at a European scale. In addition, other POPs monitoring programmes exist at regional or national scales and a large number of ;independent; sites measuring atmospheric concentrations of POPs are spread out in the European geography. Considering such a scenario it seems obvious that a strong effort in harmonization and communication of results and monitoring and research strategies needs to be achieved. A step to facilitate this needed interaction was the workshop on ;Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the European Atmosphere ; Concentration, Deposition and Sources in Europe; organized by the European Commission Joint Research Center held in October 17-19th, 2005 in Stresa (Italy). It was one of the objectives of the workshop to gather top experts from Europe and North America to share their expertise on POP monitoring and research in the atmospheric compartment in order to evaluate their current status in Europe. Invited experts develop their professional activities either in the existing POPs monitoring networks or in research institutions closely linked to POPs research. Other objectives of the workshop were to explore future research lines on the topic and to establish links with the existing science and new policies in Europe regarding chemicals. Twenty oral communications were presented covering relevant key issues on POPs: In this report a compilation of the extended abstracts submitted by the participants is presented, whereas the working result output of the workshop will be submitted as an article to a peer-reviewed scientific journal.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) at the JRC Ispra Site: Air Concentrations, Congener Patterns and Seasonal Variation-Results from the 1st Year of Atmospheric Monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) at the Ispra EMEP Station

With the aim of gathering information on atmospheric POPs concentrations in one of the ¿monitoring holes¿ in Europe, a monitoring and research atmospheric site was set up at the JRC Ispra Site. Regular monitoring activities started on April 2005 and finished on March 2007 in this first stage. Air and precipitation samples were collected regularly throughout this period. First results obtained on PCBs ambient air concentrations (7 indicator PCBs: 28, 52, 101, 118, 153, 138 and 180) from the first year of monitoring (April 2005-2006) are presented in this report. In addition, congener patterns, air gas/particulate phase partition and seasonal variation are discussed. The range of ¿7 PCB total (gas + particulate phases) monthly averaged concentration during the sampling period varied from 76 ± 17 to 31 ± 5 pg m-3. Concentrations are within the range of those reported for rural, semi-rural or remote areas around the world. A seasonal variation of air concentrations was observed, with higher levels in summer months (higher average temperatures) and lower values in winter (lower average temperatures). In addition, indications of seasonal variation affecting congener patterns and the gas - particulate phase partition for the studied PCB were found. PCBs were in general predominant in the air gas phase, dominating therefore the contribution to the total airborne concentration, although the percentage in the gas phase decreases when increasing level of chlorination and during the low temperature season (winter months). A one year data set of PCB ambient air concentrations has been generated, constituting a useful dataset that now remains available for further use, such as inclusion in the EMEP network or for POPs fate modelling validation and future risk assessment of POPs in sub-alpine locations. More results for other target POPs are under processing and are expected to be reported soon.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Elements in Tap Water. Part 3. Effect of Sample Volume and Stagnation Time on the Concentration of the Element.

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra

Review On Production Processes Of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (DECABDE) Used In Polymeric Applications In Electrical And Electronic Equipment, And Assessment Of The Availability Of Potential Alternatives To DECABDE

In this study commissioned by DG ENV, the JRC-IHCP-ECB has reviewed the production processes of DecaBDE, in particular its NonaBDE content, and explored the availability of potential DecaBDE alternatives used in polymeric applications for EEE (cost of substitution and recyclability of alternatives was outside the scope of the study).JRC.I.3-Toxicology and chemical substance

Integrated Water Resources Management in Cities in the World: Global Challenges

Water scarcity and accessibility remain persistently amongst the most prominent global challenges. Although there is a wide agreement among international organizations that Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance are key to overcome water-related challenges, global assessments of the progress made by cities is lacking. This paper for the first time analyses the challenges of water, wastewater, municipal solid waste and climate change in cities. We used empirical studies (125 cities) based on the City Blueprint Approach and developed a statistical estimation model to estimate IWRM performances of another 75 cities. These 200 cities in total represent more than 95% of the global urban population. This comprehensive global picture enables us to evaluate the existing gaps in achieving water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). The best performing cities were Amsterdam and Singapore. Unfortunately, most cities do not yet manage their water resources wisely and are far from achieving the SDGs. For instance, targets regarding drinking water supply are still a challenge for many cities in Africa and Asia and challenges regarding sanitation are high in cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The same holds for solid waste management, climate adaptation, and people living in informal settlements. In another paper we will address the solution pathways to these global challenges

Integrated Water Resources Management in Cities in the World: Global Solutions

Population growth, urbanisation, climate change, biodiversity loss, energy use, water security and ageing infrastructures for water supply and treatment require a thorough understanding of the options available for moving towards sustainable cities. The present study provides an analysis of transformation patterns regarding integrated water resources management (IWRM) of cities across the globe. We evaluate IWRM in 125 cities with 48 mostly quantitative indicators collected for each city by performing a cluster analysis of 6,000 indicator scores following the City Blueprint Approach. We distinguish five clusters of cities which show a pattern of problem-shifting, i.e., the shifting of largely preventable water resources problems often in the following sequence: drinking water insecurity, pollution caused by inadequate wastewater treatment, inadequate solid waste management, inaction on climate change adaptation, and resource depletion. A city that can address and solve all these problems can be classified as water-wise. Based on the cluster analysis, seven principles are defined to enable urban areas to become water-wise. Because water takes a central position in the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), and is linked, directly or indirectly, to nearly all SDGs, success in IWRM is an important enabler for the other SDGs

Seasonal profitability of soil and water conservation techniques in semi-arid agro-ecological zones of Makanya catchment, Tanzania

This research article published by Elsevier B.V., 2021Soil and water conservation techniques are known to be profitable and widely promoted in sub-Saharan Africa. However, how their profitability vary across cropping seasons has not been fully explored. Thus, farmers are often faced with the dilemma of which agricultural technique(s) and/or combination(s) thereof to implement in which cropping seasons, and for which crops to maximize profits. In this paper, we investigated the profitability of two soil and water conservation techniques (terraces and borders) and compared them against the conventional flat cultivation in Makanya catchment Tanzania. Farmers in the area grow maize, beans, lablab and cowpeas over three cropping seasons (locally called masika, vuli and chamazi/kipupwe). Based on field survey of 382 farmers in 2019, it was found that aggregate yields were generally higher on fields with intercrop than those with monocrop with more than 0.5 ton/ha of total grain yields. Borders were generally more profitable (399 USD/ha) than terraces and flat cultivation during all three cropping seasons while flat cultivation was more lucrative during the masika than vuli season. Terraces was only lucrative for rainfed beans with Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.5 (208.7 USD/ha) and 1.2 (90.5 USD/ha) in masika and vuli respectively. Beans grown on borders during chamazi season had the highest profitability with Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.9 (399 USD/ha) compared to terraces and flat cultivation in all three cropping seasons. Whereas it was more profitable to grow maize, beans and lablab on borders, farmers could still realize appreciable profits by growing these crops as purely rainfed on flat cultivation especially during the masika season. It was concluded that in semi-arid zones, soil and water conservation techniques used in combination with other auxiliary practices such as irrigation, intercropping with legumes, mulching and manure application could greatly enhance profitability, but that depends on cropping season and market factors

Integrated Water Resources Management in Cities in the World: Global Challenges

Water scarcity and accessibility remain persistently amongst the most prominent global challenges. Although there is a wide agreement among international organizations that Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance are key to overcome water-related challenges, global assessments of the progress made by cities is lacking. This paper for the first time analyses the challenges of water, wastewater, municipal solid waste and climate change in cities. We used empirical studies (125 cities) based on the City Blueprint Approach and developed a statistical estimation model to estimate IWRM performances of another 75 cities. These 200 cities in total represent more than 95% of the global urban population. This comprehensive global picture enables us to evaluate the existing gaps in achieving water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). The best performing cities were Amsterdam and Singapore. Unfortunately, most cities do not yet manage their water resources wisely and are far from achieving the SDGs. For instance, targets regarding drinking water supply are still a challenge for many cities in Africa and Asia and challenges regarding sanitation are high in cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The same holds for solid waste management, climate adaptation, and people living in informal settlements. In another paper we will address the solution pathways to these global challenges