Agents de coneixement i expertesa tecnològica : grups TECNIO UdG

Presentació a càrrec de Marc Sabater, Sebastià Puig i Joseta Roca del grup TECNIO de la Universitat de Giron

Inputs, amplification and sinks of perfluoroalkyl substances at coastal Antarctica

The sources, biogeochemical controls and sinks of perfluoroalkyl substances, such as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), in polar coastal regions are largely unknown. These were evaluated by measuring a large multi-compartment dataset of PFAAs concentrations at coastal Livingston and Deception Islands (maritime Antarctica) during three austral summers. PFAAs were abundant in atmospheric-derived samples (aerosols, rain, snow), consistent with the importance of atmospheric deposition as an input of PFAAs to Antarctica. Such PFAAs deposition was unequivocally demonstrated by the occurrence of PFAAs in small Antarctic lakes. Several lines of evidence supported the relevant amplification of PFAAs concentrations in surface waters driven by snow scavenging of sea-spray aerosol-bound PFAAs followed by snow-melting. For example, vertical profiles showed higher PFAAs concentrations at lower-salinity surface seawaters, and PFAAs concentrations in snow were significantly higher than in seawater. The higher levels of PFAAs at Deception Island than at Livingston Island are consistent with the semi-enclosed nature of the bay. Concentrations of PFOS decreased from 2014 to 2018, consistent with observations in other oceans. The sink of PFAAs due to the biological pump, transfer to the food web, and losses due to sea-spray aerosols alone are unlikely to have driven the decrease in PFOS concentrations. An exploratory assessment of the potential sinks of PFAAs suggests that microbial degradation of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates should be a research priority for the evaluation of PFAAs persistence in the coming decade.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) through projects REMARCA (CTM2012-34673), SENTINEL (CTM2015-70535) and ANTOM (PGC2018-096612-B-100). The research group of Global Change and Genomic Biogeochemistry receives support from the Catalan Government (2017SGR800). IDAEA-CSIC is a Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Project CEX2018-000794-S).Peer reviewe

Legacy and novel flame retardants from indoor dust in Antarctica: sources and human exposure

The air humidity in Antarctica is very low and this peculiar weather parameter make the use of flame retardants in research facilities highly needed for safety reasons, as fires are a major risk. Legacy and novel flame retardants (nFRs) including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6- tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), Dechlorane Plus (DP), and other nFRs were measured in indoor dust sam-ples collected at research Stations in Antarctica: Gabriel de Castilla, Spain (GCS), Julio Escudero, Chile (JES), and onboard the RRS James Clark Ross, United Kingdom (RRS JCR). The GC-HRMS and LC-MS-MS analyses of dust samples revealed 117PBDEs of 41.5 \ub143.8 ng/g in rooms at GCS, 18.7 \ub111.6 ng/g at JES, and 27.2 \ub137.9 ng/g onboard the RRS JCR. PBDE pattern was different between the sites and most abundant congeners were BDE-183 (40%) at GCS, BDE-99 (50%) at JES, and BDE-153 (37%) onboard the RRS JCR. The 11(4)HBCDs were 257 \ub1407 ng/g, 14.9 \ub114.5 ng/g, and 761 \ub11043 ng/g in indoor dust collected in rooms at GCS, JES, and RRS JCR, respectively. The 119nFRs were 224 \ub1178 ng/g at GCS, 14.1 \ub113.8 ng/g at JES, and 194 \ub1392 ng/g on the RRS JCR. Syn- and anti-DP were detected in most of the samples and both isomers showed the highest concentrations at GCS: 163 \ub193.6 and 48.5 \ub161.1 ng/g, respectively. The laboratory and living room showed the highest concentration of HBCDs, DPs, BTBPE. The wide variations in FR levels in dust from the three research facilities and between differently used rooms reflect the different origin of furnishing, building materials and equipment. The potential health risk associated to a daily exposure via dust ingestion was assessed for selected FRs: BDEs 47, 99, and 153, \u3b1-, \u3b2-, and \u3b3-HBCD, BTBPE, syn- and anti-DP. Although the estimated exposures are below the available reference doses, caution is needed given the expected increasing use of novel chemicals without a comprehensive toxicological profile