26 research outputs found
Supplement to: Air concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 2002-2004 at a rural site in the Great Lakes
Atmospheric PBDEs were measured on a monthly basis in 2002-2004 at Point Petre, a rural site in the Great Lakes. Average air concentrations were 7.0 ± 13 pg m**-3 for the sum of 14BDE (excluding BDE-209), and 1.8 ± 1.5 pg m**-3 for BDE-209. Concentrations of 3 dominant congeners (i.e., BDE-47, 99, and 209) were comparable to previous measurements at remote/rural sites around the Great Lakes, but much lower than those at urban areas. Weak temperature dependence and strong linear correlations between relatively volatile congeners suggest importance of advective inputs of gaseous species. The significant correlation between BDE-209 and 183 implies their transport inputs associated with particles. Particle-bound percentages were found greater for highly brominated congeners than less brominated ones. These percentages increase with decreasing ambient temperatures. The observed gas/particle partitioning is consistent with laboratory measurements and fits well to the Junge-Pankow model. Using air mass back-trajectories, atmospheric transport to Point Petre was estimated as 76% for BDE-47, 67% for BDE-99, and 70% for BDE-209 from west-northwest and southwest directions. During the same time period, similar congener profiles and concentration levels were found at Alert in the Canadian High Arctic. Different inter-annual variations between Point Petre and Alert indicate that emissions from other regions than North America could also contribute PBDEs in the Arctic. In contrast to weak temperature effect at Point Petre, significant temperature dependence in the summertime implies volatilization emissions of PBDEs at Alert. Meanwhile, episodic observations in the wintertime were likely associated with enhanced inputs through long-range transport during the Arctic Haze period
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons not declining in Arctic air despite global emission reduction
Two decades of atmospheric measurements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were conducted at three Arctic sites, i.e., Alert, Canada; Zeppelin, Svalbard; and Pallas, Finland. PAH concentrations decrease with increasing latitude in the order of Pallas>Zeppelin>Alert. Forest fire was identified as an important contributing source. Three representative PAHs, phenanthrene (PHE), pyrene (PYR), and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) were selected for the assessment of their long-term trends. Significant decline of these PAHs was not observed contradicting the expected decline due to PAH emission reductions. A global 3-D transport model was employed to simulate the concentrations of these three PAHs at the three sites. The model predicted that warming in the Arctic would cause the air concentrations of PHE and PYR to increase in the Arctic atmosphere, while that of BaP, which tends to be particle-bound, is less affected by temperature. The expected decline due to the reduction of global PAH emissions is offset by the increment of volatilization caused by warming. This work shows that this phenomenon may affect the environmental occurrence of other anthropogenic substances, such as, the more volatile flame retardants and pesticides
PAH Measurements in Air in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
Polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) measurements were conducted
by Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) at four community
ambient Air quality Monitoring Stations (AMS) in the Athabasca Oil
Sands Region (AOSR) in Northeastern Alberta, Canada. The 2012 and
2013 mean concentrations of a subset of the 22 PAH species were 9.5,
8.4, 8.8, and 32 ng m<sup>â3</sup> at AMS 1 (Fort McKay), AMS
6 (residential Fort McMurray), AMS 7 (downtown Fort McMurray), and
AMS 14 (Anzac), respectively. The average PAH concentrations in Fort
McKay and Fort McMurray were in the range of rural and semirural areas,
but peak values reflect an industrial emission influence. At these
stations, PAHs were generally associated with NO, NO<sub>2</sub>,
PM<sub>2.5</sub>, and SO<sub>2</sub>, indicating the emissions were
from the combustion sources such as industrial stacks, vehicles, residential
heating, and forest fires, whereas the PAH concentrations at AMS 14
(âŒ35 km south of Fort McMurray) were more characteristic of
urban areas with a unique pattern: eight of the lower molecular weight
PAHs exhibited strong seasonality with higher levels during the warmer
months. Enthalpies calculated from ClausiusâClapeyron plots
for these eight PAHs suggest that atmospheric emissions were dominated
by temperature-dependent processes such as volatilization at warm
temperatures. These findings point to the potential importance of
localized waterâair and/or surfaceâair transfer on observed
PAH concentrations in air
Polychlorinated naphthalenes and co-planar PCBs in arctic air.
Concentrations of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) are reported for the first time in arctic air. The data represent combined air samples from the Barents Sea (n = 2), eastern Arctic Ocean (n = 10), Norwegian Sea (n = 2), and two land-based monitoring stations at Alert, Canada (n = 5), and Dunai Island in eastern Siberia, Russia (n = 3). Values for âPCN (pg m-3) were 6â49 for shipboard samples and 0.3â8 for land-based stations and were dominated by the 3-Cl and 4-Cl homologues, which accounted for 90â95% of the total mass. Average values for âPCB (pg m-3) for the shipboard samples were 126, 24, and 75 for the Barents Sea, eastern Arctic, and Norwegian Sea, respectively. Three-dimensional 5-day air parcel back-trajectories arriving at the ship at 850 and 925 hPa suggested that elevated PCB and PCN concentrations for shipboard samples originated in Europe. Concentrations (fg m-3) of coplanar PCBs in artic air were 3â40 (PCB 77) and 0.3â8 (PCB 126)about an order of magnitude lower than in urban air. Higher concentrations of PCB 77 and PCB 126, 347 and 5.0 (fg m-3), respectively, were found in the Barents Sea for two samples with elevated âPCBs. The proportion of coplanar PCBs to âPCBs was within the range of values reported for Aroclor and Clophen mixtures. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxicity of the air samples was assessed in terms of the TEQ (dioxin toxic equivalents) contribution of mono-ortho PCBs (congeners 105, 114, 118, 156), non-ortho (coplanar) PCBs (congeners 77 and 126), and dioxin-like PCNs for which toxic equivalent factors have been determined. The results show a 13â67% TEQ contribution of PCNs in arctic air, and it is concluded that further investigation of this compound class is merited
Characteristics of naphthalene and its sources in Edmonton, Alberta residences during winter and summer 2010
Residential living room, basement, and attached garage air concentrations of naphthalene were measured in Edmonton, Alberta. Sevenday average measurements were made in 50 nonsmoking homes in winter and summer 2010. Data on relative humidity, indoor and outdoor temperature, air exchange rate, home characteristics and occupantsâ activities were collected. Median indoor levels (0.32 g/m3 in winter and 0.29 \u10021dg/m3 in summer) were at the low end of the range from studies reported in scientific literature. Higher attached garage/living room naphthalene concentration ratios observed in summer versus winter suggest that attached garages make a greater contribution to indoor naphthalene levels in summer than in winter. Smoking and use of moth repellents are known sources of indoor naphthalene; however neither were factors in the homes studied. Statistical analysis of data captured in questionnaires did not reveal other established/recognized determinants of indoor naphthalene levels
Air concentration of polybrominated diphenyl ethers around the Great Lakes and the Arctic
Atmospheric PBDEs were measured on a monthly basis in 2002-2004 at Point Petre, a rural site in the Great Lakes. Average air concentrations were 7.0 ± 13 pg/m**3 for the sum of 14BDE (excluding BDE-209), and 1.8 ± 1.5 pg/m**3 for BDE-209. Concentrations of 3 dominant congeners (i.e., BDE-47, 99, and 209) were comparable to previous measurements at remote/rural sites around the Great Lakes, but much lower than those at urban areas. Weak temperature dependence and strong linear correlations between relatively volatile congeners suggest importance of advective inputs of gaseous species. The significant correlation between BDE-209 and 183 implies their transport inputs associated with particles. Particle-bound percentages were found greater for highly brominated congeners than less brominated ones. These percentages increase with decreasing ambient temperatures. The observed gas/particle partitioning is consistent with laboratory measurements and fits well to the Junge-Pankow model. Using air mass back-trajectories, atmospheric transport to Point Petre was estimated as 76% for BDE-47, 67% for BDE-99, and 70% for BDE-209 from west-northwest and southwest directions. During the same time period, similar congener profiles and concentration levels were found at Alert in the Canadian High Arctic. Different inter-annual variations between Point Petre and Alert indicate that emissions from other regions than North America could also contribute PBDEs in the Arctic. In contrast to weak temperature effect at Point Petre, significant temperature dependence in the summertime implies volatilization emissions of PBDEs at Alert. Meanwhile, episodic observations in the wintertime were likely associated with enhanced inputs through long-range transport during the Arctic Haze period