The Magnitude and Spatial Range of Current-Use Urban PCB and PBDE Emissions Estimated Using a Coupled Multimedia and Air Transport Model

SO-MUM, a coupled atmospheric transport and multimedia urban model, was used to estimate spatially resolved (5 × 5 km²) air emissions and chemical fate based on measured air concentrations and chemical mass inventories within Toronto, Canada. Approximately 95% and 70% of Σ₅PCBs (CB-28, -52, -101, -153, and -180) and Σ₅PBDEs (BDE-28, -47, -100, -154, and -183) emissions of 17 (2–36) and 18 (3–42) kg y^–1, respectively, undergo atmospheric transport from the city, which is partly over Lake Ontario. The urban air plume was found to reach about 50 km for PCBs and PBDEs, in the direction of prevailing winds which is almost twice the distance of the wind-independent plume. The distance traveled by the plume is a function of prevailing wind velocity, the geographic distribution of the chemical inventory, and gas-particle partitioning. Soil wash-off of historically accumulated Σ₅PCBs to surface water contributed ∼0.4 kg y^–1 (of mainly higher congeners) to near-shore Lake Ontario compared with volatilization of ∼6 kg y^–1 of mainly lighter congeners. Atmospheric emissions from primary sources followed by deposition to surface films and subsequent wash-off to surface water contributed ∼1 kg y^–1 and was the main route of Σ₅PBDE loadings to near-shore Lake Ontario which acts as a net PBDE sink. Secondary emissions of PCBs and PBDEs from at least a ∼900 000 km² rural land area would be needed to produce the equivalent primary emissions as Toronto (∼640 km²). These results provide clear support for reducing inventories of these POPs

Plastic in the Arctic Ocean

[para. 1]: "The Arctic is a sensitive ecosystem and a harbinger of global change.  Indeed, the Arctic is warming at two to three times faster than the worldwide average, and polar bears, the Arctic's iconic top predator of the Arctic, are threatened. While global warming threatens the Arctic and its sensitive ecosystem, pollutio of Arctic waters poses another very real threa. The Arctic is the final "sink" or place of accumulation of many pollutants emitted from industrialised regions such as Northern America and Europe and well beyond. pollutants arrive in the Arctic by hemispheric air flows and by global water circulation patterns. Once i the arctic, pollutants resist degradation because of cold temperatures (which limit microbial degradation), and the Arctic has many dark months (which limits chemical degradation from sunlight). The Arctic ecosystem is also sensitive because pollutants are more available for accumulation by limited animal biomass. This availability is due to the limited "storage" capacity of the Arctic. For example, sparse Arctic soils do not allow for pollutant "storage" and "shielding" from biotic uptake, as is the case in temperate and tropical systems."</p

A Long Way From Home—Industrial Chemicals in the Arctic That Really Should Not Be There

It is hard to believe, but some of the chemicals in our couches, computers, and even phones can travel all the way to the Arctic. How is that possible? That is exactly what we were asking when we found chemicals that are used in everyday items—like computers, phones, and couches—in the Canadian Arctic. In this article, we will tell you about our research into these chemicals in the Canadian Arctic and what we found out about their abilities to “fly” and “swim” north to the Arctic. We will also share our ideas on how we can keep animals and people in the Arctic—and around the world—safe from some of these chemicals.</p

Application of Land Use Regression to Identify Sources and Assess Spatial Variation in Urban SVOC Concentrations

Land use regression (LUR), a geographic information system (GIS), and measured air concentrations were used to identify potential sources of semivolatile organic contaminants (SVOCs) within an urban/suburban region, using Toronto, Canada as a case study. Regression results suggested that air concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polycyclic musks (PCMs) were correlated with sources at a scale of <5 km. LUR was able to explain 73–90% of the variability in PCBs and PCMs, and 36–89% of PBDE and PAH variability, suggesting that the latter have more spatially complex emission sources, particularly for the lowest and highest molecular weight compounds/congeners.LUR suggested that ∼75% of the PCB air concentration variability was related to the distribution of PCBs in use/storage/building sealants, ∼60% of PBDE variability was related to building volume, ∼55% of the PAH variability was related to the distribution of transportation infrastructure, and ∼65% of the PCM variability was related to population density. Parameters such as population density and household income were successfully used as surrogates to infer sources and air concentrations of SVOCs in Toronto. This is the first application of LUR methods to explain SVOC concentrations

Stocks and Flows of PBDEs in Products from Use to Waste in the U.S. and Canada from 1970 to 2020

The time-dependent stock of PBDEs contained in in-use products (excluding building materials and large vehicles) was estimated for the U.S. and Canada from 1970 to 2020 based on product consumption patterns, PBDE contents, and product lifespan. The stocks of penta- and octaBDE peaked in in-use products at 17 000 (95% confidence interval: 6000–70 000) and 4000 (1000–50 000) tonnes in 2004, respectively, and for decaBDE at 140 000 (40 000–300 000) tonnes in 2008. Products dominating PBDE usage were polyurethane foam used in furniture (65% of pentaBDE), casings of electrical and electronic equipment or EEE (80% of octaBDE), and EEE and automotive seating (35% of decaBDE for each category). The largest flow of PBDEs in products, excluding automotive sector, to the waste phase occurred between 2005 and 2008 at ∼10 000 tonnes per year. Total consumption of penta-, octa-, and decaBDE from 1970 to 2020 in products considered was estimated at ∼46 000, ∼25 000, and ∼380 000 tonnes, respectively. Per capita usage was estimated at 10–250, 10–150, and 200–2000 g·capita^–1·y^–1 for penta-, octa-, and decaBDE, respectively, over the time span. Considering only the first use (no reuse and/or storage) of PBDE-containing products, approximately 60% of the stock of PBDEs in 2014 or ∼70 000 tonnes, of which 95% is decaBDE, will remain in the use phase in 2020. Total emissions to air of all PBDEs from the in-use product stock was estimated at 70–700 tonnes between 1970 and 2020, with annual emissions of 0.4–4 tonnes·y^–1 for each of penta- and octaBDE and 0.35–3.5 tonnes·y^–1 for decaBDE in 2014

SO-MUM: A Coupled Atmospheric Transport and Multimedia Model Used to Predict Intraurban-Scale PCB and PBDE Emissions and Fate

A spatially resolved, dynamic version of the Multimedia Urban Model (MUM) and the boundary layer forecast and air pollution transport model BLFMAPS were coupled to build Spatially Oriented MUM (SO-MUM), to estimate emissions and fate of POPs in an urban area on a 5 × 5 km² cell resolution. SO-MUM was used to back-calculate emissions from spatially resolved measured air concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs in Toronto, Canada. Estimated emissions of Σ₈₈PCBs were 230 (40–480) kg y^–1, 280 (50–580) g y^–1 km^–2, or 90 (16–190) mg y^–1 capita^–1, and Σ₂₆PBDEs were 28 (6–63) kg y^–1, 34 (7–77) g y^–1 km^–2, or 11 (2–25) mg y^–1 capita^–1. A mass inventory of penta- and octa-BDEs in Toronto was estimated to be 200 tonnes (90–1000 tonnes) or 80 (40–400) g capita^–1. Using this estimate and that of 440 (280–800) tonnes of PCBs, estimated emissions of Σ₈₈PCBs and Σ₂₆PBDEs per mass of chemical inventory in Toronto were 0.5 (0.05–1.6) and 0.1 (0.01–0.7) g y^–1 kg^–1, respectively. The results suggest annual emission rates of 0.04% and 0.01% from the mass inventories with downtown accounting for 30% and 16% of Toronto’s chemical inventory and emissions of PCBs and PBDEs, respectively. Since total PBDE emissions are a function of mass inventory, which is proportional to building volume, we conclude that building volume can be used as a proxy to predict emissions. Per mass inventory emission rates were negatively related to vapor pressure within a compound class, but not consistently when considering all compound congeners

Correction to “Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants: Are They a Regrettable Substitution for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers?”

Correction to “Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants: Are They a Regrettable Substitution for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers?

Dose–response curves for AHR-responsive cells treated with varying concentrations of air extracts (m air/well) of gas-phase and particulate-phase ambient air samples

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Gas-Phase Ambient Air Contaminants Exhibit Significant Dioxin-like and Estrogen-like Activity "</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;114(5):697-703.</p><p>Published online 29 Dec 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1459922.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p> () Urban sample, March 2000. () Urban sample, March 2001. () Urban sample, July 2000. () Urban sample, July 2001. () Rural sample, July 2000. () Rural sample, July 2001. Activity is expressed as percentage of the response relative to 10 M β-NF. Data represent mean ± SD from three separate experiments. Dose–response curves were generated using GraphPad Prism software

Alternative Flame Retardant, 2,4,6-Tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine, in an E‑waste Recycling Facility and House Dust in North America

A high molecular weight compound, 2,4,6-tris­(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TTBP-TAZ), was detected during the analysis of brominated flame retardants in dust samples collected from an electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling facility in Ontario, Canada. Gas chromatography coupled with both high-resolution and low-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) was used to determine TTBP-TAZ’s chemical structure and concentrations. To date, TTBP-TAZ has only been detected in plastic casings of electrical and electronic equipment and house dust from The Netherlands. Here we report on the concentrations of TTBP-TAZ in selected samples from North America: e-waste dust (<i>n</i> = 7) and air (<i>n</i> = 4), residential dust (<i>n</i> = 30), and selected outdoor air (<i>n</i> = 146), precipitation (<i>n</i> = 19), sediment (<i>n</i> = 11) and water (<i>n</i> = 2) samples from the Great Lakes environment. TTBP-TAZ was detected in all the e-waste dust and air samples, and in 70% of residential dust samples. The median concentrations of TTBP-TAZ in these three types of samples were 5540 ng/g, 5.75 ng/m³ and 6.76 ng/g, respectively. The flame retardants 2,4,6-tribromophenol, tris­(2,3-dibromopropyl) isocyanurate, and 3,3′,5,5′-tetrabromobisphenol A bis­(2,3-dibromopropyl) ether, BDE-47 and BDE-209 were also measured for comparison. None of these other flame retardants concentrations was significantly correlated with those of TTBP-TAZ in any of the sample types suggesting different sources. TTBP-TAZ was not detected in any of the outdoor environmental samples, which may relate to its application history and physicochemical properties. This is the first report of TTBP-TAZ in North America

Chemical composition of the ambient air extracts from air samples collected March 2000–July 2001

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Gas-Phase Ambient Air Contaminants Exhibit Significant Dioxin-like and Estrogen-like Activity "</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;114(5):697-703.</p><p>Published online 29 Dec 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1459922.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p> Abbreviations: rur, rural sample; urb, urban sample. () PAHs. () PCBs. () N-PAHs. () PCDDs/PCDFs. () OC pesticides. See “Materials and Methods” for details of experiments