Persistent organic pollutant importing

Wet deposition may be an important source of PCBs to the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, like dry particle deposition, it is difficult to measure directly because of the low PCB concentrations, the problem of sampling artifacts, and the distribution of rain and PCB concentrations over space and time. Some trends are evident, however [ 189]. Snow has been shown to be much more effective than rain in scavenging PCBs from both vapor and particulate phases at a site in Minnesota [190,191]. This leads to a seasonal effect, in that precipitation concentrations of PCBs are highest in the winter in Chicago (Hites, personal communication), as with the concentrations of many other persistent organic pollutants [192], Possible reasons include sorption to an aqueous or... 

A number of potentially toxic metals have been reported in breast milk, including Cd, Hg, and Pb. Unlike the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals do not bind to the fat, and so they do not usually accumulate at concentrations higher in breast milk than in blood. As a result, infants are likely to be exposed to higher levels of toxic metals before birth than during breastfeeding. Nonetheless, knowledge of concentrations of potentially toxic metals in breast milk is important as an indication of both likely prenatal and postnatal exposure. 

REACH technical guidance documents (TGD) may prove instrumental for the future development of international guidance. Perhaps more importantly, substances subject to authorisation due to their persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) characteristics will also be proposed for inclusion on the International Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) register or other international conventions... 

The primary goal of this chapter is to raise awareness of the importance of tissue lipid composition in explaining the disposition of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and hence POP effects, in fish. Our intention is to stimulate discussion in an area that... 

By 1971, the concerns about human health and environmental impacts led Monsanto, the producer of PCBs in the United States, to a voluntary ban on sales of PCBs except for closed systems use. Monsanto ceased all production in 1977 and there was no large-scale increase in imports. PCBs were banned from production and further use in the United States in 1978. Equipment that already contained PCBs, e.g., transformers, were allowed to remain in use but restrictions were placed on the disposal of PCBs when the equipment was decommissioned. Delegates from 122 countries completed a draft treaty on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in December 2000. The POPs that were initially addressed and banned from further use include chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, PCBs, hexachlorbenzene, chlorinated dibenzofurans, and chlorinated dibenzodioxins. Fimited selective use of DDT for human disease vector control is allowed in some countries. 

Abstract In this chapter the biogeochemical processes in the Bohai Sea are described. The main contents deal with the distributions, transformation, and their controlling factors of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and pollutants such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the seawaters and sediments. In the Bohai Sea, human activity and riverine input are the most important controlling processes in the variation of biogenic elements and pollutants. 

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