Persistent organic pollutants biota

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Water, Sediments, and Biota in the Ebro River Basin... 

The use of pesticides in Malaysia dated back since after the Second World War. These persistent pollutants were primarily used for agriculture and vector control. DDT, dieldrin and endrin found extensive use before they were banned recently. Most of the other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been banned in Malaysia. However, residues of these pesticides were found in various compartments of the environment such as water, sediment and biota. Nonpesticide POPs were not monitored as much but recent efforts have included monitoring and management of these POPs among other hazardous chemicals. This chapter presents the current status of POPs in Malaysia and various initiatives to manage these pollutants. 

Braune BM, Outridge PM, Fisk AT, et al. Persistent organic pollutants and mercury in marine biota of the Canadian Arctic An overview of spatial and temporal trends. Sci Total Environ 2005 351-2 4-56. 

From a geochemical point of view, there are several options to investigate the present state and the development of, for example, the distribution and concentration of contaminants in the water column, suspended particulate matter, biota, and sedimentary deposits. Commonly, for most of the environmentally relevant substances (heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, and nutrients) sediments are considered the final sinks following partly complicated pathways of transport, transformation, enrichment in the food chains, deposition, and burial. 

M.S. Evans, D. Muir, W.L. Lockhart, et al.. Persistent organic pollutants and mercury in the freshwater biota of the Canadian Subarctic and Arctic an overview, Sci. Total Environ. 351-352 (2005) 94-147. 

Fidalgo-Used et al. [137] have recently reviewed the main extraction and clean-up procedures, published in the last 5 years, applied to the analytical determination of both conventional and emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs), not exclusively PAHs, in environmental biota (vegetal and animal) samples. Buldini et al. [339] have also reviewed recent sample preparation methods for food analysis. 

Exposure to oil pollution can cause sublethal effects on marine biota, such as reduced growth rate and reproductive failure. The type and severity of the effect depends on (1) the concentration of petroleum, (2) length of exposure, (3) persistence and bioavailability of specific hydrocarbons, and (4) the ability of organisms to accumulate and metabolize... 

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