Persistent organic pollutants POPs distribution

Many persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are semivolatile compounds which undergo exchange between air and atmospheric particles, soils, and vegetation. Classes of POPs include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs, PCDFs). The distribution of these substances between the particle and gas phases in the atmosphere is a... 

Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human milk Study will monitor concentration and distribution of POPs in human milk and daily intakes by children who are breast-fed (European Commission 2004). 

The EMEP monitoring network of precipitation chemistry consists of about a hundred stations distributed in almost 30 countries across Europe.1 All of these measure inorganic ions as well as pH and conductivity. Figure 17.1 illustrates the concentration levels of sulfate (corrected for sea salt), nitrate, and ammonium in 2006. The monitoring sites of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are less densely distributed 2 in 2006, there were around 50 for heavy metals such as lead... 

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. 

How a chemical is distributed in the body affects the rapidity of its elimination. Chemicals that are distributed in body water are more immediately accessible to the bloodstream and hence are more available for elimination by the kidneys and the liver As their blood concentration falls as a result of elimination, water-soluble chemicals diffuse out of body water and back into the bloodstream. On the other hand, chemicals that are distributed in fat or bone tend to be less immediately accessible to the bloodstream, and the time required for their elimination tends to be longer. Indeed, fat and bone have the potential to act as internal somces of low-level exposme over time as the concentration of a chemical builds up in these tissues. Examples are lead, which tends to be sequestered in bone, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Uke dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which tend to be sequestered in fatty tissue. These and other chemicals may persist in the body for months or years. 

Fish with high fat contents is an important source of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the human diet, in particular for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (EFSA, 2005). On the other side, a wide range of environmental contaminants have been reported to be accumulated in fish that can pose a potential human health hazard (Leonard, 2011). Major contaminations include the different OCPs, PAHs or the widely distributed persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the flame retardants compound class of the polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). Also farmed fish can significantly contribute to dietary exposure to various contaminants due to the use of land sourced fish feed. A multi method for efficient control of fish and fish feed for various groups of contaminants from PCBs, OCPs, BFRs (brominated flame retardants) and PAHs is outlined in the following analytical procedure published by Kamila Kalachova et al. (Kalachova et al., 2013). 

In addition to public concern, international conventions to reduce or eliminate emissions of POPs in South Korea took effect in May 2004. The South Korean Government, as a signatory participant of the Stockholm Convention on POPs, plans to ratify the convention. Then the government is obliged to submit a National Implementation Plant (NIP) to minimize POPs emission and update the plan and provide a status report every two years from the time of ratification (Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001). Therefore, it is inevitable that a scientific assessment and review of the domestic status and history of the POPs pollution including emissions, contamination levels (or distribution), exposures, and risks will be needed. This information will be disseminated to the public and also used to develop efficient control... 

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