Pollutants persistent bioaccumulative toxics

Persistent bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) Pollutants that have slow degradation rates and high bioaccumulahon factors. 

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act charges Environment Canada with controlling toxic substances, reducing pollution, and eliminating persistent bioaccumulating toxic substances. Enforcement officers are given the power to issue environmental protection compliance orders on the spot to stop illegal activity and correct any violations of the act. 

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Bioaccumulation Toxicity Persistent UNEP Chemicals Programme Rotterdam Convention Stockholm Convention 1997... 

In 2001, the first meeting of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was held, and 12 pesticides, industrial chemicals, and by-products were classified as POPs. In 2009, the fourth meeting of the conference was held, and nine additional chemicals were added to the list (see Table 13.1). The origins and uses (if any) of these compounds are largely unrelated, and yet, the compounds share several features. The main criteria of POPs as defined by the Stockholm Convention include persistency, bioaccumulation, toxicity and long-range environmental transport [1,2]. 

The so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are the subject of the Rio Declaration (1994) and the Stockholm Convention (2001) these international agreements (yet to be ratified in all signatory countries, including the United States) call for the elimination from production of 12 persistent chemicals, including the chlorinated pesticides and PCBs mentioned above (all of which have already been eliminated from production in the United States). Current regulatory efforts in the European Union and the United States place emphasis on elimination or restriction of all PBTs (persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals). 

Another model, used in the USA, is the OASYS Pollution Prevention Optional Analysis System, developed by the Toxic Use Reduction Institute. Technologies are assessed on a variety of hazard criteria, including acute and chronic human toxicity, physical properties, aquatic impacts, persistence/bioaccumulation, atmospheric releases, disposal, chemical properties, energy/resource use, product hazard and exposure potential. Alternatives are rated to... 

One of the pollutants known to interfere with cardiovascular development is 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). TCDD is a persistent, bioaccumulative environmental contaminant, as well as a potent developmental toxicant and human carcinogen [30]. Piscine, avian, and mammalian cardiovascular systems are sensitive to TCDD toxicity, with effects including cardiac enlargement, edema, and several dysfunctions. In zebrafish embryos, these effects include areduction in cardiomyocyte number at 48 hpf, decreased heart size, altered vascular remodeling, pericardial edema, and decreased ventricular contraction culminating in ventricular standstill [31-34]. 

Name persistent environmental contaminants (have various names depending on agency - i.e. US EPA persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or United Nations persistent organic pollutant (POP)... 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been known for sometime as persistent pollutants, which can be readily bioaccumulated through the food chain causing well-documented toxic effects in number of species including humans [191]. Consequently, PCBs are commonly routinely monitored as potential industrial pollutants. Due to their environmental persistence and toxicity, detection limits in the ng ml-1 region are generally required. Consequently, such work has generally required solvent or solid extraction and concentration steps prior to separation by GC in conjunction with electron capture detection, or mass... 

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... 

OSHA PB PBB PBT PEC penta-BDE PFOS PNEC POP PPE PPORD PRODUCE European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Persistent and bioaccumulating Polybromobiphenyl(s) Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic Predicted environmental concentration Pentabromodiphenyl ether Perfluorooctane sulfonate Predicted no-effect concentration Persistent organic pollutant Personal protective equipment Process/product-oriented research and development Piloting REACH on downstream use communication in Europe... 

The acronym, POP, is gaining world-wide acceptance, although some national agencies still use other terms, e. g. persistent environmental pollutants (PEPs), for these chemicals. The chemical industry, for instance, terms them persistent, bioaccumidative, toxic substances (PBTs). The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prefers bioaccumulative chemicals of concern (BCCs). Much of... 

Pollutants/Toxic Dispersion Persistent and Bioaccumulative Total (mass persistent + bioaccumulative) (kg) Mass product (kg) Human Health Total (mass of material [for all materials]) (kg) Permissable exposure limit (ACGIH) (ppm) kg/kg... 

EC5jj=median effective concentration fw=freshwater LC5 j=median lethal concentration m=marine mw=marine water na=not applicable OSPAR=Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Northeast Atlantic PBT=persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic POPs=persistent organic pollutants RfD=referencedose sed.=sediment USEPA=US Environmental Protection Agency vPvB=very persistent, very bioacumulative. 

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) substances are carbon-based chemicals that resist degradation in the environment and accumulate in the tissues of living organisms, where they can produce undesirable effects on human health or the environment at certain exposure levels (Pavan Worth, 2006). 

There is pressure to reduce or even eliminate the use of cadmium. The element is included in a draft list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants prepared by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1999. In many countries the cadmium contents of air, water, food additives, paints and pesticides are regulated. 

National environmental laws often reflect two global treaties, the Rotterdam Convention and the Stockholm Convention. Brief summaries follow. The Rotterdam Convention establishes a prior informed consent (PIC) procedure for importing shipments of chemicals listed in Annex 111 of the convention and provides for information exchange between participating countries. Adopted in September 1998, it entered into force February 2004 [1]. The 2001 Stockholm Convention requires parties to the treaty to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the environment [2]. As described in this chapter, regulations on persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances address POPs. Industry value in 1970 dollars adjusted for inflation using the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator at http //www.bls.gov/data/inflation calcula-tor.htm, equivalent to 1.01 trillion in 2010. 

The remaining chapters in the first section of the book cover the measurement and investigation of the fate and transport of specific chemicals in the soil, water and atmosphere and exchange among these media. Chapter 3 by West and Wilson reviews subsurface natural attenuation of contaminants. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 by Stone et ai, Soderstrom et ai, and Butler and Hayes, respectively, all relate to the movement and fate of organic chemicals in soils and sediments, while Chaper 9 by Pedersen and Suffet and Chapter 10 by Salmun and Farhan focus on runoff from the terrestrial environment to nearby waters. These last two chapters illustrate the need to understand the complexities of non-point source pollutant inputs. Recent books have also focused on similar topics for persistent and bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) (41,42). 

There is a vast range of aqueous organic pollutants with a wide toxicity profile. Some, e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls, certain herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, and organo-mercury compounds, are persistent and may bioaccumulate in the food chain. Trace contaminants such as sodium chloride, iron and phenols (especially if chlorinated) may also impart a taste to water. Typical consent levels for industrial discharges are provided in Table 13.10. 

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