Transcript Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) in ambient air of Russian Arctic Alexey Konoplev Centre for Environmental Chemistry (CEC) SPA “Typhoon” of Roshydromet, Obninsk, RUSSIA Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon,

Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS)
in ambient air of Russian Arctic
Alexey Konoplev
Centre for Environmental Chemistry (CEC)
SPA “Typhoon” of Roshydromet, Obninsk,
RUSSIA
Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09
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OUTLINE
 What are PTS and why in the Arctic?
 International Treaties in the field of PTS and the
environment.
 Monitoring of POPs in ambient air of Russian
Arctic.
 Long-term mercury monitoring in atmosphere of
Russian Arctic.
 Perspectives for hydrometeorological
observatory in Tiksi.
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Introduction


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Occurrence and behavior of pollutants
in the Arctic is governed by both the
Arctic climatic conditions and pollutants
properties.
The issue of the Arctic pollution was
brought to the forefront when high levels
of PTS were detected among the
indigenous peoples of the North.
With no PTS production and application
by the indigenous peoples, they often
become affected by pollutants
originating from industrially developed
regions of the world.
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International agreements on the
environmental pollution with PTS
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A series of international agreements and
conventions provide for regular monitoring of
PTS in the environment at the global and
national levels and, first of all, in the Arctic .
The most important of them are the
Stockholm Convention on POPs, Convention
on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution,
agreements of the Arctic Council and its
working groups (AMAP and ACAP).
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Attributes of PTS
High toxicity;
 Persistence in the environment;
 Semi-volatility and ability to be transported over long
distances;
 Ability for bioconcentration and accumulation;
 Global occurrence in the environmental media and
biota.

PTS = POPs + Some Heavy Metals (Hg, Pb…)
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Transport and accumulation of POPs in the Arctic
The pattern of the atmospheric circulation,
river and sea currents and low air
temperatures are conducive to transport and
accumulation of semi-volatile PTS in the
Arctic.
 Due to the low solubility in water and high
solubility in fats PTS tend to accumulate in
the Arctic food chains that are rich in fats.
 In turn, animals of higher trophic levels form
the basis of the traditional diet of the
indigenous peoples of the Arctic.
 As a result, some of the Arctic indigenous
communities are among the population
groups that are worst exposed to PTS in
the world.

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POPs and Hg air monitoring at Russian Arctic sites
Dunay:
- POPs – 1993 – 1994
 Amderma:
- POPs – 1999 - 2001;
- Hg – 2001 – present
 Val’karkay (Chukchi):
- POPs – 2002-2003;
2008-2009

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Objectives of POPs air monitoring

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To measure the concentrations of
POPs in the atmosphere of Russian
Arctic.
This provides the opportunity to make
comparative analysis of POPs in the
ambient air for different areas of the
Arctic and the basis for modelling of
their atmospheric transport.
The data allow to assess the efficacy
of international Conventions such as
Stockholm Convention on POPs and
Convention on transboundary air
pollution.
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Monitoring POPs and mercury on global Arctic
GAW stations
Canada
- Alert (GAW);
 USA
- Point Barrow (GAW)
 Norway
- Ny Alesund (GAW)
 Finland
- Pallas (GAW)

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The list of determined compounds includes
154 individual substances:
 46 OCP and their metabolites
(chlorobenzenes, DDT, mirex, Toxaphenes,
ldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, chlordane
etc.);
 88 PCB congeners;
 20 PAH.
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Methods and materials
Internationally approved protocols of
sampling and analysis are used. Weekly
samples are collected by means of a
high volume sampler. Samples are
shipped to the laboratory, extracted and
after clean-up analysed using gas
chromatography-mass-spectrometry
detection (GC-MS).
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Air POPs monitoring: Summary
 In general atmospheric concentrations of most
OCP at Russian Arctic are similar to other Arctic
sites.
 Concentrations of a number POPs especially
PCBs, DDX and PAH at Val’karkay (Chukchi)
are elevated as compared with global Arctic.
This conclusion is confirmed by the data on
human milk and blood.
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Results of PCB monitoring in ambient air
The tri substituted
PCBs dominate in
homologues profile
for Amderma and
five substituted
PCB dominate in
profile for
Valkarkai.
Amderma
Valkarkai (w inter period)
Valkarkai (summer period)
Sovol
3
6
9
60
Contribution (%) of different homological
groups of PCBs to total concentration
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50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
4
5
7
8
10
Number of chlorine atoms in a molecule
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Air POPs monitoring: Summary
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Long-range transport was a key factor for OCPs and
their metabolites and determined the atmospheric levels
of those chemicals in Russian Arctic.
During winter atmospheric pollution by PCBs was also
determined by long-range transport while in summer it
was caused mainly by volatilization of these chemicals
from the underlying surface, rather than by their longrange transport.
PCB 138 (winter)
PCB 138 (summer)
0.00352
0.00356
0.00360
0.00364
0.0036
0.00368
0.0038
0.0039
0.0040
0.0041
0.0042
-23
-26
y = -532.6x - 25.775
R2 = 0.0031
-25
-27
lnP
lnP
0.0037
-21
-25
-28
-27
-29
-31
-29
y = -14612x + 24.893
R2 = 0.349
-33
-35
-30
1/T
1/T
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PBDE – new class of POPs
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PBDEs are persistent in the environment, bioaccumulative and
lipophilic;
PentaBDE and OctaBDE have been included under the
Stockholm Convention and the POPs protocol to the UNECE
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
(LRTAP).
CEC SPA "Typhoon"
St-Petersburg, 31 March 2009
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40
Concentration, pg/m3
Vapour, pg/m3
Particulate, pg/m3
30
20
10
0
Moscow
Obninsk
Arkhangelsk
Amderma
Valkarkay
• The data show a strong concentration gradient from industrial centers to the Arctic sites.
• Concentrations of total-BDE were significantly higher at several sites within Moscow.
• Still, BDE concentrations in Moscow are lower than in countries that have used flame
retardants in industry and household products for a decade or more.
CEC SPA "Typhoon"
St-Petersburg, 31 March 2009
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Objectives of Hg air monitoring
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To obtain data on time
dependency of gaseous
elemental mercury (GEM) for
Russian site and to compare
with data sets for other Arctic
stations
Amderma is located on the
Arctic border between Europe
and Asia what determines its
importance in terms of air
masses and pollutants
exchange
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Time dependence of mercury concentration
at Amderma during IPY 2007-2009
Концентрация Hg, нг/м3
4
3
2
1
0
Я
Ф
М
А
М
И
И
2007
А
С
О
Н
Д
Я
Ф
М
А
М
И
И
2008
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Ф М
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2009
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Hg monitoring at Amderma - Main Conclusions
Gaseous elemental mercury at Amderma varies mainly
within range from 1.5 to 2 ng/m3 which corresponds to the
levels for global background level for Northern Hemisphere;
 After polar sunrise (end of March - Start of June) mercury
depletion event occurs - Hg concentration becomes very
variable (from 0 to 2 ng/m3) and in average lower;
 During MDE elevated deposition of mercury occurs;
 Maximum Hg concentration (2-2.5 ng/m3) occurs at Summer
time (June-July)

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Development for the future
Establishing long-term monitoring of POPs and Hg on
hydrometeorological observatory Tiksi.
 The set of geophysical and chemical observations at Tiksi
should correspond to requirements for global GAW
stations.

ХАЦ ИПМ НПО "Тайфун"
ОС Росгидромета, Москва, 15.09.09
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Acknowledgements
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Projects on monitoring of POPs and Hg in the ambient air at
Russian Arctic sites were funded and supported by International
Polar Year Canada Programs (Russian and Canadian INCATPA Project), Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA), Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP),
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
and Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental
Monitoring of Russian Federation (Roshydromet).
Thanks to H. Hung, A. Steffen (Environment Canada), P. Fellin
C. Geen (AirZOne One) for long term collaboration and support
in the field of the ambient air PTS monitoring in the Russian
Arctic and T. Uttal (US NOAA) for collaboration in establishing
observatory at Tiksi.
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THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
QUESTIONS?
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