title: Spatial distribution of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Australia's atmosphere.
abstract: A nation-wide passive air sampling campaign recorded concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in Australia's atmosphere in 2012. XAD-based passive air samplers were deployed for one year at 15 sampling sites located in remote/background, agricultural and semi-urban and urban areas across the continent. Concentrations of 47 polychlorinated biphenyls ranged from 0.73 to 72 pg m(-3) (median of 8.9 pg m(-3)) and were consistently higher at urban sites. The toxic equivalent concentration for the sum of 12 dioxin-like PCBs was low, ranging from below detection limits to 0.24 fg m(-3) (median of 0.0086 fg m(-3)). Overall, the levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in Australia were among the lowest reported globally to date. Among the organochlorine pesticides, hexachlorobenzene had the highest (median of 41 pg m(-3)) and most uniform concentration (with a ratio between highest and lowest value ∼5). Bushfires may be responsible for atmospheric hexachlorobenzene levels in Australia that exceeded Southern Hemispheric baseline levels by a factor of ∼4. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations generally increased from remote/background and agricultural sites to urban sites, except for high concentrations of α-endosulfan and DDTs at specific agricultural sites. Concentrations of heptachlor (0.47-210 pg m(-3)), dieldrin (ND-160 pg m(-3)) and trans- and cis-chlordanes (0.83-180 pg m(-3), sum of) in Australian air were among the highest reported globally to date, whereas those of DDT and its metabolites (ND-160 pg m(-3), sum of), α-, β-, γ- and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane (ND-6.7 pg m(-3), sum of) and α-endosulfan (ND-27 pg m(-3)) were among the lowest.
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia. x.wang18@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Xianyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Melita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keywood
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gillett
authors.forename: Phong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thai
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bridgen
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Broomhall
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paxman
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wania
authors.forename: Jochen F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D001315:Australia; D004726:Endosulfan; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; C086916:delta-hexachlorocyclohexane; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D004726:Endosulfan