title: Assessment of seasonal variations in persistent organic pollutants across the region of Tuscany using passive air samplers.
abstract: Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured for an entire year in the region of Tuscany, Italy. Passive air samplers consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed over four sampling periods of 3-5 months from April 2008 to July 2009 in urban (n = 6) and rural (n = 4) sites. The aim of the study was to characterize the spatial and seasonal variations in selected POPs. The POP concentrations (pg m-3) in the air were dominated by dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and metabolites (DDTs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (∑7PCBs). DDTs, and ∑7PCBs showed a clear decreasing urban > rural gradient. The concentrations of DDTs and PCBs were up to 10 and 6 times higher, respectively, in urban sites than in rural sites. ∑7PCBs showed a significant correlation with the urbanized areas located <5 km around the sampling sites. For hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), α-HCH concentrations were similar at both sampling sites and were found to be quite uniform during the four sampling periods. Seasonal fluctuations were observed for DDTs, and ∑7PCBs, with the highest concentrations observed during period 4 (summer-spring); this is most likely due to a temperature-driven re-emission from local sources. These findings were also supported by an air back trajectory analysis in the study area. This study contributes new information about POP levels in the Italian atmosphere and demonstrates the feasibility of using PUF disks to simultaneously assess seasonal concentrations at different sampling sites.
authors.affiliation: RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Pavilion A29, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Victor H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Estellano
authors.affiliation: RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Pavilion A29, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica Santísima Concepción, Alonso de Ribera 2850, P.C. 407 01 29 Concepción, Chile. Electronic address: pozo@recetox.muni.cz.
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pozo
authors.affiliation: RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Pavilion A29, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Přibylová
authors.affiliation: RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Pavilion A29, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klánová
authors.affiliation: RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Pavilion A29, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondřej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Audy
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Focardi
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D003634:DDT / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D007558:Italy; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D011140:Polyurethanes; C040534:alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; C028279:polyurethane foam; D003634:DDT; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: PAS-PUF; POPs; Seasonal variability; Tuscany; Urban and rural sites