OUTLINE

1. Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) in ambient air of Russian ArcticAlexey Konoplev Centre for Environmental Chemistry (CEC)SPA “Typhoon” of Roshydromet, Obninsk, RUSSIA Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

2. 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

3. Introduction • 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

4. International agreements on the environmental pollution with PTS • 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). Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

5. 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…) Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

6. 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

7. 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 Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

8. Objectives of POPs air monitoring • 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

9. Monitoring POPs and mercury on global Arctic GAW stations • Canada - Alert (GAW); • USA - Point Barrow (GAW) • Norway - Ny Alesund (GAW) • Finland - Pallas (GAW) Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

10. 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

11. 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).

12. Air POPs monitoring: Summary • In generalatmospheric 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

13. 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. Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

14. Air POPs monitoring: Summary • 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 long-range transport.

15. PBDE – new class of POPs • 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). St-Petersburg, 31 March 2009

16. 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. St-Petersburg, 31 March 2009

17. Objectives of Hg air monitoring • 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 Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

18. Time dependence of mercury concentration at Amderma during IPY 2007-2009 Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

19. Hg monitoring at Amderma - Main Conclusions • Gaseous elemental mercury at Amderma varies mainly within range from 1.5 to 2 ng/m3 whichcorresponds 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) Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09

20. 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. ОС Росгидромета, Москва, 15.09.09

21. Acknowledgements • 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.

22. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION! QUESTIONS? Pre-CAS TECO, Incheon, 17.11.09