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Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere
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Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 November 2022) | Viewed by 10648

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chengkai Qu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Interests: persistent organic pollutants; air quality; passive air sampling; emission sources; geochemical baseline; atmospheric transport
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xinli Xing

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Interests: persistent organic pollutants; atmospheric transport; PM2.5; source diagnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wei Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Interests: environmental chemistry; health effects; emerging organic contaminants; persistent toxic substances; monitoring techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have a potential threat to both the ecosystem and human health. Several international conventions have been signed to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs. The atmosphere is able to quickly respond to POP emission variations, and consequently, this matrix is acknowledged as a useful indicator to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken to reduce POP exposure. Many locally discharged POPs are capable of undergoing long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) because of their semi-volatility and recalcitrance and thereby globally disperse. It is in consequence of this cross-regional migration that a significant challenge is how to identify the locations and contributions of their specific sources more precisely. Moreover, due to the limitations of sampling techniques, most research is usually based on a few measurements at a local, regional, or global scale. The atmosphere is the important carrier and transfer medium of POPs, and it also means that further research on the source identification of POPs, and how to accurately quantify them, needs to be carried out.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of original research and review articles on environmental processes and impacts associated with atmospheric POPs in a global or regional scale that contribute to increase awareness of their environmental fate, LRAT potential, and impact on ecosystem and human health. Relevant topics include but are not limited to the following:

(1) research of sources and transport of POPs in air;

(2) study on the photodegradation of POPs in air;

(3) development of passive air sampling technology; 

(4) relationships of atmospheric POP pollution with human health.

Prof. Dr. Chengkai Qu
Prof. Dr. Xinli Xing
Dr. Wei Chen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • persistent organic pollutants
  • air monitoring
  • passive air sampling
  • human health
  • atmospheric transport

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4563 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides in Snow in Eastern Siberia
by Elena A. Mamontova and Alexander A. Mamontov
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 2117; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13122117 - 16 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
This study evaluated the spatial and long-term variations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the snow at 55 industrial, urban, rural, and remote stations in Eastern Siberia, Russia, in 2021 in comparison to data obtained from the 1990s to the [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the spatial and long-term variations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the snow at 55 industrial, urban, rural, and remote stations in Eastern Siberia, Russia, in 2021 in comparison to data obtained from the 1990s to the 2010s. In 2021, the mean levels of the organochlorine compounds in snow amounted to 76 ng/L ∑PCB36, 5.8 ng/L hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 0.02 ng/L α-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and 1.01 ng/L dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites. The spatial distribution of organochlorines was shown to result from the presence of industrial and urban sources, as well as atmospheric transport. The PCB and HCB temporal distributions from the 1990s to the 2020s were represented as V-shaped curves. The PCB homological patterns show that, in some of the samples, the abundance of lower chlorinated homologues in 2021 is greater than in previous years. Over the last three decades, the HCH and DDT levels have significantly decreased. The relationship between PCBs and suspended particulate matter became stronger with the increase in PCB chlorination levels from lighter to heavier chlorinated congeners. Deposition with wet precipitation in the wintertime provided 3–8% of the annual deposition flux. Massive POP deposition with wet precipitation occurred in May (about 12–18%) and from July to September (60–65%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere)
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25 pages, 3596 KiB  
Article
Air Monitoring of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides in Eastern Siberia: Levels, Temporal Trends, and Risk Assessment
by Elena A. Mamontova and Alexander A. Mamontov
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 1971; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13121971 - 25 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1544
Abstract
In this study, we evaluate the long-term and seasonal variations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-, γ-hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p′-DDT) and its metabolites through a passive air sampling method at two (urban and suburban) [...] Read more.
In this study, we evaluate the long-term and seasonal variations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-, γ-hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p′-DDT) and its metabolites through a passive air sampling method at two (urban and suburban) stations in Eastern Siberia, Russia, in 2011–2017. The median levels of HCB, ∑HCHs, ∑DDTs, ∑PCB39, and ∑PCB6 in the air were 116, 84, 55, 128, and 41 pg/m3 and 83, 21, 11, 52, and 16 pg/m3 at the urban and suburban stations, respectively. PCB and HCH levels in the air of Irkutsk decreased considerably in the 2000s, in comparison to the late 1980s and early 1990s, while an increasing trend was observed for HCB during the 2010s. The seasonality of air concentrations (with summer concentrations higher than winter concentrations) was well exhibited by PCB, HCH, and DDT, but not HCB. Significant correlations were observed between approximately all studied persistent organic pollutants and the average air temperature, quantity of precipitation, and frequency of the prevailing wind direction during the sampling period. The daily doses of PCBs, DDTs, HCHs, and HCB under human exposure by inhalation amounted to 38, 21, 27, and 35 and 17, 6, 7, and 27 pg/kg body weight per day in urban and suburban areas, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere)
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14 pages, 1551 KiB  
Article
Health Risks Associated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Dustfall Collected from Universities in Wuhan, China
by Ying Liu, Yao Mao, Jun Xu, Wenmin Chen, Tianpeng Hu, Chengyan Xu, Weijie Liu, Chengkai Qu, Wei Chen, Jiaquan Zhang, Xinli Xing and Shihua Qi
Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1707; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13101707 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2267
Abstract
Atmospheric dustfall samples from the libraries and dormitories of 14 universities in Wuhan, China, were collected and analyzed for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed that the levels of Σ16PAHs in the dustfall from libraries varied from 2.45 to 13.4 [...] Read more.
Atmospheric dustfall samples from the libraries and dormitories of 14 universities in Wuhan, China, were collected and analyzed for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed that the levels of Σ16PAHs in the dustfall from libraries varied from 2.45 to 13.4 μg·g−1, with an average value of 5.06 μg·g−1, while that of dormitories ranged from 2.61 to 10.6 μg·g−1, with an average of 5.19 μg·g−1. The compositions of PAHs in library and dormitory dustfall were similar, and they were dominated by high molecular weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs) (including fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and chrysene), which accounted for 79.2% of the total PAHs. Spatially, the higher levels of PAHs contamination were mainly distributed in areas with high population density and heavy traffic, which suggests that anthropogenic activities made an important contribution to the PAHs emissions. The diagnostic ratios and principal component analyses (PCA) indicated that combustion-related anthropogenic sources, such as petroleum, coal, and biomass combustion, as well as vehicular traffic emission, were the main sources of PAHs bound to dustfall. The toxic equivalent concentrations (BaPeq) of dustfall-bound PAHs ranged from 271 to 2510 μg·kg−1. According to the health risk assessment results, dermal contact was the predominant exposure pathway, followed by ingestion and inhalation. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) of exposure to PAHs in dustfall was 1.230 × 10−6−1.140 × 10−5, which indicates that there are low potential carcinogenic risks in the universities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere)
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15 pages, 5208 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Meteorological Factors, VOCs Emissions and Inter-Regional Transport on Summer Ozone Pollution in Yuncheng
by Chenyue Zhang, Shuzhen Luo, Wenting Zhao, Yuntao Wang, Qiang Zhang, Chengkai Qu, Xingang Liu and Xiaoyu Wen
Atmosphere 2021, 12(12), 1661; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12121661 - 10 Dec 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3532
Abstract
Summer ozone (O3) pollution in China has become increasingly serious in recent years. This study is based on hourly data of near-surface ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from June to August 2020 in [...] Read more.
Summer ozone (O3) pollution in China has become increasingly serious in recent years. This study is based on hourly data of near-surface ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from June to August 2020 in Yuncheng, combined with meteorological data to analyse the characteristics of O3 pollution in summer and the influence of meteorological factors, precursors, and long-range transport on O3 pollution. In this paper, the VOCs/NOx characteristic ratio method was used to explore the sensitivity of O3 generation. Backward trajectories, cluster analysis, potential source contribution factor (PSCF) analysis and concentration weight trajectory (CWT) analysis were also calculated using Trajstat software. In 2020, Yuncheng had persistent O3 pollution, with the highest concentrations in June, significantly higher than July and August. Conditions of high temperature, low relative humidity and low wind speed contribute to the O3 accumulation. VOCs are the main precursors to the local production of O3. Besides, the long-range transport analysis shows that southeast-oriented air masses are the main direction influencing summer O3 pollution. The primary potential source areas of O3 are in the central and southern part of Henan province, the north-western Anhui province, and the northern Shaanxi. In addition, northern Hubei and southwestern Shandong also influence O3 pollution in summer Yuncheng. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Atmosphere)
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