Long-Range Transport of Chemicals in the Environment
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SCIENCE DOSSIER Long-Range Transport of Chemicals in the Environment Dr. James Franklin April 2006 April 2006 This publication is the tenth in a series of Science Dossiers providing the scientific community with reliable information on selected issues. If you require more copies, please send an email indicating name and mailing address to [email protected]. The document is also available as a PDF file on www.eurochlor.org Science Dossiers published in this series: 1. Trichloroacetic acid in the environment (March 2002) 2. Chloroform in the environment: Occurrence, sources, sinks and effects (May 2002) 3. Dioxins and furans in the environment (January 2003) 4. How chlorine in molecules affects biological activity (November 2003) 5. Hexachlorobutadiene – sources, environmental fate and risk characterisation (October 2004) 6. Natural organohalogens (October 2004) 7. Euro Chlor workshop on soil chlorine chemistry 8. Biodegradability of chlorinated solvents and related chlorinated aliphatic compounds (December 2004) 9. Hexachlorobenzene - Sources, environmental fate and risk characterisation (January 2005) 10. Long-term transport of chemicals in the environment (April 2006) Copyright & Reproduction The copyright in this publication belongs to Euro Chlor. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or otherwise, without the permission of Euro Chlor. Notwithstanding these limitations, an extract may be freely quoted by authors in other publications subject to the source being acknowledged with inclusion of a suitable credit line or reference to the original publication. Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction: What is meant by Long-Range Transport of chemicals and why is it of interest? ......................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Selected examples of observational evidence for atmospheric Long-Range Transport ........ 7 2.1 Substances of natural origin .................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Sand, dust and ash ........................................................................................................ 7 2.1.2 Sea salt .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Natural radionuclides ...................................................................................................... 8 2.1.4 Volatile organic compounds ........................................................................................... 8 2.1.5 Biota ............................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Substances Having both Natural and Anthropogenic Sources ................................................ 9 2.2.1 Major greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide .......................... 9 2.2.2 Carbonaceous particles .................................................................................................. 9 2.2.3 Other combustion by-products and related oxidants: CO, NO, O3, etc. ........................ 11 2.2.4 Sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosols ......................................................................... 12 2.2.5 Mercury ........................................................................................................................ 13 2.2.6 Volatile organic compounds ......................................................................................... 14 2.3 Substances Primarily of Anthropogenic Origin ...................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Anthropogenic radionuclides ........................................................................................ 14 2.3.2 Lead ............................................................................................................................. 14 2.3.3 Volatile organic halogen compounds ............................................................................ 15 2.3.4 Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) / Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances (PBTs) / Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) ................................................... 16 3 Long-Range Transport through media other than the atmosphere ........................................ 19 3.1 Transport by Rivers, Oceans and Drifting Ice ........................................................................ 19 3.2 Transport by migrating animals ............................................................................................. 20 3.3 Anthropogenic transport ........................................................................................................ 21 4 Mechanisms and modelling of atmospheric Long-Range Transport ..................................... 23 4.1 Pathways and timescales ...................................................................................................... 23 4.2 “Global fractionation” and the “grasshopper effect” ............................................................... 24 4.3 Atmospheric transport of substances of marine origin via sea-salt aerosols ......................... 25 4.4 Relationship between long-range transport and persistence ................................................. 26 4.5 Models ................................................................................................................................... 26 4.6 Long-range transport potential .............................................................................................. 27 4.7 Source-receptor relationships................................................................................................ 30 5 Potential impacts of Long-Range Transport ............................................................................. 33 5.1 Human Health Impacts .......................................................................................................... 33 5.1.1 Inhaled pollutants ......................................................................................................... 33 5.1.2 Ingested pollutants ....................................................................................................... 33 5.1.3 Indirect impacts ............................................................................................................ 34 5.2 Environmental Impacts .......................................................................................................... 34 5.2.1 Stratospheric ozone depletion ...................................................................................... 34 5.2.2 Climate forcing ............................................................................................................. 34 5.2.3 Tropospheric ozone formation – Photochemical smog ................................................. 34 5.2.4 Acidification / Eutrophication ........................................................................................ 34 5.2.5 Visibility impairment ...................................................................................................... 35 5.2.6 Mercury ........................................................................................................................ 35 5.2.7 Persistent organic pollutants ........................................................................................ 35 5.2.8 Interactions ................................................................................................................... 36 5.3 Evolution of the perceived “spatial scale” of air pollution ....................................................... 36 6 International Regulatory and Monitoring Agreements............................................................. 37 6.1 Agreements that Explicitly Address Transboundary Pollution or Long-Range Transport ...... 37 6.1.1 UNECE LRTAP Convention ......................................................................................... 37 6.1.2 UNEP POPs – Stockholm Convention ......................................................................... 37 6.1.3 U.S. - Canada Air Quality Agreement ........................................................................... 38 6.1.4 The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy ................................................................ 38 6.1.5 The International Joint Commission (U.S. - Canada) .................................................... 38 6.1.6 North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation ......................................... 38 6.1.7 ASEAN Agreement ....................................................................................................... 38 6.1.8 East Asia Network ........................................................................................................ 38 6.1.9 Malé Declaration ........................................................................................................... 38 6.1.10 Harare Resolution 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