Air concentrations of PCBs and OC pesticides using PUF-disks passive air samplers in Sicily Island, Mediterranean Region

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are ubiquitous on the planet. Because their physicochemical properties they are persistent and toxic and may become highly accumulated in the food chain. The Stockholm Convention on POPs which is coordinated through the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is intended to reduce or eliminate the use, discharges and emissions of these compounds to improve the health of the environment. To assist member countries in assessing the “effectiveness” of their reduction efforts, UNEP Chemicals published a guidance document for the global monitoring of POPs. Of the media that are recommended for monitoring, the atmosphere is especially important because it responds relatively quickly to changes in emissions of POPs. The UNEP Guidance document further promotes the use of passive air samplers (PAS) as a cost-effective approach for conducting air sampling of POPs at background sites. PAS have been used successfully in numerous spatial studies at local, regional, and continental scales. However, not much literature is dedicated to the Mediterranean basin by using passive air sampling. Better spatial resolution sampling is required to assess the spatial and temporal trends, and fate of POPs in this region. In this study passive air samplers were deployed at eight sites in Sicily Island located in the middle of the Mediterranean Region. The purpose of the study was to generate much-needed air concentration data for POPs in this region and to demonstrate the feasibility of using PUF disk samplers as a cost effective approach for contributing information on POPs for national and international reporting needs.