Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 1
Monitoring Network of the Alpine Region for POPs and other Organic Pollutants
Stresa, June 2006
www.monarpop.at
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 3
Project Team (incl. subcontractors)
Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics Austrian Federal Environment Agency – Project Management Austrian Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
Resources - Leadpartner Bavarian State Ministry for Environment, Health and Consumer
Protection German Federal Environmental Agency GSF - National Research Center for Environment and Health INCA Laboratory, Veneto Institute of Organic Analytical Chemistry, Univ. Basel Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of
Veneto Slovenian Forestry Institute Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 5
To gain information on the pollution load in the Alps
carry out steps of awareness raising, information and implementation
to protect the rich natural heritage in the Alpsas a clean and healthy environment.
The Reasons why
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 6
are a heterogeneous group of biologically harmful compounds
are toxic to organisms including humans
They degrade slowly and accumulate in organic matter and in organisms.
Some POPs are commercially produced, others are undesired by-products of industry, transport or domestic needs.
The Reasons why: POPs
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 7
MONARPOP includes all compounds which are listed and laid-down in the UNEP Stockholm Convention on POPs and in the UN-ECE Protocol on POPs.
MONARPOP focuses as well on possible new POPs and upcoming pollutants.
The screening includes PCB, polybrominated biphenylethers (PBDE used as flame retardents), combustion products (dioxins and furans, PAH) and various Organochlorine pesticides (OCP), Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCP), selected chlorinated hydrocarbons
Additional selected samples: perfluorinated compounds (PFOS), and Nonylphenol
The Reasons why: POPs
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 8
Alpine regions have unfavourable conditions with regard to the POP input:
Barrier effects for long-range transported air masses
Higher precipitation at higher altitudes more deposition
Higher wind velocities at higher altitudes
more deposition
Lower temperatures at higher altitudes
cold condensation, less volatilisation and
less degradation of POPs
The Reasons why
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 9
Information on the load of alpine regions with POPs are scarce
First results reveal that alpine regions might be an important sink for POPs
Higher located areas seem to have higher concentrations of POPs
Unfavourable conditions of alpine regions with regard to the input of POPs
Requirements of the UN-ECE POPs-Protocol (1998) and the UNEP Stockholm Convention on POPs (2001) for monitoring and research
MONARPOP project
Starting point
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 10
MONARPOP goals are:
Identifying the long-range transport and the load with POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) and other organic compounds in remote alpine regions.
Identifying regional differences and altitudinal effects on the load with POPs and other organic compounds.
Establishing mass inventories of POPs bound in forests in the alpine region (soil and needles).
Finding indications for sources of the POPs detected in alpine regions.
The Project Design
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 11
MONARPOP goals are:
Investigating possible effects and biological impacts of the detected loads (bioassay tests, analysis of enzyme activities).
To provide information to the decision makers and to establish a monitoring tool which will allow by future reassessments to control the success of the POP convention
The Project Design
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 12
The Project Design
Sampling Sites:
Geographical and altitude distribution
Weißfluhjoch2966m
Zugspitze3000m
Sonnblick3106m
m a
.s.l
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 13
The Project Design
Altitude profiles:
1/2-year old needles, humus layer
Air and deposition sampling
semipermeable membranes
mineral soil 0-10 cm42
3
19
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 14
The Project Design
Why forests?
Main terrestrial sink for such compounds
Prevailing ecosystem type in the alpine region
Rich in species and a lot of important functions (e.g. drinking water supply, recreative features, protection from avalanches, mudflows)
No disturbance by soil tilling or pesticides; biomass harvesting is rare. Therefore, detected loads origin only from atmospheric inputs.
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 18
Sampling of Airborne Pollutants
AustriaSonnblick 3106m
SwitzerlandWeißfluhjoch 2663m
GermanyZugspitze 2650m
Air samplers are installed at three meteorological stations:
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 20
Sampling of Airborne Pollutants
4 filters at each sampler are used to distinguish between pollutant imports from different regions.The Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics determines the travel routes (trajectories) of the incoming air masses.
Active Sampling:
Filter 1 – Air masses from Northwest and West: Examples for source regions: Great Britain, Germany
Filter 2 – Air masses from Northeast: Examples for source regions: Czech Republic, Poland, Baltic region
Filter 3 – Air masses from Southwest, South and Southeast: Examples for source regions: Africa, Spain, Italy, Adria
Filter 4 – Air masses from Cleanair regions: Examples for source regions: Atlantic sea, Polar regions
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 21
Sampling of Ambient Air
Sampling equipment
developed by
Austrian Federal Environment Agency
and
German GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health
in cooperation with the manufacturers
Dioxin Monitoring Systems,
DIGITEL enviro-sense
and
Kroneis
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 35
Outlook
One example: First detection of chlorinated paraffins in needles (Iozza et al., Institute of Organic Analytical Chemistry, Univ. Basel)
First outcomes and results are expected in 2006
Chromatogram Plots
4 5 6 7 8 9minutes
0
25
50
75
100
125
MCounts
10
20
30
40
MCounts
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
MCounts
RIC 3 NDLIT042-FR2 CPs-1-20-2006.XMS 1200 CENTROID FILTERED (+) EI SRM 102.0 > 67.0 (-10.0 eV)
RIC 3 NDLCH012-FR2 CPs-1-20-2006.xms 1200 CENTROID FILTERED (+) EI SRM 102.0 > 67.0 (-10.0 eV)
RIC 3 std002_s+m+lccps_6-17-2005.xms 1200 CENTROID FILTERED (+) EI SRM 102.0 > 67.0 (-10.0 eV)
non-volatile longchain
chlorinated paraffins
Stresa, June 2006 | Folie 36
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following project partners for the great cooperation and their efforts to install this monitoring network
Rodolfo Bassan, Claudio Belis, Dieter Heublein, Saverio Iozza, Thomas Jakl, Gert Jakobi, Manfred Kirchner, Wilhelm Knoth,
Norbert Kräuchi, Walkiria Levy-Lopez, Teresa Magnani, Wolfgang Moche, Michael Oehme, Ivo Offenthaler, Barbara Perthen-Palmisano, David Schmid, Karl-Werner Schramm,
Helga Schrott, Peter Schröder, Isabella Sedivy, Primož Simončič, Peter Weiss, Ursa Vilhar
MONARPOP is funded by the EU-Interreg-IIIb “Alpine Space Programme” and by national funds from several project partners