Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
on results from the global monitoring programme. These are consolidated into a global
synthesis that is available to the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the convention when
they undertake an effectiveness evaluation. Details on how all this works is available on
the website of the convention at
www.pops.int
.
The AMAP experience played a major role in helping design the global monitoring
programme, which has resulted in the production of joint reports, such as the 2011 report
Climate Change and POPs: Predicting the Impacts
.Animportant element ofthenewglob-
al programme has been the introduction of a global network of cost-effective passive POPs
air samplers. Three of the original champions of these comparatively cheap and low main-
tenance samplers have been Tom Harner (Environment Canada), Kevin Jones (University
of Lancaster) and Ivan Holoubek (Masaryk University, Czech Republic). Tom was one of
the protégés to spring from the laboratory of Don Mackay. In 2004, he organised the global
atmospheric passive sampling (GAPS) network. It consists of about 60 passive monitoring
sites on seven continents to measure trends of POPs in space and time in the atmosphere.
This has greatly improved our ability to assess the long-range transport of these substances,
although there have been some difficulties with operation in Arctic conditions. A number
of other complementary passive sampler networks have since been set up. One example
of the practical potential of such arrangements was given in a 2012 paper that reported on
results from passive samplers deployed in five continents under the Stockholm Conven-
tion global monitoring plan. It showed remarkably high PCB concentrations in a number
of African locations. This is surprising because PCBs were never heavily used in Africa.
The most likely explanation is that PCBs are included in material that is sent to Africa for
disposal from other parts of the world.
As a result of expanding air-monitoring activities, more and more is being learned
about the propensity of cold environments to receive high deposition levels of POPs
through long-range atmospheric transport. For example, Sheng and colleagues reported in
2013 on results of an air-monitoring programme that ran in the south-eastern Tibetan Plat-
eau from 2008 to 2011. DDT levels were much higher than reported for polar regions,
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