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The paper is devoted to results of the latest inventory of unintentional releases of POPs in Belarus. Methodology, input data, and results of inventory are discussed. Releases into the atmospheric air, water, land/soil, products and wastes were estimated. In accordance with the estimates the total annual releases of dioxins/furans in 2004 were 141.8 g ITEQ. The principle sources of dioxin/furan releases to the environment of Belarus are waste incineration, ferrous and nonferrous metal production, power generation and heating. About 37 g I-TEQ of dioxins/furans are annually released to air, 103.3 g I-TEQ — into residues. Releases to water, to ground, and in products constitute 1.97 g I-TEQ. Releases of HCB to air are estimated at 0.75 kg. Releases of PCB to air make up 9.8 kg. Results of POPs inventory were used for the preparation of National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention of the Republic of Belarus.

In the paper the results of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) inventory in Belarus are discussed. The approaches and methods used for PCB-containing equipment identification are given. Volumes of PCBs and types of PCB-containing equipment than are still in and out of operation are assessed. Distribution of PCBs in Belarus among ministries, economy sectors and regions is shown. Assessment of PCB-containing equipment condition and peculiarities of their storage are done. The problems of PCBcontaining equipment storage and replacement, as well as measures for ecologically sound management in Belarus are given.

In this paper is presented Monitoring Data of Persistent Organic Pollutants for period more than 25 years performed in the Monitoring Department on Environmental Quality that is part of State Hydrometeorological Service.

The objective of article is to harmonize and integrate the activities of the New European Union (EU) Member State — Estonia in the field of chemical food safety with those of Old Member States. This will be achieved by the activities planned in two paths: one aimed at gathering knowledge on sources of dietary data and another focussing on strategies/approaches and capabilities of monitoring food chemical contamination, like polychlorinated dibenzo--dioxin (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) and other polychlorinated biphenyls (other-PCBs). All studied Baltic Sea wild fish herring, sprat, perch, eel, pikeperch, flounder, and aquaculture rainbow trout, eel samples had WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ and also combined WHOPCDD/F-PCB-TEQ upperbound values below the maximum limits set in Council Regulation (EC) No 2375/2001 and (EC) No199/2006. The same for all pork, butter, milk and fish oil samples. PCDD/PCDF and DL-PCB content in river lamprey and wild salmon exceeded the established limits in both cases. Results were calculated as upperbound, mediumbound, and lowerbound values per gram fresh weight, dry weight and fat.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs, but also substances still on the market such as PBDEs are transported over long distances and are present in many environmental media. In principle, differences in the physicochemical properties and environmental half-lives of different POPs would lead to a “fractionation” process, i.e., more volatile substances would be transported more rapidly and over larger distances than less volatile compounds. However, the fractionation pattern to be expected on the basis of chemical properties is often confounded by spatial and temporal variability of the emissions of the chemicals and by the conditions under which samples are taken in the field. Here, modeling results are presented that support the identification of fractionation patterns, and key questions in the area of global fractionation requiring further investigation are identified. Research needs concern the degradation processes of POPs in the gas phase, the interaction of POPs with atmospheric aerosols (aerosol—air partitioning; reactivity of the aerosol-bound fraction; deposition and transport with aerosols), and the characterization of various surface media (soil, vegetation, ice/snow, and water) with respect to their sorptive capacity for POPs (importance of secondary sources).

A focus on soil quality issues in the EU has resulted in extensive studies aimed to development of a Soil Framework Directive as well as of other new relevant regulations and standards, in parallel with setting up a harmonized European Soil Monitoring System for routine soil monitoring/ screening with use of reference analytical methods. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) belong to the most problematic contaminants from the local sources and diffuse inputs to be monitored and controlled. This study presents the screening survey for 16 PAHs carried out in 2000 in the area severely impacted by the catastrophic flood of 1997 in the Odra River valley in Poland, which affected also Czech Republic and Germany. Within this survey, 16 PAH contents in soils due to river sediments deposition resulting from the flood, as well as the effect of flood on the distribution of PAHs in soils of the affected area were assessed (by the GC-MS reference methods) in view of soil quality standards and need for remediation. The postflood PAH spatial distribution with use of the Geographical Information System (GIS) showed distinct correlation with floodwater flow conditions, while total 16 PAH and specific compounds concentrations in the upper soil layer 0–0.20 m appeared to be mostly within the standard limits. In 17% of composite samples, 16 PAH concentrations were found to be considerably elevated, up to the values >1,000 μg/kg, and exceeded the standards for agricultural soils in particular samples. PAH compounds displayed also different vertical migration potential in soils. The occurrence of the maximum PAH concentrations in the floodwater stagnation areas confirmed river sediments to be the major source of these compounds. The qualitative composition of 16 PAHs (ANty < Flth < CHR < BaA < PYR) in humus layer of soils in these areas denoted anthropogenic sources of these compounds.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was adopted with the objective of protecting human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. The effectiveness evaluation of Convention measures needs the comparable monitoring data on the presence of the POPs including the spatial and temporal trends evaluation and their regional and global environmental transport. Air monitoring for POPs has conventionally been conducted at a very limited number of sites using “active” or high volume air samplers or broadly with application of passive air sampling. Persistent organic pollutants have been monitored using the integrated monitoring approach in all environmental matrices in the Kosetice observatory, Czech Republic since 1988. This facility serves as a Central European background monitoring station for the purpose of various national and international monitoring program and national environmental research projects. Using the integrated monitoring approach, a set of monitoring parameters and ecosystem indicators was applied to determine the state of the environment, to detect anthropogenic impacts and influences, to determine the time-related trends of POPs levels, and to predict the future changes of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in a long-term perspective.

Brominated flame retardants (BFR) are commonly used for reducing the risk of fire. Bromine radicals formed at elevated temperatures terminate the radical-chain reaction in fire. Remaining aromatic BFR fragments can partially recombine to halogenated POPs including PBDD/F. This paper deals with the formation of POPs from BFR in laboratory-scale combustion experiments and discusses the reaction mechanism involved. It is shown that the mechanism of POPs formation is mostly independent of the type of BFR incorporation into the polymer matrix as monomeric additive or through chemical bonds to the polymer backbone. Furthermore, an improved clean-up procedure is shown which enables an almost complete removal of the remaining BFR from the analyte solution in order to avoid their interferences with the traces of PBDD/F and/or formation of artifacts in the ionization chamber of GC/MS equipment.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that are produced and released into the environment by human activity. Some of them are specially synthesized chemicals for agricultural application like pesticides, other are unwanted by-products of chemical and mainly combustion processes. POPs characteristics, their metabolites and their distribution into water bodies are described. The measures for the decreasing of POPs emissions in the environment are also discussed. POPs in the environment may undergo transformations or degradation due to reactions caused by light, chemical reactions, biological reactions or a combination of these phenomena. The effective removal of POPs and their metabolites from wastewaters are very important for preserving of the aquatic environment.

The transport of organochlorine contaminants (OCs) to Antarctica, the latitudinal, seasonal, and spatial variations of their content in air, the temporal variations in air, seawater, snow, and sea ice are discussed. The temporal declines in OCs level in the mobile compartments of Antarctic environment reflect the global declines in use and emission of the contaminants in Southern Hemisphere.