Concentrations in air and potential emission sources of POPs in Chittagong, Bangladesh

At present there is limited information on concentrations of
POPs (persistent organic pollutants) in air in many developing regions compared to those of industrialized countries. However, several studies have demonstrated surprisingly high levels of various legacy POPs in some developing countries, e.g. because of continued use of
organochlorine pesticides or emissions of industrial-use POPs from informal recycling and disposal of e-waste (Electrical and Electronic waste). However, the potential emissions of POPs from informal shipbreaking activities in developing regions remains to be assessed. Global estimates for 2012 reveal that 1,250 ocean ships were scrapped in this
year alone, and the beaches on the Chittagong coast in Bangladesh is one of the areas of most intense ship breaking in the world. The shipbreaking activities in this area have caused concern for both environmental and human health because of various contaminants released from - or emitted as a result of – these activities. The aim of the study was to monitor the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides in air in the urban environment of Chittagong city (population approximately 4 million) and in vicinity of the ship-breaking areas. A sampling campaign was carried out using passive air samplers (PASs) based on polyurethane foam (PUF) at 23 sites in February 2013. PUF was selected as sampling material because their performance is well
characterized as they have previously been used extensively for spatial mapping on both a regional and global scale. Performance Reference compounds (PRCs) were furthermore used for back-calculating air concentrations. The results from the campaign in Chittagong will be compared and contrasted with concentrations of POPs in air reported from both developed and developing regions, and to discuss potential
sources and source regions controlling the atmospheric burden of various POPs in the study area.