The use of biomimetic tools for water quality monitoring: passive samplers versus sentinel organisms.

To evaluate the performance of artificial and biological integrative sampling strategies, dissolved concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and metals (Cu and Mn) were measured with passive sampler devices (PSD) enclosing hydrophobic and chelating phases, and Asiatic clams were transplanted to a polluted area in the Rio de la Plata. Water concentrations based on PSD were compared with spot water samples collected at 0, 15, 32, and 63 days of exposition. PCBs and metals displayed linear accumulation kinetics both in PSDs and bivalves, but with different slopes.

Long-Term (1970-2017) Temporal Trends of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Fish, Settling Material, and Sediments from Populated and Remote Sites in Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina.

Temporal trends of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were studied for detritivorous fish (1996-2017) and settling material (2002-2017) from polluted Buenos Aires coast and for a dated sediment core (1970-2013) from the outer Río de la Plata estuary. In spite of contrasting concentrations [5.3 ± 6.

Urban geochemistry and potential human health risks in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires: PAHs and PCBs in soil, street dust, and bulk deposition.

Soil, street dust, and bulk deposition (dry and wet deposition) were collected in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (MABA), Argentina, to assess the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pollution and the potential risks to human health. Compared with other countries, the mean concentration of PAHs and PCBs in surface soils, street dust and bulk deposition of MABA were at a low or moderate level. Average PAHs and PCBs concentrations in bulk deposition (5.

Airborne PCB patterns and urban scale in the Southern Río de la Plata Basin, Argentina.

Atmospheric Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs: ∑ 42 congeners) collected by polyurethane passive samplers (PAS-PUFs) in 29 stations from July 2010 to February 2014 (n=141) in the most productive and populated Southern Rio de la Plata area in Argentina were evaluated to assess concentration gradients, potential sources and compositional profiles related to different land use and urbanization. On a global scale, total airborne PCBs concentrations are low/very low (below detection limit to 937pgm) and show a significant potential correlation with urban scale increasing 2.5 times each 10 times increase of population reflecting the primary role of urbanization controlling PCB emissions.

Airborne PCDD/F profiles in rural and urban areas of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

Passive air samplers were deployed in 18 rural and urban locations in the densely populated Buenos Aires district to investigate airborne polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and polychlorinated-dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) profiles, sources and spatial patterns. Atmospheric concentrations reported as total toxic equivalents (TEQs), 2378-substituted (∑PCDD/F) and 4-8 homologous groups (∑PCDD/F) were highly variable and significantly correlated to urban scale. The rural average (3.

Massive airborne Endosulfan inputs related to intensive agriculture in Argentina's Pampa.

In order to evaluate the impact of intensive agriculture on air quality in the most productive and populated Argentina's Pampas, a comprehensive assessment of airborne Endosulfan (∑Endo) was performed using polyurethane passive samplers deployed from 2010 to 2013 covering the critical period of Endosulfan restrictions at twenty nine sites in the Rural Pampa and Great Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (GBA: Horticultural and Urban subareas). ∑Endo concentrations were very high and variable (0.01-63 ng m(-3)), exceeding worldwide reported maxima at Horticultural GBA and Rural Pampa with lowest values at Urban GBA (geometric means: 3.

Bioaccumulation of dioxin-like PCBs and PBDEs by detritus-feeding fish in the Rio de la Plata estuary, Argentina.

A comparative analysis of bioaccumulation behavior of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dlPCBs) and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) was conducted involving simultaneous measurements in settling particles and a detritivorous fish (Sabalo, Prochilodus linneatus) collected in the sewage impacted Buenos Aires coastal area. Focalization of dlPCBs and PBDEs along the detritus food chain is reflected by a 30-40-fold increase of dry weight PBDE and dlPCB concentrations from settling particles to fish (1.8 ± 1.

Behavior of dioxin like PCBs and PBDEs during early diagenesis of organic matter in settling material and bottom sediments from the sewage impacted Buenos Aires' coastal area, Argentina.

Settling particles (SPs) and sediments collected in the Buenos Aires sewer area were analyzed for dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (dlPCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to follow early diagenetic changes during transport and deposition of organic matter. SP showed a temporal trend of higher total organic carbon (TOC) and fresher dlPCBs and PBDEs signatures during warm-rainy months related to more efficient washout of residues. TOC-normalized sediment trap concentrations suggest a diagenetic magnification of dlPCBs during cold-dry months due to enhanced decomposition of TOC, whereas most labile PBDEs appear to follow TOC decay.