Directly measuring octanol-air partition ratios using a gas chromatography retention time (GC-RT) method.

The octanol-air partition ratio (K) is a fundamental property used for screening chemicals for concern, depending on their potential to bioaccumulate and harm living systems. With millions of chemicals used in commerce, unfortunately, less than 800 compounds currently have experimentally measured K values due to limitations in traditional measurement techniques. We aimed to develop a direct gas chromatography retention time (GC-RT) method using a custom-packed column, with octanol as the stationary phase, for rapidly measuring K.

Global Sources of Fine Particulate Matter: Interpretation of PM Chemical Composition Observed by SPARTAN using a Global Chemical Transport Model.

Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM) is a leading risk factor for the global burden of disease. However, uncertainty remains about PM sources. We use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) simulation for 2014, constrained by satellite-based estimates of PM to interpret globally dispersed PM mass and composition measurements from the ground-based surface particulate matter network (SPARTAN).

Fate of brominated flame retardants and organochlorine pesticides in urban soil: volatility and degradation.

As the uses of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) are being phased out in many countries, soils could become a secondary emission source to the atmosphere. It is also anticipated that the demand for alternative brominated flame retardants (BFRs) will grow, but little is known about their environmental fate in soils. In this study, the volatility and degradation of BFRs and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in soil was investigated.

Visualising the equilibrium distribution and mobility of organic contaminants in soil using the chemical partitioning space.

Assessing the behaviour of organic chemicals in soil is a complex task as it is governed by the physical chemical properties of the chemicals, the characteristics of the soil as well as the ambient conditions of the environment. The chemical partitioning space, defined by the air-water partition coefficient (K(AW)) and the soil organic carbon-water partition coefficient (K(OC)), was employed to visualize the equilibrium distribution of organic contaminants between the air-filled pores, the pore water and the solid phases of the bulk soil and the relative importance of the three transport processes removing contaminants from soil (evaporation, leaching and particle erosion). The partitioning properties of twenty neutral organic chemicals (i.

Aging of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in muck soil: volatilization, bioaccessibility, and degradation.

An organic rich muck soil which is highly contaminated with native organochlorine pesticide (OCs) was spiked with known amounts of (13)C-labeled OCs and nonlabeled polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Spiked soils were aged under indoor, outdoor, and sterile conditions and the change in volatility, surrogate bioaccessibility, and degradation of chemicals was monitored periodically over 730 d. Volatility was measured using a fugacity meter to characterize the soil-air partition coefficient (K(SA) = C(SOIL)/C(AIR)).

Air-water exchange of anthropogenic and natural organohalogens on International Polar Year (IPY) expeditions in the Canadian Arctic.

Shipboard measurements of organohalogen compounds in air and surface seawater were conducted in the Canadian Arctic in 2007-2008. Study areas included the Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay, and the southern Beaufort Sea. High volume air samples were collected at deck level (6 m), while low volume samples were taken at 1 and 15 m above the water or ice surface.

Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin as non-exhaustive extractant for organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in muck soil.

Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) was used as a non-exhaustive extractant for organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in muck soil. An optimized extraction method was developed which involved using a HPCD to soil mass ratio of 5.8 with a single extraction period of 20 h.

Investigation of source apportioning for alpha-HCH using enantioselective analysis.

Enantiomeric analysis can be used as a complementary tool for source apportionment of chiral compounds, particularly for alpha-HCH. In this study we used archived samples from studies related to the distribution of POPs in air-water and air-soil-grass systems. Such approach is based on the behaviour of chiral compounds released into the atmosphere from a primary source, when they are expected to show racemic or close to racemic composition.

Organochlorine pesticides in soils of Mexico and the potential for soil-air exchange.

The spatial distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCs) in soils and their potential for soil-air exchange was examined. The most prominent OCs were the DDTs (Geometric Mean, GM=1.6 ng g(-1)), endosulfans (0.

Polychlorinated naphthalenes in polar environments--a review.

Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) consist of naphthalene substituted with 1-8 chlorines, yielding 75 possible congeners. They were formerly used in industry, occur at trace levels in commercial PCB mixtures, and have current sources in combustion processes. PCNs are widespread in arctic air with higher levels in the European Arctic.

Passive air sampling of organochlorine pesticides in Mexico.

The spatial and temporal variation of organochlorine pesticides (OCs) in air across Mexico was investigated by deploying passive samplers at eleven stations across the country during 2005-2006. Integrated samples were taken over three-month periods and quantified for DDT compounds, endosulfans, toxaphenes, components of technical chlordane, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), and dieldrin. Enantiomers of chiral chlordanes and o,p'-DDT were determined on chiral stationary phase columns as an indicator of source and age.

Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in the Canadian Archipelago. 2. Air-water gas exchange of alpha- and gamma-HCH.

Air and water were sampled in the Canadian Archipelago during summer on the Tundra Northwest 1999 (TNW-99) expedition and air was sampled at Resolute Bay (RB), Nunavut, to determine the gas exchange of alpha- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and the enantiomers of alpha-HCH. Air concentrations of sigmaHCH during TNW-99 and at RB were similar, averaging 55 and 53 pg m(-3), respectively. The net gas exchange direction was volatilization for alpha-HCH and near equilibrium or deposition for gamma-HCH, whereas actual fluxes depended on the fraction of open water.

Enantioselective degradation of organochlorine pesticides in background soils: variability in field and laboratory studies.

Variability in the enantioselective degradation of chiral organochlorine pesticides (alpha-HCH, cis- and trans-chlordane (CC and TC), and o,p'-DDT) in the field and laboratory was investigated. Background soils presumably receive the same EF signature of a compound via atmospheric deposition and then degrade that compound in a way that can vary over small spatial areas. Background soils from woodland and grassland areas were sampled to compare chiral signatures and determine the spatial variability within a few square meters.

Hexachlorocyclohexanes in the Canadian archipelago. 1. Spatial distribution and pathways of alpha-, beta- and gamma-HCHS in surface water.

Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in the surface water of the Canadian Archipelago and south Beaufort Sea were measured in summer, 1999. Overall concentrations of HCH isomers were in order of abundance: alpha-HCH (3.5 +/- 1.

Emission of legacy chlorinated pesticides from agricultural and orchard soils in British Columbia, Canada.

Air samples were collected above agricultural fields in the Fraser Valley and orchards in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada, to investigate volatilization of organochlorine pesticides used in the past. Concentrations of pesticides in air were elevated over soils that contained higher residues. Soil/air fugacity ratios at sites with the higher soil residues were calculated relative to air sampled at 40 cm height and background air.

Henry's law constants for hexachlorobenzene, p,p'-DDE and components of technical chlordane and estimates of gas exchange for Lake Ontario.

The Henry's law constants (HLC) for trans- and cis-chlordane (TC, CC), trans-nonachlor (TN), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and p,p'-DDE were determined by the gas-stripping method over a temperature range of 5-35 degrees C. The HLC variation versus temperature (K) was described by logH=m/T+b. Parameters of this equation were (with standard deviations) TC: m=-1524+/-158, b=6.

Soil-air relationships for toxaphene in the southern United States.

Volatilization of toxaphene residues from agricultural soil was investigated at farms in the southern United States by collecting air samples 40 cm above the soil. The concentration of total toxaphene ranged over several orders of magnitude, from <3 to 6,500 ng g(-1) dry weight in soil, and <0.3 to 42 ng m(-3) in air.

Soil-air exchange of organochlorine pesticides in the Southern United States.

Soil samples were collected from 30 farms in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas during 1999-2000 to determine residues of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). One or more of the DDT compounds (p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDE) was above the quantitation limit (0.1 ng g(-1) dry weight) in every soil, and toxaphene was above the quantitation limit (3 ng g(-1)) in 26 soils.