Occurrence, Fate and Impact of Atmospheric Pollutants on Environmental Health

Throughout the world, urban and agricultural communities have become more spatially intertwined resulting in blurred land use boundaries. Thousands of persistent and non-persistent organic pollutants are emitted to the atmosphere from primary and secondary sources. Emissions from urban, agricultural, and natural areas, such as particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-volatile organic pollutants, can decrease overall air quality and negatively affect human health. These atmospheric pollutants can also be transported an deposited to proximate and remote ecosystems leading to adverse effects. After being emitted to the atmosphere, pollutants are subject to a variety of processes, such as diffusive air-water, air-soil and air-vegetation exchanges, gas-particle partitioning, dry/wet deposition, photochemical degradation, etc. All of these processes may influence their atmospheric occurrence, transport, deposition, and impact on the environment. This publication, developed after a symposium at the 2012 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Congress in Berlin Germany, examines emerging trends in research related to the role of the atmosphere in facilitating the global transport of pollutants and as an exposure pathway for humans and wildlife. Major topics include the examination of atmospheric processes controlling the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants; modeling and assessment of human and wildlife exposure; and novel approaches for utilizing the atmosphere as a tool to assess sources of contamination.Preface ; Atmospheric Processes Controlling Fate and Transport ; 1. Atmospheric Transport, Cycling and Dynamics of Polychlorinated ; Biphenyls (PCBs) from Source Regions to Remote Oceanic Areas ; Rosalinda Gioia, Jordi Dachs, Luca Nizzetto, Rainer Lohmann, and Kevin C. Jones ; 2. Soil-Air Exchange Controls on Background Atmospheric Concentrations of ; Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs), and ; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): A Case Study from Temperate ; Regions ; Ana Cabrerizo, Jordi Dachs, and Damia Barcelo ; Modeling and Assessment of Human and Wildlife Exposure from ; Atmospheric Pollutants ; 3. Trace Metals in Saharan Dust: The Use of in Vitro Bioaccessibility ; Extractions To Assess Potential Health Risks in a Dustier World ; Suzette A. Morman, Virginia H. Garrison, and Geoffrey S. Plumlee ; 4. Human Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Urban and ; Rural Ambient Air ; Barend L. van Drooge ; 5. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Residues on Tobacco Smokers' ; Hands: Potential Vector for Exposure to Non-Smokers ; T. J. Fleming and J. T. F. Ashley ; 6. Utilizing Monitoring Data and Spatial Analysis Tools for Exposure ; Assessment of Atmospheric Pollutants in Denmark ; Ole Hertel, Steen Solvang Jensen, Matthias Ketzel, Thomas Becker, ; Robert George Peel, Pia Viuf Orby, Carsten Ambelas Skjoth, Thomas Ellermann, ; Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, Mette Sorensen, Elvira Vaclavic Brauner, ; Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, Steffen Loft, Vivi Schlunssen, Jakob Hjort Bonlokke, ; and Torben Sigsgaard ; 7. Pesticides in Amphibian Habitats of Central and Northern California, ; USA ; Gary M. Fellers, Donald W. Sparling, Laura L. McConnell, Patrick M. Kleeman, ; and Leticia Drakeford ; Utilizing the Atmosphere as a Tool To Assess Sources of ; Environmental Contamination ; 8. Is There Still "New" DDT in North America? An Investigation Using ; Proportions of DDT Compounds ; Terry F. Bidleman, Perihan B. Kurt-Karakus, Fiona Wong, Henry A. Alegria, ; Liisa M. Jantunen, and Hayley Hung ; 9. Assessment of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Atmosphere of Latin ; America ; Karina S. B. Miglioranza, Mariana Gonzalez, Paola M. Ondarza, Francesca Mitton, ; Sebastian Grondona, Valeria Shimabukuro, Ricardo Barra, and Gilberto Fillmann ; 10. Perspective on Changes in Atmospheric Concentrations of Lindane and ; the Pre-Emergent Herbicides (Trifluralin, Ethalfluralin, Triallate) in the ; Canadian Prairies ; Renata Raina-Fulton, Patricia Hall, and Noof Alzahrani ; 11. Sources, Transport and Deposition of Atmospheric Organic Pollutants in ; the Mediterranean Sea ; Javier Castro-Jimenez, Naiara Berrojalbiz, Laurance Mejanelle, and Jordi Dachs ; Editors' Biographies ; Indexes ; Author Index ; Subject Index