This presentation will consider the global scale sources, fate, behaviour and processes governing persistent organic pollutants (POPs). I will discuss some of the key scientific concepts and their significance, such as long-range transport, cold condensation, and global fractionation, together with global mass balances, primary and secondary sources, and the scientific challenges of investigating them. I will advocate a ‘whole system’ approach to studying POPs, and the benefits of combining source estimation, lab studies, field measurement campaigns and modelling. This journey will take us from some of the early studies on POPs up to present day questions and priorities. I will highlight the importance and value of international collaborations and key colleagues in the field. The Stockholm Convention requires countries to conduct source inventories and to obtain spatial and temporal trend data. Timely work with passive sampling made it possible to start to assemble regional and global scale databases, and to assemble global, regional and national source and emission inventory data, together with time trend data, and to scrutinise this with multi-media fate models. This approach – global chemical mass balances and accounting – is now fundamental to underpinning chemicals regulations. A key scientific issue for POPs is whether ambient levels and exposures to POPs are controlled by primary (ongoing, ‘fresh’) sources or secondary (previously emitted compound re-cycling through the environment). This requires the search for evidence to distinguish primary and secondary source controls, to inform decision-makers, who are being challenged – ‘is there more we can do to control these compounds?; is the Stockholm Convention working?’. China, India and some developing countries now provide some of the most important challenges for environmental monitoring and chemicals management, with issues such as e-waste export and disposal, use of pesticides and antibiotics, and where water, air and soils quality are now a critical focus.

Award Address. (ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology sponsored by the Aerodyne and the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry) POPs: Story of global pollutants

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.