Publication details
Do high mountain ski areas have contamination caused by perfluorinated compounds?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Book of abstracts: 16th European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.emec16.com/files/Definitive.pdf |
| Field | Air pollution and control |
| Keywords | ski areas; contamination; ecotoxicology; perfluorinated compounds; passive sampling; ambient air pollution; PFCs |
| Description | A typical representative tree species of high mountains is Swiss mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra). Pinus mugo needles meet all basic criteria for selection as a type of passive sampler for ambient air pollution. Research is significantly lacking on determination of organic compounds in Pinus mugo needles; therefore a new laboratory method was established [1] and used to evaluate the burden of p erfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in ski resorts of the W estern Carpathians (Slovakia). PFCs like perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and sulfonates are primary adsorbed on airborne particles, while more volatile compounds such as fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are in gaseous form [2]. Compounds bound to airborne particles may deposit on the wax surface layer of needles. This process occurs on all trees because of wet and dry deposition and does not explain the possible higher occurrence of these substances in n eedles. This study identified differences in concentrations of PFCs between an urban reference site and typical background high mountain site. Results showed more than seven times higher concentration at the high mountain site (38.708 ng/g dw of pine needl es) compared to the urban site (5.032 ng/g dw) which was normally polluted by POPs. Several studies have identified a higher level of PFCs in the blood of professional ski waxing technicians, in snow and soil samples with positive correlations between conc entrations and distance from the start of ski trails [3,4]. Therefore, high concentrations of PFCs can be attributed to the use of ski waxes and special outdoor clothes of skiers and tourists containing fluorinated membranes. This interpretation was suppor ted by analysis of samples from other selected ski resorts and final results confirm our hypothesis. |