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The volatilization of pesticides from crop canopies in the field should be modeled within the context of evaluating environmental exposure. A model concept based on diffusion through a laminar air-boundary layer was incorporated into the PEARL model (pesticide emission assessment at regional and local scales) and used to simulate volatilization of the pesticides parathion and chlorothalonil from a potato crop in a field experiment. Rate coefficients for the competing processes of plant penetration, wash off, and phototransformation in the canopy had to be derived from a diversity of literature data. Cumulative volatilization of the moderately volatile parathion (31% of the dosage in 7.6 days) could be simulated after calibrating two input data derived for the related compound parathion-methyl. The less volatile and more slowly transformed chlorothalonil showed 5% volatilization in 7.6 days, which could be explained by the simulation. Simulated behavior of the pesticides in the crop canopy roughly corresponded to published data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the number, surface and volume concentrations, and size distribution of particles next to the 1-710 freeway during February through April 2006. 1-710 has the highest ratio (up to 25%) of heavy-duty diesel vehicles in the Los Angeles highway network. Particle concentration measurements were accompanied by measurements of black carbon, elemental and organic carbon, and gaseous species (CO, CO2). Using the incremental increase of CO2 over the background to calculate the dilution ratio, this study makes it possible to compare particle concentrations measured next to the freeway to concentrations measured in roadway tunnels and in vehicle exhaust. In addition to the effect of the dilution ratio on the measured particle concentrations, multivariate linear regressions showed that light and heavy organic carbon concentrations are positively correlated with the particle volume in the nucleation and accumulation modes, respectively. Solar radiation was also positively correlated with the particle surface concentration and the particle volume in the accumulation (40–638 nm) mode, presumably as a result of secondary particle formation. The methods developed in this study may be used to decouple the effect of sampling position, meteorology, and fleet operation on particle concentrations in the proximity of freeways, roadway tunnels, and in street canyons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive air samplers (polyurethane foam disks) were deployed at 23 background locations along a broadly west-east transect in 8 northern European countries and analyzed for PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs, and a range of organochlorine pesticides (HCB, DDTs, and DDEs). PCBs and PAHs were highest at the center of the transect (Denmark) and lowest in northern Norway. HCB was relatively uniformly distributed, reflecting its persistence and high degree of mixing in air. Higher DDE and DDT levels occurred in Eastern Europe and at several sites in Central Europe. PBDE levels were generally similar at all sites, but lower for some locations in Eastern Europe and Ireland. Emissions information for PCBs, HCB, and PBDEs was used as input for a multi-media chemical fate model, to generate predicted air concentrations and compare with these measured values. Different scenarios were highlighted by this exercise: (i) country and compound combinations where the national inventory gave predicted air concentrations in close agreement with those measured (e.g., PCBs in the UK); (E) country and compound combinations where predicted concentrations were well below those measured, but where advection of emissions from elsewhere is likely to be important (e.g., PCBs in Norway); (iii) consistent underestimation of compound concentrations by the emissions modeling (i.e., HCB); and (iv) general overestimation of ambient concentrations (i.e., PBDEs). Air mass trajectory analysis showed the likely role of long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) on national levels. In general, advection from the south and west of Europe appeared to contribute to ambient POPs levels for countries in the center and northeast of the transect. Guidelines are presented as to how countries that want to assess their POPs source inventories can do so with this relatively cheap initial screening approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atmospheric histories of two potent greenhouse gases, tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6), have been reconstructed for the 20th century based on firn air measurements from both hemispheres. The reconstructed atmospheric trends show that the mixing ratios of both CF4 and C2F6 have increased during the 20th century by factors of ∼2 and ∼10, respectively. Initially, the increasing mixing ratios coincided with the rise in primary aluminum production. However, a slower atmospheric growth rate for CF4 appears to be evident during the 1990s, which supports recent aluminum industry reports of reduced CF4 emissions. This work illustrates the changing relationship between CF4 and C2F6 that is likely to be largely the result of both reduced emissions from the aluminum industry and faster growing emissions of C2F6 from the semiconductor industry. Measurements of C2F6 in the older firn air indicate a natural background mixing ratio of <0.3 parts per trillion (ppt), demonstrating that natural sources of this gas are negligible. However, CF4 was deduced to have a preindustrial mixing ratio of 34 ± 1 ppt (∼50% of contemporary levels). This is in good agreement with the previous work of Harnisch et al. (18) and provides independent confirmation of their results. As a result of the large global warming potentials of CF4 and C2F6, these results have important implications for radiative forcing calculations. The radiative forcings of CF4 and C2F6 are shown to have increased over the past 50 years to values in 2001 of 4.1 × 10-3 Wm-2 and 7.5 × 10-4 Wm-2, respectively, relative to preindustrial concentrations. These forcings are small compared to present day forcings due to the major greenhouse gases but, if the current trends continue, they will continue to increase since both gases have essentially infinite lifetimes. There is, therefore, a large incentive to reduce perfluorocarbon emissions such that, through the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, the atmospheric growth rates may decline in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]