Towards a regional passive air sampling network and strategy for new POPs in the GRULAC region: Perspectives from the GAPS Network and first results for organophosphorus flame retardants Cassandra Rauert a , Tom Harner a, ⁎, Jasmin K. Schuster a , Karen Quinto a , Gilberto Fillmann b , Luisa Eugenia Castillo c , Oscar Fentanes d , Martín Villa Ibarra e , Karina S.B. Miglioranza f , Isabel Moreno Rivadeneira g , Karla Pozo h , Andrea Padilla Puerta i , Beatriz Helena Aristizábal Zuluaga j a Air Quality Processes Research Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada b Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Instituto de Oceanografia, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil c Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances, Heredia, Costa Rica d CENICA/INE, Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico e Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cájeme, Cájeme, Sonora, México f Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CONICET, Mar del Plata, Argentina g Laboratorio de Física de La Atmósfera, Instituto de Investigaciones Física, UMSA, La Paz, Bolivia h Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Facultad de Ciencias, Concepción, Chile i Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Arauca, Colombia j Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Manizales, Colombia HIGHLIGHTS • Special initiative has been implemented addressing monitoring limitations in GRULAC. • First reported data of organophospho- rus flame retardants in the GRULAC re- gion • TCPP dominated at most sites with TBEP dominating the profiles in Chile. • Key issues, limitations and challenges with program implementations are discussed. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 19 May 2016 Received in revised form 28 June 2016 Accepted 28 June 2016 Available online xxxx Editor: D. Barcelo A discussion is presented on the limitations for air monitoring studies around the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), highlighting key issues requiring further attention, and reports on how a special initiative is addressing these limitations. Preliminary results are presented for the first reported data on organo- phosphorus flame retardant (OPFR) concentrations in outdoor air from the GRULAC region. At the majority of sites the concentrations and the profile of the OPFRs detected were similar with tris (chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) dominating (b MDL to 1280 pg/m 3 ). However, the urban location at Concepción, Chile presented higher Science of the Total Environment xxx (2016) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: Tom.Harner@Canada.ca (T. Harner). STOTEN-20359; No of Pages 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.229 0048-9697/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv Please cite this article as: Rauert, C., et al., Towards a regional passive air sampling network and strategy for new POPs in the GRULAC region: Perspectives from the GAPS Network..., Sci Total Environ (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.229