Assessing seasonal and spatial trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Indian agricultural regions using PUF disk passive air samplers Karla Pozo a, g , Tom Harner a, * , Sum Chi Lee a , Ravindra K. Sinha b , B. Sengupta c , Mark Loewen d , V. Geethalakshmi e , Kurunthachalam Kannan f , Valerio Volpi g a Atmospheric Science & Technology Directorate, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T4, Canada b Centre for Environmental Science, School of Earth Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of Bihar, Patna, India c Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhavan, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi, India d Freshwater Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada e Department of Agricultural Meteorology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India f Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, New York, USA g Environmental Science Department, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy New data on air concentrations of POPs across Indian agricultural regions is generated using cost-effective passive air samplers. article info Article history: Received 19 July 2010 Received in revised form 15 September 2010 Accepted 17 September 2010 Keywords: Persistent organic pollutants POPs Organochlorine pesticides Passive air samplers India abstract The first survey of persistent organic pollutant (POP) concentrations in air across several Indian agri- cultural regions was conducted in 2006e2007. Passive samplers comprising polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed on a quarterly basis at seven stations in agricultural regions, one urban site and one background site. The project was conducted as a sub-project of the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network. In addition to revealing new information on air concentrations of several organo- chlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the study has demonstrated the feasibility of conducting regional-scale monitoring for POPs in India using PUF disk samplers. The following analytes were detected with relatively high concentrations in air (mean for 2006 and 2007, pg/ m 3 ): a- and g-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (292 and 812, respectively); endosulfan I and II (2770 and 902, respectively); p,p 0 -DDE and p,p 0 -DDT (247 and 931, respectively); and for the sum of 48 PCBs,12,100 (including a site with extremely high air concentrations in 2007) and 972 (when excluding data for this site). Crown Copyright Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction India is a large producer and consumer of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are semivolatile organic compounds and include chemicals such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and industrial chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). POPs are of special concern because of their toxicity, persistence, long-range transport and potential to bioaacumulate (UNECE, 1998). The Stockholm Convention (2001) on POPs, which is coordinated through the United Nations Environment Pro- gramme (UNEP), is intended to reduce or eliminate the use, discharge and emission of these compounds to improve the health of the environment and reduce the risk to humans and wildlife (Stockholm Convention, 2001). Several countries in Southeast Asia are Parties to the Convention, with India ratifying in January 2006. India is a populous country (w1.13 billion) (Bureau-USA, 2007) and is predominantly an agrarian society. The GDP (gross domestic product) for agriculture and allied sectors during 2005e2006 was estimated at 61 trillion rupees., which is equivalent to 130 billion USD and amounts to a 19% share of the total GDP (Government of India, 2008). Agricultural production in India has increased tremendously over the past several decades due to the introduction of high-yielding crops, the use of agro-chemicals, and improved irrigation facilities (Agoramoorthy, 2008). In addition to their use in Indian agriculture, pesticides are also important for controlling vector-borne diseases. Many of the pesticides regulated under the Stockholm Convention on POPs were once heavily used in India, and some illegal and/or limited use and/or production may still occur * Corresponding author. E-mail address: tom.harner@ec.gc.ca (T. Harner). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 0269-7491/$ e see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2010.09.025 Environmental Pollution 159 (2011) 646e653