Determination of trends in the ambient air Persistent Organic Pollytants (POPs)  concentrations in the Pacific Islands Region using the polyurethane foam based passive air samplers

The project involves the use and application of polyurethane foam disks (PUFs) as an air filter in the determination of the concentrations of POPs in ambient air. Emphasis is placed on the evaluation of the impact of  the local primary point sources, secondary and diffusive sources as well as the long range transport (LRT) of these organic compounds. The air samplers will be used to test the levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment; POPs are poisonous chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects. They last a long time in the environment and can be carried by wind and water.  The pilot project on passive air sampling initially intends to acquire baseline data for the first 12 month,  and with the availability of funding,  should establish a regional POPs monitoring program to cover a number of regional countries.

The project is  a collaborative  initiative between the Research Centre of Excellence for Eco-toxicological Research (RECETOX)  of the Masaryk University in the Czech Republic  with IAS and funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Project Team: Houloubek, I, Klanova, J, Jones, K.C., Harner, T.,  Kostrhounová, R., Cupr,P., Kohoutek, J., Aalbersberg, W., Votadroka, W., Lal, V.