Environmental cycling of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Baltic Region

Objectives

The overall goal of the RTD project "POP-CYCLING-BALTIC" is to develop a compre-hensive, multicompartmental model to study the fate and behavior of POPs in the Baltic Sea environment.

The following POPs have been selected:

  • hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs),
  • selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
  • hexachlorobenzene (HCB),
  • dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethane (DDE),
  • benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), and
  • selected dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans.

Approach - Compartmental Mass
Balance Model


Formulated in Fugacity Terms

 Specific objectives of the project are:

Task 1. Model Development - to develop, evaluate, and use a non-steady state multimedia mass balance model that describes the fate of selected POPs in the Baltic Sea environment, in order to:

  • examine physical, chemical, and biological processes resulting in the migration of POPs through the individual environmental compartments,
  • assess the relative importance and absolute magnitude of various chemical inputs to the Baltic Sea,
  • evaluate the relative importance of degradation, sediment burial, export in the atmosphere and outflow to the North Sea as loss mechanisms of POPs from the Baltic Sea.

[ Previous page | Next page ]