Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Atmospheric Concentrations of the Newly Listed Chemicals in the “Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants”

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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are a group of diverse chemicals that are semi-volatile in nature and resist degradation in the environment. They have the propensity to enter the gas phase at ambient temperatures and undergo long range atmospheric transport. These chemicals have received intense international attention because of their ubiquity, persistence, high bioaccumulation potential and harmful biological effects. These concerns eventually led to the development of the “Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants”, a global treaty aimed at reducing and eventually banning an initial list of the twelve “worst’’ POPs in 2001. Provisions were made for the additional listing of new compounds as scientific evidence and global consensus deems it necessary. Since the Convention came into force, 10 new compounds have been included on the list of compounds targeted for elimination. There is virtually no information on the levels of most of these compounds in Kuwait or in the Middle East. Article 16 of the Convention requires signatories to provide data on a regular basis on the levels of these compounds to enable the effectiveness of the control measures to be assessed. In this project we make a proposal to generate spatial and temporal atmospheric concentration data on the ten “newly’’ added chemicals in Kuwait with the view to understand their environmental behavior and to support Kuwait’s effort in meeting its treaty obligations. The data is also required for inclusion in Kuwait’s national implementation plan, which is to be drafted in the coming year. The objectives of the study are to (i) establish ambient concentrations of the “new” POPs; (ii) assess their spatial and temporal changes; and (iii) to identify potential source(s) and/or hot spots of these compounds in Kuwait.