4,5- 1LEPABE – Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, ALiCE – Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (nrneto@fe.up.pt)
- 2Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal, CONICET and Chemistry Department, FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Av. Velez Sarsfield, 1611, X5016 GCA Córdoba, Argentina
- 3IFREMER, CCEM Contamination Chimique des Écosystèmes Marins, F-44000 Nantes, France
- 4Physics of the Earth, Regional Campus of International Excellence (CEIR) “Campus Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, Edificio CIOyN, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- 5Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), 30120 Murcia, Spain
The establishment of strategies for the assessment of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in the atmosphere aiming the definition and validation of their spatial, temporal and chemical transport patterns can be achieved by passive sampling of air. This has implications in the fields of meteorology, atmospheric chemistry and even climate change, and the resulting databases can further feed advanced modelling strategies for a more comprehensive knowledge. These pollutants are widespread and generated in a multitude of (mostly) anthropogenic processes and exhibit high carcinogenic potential and ecotoxicity due to their persistence in different matrices (air, soil, vegetation, water, biota).
In this study, five different chemical classes were analysed: brominated flame retardants (BFRs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs, in this case, only HCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and synthetic musks (SMs). The first four have been studied for some time (legacy chemicals), but SMs have only recently raised concern (emerging pollutants), due to their high consumption and release into the environment, important bioaccumulation and endocrine disrupting potential. Passive air samples were collected in 13 sites in an area covering the Region of Murcia and the Alicante province (southeast Spain), deploying polyurethane foam (PUF) disks sequentially for three months in the period of one year, comprising four sampling campaigns, one per season. PAHs were the prevalent family, with total concentrations between 0.3 and 21.6 ng/m3, followed by SMs (n.d. – 0.094 ng/m3), PCBs (4.3-110.2 pg/m3), HCB (5.9-33.1 pg/m3) and BFRs (0.04-18.4 pg/m3).
The main objective of this work was to assess the levels and the spatial and temporal patterns of these pollutants in the Levantine coast (south-east Iberian Peninsula). With the outcome produced, field data and advanced chemistry transport modelling will be combined in the future to produce a comprehensive overview of a region with still a considerable lack of information on these pollutants of concern.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by national funds through FCT/MECI: LEPABE, UID/00511/2025 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/00511/2025) and UID/PRR/00511/2025 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/PRR/00511/2025) and ALiCE, LA/P/0045/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0045/2020).
How to cite: Ratola, N., Graziani, N., Castro-Jiménez, J., Ramos, S., Silva, J. A., and Jiménez-Guerrero, P.: Airborne legacy and emerging pollutants in the Murcia-Alicante region, 19th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Risks, Murcia, Spain, 6–9 Oct 2026, Plinius19-116, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-plinius19-116, 2026.
