East Asia Monitor
UNU
e-Newsletter
Guest Editorial Comment: Dr Masatoshi Morita, Executive Acting Director
(IAI) National Institute for Environmental Studies, Advisor to UNU Project on Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the East Asian Hydrosphere - Monitoring of POPs in the East Asian Region
UNU's project on Environmental Monitoring and Governance in East Asian Countries has contributed to capacity building for pollution monitoring in the laboratories of eight participating countries in East Asia, as well as to the general understanding of environmental pollution in this most rapidly industrializing area in the world. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been as a key instrument for the project, and has been successfully used in the monitoring of priority pollutants, including Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC's).
In the first stage of the project (1996-1999FY), the major effort was given to capacity building including installation of instruments and training of analysts. In this way, laboratories were equipped to use GC/MS for the monitoring of organic pollutants in air, water, and food, thanks to the strong support of Shimadzu co-operation. The quality of the analytical data was discussed and dramatic improvements were attained during the period. Now the contributing laboratories are well established and respected within their respective countries for the high quality of their analytical capabilities.
The second stage (1999-2001FY) was to further develop the analytical methods and to accumulate accurate data. This data is useful in order to gain an understanding of pollution levels and geographical distribution of organic pollutants. It has particularly focused on EDCs. During the period, analytical techniques reached a very refined level so that even minor changes in the pollution levels could be identified. Not only the data attained, but also the project itself became more far-reaching, through the joint co-operation with UNESCO, ORI of the Tokyo University, the Iwate Prefecture. A database of information on land-based pollution in the East Asian Coastal Hydrosphere has been collected through the project.
The project is now entering its third phase, starting in 2002FY, with a focus on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) -which have endocrine disrupting effects and are to be controlled internationally under the Stockholm Convention. Twelve chemicals are already nominated as POPs at present, however new POPs have to be considered in the near future. The use of GC/MS, especially the latest very sensitive machine supplied to the project by Shimadzu Corp. will make it possible to identify the new pollutants to be noted and to determine very low concentrations of POPs. It is to be hoped that through this work, the risks to human health and wildlife that are to be associated with POPs in the environment may be properly assessed and minimized.