Symposium Report

UNU International Symposium on

“Ecosystem Impacts of POPs”

Bangkok, Thailand (26-27 April 2005)

Introduction

The UNU international symposium on “Ecosystem Impacts of POPs” was held at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on 26-27 April 2005 as part of a series of annual UNU international symposia on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by the UNU Project: Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the East Asian Hydrosphere This symposium was jointly organized by the Environmental Research and Training Center (ERTC) and the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP) of Thailand with the support from Shimadzu Corporation in Japan. During the two-day symposium, a number of presentations were made by professionals on critical issues related to POPs pollution followed by interactive discussions. A brief summary of the presentations on POPs pollution and the results of the UNU POPs monitoring in eight Asian countries are presented in addition to a short summary of the panel discussions.  

Overview of Ecosystem Impacts of POPs

Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan of Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, presented the overview of the emerging POPs, focusing on perfluorochemicals and their ecodynamics. As UNEP encourages identifying additional POPs as candidates for hazardous pollutants which requires future global approaches, Dr. Kannan reported that several contaminants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) were reported as these emerging environmental contaminants. The environmental distribution of global contaminants such as PFCs was unknown until recently, even though perfluorinated compounds have been used in a wide variety of consumer products for more than 50 years. He explained further the transport mechanisms and toxic effects of these compounds.

Technical Session 1: Ecosystem Impacts of POPs

Dr. Masatoshi Morita of the National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan (NIES) described biological effect of persistent organic compounds on birds, by introducing cases from Japan. Through bioaccumulation, POPs give rise to adverse effects to human and wildlife. Effects of POPs on cormorants especially impacts on their eggs were highlighted in his presentation. According to Dr. Morita, accumulation of POPs is high among fish eaters and birds of prey. As various monitoring activities are being undertaken in Japan, it seems clear that sub-lethal effects can still be seen on wildlife even 20 years after usage of chemicals is stopped.

Levels and status of contamination of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in human breast milk in Vietnam were outlined by Prof. Pham Hung Viet from Hanoi National University. His research on these pollutants in human breast milk revealed that the contamination level in human breast milk from Vietnam was the highest among the values reported for developing countries and developed nations in the Asian region. Further analysis of infant exposure to DDTs through breast milk suggested that the daily intake for many individuals were close to or above the threshold for adverse effects. He concluded that this finding might raise concern for child health in Vietnam.

Dr. Kawser Ahmed from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, presented POPs’ impacts on coastal ecosystems focusing on marine fishes in the country. After conducting research on chemical pollution in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system in Bangladesh, he found that concentrations of some POPs in marine fishes of Bangladesh exceeded the certified value particularly in those species such as Peneaus indicus, Hilsa ilisha and Johnius belengerii. Elevated concentration of PCB, DDT, and Heptachlor were also reported. Because of significant hormonal affects which can dramatically reduce the reproductive rate, Dr. Kawser suggested that there is the possibility of affecting the entire population of the species, which might in turn bring some unwanted ecological changes to the ecosystem.

Technical Session 2: Public and Policy Concerns about Ecosystem Impacts of POPs

In this session, Mrs. Somsri SuwanJaras of the Ministry of Industry, Thailand, presented the overview of the past and present legal instruments for managing POPs in the country. Even though the Government of Thailand has been establishing several legal measures to control the harmful effect of chemical substances including the Factory Act of 1992, and Hazardous Substance Act of 1992, she claimed that there was not yet legislation established addressing POPs specifically in Thailand. She provided a brief overview of the two major acts on chemical management in the country. She emphasized that the focus of national the legal instruments should be on registration process, as use of most of POPs are already prohibited.

Mr. Pansak Pramokchon of the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, reported on the chemical risks in terms of human health. After emphasizing possible adverse effects from these chemicals to human health as well as to the environment, he stressed the importance of appropriate chemical management to minimize these impacts. In addition, he provided the clear overview of the “National Master Plan on Chemical Safety” which aims to facilitate chemical management in Thailand.

Mr. Yoshitoku Yoshida, the Ministry of Environment (MoE), Japan, described the environmental monitoring activities in the country by emphasizing the Article 16 of the Stockholm Convention, which concerns effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation. During his presentation, he also explained the Japan’s effort in relation to the Stockholm Convention in the East Asian region including of the workshops on POPs monitoring in the region that were held in December 2002 and 2003.

Presentation of Country Reports for the UNU Project

The results of monitoring of persistent organochlorines for the last three years in the two important river systems, namely Laguna/Rizal and Pangasinan river systems, were presented by Dr. Evangeline Santiago of the University of the Philippines. During the first year of the current phase compounds such as BHC, aldrin, trans- and cis-chlordane, dieldrin, DDT and endrin aldehyde were detected in water samples. On the other hand, in the second year monitoring, only traces of trans- and cis-chlordane from both provinces were found during the first sampling. With detailed figures, she illustrated that significant contamination with chlordanes in both river systems were observed in the third year.

Investigation undertaken by Prof. Viet, Hanoi National University, focused on monitoring of such POPs as HCB, heptachlor, aldrin, cis-chlordane, trans-chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, and p,p’- DDT in surface water and sediments that were collected in the northern part of Vietnam. Even though endrin was predominant compound in water samples in both samplings, he found that the concentrations were slightly higher in the rainy season compared to those in the dry season. From sediment samples, he reported that p,p’-DDT and endrin were found with the highest concentrations. According to Prof. Viet, such seasonal changes of POP concentrations in freshwater and sediment indicate the possible inflow changes of the investigated rivers in rainy and dry seasons.

As part of the UNU Project, Dr. Arum Prajanti, SARPEDAL, Indonesia, presented monitoring results of POPs in water and sediment samples in the country during the year 2004-2005. Samples were collected in four cities in Java Island including Jakarta, Bogor, Semarang and Surabaya. As a result of the monitoring, she reported that some of POP compounds especially DDT and its derivates were detected in water samples in very low concentration, and other POP compounds such as Heptachlor and Dieldrin were also found at a few sampling sites.

Dr. Huang Yeru, the Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection, presented results and findings of the UNU monitoring project for 2004-2005. The focus of the monitoring was on 14 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). More than 115 soil samples, 23 sediment samples, and 14 water samples were collected and analyzed with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. As a result of the monitoring, she reported that only HCB in the range of 0.1―2.4ng/L was found in all water samples.

Prof. Mustafa Ali Mohd at the University of Malaya in Malaysia introduced the method development and analysis of estrogenic compounds in environmental water samples. He explained that the detection of Estrone and b-estradiol in the aquatic environment is alarming as these compounds are classified as endocrine disrupting chemicals. In his research, a simple and sensitive method using solid phase extraction and gas chromatograph mass spectrometer was developed to analyze trace levels of estrone and b-estradiol in small quantities of environmental water samples. After the analysis, he detected both estrone and b-estradiol in nine of the 17 wastewater samples.

Dr. Jae Oh, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, explained about a new method without using expensive instrumentations such as HRGC-HRMS or ECNI-LRMS, compared to previous measurement methods of toxicologically relevant Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners,. This method was devised by combining the analytical separation power of PYE column HPLC and high-resolution gas chromatographic techniques. According to his study, this combination resolves co-elution of congeners that occur in disproportionate ratios and allows accurate congener-specific determination of target compounds.

Reflected by the need for a simple, cost-effective and rapid means to process various aqueous samples in relation to POP analysis, novel sample preparation techniques have been developed by Dr. Hian Kee Lee and his team at the National University of Singapore. He showed that two kinds of such techniques exhibited good analytical sensitivity and low detection limits for POPs in seawater samples.

The monitoring results of POPs in water and sediment samples from four main rivers in Thailand were presented by Ms. Ruchaya Boonyatumanond, Environmental Research and Training Centre. She reported that residues of POPs in water samples were of low concentration, compared to the Surface Water Quality Standard and the Coastal Water Quality Standard of Thailand. For sediment samples, she stated that the trend of POPs residues was detected to be at higher concentration than those in water samples.

Technical Session 3: Evaluation of POPs Pollution in Asia

Mr. Tawatchai Hongtrakul, the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand, gave an overview of issues related to POPs pesticides in Thailand. He explained that all POPs pesticides used historically in Thailand were imported, and these chemicals were applied to soils for termite control in addition to the agricultural use. He emphasized that considering consequences of the widespread use of pesticides for a long period of time in Thailand is crucial as it inevitably results in the wide and long-lasting distribution of chemicals in the environment.

Dr. Ramaswamy Babu Rajendran, Bharathidasan University, India, reported on the monitoring of persistent toxic substances by different analytical approaches. Among several approaches to measure chemical contaminants in the environment, he explained that combinations of biochemical analytical tools would help to solve problems associated with detection of persistent pollutants in nature. Several other types of analytical methods were also introduced during his presentation.

Dr. Muhammad Aslam Tahir, Director of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), explained general situations regarding the national water quality monitoring in Pakistan. According to him, the problems of water scarcity and various health issues in the country were caused by several factors such as rapid population growth, increased urbanization and industrialization. He also gave an overview of the mega project called “National Water Quality Monitoring Program” initiated by PCRWR. Through the analysis of water samples under this project, his team has found that water resources of Pakistan were facing four major water quality tribulations; which are contamination by bacteria, arsenic, nitrate, and fluoride.

Technical Session 4: Issues for Research on POPs Pollution:  Trends and Challenges

Dr. Yasuyuki Shibata of the NIES, Japan, presented on analysis of POPs-related chemicals in the environment particularly focusing on perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results of the monitoring of these chemicals in fish and surface waters were introduced during the presentation.

Issues related to PAHs was further described by Prof. Gullaya Wattayakorn, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. She explained about contamination of PAHs in sediments collected in estuarine and coasts in Thailand. According to her research findings, there was an increasing trend of PAH contamination in sediments in the upper part of the Gulf, which could be a warning sign of potential risk in the Gulf of Thailand.

Ms. Nuchida Rungthawornwong, Pollution Control Department of Thailand, explained the situation and implementation process of Thailand related to the Stockholm Convention on POPs. Compared to other reports during the symposium, the presentation was focused more on policy side issues related to international conventions.

Panel Discussion on POPs

Panelists: Zafar Adeel (UNU-INWEH), Keiichiro Fuwa (UNU), Kurunthachalam Kannan (Wadsworth Center), Fukuya Iino (UNU), Masatoshi Morita (NIES), Yasuyuki Shibata (NIES), Gullaya Wattayakorn (Chulalongkorn University)

During the panel discussion, Dr. Kannan highly regarded the monitoring activities undertaken by the project coordinators in the Asian region. He also underscored the importance of cooperation among countries which has been exercised at the Coastal Hydrosphere Project, as it is one of the best ways to implement sound international chemical management. He thinks such a cooperation under the project should be used as a model. He further commented on usefulness of the ecosystem approach, emphasizing the need to verify the actual affects on the ecosystems and advised that one way to accomplish this is to start combining both chemical and biological data.

While emphasizing the need of chemical analysis, Dr. Morita and Prof. Santiago called attention to the inclusion of PCBs and dioxin and also to the impacts of such chemicals on humans and ecosystems. Prof. Wattayakorn highlighted the importance of frequent inter-calibration exercise in every one or two year as to compare with other countries and to improve quality of analysis. She also pointed out an increasing role of ecological risk assessment. Such risk assessment, Dr. Iino further commented, is to be the key to fill the gap between monitoring and policy.

Concerning the future direction of the UNU project, most of the panelists agreed that it should start looking at the overall POPs impacts on the ecosystems through such media as biota and biomarkers, and these acquired data should be stored for possible further analysis in the future.

Regarding the management of the UNU project, it was suggested by several panelists that more focus should be placed on expanding the network of participants who are engaged in the project and also on building capacity among younger scientists from now on.