Contribution of atmospheric emissions to the contamination of leaf vegetables by persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Application to southeastern France

Solen Quéquiner (1) , L. Musson (1) , Yelva Roustan (1) , P. Ciffroy (2)

1 CEREA - Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique
2 EDF R&D LNHE - Laboratoire National d’Hydraulique et Environnement

A modeling approach has been developed to estimate the contribution of atmospheric emissions to the contamination of leaf vegetables by persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It combines an Eulerian chemical transport model for atmospheric processes (Polair3D/Polyphemus) with a fate and transport model for soil and vegetation (Ourson). These two models were specifically adapted for POPs. Results are presented for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). As expected no accumulation of BaP in leaf vegetables appears during the growth period for each harvest over the 10 years simulated. For BaP and leaf vegetables, this contamination depends primarily on direct atmospheric deposition without chemical transfer from the soil to the plant. These modeling results are compared to available data.

Mots clés: Persistent organic pollutant; Atmospheric pollution; Multi-media modeling; Leaf vegetable contamination; Benzo(a)pyrene

Mots clés: Persistent organic pollutant Atmospheric pollution Multi-media modeling Leaf vegetable contamination Benzo(a)pyrene

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Planète et Univers [physics]; Interfaces continentales, environnement

Solen Quéquiner, L. Musson, Yelva Roustan, P. Ciffroy. Contribution of atmospheric emissions to the contamination of leaf vegetables by persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Application to southeastern France. Atmospheric environment, 2009, 44 (7), pp.958-967. ⟨10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.11.012⟩. ⟨hal-00589288⟩