POP treaty, Russian PCBs & vertical profile blurbs

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

Pruzin, Daniel.  "Air Pollution:  Nations to Sign Accords on Heavy Metals,
Persistent Organic Pollutants at Meeting." International Environment
Reporter (Vol. 21, No.13)  24 June 1998: 619-620.

This article looks at the fourth meeting in a series of "Environment for
Europe" conferences.
More than 50 countries were expected to sign an accord on heavy metals and
persistent organic pollutants (POPs). There were 16 substances the POPs
protocol would focus on.  The heavy metals protocol will target reducing
emissions from cadmium, mercury and lead.  And there was to be a separate
conference devoted to public participation on environmental
decision-making.


"Polychlorinated Biphenyls: United States Announces Agreement to Accelerate
 PCB Phaseout in Russia."  International Environment Reporter (Vol.21, No.
14) 8 July
1998: 668.

The United States has agreed to work with Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway
and Sweden to help speed up the phaseout of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB's) in Russia.
  Iceland is expected to join the effort as well. Russian authorities will
first gather
information regarding identifying PCB production facilities. The next phase
will be implementing proper disposal of PCB and finding alternatives to PCB
for the industries affected.


Kannan, Narayanan, Nobuyoshi Yamashita and Gert Petrick, et. al.
"Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Sea of Japan" Environmental Science and
Technology, Vol.32, No. 12 (June 15, 1998): 1747.

Determining levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) and nonylphenols
(NoPhs) in the Sea of Japan helps to assess the levels of marine pollution,
and also to
understand the "deep sea structure" of this semi-enclosed body of water.
Using the recently developed Kiel in-situ filtration/extraction pump system
(KISP) two vertical profiles (deep water and shallow water) and two
space-integrated surface profiles were taken.  The concentrations of PCB's
and NoPhs in solution, as well as the composition of the CB mixtures in
solution in the vertical profile indicates a vertical structure that is
similar to that of the open ocean, as illustrated in an earlier study by
Kim (Biogeochemical processes in the North Pacific).  Principal
component analyses of the results show a relation between deep and bottom
waters, and surface waters of the nearby region.