Global distillation
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. (March 2013) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Part of a series on |
| Pollution |
|---|
 |
Global distillation or the grasshopper effect is the
poles and mountain tops. Global distillation explains why relatively high concentrations of POPs have been found in the Arctic environment and in the bodies of animals and people who live there, even though most of the chemicals have not been used in the region in appreciable amounts.[1]
Mechanism
The global distillation process can be understood using the same principles that explain
polychlorinated biphenyls, and lindane
.
Effect of global distillation
Several studies have measured the effect, usually by correlating the concentrations of a certain chemical in air, water, or biological specimens from various parts of the world with the latitude from which the samples were collected. For example, the levels of PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, and lindane measured in water, lichens, and tree bark have been shown to be greater in higher latitudes.[2]
The effect is also used to explain why certain
body burdens of certain POPs ever measured. Recent studies conclude that for most pollutants slower degradation in colder temperatures is a more important factor in accounting for their accumulation in cold region than global distillation. Exceptions include highly volatile, persistent substances such as chlorofluorocarbons.[4][5]
See also
- Air pollution
- Health effects of pesticides
- Solvent
- Stockholm Convention
References
- ^ "Ridding the world of POPs: A guide to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. April 2005. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- PMID 7569923.
- ^ "Western Airborne Contaminants Project - Results" (PDF). National Park Service Air Resources Division. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- .
- ^ Fabio Bergamin: The result of slow degradation, ETH News, 2014.
Further reading
- Cone, Marla (2006). Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of The Arctic. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-4259-1.
External links
- The Grasshopper Effect and Tracking Hazardous Air Pollutants, Environment Canada.
