Monitoring Network in the Alpine Region for Persistent and other Organic Pollutants

Rationale

Photo: I. Sedivy

POPs are Persistent Organic Pollutants which accumulate in organic substances and in the food chain. They can induce cancer and cause acute damage to skin, nervous system and organs at high doses. The Alps seem to be a major sink for long-range transported and globally distributed atmospheric pollutants. Barrier effects, high precipitation and low ambient temperature further their deposition. Pilot studies yielded evidence that this might also be the case for POPs. To assess the current situation in the Alps, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Slovenia have launched the project MONARPOP (Monitoring Network in the Alpine Region for Persistent and other Organic Pollutants) with support from the Alpine Space Programme (INTERREG IIIB) of the European Union.

Project aims

MONARPOP monitors POPs and other organic pollutants with respect to their

• long-range transport and load to remote alpine regions
• prevalent source directions
• loads within the alpine range, including regional differences
• variation with altitude
• present stocks, bound in forests of the alpine region
• possible biological effects of the detected loads