| Title | Sediment analysis to support the recent glacial origin of DDT pollution in Lake Iseo (Northern Italy) |
| Abstract | In the present study, a depth-related distribution of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in sediments of Lake Iseo, one of the major southern Alpine Italian lakes, is reported in order to further test the hypothesis of melting Alpine glaciers as a secondary source of contamination. In a previous paper, a ''glacier contamination hypothesis'' was suggested to explain the unexpected contamination of the biota of Lake Iseo, mainly fed by the Alpine melting ice. The sediment core analyses covered around the last 50 years. The organic matter profile evaluated as a Loss-On-Ignition percentage indicated transition of the basin from an oligotrophic to a mesotrophic status at around the early 1970s, but there was no evidence of the shift to eutrophy in the 1980s. Among DDTs, pp'DDE was the predominant metabolite, accounting on average for 79.4% of the total DDT concentrations and ranging from 6.4 to 447.5 ng g_1 d.w. PCBs ranged from 5.0 to 163.7 ng g_1 d.w. The maximum PCB concentrations were found in sediment layers corresponding to the 1970s when the highest production and use of these compounds occurred in Italy. In contrast, concentrations of DDTs showed a sharp increase from the early 1990s, long after their agricultural use was banned in Italy. This delayed pollution provides support for the hypothesis that the recent retreat of glaciers represents a secondary pollution source for old pesticides that were stored in the ice at the time of their use in agriculture |
| Source | Chemosphere 85 (2), pp. 163–169 |
| Keywords | Persistent Organic PollutantsSediment coreSouth-Alpine lakeGlacier contamination hypothesis |
| Journal | Chemosphere |
| Editor | Elsevier, Oxford, Regno Unito |
| Year | 2011 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.06.037 |
| Authors | Bettinetti, R (Bettinetti, Roberta)[ 1 ] ; Galassi, S (Galassi, Silvana)[ 2 ] ; Guilizzoni, P (Guilizzoni, Piero)[ 3 ] ; Quadroni, S (Quadroni, Silvia)[ 1,2 ] |
| Text | 205192 2011 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.06.037 ISI Web of Science WOS 000297612700006 Persistent Organic Pollutants Sediment core South Alpine lake Glacier contamination hypothesis Sediment analysis to support the recent glacial origin of DDT pollution in Lake Iseo Northern Italy Bettinetti, R Bettinetti, Roberta 1 ; Galassi, S Galassi, Silvana 2 ; Guilizzoni, P Guilizzoni, Piero 3 ; Quadroni, S Quadroni, Silvia 1,2 1 Univ Insubria, Dept Chem Environm Sci, I 22100 Como, Italy 2 Univ Milan, Dept Biol, I 20133 Milan, Italy 3 CNR ISE, I 28922 Verbania, Italy In the present study, a depth related distribution of Persistent Organic Pollutants POPs in sediments of Lake Iseo, one of the major southern Alpine Italian lakes, is reported in order to further test the hypothesis of melting Alpine glaciers as a secondary source of contamination. In a previous paper, a glacier contamination hypothesis was suggested to explain the unexpected contamination of the biota of Lake Iseo, mainly fed by the Alpine melting ice. The sediment core analyses covered around the last 50 years. The organic matter profile evaluated as a Loss On Ignition percentage indicated transition of the basin from an oligotrophic to a mesotrophic status at around the early 1970s, but there was no evidence of the shift to eutrophy in the 1980s. Among DDTs, pp DDE was the predominant metabolite, accounting on average for 79.4% of the total DDT concentrations and ranging from 6.4 to 447.5 ng g_1 d.w. PCBs ranged from 5.0 to 163.7 ng g_1 d.w. The maximum PCB concentrations were found in sediment layers corresponding to the 1970s when the highest production and use of these compounds occurred in Italy. In contrast, concentrations of DDTs showed a sharp increase from the early 1990s, long after their agricultural use was banned in Italy. This delayed pollution provides support for the hypothesis that the recent retreat of glaciers represents a secondary pollution source for old pesticides that were stored in the ice at the time of their use in agriculture 85 ID_PUMA cnr.ise/2011 A0 081 . ID Modulo commessa 4007 TA.P02.014.002 094 Modificazioni strutturali e funzionali degli ecosistemi acquatici anche in relazione al loro bacino imbrifero, in risposta ai cambiamenti meteo climatici e, in particolare, in risposta alle deposizioni atmosferiche Sediment analysis to support the recent glacial origin of DDT pollution in Lake Iseo Sediment_analysis_to_support_the_recent_glacial_origin_of_DDT_pollution_in_Lake_Iseo_Northern_Italy_.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier 0045 6535 Chemosphere Chemosphere Chemosphere Chemosphere. Chemosphere. Environmental chemistry, Chemosphere. Persistent organic pollutants and dioxins, Chemosphere. Environmental toxicology and risk assessment, Chemosphere. Science for Environmental toxicology, piero.guilizzoni GUILIZZONI PIERO TA.P02.014.002 Impatto dei cambiamenti globali sugli ecosistemi acquatici |
