Conception/Leipzig. Even the snow on Aconcagua Mountain in the
Andes is polluted with PCBs. An international team of
researchers detected low concentrations of these toxic,
carcinogenic chlorine compounds in samples taken from America's
highest mountain. The snow samples taken at an altitude of 6200
metres are among the highest traces found anywhere in the world
of these substances, which have been banned since 2001. In
particular, the samples contained more persistent compounds like
hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 138) and heptachlorobiphenyl (PCB 180).
Mountain ranges could be a natural trap for persistent organic
pollutants that are transported by the atmosphere all over the
world, say the scientists from IIQAB in Barcelona (Now IDAEA),
the UFZ in Leipzig and the University of Concepcion in Chile,
writing in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters.
According to the researchers, these findings highlight the need
to investigate further the role of mountains in the spread of
these pollutants and the associated ri