(CCPP) Strengthening Coastal Pollution Management in the Wider Caribbean Region By: Hanneke Van Lavieren United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton Canada
Challenges Coasts receive pollution via run-off, rivers & groundwater discharge; agriculture, industry & domestic sources Limited to no information on POPs in coastal areas -sources of POPs/PTS & ecosystem effects in tropical marine system Limited capacity to monitor beyond excess nutrients Poor connections between coastal managers & labs - so situation goes unmonitored until there is a fish kill or health concern
Project details Assessment, Monitoring and Management of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) and other Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) in Coastal Ecosystems of the Wider Caribbean Region Funded through the World Bank - Canada POPs Trust Fund and UNU INWEH funds From 2007-2011 Engaged environmental labs, Universities, Government agencies and coastal managers in 8 project countries
Project study area - 8 countries Belize Dominican Republic Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Mexico St Lucia Trinidad & Tobago
Project Goals 1. Build capacity to evaluate & manage pollution 2. Upgrade national and regional laboratories 3. Initiate baseline sampling and ongoing regional monitoring of coastal waters 4. Develop set of local demonstration projects that trace back and identify sources 5. Build network among stakeholders 6. Build understanding of the POPs/PTS problem in the management community, governments, general public
Lab evaluation and training Network 10 labs evaluated on site 2 regional lead labs identified: CINVESTAV Mexico and UWI Jamaica Inter-lab comparison exercise Mexico, Jamaica & 2 Canadian labs Equipment upgrades for Mexico and Jamaica labs Training in Mexico & Canada in 2009 (quality control, & assurance, extraction, clean up techniques etc.) Instructional video on POPs extraction and clean up methods
Chemicals Monitored 12 Stockholm Convention POPs + 9 added in 2009 Contaminants of emerging concern: Down the drain chemicals (e.g. pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors) Current use pesticides used in agriculture and turf care for the tourism industry Brominated flame retardants
Why the White Grunt Advantages: Found across the WCR Philopatric distribution in coral reef habitats Relatively easy to recognize Relatively easy to catch Some previous POPs data from the western Caribbean (MBRS project) Disadvantages: Low tissue lipid content (~1%) Low on the food chain Not common in polluted environments Not always a preferred food species Decided to sample dorsal muscle: Edible tissue
Sampling sites Completed Analyses: Trinidad & Tobago 17 samples (6 sites) St. Lucia 20 samples (5 sites) Jamaica 19 samples (7 sites) Mexico 12 samples (4 sites) Belize (PBDEs only) 12 samples (6 sites) 5-8 sites per country Total of 53 sites sampled
POPs: Spatial Patterns Across WCR Concentrations in ng/g wet wt. 8 Conc (ppb) 6 4 2 0 Sum PCBs HCB Sum BHCs Total endosulfan Sum heptachlor Sum chlordane Methoxychlor Sum DDTs Total 'drins Mean St. Lucia Mean Mexico Mean Trin & Tobago Mean Jamaica
POPs: Sites in St. Lucia Concentrations in ng/g wet wt. 20 16 Conc (ppb) 12 8 4 0 Sum PCBs HCB Sum BHCs Sum endosulfan Sum heptachlor methoxychlor Vieux Fort Bl Bay Vieux Fort Airport Castries Hbr Roseau Fond d'or
PCB Congener Patterns at Two Sites in St. Lucia. Concentrations in ng/g wet wt. 7 6 5 4 3 Conc (ppb) 2 1 0 PCB18 PCB31/28 PCB52 PCB49 PCB101 PCB87 PCB110 PCB149 PCB118 PCB153 PCB138 PCB187 PCB128 PCB173 PCB156+171 PCB180 PCB170+190 PCB194 VFAirport 1 VFAirport 2 VFAirport 5 VFB Bay 1 VFB Bay 2 VFB Bay 3
Sources of contamination in Vieux Fort Black Bay? - Airport - Urban pesticide use Black Bay
PBDEs in White Grunt from Belize 0.7 0.6 0.5 Conc (ppb) 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 PBDE-3 PBDE-7 PBDE-15 PBDE-17 PBDE-28 PBDE-49 PBDE-71 PBDE-47 PBDE-66 PBDE-77 PBDE-100 PBDE-119 PBDE-99 PBDE-85 PBDE-126 PBDE-154 PBDE-153 PBDE-138 PBDE-184 PBDE-183 PBDE-191 PBDE-197 PBDE-196 Very low concentrations No obvious spatial patterns across the sampling sites
Fish Consumption Advisories Mean and maximum concentrations and fish consumption advisory limits (ng/g wet weight) for organochlorine compounds and PCB detected in white grunt muscle. The advisory levels reported are for the most stringent values from the USA, and where applicable, for higher values from Health Canada. Chemical Mexico Jamaica St. Lucia Trinidad & Tobago Advisory Limit Aldrin ND 0.07, 0.09 0.93, 0.84 0.45, 0.49 300 Endrin ND 0.21, 0.48 0.13, 0.14 0.42, 1.28 300 Dieldrin 0.09, 0.13 0.14, 0.19 0.76, 1.28 0.05, 0.09 300 BHC 1.12, 3.11 1.17, 4.91 5.07, 34.32 0.19, 0.84 100, 300 DDT 0.24, 0.33 0.15, 0.51 0.32, 1.25 0.14, 0.32 5000 chlordane 0.92, 1.55 0.33, 0.98 0.67, 1.27 0.05, 0.15 300, 5620 HCB 0.16, 0.23 0.02, 0.11 0.41, 1.25 0.15, 0.21 10, 100 PCB 0.15, 0.26 0.83, 2.01 7.83, 25.24 1.22, 3.20 50, 2000
Conclusions Concentrations generally low & spatially homogeneous across WCR, indicating atmospheric sources of PCBs Point sources may contribute to contamination by pesticides POPs contamination in white grunt is not likely a health risk to fish consumers BUT only preliminary data from a small number of fish collected from 5 of 8 countries These are the only data on POPs in coastal fish across the WCR
Demonstration Projects Both aimed at identifying pollutants and tracing sources of contamination: 1. Passive Sampler Monitoring for Contaminants in the Caribbean Coastal Zone of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico commenced December 2008 2. Quantitative Biomonitoring of POPs in Oysters in Caribbean Coastal Zones commenced February 2009, in Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad
Passive sampling of contaminants in coastal aquifers Caribbean Coastal Pollution Project Riviera Maya in Yucatan Mexico - rapid recreational development poor planning Potential for contamination of aquifer from domestic wastewater, surface runoff, spills, agriculture, maintenance of lawns and turf Potential for transport contaminants to coastal zone Passive samplers deployed in five cave & aquifer systems along Yucatan coastline
Some Results Compound SPMD extracts: PCBs Organochlorine pesticides Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) Probable Source Industry, urban sources, atmospheric transport Agriculture, atmospheric transport Urban/road runoff, industry, atmospheric transport Industry, sewage, atmospheric transport Amount Detected Very low Very low Moderate Very low Location Detected PA, Tulum PA, Tulum Synthetic musks Sewage Low PA, Tulum Alkylphenol surfactants Industry, sewage Low PA, Tulum Antibacterial (Triclosan) Sewage Moderate to high PA, Tulum POCIS Extracts: Herbicides (2,4-D, etc.) Turf care Low PA Fungicides Turf care Not detected - Caffeine Sewage Moderate PA, Tulum Human use pharmaceuticals Sewage Moderate PA, Tulum Illicit drugs Sewage Low PA, Tulum PA PA
Quantitative Biomonitoring of POPs in Caribbean Oysters Mexico, Trinidad, Jamaica - native oysters for use as quantitative biomonitors Bivalves (sessile) can be used to assess toxicity/stress at given site Involvement of graduate students (Training) CINVESTAV Mexico UWI Trinidad, Jamaica campuses
Results POPs in Oysters from Jamaica & Trinidad - low relative to threshold levels for human health concerns Concentrations of lindane and PCBs consistent with white grunt from same countries Total PCBs most likely to undergo food web biomagnification Oysters & white grunt occupy low to mid-trophic levels in marine food web - risk of higher PCB concentrations in top trophic level piscivorous fish & fish eating sea birds
Recommendations Coastal environments generate > 50% of GDP (tourism, fisheries, and marine shipping) in WCR nations & provide valuable environmental services, particularly coastal protection Critical improvement needed to CZM is to protect overall environmental quality, rather than relying on crisis-mode efforts to mitigate specific instances of pollution WCR nations lack information on contaminant loads & risks that toxic chemicals & other pollutants pose to ecological and/or human health Effective adaptation strategies needed if WCR nations are to counter impacts on coastal ecosystems of changing climate, growing coastal populations and pressures
Recommendations: Regional monitoring Build region-wide coordinated, comprehensive monitoring program of coastal waters (nutrients & advanced pollutants) as one part of an integrated coastal management program Share data, open database and state of the coasts reporting every 4th year Build on White Grunt model, expand to new pollutants & other biota (& other ways as appropriate - within capability) Assessment of ecological & human health risks posed by contamination
Recommendations: Regional monitoring Justification for POPs and PTS monitoring programs in the WCR: Participating in global monitoring programs (e.g. GAPS, proposed passive sampler AQUA-GAPS) Monitoring for efficacy of POPs reduction strategies Monitoring for fish and food consumption guidelines Identifying contaminant hot spots and point sources (e.g. PCBs at Vieux Fort Black Bay in St. Lucia; Chlordecone in French West Indies)
Recommendations: Capacity Challenges There is capacity at some centres in the WCR for analysis of POPs and PTS BUT, challenges include: Aging analytical equipment Labs that don t meet health and safety standards Slow access to equipment servicing (maintenance) and analytical supplies Difficulty in retaining trained analytical personnel Lack of laboratory accreditation, quality control programs, participation in inter-lab comparison programs, etc. Need for technical training and education
Recommendations: Capacity Challenges THERE IS CURRENTLY: Capacity to analyze for the dirty dozen POPs Little capacity to analyze: New POPs (the nasty nine) Perfluorinated compounds Brominated flame retardants Chlordecone Mercury and methyl mercury Emerging contaminants Current use pesticides Contaminants in wastewater See Lisa Sandy s presentation
Recommendations The WCR should establish regional centres for analysis of contaminants No need to duplicate equipment and expertise in every country Individual countries can prepare samples (e.g. extraction) for shipment to regional centres for analysis using standard protocols Pay for analysis on a cost-recovery basis?
Gracias Thank you www.inweh.unu.edu