Migration and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the atmosphere - a modelling approach

Abstract

Considering that the fate and behaviour of contaminants within the environment is an extremely complex issue, this paper analyzes the development of predictive models which can contribute to the understanding of the release of a contaminant. Different types of models concerning the atmospheric transport of POPs are examined, taking into consideration that these models can be used to simulate the behaviour of contaminants. A successful simulation, in which there is satisfactory agreement between observations and results derived from the models, suggests that a solid theoretical understanding of how chemicals move, react, and distribute among media is sufficient to explain their behaviour in real-world situations.