Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) bioaccumulate in biota, have long residence times in the environment,
and potential for long range atmospheric transport. Here, we show the first measurements of
legacy POPs in the atmosphere of the Antarctic Plateau from 73
South to the South Pole. Samples were
taken using passive samplers. The amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (as P26PCBs) per sample ranged
from 0.8 ng to 26 ng. The mass per sample of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and g-hexachlorocyclohexane
(g-HCH) in the gas-phase ranged from 0.67 ng to 2.7 ng and from non-detected to 2.6 ng, respectively.
The lowest amounts of POPs were observed at the South Pole. This work shows that POPs have also
reached the remotest region of Earth from primary sources. The assessment of the air mass back trajectories and current knowledge of atmospheric circulation over the Antarctic continent suggests that
POPs reach the Antarctic Plateau by subduction of air masses from the free troposphere.
