The transport and cycling of both natural and anthropogenic chemicals
in the environment is an extremely dynamic proms that is important for
the well being of all earth's inhabitants. The atmosphere plays a maj
or role in the transport and cycling of chemicals, especially those th
at are volatile or semi-volatile in nature. Atmospheric water, in the
form of snow, fog, and rain can provide major transport pathways for c
hemicals that are distributed both regionally and globally. The concen
trations of organic pollutants in the following compound classes have
been measured in snow, rain, fog, and the ambient air surrounding the
precipitation for the last seven years in urban, rural, and mountainou
s regions in Central and Northern Switzerland: n-alkanes, polycyclic a
romatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychl
orinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs)
, phenols, and a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Results
from these sampling campaigns indicate that the pollutants measured w
ere: 1) strongly influenced by artifacts associated with sampling, ext
raction, and analyses; 2) dependent on the local meteorological condit
ions; and 3) can be modeled quite well by equilibrium partitioning the
ory between the gaseous, aqueous, and particulate phases in the atmosp
here.