WMO/EMEP/UNEP workshop on modelling of atmospheric transport and deposition of persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals

16-19 November 1999, WMO/GAW N 136, Geneva, Switzerland
EMEP/MSC-E report 1/2000

The Workshop on Modelling of Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals held in Geneva from 16 to 19 November 1999 was convened in accordance with the decision of the Executive Body for the Convention on the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (ECE/EB.AIR/59).

Workshop was organized and sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Meteorological Synthesizing Centre East (MSC-E) of EMEP in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The main objectives of the Workshop were to evaluate the state of knowledge and the status of work with regard to emissions, measurements and modelling of Heavy Metals (HMs) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs); to promote the development of models of long range atmospheric transport and deposition, parameterization of physical-chemical transformation processes, evaluation of exchange between various environmental compartments and of risk assessment; to identify the most essential issues in these fields accounting for the decisions of the WMO/EMEP Workshop; to make recommendations on concrete actions in order to promote the implementation and compliance with the obligations of new Protocols on HMs and POPs to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution of the UN Economic Commission for Europe as well as to contribute to international legally binding instrument on POPs initiated by UNEP.

The workshop in Geneva was attended by 68 experts from Austria, Republic of Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Chilli, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, CCC, MSC-E and MSC-W of EMEP and by representatives of WMO, UNEP, HELCOM, AMAP, EUROTRAC, EMEP, UN ECE Secretariat and Working Group on Effects.

The workshop programme was prepared by the scientific committee involving: Dr. Sergey Dutchak (EMEP/MSC-E, Russia), Dr. John Munthe (IVL, Sweden), Prof. Jozef Pacyna (NILU, Norway), Prof. Gerhard Petersen (GKSS, Germany), Dr. Addo van Pul (RIVM, the Netherlands), Dr. Alexey Ryaboshapko (EMEP/MSC-E, Russia), Prof. Victor Shatalov (EMEP/MSC-E, Russia).