Passive air samplers (PAS) consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were used to assess air concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in rural, urban, and industrial sites in Concepción, Chile during a two-month deployment in the summer of 2007. Results for PCBs and PAHs showed a clear rural-urban-industrial gradient. PCB air concentrations (pg m−3) ranged from -30 to -350 and were ~2 to 5 times higher at industrial sites compared to rural sites. For PAHs, air concentrations (ng m−3) ranged from 26 to 230 and were 4 to 8 times higher at industrial sites. The PCB congener profile was dominated by high molecular weight PCBs at urban and industrial sites. The PAH profile was dominated by 3- and 4-ring PAHs accounting for more than 90% of the Σ15PAH, and dominated by phenanthrene (~40%). Of the HCH isomers, only y–HCH was detected with air concentrations ranging from 5 to 120pg m−3. While for DDT isomers, p,p’–DDE was the only compound detected, ranging from below detection limit (BDL) to 360pg m−3. Other OCPs (chlordanes, heptachlor and Dieldrin) showed low air concentrations (pg m−3) on the order of ~-1 - 3. Endosulfan, which is a newly listed persistent organic pollutant (POP) under the Stockholm Convention (SC) on POPs, ranged from 14 to 20pg m−3. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) also newly listed under the SC, were relatively uniform across the transect with air concentrations (pg m−3) in the range of ~5 to 10. This study represents one of the first efforts to characterize the POPs composition in ambient air for urban and industrial areas of Chile

Coastal wetlands are ecosystems that provide multiple benefits to human settlements; nonetheless, they are seriously threatened due to both a lack of planning instruments and human activities associated mainly with urban growth. An understanding of their functioning and status is crucial for their protection and conservation. Two wetlands with different degrees of urbanization, Rocuant-Andalién (highly urbanized) and Tubul-Raqui (with little urbanization), were analyzed using temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, granulometry, fecal coliform, and macroinvertebrate assemblage variables in summer and winter. In both wetlands marked seasonality in salinity, temperature and sediment texture classification, regulated by oceanic influence and changes in the freshwater budget, was observed. In the Rocuant-Andalién wetland, the increases in pH, dissolved oxygen, gravel percentage, and coliform concentration were statistically significant. Urbanization generated negative impacts on macroinvertebrate assemblage structure that inhabit the wetlands; greater richness and abundance (8.5 times greater) were recorded in the Tubul-Raqui wetland than in the more urbanized wetland. The multivariate statistical analysis reflects the alteration of these complex systems.