Economic upheaval in 1990–93 and the ecological situation in central Germany

German reunification in 1990 resulted in economic and social upheavals in all of the newly-formed German states. One typical example is the Leipzig–Halle–Bitterfeld region, where many of the industrial plants were fully or partly demolished for economic and technical reasons. Additionally, changes in the political climate led to the closure of a number of major military bases. Despite generally improved environmental standards, dismantling was sometimes accompanied by substantial emissions of chlorinated insecticides and other persistent organic pollutants, as is highlighted for the first time in the present paper. Our analyses are based on a regional biomonitoring net covering 7500 km2 in the Leipzig–Halle–Bitterfeld area during the time period 1990-93. The results enable increased concentrations of airborne contaminants to be attributed to processes linked to the economic upheaval of this time.