Polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the North American atmosphere.
To assess the spatial concentration variability of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the atmosphere on a large continental scale, their annually integrated air concentrations were determined in 2000/2001 using XAD-based passive air samplers (PAS). The network included 40 stations in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Belize and Costa Rica, and covered 72 degrees of latitude and longitude. Total concentrations of PCB and PBDE congeners ranged from below the detection limit to 130 ng PAS-1 and 24 ng PAS-1, respectively. PCBs displayed a large variation between urban, rural and remote sites, whereas PBDEs did not follow such a pattern. Open burning of "Penta"-containing waste may have contributed to the PBDEs detected in the air samples from rural and remote areas. Air from the Canadian Arctic had a relatively higher percentage of lighter PCB congeners than air sampled in the tropical region, which is interpreted as evidence for global fractionation.
Shen
Li
L
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ont. M1C 1A4, Canada.
Wania
Frank
F
Lei
Ying D
YD
Teixeira
Camilla
C
Muir
Derek C G
DC
Xiao
Hang
H
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D007221:Industry; D009656:North America; D010647:Phenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D010647:Phenyl Ethers; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; C031538:phenyl ether; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls