Spatial character of polychlorinated biphenyls from soil and respirable particulate matter in Taiyuan, China.
As one of China's great metropolises, Taiyuan is affected by heavy chemical industry and manufacture of chemical products, and faces pollution from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the PCB concentrations in various environmental media in Taiyuan. We collected 15 soil samples, 34 respirable particulate matter (PM) samples (17 of PM(2.5) and 17 of PM(10)) from urban areas of Taiyuan, and measured a total of 144 PCB congeners (including some coeluting PCB congeners). The total PCB concentrations were 51-4.7 x 10(3) pg g(-1) in soil, 27-1.4 x 10(2) pg m(-3) in PM(2.5) and 16-1.9 x 10(2) pg m(-3) in PM(10). Of the PCB homologues, the dominant PCBs detected in the various media were all tri-CBs. Soil was relatively the most polluted media. Furthermore, principal-component analysis revealed that the major PCB source in Taiyuan may be associated with the main commercial PCB through long-range transmission. Toxic equivalency (TEQ) concentrations (based on ten dioxin-like PCBs) ranged from N.D. to 5.9 x 10(-3) pg-WHO TEQ g(-1) in soil, 2.0 x 10(-4)-3.4 x 10(-3)pg-WHO TEQ m(-3) and 1.0 x 10(-4)-1.2 x 10(-3) pg-WHO TEQ m(-3) in PM(2.5) and PM(10), respectively. In previous studies, PCBs were not a severe component of contaminant in Taiyuan; however, this study suggested there is a potential threat of human exposure to PCBs for residents of Taiyuan.
Fu
Shan
S
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, People's Republic of China.
Cheng
Hang-Xin
HX
Liu
Ying-Han
YH
Yang
Zhong-Zhi
ZZ
Xu
Xiao-Bai
XB
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls