Tree bark as a biomonitor for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers from Southern Jiangsu, China: levels, distribution, and possible sources.

Tree bark was used as the passive air sampler to evaluate polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) pollution and possible sources in Southern Jiangsu. The concentrations of PCBs and Σ7PBDEs were in the range of 0.58-5.19 ng/g dry weight (dw; mean 1.79 ng/g dw) and 17.9-243 pg/g dw (mean 74.7 pg/g dw), respectively. Tri-PCBs were the major PCB homologs, and technical PCB product Ar1242 was identified as the main source. BDE209 concentrations (4.29-456 ng/g dw) were relatively high, indicating that BDE209 pollution was serious in this region. The deca-BDE commercial mixture was the predominant commercial PBDE product used in this region. A good correlation was found between tree bark and polyurethane foam (PUF) disks in Σ6PCB monitoring, suggesting that both of them respond well to the gas-phase PCB monitoring.

Occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of PBDEs, PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs in surface sediments of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, China.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 25 surface sediments in three cities (Nantong, Wuxi, and Suzhou) in the Yangtze River Delta, eastern China were measured. The mean concentrations were 378, 45.8, 1.98, 4,002 ng/g for PBDEs, OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, respectively. Their levels in the sediments in the three cities were generally consistent with the city industrialization. PBDEs and OCPs were markedly dominated by deca-BDE (>90 %) and DDTs (>70 %). A principle component analysis of the analytes identified three major factors suggesting different sources of the contaminants in the sediments. PBDEs and the organic carbon in the sediments have common sources from industrial activities; whereas OCPs and PCBs, correlated with the second factor, were mainly from historical sources. The third factor with loadings of PAHs is indicative of various combustion sources. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the potential highest risk is from DDTs, for which 22 sites exceed the effects range low (ERL) values and three sites exceed the effects range median (ERM) value.

PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs, and PBDEs in the air of an e-waste recycling area (Taizhou) in China: current levels, composition profiles, and potential cancer risks.

Atmospheric concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in Taizhou, a large electronic equipment waste (e-waste) recycling area in East China. The mean concentrations (in summer and winter) of PCDD/Fs (0.45 and 0.39 pg WHO-TEQ m⁻³, where WHO-TEQ is the toxic equivalent set by the World Health Organisation), PBDD/Fs (0.22 and 0.18 pg WHO-TEQ m⁻³), and PBDEs (270 and 225 pg m⁻³) in this region have declined compared with those in 2005, due to regulations on primitive e-waste recycling activities. However, these concentrations remain higher than the historically highest levels in Europe and North America. The congener profiles of 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs were similar, with OCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF, OCDF, and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD being the most abundant congeners at all sites. The PCDD/F homologue profiles in the present study were different from those typically observed at non-e-waste locations, indicating a distinct source in this region. Seasonal differences were found in the lower brominated PBDE profiles. These differences indicate that the PBDE emission sources in summer (e.g., strong evaporation sources) differed from those in winter. However, the relatively steady congener profiles of the highly brominated PBDEs suggest that these PBDEs were controlled primarily by similar emission mechanisms. The lifetime excess cancer risks from exposure to PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs via inhalation ranged from 0.7 × 10⁻5 to 5.4 × 10⁻5, or approximately 80 cancer cases in the Taizhou population.

[Pollution Characteristics of PCDD/Fs in Ambient Air and Exposure Risk Assessment Around a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator in Beijing].

Ambient air was sampled and analyzed around a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) in Beijing from April 2014 to January 2015 to investigate the concentrations, profiles and seasonal variations of PCDD/Fs in the region using HRGC-HRMS technique. The mass concentrations and TEQ of 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs in the air samples ranged from 8.9 to 140 pg·m-3 and from 0.11 to 1.8 pg·m-3, respectively. The concentration values at 4 sampling sites in haze day in autumn and all 7 sampling sites in winter were higher than the ambient air standard of 0.6 pg·m-3 for dioxins regulated in Japan. 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF and OCDD dominated PCDD/Fs in all the samples for all four seasons with average contribution fractions of 20.5% and 14.0%, respectively, while 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the dominant congener contributing to TEQ (43.3%). The spatial distribution basically exhibited a trend that the concentrations at all sites were comparable and not related to the distances from the source. Seasonal variation showed obviously higher concentration in winter than the other three seasons, which may attribute to the high concentration of ambient particulate matter due to domestic heating and worse atmospheric dispersion that occurred in winter. The homologue and congener profiles of PCDD/Fs in the air samples differed from those of the flue gas emission from the MSWI, consistent with the principle component analysis results. Dioxin inhalation exposure dose estimation showed that the dioxin inhalation exposure risk of residents living in the studied area was at a relatively safe level[0.060-0.224 pg·(kg·d)-1]. However, the dioxin inhalation exposure risk in heavily polluted seasons still needs great concerns.

Changes of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in surface soils from urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta, in China between 2003 and 2012.

Surface soil samples were collected from urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China in 2003 and 2012, respectively. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed to determine if there were any changes in their levels and compositional profiles between the two sampling years. The concentrations of Σ8PBDEs ranged from 0.553 to 13.0 µg kg(-1)(with the mean of 3.31 µg kg(-1)) in the 2003 samples and from 1.01 to 43.2 µg/kg (with the mean of 10.0 µg kg(-1)) in the 2012 samples. The concentrations of Σ32PCBs ranged from 0.301 to 3.29 µg kg(-1)(with the mean of 1.01 µg kg(-1)) in the 2003 samples and from 0.205 to 3.96 µg/kg (with the mean of 0.991 µg kg(-1)) in the 2012 samples. The comparisons between the 2012 and 2003 data showed that PBDEs concentrations increased over the years, but PCB concentrations did not change much. BDE-209 was the major BDE congener in both the 2003 and 2012 samples, indicating that the dominant PBDE mixture production and usage in the YRD had been the commercial deca-BDE mixture. Investigation of the PBDE congener profiles indicated that there had been new input of octa-BDEs in this region in recent years. Little change was found for the pattern of PCBs congener profiles between 2 years' samples. As such, spatial distributions of PBDEs or PCBs in surface soil samples reflected a gradient (from high to low) from the central cities out to rural areas in both the 2003 and 2012 data. In addition, high concentrations of PBDEs were observed in the industrial and residential areas, whereas high concentrations of PCBs were only observed in the industrial areas.

[Levels and possible sources of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) tree bark from Southern Jiangsu, China].

Thirty-three camphor tree bark samples were collected from Southern Jiangsu in August 2012. They were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including hexachlorobenzene (HCB), DDTs (o,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDD, o,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDT), trans-chlordane and cis-chlordane. The concentrations of HCB, sigma6 DDTs and sigma Chlordanes ranged (dw) from 0.31 ng x g(-1) to 1.81 ng x g(-1), 0.40 ng x g(-1) to 17.3 ng x g(-1) and n. d. to 1.03 ng x g(-1), respectively. Due to the high volatility, the spatial distribution of HCB in Southern Jiangsu was uniform. Compared to the other results, the HCB concentration in Southern Jiangsu was lower. The historical usage of technical DDT mixture and the dicofol-type DDT were the major sources of DDTs in southern Jiangsu. The TC/CC ratio is usually used to distinguish between aged and fresh chlordane. According to the ratio of TC/CC, the chlordane in the urban area was derived from the fresh application of technical chlordane, and that in the rural area was attributed to the historical usage.

[Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in road dust from Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong].

Fifty-eight urban road dust samples were collected in June of 2009 from Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong, South Jiangsu Province. Eight polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners and thirty-two polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were measured using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Concentrations of Sigma8PBDEs and Sigma32PCBs ranged from 4. 21 to 1 471 microg.kg-1 and ND was 14. 1 microg.kg-1 in the road dust samples, respectively. On the average, levels of PBDEs were much higher than PCBs in samples. Compared with the levels of PBDEs and PCBs in urban soil samples, results indicated that PBDEs levels observed in road dust samples were much higher than urban soil samples collected from other cities. Road dust PBDEs from combustion sources and vehicle emission should be attracted concerns. No significant difference was found between the levels of PBDEs or PCBs in the industrial areas and the urban center area, but was higher than landscape area. The results showed that there were exited unintentional emissions of PCBs in industrial areas. Investigation of compositional pattern of PBDEs indicated that BDE209 was the predominant congener in all samples, contributed 96.7% (64. 1% -99.8% ) of Sigma8 PBDEs . The dominant congeners in the Sigma32PCBs were tetra-PCBs and hexa-PCBs. The compositional pattern of PCBs congeners found in the road dust was not consistent with that of the commercial PCBs product and other environmental matrix.

[PUF passive air sampling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmosphere of the Yangtze River Delta, China: spatio-temporal distribution and potential sources].

Atmosphere is regarded to be an important media in the environmental pollution research area. Passive air sampling was one of the effective complementary sampling techniques for the active high volume air sampler in recent decades. A regional scale investigation on the atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was conducted in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Polyurethane foam based passive air samplers were used to collect the atmospheric PAHs from 31 sampling sites in this area. PAHs concentrations ranged from 10.1 ng x m(-1) to 367 ng x m(-3) in this study. The annual average concentration of benzo [a] pyrene (BaP) reached 2.25 ng x m(-3), which was two times higher exceeding the national standard, GB 3095-2012. The atmospheric PAHs during four seasons decreased in the following order: autumn > winter > spring > summer. Larger BaP excessive areas were found in autumn and winter than other seasons. Moreover, an obvious emission of BaP was confirmed during the winter time. Traffic related petroleum combustion, coal and biomass burning, and coke oven were identified as potential sources of atmospheric PAHs, contributing 38.1%, 42.4%, and 19.5%, respectively.

[Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in camphor bark from speedy developing urban in Jiangsu Province].

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) were measured in camphor bark samples from 40 locations in Suzhou, Nantong and Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The samples were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The 8 PBDEs were detected in all samples and the average concentrations of total PBDEs (BDE28, 47, 100, 99, 153, 154, 183, 209) was 835 microg/kg lipid weight (ranged from 112 to 7 460 microg/kg lipid weight). The BDE209 was the main homologues and accounted for 65.7% -99.6% of sigma 8 PBDEs. The predominant commercial products source for PBDEs in bark was Deca-BDE commercial products. Concentration of sigma 8 PBDEs detected in central district of Nantong were significantly higher than those in industrial park, suggesting the discharge of industrial point source might be the main source of PBDEs in this city. No significant difference was found between the levels of sigma 8 PBDEs in camphor bark collected from Suzhou and Wuxi. It can be concluded that the two cities are contaminated interactionally by PBDEs through atmospheric dispersion. The homologue and congener profiles of penta-BDEs for camphor bark were not consistent with commercial products, atmosphere and dust soil, which related with adsorption effect of tree bark and degradation effect of PBDEs.