The ambient air in vicinity of different industrial sources for PCDD/PCDFs was sampled by TSP/PM10 active samplers and passive PUF disk samplers in Tangshan City, a metropolis containing clusters of various industrial plants. The TEQ concentrations of PCDD/PCDFs ranged from 44.2 to 394.1 fg I-TEQ/m^3 with an average of 169.9 fg I-TEQ]m^3. 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the dominant contributor to ∑TEQ, contributing 41% (12% to 55%), while 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDE OCDD and OCDF were the major congeners for the total concentrations. The ratios of ∑PCDF/∑PCDD reached 2.54 on average, suggesting that de novo synthesis in thermal processes played an important role to the airborne pollution of PCDD/PCDFs. The similarities congener profiles indicated that TSP and PM10 active sampling methods are comparable for the determination of the PCDD/PCDFs in ambient air, and the ratios of concentrations determined by the two methods suggested that the PCDD/PCDFs tended to stay in fine particles. It was found that 2,3,7,8-TCDF and OCDD were the dominating congeners in the passive PUF disks samples. Through principal components analysis, the coke industry was suggested to be a relatively high potential emission source for PCDD/PCDFs in the ambient air of Tangshan, which was possibly formed by de novo synthesis mechanism. In this study, the atmospheric impacts to the environment from different industrial sources could be ranked as follows (from high to low): coking, iron sintering, steel making, power generation and chlorinate alkali chemical production industries.
Zhiyuan Ren Bing Zhang Pu Lu Cheng Li Lirong Gao Minghui Zheng
Tissue distribution provides important information regarding the pharmacokinetic behavior of pollutants and is invaluable when analyzing the risk posed to avian species by the exposure to such kind of pollutants. In this study, concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were determined in muscle, liver, spleen, kidney, stomach, gall bladder, skin, heart, pancreas, intestine and lung tissue extracts of cormorants collected from Dongting Lake, China. Tissue distribution results showed preferential accumulation of PCDD/Fs in both liver and skin. The total concentration of PCDD/Fs ranged from 421 to 5696 pg/g lipid weight. Octachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) was the predominant congener in all tissues and contributed between 31% and 82% to all 17 PCDD/Fs in different tissues. The liver/muscle ratios progressively increased with the degree of chlorination of PCDDs, except for OCDD. The relative toxic potential of PCDDs and PCDFs in tissues were calculated using the World Health Organization (WHO) Toxic Equivalency Factors (TEFs) for birds. The concentrations of WHO-toxic equivalent in different tissues ranged between 14.8 and 2021 pg/g lipid weight. These results indicated PCDD/Fs may have been bio-accumulated in cormorant via food-web. Furthermore, when compared with studies reported in the literatures, the PCDD/Fs levels in the cormorant collected from Dongting Lake were still relatively high.
Lirong Gaol Minghui Zheng Bing Zhang Wenbin Liu Ke Xiao Guijin Su Qinghua Zhang
The concentrations and geographical distribution of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were investigated in 37 composite surface sediments from seven major river drainage basins in China, including Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Liaohe River, Haihe River, Tarim River and Ertix River. The detection frequency of HBCD was 54%, with the concentrations ranged from below limit of detection (LOD) to 206 ng/g dry weight. In general, the geographical distribution showed increasing trends from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the rivers and from North China to Southeast China. Compared to other regions in the world, the average concentration of HBCD in sediments from Yangtze River drainage basin was at relatively high level, whereas those from other six river drainage basins were at lower or similar level. The highest HBCD concentration in sediment from Yangtze River Delta and the highest detection frequency of t-IBCD in Pearl River drainage basins suggested that the industrial and urban activities could evidently affect the HBCD distribution. HBCD diastereoisomer profiles showed that y-HBCD dominated in most of the sediment samples, followed by ct- and [3-HBCD, which was consistent with those in the commercial HBCD mixtures. Further risk assessment reflected that the average inventories of HBCD were 18.3, 5.87, 3.92, 2.50, 1.77 ng/cm2 in sediments from Pearl River, Haihe River, Tarim River, Yellow River and Yangtze River, respectively.