Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were not widely manufactured or used in China before they became the subject of international bans on production. Recent work has shown they have reached China associated with imported wastes, and that there are considerable unintentional sources of PCBs that have only recently been identified. As such, it was hypothesised that the source inventory and profile of PCBs may be different or unique in China, compared to countries where they were widely used and which have been widely studied. For the first time in this study we therefore undertook a complete analysis of all 209 PCB congeners and assess the contribution of unintentionally-produced PCBs (UP-PCBs) in the atmosphere of China, using polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) deployed across a wide range of Chinese locations. ∑209 PCBs ranged from 9 to 6800 pg/m3 (median: 95 pg/m3) during three deployments in 2016-2017. PCB 11 was one of the most detected congeners, contributing 33±19% to ∑209 PCBs. The main sources to airborne PCBs in China were estimated and ranked as pigment/painting (34%), metallurgical industry/combustion (31%), e-waste (23%) and petrochemical/plastic industry (6%). For typical Aroclor-PCBs, e-waste sources dominated (&gt;50%). Results from our study indicate that UP-PCBs have become the controlling source in the atmosphere of China and an effective control strategy is urgently needed to mitigate emissions from multiple industrial sources.

Dominance of unintentionally-produced PCBs in the air of China

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.