Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) generated through human activities. In recent times, extreme weather events such as wild fires have significantly affected the remobilization and successive bioavailability of PCDD/Fs.
Winter monsoonal air masses traveling from Inner Mongolia to downwind nations can transport cold temperature and air pollutants. This study investigated the effects of the long-range transport (LRT) of air pollutants by northeastern monsoons and local pollution (LP) episodes on atmospheric PM 2.5 , polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) concentrations in northern Taiwan during the winters of 2014 and 2015. Air samples were collected in rural (Rural Site 1 was mountainous; Rural Site 2 was coastal) and urban (Urban Site 1 was urban; Urban Site 2 was suburban) areas in northern Taiwan as well as at a background site (Lulin Mountain) in central Taiwan. Atmospheric PCDD/F concentrations measured at different sites ranged from 11.0 ± 2.70 to 39.7 ± 22.7 fg international toxicity equivalency quantity (I-TEQ) m -3 in 2014 and 7.99 ± 5.58 to 17.5 ± 12.3 fg I-TEQ m -3 in 2015. During LRT and LP, the proportion of PCDFs was higher than that of PCDDs. Rural Site 1 (122 pg I-TEQ g
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.