Atmospheric Polychlorinated Naphthalenes in Ghana

Abstract

A nationwide monitoring of atmospheric POPs (persistent organic pollutants) was conducted in Ghana between May and July 2010, applying polyurethane foam (PUF) disk passive air samplers (PAS). Reported here are preliminary findings on PCNs, an industrial organic contaminant currently under review for possible listing under the global chemical treaty. The present results constitute the first set of nationwide data on air PCNs from a West African country. Contrary to expectation, air PCNs levels were quite high in Ghana, at an average of 49 ± 5.4 pg/m(3). The coastal (southern) zone of Ghana appeared the most impacted, with crude open burning of waste, industrial emissions, and the harbor environment identified among possible emission factors. Tri- and tetra-CNs (the lowly chlorinated homologues) predominated in the atmosphere, altogether constituting approximately 90% of total PCN homologues composition. Increased volatilization under tropical conditions was presumed a key factor that contributed to this high atmospheric input of lowly chlorinated homologues. We further observed a significant level of fractionation of PCN homologues across the breadth of the country. The percentage composition of the lowly chlorinated homologues increased northwards, probably because of their transportation in the direction of prevailing winds. From congener profile analysis, PCN-45/36 is proposed as a possible source marker for emissions preempted by uncontrolled waste burning activities. Dioxin-like toxicity of air PCNs in Ghana was estimated to range 0.49-5.6 fg TEQ/m(3). This study brought to the fore the emerging problems of nonagricultural organohalogens that covertly might be confronting the environment in African nations like Ghana.

Characterization of polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins and dibenzofurans, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, and polychlorinated naphthalenes in the environment surrounding secondary copper and aluminum metallurgical facilities in China

“…The dl-PCBs concentrations we found were clearly higher than those reported by Wang et al (2010) and Li et al (2011). To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports of PCN concentrations in ambient air around secondary non-ferrous metal processing plants, but PCN concentrations have been determined in ambient air unassociated with specific potential sources in a number of areas, such as Ghana (total tri-to octa-chlorinated naphthalene concentrations of 27e95 pg/m 3 , mean 49 pg/m 3 ) (Hogarh et al, 2012b), North China (total tetra-to octa-chlorinated naphthalene concentrations of 10e2460 pg/m 3 , median 48 pg/m 3 ) (Lin et al, 2013), and East Asia (total tri-to octa-chlorinated naphthalene concentrations of 2e160 pg/m 3 , mean 31.6 pg/m 3 ) (Hogarh et al, 2012a). The PCN concentrations we found in ambient air around the secondary copper and aluminum smelters investigated were significantly higher than the concentrations in the studies mentioned above.…”

“…The UP-POPs concentrations in the ambient air around the five plants were estimated from the concentrations found in the PUF samplers by applying a typical sampling rate of 3.5 m 3 /day (Mari et al, 2008;Hogarh et al, 2012b;Zhang et al, 2013). The TEQ concentrations for the PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs were calculated using the WHO 2005 toxic equivalence factors (TEFs) (Van den Berg et al, 2006).…”

Identification and characterization of the atmospheric emission of polychlorinated naphthalenes from electric arc furnaces

“…The unintentional formation and emission of PCNs from industrial activities are speculated to be the current main sources of these pollutants, considering that their manufacture and use as industrial chemicals have been avoided in many countries since the 1970s to 1980s (Hogarh et al 2012). Thermal-related processes are widely recognized as main sources of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds today (Grochowalski et al 2007).…”

POPs in a major conurbation in Turkey: ambient air concentrations, seasonal variation, inhalation and dermal exposure, and associated carcinogenic risks

“…Especially the persistent ones, called as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), are of concern because of their characteristics, i.e., being bioaccumulative, capability of long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) (Halse et al 2011;Hogarth et al 2012), low aqueous solubilities, and moderate vapor pressures (Castro-Jiménez et al 2008;Wick et al 2011). Although use of these chemicals was restricted/banned in the countries who signed the Stockholm Convention, they can still be detected in the environment because of their persistence, long-range transport, current use, and unintentional emissions (Pozo et al 2006;MoEF 2010).…”