Current Combustion-Related Sources Contribute to Polychlorinated Naphthalene and Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyl Levels and Profiles in Air in Toronto, Canada

Abstract

Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) and mono- and non-ortho substituted PCBs were analyzed in air from two sites in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to determine whether current combustion-related sources contribute to the levels and profiles of PCNs found in urban air. High-volume air samples were collected periodically at the University of Toronto (UT, a downtown site) and in north Toronto at the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). SigmaPCN concentrations ranged from 31 to 78 pg m(-3) at UT and from 7 to 84 pg m(-3) at MSC with concentrations lower at MSC than UT for paired samples. Ambient air congener profiles contrasted between the two sites with MSC profiles indicating inputs from combustion-related sources when compared to combustion fly ash and technical PCN and PCB mixture profiles. Combustion markers, including CN-44, -29, and -54, the more toxic CN-66 and -67 congeners, and non-ortho PCBs, were enriched in air at MSC on a mass percent basis in several samples. As a result, CN-66/67 contributed proportionally more to dioxin toxic equivalents at MSC than at UT. Downtown air PCN profiles resembled those of technical PCN and PCB mixtures, reflecting evaporative emissions from past uses, while PCN levels and profiles at MSC, a more industrialized location, are also influenced by current combustion sources, contributing as much as an estimated 54% of sigmaPCN in samples collected.

Characterization of polychlorinated naphthalenes in stack gas emissions from waste incinerators

“…For instance, it has been suggested that different PCN emission patterns may exist between fluidized bed and some grate MSW incinerators Weber et al 2001). The characteristics of PCN profiles from different cataloged sources have been applied to identify the specific source of PCNs in the environment (Schneider et al 1998;Helm and Bidleman 2003;Pan et al 2011). The major sources of PCNs in the environment were the technical formulations of PCNs (such as the Halowax series), industrial thermal processes, and impurities in technical formulations of PCBs (Abad et al 1999;Yamashita et al 2000;Ba et al 2010;Liu et al 2010).…”

“…They have been used in a variety of industrial applications, such as dye-making; as fungicides in the wood, textile, and paper industries; as plasticizers; and as oil additives (Bidleman et al 2010). The total global PCN production is estimated to be 10 % of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) production or 150,000 t (Falandysz 1998;Helm and Bidleman 2003). The production and use of PCNs have been banned in the USA and Europe since the 1980s (Marti-Cid et al 2008).…”

“…Bidleman 2003). In terms of toxic equivalency (TEQ), PCN levels in human blood have been found to exist in concentrations slightly greater than other dioxin-like compounds (Park et al 2010).…”

A preliminary investigation of unintentional POP emissions from thermal wire reclamation at industrial scrap metal recycling parks in China

“…The most abundant dlPCNs at P1 were PCN-38/40 (27.2%), PCN-1 (18.7%) and PCN-2 (13%), while at P2 the most abundant dl-PCNs were PCN-1 (23.2%), PCN-2 (14.2%), PCN-54 (12.3%) and PCN-66/67 (18.1%). Several congeners are commonly found associated with thermal-related processes, including PCN-35/48, PCN-38/40, PCN-50, PCN-54, PCN-66/67 and PCN-73 [42,43], and were also observed associated with thermal wire reclamation. The TEQ patterns for the dl-PCNs congeners in flue gas and residual ash are shown in Fig.…”

Polychlorinated naphthalenes in the air over the equatorial Indian Ocean: Occurrence, potential sources, and toxicity

“…Previous studies suggested that the fraction of combustion-related congeners (e.g., PCN17/25,36/45,27/30,39,45,52/60,50,51,54,and 66/67) in ∑PCNs could be used to identify the importance of combustion source, because these congeners were minor or absent in Halowax and PCB technical formulations compared with incineration or other industrial thermal processes (Helm and Bidleman, 2003;Lee et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2012;Xu et al, 2014). ∑ combustion PCNs/∑PCNs N 0.5 indicated emission from combustion, while a value b 0.11 was Halowax (Lee et al, 2007).…”