Abstract
The pollution status of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in the sediment of the Yangtze River Basin, Asia’s largest river basin, was estimated. The total concentrations of PCNs (mono- to octa-CNs) ranged from 0.103 to 1.631 ng/g. Mono-, di-, and tri-PCNs—consisting of CN-1, CN-5/7, and CN-24/14, respectively, as the main congeners—were the dominant homolog groups. Combustion indicators and principal component analysis showed that the emissions from halowax mixtures were the main contributor to PCNs in sediment, among most of the sampling sites. The mean total toxic equivalent (TEQ) was calculated to be 0.045 ± 0.077 pg TEQ/g, which indicates that the PCNs in sediments were of low toxicity to aquatic organisms. This work will expand the database on the distribution and characteristics of PCNs in the river sediment of China.
Highlights
Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) have been synthesized since the 1930s, with 75 congeners based on the number and position of the chlorine(s) in the naphthalene ring system, including 2 mono-chlorinated (CN-1–CN-2), 10 di-chlorinated (CN-3–CN-12), 14 tri-chlorinated (CN-13–CN-26), 22 tetra-chlorinated (CN-27–CN-48), 14 penta-chlorinated (CN-49–CN62), 10 hexa-chlorinated (CN-64–CN-72), 2 hepta-chlorinated (CN-73–CN-74), and 1 octachlorinated (CN-75) [1]
The possible sources of PCNs released into the environment could be identified by analyzing homolog profiles and ratios of several PCN congeners used as indicators of particular emission activities [11]
As one of the most important pollutant sinks into the environment could be identified by analyzing homolog profiles and ratios of several PCN congeners used as indicators of particular emission activities [11]
Summary
Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) have been synthesized since the 1930s, with 75 congeners based on the number and position of the chlorine(s) in the naphthalene ring system, including 2 mono-chlorinated (CN-1–CN-2), 10 di-chlorinated (CN-3–CN-12), 14 tri-chlorinated (CN-13–CN-26), 22 tetra-chlorinated (CN-27–CN-48), 14 penta-chlorinated (CN-49–CN62), 10 hexa-chlorinated (CN-64–CN-72), 2 hepta-chlorinated (CN-73–CN-74), and 1 octachlorinated (CN-75) [1]. As one of the most important pollutant sinks into the environment could be identified by analyzing homolog profiles and ratios of several PCN congeners used as indicators of particular emission activities [11]. Among the upper- and middle-stream zone samples, the PCN concentrations of S8 and S5 were relatively high. This was mainly due to the fact that. Within the sample from the middle and lower zones, the concentration of PCNs was relatively high at S10, which was near the outlet of a sewage treatment plant. PCN concentrations in sediments were more closely related to local human activities and industrial sources rather than geographically locations
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