Abstract
Even though production and open use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been phased out in Western industrialised countries since the 1980s, PCBs were still present in waste collected from different waste handling facilities in Norway in 2013. Sums of seven indicator-PCBs (I-PCB7: PCB-28, -52, -101, -118, -138, -153 and -180) were highest in plastic waste (3700 ±1800 μg/kg, n=15), waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (1300 ± 400 μg/kg, n=12) and fine vehicle fluff (1800 ± 1400 μg/kg, n=4) and lowest in glass waste, combustibles, bottom ash and fly ash (0.3 to 65 μg/kg). Concentrations in leachate water varied from 1.7 to 2900 ng/L, with higher concentrations found at vehicle and WEEE handling facilities. Particles in leachate water exhibited similar PCB sorption properties as solid waste collected on site, with waste-water partitioning coefficients ranging from 105 to 107. I-PCB7 in air samples collected at the sites were mostly in the gas phase (100-24000 pg/m3), compared to those associated with particles (9-1900 pg/m3). In contrast, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in the same samples were predominantly found associated with particles (e.g. sum of 10 brominated diethyl ethers, ΣBDE10, associated with particles 77-194,000 pg/m3) compared to the gas phase (ΣBDE10 6-473 pg/m3). Measured gas-phase I-PCB7 concentrations are less than predicted, assuming waste-air partitioning in equilibrium with predominant waste on site. However, the gas-particle partitioning behavior of PCBs and BFRs could be predicted using an established partitioning model for ambient aerosols. PCB emissions from Norwegian waste handling facilities occurred primarily in the form of atmospheric vapor or leachate particles.
Highlights
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are among the initial “dirty dozen” substances regulated under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (UNEP, 2001) because they are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, prone to long-range transport and pose a potential risk to environmental and human health
The leachable waste concentrations were determined by equilibrium passive sampling using PDMS tubes thereby representing the freely-dissolved fraction
The results obtained support the first hypothesis of this study, that the investigated waste handling facilities are inherently contaminated by PCBs, as a result of the waste sorted for recycling, and contaminate the surrounding environment
Summary
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are among the initial “dirty dozen” substances regulated under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (UNEP, 2001) because they are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, prone to long-range transport and pose a potential risk to environmental and human health. PCBs were extensively produced in major industrialized countries as technical mixtures from ~1930 until 1994 During this time N1.3 million tonnes were produced, with peak production occurring around 1970 (Breivik et al, 2007). A characteristic feature of the historical use pattern of PCBs is its application in many long-lived products, including building materials like paints (Jartun et al, 2009), sealants (Kohler et al, 2005), as well as electrical equipment. For PCBs used in closed electrical systems, significant releases may not occur as long as the electrical equipment is kept intact during use or storage, but rather occur if those systems are improperly managed at the waste and recycling stage, as is evident from elevated emissions at informal ewaste recycling areas within developing regions (Han et al, 2010; Breivik et al, 2011). These persistent PCB emission sources have the potential for continued and/or intermittent releases up to decades after the production peaked (Diamond et al, 2010)
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