Wet deposition of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Izmir, Turkey.

Abstract

Concentrations of several polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in precipitation (n = 33) at a suburban site in Izmir, Turkey. Total (dissolved + particle) volume weighted mean (VWM) concentrations for Σ16PAHs, Σ18PCBs, Σ17OCPs, and Σ7PBDEs were 785, 19.2, 50.5, and 29.6ngl(-1), respectively. Low molecular weight (LMW) compounds (acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenanthrene) and congeners (PCB-18, 28, and 31) dominated the PAH and PCB concentrations, respectively. For PBDEs, BDE-209, and for OCPs, chlorpyrifos, a currently used pesticide, were the predominant compounds. Annual Σ7PBDEs flux was 18.74μgm(-2)year(-1). PBDE fluxes were mainly in dissolved phase for all congeners except BDE-209 which had comparable proportions in both phases. Annual flux for Σ16PAHs was 497.4μgm(-2)year(-1); higher molecular weight (MW) PAH fluxes had comparable amounts in both phases while lower MW ones were mostly in dissolved phase. Wet deposition fluxes for Σ18PCBs and Σ17OCPs were 9.40 and 31.94μgm(-2)year(-1), respectively, and they were predominantly in dissolved phase. Wet deposition fluxes were compared to previously measured annual dry deposition fluxes at the study site to determine their relative contributions to annual total (dry particle + wet) deposition. Dry deposition was the major removal mechanism for most of the PAHs and PCBs contributing >80% to total (wet + dry) deposition. However, both processes were comparable for PBDEs. Wet deposition was the predominant process for some OCPs such as α-chlordane, γ-chlordane, and trans-nonachlor while both processes were comparable for chlorpyrifos and heptachlor epoxide.