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. 2022 Oct 26;19(21):13923. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192113923

Table 1.

Concentration of PCBs in outdoor environments around the world.

Setting Location Sample/Sampling Area Concentration Dominant Congeners Reference
Ambient Air Patagonia, Argentina Ambient air at 11 sites Σ38PCBs: 25 pg/m3 PCB-18, 31, 28,
95, 99, 149, 118, and 138		 [51]
Arctic Ocean Snow surface ΣPCB flux: 14.4 pg/cm2 per year PCB-5, 11, and 52 [52]
Fildes Peninsula, West Antarctica Air samples Σ19PCBs: 1.5–29.7 pg/m3 PCB-11 [38]
Dalian, China Fine particulate matter PCBs in PM2.5: 0.04–0.65 pg/m3 PCB-105, 138, 118, 101, 153 and 183 [53]
Tainan, Taiwan Ambient air at 1 industrial, 2 urban, and 1 rural area Average dry deposition flux of total PCBs: 0.540–1.94 pg WHO-TEQ/m2 per day - [54]
Hangzhou and Yangtze River Delta, China Agricultural area (A.A.) and eco-industrial park (EIP) Σ29 PCBs:

  • AA: PCB-189, 170, and -28 in winter and summer

  • EIP: PCB-189, 170 and -28 in winter; PCB-28 in summer

 [55]

  • AA: 224–482 pg/m3 (winter); 135–553 pg/m3 (summer)

  • EIP: 233–537 pg/m3 (winter) 39.9–254 pg/m3(summer)

Valencia Region, Spain Ambient air at 7 monitoring stations

  • Σdl-PCB:1.18 to 10.00 fg TEQ/m3

  • Industrial area: 2.20 fg TEQ/m3

  • Urban areas: 3.11 fg TEQ/m3

 - [56]
Urban Areas Madrid, Spain 68 ambient air samples Total PCBs: 437 pg/m3 PCB-28, 52, 101, 138, 153, and 180 [22]
Turkey 32 urban and rural sites Annual average Σ43PCBs: 108 ±132 pg/m3.

  • Rural: PCB-104,114, 118, 123, 151, 167, and 203

  • Urban: PCB-101, 138, 153 and 118

 [57]

  • Highest mean at urban sites: 403 ± 428 pg/m3

  • Highest mean at rural sites: 217 ± 353 pg/m3

Naples, Italy Atmospheric bulk deposition Deposition flux of Σ18PCBs: 0.075–1.22 ng/m2/day PCB-28, 138, 153 and 180 [44]
Industrial Areas Kocaeli, Turkey Ambient air at 23 sites Σ41PCB: 4152 ± 6072 pg/m3 PCB-18, 28, 31 and 33 [42]
Eastern China Ambient air around municipal solid waste incinerator Σ18PCBs:
81 ± 46 pg/m3 (summer); 70 ± 13 pg m3 (winter)		 PCB-28, 52, 101, and 138 [20]
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Ambient air at silicone rubber production site Σ6PCB: 300–1500 pg/m3 PCB 47, 51 and 68 [41]
Dilovasi region, Turkey Ambient air at 23 industrial sites Σ41PCB: 4152 ± 6072 pg/m3 PCB-28, 18, 31, and 33 [58]
Pohang, South Korea Bulk deposition at steel manufacturing plant Σ12PCB deposition fluxes: 1.3–4.7 ng/m2/day PCB- 77, 118, and 105 [59]
Aliaga region, Turkey Ambient air at 40 industrial sites Σ35PCB: 349–94,363 pg/m3 PCB-18, 28, 31, 33, 52, and 49 [60]
E-waste Recycling Sites Taizhou, China 17 ambient air samples Σ57PCB: 37.75–65.83 ng/m3 - [61]
Chennai, India Ambient air 3.6–53 ng/g tetra (4-CB), penta (5-CB) and hexa (6-CB) homologs [62]
China Ambient air 7825–76,330 pg/m3 - [28]