Organochlorine Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Atmospheric Particles Collected in Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

We studied the occurrence and levels of hexachlorobenzene, α-, β-, and γ-hexachlorocyclo-hexane, 4,4'-DDT, 4,4'-DDE, 4,4'-DDD, and 17 PCBs (six indicator and eleven other toxicologically significant congeners) in PM10 and/or PM2.5 particle fractions collected between 2000 and 2003 and in 2010 at a site in the northern residential part of Zagreb, Croatia. Twenty-four-hour particle samples were collected on glass or quartz microfibre filters from approximately 100 m3 of ambient air per filter. Filters with particles collected over seven consecutive days were combined for ultrasonic extraction with 1:1 acetone:n-hexane mixture followed by capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection. In the monitored periods, the mass concentrations of organochlorine compounds in atmospheric particles were characteristic of global environmental pollution and showed a decreasing trend. Local input was observed only for γ-hexachlorocyclohexane. There were no pronounced seasonal variations in the mass fraction levels of any pesticide or PCB in airborne particles. A decreasing trend in the mass concentrations of some compounds with higher air temperatures was mostly related to the lower particle concentrations in warmer seasons and, consequently, to less particle-bound organochlorine compounds in the atmosphere.