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Characteristic and potential sources of polychlorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins and dibenzofurans in agricultural soils in Beijing, China
Author(s) -
Li Wei,
Li Chaoqin,
Chen Zuosheng,
Cai Zongwei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.2646
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , soil water , congener , polychlorinated dibenzofurans , environmental science , polychlorinated dibenzo p dioxins , contamination , pollution , soil contamination , beijing , incineration , chemistry , sewage sludge , environmental engineering , sewage , waste management , china , ecology , political science , law , soil science , biology , engineering
Polychlorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were analyzed in 25 background and 80 agricultural soil samples collected from 21 sites in Beijing, China. The levels of PCDD/Fs in the north agricultural soils were low (0.15–0.58 ng international toxic equivalent quantity [I‐TEQ]/kg), which were comparable with those of the background soils (0.091–0.35 ng I‐TEQ/kg). In the southern agricultural soils, however, concentrations were several times higher (0.27–3.3 ng I‐TEQ/kg). Comparison of PCDD/Fs congener compositions between possible sources and samples indicated that agricultural soils in Beijing had not been contaminated by the 3 main PCDD/F contamination sources in China—ferrous and nonferrous metal, waste incineration, and power generation. They had, however, been slightly contaminated by the impurities of some organochlorine pesticides, such as sodium pentachlorophenate, and by open burning of biomass, vehicle exhaust, atmospheric deposition, sediment, and sewage sludge. These results have been supported by the principal components analysis. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014; 33:2004–2012. © 2014 SETAC