Otabbong, Erasmus
- Department of Soil Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
The concentration of PCBs in topsoils from five European cities was assessed and the highest levels were found in Glasgow (Scotland), followed by Torino (Italy), Aveiro (Portugal), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Uppsala (Sweden). All cities showed the presence of local sources in addition to diffuse contamination from global atmospheric transport. The association of general soil parameters with PCBs in Glasgow and with heavier congeners in Torino and Ljubljana indicates that retention of these compounds is occurring. The profiles obtained resemble Aroclor 1254 and 1260, which are important local sources. Nevertheless, differences in PCB profiles were observed among cities, due to the combined effects of the age of the contamination (which determines the time available for volatilisation and degradation), different sources of PCBs and differences in climate (which influence volatilisation and deposition). (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Urban soils; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Congener profiles; Source identification
Published in
Environmental Pollution
2009, volume: 157, number: 2, pages: 511-518
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
SDG15 Life on land
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2008.09.002
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/23083