Results of monitoring for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in ambient air at McMurdo station, Antarctica
- ERM-Program Management Co., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- EPA/AREAL, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
- EPA/OPPTS/OPP/BEAD/ACB, Stennis Space Center, MS (United States)
This paper presents the results of ambient air monitoring for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) performed during the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 austral summers in the vicinity of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Twenty-eight air samples were collected from four different locations to determine the identity and concentration of PCDD/PCDF compounds. PCDD/PCDF compounds were not detected at either the predominantly upwind location or a more remote site on Black Island. Trace levels of only a few PCDD/PCDF congeners were detected sporadically at a location approximately 500 m downwind of the station. The most frequent, most varied, and highest levels of PCDDs/PCDFs were measured at a `downtown` location, where concentrations of total PCDDs ranged from 0.12 to 1.80 pg/m{sup 3} and total PCDDs ranged from less than 0.02 to 2.77 pg/m{sup 3}. The data indicate that there are combustion sources at McMurdo other than the solid waste incinerator (power plants, vehicles, heating furnaces, etc.) that contribute PCDD/PCDF compounds to the ambient air. The greatest variety and highest concentration of PCDD/PCDF congeners measured in 1992-1993 during incineration of selected solid wastes implicates the interim incinerator as the likely source of the increased presence of these compounds in air. 18 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 199387
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science and Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 30; ISSN 0013-936X; ISSN ESTHAG
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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