Dry deposition of polychlorinated biphenyls in urban areas

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Environmental Science and Technology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/es00018a009· OSTI ID:5122658

Holsen, T M; Noll, K E; Shiping Liu, Wenjhy Lee ^[1]

---

1. Illinois Inst. of Tech., Chicago (United States)

The PCB dry deposition flux was measured in Chicago with a greased, Mylar-covered smooth plate with a sharp leading edge pointed into the wind. The dry deposition flux of PCBs in Chicago averaged 3.8 {mu}g/m{sup 2}{center dot}day between May and November 1989 and 6.0 {mu}g/m{sup 2}{center dot}day for May and June 1990. A comparison of the PCB flux measured in Chicago to an estimated nonurban PCB flux shows that the flux of PCBs is up to 3 orders of magnitude higher in urban areas than in nonurban areas, indicating that Chicago and other urban areas near the Great Lakes must be considered as major source terms for deposition of PCBs into the lakes. The distribution of atmospheric PCBs between the gas and particle phase and the size distribution of particle-phase PCBs were also measured. The airborne PCB concentration as measured by the Noll rotary impactor (NRI) A stage (particles with aerodynamic diameters of > 6.5 {mu}m) was higher in Chicago (0.94 ng/m{sup 3}) than in Los Angeles (0.52 ng/m{sup 3}), as was the mean particle-phase PCB concentration (47 vs 21 {mu}g/g). PCBs were found to be associated with all sizes of atmospheric particles; however, their particle mass normalized concentration decreased with increasing particle size. PCBs associated with particles, particularly coarse particles, represented a significant fraction of the total PCB dry deposition flux even though PCBs in the ambient air were present primarily in the gas phase.

• OSTI ID: 5122658
• Journal Information: Environmental Science and Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology; (United States) Vol. 25:6; ISSN ESTHA; ISSN 0013-936X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540320 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
AROMATICS
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
CASCADE IMPACTORS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
DEPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION
ESTERS
FLUIDS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GASES
GREASES
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
LUBRICANTS
MATERIALS
MYLAR
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLASTICS
POLLUTION
POLYESTERS
POLYMERS
RURAL AREAS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
URBAN AREAS