Residue Characteristics of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Soils from a Storage Site of Used Capacitors

Residue characteristics of 19 PCBs(ingcluding 7 indicative PCBs and 12 dioxin-like PCBs) in soils from a storage site of used capacitors in the Yangtze River Delta were investigated by using the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry using selected ion monitoring (GC-MS-SIM) analysis technique. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that the concentrations of Σ19PCBs in the soils range from 2.01 to 5201.20 ng/g, with the average concentration being 229.38 ng/g, which is much higher than common soils but distinctly lower than some storage site soils in China. 85.43% of Σ19PCBs were 3~5 chlorinated biphenyls in soils, which is dominated by tri-PCB 28, tetra-PCB 52 and penta-PCB 118. By comparison, PCBs in soils were Aroclor 1242, Aroclor 1248 and little Aroclor 1254. Although the PCBs residues are under control values, attention should be paid to PCBs pollutions in soils in the area, and further measures should be taken to prevent the pollutions from expanding.