• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.510-516
• /
• 2009

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in soil samples of Ansung in Kyonggi-province to investigate concentration distribution of PBDEs and PCBs. The 10 soil samples were collected using a stainless steel hand-held corer that was cleaned before and after each sample using hexane. Total concentration of PBDE and PCBs were 2,205.3 and 348.1 pg/g dry weight (DW) in soil sample, respectively. BDE-209 showed as the most abundant congener in soil samples which was related to imported amount and usage amount of deca-BDE technical mixture in Korea. Also, BDE-99, BDE-47, BDE-100 deposition in soil sample was higher than other congeners and was related to the imported and usage amount reported for penta-BDE technical mixture in Korea. Correlation coefficient between PBDE contribution and technical mixture formulation (Bromokal 70-5DE) were significant (r=0.91, p<0.01) which suggests the influence of sources in this technical mixtures.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.352-364
• /
• 2006

This study was performed to search for useful separation properties and elution orders of three GC columns (DB-1, DB-5MS, SPB-Octyl) for 209 PCBs congeners using M-1668A-0.01X-SET of the AccuStandard Inc.. In addition, to confirm the quantitative peak in peak pattern method, the IUPAC Nos. of PCBs congener peaks were identified with 4 Aroclor standards (Aroclor-1242, 1248, 1254 and 1260). The separation property of dioxin-like PCBs congeners by four columns (DB-1, DB-5MS, SP-2331 and SPB-Octyl) was excellent in SP-2331. DB-1 and SPB-Octyl columns are necessary to use with a column of other types.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.802-809
• /
• 2000

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs) in samples collected from 43 kindss of water, 35 kinds of soil and 11 kinds of sediment in various place of Korea have been monitored using GC/MS/SIM analytical method. In our investigation, mean recoveries were $83.8{\pm}10.4%$ for water, $94.9{\pm}12.2%$ for soil and sediment samples and $80.2{\pm}8.7%$ for the spiked $^{13}C{_{12}}$-PCBs. Detection limits of PCBs for water, soil and sediment samples are 0.01 ng/ml and 0.05 ng/g. PCB congeners in water samples were not detected within quantitation limit, but trace amounts were detected in most of soil and sediment samples. The contamination level of PCBs in Korea was evaluated to be lower than in advanced countries like USA, Europe and Japan.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.247-257
• /
• 2002

Persistent organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used intensively in agriculture or industry for a long time. The occurrence of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in the environment and subsequently in parts of the food chain, resulting in the intake of these compounds by man and animal. The measure of the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in tissues or blood of human populations are good markers in determining the extent of exposure and in the evaluating the hazards. So, most countriess have conducted initial monitoring programs to determine organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in human tissues. But a few report has been presented in Korea. In this study, $\alpha$-BHC, $\beta$-BHC, ${\gamma}$-BHC, $\delta$-BHC, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, endrin, dieldein, aldrin and 7 marker PCBs (28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) were determined in human blood, adipose tissue and liver tissues collected at autopsy of 10 men and 10 women, 13-79 year of age. Significant differences in the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs between districts where they had lived were found in the following chemicals: total PCB in the blood : $\beta$-BHC, total BHC, p,p'-DDE and total DDT in the adipose tissue : p,p'-DDE, total DDT and PCB 118 in the liver. No significant difference was found in the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs between sexes and ages. Though the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs were relatively lower than that of other countries, we could know that organochlorine pesticides and PCBs have been widely distributed in Korean human body.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.520-533
• /
• 2000

We analyzed the PCDD/Fs and PCBs in human milk samples from a city and an industrial region by HRGC/HRMS. The average concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in human milk were 15.13 TEQ pg/g fat and 5.64 TEQ pg/g fat respectively. We discovered two kinds of homologue distributions. We compared congeners of each distributions with those of the commercial PCBs products. The daily intake of infant was predicted to be 60 TEQpg/kg/day according to the mean concentration of PCDD/Fs based on primipara. This value is much higher than the estimated range for background exposure to adult in the USA (1-3 TEQ pg/g fat).

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.239-245
• /
• 1997

The sorption kinetic was studied to evaluate feasibility of removing PCBs from mineral oil with activated carbon. Adsorption efficiency for Aroclor 1242 which is composed of lower chlorinated PCB formulations was $\geq$ 95%, whereas the adsorption efficiency for Aroclor 1260 having higher chlorinated constituents was considerably lower with the efficiency falling to 75%. The observed difference in the adsorption efficiency is attributed to the geometry of PCBs with non-planar and coplanar structure. The concentration of coplanar PCBs is appreciably higher in Aroclor 1242. Since toxicity is primarily associated with coplanar congeners, the preferential adsorption of coplanar congeners by activated carbon accounts for the fact that toxicity reduction can be achieved through this process. The efficiency of process was assessed in terms of Toxicity Equivalence Factor (TEF).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.193-204
• /
• 2002

To investigate the relationships between the atmospheric concentrations of PCBs and temperature, quantity of both parameters was performed at an urban site in Korea from July 1999 to January 2000. The strength of correlations between total PCB and temperature was found to be significant (r = 0.752, p < 0.001). It hence indicates that total PCB contents were affected sensitively by temperature change during the sampling period. The ratio of PCB homologs and Deca-CB(PCB 209) also behaved quite similarly to the change of temperature (r>0.60, p<0.05). This may be inferable with the progress of the gas/particle partitioning to the gas phase, especially for fri-and tetra-CBs. Because they have high vapor pressure, they generally exist in the gas phase. The Clausius-Clapeyron equation was applied to the atmospheric PCB data, relating PCB partial vapor pressure to inverse temperature. This may essentially represent the temperature-controlled transition between condensed phase and atmospheric gas phase. The slopes of the resulting plot with International Council for the Explanation of the Seas (ICES) congener ranged from -2810 to -5887, with significantly steep slope and $R^2$(p< 0.005) It was inferred that the PCB atmospheric concentration was also affected by change in the surrounding conditions such as soil, lakes and trees.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.9
• /
• pp.1564-1571
• /
• 2008

We investigated whether the threshold concentration for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) dechlorination may be lower in biosurfactant-amended sediments compared with biosurfactant-free samples. At PCB concentrations of 40, 60, and 120 ppm, the surfactant amendment enhanced the PCB dechlorination rate at all concentrations and the rate was also faster at higher concentrations. On a congener group basis, dechlorination proceeded largely with group A (congeners with low threshold) in both surfactant-free and -amended sediments, accumulating mainly group C (residual products of dechlorination) congeners, and surfactant enhanced the dechlorination rate of group A congeners. Since the PCB threshold concentration for the inoculum in the experiment was lower than 40 ppm, we carried out another experiment using sediments with lower PCB concentrations, 10, 20, and 30 ppm. Sediments with 100 ppm were also performed to measure dechlorination at a PCB saturation concentration. Comparison between the plateaus exhibited that the extent of dechlorination below 40 ppm PCBs was much lower than that at a saturation concentration of 100 ppm. There was no significant difference in the extent of dechlorination between surfactant-free and -amended sediments. Moreover, surfactant did not change the congener specificity or broaden the congener spectrum for dechlorination at PCB concentrations below 40 ppm. Taken together, it seems that at a given PCB concentration, dechlorination characteristics of dechlorinating populations may be determined by not only the congener specificity of the microorganisms but also the affinity of dechlorinating enzyme(s) to individual PCB congeners.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.73-85
• /
• 2006

Blood serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in employees who worked at a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI), members of residential community who lived near the MSWI (<0.3km) and members of residential community lived far from the MSWI (>10 km). Human blood serum samples were analyzed for all PCB congeners using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). The mean levels of total PCBs and dioxin-like PCBs in 87 serum samples were 242.77 ng/g lipid and 8.83 TEQ pg/g lipid, respectively. The PCB homologue profiles showed that penta-, hexa-, hepta-chlorinated biphenyls contributed more than 80% of the total PCBs concentration. The most abundant congeners were PCB153, PCB138, PCB180, PCB187, PCB118. A statistical analysis was performed to determine whether there were significant correlations between PCB concentrations and specific variables such as age, gender, smoking habits, occupation, BMI (Body Mass Index) and time of residence. As a result, the age was found to be strongly correlated with serum PCB concentrations. In addition, there were strong correlations between total PCBs and PCB153 (r=0.93, p<.0001), dioxin-like PCBs and PCB118 (r=0.98, p<.0001). So these two congeners are satisfactory indicators for total PCB concentrations and dioxin-like PCBs in human blood respectively.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.147-158
• /
• 2001

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins(PCDDs), dibenzofurans(PCDFs), and biphenyls(PCBs) were analyzed by HRGC/HRMS in human blood samples from the Siwha industrial area in Korea. The PCDD/F and PCB concentrations in workers were higher than those in residents. The average TEQ concentrations of PCDD/Fs in workers and residents were 40.3 pg I-TEQs/g lipid and 16.6 pg I-TEQs/g lipid, respectively, and the total PCB concentrations were 174.1 ng/g lipid and 151.0 ng/g lipid, respectively. When applied to principal component analysis, the PCDD/F congener distributions of workers were differentiated from those of residents. But, all of them were similar to the distribution in several Korean foods. Estimated daily intake(EDI) of each person was calculated, and then only 40% to the total people were within the tolerable daily intake range(1-4pg I-TEQ/kg bw/day) suggested by WHO(1997).