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Status, Sources, and Health Risk of Hexachlorocyclohexanes in the Air of the Rural Region of Zhangzhou, Southeast China

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Abstract

From October 2012 to September 2013, air samples of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were collected by polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) from Caiban Village (CbV), Baihua Village (BhV), Bumeishan Village (BmsV) and Qitang Village (QtV), located in the rural region of Zhangzhou, Southeast China. The test results showed that four HCH isomers (α-, β-, γ-, δ-HCH) were ubiquitous with ∑HCHs concentrations ranging from 4.80 to 41.9 pg/m3 and a mean value of 17.7 pg/m3. A seasonal variation was established in the air HCH levels. The highest ∑HCHs concentration was observed in the autumn whereas the lowest was detected in the spring. The ratio α/γ-HCH, which was used to identify the contamination source, revealed that air HCHs originated mainly from historical technical HCH residues and lindane usage. The health risk of inhalation exposure to atmospheric HCHs, assessed by the inhalation dosimetry methodology, was low and considered negligible for the local residents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank TopEdit (www.topeditsci.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript. The project was supported by Key Laboratory of Geochemical Exploration, Ministry of Natural Resources. This work was also financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41807342) and the Open Foundation of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation of Hubei Key Laboratory (No. 2018102) and the Research Foundation of Hubei Polytechnic University (20xjz03R).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geochemical Exploration, Ministry of Natural Resources, Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, CAGS, Langfang, 065000, China

    Wen Sun & Baoyun Zhang

  2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, 435003, China

    Wen Sun, Hongxia Liu & Jiaquan Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Chengkai Qu

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  1. Wen Sun
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  2. Hongxia Liu
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  3. Jiaquan Zhang
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  4. Baoyun Zhang
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Correspondence to Chengkai Qu.

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Sun, W., Liu, H., Zhang, J. et al. Status, Sources, and Health Risk of Hexachlorocyclohexanes in the Air of the Rural Region of Zhangzhou, Southeast China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106, 676–682 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03145-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03145-3

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