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Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in surface soil from a background area in China: occurrence, distribution, and congener profiles

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Abstract

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) are extremely complex technical mixtures of polychlorinated n-alkanes with carbon chain lengths from C10 to C13 and chlorine content between 49 and 70 %. SCCPs are under consideration for inclusion in the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants. SCCPs have been used extensively in industrial production, but little is known about the pollution level in soil environment in China. In this study, levels and distribution of SCCPs in soil samples from Chongming Island were analyzed. Concentrations of total SCCPs in soil samples ranged from 0.42 to 420 ng g−1, with a median of 9.6 ng g−1. The ubiquitous occurrence of SCCPs in Chongming Island implied that long-range atmospheric transport and soil–air exchange may be the most important pathways for SCCP contamination in the background area. The localized SCCP contamination could be derived from an unidentified source. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that C13- and C11-congeners were predominant in most soils and C10- and C12-congeners dominated in the remaining soils. Cl7- and Cl8-congeners were on the average the most dominant chlorine congeners in nearly all soils. Principal component analysis suggested that the separation of even and odd carbon chain congeners occurred during long-range atmospheric transport and aging in soil in the study area.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 40830744) and Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (no. S30109).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

    Xue-Tong Wang, Yuan Zhang, Yi Miao, Yuan-Cheng Li, Yue-Ya Chang & Ming-Hong Wu

  2. Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques and International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 918, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ling-Ling Ma

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  1. Xue-Tong Wang
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  2. Yuan Zhang
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Correspondence to Xue-Tong Wang.

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Responsible editor: Leif Kronberg

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Wang, XT., Zhang, Y., Miao, Y. et al. Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in surface soil from a background area in China: occurrence, distribution, and congener profiles. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 4742–4749 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1446-3

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