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A comprehensive approach to actual polychlorinated biphenyls environmental contamination

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Abstract

Worldwide polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pollution is due to complex mixtures with high number of congeners, making the determination of total PCBs in the environment an open challenge. Because the bulk of PCBs production was made of Aroclor mixtures, this analysis is usually faced by the empirical mixture identification via visual inspection of the chromatogram. However, the identification reliability is questionable, as patterns in real samples are strongly affected by the frequent occurrence of more than one mixture. Our approach is based on the determination of a limited number of congeners chosen to enable objective criteria for Aroclor identification, summing up the advantages of congener-specific analysis with the ones of total PCBs determination. A quantitative relationship is established between congeners and any single mixture, or mixtures combination, leading to the identification of the actual contamination composition. The approach, due to its generality, allows the use of different sets of congeners and any technical mixture, including the non-Aroclor ones. The results confirm that PCB environmental pollution in northern Italy is based on Aroclor. Our methodology represents an important tool to understand the source and fate of the PCBs contamination.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Walter Huijten and Dr. Gerardo De Stefano for reading the manuscript and their valuable suggestions. The authors would like to thank Lucia Canepa, Chiara Patuano, Riccardo Mezzacapo, and Antonio Mezzacapo for their constant support. A particular thank to Rosa Maria D’Acqui for creating the best condition in our work.

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    1. Regional Agency for Environmental Protection–Liguria (ARPAL), Via Bombrini 8, 16149, Genoa, Italy

      F. Risso, A. Magherini, S. Lottici, S. Maggiolo, M. Garbarino & R. Narizzano

    2. Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genoa, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146, Genoa, Italy

      M. Ottonelli & E. Magi

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    1. F. Risso
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    2. A. Magherini
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    F. Risso and R. Narizzano contributed equally to this work.

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    Risso, F., Magherini, A., Ottonelli, M. et al. A comprehensive approach to actual polychlorinated biphenyls environmental contamination. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 8770–8780 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6108-4

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