Disentangling the contributions of urban and production sources in short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffin concentrations in a complex source region

Shan Niu; Ruiwen Chen; Kimberly J Hageman; Yun Zou; Liang Dong; Ran Zheng; Xiaohui Wang; Reti Hai

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124117

Disentangling the contributions of urban and production sources in short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffin concentrations in a complex source region

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Mar 5:405:124117. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124117. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Authors

Shan Niu¹, Ruiwen Chen², Kimberly J Hageman³, Yun Zou⁴, Liang Dong⁵, Ran Zheng⁶, Xiaohui Wang⁷, Reti Hai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan 84322, USA; National Research Center for Environmental Analysis and Measurement, Beijing 100029, China.
² Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan 84322, USA.
³ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan 84322, USA. Electronic address: kim.hageman@usu.edu.
⁴ Organic Biological Analytical Chemistry Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
⁵ National Research Center for Environmental Analysis and Measurement, Beijing 100029, China.
⁶ College of Plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102202, China.
⁷ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Environmental Material for Water Purification, Beijing University of Chemical and Technology, Beijing 100029, China.

PMID: 33129601
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124117

Abstract

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) were measured in tree bark samples. These samples were collected around a chemical industrial park containing several chlorinated paraffin (CP) production plants, in a nearby city (Zhengzhou), and along a transect between the industrial park and city. Theoretical air concentrations were back-calculated from concentrations in bark using a predictive equation for estimating equilibrium bark-air partition coefficients. We developed this equation from a series of previously published K_bark-air measurements. Comparison of the normalized concentration profiles along south to north transects showed that wind played only a minor role in CP concentrations and profiles in the region. Three distinct source profiles were found in the complex source region. A fingerprint analysis technique was used to quantify the contribution of each source to the CP burden at various locations along the transect. We found that CP profiles at sites up to 6 km from the industrial park were strongly influenced by CP plant emissions, whereas the sites located in the rural zone and rural-urban interface were influenced by a mixture of CP plant emissions and the neighboring city.

Keywords: Atmospheric transport; Bark-air partitioning; Fingerprint analysis; Source apportionment; Tree bark.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Culture Media
Environmental Monitoring
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated* / analysis
Industry
Paraffin*

Substances

Culture Media
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
Paraffin