Environmental contamination and human exposure of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in China: A review

Minghan Zhu; Yibo Yuan; Hua Yin; Zhanyu Guo; Xipeng Wei; Xin Qi; Hang Liu; Zhi Dang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150270

Environmental contamination and human exposure of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in China: A review

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jan 20:805:150270. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150270. Epub 2021 Sep 11.

Authors

Minghan Zhu¹, Yibo Yuan¹, Hua Yin², Zhanyu Guo¹, Xipeng Wei¹, Xin Qi¹, Hang Liu¹, Zhi Dang¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education on Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Wastes Pollution Control and Recycling, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education on Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Wastes Pollution Control and Recycling, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: huayin@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 34536863
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150270

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), together with 11 other organic compounds, were initially listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention because of their potential threat to ecosystems and humans. In China, many monitoring studies have been undertaken to reveal the level of PCBs in environment since 2005 due to the introduced stricter environmental regulations. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding the overall spatial and temporal distributions of PCBs in China. This review systematically discusses the occurrence and distribution of PCBs in environmental matrices, organisms, and humans in China. Results showed that PCB contamination in northern and southern China was not significantly different, but the PCB levels in East China were commonly higher than those in West China, which might have been due to the widespread consumption of PCBs and intensive human activities in East China. Serious PCB contamination was found in e-waste disassembling areas (e.g., Taizhou of Zhejiang Province and Qingyuan and Guiyu of Guangdong Province). Higher PCB concentrations were also chronicled in megalopolises and industrial clusters. The unintentionally produced PCBs (UP-PCBs) formed during industrial thermal processes may play an increasingly significant role in PCB pollution in China. Low PCB levels were recorded in rural and underdeveloped districts, particularly in remote and high-altitude localities such as the Tibetan Plateau and the South China Sea. However, these data are limited. Human exposure to PCBs is closely related to the characteristics of environmental pollution. This review also discusses existing issues and future research prospects on PCBs in China. For instance, the accumulation characteristics and migration regularities of PCBs in food webs should be further studied. More investigations should be undertaken to assess the quantitative relationship between external and internal exposure to PCBs. For example, bioaccessibility and bioavailability studies should be supplemented to evaluate human health risks more accurately.

Keywords: China; Emission source; Environmental contamination; Human exposure; Polychlorinated biphenyls.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

China
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollution
Food Chain
Humans
Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis

Substances

Polychlorinated Biphenyls