Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in soils and plants from Svalbard, Arctic: Levels, distribution, and potential sources

Abstract

As persistent organic pollutants (POPs) newly banned by the Stockholm Convention, polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) have been widely detected in various environmental matrices. To date, however, the occurrence of PCNs in soils and plants in the Arctic environment has not been reported. In the current study, the concentrations and distribution of PCNs in Arctic soils and plants from Svalbard were analyzed. Total PCN concentrations ranged from 5.3 to 2550 pg/g dry weight (dw) in soils and 77 to 870 pg/g dw in plants. The higher levels of PCNs near the research stations and Longyearbyen town highlighted the significant influence of local anthropogenic emission sources. The composition of PCNs in Arctic soils and plants was dominated by lower chlorinated homologues, especially mono- to trichlorinated naphthalenes, which accounted for over 80 % of total PCNs in the soil and plant samples. The correlation analysis indicated the potential influences of total organic carbon (TOC) content on PCN concentrations in the soil, and octanol-air partition coefficients (K_OA) or octanol-water partition coefficients (K_OW) on PCN accumulation from soils to plants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the concentration and distribution of PCNs in Arctic soils and plants.

Keywords: Arctic; Plants; Polychlorinated naphthalenes; Soils.