Abstract—Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo furans (PCDD/F), although present in the environment in trace amounts are considered in the context of the global Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and other scientific committees as extremely hazardous substances belonging to the group of "endocrine disruptors". Examination of their concentration in the air is of particular importance in the regions located on the border of land and sea. PCDD/F as a result of atmospheric deposition from land-based sources enter the organisms (fish) in the process of bioaccumulation, as well as aggravate the conditions of coastal tourist areas. This study presents the first measurements of PCDD/F in the ambient air over Gdansk, a town located closely to the beaches of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. 17 WHO’s most toxic PCDD/F congeners from the group of 210 organochlorine compounds have been identified. Congeners proportions are characteristic for municipal incinerators in other European countries. However, the level of the sum of 17 congeners of PCDD/F in the air Gdansk is lower (0.230 pg WHO- TEQ/m
3) when compared with other European cities (0.300 pg WHO- TEQ/m
3). In the summer time, the air over the Gdansk urban background station can be considered as "ecologically clean".
Index Terms—Hazardous substances, aerosols, Baltic sea, Poland.
Niemirycz E., Witt M., and Kobusińska M. are with University of Gdansk, Institute of Oceanography, Department of Marine Chemistry and Environmental Protection, Poland (e-mail: elzbieta.niemirycz@ug.edu.pl, ocemsk@ug.edu.pl, marta.kobusinska@ug.edu.pl).
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Cite: Niemirycz E., Witt M., and Kobusińska M., "Polychlorinated Dibenzo-P-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) Measurements in Ambient Air over the Northern Poland," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 32-35, 2016.
