Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Congener-specific analysis of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in the major Chinese technical PCB formulation from a stored Chinese electrical capacitor

  • 12th IHPA Forum and selected studies on POPs
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Impurity of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in commercial polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) formulations has been recognized as a relevant source of PCNs in the environment. Congener-specific analysis of most main PCB formulations has been accomplished previously, excluding the Chinese product. The insulating oil in a stored Chinese electric capacitor containing the major Chinese technical formulation “PCB3” was sampled and tested by isotope dilution technology using high-resolution gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). The detected concentration of PCNs in the Chinese PCB oil sample was 1,307.5 μg/g and therefore significantly higher than that reported in PCB formulations from other countries, as well as that in the transformer oil (ASKAREL Nr 1740) additionally tested in the present study for comparison. Based on the measurement, the total amount of PCNs in Chinese PCB3 oil is estimated to be 7.8 t, which would mean only 0.005 % of global production of PCNs of 150,000 t. The homolog profile is similar to those of PCN in Aroclor 1262 and Clophen A40, where the contributions from hexa-CNs and hepta-CNs are predominant and accounted for similar proportions. The Toxic Equivalent Quantity (TEQ) concentration of dioxin-like PCN congeners is 0.47 μg TEQ/g, with the dominant contributors of CN-73 and CN-66/67. This TEQ content from PCN is higher than that in most other PCB formulations with the exemption of the Russian Sovol formulation. The total TEQ in the historic 6,000 t of the Chinese PCB3 formulation is estimated to be 2.8 kg TEQ.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Reference

  • Abad E, Caixach J, Rivera J (1999) Dioxin like compounds from municipal waste incinerator emissions: assessment of the presence of polychlorinated naphthalenes. Chemosphere 38:109–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Behnisch PA, Hosoe K, Sakai S (2003) Brominated dioxin-like compounds: in vitro assessment in comparison to classical dioxin-like compounds and other polyaromatic compounds. Environ Int 29:861–877

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bidleman TF, Helm PA, Braune BM, Gabrielsen GW (2010) Polychlorinated naphthalenes in polar environments—a review. Sci Total Environ 408:2919–2935

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blankenship AL, Kannan K, Villalobos SA, Villeneuve DL, Falandysz J, Imagawa T, Jakobsson E, Giesy JP (2000) Relative potencies of individual polychlorinated naphthalenes and Halowax mixtures to induce Ah receptor-mediated responses. Environ Sci Technol 34:3153–3158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Breivik K, Sweetman A, Pacyna JM, Jones KC (2002) Towards a global historical emission inventory for selected PCB congeners - a mass balance approach. Sci Total Environ 290:181–198

  • Falandysz J (1998) Polychlorinated naphthalenes: an environmental update. Environ Pollut 101:77–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo L, Zhang B, Xiao K, Zhang QH, Zheng MH (2008) Levels and distributions of polychlorinated naphthalenes in sewage sludge of urban wastewater treatment plants. Chinese Sci Bull 53:508–513

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haglund P, Jakobsson E, Asplund L, Athanasiadou M, Bergman Å (1993) Determination of polychlorinated naphthalenes in polychlorinated biphenyl products via capillary gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after separation by gel permeation chromatography. J Chromatogr A 634:79–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hanberg A, Wærn F, Asplund L, Haglund E, Safe S (1990) Swedish dioxin survey: determination of 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalent factors for some polychlorinated biphenyls and naphthalenes using biological tests. Chemosphere 20:1161–1164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Matsumura T, Yu G, Deng SB, Yamauchi M, Yamazaki N, Weber R (2011) Determination of PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs in insulating oil samples from stored Chinese electrical capacitors by HRGC/HRMS. Chemosphere 85:239–246

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Matsumura T, Yu G, Deng SB, Yamauchi M, Wu CM, Yamazaki N (2014) Detailed analysis of PCBs and PCDD/Fs impurities in a dielectric oil sample (ASKAREL Nr 1740) from an imported transformer in China. Front Environ Sci En 8:195–204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Imagawa T, Lee CW (2001) Correlation of polychlorinated naphthalenes with polychlorinated dibenzofurans formed from waste incineration. Chemosphere 44:1511–1520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kannan K, Imagawa T, Blankenship A, Giesy JP (1998) Isomer-specific analysis and toxic evaluation of polychlorinated naphthalenes in soil, sediment, and biota collected near the site of a former chlor-alkali plant. Environ Sci Technol 32:2507–2514

  • Liu GR, Cai ZW, Zheng MH (2014) Sources of unintentionally produced polychlorinated naphthalenes. Chemosphere 94:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noma Y, Yamamoto T, Sakai S (2004) Congener-specific composition of polychlorinated naphthalenes, coplanar PCBs, dibenzo-p-dioxins, and dibenzofurans in the Halowax series. Environ Sci Technol 38:1675–1680

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rotander A, van Bavel B, Rigét F, Auðunssonc GA, Polderd A, Gabrielsene GW, Víkingssonf G, Mikkelseng B, Damh M (2012) Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in sub-Arctic and Arctic marine mammals, 1986–2009. Environ Pollut 164:118–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Takasuga T, Nakano T, Shibata Y (2012) Unintentional POPs (PCBs, PCBz, PCNs) contamination in articles containing chlorinated paraffins and related impacted chlorinated paraffin products. Organohalogen Compd 74:1437–1440

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taniyasu S, Kannan K, Holoubek I, Ansorgova A, Horii Y, Hanari N, Yamashita N, Aldous KM (2003) Isomer-specific analysis of chlorinated biphenyls, naphthalenes and dibenzofurans in Delor: polychlorinated biphenyl preparations from the former Czechoslovakia. Environ Pollut 126:169–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The People’s Republic of China (April 2007) National implementation plan for the Stockholm. Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

  • Villeneuve DL, Kannan K, Khim JS, Falandysz J, Nikiforov VA, Blankenship AL, Giesy JP (2000) Relative potencies of individual polychlorinated naphthalenes to induce dioxin-like responses in fish and mammalian in vitro bioassays. Arch Environ Contam Toxocol 39:273–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Water Environment Department Planning Division (WEDPD), Environmental Management Bureau, Ministry of the Environment Japan (2003) Manual for the survey on main items (Water quality, sediment, aquatic organisms). 136–163

  • Weber R, Lino F, Imagawa T, Takeuchi M, Sakurai T, Sadakata M (2001) Formation of PCDF, PCDD, PCB, and PCN in de novo synthesis from PAH: mechanistic aspects and correlation to fluidized bed incinerators. Chemosphere 44:1429–1438

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weber R, Gaus C, Tysklind M, Johnston P, Forter M, Hollert H, Heinisch H, Holoubek I, Lloyd-Smith M, Masunaga S, Moccarelli P, Santillo D, Seike N, Symons R, Torres JPM, Verta M, Varbelow G, Vijgen J, Watson A, Costner P, Wölz J, Wycisk P, Zennegg M (2008) Dioxin- and POP-contaminated sites—contemporary and future relevance and challenges. Env Sci Pollut Res 15:363–393

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weber R, Aliyeva G, Vijgen J (2013) The need for an integrated approach to the global challenge of POPs management. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 20:1901–1906

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xing Y, Lu Y, Dawson RW, Shi Y, Zhang H, Wang T, Liu W, Ren H (2005) A spatial temporal assessment of pollution from PCBs in China. Chemosphere 60:731–739

  • Yamashita N, Kannan K, Imagawa T, Miyazaki A, Giesy JP (2000) Concentrations and profiles of polychlorinated naphthalene congeners in eighteen technical polychlorinated biphenyl preparations. Environ Sci Technol 34:4236–4241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (No. 2013AA06A305) and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (No. 20131089251).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control (BKLEOCC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Huang, Gang Yu & Roland Weber

  2. IDEA Consultants, Inc., Shizuoka, 421-0212, Japan

    Makoto Yamauchi & Toru Matsumura

  3. CSD IDEA (Beijing) Institute of Environmental Innovation Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Toru Matsumura & Norimasa Yamazaki

  4. POPs Environmental Consulting, Ulmenstrasse 3, 73035, Göppingen, Germany

    Roland Weber

Authors
  1. Jun Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gang Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Makoto Yamauchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Toru Matsumura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Norimasa Yamazaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Roland Weber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun Huang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Hongwen Sun

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, J., Yu, G., Yamauchi, M. et al. Congener-specific analysis of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in the major Chinese technical PCB formulation from a stored Chinese electrical capacitor. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 14471–14477 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3677-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3677-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation