Citation

Colapicchioni V, Mosca S, Cerasa M, Benedetti P, Guerriero E, Perilli M, Rotatori M. J. Hazard. Mater. 2020; 393: e122284.

Affiliation

Italian National Research Council - Institute for Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Via Salaria km 29, 300 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy. Electronic address: rotatori@iia.cnr.it.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122284

PMID

32120222

Abstract

It is known that when fires or explosions involve electrical systems, along with PCDDs and PCDFs, polychlorinated biphenylenes (PCBPs) are also produced. These chlorinated tricyclic aromatic pollutants were noticed in fire rubbles and after the World Trade Center destruction. However, the analytical difficulties in developing an efficient method have limited the knowledge of their environmental distribution. In light of the equipotency of 2,3,6,7-TeCBP and 2,3,7,8-TeCDD, PCBPs call for more accurate investigations. In this paper, for the first time, the level and persistence of 2,3,6,7-TeCBP have been investigated in air samples (both indoor and outdoor) after a fire broke out in an industrial building. GC-MS/MS analysis revealed that 2,3,6,7-TeCBP concentrations after the fire (3046 fg/m³ at the "epicentre") were remarkably higher than that of the 2,3,7,8-TeCDD. Moreover, the monitoring for over two years has demonstrated the persistent nature of this compound. 2,3,6,7-TeCBP was also analyzed in two different ambient air scenario: industrial and periurban areas and in both cases its concentrations were no matter of concern, confirming the correlation of 2,3,6,7-TeCBP with fire episodes. Collectively, 2,3,6,7-TeCBP, because of its toxicity, concentration and persistence, is a crucial compound in the evaluation of the health effects correlated with fires of electrical systems.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

2,3,6,7-TeCBP (PCBPs); Air sampling; Building fire; PCCD/Fs; POPs