PCBs and PCDD/DFs in waste oil illegally dumped and neglected for more than 20 years

Quantification of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated-dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in waste oil by high resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS), and profiling of their congeners and homologues were described. Waste oil packed in drums which were estimated to have been exposed to the weather for more than 20 years were found by the illegal dumping patrol in 2006. PCBs were detected in all of 12 waste oil samples examined, with concentrations in the range of 0.0032-22 microg/g. The main pollution sources of the waste oil samples were presumed to be KC300, KC400 and/or KC500 by principal component analysis (PCA) and a chemical mass balance (CMB) method. The concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs (PCDD/DFs) in the illegally dumped waste oil ranged from 1.1 to 360 pg/g and 1.3 to 110 pg/g, respectively. The ratios of toxicity equivalency quantity (TEQ) of PCDDs and PCDFs to Co-PCBs were lower than those of Yusho rice oil. Consequently, it was determined that even after 20 years of exposure to the weather, no PCB denaturation occurred. However, it was confirmed that low-chlorinated biphenyls in corroded drums would have evaporated into the atmosphere.