Quantifying Concentrations and Emissions of Hexachlorobutadiene - A New Atmospheric Persistent Organic Pollutant in...

Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) was listed as a new persistent organic pollutant for global regulation under Stockholm Convention in 2015, and there has been scarce information on its atmospheric concentrations, distributions, and emission sources. HCBD air samples were collected and analyzed to characterize concentrations and distributions at high elevation and urban sites as well as emission source locations in Northern China. We found ambient concentrations of HCBD in Northern China averaged at 34 ± 16 and 36 ± 28 pptv at urban sites in Jinan and Tai'an, respectively, and 31 ± 21 pptv at a high-elevation site Mount Tai. HCBD concentrations at the high elevation and urban sites were found to be affected by long-range transport under the influence of the East Asian monsoon climate. Over potential sources areas, we found concentrations of 76 ± 33 pptv in a mixed factory park, 59 ± 21 pptv in a rubber plant and 74 ± 8 pptv in a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill area, which were all several times higher than in urban sites. The large concentration gradient across the various environments revealed strong emission sources of HCBD, especially over MSW landfill and Cl-compound production and application areas. An emission rate of 9.2 × 10⁴ kg/yr and an oxidation rate of 32.9 kg/yr for HCBD were estimated for the mixed factory park. OH and Cl are much more active in reaction with HCBD than other oxidants in the atmosphere. Dry deposition and oxidation removed about 5.3% and 0.04%, respectively, of the emitted, suggesting that ∼95% of the emitted HCBD remaining in the atmosphere and could be transported for redistribution. Our findings revealed significant emission sources of HCBD in northern China, which was in turn affected by major sources in East-central China. The regional influence of HCBD pollution warrants serious concerns and points to the need to develop mitigation strategies.