Occurrence of persistent organic pollutants in air at different sites in the province of Córdoba, Argentina

The occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere of six sites with different emission sources in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, was analyzed. The sites included urban, industrial, agricultural, and mountain areas. Samples were collected using passive air samplers (PAS) consisting of polyurethane foam disks (PUF). Samples were analyzed for 12 PAHs, 31 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 12 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and 11 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The concentrations of PAHs in the atmosphere were elevated at urban sites and were even higher at the industrial site. With respect to OCPs, it was observed that the concentrations of endosulfan were greater at the agricultural site (AGR) (416 ± 4 pg m⁻³). For hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), only the alpha isomer was detected and there were minimal differences between the different sampling sites (5.9–13.3 pg m⁻³). In the case of dieldrin, the highest concentrations (33.6 pg m⁻³) were found at the mountain site, which may have been due to its use for insect control. Although heptachlor epoxide was not detected, the concentration of heptachlor was significantly higher at the agricultural and downtown sites (∼ 3.6 pg m⁻³). Regarding DDTs, the isomers p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE showed the highest concentrations at the mountain site (ΣDDT 120 ± 12 pg m⁻³) and downtown site (ΣDDT 157 ± 62 pg m⁻³). The relationship between the isomers suggested that at the downtown site, the contribution of this pesticide to the environment was recent, probably for the control of diseases vectors. The congener pattern of PBDEs was dominated by BDE-47, and BDE-99 at all sites, with the downtown site having the highest concentrations of compound esters (ΣPBDEs 118 ± 38 pg m⁻³). Finally, high concentrations of PCBs were found at the industrial site (ΣPCBs 1677 ± 134 pg m⁻³), and the predominating homologs were 5-Cl and 6-Cl, in contrast to the other sites where PCBs were dominated by 3-Cl and 4-Cl. This is the first study of POPs carried out in the province of Córdoba.