PCBs in the atmosphere of King George Island, Antarctica

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous anthropogenic compounds found even in the polar regions, mainly due to long-range atmospheric transport. In order to assess the occurrence of atmospheric PCBs in the vicinity of the Brazilian Antarctic Research Station (62degrees05'S, 58degrees23'W), a sampling survey was undertaken in the austral summer of 1995-1996. The concentrations of the PCB congeners in the air ranged from not detected to 33.2 pg m(-3). The lower chlorinated congeners (PCB-101 and below), which are more volatile and subject to long-range transport, predominated in the air samples and represented 66.7% of the total PCB concentrations. Atmospheric levels of PCBs were correlated with meteorological conditions and the highest levels were associated with the passage of the frontal systems coming from South America. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.