Assessment of the emission of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs from an industrial area over a nearby town using a selective wind direction sampling device

The development of new sampling devices or strategies to assess the concentration of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment has increased in the last two decades. In this study, a selective sampling device was used to evaluate the impact of potential local sources of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (dl-PCBs) emissions on the ambient air levels of such compounds in a town near an important industrial estate. Average concentrations of target compounds of up to 2.5 times for PCDD/Fs and 2 times for dl-PCBs were found to come from the industrial state confirming this area as the main responsible for the majority of such compounds reaching the town.This finding was supported by a PCDD/F and dl-PCB sample profile analysis and a principal component analysis (PCA), which established a direct link between the dioxin-like compounds found in the samples collected in the town and their source.