Quantitative analyses of selected polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in water, soil, and sediment during winter and spring seasons from Msunduzi River, South Africa
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Environmental monitoring and assessment
Abstract
The lack of information and the need for
knowledge on the organic pollutants within the area of
KwaZulu-Natal together with the global problem of
water supply have prompted our investigation into the
analyses of eight polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners
in the Msunduzi River of KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa. Soil, sediment, and water sampleswere collected
at ten different sites along the river during winter and
spring seasons. Soil and sediment samples were extracted
using ultra sonication with dichloromethane while
water samples were liquid-liquid extracted using dichloromethane.
All sample extracts were cleaned-up using a
multi-layer silica gel column and analyzed with gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry. Quality assurance
measures were also determined. The percentage recoveries
for water were 53–128 for all the PCBs analyzed,
while sediment recoveries ranged between 69 and
105%. The highest total concentrations of the PCBs in
sediment were 214.21–610.45 ng/g dw at the Du Toit
sampling site and 30.86–444.43 ng/g dw basis at the
wastewater treatment inlet for winter and spring, respectively.
Soil PCB concentrationswere 76.53–397.75 ng/g
dw at the Msunduzi Town sampling site and 20.84–
443.49 ng/g (dry weight) at the Du Toit sampling site
for winter and spring, respectively. In addition, high
PCB concentrations were found in effluent of the wastewater
treatment inlet compared to other sampling sites,
which ranged between 0.68–22.37 and 2.53–35.69 ng/
mL for winter and spring seasons, respectively. In all the
sampling sites selected for this study, Du Toit afforded
the highest PCB concentration levels and the lowest was
after chlorination at the Darvill wastewater treatment
plant. The results presented are new and it is the first
study of organic pollutants such as PCBs that has been
carried out on this river.
Description
Keywords
Organic pollutants, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Msunduzi River, Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Surfacewater, KwaZulu-Natal
Citation
Adeyinka, G. C., Moodley, B., Birungi, G., & Ndungu, P. (2018). Quantitative analyses of selected polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in water, soil, and sediment during winter and spring seasons from Msunduzi River, South Africa. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 190(10), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6993-8