Source Identification and Health Risk Assessment of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Surface Soils from Vicinity of Arad-Kouh Processing and Disposal Complex, Tehran

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can adversely affect human and environmental health according to long-term half-life and persistence in the environment. Therefore, this study was conducted to detect, identify, and health risk assessment of PCBs in surface soils collected from the vicinity of Arad-Kouh processing and disposal complex, Tehran, in 2020. A total of 30 surface soil samples was collected from 10 sampling sites near the Arad-kouh complex. After extraction of analytes, the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was used to determine PCBs in soil samples. Based on the results, 15 congeners of PCBs were detected in the analyzed soil samples. Also, the minimum, maximum, and mean concentrations of total PCBs (µg/kg) were 269, 434, and 359, respectively. Moreover, the results of PCA and significant contribution values of low molecular weight homologs indicated that the presence of PCB compounds in the soil samples was connected with combustion processes in the soil. Besides, as among the detected PCBs, the TEF values only established for PCB105 showed that exposure to contaminated soil could be lead to a moderate level of carcinogenic risk through PCB105. Given that PCBs have adverse effects on the environment and human health, detecting, determining the concentration, source identification, and periodical monitoring of these compounds in different mediums to human health maintenance is strongly recommended.