Polycyclic aromatic and organochlorine compounds in the atmosphere of northern Ellesmere Island, Canada

Abstract

In February–April 1988 we collected air samples at Alert in the Canadian Arctic (82.5°N, 62.3°W) to determine the types, concentrations, and vapor‐particle relationships for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and oxygenated compounds, Organochlorine (OC) pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Samples were taken using a glass fiber filter‐polyurethane foam train and were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography using mass selective and electron capture detection. PAH and oxygenated compounds included dibenzofuran, biphenyl, fluorene, phenanthrene, 9‐fluorenone, fluoranthene, benzofluoranthenes, pyrene, chrysene, benzopyrenes, indeno[cd]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene, 2‐methyl phenanthrene, benz[a]anthracene, and anthracene (given in order of relative abundance, highest to lowest). OC compounds included hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, PCB, polychlorocamphenes, chlordanes, and the dichlorodiphenyl‐trichloroethane (DDT) group (given as above). The concentration ratios of α‐HCH/γ‐HCH (5.2–9.8) and trans ‐ to cis ‐chlordane (0.78–1.29) are reported. Compounds having estimated liquid‐phase saturation vapor pressure ( p L 0 ) ≥ 10 ‐3 Pa at the average sampling temperature (245 K) were almost entirely gaseous. Those from 10 ‐6 ≤ p L 0 ≤ 10 ‐3 Pa were distributed between the particle and gas phases, whereas little or no gaseous component was evident for compounds having p L 0 ≤ 10 ‐6 Pa. The particle‐vapor distribution of PAH and OC compared favorably to the Junge‐Pankow model.