Polychlorinated Biphenyls Residue in Citrus and Vegetables in the Jordan Valley, Jordan

In this study, four types of citrus fruits (Lemon, Orange, Mandarin, and Grapefruit) and four types of vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, and tomato) irrigated with different types of water at three sites in the Jordan valley were evaluated for their polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) content.The concentrations of six types of PCBs (PCB52, PCB101, PCB138, PCB153, PCB180, and PCB209) in the citrus fruits varied according to the type of the species and within each type. The concentrations of PCBs in the citrus fruits were in the range of 2-13.8 ppb, 3.6-9.8 ppb, 11.0-138.0 ppb and 5.2-501.5 ppb for the grapefruit, orange, lemon, and mandarin, respectively. Although all citrus trees were irrigated with the same water, a big variation was observed with each fruit species suggesting other PCBs sources than the irrigation water; atmospheric deposition could, most probably, be a contamination pathway. For the vegetables, the total PCBs concentrations were higher for the plants irrigated with the KTD water than those of the same plant species irrigated with mixed water which indicates that irrigation water and contaminated soils are the main sources of PCBs in the investigated vegetable types. This study has also found that the variation in the PCB levels in the fruits and vegetables irrigated with the same type of water is due to accumulation from other sources present in the environment rather than from the irrigation water.