Polychlorinated biphenyls and hexachlorobenzene in atmosphere, sea-surface microlayer, and water measured with semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

The time evolution of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) levels in air, seawater, and at the sea–air boundary layer was examined during autumn and winter at a near-shore location in the Western Wadden Sea (Netherlands), using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Performance reference compounds (PRCs) were added to the SPMDs prior to exposure for measuring the in situ exchange kinetics. For PCBs, a fair degree of equilibrium between atmosphere and water was found. HCB concentrations in the atmosphere were about eight times higher than the equilibrium concentration. PCB concentrations in seawater and atmosphere fell by a factor of 2–10, respectively, during the sampling period. HCB concentrations in water increased by a factor of 2. Atmospheric concentrations of HCB showed a decrease by a factor of about 10. Results for the sea-surface microlayer (SSM) deployment showed that the chemical activities at the air–water interface did not differ from those in deeper water layers. This means that the SSM was of no special toxicological significance in this study as far as PCBs and HCB are concerned.