Quantification of sources of PCBs to the atmosphere in urban areas: a comparison of cities in North America, Western Europe and former Yugoslavia

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Bojan Gasic
  • Matthew MacLeod
  • Jana Klanova
  • Martin Scheringer
  • Predrag Ilic
  • Gerhard Lammel
  • Aleksandar Pajovic
  • Knut Breivik
  • Ivan Holoubek
  • Konrad Hungerbühler

We present estimated emission source strengths of seven polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners for Banja Luka, a city that was affected by the civil war in Bosnia and Hercegovina (former Yugoslavia) in the 1990s. These emission estimates are compared to PCB emission rates estimated for the cities of Zurich, Switzerland, and Chicago, USA using an approach that combines multimedia mass balance modeling and measurement data. Our modeled per-capita emission estimates for Banja Luka are lower by a factor of ten than those for Zurich and Chicago, which are similar. This indicates that the sources of PCB emissions in Banja Luka are likely to be weaker than in the Western European and North American cities which show relatively high PCB emissions. Our emission rates from the three cities agree within a factor of ten with emission estimates from a global PCB emission inventory derived from production and usage estimates and emission factors.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEnvironmental Pollution
Volume158
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)3230-3235
Number of pages6
ISSN0269-7491
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.10.2010

    Research areas

  • Chemistry - Air Pollutants, Air Pollution, Atmosphere, Cities, Environmental Monitoring, Europe, Monte Carlo Method, North America, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Yugoslavia