Monitoring of organochlorine pesticides in the urban air of Dalian, China with semipermeable membrane devices

The concentrations of 28 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the urban air of Dalian, China were measured using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) for the first time. Alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH), β-HCH, pentachlorobenzene (PentCB), hexachlorobenzene (HexCB), 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (4,4′-DDT), 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, endosulfan-I and endosulfan-II were the predominant OCPs in the urban air of Dalian. The concentration of OCPs sequestrated by SPMDs (C _SPMD) ranged from undetected to 56,772 pg SPMD^-1 and had a linear correlation with the reciprocal of the average ambient atmospheric temperature (1/T). The C _SPMD of PentCB and HexCB had negative correlations with T, whereas the other detected OCPs had a positive correlation. The source of HCHs, DDTs, HexCB, PentCB, chlordane, and endosulfan in the air were also evaluated. The OCPs in the urban air of Dalian could be attributed to the seasonal usage of pesticides, combustion, volatilization of aged OCPs from soil, water, plants, and long-range atmospheric transport.