Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) generated through human activities. In recent times, extreme weather events such as wild fires have significantly affected the remobilization and successive bioavailability of PCDD/Fs.

Winter monsoonal air masses traveling from Inner Mongolia to downwind nations can transport cold temperature and air pollutants. This study investigated the effects of the long-range transport (LRT) of air pollutants by northeastern monsoons and local pollution (LP) episodes on atmospheric PM 2.5 , polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) concentrations in northern Taiwan during the winters of 2014 and 2015. Air samples were collected in rural (Rural Site 1 was mountainous; Rural Site 2 was coastal) and urban (Urban Site 1 was urban; Urban Site 2 was suburban) areas in northern Taiwan as well as at a background site (Lulin Mountain) in central Taiwan. Atmospheric PCDD/F concentrations measured at different sites ranged from 11.0 ± 2.70 to 39.7 ± 22.7 fg international toxicity equivalency quantity (I-TEQ) m -3 in 2014 and 7.99 ± 5.58 to 17.5 ± 12.3 fg I-TEQ m -3 in 2015. During LRT and LP, the proportion of PCDFs was higher than that of PCDDs. Rural Site 1 (122 pg I-TEQ g

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