Polychlorinated Biphenyls Water Pollution along the River Nile, Egypt

Abstract

Ten polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined in water samples collected along the River Nile using gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). PCB concentrations ranged from 14 to 20 μg/L, which were higher than those reported in previous studies, indicating serious PCB pollution in the River Nile. PCB congener profiles varied depending on the sampling sties. PCB-138 was the predominant congener accounting for more than 18% of total PCBs. The composition of PCB congeners in the water revealed that highly chlorinated PCB technical mixtures such as Aroclor 1254 was the main PCB production historically used in Egypt. An increasing trend in PCB levels from the upper stream to the Nile estuaries was observed. The calculated flux of PCBs indicated that 6.8 tons of PCBs is dumped into the Mediterranean Sea each year from the River Nile. The hazard quotients and carcinogenic risk caused by PCB pollution in the River Nile were above the acceptable level indicating that PCBs in the River Nile water pose adverse health effects for all age groups. Our findings revealed that PCBs possess a serious risk to the Egyptian population that depends mainly on the River Nile as a source of water. Thus, stricter legislation and regulatory controls should be applied to reduce the risk of PCBs in Egypt.

Spatio-temporal evaluation of the surface water quality in the middle Nile Delta using Palmer’s algal pollution index

“…Organic pollution in the river Nile considers an essential active field of research [3,4]. It became a significant environmental problem.…”

Distribution of polychlorinated biphenyl along the course of the Buffalo River, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and possible health risks

“…The organic layer was then drained out and passed through a glass chromatographic column (10 mm i.d × 30 cm) packed with a slurry made of 4 g of deactivated silica gel and 2 g of anhydrous sodium sulphate on top. The column was pre-washed with 10 mL n-hexane, after which the sample extract was eluted with 40 mL of n-hexane, concentrated to about 2 mL with a rotary evaporator at 37°C and analysed with gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) (Megahed et al, 2015;Yu et al, 2014, USEPA, 2007USEPA, 2006).…”

“…Risk assessments of the analytes were carried out in accordance with standard methods using average daily dose (ADD), and hazard quotient (HQ) (Lohmann et al, 2007;Pawelczyk, 2013;Ge et al, 2014;Megahed et al, 2015).…”

“…PCBs contain 209 congeners, of which 130 possibly occur during industrial processes such as the production of capacitors, adhesives, paints, transformers and plasticizers (Derouiche et al, 2007;Hope et al, 1997;Jacquet et al, 2014;Kim et al, 2010;Li et al, 2014). The organic contaminants usually find their way into the aquatic environment through various means including run-off, atmospheric deposition, and leakage from landfills containing industrial and/or municipal wastes, amongst others (Megahed et al, 2015;Kampire et al, 2017). Movement of PCBs from water to soil/sediment, or vice versa, could lead to gathering of dregs in farm products and water meant for human and animal consumption (Derouiche et al, 2007).…”

“…A related work carried out in the northern region of the continent was also documented. Megahed et al (2015) assessed the levels for 10 PCB congeners in water samples obtained along the course of the River Nile, Egypt, by means of GC coupled with an electron capture detector (ECD). The concentrations of the organic contaminants in the water samples ranged from 14 -20 μg•L −1 .…”