Influence of former industrial waste landfill in central Poland on PCBs content in the environment

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of industrial waste landfill on the release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the environment with reference to water flow directions. 10 study plots were designated around the landfill site. Soil samples were taken from different soil layers. Plants: Solidago canadensis (leaves, stem), Quercus L. (leaves), and Poaceae were tested on PCBs contents. Groundwater samples were taken from piezometers. PCBs in the samples were determined by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC/ECD). The highest accumulation of PCBs congeners was observed in the topsoil layers and decreased with the sampling depth. The dominant PCBs congeners in soil were PCB 28 and PCB 138, in plants PCB 28 and PCB 52. The most significant PCBs accumulation in the topsoil layer occurred in the research area on which the largest amount of waste was deposited and was equal to 14.2 ng/g. The largest sum of determined PCBs congeners was found in Solidago canadensis leaves – 3.26 ng/g and Quercus L. leaves – 3.32 ng/g. PCB 28 and PCB 52 were capable of translocation from soil to plants. It was found that the water flow direction did not affect PCB content in soils