Abstract
Evaporation of PCBs from PCB waste in Japan has been estimated based on field measurements from 10 PCB waste storage facilities. An emissions inventory for PCBs was also compiled, and includes evaporation and emissions from unintentional thermal sources. The inventory was used to estimate atmospheric PCBs concentrations, which were then compared with the observed concentrations. The evaporation rate was higher as the temperature gets higher. Evaporation from PCB waste decreased to almost half from 2004 to 2013 due in part to the reduction of PCB waste stocks, along with improved storage conditions. Emission from unintentional sources remained almost the same over that same period and was a major contributor to mono-CBs, however it was smaller compared to evaporation in terms of total PCBs. It was found that other emission sources, such as pigment impurities or PCB-containing sealants, might be affecting the di-CBs and penta- and higher chlorinated PCBs.
