The presence of polychlorinated biphenyls in yellow pigment products in China with emphasis on 3,3′-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB 11)

• PCB11 and other PCB congeners were analyzed with HRGC coupled with HRMS.
• High concentrations of PCB11 and PCBs were detected in all pigment samples.
• PCB 11 was the major contributor of total PCB concentration.
• 12 Dioxin-like PCBs were investigated and WHO-TEQ were calculated.

A non-Aroclor PCB congener, 3,3′-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB 11) has recently attracted wide concerns because of its environmental ubiquity and specific sources potentially associated with yellow pigment production. In order to investigate PCB 11 and other PCBs in the yellow pigment products, 24 yellow pigment samples were collected from three different manufacturing plants in China. ∑20PCBs and PCB 11 were in the range of 50.7–9.19 × 105 ng g−1 and 41.7–9.18 × 105 ng g−1, respectively, which was much higher than those reported in previous study. The corresponding TEQ values ranged between 0.16 and 4.21 × 103 ng WHO2005-TEQ kg−1. The contribution of PCB 11 to ∑20PCBs reached up to 85.5% (median value) followed by PCB 28, PCB 77, and PCB 52 with contributions of 10.5%, 6.70%, and 5.40%, respectively. Significant differences were observed for PCB 11 concentrations among the different types of yellow pigment from the same plant and among the same sample types from different plants. The PCB 11 concentrations in diarylide yellow pigments produced from 3,3′-dichlorbenzidine were the highest in all the samples. It demonstrates that yellow pigment is a significant source not only for the widespread pollution of PCB 11 but also for other PCBs, especially for the lower chlorinated congeners.