Recent Status of Global Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination

Abstract

Organic pollutants are continuously disrupting the equilibrium of nature. Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a member of the broad family of man-made organic chemicals well-known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. Due to their chemical stability, high boiling point and electrical insulating properties, non-flammability, Polychlorinated Biphenyls are used in various commercial as well as industrial applications. Polychlorinated Biphenyls residues remain in the ecosystem and bioaccumulate in various organisms due to their persistent nature and resistance against natural breakdown agents. This leads to the enlisting of approximately 209 chlorinated congeners in the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention. Their residues have been detected in various environmental components even though their production has been banned for more than a decade. High residues of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in water bodies, aquatic faunas, soils and sediments, air, and biota samples have been reported. Therefore, the current review aims at depicting the source and dynamics of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the environment as well as the exploitation of various detection tools for the analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Besides, it provides a critical description of worldwide contamination scenarios of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and the need for further advancement in the detection and extensive identification.