文摘
The environmental levels and fate of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are understudied compared to many other chlorinated organics with similar molecular formulas such as PCBs and chlorinated pesticides. In this review, the predicted environmental distribution and long range transport (LRT) potential of short, medium, and long chain CPs (SCCPs, MCCPs and LCCPs) homologs were evaluated using a Level III fugacity based model and the OECD LRT tool. Overall persistence (POV) ranged from 503 to 519 d and soils and sediments were predicted to be the main environmental reservoirs for CPs assuming equal emissions to air, water, and soil. Individual congeners are predicted to have quite different reactivity with hydroxyl radicals and congeners with 1,1-dichloro-substitution and adjacent unsubstituted positions on the n-alkane chains having with having in shorter atmospheric oxidation half-lives. CPs have high potential for accumulation in terrestrial food webs based on their phys–chem properties but there is limited confirmation of this. The geographical coverage of environmental levels and trends information on CPs is limited particularly for East Asia, which is now the region with the largest production of CPs. The current lack of environmental levels and fate information, while not the only knowledge gap in the information available on CPs, is a major factor in the uncertainties of recent risk assessments for these substances by regulatory authorities in Europe, Japan, and Canada.