Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of paints containing polycyclic- and Naphthol AS-type pigments

This study reports the concentrations and congener partners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in commercially available paints. Polycyclic-type pigments containing dioxazine violet (pigment violet (PV) 23, PV37) and diketopyrrolopyrrole (PR254, PR255) were found to contain PCB-56, PCB-77, PCB-40, PCB-5, and PCB-12, and PCB-6, PCB-13, and PCB-15, respectively, as major congeners. Dioxazine violet is contaminated with by-products during synthesis from o -dichlorobenzene, which is used as a solvent during synthesis, and diketopyrrolopyrrole is contaminated with by-products during synthesis from p -chlorobenzonitrile. The concentration of PCBs in paint containing PV23 or PV37 was 0.050–29 mg/kg, and toxic equivalency (TEQ) values ranged 1.1–160 pg-TEQ/g. The concentration of PCBs in paint containing PR254 or PR255 was 0.0019–2.4 mg/kg. Naphthol AS is an azo-type pigment, and PCB-52 was detected in paint containing pigment red (PR) 9 with 2,5-dichloroaniline as its source. PCB-146, PCB-149, and PCB-153 were identified from paint containing PR112 produced from 2,4,5-trichloroaniline, as major congeners. These congeners have chlorine positions similar to aniline, indicating that these congeners are by-products obtained during the synthesis of pigments. The concentrations of PCBs in paints containing PR9 and PR112 were 0.0042–0.43 and 0.0044–3.8 mg/kg, respectively. The corresponding TEQ for PR112 was 0.0039–8.6 pg-TEQ/g.