Residues of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Sediment from CauBay River and Their Impacts on Agricultural Soil, Human Health Risk in KieuKy Area, Vietnam

An evaluation of the PCB residues from CauBay River and KieuKy area, Vietnam was carried out. CauBay River has been playing an important role in irrigated water supply for agriculture activities at KieuKy area in the downstream. The PCBs concentrations of sediment, soil samples were analyzed and obtained results indicated the wide extent of contamination of PCBs in CauBay River (from 30.74 to 167.35 ng g−1 dry weight) and KieuKy area (from 21.62 to 60.22 ng g−1 dry weight). This clearly reflected the effect of PCB residues from CauBay River to the quality of agricultural soil of the KieuKy area. The PCBs composition analyses in the samples reflect their long-time release. The total cancer risk of PCBs in the soil of KieuKy fell into the very low range suggesting low risk. However, since PCBs were the species of POPs with more concern in this area, ecological risk assessment should be further investigated.