Recent advances in PCB removal from historically contaminated environmental matrices

Despite being drastically restricted in the 1970s, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) still belong among the most hazardous contaminants. The chemical stability and dielectric properties of PCBs made them suitable for a number of applications, which then lead to their ubiquitous presence in the environment. PCBs are highly bioaccumulative and persistent, and their teratogenic, carcinogenic, and endocrine-disrupting features have been widely reported in the literature. This review discusses recent advances in different techniques and approaches to remediate historically contaminated matrices, which are one of the most problematic in regard to decontamination feasibility and efficiency. The current knowledge published in the literature shows that PCBs are not sufficiently removed from the environment by natural processes, and thus, the suitability of some approaches (e. g., natural attenuation) is limited. Physicochemical processes are still the most effective; however, their extensive use is constrained by their high cost and often their destructiveness toward the matrices. Despite their limited reliability, biological methods and their application in combinations with other techniques could be promising. The literature reviewed in this paper documents that a combination of techniques differing in their principles should be a future research direction. Other aspects discussed in this work include the incompleteness of some studies. More attention should be given to the evaluation of toxicity during these processes, particularly in terms of monitoring different modes of toxic action. In addition, decomposition mechanisms and products need to be sufficiently clarified before combined, tailor-made approaches can be employed.

Automated summary

PCBs, despite being restricted in the 1970s, remain hazardous contaminants due to their bioaccumulative and persistent nature. Remediation of historically contaminated matrices is challenging and requires a combination of different techniques and approaches.