Bioaccumulation potential of persistent organic pollutants (POPs): OCP’s, PCB’s, PAH’s and PCDDs/Fs around the petroleum refinery region in Jordan

This study investigated the bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including ‎organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic ‎hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), in ‎environmental and biological matrices surrounding the petroleum refinery in Al-Hashemiya ‎Municipality, Zarqa Governorate, Jordan. A total of 160 water, soil, plant, and livestock ‎samples were collected from five sampling zones (Z1–Z5), extracted, cleaned using solid-phase ‎extraction (SPE), and analyzed by GC–MS. Method validation included the determination of ‎LOD, LOQ, recovery, precision and accuracy. The highest concentrations were recorded in Z2 ‎and Z3: 881.20 µg/kg OCPs (surface water, SW11), 776.64 µg/kg PCBs (plant, P68), 68.76 ‎‎µg/kg PAHs (livestock, M25) and 170.74 µg/kg PCDD/Fs (plant, P113). The maximum TEQ ‎values were 6.33, 15.26 and 29.25 µg TEQ/kg for PCBs, PAHs and PCDD/Fs, respectively. ‎Elevated POP concentrations in Z2 and Z3 suggest greater bioaccumulation, consistent with the ‎prevailing regional wind pattern‎.