Abstract:
This dataset reports the concentration of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-, β- and γ- 41 hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers, o,p'- and p,p'-isomers of DDT and 28 PCB congeners in eleven soil samples and one lichen collected on the Eastern coast of Antarctica from 5 Russian stations. The concentration of OCPs and PCBs was highly variable for different pollutants and between the research stations. This
... is due to the particular characteristics of the areas from where samples were taken and to the different pollution pathways. For samples with low concentration of PCBs (range 0.20–0.41 ng g-1 dry weight) and pesticides (0.86–4.69 ng g-1 and 0.11–1.22 ng g-1 dry weight for HCHs and DDTs, respectively), atmospheric long-range transport from Africa, South America or Australia was suggested as the sole source of contamination. The profile of PCB congeners was dominated by the more volatile tri, tetra- and penta-PCBs congeners, thus supporting the long-range transport hypothesis. Four samples contained a moderate level of PCBs (range 1.98–6.94 ng g-1 dry weight) and a variable concentration of pesticides (γ-HCH, p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT being the main contaminants). For samples with high concentration of PCBs (range 90.26– 157.45 ng g-1) and high concentration of pesticides, the presence of high molecular weight PCB congeners such as: 153, 180, 187, 170 etc, strongly suggests a local source of PCBs rather than atmospheric transport. Therefore authors suggested that on a local scale, biotic focusing of pollutants, due to bird activities (nesting and excrement) can cause high contamination levels and become more significant than contaminant input via abiotic pathways. 
