Study of Pops in Soil Samples from the Polluted Zarqa Region/Jordan

The levels of 13 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 12 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 23 soil samples collected from the vicinity of the Jordan petroleum refinery and Al-Hussein thermal power station in Zarqa region were determined. All analyses were carried out using GC/MS instrument. The total concentrations of PAHs was (0.94 ng/g) in site 13 to (191 ng/g) in site 19, while none of the samples contain PCBs. The total estimated cancer risks of exposure to PAHs in the soil samples were ranged from 8.56 10-9 to 5.53 10-6 and by multiplying the estimated cancer risks of exposure to soil sample-PAHs by 106, it is possible to determine the theoretical number of cancer cases per million of people. The total estimated cancer risks determined in this study were well within the acceptable range of excess cancer risk which is specied by the US Environmental Protection Agency.