Presence and distributions of POPS in soil, atmospheric deposition, and bioindicator samples in an industrial-agricultural area in Turkey Asude Hanedar & Elçin Güneş & Gül Kaykioğlu & Suna Özden Çelik & Evren Cabi Received: 3 July 2018 /Accepted: 13 December 2018 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 Abstract In this study, polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- bons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were detected in the soil, lichen pine needle, and total deposition samples in the Meriç-Ergene Basin, which is one of the most im- portant regions in terms of industrial and agricultural activities in Turkey. POP concentrations were measured in 192 samples selected to represent four seasons over a 1-year period across four different regions: an intensive industrial area, an industrial + residential area, an agri- cultural area, and a background area. Total PAH con- centrations are found in the range of 69.6–887.6 ng/g, 74.6–1277.7 ng/g, 113.4–588.9 ng/g, and 0.00– 937.8 ng/m 2 -day; total PCB concentrations are 9.98– 62.9 ng/g, 6.8–68.1 ng/g, 11.3–32.7 ng/g, and 0.00– 144.4 ng/m 2 -day; total OCPs concentrations are 5.9– 83.2 ng/g, 7.3–85.6 ng/g, 9.9–97.1 ng/g, and 0.00– 137.6 ng/m 2 -day respectively for soil, lichen, pine needles, and bulk samples. The data were evaluated according to pollutant groups and spatial and temporal changes. The highest PAH and PCB values were detect- ed in lichen samples from industrial areas. The highest OCP values were detected for total deposition and soil samples and in the agricultural area. The results showed that two- to three-ring PAHs, hepta-PCBs, and cyclodi- enes were the most widespread pollutant groups. Statis- tical analyses were performed to evaluate the accumu- lation and indication properties of the matrices in the study for 0.05 significance level. The pollutant group in which matrices are most similar is PAHs. Total Environ Monit Assess (2019) 191:42 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-7159-4 Highlights • The highest PAH and PCB values were detected in lichen samples from industrial areas. • The highest OCP values were detected in soil samples and in the agricultural area. • Two- to three-ring PAHs, hepta-PCBs, and cyclodienes were the most widespread pollutant groups. • The pollutant group in which matrices are most similar is PAHs. • Total deposition samples showed the most different pattern in terms of indications. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-7159-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. Hanedar (*) : E. Güneş : G. Kaykioğlu : S. Ö. Çelik Environmental Engineering Department, Corlu Engineering Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Corlu, Tekirdag, Turkey e-mail: ahanedar@nku.edu.tr E. Cabi Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Biology Department, Namik Kemal University, Corlu, Tekirdag, Turkey