The characteristics of PCDD/Fs were studied when accumulating on 1 to 4 year old pine needles that were used as passive samplers of atmospheric POPs. The rate of concentration increase was linear in lower(tetra- through hexa-) chlorinated PCDD/Fs, but higher (hepta- and octa-) chlorinated homologue concentrations did not increase with needle age. The lower were in gas phase and the higher in particles. Photodegradation rates of PCDDs on pine needles were similar to PCDFs, higher chlorinated PCDD/Fs tend to photolyze quickly. Therefore it is recommended that the younger needles should be collected to avoid errors from the depositional accumulation rates and photodegradation, and that, when comparing local concentrations of PCDD/Fs, needles of same age should be collected to reduce the errors.