Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mosses (Hypnum cupressiforme) in Hungary

The atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in Hungary by analyzing a moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) species as a bioindicator. In the autumn of 1997, samples were collected at 29 sites distributed across Hungary. The concentrations of total PAH at these sites were in the range of 0.1567-10.45 x 10(4) microg kg(-1) with a mean value of 1.87 x 10(4) microg kg(-1). More than 99% of the total PAHs atmospheric deposition were low molecular weight PAHs (up to 3 ring compounds). The total PAH values showed no correlation with metal concentrations. However, most of the sites in this region showed a positive linear relationship between PAHs levels and traffic volume (r2 = 0.83; P < 0.001) while no relationship existed between PAH levels and population (r2 = 0.01; P > 0.1). Atmospheric deposition of PAHs at different regions in Hungary may be due to incomplete combustion of fuel. The total concentrations of PAHs were compared to the PAH levels in vegetation samples collected from different regions around the world. The highest PAHs concentrations accumulated were found in Hypnum cupressiforme than other vegetation species. A greater affinity for PAH compounds by Hypnum cupressiforme than other moss species probably caused larger amounts of accumulation. A relationship between accumulations of PAH compounds in Hypnum cupressiforme and octanol-air partition coefficients was obtained and is briefly discussed.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in agricultural soil and vegetables from Tianjin

Several types of vegetables were collected from two contaminated sites in Tianjin, China. The bulk soil and the rhizosphere soil samples were also collected from the same plots. Sixteen PAHs in the samples were measured. The total concentrations of PAH16 in the bulk soil from the two sites were 1.08 and 6.25 microg/g, respectively, with similar pattern. The concentrations of PAH16 and individual compounds in the rhizosphere were significantly higher than those in the bulk soil with mean values of 2.25 and 7.82 microg/g for the two sites, respectively. The contents of both total and dissolved organic matter in the rhizosphere were also higher than those in the bulk soil. Almost all PAH compounds studied were detected in both roots and aerial parts of the vegetables studied. Abundance of higher molecular weight PAHs in vegetable, however, was lower than that in soil. Concentrations of PAH16 in vegetable were higher than those reported in the literature for other areas. It appears that agricultural soils and vegetables in Tianjin, especially those from the site located immediately next to an urban district and irrigated with wastewater for several decades, are severely contaminated by PAHs. Among the eight types of vegetable studied, the highest concentration of PAHs was found in cauliflower. By average, the concentration of PAH16 in the aerial part of vegetables was 6.5 times higher as that in vegetable root, suggesting that foliar uptake is the primary transfer pathway of PAHs from environment to vegetables.     

Mass balance for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the urban watershed of Le Havre (France): transport and fate of PAHs from the atmosphere to the outlet

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations have been monitored simultaneously in ambient air, bulk atmospheric deposition and runoff waters during one year in a small urban watershed of the Seine river basin (France). PAH fluxes from the atmosphere to the outlet of the urban watershed have been calculated to establish a mass balance for PAHs. PAH flux in runoff waters was 5.2 kg km(-2) yr(-1) while PAH atmospheric deposition was 0.21 kg km(-2) yr(-1). The comparison between atmospheric input and output by runoff has shown the importance of street deposits that appeared to be the most important source of PAHs for surface waters in urban areas. PAH profiles in the various compartments showed the fate of PAHs in the air-water system: proportion of carcinogenic PAHs was more important in runoff waters (35%) than in bulk atmospheric deposition (22%) and air (6%).     

Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere of Xiamen, China

An intensive sampling program was conducted from October 2008 to September 2009 at the five different environmental sites in Xiamen, Fujian Province, to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the gaseous and particulate phase, respectively. The PAHs concentrations at different sites were quite distinct during four seasons. The average concentrations of PAHs in winter were about 8.4 times higher than those in spring, and the concentrations of background were 0.56 times lower than those of industrial area. In addition, the higher temperature in summer affected the particle/gas partitioning of PAHs and led to the higher concentrations of gaseous PAHs. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs, which were employed to indicate the primary sources of PAHs in Xiamen, showed that the traffic vehicle exhaust was the largest contributor and the primary source for PAHs in Xiamen, especially in urban area; while the stationary combustion processes, such as petrochemical factories and power plants, were mainly responsible for PAHs sources in the industrial areas. The health risk of PAHs in the particulate phase was higher than those of the gaseous phase at the five sampling sites. The average toxic equivalent (BaP_eq) of the benzo[a]pyrene values for PAHs were 0.14, 0.32, 1.38 and 3.59 ng m^− 3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Furthermore, the results of average BaP_eq in all four seasons indicated that the health risks of particulate PAHs were higher than those of the gaseous PAHs at different sampling sites.     

Health risk assessment on dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Taiyuan, China

Twenty-five kinds of seven categories of foods were sampled in December 2008 and the concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined. The highest level of total PAHs was detected in pork (195.30 ng/g) whereas the lowest concentration was found in milk (8.73 ng/g). The median values of B[a]P equivalent (B[a]P_eq) daily exposure doses for children, adolescents, adults and seniors of male were estimated to be 392.42, 511.01, 571.56 and 532.56 ng/d, respectively, whereas those for the above population groups of female were found to be 355.16, 440.51, 487.64 and 444.85 ng/d, respectively. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values at the 22.1th, 26.1th, 12.7th, 24.9th, 22.7th, 27.0th, 12.9th, and 25.5th percentiles for male children, male adolescents, male adults, male seniors, female children, female adolescents, female adults and female seniors, respectively, were larger than 10^− 6, indicating high potential carcinogenic risk, and were larger than 10^− 4 at the 74.5th, 78.7th, 60.6th, 77.4th, 75.3th, 79.5th, 60.8th and 77.9th percentiles for the above groups, respectively, which implied significant cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis found that the two variables of oral cancer slope factor of benzo(a) pyrene (SF) and the daily dietary PAH exposure level (ED) had the greater impact than that of body weight (BW) on the ILCR.     

Source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments of the Huangpu River, Shanghai, China

We applied cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) with multivariate linear regression (MLR) to apportion sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, based on the measured PAH concentrations of 32 samples collected at eight sites in four seasons in 2006. The results indicate that petrogenic and pyrogenic sources are the important sources of PAHs. Further analysis shows that the contributions of coal combustion, traffic-related pollution and spills of oil products (petrogenic) are 40%, 36% and 24% using PCA/MLR, respectively. Pyrogenic sources (coal combustion and traffic related pollution) contribute 76% of anthropogenic PAHs to sediments, which indicates that energy consumption is a predominant factor of PAH pollution in Shanghai. Rainfall, the monsoon and temperature play important roles in the distinct seasonal variation of PAH pollution, such that the contamination level of PAHs in spring is significantly higher than in the other seasons.

Brief

We apportion PAHs in surface sediments of the Huangpu River and show that coal combustion, traffic-related pollution, and petroleum spillage are the major sources.     

Modelling of runoff behaviour of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from roads and roofs

Road and roof dust was collected and samples of runoff were taken at an urban storm sewer system in a residential area in Japan. Suspended solids (SS) in the runoff samples were classified into two fractions: fine (smaller than 45 μm) and coarse (larger than 45 μm). Runoff monitoring and chemical analysis data were also used to validate a runoff model for particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that was originally developed to explain the behaviour of SS in the same area. The model, in which roads and roofs were considered separately as impervious surfaces, expressed the SS and particle-bound PAHs runoff behaviour for fine and coarse particles very well, except during and after heavy rainfalls (more than 10 mm/h). However, the model could not explain the PAH profiles of runoff particles; the profiles of 12 PAH compounds tracked in this study were almost constant and more similar to those of road dust than roof dust throughout the event. An improved model is developed which explains the runoff behaviour by considering two types of road dust with different mobility.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban surface dust of Guangzhou, China: Status, sources and human health risk assessment

Ninety-six urban surface dust samples collected from Guangzhou, a typical urban center in South China, were analyzed for 16 PAHs (2-6 rings). ∑ PAHs concentrations in the urban surface dust ranged from 0.84 to 12.3 μg/g with a mean of 4.80 μg/g. High molecular weight compounds (4-6 rings) contributed to 62 to 94% of ∑ PAHs mass in the surface dust samples. Four hotspots with highest ∑ PAHs were identified via kriging prediction mapping, representing the highly-urbanized regions: central downtown, highway and industrial area. Two major origins of PAHs inputs to urban surface dust were identified as vehicle emissions (51.9%) and coal combustion (26.8%). The 95% UCL of Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) due to human exposure to urban surface dust PAHs in central South China was 3.03 × 10⁻⁶ for children and 2.92 × 10⁻⁶ for adults.     

Emission characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from combustion of different residential coals in North China

Emission properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from combustion of six residential coals in North China were investigated. The results indicated that, the total emission factors (EFs) for 15 PAH species in gaseous and particulate phases ranged from 52.8 to 1434.8 mg/kg with a decreasing sequence of local bituminous coals and anthracite coals, and honeycomb briquettes were largely dependent on the raw coals used to produce them. Particulate phase, dominated by median or high molecular weight components, made a major contribution (68.8% - 76.5%) to the total EFs for bituminous coals, while gaseous phase with principal low molecular weight species accounted for most (86.3% - 97.9%) of the total EFs for anthracite coals. The phase partitioning of PAH emission for honeycomb briquettes was similarly dependent on the crude coals. The total EFs, phase partitioning and component profiles of emitted PAHs were mainly influenced by the inner components of the studied coals. Burning mode and flue number on household coal-stoves also affected the emission characteristics by means of the oxygen supply. A sum of seven carcinogenic PAHs, benzo(a)pyrene(BaP)-equivalent carcinogenic power and total toxicity potency expressed in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-dioxin(TCDD) toxic equivalence exhibited that bituminous coals and produced honeycomb briquettes had remarkably elevated values. Fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, chrysene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene from anthracite coals showed higher levels of BaP-based toxic equivalent factor, though the other toxicity indices were rather low for this type of coal.     

Studying associations between urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cardiovascular diseases in the United States

The association between background, enduring environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cardiovascular diseases has not been well studied in the general population. In this study, we used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004 to investigate the associations between eight monohydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) and self-report CVD. In a logistic regression model adjusting for cigarette smoking and other covariates, phenanthrene metabolite, 2-hydroxyphennathrene (2-PHEN), was significantly associated with self-report CVD. Compared to subjects within the lowest tertile of 2-PHEN, subjects within the middle and highest tertiles had higher self-report CVD (the 2nd tertile: AOR = 1.29, 95%CI: 0.97-1.72; the 3rd tertile: AOR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.01-2.07; p for trend = 0.04). In addition, fluorene metabolite (i.e. 2-hydroxyfluorene) also showed a marginally significant linear trend with self-report CVD (p for trend = 0.07). Further studies are necessary to explore the associations between these highly prevalent pollutants and CVD.     

Size distribution and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aerosol particle samples from the atmospheric environment of Delhi, India

Ambient aerosol particles were collected using a five-stage impactor at six different sites in Delhi. The impactor segregates the TSPM into five different sizes (viz. > 10.9, 10.9-5.4, 5.4-1.6, 1.6-0.7, and < 0.7 μm). Samples collected were chemically analyzed for all the five size ranges, for the estimation of 16 different PAHs. The particle size distribution of PAHs was observed to be unimodal in nature with the highest peak towards the smallest size aerosol particle (< 0.7 μm). The five size ranges were categorized into two broad categories viz. coarse (> 10.9 + 10.9 to 5.4 + 5.4 to 1.6 μm) and fine (1.6 to 0.7 + < 0.7 μm). It was observed that the dominant PAHs found were pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(b)fluoranthene for both the coarse and fine fractions. Source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been carried out using principal component analysis method (PCA) in both coarse and fine size modes. The major sources identified in this study, responsible for the elevated concentration of PAHs in Delhi, are vehicular emission and coal combustion. Some contribution from biomass burning was also observed.     

HPLC determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the littoral urban sewage area of cortiou (Marseille,France)

A selective method for determining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments using solid‐phase extraction and RP‐HPLC with fluorescence and UV detection is described. The complete analytical method is used to surface sediments from the creek of Cortiou (France). Sewage from the urban area of Marseille is delivered to the creek. PAH levels in sediments (µg/g) range between 2.251 µg/g (for the benzo(a)anthracene) and 相似文献   

Measurement and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aerosol in Xi'an, China, by using automated column chromatography and applying positive matrix factorization (PMF)

In this study, we measured polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aerosols in Xi'an, China from 2005 to 2007, by using a modified Soxhlet extraction followed by a clean-up procedure using automated column chromatography followed by HPLC/fluorescence detection. The sources of PAHs were apportioned by using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) method. The PM₁₀ concentration in winter (161.1 ± 66.4 μg m^− 3, n = 242) was 1.5 times higher than that in summer (110.9 ± 34.7 μg m^− 3, n = 248). ΣPAH concentrations, which are the sum of the concentrations of all detected PAHs, in winter (344.2 ± 149.7 ng m^− 3, n = 45) was 2.5 times higher than that in summer (136.7 ± 56.7 ng m^− 3, n = 24) in this study. These strong seasonal variations in atmospheric PAH concentration are possibly due to coal combustion for residential heating. According to the source apportionment with PMF method in this study, the major sources of PAHs in Xi'an are categorized as (1) mobile sources such as vehicle exhaust that constantly contribute to PAH pollution, and (2) stationary sources such as coal combustion that have a large contribution to PAH pollution in winter.     

Health risk assessment for traffic policemen exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Tianjin, China

In China, traffic policemen have to stand for several hours a day at the road intersections with high vehicle flows. To assess their exposure to airborne carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during their working time, a preliminary study was conducted to measure the personal exposure level to PAHs. And a probabilistic incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model together with the benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) toxic equivalents (BaP(eq)) method was used to conduct health risk assessment. Personal exposure monitors (PEM) were carried by traffic policemen to collect PM10 samples during their daily work in Tianjin, China. Meanwhile, PM100 samples were collected at the roadsides and on campus of Nankai University as comparison. PAHs species were quantitatively analyzed by GC/MS. Experimental results showed that the concentrations of total PAHs, BaP and BaP(eq) were much higher at the road intersections (867.5, 26.2, 82.4 ng m(-3)), where the traffic policemen stand during their work time, than those at the roadsides (46.6, 1.5, 5.7 ng m(-3)), and on campus (19.5, 0.7, 2.4 ng m(-3)). According to the risk assessment results, the occupational risk falls within the range from 10(-6) to 10(-3). On the basis of sensitivity analysis results, further research should be directed to give better characterization of the yearly concentration distribution of PAHs and the cancer slope factor (CSF) of BaP in order to improve the accuracy of the health risk assessment.     

Characterizations,relationship, and potential sources of outdoor and indoor particulate matter bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a community of Tianjin,Northern China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most toxic air pollutants in China. However, because there are unsubstantial data on indoor and outdoor particulate PAHs, efforts in assessing inhalation exposure and cancer risk to PAHs are limited in China. This study measured 12 individual PAHs in indoor and outdoor environments at 36 homes during the non‐heating period and heating period in 2009. Indoor PAH concentrations were comparable with outdoor environments in the non‐heating period, but were lower in the heating period. The average indoor/outdoor ratios in both sampling periods were lower than 1, while the ratios in the non‐heating period were higher than those in the heating period. Correlation analysis and coefficient of divergence also verified the difference between indoor and outdoor PAHs, which could be caused by high ventilation in the non‐heating period. To support this conclusion, linear and robust regressions were used to estimate the infiltration factor to compare outdoor PAHs to indoor PAHs. The calculated infiltration factors obtained by the two models were similar in the non‐heating period but varied greatly in the heating period, which may have been caused by the influence of ventilation. Potential sources were distinguished using a diagnostic ratio and a mixture of coal combustion and traffic emission, which are major sources of PAHs.     

Household air pollution and personal exposure risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons among rural residents in Shanxi,China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of pollutants of widespread concerns. Gaseous and size‐segregated particulate‐phase PAHs were collected in indoor and outdoor air in rural households. Personal exposure was measured and compared to the ingestion exposure. The average concentrations of 28 parent PAHs and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) were 9000 ± 8390 and 131 ± 236 ng/m³ for kitchen, 2590 ± 2270 and 43 ± 95 ng/m³ for living room, and 2800 ± 3890 and 1.6 ± 0.7 ng/m³ for outdoor air, respectively. The mass percent of high molecular weight (HMW) compounds with 5–6 rings contributed 1.3% to total 28 parent PAHs. Relatively higher fractions of HMW PAHs were found in indoor air compared to outdoor air. Majorities of particle‐bound PAHs were found in the finest PM_0.25, and the highest levels of fine PM_0.25‐bound PAHs were in the kitchen using peat and wood as energy sources. The 24‐h personal PAH exposure concentration was 2100 ± 1300 ng/m³. Considering energies, exposures to those using wood were the highest. The PAH inhalation exposure comprised up to about 30% in total PAH exposure through food ingestion and inhalation, and the population attributable fraction (PAF) for lung cancer in the region was 0.85%. The risks for inhaled and ingested intakes of PAHs were 1.0 × 10^?5 and 1.1 × 10^?5, respectively.     

Inhalation exposure of traffic police officers to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the winter in Beijing, China

This study concerns the use of personal samplers to evaluate the exposure of traffic police to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the winter of 2005 in Beijing. We measured the samples collected for gas and particulate phases PAHs with the same technique used for an earlier study during the summer of 2004, and evaluated exposure risk based on the calculated benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentrations (BaP(eq)) of both summer and winter. The mean exposure concentrations of gaseous and particulate phase PAHs in the winter are 4300+/-2900 ng/m(3) and 750+/-1000 ng/m(3), respectively, significantly higher than those measured simultaneously at control sites and also considerably higher than the values measured during the summer. The exposure PAH profiles for police and the control subjects are similar with predominant naphthalene in gaseous phase and dominant fluoranthene, pyrene, anthracene and naphthalene in particulate phase. Large daily variations occur both in summer and winter, because of the changes in the weather conditions especially wind speed and relative humidity which tend to disperse and scavenge PAHs in air. In the winter, the average BaP(eq) value for traffic police is 82.1 ng/m(3), which is significantly higher than those for the control subjects and the national standard of 10 ng/m(3) for ambient air. Particulate phase PAHs contribute more than 90% of the total exposure risk in the winter. Annually, weighted-average probabilities of exceeding the national standard (10 ng/m(3)) are 69.3% and 20.6% for the police and the controls, respectively.     

Concentrations, sources, and spatial distribution of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in agricultural soils in the Eastern part of the EU: Poland as a case study

Soils from agricultural areas receive unsatisfactory attention as regards the contamination with organic pollutants. To answer those needs the contents of the sixteen individual PAH compounds were determined (GC/MS technique) in agricultural soils in Poland. The samples (n = 216) were collected from the upper layer of arable land in the year 2005. Half of the samples represented typical rural areas, while the rest derived from the territories potentially subjected to the urban/industrial pressure of various intensity. The mean (geometric) content of individual compounds varied from 1 μg kg^− 1 for acenaphtylene to 55 μg kg^− 1 for fluoranthene with the highest contributions (11.6%-12.9%) of phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene. Higher molecular weight PAHs (4 rings) were strongly linked mutually and with the ∑16PAHs. They contributed substantially (73%) to the overall content of PAHs, which implies domination of anthropogenic sources. The calculated molecular indexes suggest that most of those PAHs derive from the combustion of coal, the main energy source in Poland. Simultaneously, the concentrations of lower molecular weight compounds seem to reflect the background, “natural” PAH compounds, which represent mainly atmospherically distributed emission. The division of the samples into groups describing geographical regions and landscape type enabled evaluation of the spatial trends in contamination of soils with PAH compounds. The most pronounced effect of spatial parameters corresponded to PAHs > 4 rings, while lower molecular weight compounds showed more homogeneous concentration through the country.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in eggs of a coastal bird from northwestern Iberia after a major oil spill

This study investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) eggs after a major oil spill (Prestige, November 2002) in northwest Iberia. We analysed a total of 77 eggs from 10 breeding localities of the Iberian Atlantic coast, 9 located along the Galician coast (NW Spain) and one in the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). General linear mixed models did not show a significant effect of the area on the total PAH levels and on each compound, probably due to the spread of pollution caused by the Prestige ship and the industrial and harbour pollutions of the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). In contrast, the PAH levels were significantly affected by year. The PAH levels decreased from 2004 to 2006 but strongly increase and showed a different pattern of PAH accumulation in 2007. These results may be due to tetra- and pentacyclic compounds from forest fires that occurred during summer 2006.     

Personal inhalation exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban and rural residents in a typical northern city in China

Personal inhalation exposure samples were collected and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for 126 selected volunteers during heating and non‐heating seasons in a typical northern Chinese city, Taiyuan. Measured personal PAH exposure levels for the urban residents in the heating and non‐heating seasons were 690 (540–1051) and 404 (266–544) ng/m³, respectively, while, for the rural residents, they were 770 (504–1071) and 312 (201–412) ng/m³, respectively. Thus, rural residents are exposed to lower PAH contamination in comparison with the urban residents in the non‐heating seasons. In the heating season, personal PAH inhalation exposure levels were comparable between the urban and rural residents, in part owing to the large rate of residential solid fuel consumption in the rural area for household cooking and heating. The estimated incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR) due to PAH exposure in Taiyuan were 3.36 × 10^?5 and 2.39 × 10^?5 for the rural and urban residents, respectively, significantly higher than the literature‐reported national average level, suggesting an urgent need of PAH pollution control to protect human health.