Identification and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air particulate matter of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In an effort to assess the occurrence and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the ambient air of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, PM10 samples were collected during December 2010. Diagnostic PAH concentration ratios were used as a tool to identify and characterize the PAH sources. The results reflect high PM10 and PAH concentrations (particulate matter (PM) = 270-1,270 µg/m(3)). The corresponding average PAH concentrations were in the range of 18 ± 8 to 1,003 ± 597 ng/m(3) and the total concentrations (total PAHs (TPAHs) of 17 compounds) varied from 1,383 to 13,470 ng/m(3) with an average of 5,871 ± 2,830 ng/m(3). The detection and quantification limits were 1-3 and 1-10 ng/ml, respectively, with a recovery range of 42-80%. The ratio of the sum of the concentrations of the nine major non-alkylated compounds to the total (CPAHs/TPAHs) was 0.87 ± 0.10, and other ratios were determined to apportion the PM sources. The PAHs found are characteristic for emissions from traffic with diesel being a predominant source.

Emissions of parent, nitro, and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from residential wood combustion in rural China.

Residential wood combustion is one of the important sources of air pollution in developing countries. Among the pollutants emitted, parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAHs) and their derivatives, including nitrated and oxygenated PAHs (nPAHs and oPAHs), are of concern because of their mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. In order to evaluate their impacts on regional air quality and human health, emission inventories, based on realistic emission factors (EFs), are needed. In this study, the EFs of 28 pPAHs (EF(PAH28)), 9 nPAHs (EF(PAHn9)), and 4 oPAHs (EF(PAHo4)) were measured for residential combustion of 27 wood fuels in rural China. The measured EF(PAH28), EF(PAHn9), and EF(PAHo4) for brushwood were 86.7 ± 67.6, 3.22 ± 1.95 × 10(-2), and 5.56 ± 4.32 mg/kg, which were significantly higher than 12.7 ± 7.0, 8.27 ± 5.51 × 10(-3), and 1.19 ± 1.87 mg/kg for fuel wood combustion (p < 0.05). Sixteen U.S. EPA priority pPAHs contributed approximately 95% of the total of the 28 pPAHs measured. EFs of pPAHs, nPAHs, and oPAHs were positively correlated with one another. Measured EFs varied obviously depending on fuel properties and combustion conditions. The EFs of pPAHs, nPAHs, and oPAHs were significantly correlated with modified combustion efficiency and fuel moisture. Nitro-naphthalene and 9-fluorenone were the most abundant nPAHs and oPAHs identified. Both nPAHs and oPAHs showed relatively high tendencies to be present in the particulate phase than pPAHs due to their lower vapor pressures. The gas-particle partitioning of freshly emitted pPAHs, nPAHs, and oPAHs was primarily controlled by organic carbon absorption.

Occurrence and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives in a rural Chinese home through biomass fuelled cooking.

The concentration and composition of PAHs emitted from biomass cooking fuel were characterized in a rural non-smoking household in northern China. Twenty-two parent PAHs (pPAHs), 12 nitro-PAHs (nPAHs), and 4 oxy-PAHs (oPAHs) were measured in the kitchen, bedroom, and outdoors during both summer and winter. The most severe contamination occurred in the kitchen in the winter, where the daily mean concentrations of pPAHs, nPAHs, and oPAHs were 7500 ± 4100, 38 ± 29, and 8400 ± 9200 ng/m(3), respectively. Our results suggest that the nPAHs were largely from secondary formation in ambient air while oPAHs were either from primary emission of biomass burning or secondary formation from pPAHs in the kitchen. The daily mean benzo(a)pyrene equivalent exposure concentration was as high as 200 ± 160 ng/m(3) in the winter for the housewife who did the cooking compared to 59 ± 37 ng/m(3) for the control group that did not cook.