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Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Particulate Carcinogens and Mutagens in Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract
To investigate the level of genotoxicity over Bangkok atmosphere, PM10 samples were collected at the Klongchan Housing Authority (KHA), Nonsree High School (NHS), Watsing High School (WHS), Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Chokchai 4 Police Station (CPS), Dindaeng Housing Authority (DHA) and Badindecha High School (BHS). For all monitoring stations, each sample covered a period of 24 hours taken at a normal weekday every month from January-December 2006 forming a database of 84 individual air samples (i.e. 12?7=84). Atmospheric concentrations of low molecular weight PAHs (i.e. phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene and fluoranthene) were measured in PM10 at seven observatory sites operated by the pollution control department of Thailand (PCD). The mutagenicity of extracts of the samples was compared in Salmonella according to standard Ames test method. The dependence of the effects on sampling time and on sampling location was investigated with the aid of a calculation of mutagenic index (MI). This MI was used to estimate the increase in mutagenicity above background levels (i.e. negative control) at the seven monitoring sites in urban area of Bangkok due to anthropogenic emissions within that area. Applications of the AMES method showed that the average MI of PM10 collected at all sampling sites were 1.37±0.10 (TA98; +S9), 1.24±0.08 (TA98; -S9), 1.45±0.10 (TA100; +S9) and 1.30±0.09 (TA100; -S9) with relatively less variations. Analytical results reconfirm that the particulate PAH concentrations measured at PCD air quality monitoring stations are moderately low in comparison with previous results observed in other countries. In addition, the concept of incremental lifetime particulate matter exposure (ILPE) was employed to investigate the potential risks of exposure to particulate PAHs in Bangkok atmosphere.
... Over the last few decades there has been increasing interest in the adverse public health impacts of exposure to ambient toxic chemicals, principally in relation to carcinogenicity and mutagenicity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Another central concern of ambient air quality studies is the chemical compositions of particular matter High-volume air samplers (TE-6001; Graseby-Andersen, Atlanta, GA, USA) were used to obtain unmanned 24 h samples for PM10 at the four sampling sites, yielding volumes of approximately 1632 m 3 for each 24 h sample. ...
... It is important to note that trace elements (TE) is the sum of all other metals except the above elements in MIN, as shown in Equation (9). ...
... The similar decreasing sequence of selected metals between the two episodes highlights the relatively homogeneous distribution of the 31 target compounds inthe ambient air of Bangkok during the observation periods. Since previous studies report that vehicle exhaust is the main emission source of air pollutants in Bangkok [8][9][10]12,79], it appears rational to interpret the high similarity distribution patterns of the selected metal compositions between the two episodes, as resulting from road traffic emissions, rapidly overwhelming other potential contributors during the sampling period. Further evaluations of particulate metal injections triggered by firework displays were conducted by applying the concept of diagnostic binary ratios, which will be described in Section 3.1. ...
Bonfire night is a worldwide phenomenon given to numerous annual celebrations characterised by bonfires and fireworks. Since Thailand has no national ambient air quality standards for metal particulates, it is important to investigate the impacts of particulate injections on elevations of air pollutants and the ecological health impacts resulting from firework displays. In this investigation, Pb and Ba were considered potential firework tracers because their concentrations were significantly higher during the episode, and lower than/comparable with minimum detection limits during other periods, indicating that their elevated concentrations were principally due to pyrotechnic displays. Pb/Ca, Pb/Al, Pb/Mg, and Pb/Cu can be used to pin-point emissions from firework displays. Air mass backward trajectories (72 h) from the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model indicated that areas east and north-east of the study site were the main sources of the airborne particles. Although the combined risk associated with levels of Pb, Cr, Co., Ni, Zn, As, Cd, V, and Mn was far below the standards mentioned in international guidelines, the lifetime cancer risks associated with As and Cr levels exceeded US-EPA guidelines, and may expose inhabitants of surrounding areas of Bangkok to an elevated cancer risk.
... PAHs is well recognized as toxic organic compounds responsible for genotoxicity, metabolism, carcinogenicity and mutagenicity (Luch, 2005;Rosenkranz and Mermelstein, 1985;You et al., 1994). For these particular reasons, PAHs have been extensively investigated in various environmental compartments in the past few years (Pongpiachan, 2013a,b;2015b;2016;Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 20162015a,b). PAHs have numerous unique features which enable them relatively more persistent pollutants correlated to acid-leached heavy metals and/ or water soluble ionic species because i) PAHs possess aromatic rings, whose structure is particularly not liable to undergo both chemical decomposition and photolysis making them persistence over the long-period (Beck et al., 1995;Wild et al., 1991;Wild and Jones, 1995), ii) PAHs are ubiquitous in dusts, terrestrial soils and coastal sediments (Pongpiachan, 2013a(Pongpiachan, ,b, 2015b(Pongpiachan, , 2016Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 20162015a,b), iii) PAHs are hydrophobic congeners, underlining that the precipitation may not adequately dissolve these persistent organic pollutants (Meador, 2008) and iv) PAHs have biomagnification and genotoxic possibility (Binkov a and Sr am, 2004;Gray, 2002;Luch, 2005). ...
... For these particular reasons, PAHs have been extensively investigated in various environmental compartments in the past few years (Pongpiachan, 2013a,b;2015b;2016;Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 20162015a,b). PAHs have numerous unique features which enable them relatively more persistent pollutants correlated to acid-leached heavy metals and/ or water soluble ionic species because i) PAHs possess aromatic rings, whose structure is particularly not liable to undergo both chemical decomposition and photolysis making them persistence over the long-period (Beck et al., 1995;Wild et al., 1991;Wild and Jones, 1995), ii) PAHs are ubiquitous in dusts, terrestrial soils and coastal sediments (Pongpiachan, 2013a(Pongpiachan, ,b, 2015b(Pongpiachan, , 2016Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 20162015a,b), iii) PAHs are hydrophobic congeners, underlining that the precipitation may not adequately dissolve these persistent organic pollutants (Meador, 2008) and iv) PAHs have biomagnification and genotoxic possibility (Binkov a and Sr am, 2004;Gray, 2002;Luch, 2005). The major contributors of PAHs are vehicular emissions, factory exhausts, accidental oil spills, forest fires and agricultural waste burning (Allan et al., 2012;Bejarano and Michel, 2010;Franco et al., 2006;Kakareka and Kukharchyk, 2003;Kim et al., 2003;Peterson et al., 2003;Reddy et al., 2002;Slezakova et al., 2013;Yang et al., 1998). ...
... After the Soxhlet extraction, the DCM eluent was decreased to incipient dryness by using both rotary evaporation and blowing under a gentle nitrogen stream. More details of analytical methods were clearly explained in previous literature and will not be mentioned here (Pongpiachan, 2013a(Pongpiachan, ,b, 2015b(Pongpiachan, , 2016Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 20162015a,b). All injections (1 mL) were conducted using a universal injector in the splitless mode, and the standards were introduced using a 10 mL Hamilton syringe. ...
Among Southeast Asian countries, Thailand has gradually accustomed to extremely prompt urbanization, motorization, and industrialization. Chonburi and Rayong provinces are two provinces involved in "eastern seaboard" industrial zones, which is an emerging economic region that plays a key role in Thailand's economy. The 2013 Rayong oil spill did not only cause damages to the coastal and maritime environment, but also undermine trust in the overall safety system and negatively affect the investor confidence. In this study, 69 coastal soils collected around Koh Samed Island were chemically extracted and analyzed for 15 PAHs by using a Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 Ultra system comprising a high-speed performance system with ASSP function. In this study, numerous diagnostic binary ratios were applied to identify potential sources of PAHs. Advanced statistical techniques such as hierarchical cluster analysis coupled with principal component analysis were also conducted for further investigations of source identifications.
... In this study, the average values of the incremental Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) for three different sampling sites fell between 10 À7 and 10 À6 , close to the acceptable risk level (10 À6 ) but much lower than the priority risk level (10 À4 ) (Pongpiachan, 2013a). A further investigation was carried out by collecting PM 10 samples at seven Pollution Control Department (PCD) air quality observatories in Bangkok ( Pongpiachan et al., 2013a). Results from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a 47% contribution from both mutagenic and carcinogenic emissions (i.e. ...
... Results from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a 47% contribution from both mutagenic and carcinogenic emissions (i.e. PC1 þ PC2) at all observatories, emphasizing that traffic emissions are the main contributors to PAHs and other chlorinated dioxins in Bangkok's atmosphere ( Pongpiachan et al., 2013a). ...
... These problems are particularly se- vere for coarse categories, which are difficult to discriminate in the case of using B[a]A/(B[a]A þ Chry) ( Yunker et al., 2002). However, these limitations are of minor importance since the main contrib- utor of particulate PAHs in Bangkok is vehicular exhausts not coarse combustions ( Pongpiachan et al., 2013a). Secondly, it is crucial to underline that relative PAH contents are not conserved in the at- mospheric environment ( Galarneau, 2008). ...
The " Loy Krathong " festival is a major annual Thai event that includes firework displays. It takes place on the evening of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar. Since fireworks are widely considered a major source of PAHs, it is considered reasonable to expect a significant increase in PAH levels during this event. The overall PAH profile at the six air quality observatories operated by the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), showed that the Kingdom of Thailand's atmosphere was dominated by 5e6-ring PAHs during the firework display period. A significant increase in SPAHs (153%) was observed during firework displays. A statistical analysis coupled with the application of diagnostic binary PAH ratios was conducted to determine whether the detected increase in PAH congeners during the festival period was due to firework combustion or whether it was a coincidental effect caused by vehicular exhausts, long-range atmospheric transportation, photolysis and chemical degradation. The average incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of adults and children living in Bangkok as estimated by three different TEQs for ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation exposure pathways were greatly lesser than the US EPA baseline, further highlighting that the cancer risk of bonfire night falls into the ''acceptable level'' range.
... While numerous applications for classifying the geographic origins of rice samples have been developed, only a few studies have focused on the use of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as an alternative geochemical proxy for identifying the planting area of agricultural products (Pongpiachan, 2015). Over the past few years, PAHs have been used as geochemical tracers for identifying emission sources of particulate matter with the assistance of multivariate descriptive statistics (Pongpiachan, 2013;Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 2017aPongpiachan et al., , 2017b. A number of studies have also focused on the source apportionment of PAHs in terrestrial soils and marine deposits including characterizations of tsunami backwash deposits and impacts of crude oil on coastal soils subjected to oil spills (Pongpiachan, 2014;Pongpiachan et al., 2013bPongpiachan et al., , 2017cPongpiachan et al., , 2018Tipmanee et al., 2012). ...
... Over the past few years, HCA has been applied to investigate similarities among PAH congeners in various environmental compartments (Pongpiachan, S., 2013a(Pongpiachan, S., ,c, 2015Pongpiachan et al., 2018;Tipmanee et al., 2012). In this study, the absolute concentration of PAH congeners in rice samples was used as input for HCA. ...
Over the past few decades, several techniques have been applied to identify the geographical origins of rice products. In this study, the chemical characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was carefully conducted by analysing PAHs in rice samples collected from private sector planting areas located in Bali and Yogyakarta, Indonesia (i.e. ID; n = 20), west sides of Malaysia (i.e. MY; n = 20), Mandalay, Legend, Myingyan, Myanmar (i.e. MM; n = 20), northern parts of Lao PDR (i.e. LA; n = 20), central parts of Cambodia (i.e. KH; n = 20), northern parts of Vietnam (i.e. VN; n = 20), and Thailand (i.e. TH; n = 22). Percentage contributions show the exceedingly high abundance of 5–6 ring PAH congeners in rice samples collected from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. Lao PDR rice samples were overwhelmed by 4-ring PAH congeners with the percentage contribution of 46% followed by 5–6 ring PAHs (33%) and 3-ring PAHs (21%). In addition, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis can successfully categorize some rice samples based on its geographical origins.
... Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) has been widely used as an advanced statistical tool for seeking similarities among PAH congeners in various types of environmental compartments such as tsunami backwash deposits, lake and marine sediments, terrestrial soils, and aerosols. 3,4,7,67,75 On the other hand, numerous studies also apply principal component analysis (PCA) for conducting source apportionment of PAH congeners in environmental samples. [3][4][5]7,37,67,75 As illustrated in Figure 6A, a dendrogram of HCA results using PAH congeners in Pakistan terrestrial soils as variables consists of three major groups. ...
... 3,4,7,67,75 On the other hand, numerous studies also apply principal component analysis (PCA) for conducting source apportionment of PAH congeners in environmental samples. [3][4][5]7,37,67,75 As illustrated in Figure 6A, a dendrogram of HCA results using PAH congeners in Pakistan terrestrial soils as variables consists of three major groups. The first main cluster (n ¼ 13) consists of three main subclusters. ...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were carefully analyzed from terrestrial soils collected at numerous sites in Pakistan and King George Island (sub-Antarctica) and compared with other data around the world. The mean concentrations of An, Pyr, B[a]A, Chry, B[b + k]F, B[a]P, Ind, D[a,h]A, and B[g,h,i]P of world terrestrial soils were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than those of samples collected at King George Island and Pakistan. We found that a comparatively high percentage contribution of Σ5,6-ring PAHs was detected at terrestrial soils of Pakistan (i.e., 48%), indicating that high molecular weight PAHs as the main composition of carcinogenic substances. On the contrary, a relatively high percentage contribution of Σ3,4-ring PAHs was observed at KGS (i.e., 89%) and in good agreement with earlier studies in a similar areas. A simple linear regression analysis indicated that no significant relationships between latitude/longitude and PAH contents were observed in Pakistan. Applications of diagnostic binary ratios coupled with advanced statistical tools highlight the importance of vehicle exhausts as one of the main contributors of PAH congeners in terrestrial soils of Pakistan. It is also crucial to underline that cancer risk levels of terrestrial soils collected at Pakistan and King George Island fall into “acceptable level” range.
... Anthropogenic sources of PAHs in the environment include incomplete combustion from petroleum products, fossil fuels, biofuels or other forms of organic matter (Kim et al., 2008;Zakaria et al., 2002;Davis et al., 2019a,b;Cai et al., 2017). Previous studies reported that PAHs are widely detected in soil (Pongpiachan et al., 2017a(Pongpiachan et al., , 2018, sediment (Pongpiachan et al., 2013b;Tipmanee et al., 2012), atmosphere (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a(Pongpiachan et al., , 2017b, vegetation (Pongpiachan, 2015) and marine organisms . PAHs are carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens that have toxic effects on organisms through various mechanisms and cause very serious threats to the health and well-being of humans (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a,b;Sette et al., 2013;Yoshimine et al., 2012;Yang et al., 2017;Wang et al., 2015). ...
... The soil samples were wrapped in pre-cleaned aluminium foil, placed in glass bottles, and kept frozen (−20°C) until analysis to avoid sample degradation caused by heat, ozone, NO 2 and ultraviolet (UV) during transportation (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a(Pongpiachan et al., , 2017b. The samples were then freeze-dried prior to being ground for homogenization. ...
In this study, a combination of the diagnostic binary ratios of PAHs and multivariate descriptive statistics was applied to identify the sources of PAHs in Chilean terrestrial soils. A total of 15 PAHs from the terrestrial soil of 28 locations in three cities of Chile were chemically characterized using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The total concentrations of twelve likely carcinogenic PAHs were defined as the sum of Phe, An, Fluo, Pyr, B[a]A, Chry, B[b]F, B[k]F, B[a]P, Ind, D[a, h]A and B[g, h, i]P and ranged from 0.0215 to 4.37 μg g⁻¹ with an arithmetic mean of 0.618 ± 0.911 μg g⁻¹. The levels of these PAHs were classified as moderate to high compared to World Soils (WS). All sampling stations were dominated by high molecular weight PAHs, four-ring (39.1%) and five-ring (29.6%) PAHs were the most abundant groups in the terrestrial soils of Chile. The PAH diagnostic ratios suggested that PAHs are primarily of pyrogenic origin. Further multivariate descriptive statistics (i.e., hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal components analysis (PCA)) identified pyrogenic combustion as the main emission source of PAH contamination in Chilean terrestrial soils.
... Chemical characteristics of aerosols, particularly the compositions of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), have been constantly evaluated predominantly in Asian countries during the past few years (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a(Pongpiachan et al., ,2013b(Pongpiachan et al., , 2014a(Pongpiachan et al., ,2014bSrivastava et al., 2014;Zhang et al., 2009). Rapid industrialization and urbanization, especially in China, are apparently responsible for the enhancement of carbonaceous aerosols in this region (Huang et al., 2013;Zhang et al., 2011). ...
... There are three probable reasons: anthropogenic emissions, biogenic emissions, and long-range transport of carbonaceous compositions from outside of Bangkok. Because previous studies have highlighted the importance of traffic emissions on air quality in Bangkok (Pongpiachan, 2013;Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., ,2013bPongpiachan et al., , 2014b, biogenic emissions of carbonaceous aerosols were not likely a major source of the measured high OC contents at CHAOS. The comparative contributions of long-range transport and local biogenic emissions were investigated using a simple linear regression analysis between OC and EC contents. ...
... Because of their potential carcinogenic and mutagenic characteristics, numerous studies have investigated PAHs and found strong associations between meteorological parameters and the atmospheric content of PAHs (Marcosa et al., 2010;Massei et al., 2003;Pongpiachan et al., 2009a). In addition to the many studies associated with the atmospheric fate of PAHs, several efforts have also been made to assess the mutagenicity of ambient aerosols in response to particular concerns related to adverse health effects (de Andrade et al., 2011;Pongpiachan et al., 2013a;Vu et al., 2012). Among the various types of potential emission sources, traffic exhausts, energy production and industrial emissions are generally considered the two principal contributors of carcinogens and mutagens to the urban atmospheric environment (Coronas et al., 2009;Dong et al., 2013;Pongpiachan, 2013a,b;Pongpiachan et al., 2013a;Villalobos-Pietrini et al., 2006). ...
... In addition to the many studies associated with the atmospheric fate of PAHs, several efforts have also been made to assess the mutagenicity of ambient aerosols in response to particular concerns related to adverse health effects (de Andrade et al., 2011;Pongpiachan et al., 2013a;Vu et al., 2012). Among the various types of potential emission sources, traffic exhausts, energy production and industrial emissions are generally considered the two principal contributors of carcinogens and mutagens to the urban atmospheric environment (Coronas et al., 2009;Dong et al., 2013;Pongpiachan, 2013a,b;Pongpiachan et al., 2013a;Villalobos-Pietrini et al., 2006). ...
... The level of genotoxicity, indicated by mutation index (MI) which was used by ames test method, was assayed in Bangkok city, Thailand. The average MI of PM 10 at collected sampling sites was no significant differences (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a). The potential risks of exposure to particulate PAHs were indicated by the average values of incremental individual lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and the concept of incremental lifetime particulate matter exposure (ILPE). ...
... The higher values of ILPE of PAH congeners at traffic observatory sites were observed. This suggested a higher risk for outdoor workers, including police men, construction workers, lottery sellers, flower sellers and so on (Pongpiachan et al., 2013a;Pongpiachan 2013b). A high risk of developing lung cancer and other respiratory diseases across workers and residents living in high buildings located in Pratunam area, Thailand (Pongpiachan et al., 2013c). ...
In this study, we investigated oxidative stress and tumor marker levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 136 coke oven workers and in 60 control subjects, and evaluated the correlation between oxidative stress and tumor marker levels. Questionnaires on basic demographic information were also administered. Significant differences in employment time and percentages of alcohol drinkers were observed between the control and exposed groups. PAH exposure was assessed using urinary 1-hydroxy-pyrene (1-OHP) levels and was found to be significantly higher in workers than in the controls. Significant differences (P<0.001) of MDA, GST, LDH, NSE, Cyfra21-1, and of SCC and TNF-a (P<0.0001 and P<0.05, P<0.001, respectively) levels were observed among controls and coke-oven workers, except for bottom coke oven workers. Associations between age and risk of increased TNF-a, smoking and increased GST activities, and drinking with increased MDA concentrations, were marginal (P=0.055, P=0.048, P=0.057, respectively). The association between smoking with MDA (P=0.004), NSE (P=0.005), SCC (P=0.004) andTNF-a (P<0.001), and drinking with TNF-a levels was significant (P=0.012). In addition, a significant positive correlation between oxidative stress and tumor markers was found in the present study. These results suggest that a synergistic increase of oxidative stress and tumor markers induced by PAHs may play a role in toxic responses for PAHs in coke oven workers.
... 32 Currently, most studies have highlighted the behavior of particulate PAHs in tropical countries and in northern Thailand. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] Despite countless measurements of PAH compositions in coarse and fine particles around the world, there is inadequate information focusing on the characterization of particulate PAHs in tropical atmospheres. Most studies have targeted estimations of source apportionment. ...
PM2.5 is widely regarded as a major air pollutant due to its adverse health impacts and intimate relationship with the climate system. This study aims to characterize the chemical components (e.g., organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water soluble ionic species (WSIS) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM2.5 collected at Doi–Inthanon in Chiang-Mai, Thailand, the highest mountain in Thailand. All samples (n = 50) were collected by MiniVolTM portable air samplers from March 2017 to March 2018. In this study we found the average PM2.5 concentration was 100 ± 48.6 μg m⁻³. The OC/EC ratio was 6.8 ± 3.0, and the decreasing order of the WSIS concentrations was SO4²⁻>Na⁺>Ca²⁺>NH4⁺>NO3⁻>K⁺>Cl⁻>NO2⁻>Mg²⁺> F⁻. The total concentrations of nineteen PAHs were defined as the sum of Ace, Fl, Phe, Ant, Fluo, Pyr, B[a]A, Chry, B[b]F, B[k]F, B[a]F, B[e]P, B[a]P, Per, Ind, B[g,h,i]P, D[a,h]A, Cor, and D[a,e]P. The concentration of total PAHs was 2.361 ± 2.154 µg m⁻³. Principal component analysis (PCA) highlights the importance of vehicular exhaust, biomass burning, diesel emissions, sea-salt aerosols and volatilization from fertilizers as the five dominant potential sources that accounted for 51.6%, 16.2%, 10.6%, 5.20% and 3.70% of the total variance, respectively. The rest of the 12.7% variance probably is associated with unidentified local and regional sources such as incinerators, joss paper/incense burning, and domestic cooking. Interestingly, the results from the source estimations from the PCA underlined the importance of vehicular exhaust as the major contributor to the PM2.5 concentrations in the ambient air of Don-Inthanon, Chiang-Mai province. However, it is crucial to emphasize that the impacts of agricultural waste burning, fossil fuel combustion, coal combustion and forest fires on the variations of OC, EC and WSIS contents were not negligible.
... Over the past few decades, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been comprehensively studied in different types of environmental samples due to their carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Although the Stockholm Convention on POPs came into effect in 2004, they can still be detected in the natural water sources, soils and sediments, as well as the tissues of marine creatures as a consequence of biomagnification and bioaccumulation processes, [7][8][9][10] Biomass combustions, 11 agricultural waster burnings, 12 vehicular exhausts, 13 domestic heatings, 14 steel industry, 15 2. Experimental methodology ...
In the present study, the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlori-nated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) emissions from three different industrial boilers that used cashew wood, oil, and coal, respectively, as fuels before implementing Best Available Technique (BAT)/Best Environmental Practice (BEP) were carefully investigated. Although this type of study has been carried out in western countries, the results from developing countries are strictly limited. The total PCDD/PCDF contents achieved the maximum level in a wood-fired boiler, while emissions were significantly lower at a coal-fired boiler. Averages and standard deviations of TCDDs obtained from industrial boilers using coal, cashew wood, and crude oil were 0.884 ± 0.635, 1.08 ± 0.689, and 0.00733 ± 0.00592 ng Sm À3 , respectively. It is interesting to note that lower adverse human health impacts related with the employment of grade C heavy oil, whereas the highest risk was connected with the wood-fired boiler. Furthermore, fuel type appears to play a minor role in the PCDD/PCDF formation mechanism. In addition, wood-fired boilers seem to be the major contributor of TCDDs, PeCDDs, HxCDDs, and HpCDDs. Overall, the major principle of this investigation is to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the chemical profiles of PCDDs/Fs from three different industrial boilers using coal, oil, and wood, before implementing any improvements. ARTICLE HISTORY
... These pollutants are widespread in the environment because of the multiplicity of their sources (Sarria-Villa et al., 2016). PAHs are mainly emitted into the atmosphere through combustion processes; they are produced as by-products of an incomplete combustion of organic matter, volcanic eruption, forest fires, and vehicle emissions (Pongpiachan et al., 2013;Abdel-Shafy and Mansour, 2016;Elorduy et al., 2016;Li et al., 2016). In fact, PAHs, because of their atmospheric persistence, are a great concern, because they are known for their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties (Kamal et al., 2014). ...
The continuous emission of polluting chemicals into the atmosphere requires the implementation of monitoring of ambient air quality. The use of vegetation for environmental monitoring can be considered as a simple monitoring technique by providing a cheap and accessible matrix. In this study, needles of two conifers (Pinus nigra and Cedrus atlantica), were used for the consecutive biomonitoring of multipollutants such as pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an urban area in Strasbourg (France). The extraction was performed by accelerated solvent extraction, solid-phase extraction, and solid-phase microextraction and was followed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry analyses. The results obtained for conifer samples collected in 5 successive weeks (April 09–May 07, 2015) show a similar variation of the different types of pollutants. A pollution peak was observed during the second week of analysis, and the concentration of all pollutants then decreased to complete disappearance at the end of the sampling period. PAHs were the most concentrated with a total concentration of about 35.87 ng g⁻¹, and naphthalene was, among these pollutants, the most concentrated with a total concentration of about 15.1 ng g⁻¹. The analysis of meteorological data during this period suggests that the results correlated with climatic conditions that widely vary during this period of the year. The results show that the concentration peak was obtained when no precipitation was detected.
... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), usually acknowledged as a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been comprehensively investigated in the past decades because these congeners have a profound association with a wide range of adverse health effects and other respiratory diseases [1][2][3]. PAHs are widely detected in various types of environmental compartments including marine organisms [4][5][6][7][8][9]. It is well known that PAHs can be generated from both anthropogenic and natural sources [10][11][12][13]. ...
Identification of Tsunami deposits has long been a controversial issue among geologists. Although there are many identification criteria based on the sedimentary characteristics of unequivocal Tsunami deposits, the concept still remains ambiguous. Apart from relying on some conventional geological, sedimentological, and geoscientific records, geologists need some alternative “proxies” to identify the existence of Tsunami backwash in core sediments. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of very stable organic molecules, which can usually be presented as complex mixtures of several hundred congeners; one can assume that the “Tsunami backwash deposits” possess different fingerprints of PAHs apart from those of “typical marine sediments.” In this study, three-dimensional plots of PAH binary ratios successfully identify the Tsunami backwash deposits in comparison with those of global marine sediments. The applications of binary ratios of PAHs coupled with HCA are the basis for developing site-specific Tsunami deposit identification criteria that can be applied in paleotsunami deposits investigations.
... Recent study also highlights the bioaccumulation of PAHs in agricultural products (soybean) (Pongpiachan, 2015). The importance of PAH emission sources in tropical environment have been well demonstrated (Pongpiachan, 2013a(Pongpiachan, , 2013bPongpiachan et al., 2013;Pongpiachan et al., 2015). Moreover high levels of PAHs in PM 2.5 were often obtained while the places suffered from severe air pollution, particularly in wintertime regularly. ...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and its oxygenated derivatives (OPAHs) are toxins in PM2.5. Little information has been known for their transformation in the ambient airs. In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected at 19 sampling sites in Xi’an, China during the heating period, which is classified into: urban residential, university, commercial area, suburban region, and industry. Organic compounds including PAHs, OPAHs, hopanes and cholestanes were quantified. The average of total quantified PAHs and OPAHs concentrations were 196.5 ng/m3 and 29.4 ng/m3, respectively, which were consistent with other northern cities in China. Statistical analyses showed that there were significant differences on the distributions of PAHs between urban and suburban regions. The industry also had distinguishable profiles compared with urban residential and commercial area for OPAHs. The greater diversity of OPAHs than PAHs might be due to different primary emission sources and transformation and degradation pathways. The ratios of OPAHs to the corresponding parent PAHs, including 9-fluorenone/fluorene, anthraquinone/anthracene, benz[_a_]anthracene-7,12-dione/benzo[_a_]anthracene were 6.2, 12.7, and 1.4, respectively, which were much higher than those for the fresh emissions from coal combustion and biomass burning. These prove the importance of secondary formation and transformation of OPAHs in the ambient airs. Biomarkers such as retene, cyclopenta[CD]pyrene and αα-homohopane were characterized for the source apportionment. With Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model analysis, biomass burning was recognized as the most dominant pollution sources for PAHs during the heading period, which accounted for a contribution of 37.1%. Vehicle emission (22.8%) and coal combustion (22.6%) were also contributors in Xi’an.
... Due to their high melting point, high logK ow , low water solubility, less volatility, and high persistence, PAHs in water systems tend to accumulate in sediments, which will have a long-term impact on benthic organisms (Guo et al., 2009;Sun et al., 2009). PAHs are originated from various processes in environments, and the sources of PAHs generally include anthropogenic sources (from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass) and natural sources (from volcanic eruptions, forest fires, slow maturation of organic matter under geothermal gradient (petroleum), and short degradation of biogenic precursors) (Pagano et al., 1996;Arias et al., 2010;Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., , 2015b. The fate of PAHs in the environment is of great concern due to their known carcinogenic and mutagenic properties (Alomirah et al., 2010(Alomirah et al., , 2011Kamal et al., 2014). ...
... Over recent decades, major advances have been made in elucidating the environmental fate and behaviour of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in various environmental situations (Pongpiachan, 2013a(Pongpiachan, ,b, 2014(Pongpiachan, , 2015Pongpiachan et al., 2013aPongpiachan et al., ,b,c, 2015a. The principal reasons for investigating environmental concentrations of PAHs relate to their adverse effects on health, such as their potential to disrupt the endocrine system (Annamalai and Namasivayam, 2015), increase anxiety-related behaviour and decrease regional brain metabolism in adult male rats (Crépeaux et al., 2012), and cause adverse reproductive outcomes (Šrám et al., 1999), DNA damage to lungs (Müller et al., 2004), the development of solid tumours in mice (Wang and Xue, 2015), and increased risks of coupled lung and breast cancers (Venkatachalam et al., 2014;Moorthy et al., 2015). ...
The reliability of using diagnostic binary ratios of particulate carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as chemical tracers for source characterisation was assessed by collecting PM10 samples from various air quality observatory sites in Thailand. The major objectives of this research were to evaluate the effects of day and night on the alterations of six different PAH diagnostic binary ratios: An/(An + Phe), Fluo/(Fluo + Pyr), B[a]A/(B[a]A + Chry), B[a]P/(B[a]P + B[e]P), Ind/(Ind + B[g,h,i]P), and B[k]F/Ind, and to investigate the impacts of site-specific conditions on the alterations of PAH diagnostic binary ratios by applying the concept of the coefficient of divergence (COD). No significant differences between day and night were found for any of the diagnostic binary ratios of PAHs, which indicates that the photodecomposition process is of minor importance in terms of PAH reduction. Interestingly, comparatively high values of COD for An/(An + Phe) in PM10 collected from sites with heavy traffic and in residential zones underline the influence of heterogeneous reactions triggered by oxidising gaseous species from vehicular exhausts. Therefore, special attention must be paid when interpreting the data of these diagnostic binary ratios, particularly for cases of low-molecular-weight PAHs.
... 54 Overall, micro-emulsion can be considered a promising clean technology in term of PCDDs/PCDFs 55 reduction. [19,22,20,21,23,24]. POPs released to the environment can travel 65 through wind and water, so they can and do adversely affect peo-66 ple and wildlife far from their original sources. ...
... During the past few years, there have been significant concerns over various potential adverse health effects of enhanced PM 10 levels in the urban atmosphere, which are mainly associated with anthropogenic activities. One of the many crucial aspects of the PM 10 study in ambient air is predominantly related to its mutagenicity and carcinogenicity (Pongpiachan 2013a, b;Pongpiachan et al. 2013Pongpiachan et al. , 2015a. Another interesting issue is deeply connected to the chemical compositions of metals in PM 10 . ...
Estimating the atmospheric concentrations of PM10-bounded selected metals in urban air is crucial for evaluating adverse health impacts. In the current study, a combination of measurements and multivariate statistical tools was used to investigate the influence of anthropogenic activities on variations in the contents of 18 metals (i.e., Al, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Sb, Ba, La, Ce and Pb) in ambient air. The concentrations of PM10-bounded metals were measured simultaneously at eight air quality observatory sites during a half-year period at heavily trafficked roads and in urban residential zones in Bangkok, Thailand. Although the daily average concentrations of Al, V, Cr, Mn and Fe were almost equivalent to those of other urban cities around the world, the contents of the majority of the selected metals were much lower than the existing ambient air quality guidelines and standard limit values. The sequence of average values of selected metals followed the order of Al > Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb > Mn > Ba > V > Sb > Ni > As > Cr > Cd > Se > Ce > La > Co > Sc. The probability distribution function (PDF) plots showed sharp symmetrical bell-shaped curves in V and Cr, indicating that crustal emissions are the predominant sources of these two elements in PM10. The comparatively low coefficients of divergence (COD) that were found in the majority of samples highlight that site-specific effects are of minor importance. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that 37.74, 13.51 and 11.32 % of the total variances represent crustal emissions, vehicular exhausts and the wear and tear of brakes and tires, respectively.
... Ames test was repeated 3 times for each sample and at least 2 independent experiments were carried out to confirm the outcomes (Pongpiachan et al., 2013). Sodium azide was used as positive control for TA100 and YG1029 strains and 2-Nitrofluorene for TA98 strain. ...
Diseases related to water impurities may present as major public health burdens. The present study aimed to assess the mutagenicity of drinking water from different zones of Tehran, and evaluate possible health risks through making tea with tea bags, by Ames mutagenicity test using TA 100, TA 98 and YG1029 strains. For this purpose, 450 water samples were collected over the period of July to December 2014 from 5 different zones of Tehran. Except for one sample, no mutagenic potential was detected during these two seasons and the MI scores were almost normal (≤1-1.6) in TA 100, TA 98 and YG1029 strains. Although no mutagenic effects were considered in TA 98 and TA 100 in the test samples of our three evaluated tea bag brands, one sample from a local company showed mutagenic effects in the YG1029 strain (MI=1.7-1.9 and 2) after prolonged (10-15 min.) steeping. Despite the mild mutagenic effect discovered for one of the brand, this cross sectional study showed relative safety of water samples and black tea bags in Tehran. According to the sensitivity of YG1029 to the mutagenic potential of water and black tea, even without metabolic activation by s9 fraction, this metabolizer strain could be considered as sensitive and applicable to food samples for quantitative analysis of mutagens.
... The environmental fate of particle bounded polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been comprehensively examined during the past few years [1][2][3][4][5]. PAHs are a group of aromatic rings that are formed during the imperfect combustion of agricultural waste, domestic garbage, biomass, lignite, and volcanic eruption [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Since PAHs responsible for many adverse health effects such as cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental effects, several studies have been focusing on the fate and behavior of PM 2.5 -bound PAH concentrations in many cities around the world [12][13][14]. ...
In Northern Thailand, wildland fires during the cold period release large amounts of smoke and fine particles into the atmosphere. The fine particles include several persistent organic compounds such as PAHs. In this study, PM2.5-bound PAH concentrations in the air of nine administrative provinces, namely Chiang-Mai, Chiang-Rai, Nan, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, Phrae, Lampang, Lamphun, Uttaradit (northern Thailand), were determined during the wildland fire and non-wildland fire seasons. The monitoring strategy comprised two campaigns in each season. PM2.5 was collected using MiniVolTM portable air samplers (Airmetrics) with quartz fibre filters. Both PAHs and their B[α]P equivalent concentrations of other urban cities around the world were significantly higher than those of northern provinces for both seasons. The average cancer risks observed at nine administrative provinces were 8.525×10-4±3.493±10-3 and 2.558×10-3±6.986× 10-3 for ingestion rate of 50 and 100 mg day-1, respectively. The excess cancer risks of world cities for ingestion rate of 50 and 100 mg day-1 were much higher than those of northern Thailand for 851 and 567 times in that order. Dust ingestion was exceedingly critical to non-dietary PAH exposure in comparison with PM2.5 inhalation. These results are in good agreement with those of previous studies, underlining the significance of indoor air quality on long-term adverse respiratory diseases in Asian cities.
... During the past decades, numerous studies have been highlighted the association between haze and multiple respiratory hospitalizations in cities around the world (Bates and Sizto, 1987; Thurston et al., 1994; Fung et al., 2006). In order to assess the health risks associated with the occupational exposure to PM 10 of outdoor workers close to air quality monitoring stations, the incremental lifetime particulate exposure (ILPE) were used in previous studies (Pongpiachan et al., 2009Pongpiachan et al., , 2013a). In light of these facts, the principal aims of this study are to i) quantitatively identify meteorological factors and trace gaseous species affecting the number of outpatient department (OPD) and in-patient department (IPD) patients, ii) investigate the impacts of gender and age on numbers of OPD and IPD due to respiratory diseases, iii) use a multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) to explore the association between hospital admissions and atmospheric parameters coupled with trace gaseous contents and iv) assess the impact of the " haze episode " on enhancement of ILPE of PM 10 from 2007 to 2013 in Chiang-Mai, Thailand. ...
The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of meteorological parameters and trace gas concentrations on daily hospital walk-ins and admissions in Chiang-Mai province, Thailand, during 2007–2013. Advanced statistical models, including t-tests, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (MLRA) and Incremental Lifetime Particulate Matter Exposure (ILPE), were constructed using meteorological data from the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), Thailand, and the Thai Meteorological Department at Chiang-Mai Province Air Quality Observatory Site (TMCS) as well as the number of walk-in and admitted patients at Nakornping Hospital, Chiang-Mai (NHCM). The results showed that all trace gaseous species and PM10 were significantly higher during the “haze episode” than during the “non-haze period.” The FTIR spectra highlight the relatively homogeneous organic functional compositions of PM2.5 collected from urban, suburban and rural observatory sites, indicating that agricultural waste burning plays an important role in air quality during the “haze episode.” The effect of age on susceptibility to respiratory diseases was investigated by separating the dataset into four groups (i.e., < 15 years, 15–59 years, 60–74 years and ≥ 75 years). The ANOVA results revealed a significant increase in hospital walk-ins and admissions for both genders in the < 15 years group (p < 0.005). MLRA revealed the significantly highest impacts of CO on hospital walk-ins for both genders. The predicted ILPE of PM10 showed the highest values for both genders during the “haze-episode” in 2007, with average values of 3.338 ± 0.576 g and 1.838 ± 0.317 g for male and female outdoor workers, respectively, over an exposure duration of 25 years.
... During the past few years, there have been significant concerns over various potential adverse health effects of enhanced PM 10 levels in the urban atmosphere, which are mainly associated with anthropogenic activities. One of the many crucial aspects of the PM 10 study in ambient air is predominantly related to its mutagenicity and carcinogenicity (Pongpiachan 2013a, b; Pongpiachan et al. 2013). Another interesting issue is deeply connected to the chemical compositions of metals in PM 10. ...
To investigate the potential cancer risk resulting from biomass burning, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bound to fine particles (PM2.5) were assessed in nine administrative northern provinces (NNP) of Thailand, before (N-I) and after (N-II) a haze episode. The average values of Σ3,4-ring PAHs and B[a]PEquivalent concentrations in world urban cities were significantly (p<0.05) much higher than those in samples collected from northern provinces during both sampling periods. Application of diagnostic binary ratios of PAHs underlined the predominant contribution of vehicular exhaust to PM2.5-bound PAH levels in NNP areas, even in the middle of the agricultural waste burning period. The proximity of N-I and N-II values in three-dimensional (3D) principal component analysis (PCA) plots also supports this conclusion. Although the excess cancer risk in NNP areas is much lower than those of other urban area and industrialized cities, there are nevertheless some concerns relating to adverse health impacts on preschool children due to non-dietary exposure to PAHs in home environments.
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... Various studies have investigated the fate and behavior of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban areas, including Taiwan (Fang et al., 2005;Tsai et al., 2002;Yang et al., 2006), China (Bi et al., 2002;Tan et al., 2006;Wang et al., 2006), Hong Kong (Guo et al., 2003), Singapore (Karthikeyan et al., 2006), Thailand (Pongpiachan, 2013a,b;Pongpiachan et al., 2013a), Belgium (Ravindra et al., 2006), Germany (Schnelle-Kreis et al., 2005), Sweden (Wingfors et al., 2001), Italy (Caricchia et al., 1999), Greece (Mantis et al., 2005;Vasilakos et al., 2007), England (Pongpiachan, 2006), the Czech Republic (Ciganek et al., 2004), the United States (Dachs et al., 2002;Park et al., 2001;Poor et al., 2004), Brazil (Dallarosa et al., 2005a,b), Algeria (Yassaa et al., 2001a,b), and Australia (Bartkow et al., 2004;Lim et al., 2005). PAHs, which are categorized as a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), are characteristically composed of two to eight benzene rings and can be released from both anthropogenic and natural emission sources (Ravindra et al., 2006;Slezakova et al., 2013). ...
To investigate the potential cancer risk resulting from biomass burning, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bound to fine particles (PM2.5) were assessed in nine administrative northern provinces (NNP) of Thailand, before (N-I) and after (N-II) a haze episode. The average values of Σ3,4-ring PAHs and B[a]PEquivalent concentrations in world urban cities were significantly (p b 0.05) much higher than those in samples collected from northern provinces during both sampling periods. Application of diagnostic binary ratios of PAHs underlined the predominant contribution of vehicular exhaust to PM2.5-bound PAH levels in NNP areas, even in the middle of the agricultural waste burning period. The proximity of N-I and N-II values in three-dimensional (3D) principal component analysis (PCA) plots also supports this conclusion. Although the excess cancer risk in NNP areas is much lower than those of other urban area and industrialized cities, there are nevertheless some concerns relating to adverse health impacts on preschool children due to non-dietary exposure to PAHs in home environments.
... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), usually acknowledged as a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been comprehensively investigated in the past decades because these congeners have a profound association with a wide range of adverse health effects and other respiratory diseases [1][2][3]. PAHs are widely detected in various types of environmental compartments including marine organisms [4][5][6][7][8][9]. It is well known that PAHs can be generated from both anthropogenic and natural sources [10][11][12][13]. ...
Identification of Tsunami deposits has long been a controversial issue among geologists. Although there are many identification criteria based on the sedimentary characteristics of unequivocal Tsunami deposits, the concept still remains ambiguous. Apart from relying on some conventional geological, sedimentological, and geoscientific records, geologists need some alternative "proxies" to identify the existence of Tsunami backwash in core sediments. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of very stable organic molecules, which can usually be presented as complex mixtures of several hundred congeners; one can assume that the "Tsunami backwash deposits" possess different fingerprints of PAHs apart from those of "typical marine sediments. " In this study, three-dimensional plots of PAH binary ratios successfully identify the Tsunami backwash deposits in comparison with those of global marine sediments. The applications of binary ratios of PAHs coupled with HCA are the basis for developing site-specific Tsunami deposit identification criteria that can be applied in paleotsunami deposits investigations.
... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have several characteristics that make them more long-term pollutants than water soluble ionic species and/or acid-leached heavy metals: (i) they contain benzene rings, whose structure is especially stable and difficult to break down, so they persist over the long-term (Beck et al., 1995;Wild et al., 1991;Wild and Jones, 1995); (ii) they are widely distributed in aerosols, terrestrial soils and marine sediments (Mostafa et al., 2009;Neff, 2002;Pongpiachan et al., 2013c;Pongpiachan, 2013d,e;Perra et al., 2011;Tipmanee et al., 2012;Wild et al., 1991;Wild and Jones, 1995); (iii) they are hydrophobic compounds so rain may not effectively dilute or remove these chemical substances (Meador, 2008) and (iv) they have to potential to bioaccumulate and to be carcinogenic (Luch and Baird, 2010;Rosenfeld and Feng, 2011). The main sources of PAHs are traffic exhaust, emissions from the iron, steel and coke industries, accidental oil spills and biomass burning (Rajput et al., 2011;Rosenfeld and Feng, 2011;Slezakova et al., 2012;Yim et al., 2002). ...
The total concentrations of twelve, likely carcinogenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (i.e., phenanthrene (Phe), anthracene (An), fluoranthene (Fluo), pyrene (Pyr), benz[a]anthracene (B[a]A), chrysene (Chry), benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[b]F), benzo[k]fluoranthene (B[k]F), benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (Ind), dibenz[a,h]anthracene (D[a,h]A), and benzo[g,h,i]perylene (B[g,h]P) in backwash deposits of the 2004 Khao Lak tsunami were carefully investigated and compared with the concentrations of world marine sediments (WMS). In general, ∑12PAHs in this study (i.e., 69.43±70.67ngg(-1)) were considerably lower than those values observed in marine sediments from Boston (54,253ngg(-1)), coastal sediments from Barcelona Harbour (15,069ngg(-1)), and riverine sediment from Guangzhou Channel (12,525ngg(-1)), but were greater than values from coastal sediments in Rosas Bay (12ngg(-1)), Santa Ponsa Bay (26ngg(-1)) and Le Planier (34ngg(-1)). The total toxic benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (TEQ(Carc)) values calculated for Khao Lak coastal sediments (KCS), Khao Lak terrestrial soils (KTS), and Songkhla Lake sediments (SLS) were 10.3±12.2ngg(-1), 16.0±47.7ngg(-1), and 5.67±5.39ngg(-1), respectively. Concentrations of PAHs at all study sites resulted in risk levels that fell into the "acceptable" range of the US EPA model and were much lower than those of other WMS. The cancer risk levels of PAH content in KCS ranged from 7.44×10(-8) to 2.90×10(-7), with an average of 1.64×10(-7)±8.01×10(-8); this value is 119 times lower than that of WMS. In addition, soil cleanup target levels (SCTLs) for both non-carcinogens (i.e., Phe, An, Fluo and Pyr) and carcinogens (i.e., B[a]A, Chry, B[b]F, B[k]F, B[a]P, Ind, D[a,h]A and B[g,h,i]P) in the KTS samples were estimated for all target groups, with an average value of 115,902±197,229ngg(-1).
... Chemically, a wax may be a combination of other fatty alcohols with fatty acids. Despite of various studies focusing on the fate of several chemical species in atmosphere (Pongpiachan, 2013a; 2013b; Pongpiachan et al., 2009a; 2012; 2013a; 2013b), little is know about the source characteristics ...
It is well known that increased incidences of lung, skin, and bladder cancers are associated with occupational exposure to PAHs. Animal studies show that certain PAHs also can affect the hematopoietic and immune systems and can produce reproductive, neurologic, and developmental effects. As a consequence, several studies have been attempted to investigate the fate of PAHs in atmospheric environment during the past decades. However, there is still a lack of information in regard to the atmospheric concentration of PAHs during the "Bon Fire Night". In this study, twenty-three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and twenty-eight aliphatics were identified and quantified in the PM10 and vapour range in Birmingham (27th November 2001-19th January 2004). The measured concentrations of total particulate and vapour (P+V) PAHs were consistently higher at the BROS in both winter and summer. Arithmetic mean total (P+V) PAH concentrations were 51.04±47.62 ng m-3 and 22.30±19.18 ng m-3 at the Bristol Road Observatory Site (BROS) and Elms Road Observatory Site (EROS) respectively. In addition arithmetic mean total (P+V) B[a]P concentrations at the BROS were 0.47±0.39 ng m-3 which exceeded the EPAQS air quality standard of 0.25 ng m-3. On the other hand, the arithmetic mean total (P+V) aliphatics were 81.80±69.58 ng m-3 and 48.00±35.38 ng m-3 at the BROS and EROS in that order. The lowest average of CPI and Cmax measured at the BROS supports the idea of traffic emissions being a principle source of SVOCs in an urban atmosphere. The annual trend of PAHs was investigated by using an independent t-test and one- way independent ANOVA analysis. Generally, there is no evidence of a significant decline of heavier MW PAHs from the two data sets, with only Ac, Fl, Ph, An, 2-MePh, 1+9-MePh, Fluo and B[b+j+k]F showing a statistically significant decline (p<0.05). A further attempt for statistical analysis had been conducted by dividing the data set into three groups (i.e. 2000, 2001-2002 and 2003-2004). For lighter MW compounds a significant level of decline was observed by using one-way independent ANOVA analysis. Since the annual mean of O3 measured in Birmingham City Centre from 2001 to 2004 increased significantly (p<0.05), it may be possible to attribute the annul reduction of more volatile PAHs to the enhanced level of annual average O3. By contrast, the heavier MW PAHs measured at the BROS did not show any significant annual reduction, implying the difficulties of 5- and 6-ring PAHs to be subject to photochemical decomposition. The deviation of SVOCs profile measured at the EROS was visually confirmed during the "Bonfire Night" festival closest to the 6th November 2003. In this study, the atmospheric PAH concentrations were generally elevated on this day with concentrations of Fl, Ac, B[a]A, B[b+j+k]F, Ind and B[g,h,i]P being particularly high.
We studied the concentrations, characteristics, ecological risk, and health risk of 12 probably carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in KGI soils of Antarctica. Measured concentrations of 12 PAHs ranged from 1.83 to 32.9 ng g⁻¹ with an average of 11.9 ± 8.13 ng g⁻¹. The assessment of ecological risks used methods that were based on total toxicity equivalency concentrations (TEQs) and a risk quotient (RQ), which can be used to sensitively and accurately assess ΣPAHs. The results indicated that PAHs in the soils of KGI presented a low risk level to living organisms in the soil and to plants. The low molecular weight PAHs presented a much greater ecological risk than high molecular weight PAHs in KGI soils, and the levels of these ecological risks were classified as low compared to those of previous studies in other areas. The total values of incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for children and adults were 2.34 × 10⁻⁸ and 1.73 × 10⁻⁸, respectively. Soil samples from KGI that were contaminated with PAHs still exhibited risks that were much lower than that of the baseline value. The results of this investigation provide a database for contamination evaluation, risk assessment of ecological and human health in PAH-contaminated sites.
This manuscript provides some comprehensive technical insights regarding the application of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) characterized by using Gas-Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Although numerous chemical species such as water soluble ionic species (e.g. Na þ , K þ , Cl À , Ca 2þ , Mg 2þ) and acid leachable heavy metal fractions (e.g. Fe, Cd, Al, Mo, Sb, As, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Mn) can be used to characterize tsunami deposits, the knowledge of PAH congeners as alternative chemical species for identifying tsunami backwash deposits is strictly limited. This manuscript is exclusive because it aims to find some alternative chemical proxies in order to distinguish tsunami backwash deposits from typical marine sediments. A wide range of diagnostic binary ratios of PAH congeners have been selected in order to characterize Typical Marine Sediments (TMS), Tsunami backwash deposits (TBD), Onshore Tsunami Deposits (OTD) and Coastal Zone Soils (CZS). The state of the art and future perspectives coupled with both advantages and disadvantages of above mentioned chemical tracers will be critically reviewed and further discussed.
This study employed chemical characterisation to determine the source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the terrestrial soils of King George Island, Antarctica. The total concentrations of 12 PAHs in the samples of terrestrial soils collected at 44 sites ranged from 1.83 to 32.9 ng g⁻¹ with an average value of 10.8 ± 8.22 ng g⁻¹. The concentrations of these PAHs were relatively lower compared with those found in other studies in other locations. The spatial distributions of PAHs showed the highest concentrations to be in areas adjacent to the Great Wall Station and the road network, and light molecular weight PAHs were predominant. Three- and four-ring PAHs were the most abundant, representing 48.3% and 27.1% of the total, respectively. Although the binary diagnostic ratios indicated petrogenic sources as the main PAH-emission sources, principal components analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis suggested that electricity generators (22.84%) and light-duty gasoline (18.94%) are the main sources in the soil of King George Island, Antarctica.
While effective analytical techniques to promote the long-term intensive monitoring campaign of particulate heavy metals have been well established, efforts to interpret these toxic chemical contents into policy are lagging behind. In order to ameliorate the interpretation of evidence into policies, environmental scientists and public health practitioners need innovative methods to emphasize messages concerning adverse health effects to state and local policymakers. In this study, three different types of health risk assessment models categorized by exposure pathways. Namely, ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation were quantitatively evaluated using intensive monitoring data of 51 PM2.5-bound metals that were collected on three consecutive days, from 17 November 2010 to 30 April 2011 in the heart of Bangkok. Although different exposure pathways possess different magnitudes of risk for each PM2.5-bound metal, it can be concluded that ingestion of dust causes more extensive risk to residents compared with inhalation and dermal contact. The investigation of enrichment factors reveals the overwhelming influences of vehicular exhausts on 44 selected metal concentrations in Bangkok. These findings are in agreement with previous studies that highlight the role of public transportation and urban planning in air pollution control.
This study aims to conduct a quantitative ecological risk assessment of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in terrestrial soils of King George Island, Antarctica. Generally, the average PAH concentrations detected in King George Terrestrial Soils (KGS) were appreciably lower than those of World Marine Sediments (WMS) and World Terrestrial Soils (WTS), highlighting the fact that Antarctica is one of the most pristine continents in the world. The total concentrations of twelve probably carcinogenic PAHs (ΣPAHs: a sum of Phe, An, Fluo, Pyr, B[a]A, Chry, B[b]F, B[k]F, B[a]P, Ind, D[a,h]A and B[g,h,i]P) were 3.21 ± 1.62 ng g⁻¹, 5749 ± 4576 ng g⁻¹, and 257,496 ± 291,268 ng g⁻¹, for KGS, WMS and WTS, respectively. In spite of the fact that KGS has extremely low ΣPAHs in comparison with others, the percentage contribution of Phe is exceedingly high with the value of 50%. By assuming that incidental ingestion and dermal contact are two major exposure pathways responsible for the adverse human health effects, the cancer and non-cancer risks from environmental exposure to PAHs were carefully evaluated based on the “Role of the Baseline Risk Assessment in Superfund Remedy Selection Decisions” memorandum provided by US-EPA. The logarithms of cancer risk levels of PAH contents in KGS varied from −11.1 to −7.18 with an average of −7.96 ± 7.73, which is 1790 times and 80,176 times lower than that of WMS and WTS, respectively. All cancer risk levels of PAH concentrations observed in KGS are significantly (p < 0.001) lower than those of WMS and WTS. Despite the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station fire occurred in February 25th, 2012, both the cancer and non-cancer risks of environmental exposure to PAHs were found in “acceptable level”.
In Northern Thailand, wildland fire during cold period releases large amounts of smoke and fine particles into the atmosphere. The fine particles include several persistent organic compounds such as PAHs. In this study, PM 2.5-bound PAH concentrations in the air of nine administrative provinces, namely Chiang-Mai, Chiang-Rai, Nan, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, Phrae, Lampang, Lamphun, Uttaradit (N Thailand) were determined during the wildland fire and non-wildland fire seasons. The monitoring strategy comprised two campaigns in each season. PM 2.5 was collected using MiniVolTM portable air samplers (Airmetrics) with quartz fibre filters. Both PAHs and their B[a]P Equivalent concentrations of other urban cities around the world were significantly higher than those of northern provinces for both seasons. The average cancer risks observed at nine administrative provinces were 8.525 × 10 –4 ± 3.493 × 10 –3 and 2.558 × 10 –3 ± 6.986 × 10 –3 for ingestion rate of 50 and 100 mg day –1 , respectively. The excess cancer risks of world cities for ingestion rate of 50 and 100 mg day –1 were much higher than those of Northern Thailand for 851 and 567 times in that order. Dust ingestion was exceedingly critical to non-dietary PAH exposure in comparison with PM 2.5 inhalation. These results are in good agreement with those of previous studies, underlining the significance of indoor air quality on long-term adverse respiratory diseases in Asian cities.
Four Organic Carbon (OC) compositions and three Elemental Carbon (EC) fractions in PM10 collected monthly from February to December 2007 at eight PCD air quality observatory sites were analysed by using a DRI Model 2001. Since both OC and EC play a major role in governing the gas-particle partitioning of carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), it is therefore, important to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of carbonaceous fractions in Bangkok. The sum of OC (ΣOC) and EC (ΣEC) collected at eight PCD sites were 71.4±19.3 μg m-3 and 74.9±32.7 μg m-3, correspondingly. The relatively low OC/EC ratios observed in Bangkok highlight the influence of transportation sector in governing carbonaceous aerosols, particularly in heavy traffic congestion area. Three-dimensional plots of Principal Components (PCs) successfully discriminate "traffic emission" group from those of "urban residential background" group. In addition, the estimated Incremental Lifetime Particulate Exposure (ILPE) of carbonaceous compositions were constantly highest at heavy traffic congestion area in both genders with the average values of 1,130±457 and 622±252 mg for TC accumulated in male and female, respectively.
Carbonaceous compositions, water-soluble ionic species and trace gaseous
species were identified and quantified in Hat-Yai city, Thailand. All samples
were collected every three hours consecutively from 21:00 h December 17th to
21:00 h December 20th at Site 1 (30 m agl), Site 2 (60 m agl) and Site 3
(125 m agl). The averaged concentration of OC was significantly higher at Site 1
than those detected at Site 2 and Site 3 suggesting that anthropogenic activities at
ground level might play a major role in governing air quality at ground level.
The main objective of this study is to investigate the vertical distribution of
carbonaceous aerosols in Hat-Yai’s atmosphere for the first time by using
IMPROVE TOC (Interagency Monitoring to Protect Visual Environments Total
Organic Carbon) protocol. The morning peak of carbonaceous compositions
observed during the sampling period of 06:00–09:00 emphasized the main
contribution of traffic emissions on OC/EC contents in Hat-Yai city. In this
study, we found that aged maritime aerosols from long-range transportation
and/or biomass burning particles overwhelmed carbonaceous aerosols at the top
of building. Whilst hierarchical cluster analysis and Pearson correlation analysis
show some considerable influences of night-time tourism activities on
carbonaceous contents at ground level, principal component analysis highlights
the impacts of maritime aerosols, biomass burning and possibly agricultural
waster burning particles at a higher atmospheric layer.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of very stable organic molecules made up of only carbon and hydrogen and contain two to eight fused aromatic rings. PAHs are formed during incomplete combustion of organic materials such as fossil fuels, coke and wood. PAHs can be found in environment, the atmosphere, surface water, sediment, soil, food and in lipid tissues of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Natural emission sources of PAHs into the atmosphere include emissions from forest fires and volcanoes. Anthropogenic emission sources include combustion and industrial production. Incomplete combustion from motor vehicles, domestic heating and forest fires are major sources of PAHs in the atmosphere. Assuming that each region has different types of PAH emission sources, it seems rationale to hypothesize that the fingerprint of PAHs in agricultural products has its own unique locality characteristic. Since the food traceability is extremely crucial for food business, one can use PAH profile extracts from agricultural products to identify the originality. Three groups of soybean were classified according to the planting areas. In conclusion, soybean from three different countries (i.e. Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia) can successfully be identified with the assistance of ANOVA and three-dimensional plots of binary diagnostic ratios of PAHs.
Tsunamis symbolize one of the most harmful natural disasters for low-lying coastal zones and their residents, due to both its destructive power and irregularity. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which attack the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand, resulted 5,395 of deaths and inestimable casualties, interrupted economies and social well-being in numerous coastal villages and caused in extreme alterations of both onshore and offshore coastal morphology. The Great Indian Ocean tsunami also highlighted that there are many missing jigsaw puzzle pieces in scientific knowledge, starting from the generating of tsunamis offshore to the countless influences to the marine ecosystems on the continental shelf, coastal areas and on land and to the economic and social systems consequences. As with all deposits that do not have a direct physical link to their causative sources, marine tsunami deposits must be distinguished from other deposits through regional correlation, dating and criteria for recognition within the deposits themselves. This study aims to provide comprehensive reviews on using Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) as a chemical proxy to discriminate tsunami related Vol. 32, No. 4, page 236 (2013) deposits from typical marine sediments. The advantages and disadvantages of this chemical tracer will be critically reviewed and further discussed.
Along with rapid economic growth and enhanced agricultural productivity, particulate matter emissions in the northern cities of Thailand have been increasing for the past two decades. This trend is expected to continue in the coming decade. Emissions of particulate matter have brought about a series of public health concerns, particularly chronic respiratory diseases. It is well known that lung cancer incidence among northern Thai women is one of the highest in Asia (an annual age-adjusted incidence rate of 37.4 per 100,000). This fact has aroused serious concern among the public and the government and has drawn much attention and interest from the scientific community. To investigate the potential causes of this relatively high lung cancer incidence, this study employed Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) transmission spectroscopy to identify the chemical composition of the PM2.5 collected using Quartz Fibre Filters (QFFs) coupled with MiniVolTM portable air samplers (Airmetrics). PM2.5 samples collected in nine administrative provinces in northern Thailand before and after the "Haze Episode" in 2013 were categorised based on three-dimensional plots of a principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation. In addition, the incremental lifetime exposure to PM2.5 of both genders was calculated, and the first derivative of the FTIR spectrum of individual samples is here discussed.
To assess environmental contamination with carcinogens, carbonaceous compounds, water-soluble ionic species and trace gaseous species were identified and quantified every three hours for three days at three different atmospheric layers at the heart of Chiang-Mai, Bangkok and Hat-Yai from December 2006 to February 2007. A DRI Model 2001 Thermal/Optical Carbon Analyzer with the IMPROVE thermal/optical reflectance (TOR) protocol was used to quantify the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) contents in PM10. Diurnal and vertical variability was also carefully investigated. In general, OC and EC mass concentration showed the highest values at the monitoring period of 21.00-00.00 as consequences of human activities at night bazaar coupled with reduction of mixing layer, decreased wind speed and termination of photolysis at nighttime. Morning peaks of carbonaceous compounds were observed during the sampling period of 06:00-09:00, emphasizing the main contribution of traffic emission in the three cities. The estimation of incremental lifetime particulate matter exposure (ILPE) raises concern of high risk of carbonaceous accumulation over workers and residents living close to the observatory sites. The average values of incremental lifetime particulate matter exposure (ILPE) of total carbon at Baiyoke Suit Hotel and Baiyoke Sky Hotel are approximately ten times higher than those air samples collected at Prince of Songkla University Hat-Yai campus corpse incinerator and fish-can manufacturing factory but only slightly higher than those of rice straw burning in Songkla province. This indicates a high risk of developing lung cancer and other respiratory diseases across workers and residents living in high buildings located in Pratunam area. Using knowledge of carbonaceous fractions in PM10, one can estimate the gas-particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Dachs-Eisenreich model highlights the crucial role of adsorption in gas-particle partitioning of low molecular weight PAHs, whereas both absorption and adsorption tend to account for gas-particle partitioning of high molecular weight PAHs in urban residential zones of Thailand. Interestingly, the absorption mode alone plays a minor role in gas-particle partitioning of PAHs in Chiang-Mai, Bangkok and Hat-Yai.
This chapter discusses the unique vulnerability within the context of gene x environment interactions of young children that were exposed in utero to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The most serious diseases faced by children in the USA are chronic, disabling illnesses like asthma, leukemia and other childhood cancers, and neurobehavioral disorders such as learning disabilities, cognitive delay, autism, mental retardation and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Children receive proportionately larger doses of chemical toxicants than adults, and these exposures occur at a time when children's organs and tissues are rapidly growing and developing. The pharmacokinetic parameters of toxicants help us in the interpretation of toxicology data and risk assessment. The utero exposure to B(a)P results in diminished expression of certain NMDA receptor subunits that manifest as later-life deficits in cortical neuronal activity in the offspring. These findings have led to a strong prediction that in utero exposure to B(a)P at a time when synapses are first formed and adjusted in strength by activity in the sensory pathways will produce a strong negative effect on brain function in offspring progeny to result in robust behavioral deficits. To study memory at the cellular level, investigators used well-defined animal models that measure activity-induced changes in synaptic strength, termed long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Negative environmental exposures that occur in utero can be predicted to produce defects in activity and experience-dependent gene expression which may contribute to deficits in mental development index scores and intelligence quotients in specific subsets of susceptible and vulnerable children exposed to environmental levels of PAHs in utero.
Field monitoring was conducted in Bangkok to investigate the situation of traffic emission exposure of roadside pedestrians. From a viewpoint of actual exposure of pedestrians, short-term variations of air pollutant levels are significant, however, such data have been limited until recently. Hence, time-series data of traffic flows, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons monitored by real-time photoelectric aerosol sensors and vehicle exhaust detected as uncomfortable odor to pedestrians were obtained at very fine time resolution and their short-term peak patterns were analyzed by spectral analysis. Furthermore, conditions of the peak exposure occurrences and interrelations of those temporal variations were discussed
This study retrospectively analyzes the daily results of relative response factors (RRFs) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons detected by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Although instrumental routine maintenance can enhance the reliability of measurement, there is no quantitative study to investigate the effects of glass liner contamination, manifold temperature drop, and column degradation on deteriorating sensitivities and stabilities of RRFs. This study demonstrates that by removing the contribution of outliners to the background level, great reductions of RRFs were achieved. Although several factors potentially undermined the analyzer’s confidence on data reliability, there were no significant differences on the relative sensitivities of RRFs.
Parent and alkyl PAHs (51 compounds and alkyl homologues) have been quantified in suspended particulates and sediments (345 samples) from the Fraser River system, British Columbia, Canada. The best potential to distinguish natural and anthropogenic sources is exhibited by ratios of the principal mass 178, 202, 228 and 276 parent PAHs, 1,7/2,6+1,7-DMP (dimethylphenanthrene), the phenanthrene/anthracene and fluoranthene/pyrene alkyl PAH series and several less commonly applied PAHs (e.g. acephenanthrylene and pentaphene). Using these ratios we infer sources of PAH to the Fraser basin and evaluate the consistency of these source assignments and the suitability of various commonly applied PAH ratios as indicators. PAH ratios and total concentration data reveal a basin lightly impacted by a variety of sources in its remote regions, especially near roads, but heavily impacted in urban areas, particularly near Vancouver. Contamination sources shift from biomass (e.g. wood and grass) burning to vehicle emissions between remote and urban locations. Stormwater and wastewater discharges appear to collect PAH from urban areas and release them as point sources. In contaminated areas ratios are specific for combustion vs. petroleum sources, and some ratios (202 and 276) distinguish biomass or coal from liquid fossil fuel combustion. At lower concentrations multiple sources at times make interpretations based on a single ratio misleading and the higher mass ratios (228 and 276) may be most applicable to urban areas. In all cases the examination of a variety of PAH indicator ratios that encompass a range of masses is necessary for a robust interpretation.
This study reports the measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particles ≤ 10 μm (PM10) during four years. Seasonal variation was observed for PM10 and PAH in southwest Mexico City, with major mass concentrations during the dry season (November–April). A non linear decreasing trend of PM10 was observed during this period, while a linear increase (in the four years) was obtained for benzo[a]pyrene (88 pg m− 3), phenanthrene (29 pg m− 3), fluoranthene (88 pg m− 3), and benzo[ghi]perylene (438 pg m− 3). Coronene also showed an increasing trend but it was nonlinear. This suggests that air control strategies implemented by the government contributed to maintaining PM10 under the 24 h maximum limit and resulted in a decreasing trend during this period. However, these strategies did not result in controlling some organic constituents with mutagenic and/or carcinogenic properties as it is the case of benzo[a]pyrene. The annual average of this PAH exceeded the UK recommendation. It was estimated a median (10th–90th) lifetime health risk of 7.6 (3.4–17.2) additional cases of cancer per 10 million people in this zone exists and the health risk of PAH is almost three times greater in dry seasons than it is in rainy seasons. Specific humidity, temperature and wind speed acted as cleaners for PM10 and PAH from the atmosphere. PAH diagnostic ratios and correlation and principal component analyses suggest incomplete combustion from gasoline and diesel engines as the main contributor to PAH found in southwest Mexico City, where factor 1 grouped all PAH emitted from gasoline engines during first three years. During last year, factor 1 only grouped PAH markers of diesel engines. This suggests a change of emission amounts between gasoline and diesel combustion sources or a contribution of other source(s) which changed the PAH profiles. During four years retene was always separated from factors which grouped the rest of PAH, due to its wood combustion origin.
Gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles are known to contribute appreciable amounts of inhalable fine particulate matter to the atmosphere in urban areas. Internal combustion engines burning gasoline and diesel fuel contribute more than 21% of the primary fine particulate organic carbon emitted to the Los Angeles atmosphere. In the present study, particulate (d[sub p] [le] 2 [mu]m) exhaust emissions from six noncatalyst automobiles, seven catalyst-equipped automobiles, and two heavy-duty diesel trucks are examined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The purposes of this study are as follows: (a) to search for conservative marker compounds suitable for tracing the presence of vehicular particulate exhaust emissions in the urban atmosphere, (b) to compile quantitative source profiles, and (c) to study the contributions of fine organic particulate vehicular exhaust to the Los Angeles atmosphere. More than 100 organic compounds are quantified, including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, benzoic acids, benzaldehydes, PAH, oxy-PAH, steranes, pentacyclic triterpanes, azanaphthalenes, and others. Although fossil fuel markers such as steranes and pentacyclic triterpanes can be emitted from other sources, it can be shown that their ambient concentrations measured in the Los Angeles atmosphere are attributable mainly to vehicular exhaust emissions. 102 refs., 9 figs., 6 tabs.
Biomass is one of the most important renewable energy sources that could help to achieve the 2020 targets set by European Directive 2009/28. This is particularly true in Italy where the government plans to replace a final energy use corresponding to 200-250 PJ through the use of small wood stoves/boilers for domestic heating (<35 kW). This corresponds to about 25% of the national target for 2020. However, this solution is under discussion because of the environmental problems that poses in terms of emissions of PM and PAHs especially in lowland areas. The study, starting from these assumptions, was focussed to better characterize, with laboratory tests, the composition of PAHs emitted by a modern pellet stove and verify their distribution in the solid, liquid and gaseous fractions of the fumes at the stack. In brief, the tests showed that about 85% of the harmful effect of PAH is associated with the PM. This confirms that special attention should be given to the control of the dust through a better design of the stoves and/or the development of abatement equipment also suitable for small devices.
Molecular markers, such as n-alkanes, hopanes, PAHs, n-alkanols, n-alkanals, n-alkan-2-ones and n-alkanoic acids, and atmospheric back trajectories have been conjointly used to reconcile Eastern Mediterranean marine organic aerosols with their emission sources. In the urban site, local inputs of polar and non polar lipids control the aerosol composition. In addition the presence of iso- and anteisoalkanes in the aliphatic fraction of all urban samples analysed, demonstrated the contribution of cigarette smoke to urban aerosols. The composition of the aliphatic and aromatic fractions demonstrated a clear petrogenic input. In the rural site the composition and concentrations of the PAH fraction were dependant on the origin of air masses, and showed a rather pyrolytic origin. They were higher for air masses from the north than for air masses originating from the south. Some molecular markers, such as 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one and α,ω-dicarboxylic acids with Cn > C20, characterized rural aerosols corresponding to air masses with a pronounced marine origin.
With mutagenic and carcinogenic potential, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from mobile source exhaust have contributed to a substantial share of air toxics. In order to characterize the PAHs emissions of diesel engine fueled with diesel, biodiesel (B100) and its blend (B20), an experimental study has been carried out on a direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine. The particle-phase and gas-phase PAHs in engine exhaust were collected by fiberglass filters and “PUF/XAD-2/PUF” cartridges, respectively, then the PAHs were determined by a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). The experimental results indicated that comparing with diesel, using B100 and B20 can greatly reduce the total PAHs emissions of diesel engine by 19.4% and 13.1%, respectively. The Benzo[a]Pyrene (BaP) equivalent of PAHs emissions were also decreased by 15.0% with the use of B100. For the three fuels, the gas-phase PAHs emissions were higher than particle-phase PAHs emissions and the most abundant PAH compounds from engine exhaust were naphthalene and phenanthrene. The analysis showed that there was a close correlation between total PAHs emissions and particulate matter (PM) emissions for three fuels. Furthermore, the correlation became more significant when using biodiesel.
Analyses for dioxins present in the windlegs of sinter plant using coke breeze as fuel which were carried out originally to monitor the 17 targeted isomers have been re-examined in order to establish the variation in isomer profiles with location of the sampling point relative to the beginning of the sinter strand. The analysis has been carried out using peak height as a measure of isomer abundance to allow assessment of a large number of peaks reasonably rapidly. It is found that the isomer profiles of the tetra- to heptachlorodibenzofurans, which dominate sinter plant emissions in the exhaust gases from the majority of the bed are similar. However, analysis shows that whilst some isomers contribute a similar percentage of the isomer group at the beginning of the strand, there are more, which vary significantly from the mean. Ways in which this localised difference in isomer distribution could arise are discussed.
Air pollution authorities use models to develop optimal control strategies for air pollutants. According to the traditional approach, emissions inventories for various sources are used as inputs for plume, box, or grid models to predict ambient concentrations of total suspended particulate matter (TSP), SO/sub 2/, or other air pollutants. These methods, however, are inadequate for many purposes today and will be even less useful for many future needs. Even if dispersion models were accurate, the source emissions inventories upon which they rely are not. Source emission inventories, especially for sources equipped with pollution controls, usually do not include contributions from fugitive process emissions and dust. Furthermore, air quality standards are beginning to require knowledge of source of particles in certain size ranges, particles bearing certain toxic substances, or particles that have a special role in problems such as visibility degradation or climate modification.
This paper presents an evaluation of uncertainty associated to analytical measurement of 18 polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in ambient air by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC/FD). The study was focused on analyses of PM(10), PM(2.5) and gas phase fractions. Main analytical uncertainty was estimated for 11 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), four nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) and two hydroxy-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) based on the analytical determination, reference material analysis and extraction step. Main contributions reached 15-30% and came from extraction process of real ambient samples, being those for nitro-PAHs the highest (20-30%). Range and mean concentration of selected PACs measured in gas phase and PM(10)/PM(2.5) particle fractions during a full year are also presented. Concentrations of OH-PAHs were about 2-4 orders of magnitude lower than their parent PAHs and comparable to those sparsely reported in literature.
The size distribution of elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC) and particle-phase PAHs emission from a direct injection diesel engine fueled with a waste cooking biodiesel, ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD, 10-ppm-wt), and low sulfur diesel (LSD, 400-ppm-wt) were investigated experimentally. The emission factor of biodiesel EC is 90.6mg/kWh, which decreases by 60.3 and 71.7%, compared with ULSD and LSD respectively and the mass mean diameter (MMD) of EC was also decreased with the use of biodiesel. The effect of biodiesel on OC emission might depend on the engine operation condition, and the difference in OC size distribution is not that significant among the three fuels. For biodiesel, its brake specific emission of particle-phase PAHs is obviously smaller than that from the two diesel fuels, and the reduction effect appears in almost all size ranges. In terms of size distribution, the MMD of PAHs from biodiesel is larger than that from the two diesel fuels, which could be attributed to the more effective reduction on combustion derived PAHs in nuclei mode. The toxicity analysis indicates that biodiesel could reduce the total PAHs emissions, as well as the carcinogenic potency of particle-phase PAHs in almost all the size ranges.
Exposure to particulate matter (PM) increases the incidence of cardiovascular disease, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To characterise ambient PM collected from a coach station in an urban area, particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace metals were evaluated, and diagnostic ratios were then used to determine the sources based on the PAHs identified in PM. To elucidate the mechanism of PM-induced vascular toxicology, human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were exposed to PM, PM-free supernatant and residual PM, and the associations between PAHs and trace metals, nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were investigated. Petrogenic-related particulate emissions, such as vehicle exhaust, accounted for 68.75% and 75.00% of mass in the 0.1-1-μm PM (PM(0.1-1)) and <0.1-μm PM (PM(0.1)) size fractions, respectively. Vehicle exhaust particles (VEPs) caused significant NO suppression and increase in ET-1 and IL-6, whereas residual PM caused an increase in NO, ET-1 and IL-6 compared with the effects of the corresponding supernatants. PAHs in PM, particularly those with 4-6 rings, were associated with NO suppression, and ET-1 and IL-6 were positively correlated with the amount of trace metal compounds. These findings suggest that chemical components affect the regulation of vasoactive function and inflammation.
Air pollution represents a serious risk not only to environment and human health, but also to historical heritage. In this study, air pollution of the Oporto Metropolitan Area and its main impacts were characterized. The results showed that levels of CO, PM10 and SO2 have been continuously decreasing in the respective metropolitan area while levels of NOx and NO2 have not changed significantly. Traffic emissions were the main source of the determined polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; 16 PAHs considered by U.S. EPA as priority pollutants, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene and benzo[j]fluoranthene) in air of the respective metropolitan area. The mean concentration of 18 PAHs in air was 69.9±39.7ngm−3 with 3–4 rings PAHs accounting for 75% of the total ΣPAHs. The health risk analysis of PAHs in air showed that the estimated values of lifetime lung cancer risks considerably exceeded the health-based guideline level. Analytical results also confirm that historical monuments in urban areas act as passive repositories for air pollutants present in the surrounding atmosphere. FTIR and EDX analyses showed that gypsum was the most important constituent of black crusts of the characterized historical monument Monastery of Serra do Pilar classified as “UNESCO World Cultural Heritage”. In black crusts, 4–6 rings compounds accounted approximately for 85% of ΣPAHs. The diagnostic ratios confirmed that traffic emissions were the major source of PAHs in black crusts; PAH composition profiles were very similar for crusts and PM10 and PM2.5.
Measurement of the exhaust emission from gasoline-powered motor vehicles in Bangkok were performed on chassis dynamometer. A fleet of 10 vehicles of different model, years and manufacturers were selected to measure the air pollutants in the exhaust effluent. The study revealed that the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions averaged 32.3–64.2 and 1.82–2.98 g km–1, respectively, for 1990–1992 cars and decreased to 17.8–40.71 and 0.75–1.88 g km–1, respectively, for 1994–1995 cars. A monitoring program for air pollutant concentrations in ambient air was also conducted to evaluate the air pollution problems in Bangkok arising from vehicle exhaust emission. Four air sampling stations were strategically established to cover the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). Composite air samples in this study area were collected during the day/night times and weekday/weekend. The average concentrations of suspended particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide in Bangkok street air were found to be 0.65 mg/m3 (24 hr ave.), 19.02 mg/m3 (8 hr ave.) and 0.021 mg/m3 (1 hr ave.), respectively. The average concentrations of benzene and toluene in the ambient air of the study area were found to be 15.07–50.20 and 25.76–130.95 g/mf3, respectively, for 8 hr average. These results indicated that there was a significant increase in air pollutant emissions with increasing car mileage and model year. Subsequent analysis of data showed that there were only 20% of the test vehicles complied to approved emission standard. The finding also revealed that there was a correlation between the average air pollutant concentrations with average traffic speed in each traffic zone of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR).
Intensive seasonal sampling campaigns were undertaken at an urban location in Birmingham, U.K., in which high-volume samplers were used to collect particulate- and vapor-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by means of filter papers and polyurethane foam plugs. Eighteen PAH species were determined by reversed-phase HPLC. Additionally, the suspended particle loading of the air was measured gravimetrically. Dichotomous stacked filter units (DSFUs) were run simultaneously with the high-volumes enabling the collection of particulate matter representative of fine (<2.1 mu m) and coarse sized (2.1-10 mu m) fractions. Filters from the DSFUs were analyzed for 19 metal species [by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE)], ammonium, elemental carbon, and various anions. Metal and PAH concentrations were observed to be broadly in line with concentrations measured at other urban areas throughout the U.K. Chemical source apportionment studies took the form of principal component analysis (PCA) followed by multi-linear regression analysis (MLRA). This multivariate technique enabled major air pollution source categories to be identified along with the quantitative contributions of pollutant species to each source group. The results demonstrate that a combination of measurements of PAH and inorganic pollutants is a far more powerful tracer of emission sources than PAH data alone. PAH were found to be associated predominantly with emissions from road traffic, although other sources such as fuel oil, coal combustion, and incineration also contribute. Road traffic accounts for 88% of ambient benzo[a]pyrene at our site.
Evaluation of environmental contamination caused by pentachlorophenol (PCP) fires is extremely costly and time consuming because elaborate measurements of polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and furan (PCDD/F) isomers are required. Large geographic areas may potentially be affected greatly increasing the number of samples required for adequate investigation. Our laboratory has developed a rapid gas chromatography procedure for measurement of soil-bound octachlorodibenzo- -dioxin (OCDD), a probe for PCP combustion products. Congener profile analyses of PCP combustion samples in our laboratory and others have revealed that OCDD is the principal PCDD/F product and, thus, a useful marker for these substances. For the screening procedure, composited soil samples are sieved and Soxhlet extracted with hexane. Quantitative analysis of OCDD in soil extracts is accomplished by capillary gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) using on- column injection and a 63Ni electron capture detector. Recoveries were >99% (at 20 ug/kg) and, without supplemental sample cleanup, the method detection limit was 6 ug/kg, adequate for detection of OCDD above expected background levels. OCDD levels determined by this method agreed with those measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The OCDD screening procedure was used to investigate contamination from a recent industrial fire in northern California that consumed an estimated 4,500 kg of PCP and was predicted to impact an area of about 2,000 km2. For this incident a weighted, stratified sampling scheme was used to locate sampling points in communities in the path of the plume. Environmental sampling was stratified on ground level exposure concentration (or deposition) contours predicted by atmospheric dispersion modeling conducted by Systems Applications Inc. (San Rafael, CA). The number of samples collected in each contour was determined by the predicted degree of deposition as well as population.
A comparative study of the real-time ambient concentrations of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAHs) in the vicinity of roads in Tokyo (Japan) and in Bangkok (Thailand) in summertime was carried out by using a photoelectric aerosol sensor (PAS), which gives continuous signal in relation to the total amount of pPAHs concentration. The PAS output gave a good correlation to the total concentration of the selected PAHs determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This technique was then employed to observe temporal variation of total pPAHs. The measurements at roadside and general areas in Tokyo and in Bangkok were performed for seven consecutive days in August 2000, and in March 2001, respectively. The diurnal profiles of pPAHs concentrations in both cities were generally similar; explicit peak concentrations were observed in early morning in association with the traffic growth in the morning rush hours. A significant reduction occurred during the daytime was probably due to rising in the mixing zone. At roadside areas, the average pPAHs concentrations throughout the sampling period in Bangkok were significantly higher than those of Tokyo, owing to the larger contribution of vehicular traffic, especially heavy-duty vehicles, on the roads near the sampling site. Otherwise, all average concentrations in the general area in Tokyo were slightly higher than that of Bangkok. This was probably due to the percentage of road coverage in Tokyo being higher than that in Bangkok, creating a higher possibility for pPAHs evolving from road traffic, and the transportation pattern of the pPAHs in Tokyo showed a more broadly diffused profile than that of Bangkok. This suggests the widespread dispersion of pPAHs over the entire study area in Tokyo. At this study scale especially at the roadside, however, a high pPAHs concentration observed in Tokyo and in Bangkok was predominantly located at low wind speed, <1.0 and 0.4 m s−1, respectively, and along the direction from the roads.
To evaluate the chemical composition (source fingerprint) of the major sources of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Chicago metropolitan area, a study of major PAH sources was conducted during 1990–1992. In this study, a modified high-volume sampling method (PS-1 sampler) was employed to collect airborne PAHs in both the particulate and gas phases. Hewlett Packard 5890 gas chromatographs equipped with the flame ionization and mass spectrometer detectors (GC/FID and GC/MS) were used to analyze the samples. The sources sampled were: coke ovens, highway vehicles, heavy-duty diesel engines, gasoline engines and wood combustion. Results of this study showed that two and three ring PAHs were responsible for 98, 76, 92, 73 and 80% of the total concentration of measured 20 PAHs for coke ovens, diesel engines, highway tunnels, gasoline engines and wood combustion samples, respectively. Six ring PAHs such as indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene were mostly below the detection limit of this study and only detected in the highway tunnel, diesel and gasoline engine samples. The source fingerprints were obtained by averaging the ratios of individual PAH concentrations to the total concentration of categorical pollutants including: (a) total measured mass of PAHs with retention times between naphthalene and coronene, (b) the mass of the 20 PAHs measured in this study, (c) total VOCs, and (d) total PM10. Since concentrations of the above categorical pollutants were different for individual samples and different sources, the chemical composition patterns obtained for each categorical pollutant were different. The source fingerprints have been developed for use in chemical mass balance receptor modeling calculations.
The emissions of polychlorinated-p-dibenzodioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF) from waste combustion show a close correlation with the emissions of chlorinated benzenes or phenols, which could therefore be used as indicators for easier, faster and cheaper prediction of the potential dioxin emission levels. Using contemporary analytical methods, the emissions of, e.g. monochlorobenzene can be measured on-line and predictions could be made via a suitable mathematical model describing the link between these precursors and dioxins. Modeling the formation of the precursors could therefore provide an indirect possibility for the prediction of dioxins' formation and subsequent optimization of the combustion process characteristics.A detailed combustion mechanism consisting of 3678 gas-phase reactions between 755 species including chlorine chemistry has been developed. The influence of temperature, reaction time, equivalence ratio and chlorine concentration on monochlorobenzene and monochlorophenols formation was tested for batch and well-stirred reactors. The impact of good mixing conditions, appropriate level of oxygen, chlorine contents and temperature regime on the formation of precursors of dioxins is emphasized.
In the Fraser River Basin and the Strait of Georgia, a pristine hydrocarbon background is evident in older sediments and suspended sediments from remote regions. This natural background has been augmented over the past century by variable amounts of combustion PAHs and petroleum hydrocarbons derived from human activities, with impacts most evident near industrialised or highly populated regions. Traditional petroleum indicators, including alkane and alkyl PAH distributions and unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs), identify petroleum contamination in suspended particulates transported by the Fraser River and in modern sediments from lakes and rivers in the lower Fraser Basin and the Strait of Georgia. However, these markers have proven to be of limited quantitative use either because they overlap combustion PAH profiles or because they are prone to degradation in the environment. More specific and refractory petroleum markers such as the steranes, rearranged hopanes and tri- and tetracyclic terpanes are found where there are enhanced concentrations of traditional indicators, confirming previous assignments of petroleum contamination near industrial regions. Furthermore, the low or non-detectable quantities of these biomarkers in remote regions reinforce the conclusion that these areas remain pristine and suggest that these markers may provide useful indicators of any future contamination. Biomarkers of petroleum origin (reservoir location or age) do not provide incisive indicators of the origins of hydrocarbon contamination in the Fraser Basin but they have helped to narrow down the sources. In particular, the absence of structurally rearranged hopanes (25,28,30-trisnorhopane and 28,30-bisnorhopane) rules out contamination from Californian oils, while the presence of enhanced oleanane in samples from the lower Fraser River suggests a source in coal dust lost during railroad transportation to the coast.
We report measurements of molecular and carbon isotopic compositions of Malaysian atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in smoke haze from the 1997 Indonesian forest fire. Comparison of the carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of individual PAHs from the smoke haze, with those from other PAHs sources (soot collected from gasoline and diesel vehicle muffler, woodburning smoke), enables us to discriminate among the diverse sources of atmospheric PAHs. Soot PAHs extracted from gasoline and diesel vehicles show heavy isotopic signatures with a large inter-species δ13C variation from −12.9‰ to −26.6‰, compared to soot PAHs extracted from woodburning smoke which are isotopically light, and have a small inter-species δ13C variation from −26.8‰ to −31.6‰. Values from −17.7‰ to −27.9‰ were obtained for the corresponding PAHs extracted from the smoke haze, indicating that they are derived mainly from automotive exhaust. Molecular and isotopic compositions of PAHs extracted from smoke haze were similar to those extracted from non-haze aerosol. Quantitative estimation shows that woodburning contribution to Malaysian atmospheric PAHs ranges from 25% to 35% with no relation to haze intensity, while automotive contribution ranges from 65% to 75%. These results suggest that the major contributor of PAHs in Malaysian air is automotive exhaust whether smoke haze is observed or not.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from 25 industrial boilers were investigated. The fuels used for these 25 boilers included 21 heavy oil, two diesel, a co-combustion of heavy oil and natural gas (HO+NG) and a co-combustion of coke oven gas and blast furnace gas (COG+BFG) boilers. PAH samples from the stack flue gas (gas and particle phases) of these 25 boilers were collected by using a PAH stack sampling system. Twenty one individual PAHs were analyzed primarily by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Total-PAH concentration in the flue gas of 83 measured data for these 25 boiler stacks ranged between 29.0 and 4250 μg/m3 and averaged 488 μg/m3. The average of PAH-homologue mass (F%) counted for the total-PAH mass was 54.7%, 9.47% and 15.3% for the 2-ring, 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs, respectively. The PAHs in the stack flue gas were dominant in the lower molecular weight PAHs. The emission factors (EFs) of total-PAHs were 13 300, 2920, 2880 and 208 μg/kg-fuel for the heavy oil, diesel, HO+NG and COG+BFG fueled-boiler, respectively. Nap was the most predominant PAH occurring in the stack flue gas. In addition, the EF of 21 individual PAHs in heavy-oil boiler were almost the highest among the four various fueled-boilers except for those of FL and BkF in the diesel boiler. Furthermore, the EF of total-PAHs or BaP for heavy oil were both one order of magnitude higher than that for the diesel-fueled boiler.
Emissions from 12 in-service heavy-duty buses powered by low- (LSD) and ultra low-sulfur (ULSD) diesel fuels were measured with the aim to characterize the profile of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the exhaust and to identify the effect of different types of fuels on the emissions. To mimic on-road conditions as much as possible, sampling was conducted on a chassis dynamometer at four driving modes, namely: mode 7 or idle (0% power), mode 11 (25% power), mode 10 (50% power) and mode 8 (100% power). Irrespective of the type of fuel used, naphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluorene, fluoranthene and pyrene were found to be the dominant PAHs in the exhaust emissions of the buses. However, the PAH composition in the exhausts of ULSD buses were up to 91±6% less than those in the LSD buses. In particular, three- and four-ringed PAHs were more abundant in the later than in the former. Lowering of fuel sulfur content not only reduced PAH emission, but also decreased the benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BAPeq) and hence the toxicity of the exhaust. Result from multicriteria decision-making and multivariate data analysis techniques showed that the use of ULSD afforded cleaner exhaust compositions and emissions with characteristics that are distinct from those obtained by the use of LSD.
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) composition of a diesel fuel and the exhaust emissions obtained from the fuel in a diesel vehicle driven on a chassis dynamometer have been determined by high resolution gas chromatography. The principal components of the fuel are fluorene, phenanthrene and their alkylated derivatives. One- to four-ring aromatic components of the exhaust emissions are predominately in the gas phase when sampled at 200 °C. The major aromatic components of the exhaust are toluene, phenylacetylene, styrene, indene, naphthalene, methylnaphthalenes and acenaphthalene. These are not present in the fuel in significant concentrations, implying that they are formed by the combustion process. This is in contrast to recent work in which unburnt fuel has been identified as the major source of two- to four-ring PAH in diesel exhaust.
Dioxins, formed in any combustion process where carbon, oxygen and chlorine are present, are a subject of major interest due to their carcinogenicity. Much research has been carried out to study emissions from hazardous and municipal waste incinerators. Dioxin emissions from wood combustion plants are also of interest, especially those due to the combustion of treated, varnished or PVC-coated wood, which can produce high PCDD/F emissions. This work reviews the available data about the levels of dioxins in gases and ashes produced in wood combustion.
Because of the relatively high human oral exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compared to the inhalation exposure, the known carcinogenicity of this type of compounds and the limited data from oral studies available with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, an oral carcinogenicity study was performed using benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) as a PAH representative. Wistar rats, 52 animals per sex and group were exposed daily (5 days a week) to 0, 3, 10 or 30 mg B[a]P/kg bw/day by gavage for 104 weeks and were subject to gross- and histopathology. The main tumours observed were hepatocellular carcinomas and forestomach tumours. Other tumours induced in this study were tumours of the auditory canal, skin and appendages, oral cavity, small intestine, kidney, and soft tissue sarcomas. For hepatocellular carcinomas and forestomach tumours, the BMDL10 were 3 and 1 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. The incidence of altered hepatic foci was increased in the 3mg/kg bw/day group. The increase in liver tumours is considered the most relevant effect for human risk assessment in terms of pathogenesis and sensitivity, and is proposed as the basis for human cancer risk assessment for oral PAH exposure.
Exposure of laboratory rats to Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), an environmental contaminant with its high lipophilicify which is widely dispersed in the environment and can easily cross the blood brain barrier presenting in the central nervous system, is associated with impaired learning and memory. The purpose of the research was to examine whether subchronic exposure to BaP affects spatial learning and memory, and how it alters normal gene expression in hippocampus, as well as selection of candidate genes involving neurotransmitter receptor attributed to learning and memory. Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluate behavioral differences between BaP-treated and vehicle-treated groups. To gain a better insight into the mechanism of BaP-induced neurotoxicity on learning and memory, we used whole genome oligo microarrays as well as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to assess the global impact of gene expression. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with 6.25mg/kg of BaP or vehicle for 14 weeks. The results from the Morris water maze (MWM) test showed that rats treated with BaP exhibited significantly higher mean latencies as compared to vehicle controls. BaP exposure significantly decreased the number of crossing the platform and the time spent in the target area. After the hippocampus was collected from each rat, total RNA was isolated. Microarray and PCR revealed that exposure to BaP affected mRNA expression of neurotransmitter receptors. The web tool DAVID was used to analyze the significantly enriched gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathways in the differentially expressed genes. Analysis showed that the most significantly affected gene ontology category was behavior. Furthermore, the fourth highest significantly affected gene ontology category was learning and memory. KEGG molecular pathway analysis showed that "neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction" was affected by BaP with highest statistical significance, and 9 candidate neurotransmitter receptor genes involving learning and memory were selected out. Our results revealed a close link between behavioral changes and altered neurotransmitter receptor gene expression in BaP-treated rats.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured together with inorganic air pollutants at two urban sites and one rural background site in the Banja Luka area, Bosnia and Hercegovina, during 72h in July 2008 using a high time resolution (5 samples per day) with the aim to study the spatial and temporal variabilities and to explore the significance of averaging effects inherent to 24h-sampling. Measurement uncertainty was quantified on basis of three independent side-by-side samplers, deployed at one of the sites.PAH abundances in the urban and rural environments differed largely. Levels at the urban sites exceeded the levels at the rural site by >100%. The discrepancy was largely dominated by emission of 3–4 ring PAHs in the city, while 5–6 ring PAHs were more evenly distributed between city sites and the hill site. During the night a higher fraction of the semivolatile PAHs might have been stored in the soil or sorbed to surfaces. PAH patterns were undistinguishable across the three sites. However, concentrations of more particle-associated substances differed significantly between the urban sites than between one of the urban sites and the rural site (3σ uncertainty). Time-averaging (on a 24h-basis) would have masked the significant inter-site differences of half of the substances which were found at different levels (on a 4h-basis).
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from ambient air particulate matter (PM) were analyzed by a new method that utilized direct immersion (DI) and cold fiber (CF) SPME-GC/MS. Experimental design was used to optimize the conditions of extraction by DI-CF-SPME with a 100μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber. The optimal conditions included a 5min equilibration at 70°C time in an ultrasonic bath with an extraction time of 60min. The optimized method was validated by the analysis of a NIST standard reference material (SRM), 1649b urban dust. The results obtained were in good agreement with certified values. PAH recoveries for reference materials were between 88 and 98%, with a relative standard deviation ranging from 5 to 17%. Detection limits (LOD) varied from 0.02 to 1.16ng and the quantification limits (LOQ) varied from 0.05 to 3.86ng. The optimized and validated method was applied to the determination of PAH from real particulate matter (PM10) and total suspended particulate (TPS) samples collected on quartz fiber filters with high volume samplers.
Fourteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) samples collected in five cities (Shenyang, Anshan, Jinzhou, Fushun and Dalian), Liaoning Province, China in 2004 and 2005 were analyzed by using a HPLC equipped with fluorescence and UV detectors. Results showed total PAHs concentrations in PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) were in the range of 75.32-1900.89 ng m(-3) and 16.74-303.24 ng m(-3), respectively. 90% of the total PAHs were in PM(2.5). PAHs in PM(2.5) had a winter to summer ratio varying from 6.5 to 125.8 while PAHs in PM(2.5-10) had a ratio ranging from 1.7 to 37.6. Total PAHs concentrations were most abundant at residential/commercial sites and were fewest at an industrial site for both PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10). Urban background sites showed unexpected higher PAHs concentrations. Total BaP equivalent concentration (BaPeq) for PM(2.5) ranged from 7.80 to 88.42 ng m(-3) in different function zones. Similarities of PAHs profiles between sampling sites and between fine and coarse fractions were compared by coefficient of divergence which indicated that remarkable differences in PAHs compositions existed. Principal component analysis (PCA) associated with diagnostic ratios revealed coal combustion and vehicle emission were the major sources for PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) associated PAHs.
Simultaneous analysis of 24 carbonyl compounds (alkanals, unsaturated, dicarbonylic and aromatic aldehydes and ketones) derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a photodiode-array (PDA) and a fluorescence (FL) detector in series is proposed. The separation is carried out with a reversed-phase column and gradient elution using four solvents (acetonitrile, water, tetrahydrofuran and methanol) in less than 35 min. Several critical pairs of carbonyl compounds with 3 and 4 carbon atoms and different functional groups, isomers of tolualdehyde, aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes were conditional on the gradient elution. Common pre-treatment for two groups of compounds consists in a step of extraction and derivatization in aqueous medium and a further clean-up using a polymeric phase SPE and concentration in a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol. A pre-concentration factor of 50 was achieved by this procedure. Acetone and formaldehyde blanks were minimized and remain controlled with a specific cleaning of glass material and washing the SPE cartridge. The limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.006 to 0.18 ng mL(-1) for PAHs and from 2.4 to 10.1 ng mL(-1) for carbonyl compounds and method precision was <or=15% for all analysed compounds. Recoveries were within the range of 95-104% for PAHs except for more volatile compounds (acenaphthene and fluorene) and within the range of 72-113% for carbonyl compounds. The method was applied in water-soluble fraction of PM(10) (atmospheric particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 microm) and the spectral contrast technique was used in the identification of carbonyl compounds.
Comparisons between concentration, size effect, molecular distribution, and toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban road dust of Ulsan, Korea, were carried out. The road dust was collected at eleven representative urban sites offering unique road characteristics. The road dust was separated into four size categories as follows: 850-2000 microm, 180-850 microm, 75-180 microm and less than 75 microm. PAHs in the categorized road dust were ultrasonically extracted by a mixture of dichloromethane and n-hexane (1:1) for 30 min. Sixteen PAHs were specifically identified by a high performance liquid chromatography method. Pavement type, traffic volume, vehicle speed and surrounding environment of the study roads greatly affected the overall PAH road dust concentration. The molecular distribution of PAHs was strongly affected by vehicle type, surrounding area and pavement type of road. When the road dust particle size decreased, the total concentration of PAHs increased. The existence of coarse asphalt particles due to the abrasion of new asphalt pavement at some sites could increase the total PAH concentration to a size of 180-850 microm. PAHs in road dust were also evaluated for toxicity using the reported toxicity equivalency factors. The toxicity of PAHs in road dust showed a strong correlation to the total PAH concentration (r(2)=0.955). However, the coefficients of determination (r(2)) for the sizes of 850-2000 microm, 180-850 microm, 75-180 microm and less than 75 microm were 0.966, 0.998, 0.707 and 0.514, respectively.
The mutagenic activities of 11 N-nitrosamines were tested using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98. All the carcinogenic N-nitrosamines were mutagenic on TA100 with a drug-activating system from the rat liver, whereas N,N-diphenylnitrosamine, a non-carcinogen, was not mutagenic. None of the N-nitrosamines was mutagenic on TA98, except N,N-diethylnitrosamine which was weakly mutagenic. To detect the mutagenicity of N,N-dimethylnitrosamine, the pre-incubation of bacteria and N,N-dimethylnitrosamine with S-9 Mix before if was poured onto plates was obligatorily required. Dimethyl sulfoxide inhibited the mutagenic effect of N,N-dimethylnitrosamine.
At the International Workshop on the Standardisation of Genotoxicity Test Procedures, in Melbourne (27-28 February 1993), the current international guidelines for the correct conduct of bacterial mutation assays were considered, and the major differences between them were examined. An attempt was made to construct a scientifically based, internationally harmonized protocol. The main points of agreement were as follows. The consensus opinion was that there are currently insufficient data to justify a preference for either the preincubation or plate-incorporation methodologies as the initial test. Whichever method is used there was consensus agreement that the bacterial test battery should consist of S. typhimurium TA1537, TA1535, TA98 and TA100. There was also consensus that the 3 strains TA97a, TA97 and TA1537 could be used interchangeably. Although it was not possible to achieve a consensus, the majority of the working group members agreed that strains for the detection of mutagens acting specifically on AT base pairs should be routinely included within the test battery. These strains may be S. typhimurium TA102 or E. coli WP2 strains (WP2 pKM101 and WP2 uvrA or WP2 uvrA pkM101). With regard to study design it was universally agreed that 5 doses of test compound should be used in each experiment, and a majority agreement was obtained for 3 plates per dose. The use of 2 plates per dose is acceptable ONLY if the experiment is repeated. It is recommended that the negative controls may consist of solvent control alone provided that historical data are available to demonstrate lack of effect of the solvent in question. Positive control compounds should be included in all experiments, although the nature of these control compounds need not be specified in the guidelines. There was consensus agreement that for non-toxic freely soluble test agents, an upper limit of 5 mg/plate should be tested (5 microliters per plate for liquids). For insoluble or toxic compounds, the recommendations were the same as those for other in vitro tests (see appropriate paper). A consensus agreement was reached on the need to carry out further tests if equivocal results are obtained in the initial test, although it was generally agreed that the design of the repeat study should be left flexible. As there are little or no data to support the use of an exact repeat assay, a majority of the group recommended that negative results in the first test should be further investigated by either conducting a modified repeat (e.g. S9 titration) or by conducting the alternative methodology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Polybrominated and polychlorinated biphenyls (PBBs/PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDDs/PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PBDFs/PCDFs), and diphenyl ethers (PBDEs/PCDEs) are persistent, lipophilic environmental contaminants that may pose a risk to fish early life stage survival. To determine this potential risk, a rainbow trout early life stage mortality bioassay was used in which the potency of individual polybrominated chemicals was compared to the potency of the most potent polychlorinated chemical in these classes, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Following injection of newly fertilized rainbow trout eggs, fish-specific toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) were calculated as the molar ratio of TCDD LD50 to brominated compound LD50. Signs of toxicity were identical to those produced by polychlorinated TCDD-like chemicals and included yolk sac edema, pericardial edema, multifocal hemorrhages, reduced growth, and craniofacial malformations. Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls exhibited decreased potency with increased bromine substitution. Only 2,3,7,8-TBDD was more potent than 2,3,7,8-TCDD, whereas other polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins were equipotent or less potent than identically substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins in this assay. Although two PBDF congeners were equipotent to identically substituted PCDFs, 2,3,7,8-TBDF was 9-fold more potent than 2,3,7,8-TCDF. Both 3,3',4,4'-TBB and 3,3',4,4',5,5'-HxBB were 10-fold more potent than identically substituted polychlorinated biphenyls. The halogenated diphenyl ethers and di-ortho polybrominated biphenyls were inactive in this assay. Thus, in this in vivo assay the polybrominated and polychlorinated TCDD-like chemicals were not always equally potent. To assess the risk posed by mixtures of these chemicals to feral fish populations, fish-specific TEFs for both polybrominated and polychlorinated chemicals should be used.
Exposure to genotoxic compounds in ambient air has been studied in Bangkok, Thailand, by analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with particles and using different biomarkers of exposure. Eighty-nine male, non-smoking Royal Thai police officers were investigated. The police officers were divided into a high exposure group (traffic police) and low exposure (office duty). Particulate matter was collected using personal pumps (2 l/min) and the eight carcinogenic PAHs were analysed by standard procedures. The traffic police was exposed to a 20-fold higher level of total PAHs than office police (74.25 ng/m3 vs. 3.11; P= 0.001). A two-fold variation was observed between the different police stations. The major PAHs in all groups was benzo[g,h,l]pyrelene. Large inter-individual differences in biomarker levels were observed, but the level of all markers was statistically significantly higher in the traffic police group than in the office group. The level of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HOP) was 0.181+/-0.078 (range 0.071-0.393) micromol/mol creatinine in the traffic group and 0.173+/-0.151 (P = 0.044) in the office group. The bulky carcinogen DNA-adduct level, determined by P32-post-labelling, was 1.6+/-0.9 (range 0.4-4.3) adducts/10(8) nucleotides in the traffic group and 1.2+/-1.0 (0.2-4.9) in the office group (P = 0.029; Mann-Whitney U-test). The serum PAH-albumin adduct level was 1.76 (0.51-3.07) fmol adducts/microg albumin in the traffic group and 1.35+/-0.77 (0.11-3.45; P = 0.001) in the office group. Lower biomarker levels were observed during the period when the traffic police officers were wearing a simple facemask, indicating that these masks protect against particle-associated PAHs. No statistically significant correlations were observed between biomarker levels and the level of individual PAHs or total PAH. Our data show, that people in Bangkok, who spend most of the day outside air-conditioned offices, are exposed to high levels of genotoxic PAHs. However, for people who spend their working day in offices, the exposure is similar to people living in other metropolitan areas.
The atmospheric contamination levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and