There is an increasing concern about the occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment as they are ubiquitous in ambient air and some of them are among the strongest known ...carcinogens. PAHs and their derivatives are produced by the incomplete combustion of organic material arising, partly, from natural combustion such as forest and volcanic eruption, but with the majority due to anthropogenic emissions. The PAH concentration varies significantly in various rural and urban environments and is mainly influenced by vehicular and domestic emissions. The review serves as a database to identify and characterize the emission sources of PAHs and hence various approaches including diagnostic ratio (DR) and principal component analysis (PCA) are discussed in detail. These approaches allow individual PAHs to be associated with their origin sources. The factors that effect PAH emission and estimated emission rate are also discussed in this paper. Although the levels of low molecular weight PAHs are high in vapor phase, most of the probable human carcinogenic PAHs are found to be associated with particulate matter, especially in fine mode particles in ambient air. Many countries have proposed a non-mandatory concentration limit for PAHs, whereas the health risk studies conducted in relation to PAH exposure, urge that these pollutants should be given a high priority when considering air quality management and reduction of impacts.
The levels of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined with a fast analytical approach to study their seasonal variations at Menen (Belgium) during 2003; they were found to ...be 5–7 times higher in January, February and December, in comparison to May, June and August. The annual average concentration of the sum of 16 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria PAHs was 6.7 ng/m
3 and around 63% of it was found to be probably carcinogenic to humans. The application of diagnostic ratio and principal component analysis showed vehicular emission as a major source. An increased ratio of ‘combustion PAHs’ to ‘total EPA-PAHs’ during the winter season indicated towards combustion activities. Further, the differences in PAHs concentration were assessed with relation to backward air mass trajectories, which show that the levels of PAHs increase when there is an air mass movement from Central and Western Europe and a fall when the trajectories spend most of their 4-day time over the Atlantic Ocean or in the Arctic region.
Accumulation of platinum group elements (PGEs) in the environment has been increased over the time. Catalytic converters of modern vehicles are considered to be the main sources of PGE pollution, ...since the correlation is between the Pt:Rh ratios in various environmental compartments and in converter units. The present literature survey shows that the concentration of these metals has increased significantly in the last decades in diverse environmental matrices; like airborne particulate matter, soil, roadside dust and vegetation, river, coastal and oceanic environment. Generally, PGEs are referred to behave in an inert manner and to be immobile. However, there is an evidence of spread and bioaccumulation of these elements in the environment. Platinum content of road dusts can be soluble, consequently, it enters the waters, sediments, soil and finally, the food chain. The effect of chronic occupational exposure to Pt compounds is well-documented, and certain Pt species are known to exhibit allergenic potential. However, the toxicity of biologically available anthropogenic Pt is not clear. Hence, there is a need to study the effect on human health of long-term chronic exposure to low levels of Pt compounds.
Through different research projects on air quality in museums, researcher and conservators try identifying various risks of air pollution on materials. The conclusions may be later translated into ...specific actions for a maximum preservation of the museum collections, a process known as preventive conservation. Air pollution is a particular problem in historical buildings such as museums, because they were not originally built to exhibit and protect art objects in a sustainable way. This article reports on the data and results that were obtained during 10 sampling campaigns, in the period between November 2008 and February 2012 in a museum in Antwerp (Belgium), i.e. Plantin-Moretus Museum/Print Room. Different pollutants were measured inside and outside the museum such as inorganic gases, particulate matter and black carbon. The report specifically addresses environmental factors that may be responsible for damage to the collections present in museums. Thanks to the knowledge about the current situation in the museum, accurate solutions regarding preventive conservation, in general, are suggested.
•Environmental monitoring in a museum context is performed over a long period.•Inorganic gases, particulate matter and black carbon are measured.•Accurate solutions regarding preventive conservation, in general, are suggested.
The presence of persistent organic pollutants in Tanzanian environment is not well monitored despite the existing pollution potential from a number of sources. In this study, we investigated for the ...first time, the concentration profiles of different organohalogen compounds such as organochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environmental samples (water and sediments) from the Pangani river basin (PRB). The PRB is one of the largest drainage basins in Tanzania, with its watershed exposed to multiple input sources of trace organic contaminants. Surface water and sediments were sampled from 12 representative stations of diverse characteristics and land-use practices, in three distinct seasons, and extracted by liquid–liquid and Soxhlet extraction methods, respectively. Water samples were analyzed by GC-ECD for OCPs only, while sediment samples were analyzed for OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs by GC/MS. Seven compounds, dominated by HCH isomers (510–4460pg/L) and DDT analogs (160–1460pg/L),were detected in the water samples. These concentrations are far below the WHO guidelines for drinking water quality. A total of 42 compounds (8 OCPs, 28 PCB congeners and 6 PBDE congeners) were detected in the sediment samples. Their respective total concentration ranges were 245–10,230; 357–11,000 and 38–2175pg/g dry weight. The spatial distribution patterns and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis reflected the impact of historical agricultural usage in sugarcane plantations (OCPs), and urbanization (PCBs and PBDEs). Risk assessment using sediment quality guidelines indicated no ecotoxicological risks. The results we have found provide preliminary data on levels of the organic contaminants in Pangani river basin as a new insight on the environmental quality of the area.
► Levels of persistent organohalogenated pollutants in Pangani river basin are low. ► Residues of OCPs mainly originate from past applications in the sugarcane plantations. ► p,p′-DDE was the main metabolite recovered in the samples, indicating old inputs. ► PCB profiles dominated by low-chlorinated compounds indicating recent contamination ► Concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs linked to urbanization and transportation.
Thoracic (PM
10), fine thoracic (PM
2.5) and sub-micrometer (PM
1) airborne particulate matter was sampled during day and night. In total, about 100 indoor and outdoor samples were collected for each ...fraction at ten different office environments. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and ion chromatography were applied for the quantification of some major and minor elements and ions in the collected aerosols. During daytime, mass concentrations were in the ranges: 11–29, 8.1–24, and 6.6–18 μg m
−3, with averages of 20 ± 1, 15.0 ± 0.9, and 11.0 ± 0.8 μg m
−3, respectively. At night, mass concentrations were found to be significantly lower for all fractions. Indoor PM
1 concentrations exceeded the corresponding outdoor levels during office hours and were thought to be elevated by office printers. Particles with diameters between 1 and 2.5 μm and 2.5 and 10 μm were mainly associated with soil dust elements and were clearly subjected to distinct periods of settling/resuspension. Indoor NO
3
− levels were found to follow specific microclimatic conditions at the office environments, while daytime levels of sub-micrometer Cl
− were possibly elevated by the use of Cl-containing cleaning products. Indoor carbon black concentrations were sometimes as high as 22 μg m
−3 and were strongly correlated with outdoor traffic conditions.
Public transport in Delhi was amended by the Supreme Court of India to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) instead of diesel or petrol. After the implementation of CNG since April 2001, Delhi has the ...highest fraction of CNG-run public vehicles in the world and most of them were introduced within 20 months. In the present study, the concentrations of various criteria air pollutants (SPM, PM(10), CO, SO(2) and NO(x)) and organic pollutants such as benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were assessed before and after the implementation of CNG. A decreasing trend was found for PAHs, SO(2) and CO concentrations, while the NO(x) level was increased in comparison to those before the implementation of CNG. Further, SPM, PM(10), and BTX concentrations showed no significant change after the implementation of CNG. However, the BTX concentration demonstrated a clear relation with the benzene content of gasoline. In addition to the impact of the introduction of CNG the daily variation in PAHs levels was also studied and the PAHs concentrations were observed to be relatively high between 10 pm to 6 am, which gives a proof of a relation with the limited day entry and movement of heavy vehicles in Delhi.
The concentrations of 16 US-EPA criteria polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were monitored during various seasons at six different cities/locations in the northern part of Belgium. Pressurized ...liquid extraction (PLE) was used for the fast recovery of PAHs from quartz fibre filters (QFFs) and polyurethane foams (PUFs) in less than 30
min with minimum solvent consumption prior to their analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of PAHs varied significantly at the studied sites and showed relation to different anthropogenic activities, such as vehicular emission (diesel/gasoline), incinerator, petroleum/oil burning, coke production, and wood/coal combustion. The annual average PAH concentration ranged from 17 (at a rural site) to 114
ng
m
−3 (near a petroleum harbour and industry). Most of the human carcinogenic PAHs were found to be associated with suspended particulate matter, which forms around ∼55% of the total PAH levels in aerosols. Relatively higher concentrations of PAHs were detected in aerosol samples during winter compared with other seasons, whereas no clear seasonal trend was observed for the vapour phase PAHs. This fraction is likely to be more local in origin; hence, it can be used as a site-specific characteristic. The site-specific concentrations of individual PAHs were also used in diagnostic ratio evaluations and in principal component analysis to find their relation with various anthropogenic activities. These results show that the vehicular emission is a major source of PAHs in Flanders, although other anthropogenic sources, as above, have also an impact on the total PAH levels.
The distribution of mass, water-soluble inorganic salts and mineral elements of size-segregated aerosols (PM1, PM2.5-1 and PM10-2.5), precursor gaseous pollutants, black carbon, and nanoparticles ...(10–300 nm size range) at the Southern Bight of the North Sea has been studied. The concentrations of air pollutants peaked over shipping lanes, open-water anchorage areas and frequently navigated waters, due to the presence of mobile emission sources. A considerable decrease in air pollutant levels was seen when diverting from these marine areas towards remote or coastal banks. These findings showed the rapid dispersion of pollutants in the marine air. The nano-aerosol count, originating from ocean-going ships, peaked at lower average aerodynamic diameters (e.g., ≈28 nm) than those, observed from low-displacement vessels (45–50 nm, e.g., for fishing boats). The average diameter of nano-PM depended also on weather conditions, e.g., it was higher (≈50 nm) in air of higher humidity.
Display omitted
•Marine and coastal air pollutants of the Southern North Sea were monitored.•Size-segregated aerosols, precursor gases, BC and nano-particles were mapped.•Pollutant levels generally peaked over frequently navigated waters.•Slow atmospheric dispersion of ship emission related pollutants were found.•Nano-particle distributions showed ship (fuel) type dependent characteristics.
The concentration distribution of several ship exhaust plume related atmospheric inorganic pollutants, including nano-aerosols, has been mapped in high resolution at the Southern Bight of the North Sea.
PDF
