No abstract

This work describes the seasonal variations, levels, and possible health effects of groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as phthalates (Ps), non-phthalates (NPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phenyl phosphates (PhePhs) in ambient total suspended particles (TSP) from the city of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The mass concentrations of TSP ranged from 88±32 µg m −3 in winter to 350±320 µg m −3 in summer.The total concentrations of these compounds varied from 337±266 ng m −3 in summer to 469±403 ng m −3 in winter. The major compounds were Ps (235±199 ng m −3 in summer to 389±335 ng m −3 in winter), PCBs (30.7±19.3 ng m −3 in autumn to 65.6±61.2 ng m −3 in summer), NPs (4.9±2.3 ng m −3 in summer to 11.9±12.5 ng m −3 in winter), and PhePhs (4.1±4.0 ng m −3 in spring to 13.3±3.2 ng m −3 in summer). The proportional fractions of these POPs relative to natural biogenic sources and petroleum-related emissions were extremely high ranging from 17% in winter to 47% in autumn. Significant correlations were found among these different POP groups and total concentrations, suggesting that they were from local sources. Principal component analysis indicated that Ps and NPs were from the same initial sources, and the PhePhs as well as PCBs were from different regional sources, where the latter were dependent on the TSP levels. In the long term, the elevated levels of these POPs in the TSP of these urban areas will affect human health by eventually developing a range of illnesses.Recent research has shown that di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate induced developmental toxicity (Dalgaard et al. 2003) and increased ovarian follicle atresia (Miyata et al. 2006). Regional relevanceThere has been an increase in industrial activities and development related to oil production in the eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There the metropolitan area of Dammam is the largest industrial region of the country, where different petroleum and petrochemical manufacturing corporations and companies have been established in the cities of Dammam, Al-Hasa, and Al-Jubail (El-Sharkawy and Zaki 2012). Plastic manufacturing is one of the main industrial activities in the Dammam area and Al-Jubail in the north as the largest regional industrial complex. The air quality of the region is ultimately affected by these industries and related activities in the area (Salama et al. 2015;Rushdi et al. 2017;El-Sharkawy and Dahlawi 2019). There is a lack of information regarding the compositions, levels, and seasonal variation of POP and petrochemical additives in atmospheric particulate matter of the major cities of the Kingdom and specifically the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.The main purpose of this study is to determine the occurrence, concentration, and seasonal variation of the dominant plastic-related POPs in atmospheric suspended particulate matter in the City of Dhahran, one of the major urban areas in the Dammam metropolitan region. Study areaThis study was conducted in Dhahran (population 99,540), located in the eastern province of Saudi Ara...

This work describes the seasonal variations, levels, and possible health effects of groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as phthalates (Ps), non-phthalates (NPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phenyl phosphates (PhePhs) in ambient total suspended particles (TSP) from the city of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The mass concentrations of TSP ranged from 88±32 µg m−3 in winter to 350±320 µg m−3 in summer. The total concentrations of these compounds varied from 337±266 ng m−3 in summer to 469±403 ng m−3 in winter. The major compounds were Ps (235±199 ng m−3 in summer to 389±335 ng m−3 in winter), PCBs (30.7±19.3 ng m−3 in autumn to 65.6±61.2 ng m−3 in summer), NPs (4.9±2.3 ng m−3 in summer to 11.9±12.5 ng m−3 in winter), and PhePhs (4.1±4.0 ng m−3 in spring to 13.3±3.2 ng m−3 in summer). The proportional fractions of these POPs relative to natural biogenic sources and petroleum-related emissions were extremely high ranging from 17% in winter to 47% in autumn. Significant correlations were found among these different POP groups and total concentrations, suggesting that they were from local sources. Principal component analysis indicated that Ps and NPs were from the same initial sources, and the PhePhs as well as PCBs were from different regional sources, where the latter were dependent on the TSP levels. In the long term, the elevated levels of these POPs in the TSP of these urban areas will affect human health by eventually developing a range of illnesses.