Thirty atmospheric dustfall samples collected from an industrial corridor in Hubei Province, central China, were analyzed for 16 USEPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to investigate their concentrations, spatial distributions, sources, and health risks. Total PAH concentrations (ΣPAHs) ranged from 1.72 to 13.17 µg/g and averaged 4.91 µg/g. High molecular weight (4-5 rings) PAHs averaged 59.67% of the ΣPAHs. Individual PAH concentrations were not significantly correlated with total organic carbon, possibly due to the semi-continuous inputs from anthropogenic sources. Source identification studies suggest that the PAHs were mainly from motor vehicles and biomass/coal combustion. The incremental lifetime cancer risks associated with exposure to PAHs in the dustfall ranged from 10(-4) to 10(-6); these indicate potentially serious carcinogenic risks for exposed populations in the industrial corridor.

The potential health risk of heavy metals (HMs) in campus dust may threaten the health of thousands of students, teachers, and their families in Wuhan, the university cluster in Central China every day. In this research, the pollution characteristics and health risk with HMs was the first time presented in campus dust from the canteen, playground, dormitory, and school gate to date. The average HMs concentration in campus dusts ranked Pb (83.5 mg kg-1) > Cu (70.2 mg kg-1) > Zn (47.2 mg kg-1) >Cr (46.0 mg kg-1) > Ni (22.7 mg kg-1) > As (15.2 mg kg-1) > Cd (3.38 mg kg-1).The HMs would more likely to accumulate in dormitory dust and canteen dust. In the downtown area, Zn, As, and Cd had been preliminarily identified from fossil fuel combustion and natural geochemical processes. Cu and Pb would source from cooking and traffic transportation. Ni and Cr would likely reflect the contributions of natural soil weathering. Although, no significant non-carcinogenic health risks were found to students or teachers from campus dust. Their children would more likely to exposure health risks when eating in the canteen, playing on the playground, or walking around the school gate. While the incremental lifetime cancer risk values revealed respiratory intake of HMs does not pose a carcinogenic risk on the campus.

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Both ˙OH and CO3˙− participated in the degradation of BPA in the nZVI/SPC system, and ˙OH was the main radical.

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