Chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ClPAHs) are a group of halogenated contaminants found in the urban environment with a toxic potential similar to dioxins. Little is well-known on the distribution and characteristics of ClPAHs on urban surfaces. In this study, concentrations of 20 ClPAH congeners were measured in road dust and soil from crossroads along arterial traffic, park and lake areas, a chemical industrial complex, waste incineration power plants nearby, and a steel factory in Shanghai. ClPAHs are ubiquitous and log-normally distribute in urban surface with a range from 0.27 to 206 ng/g dw for dust, and with a range from 0.05 to 94.3 ng/g dw for soils. The highest mean concentration of total 20 ClPAHs is found in floor dust from a steel factory. ClPyr and ClPhe are predominant in road dust, which infers that ClPAHs detected in the urban surface dust samples originate from vehicle exhaust.

The compositional profiles and health risks of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed with urban surface dust and soil samples from industrial, traffic and green areas in Shanghai. The total concentration of ∑8PBDE in urban surface dust ranged from 1.90 to 162 ng/g with a mean value of 29.6 ng/g, while the total concentration of ∑8PBDE in urban surface soil ranged from 1.09 to 39.9 ng/g with a mean value of 9.46 ng/g. ∑PBDEs have a higher concentration in urban dust samples as compared to urban soil samples. Cancer risks were calculated by Average Daily Dose (ADD) for human exposure to urban surface dust and soil containing PBDEs. Concentrations in Shanghai were 3.66×10-4 and 5.85×10-5 for children, and 1.58×10-4 and 6.44×10-5 for adults. Meanwhile, the health risk assessment has indicated that the intake of PBDEs via ingestion and dermal contact were higher than that via inhalation.

Concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in road dust and soil from different functional urban areas in Shanghai. The ΣPAHs concentrations varies from 99.4 to 66900 ng/g dw, where the highest one is found in dust from a chemical industry producing black carbon. The mean concentrations of ΣPAHs for dust increase in the following order of land uses: park and lake area DBahA > BbF > IDP > BkF > BaA > Chr, underlining the importance of BaP as a surrogate compound of a PAHs mixute.