Determination of 23 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Atmospheric Particulate Matter of the Paris Area and Photolysis by Sunlight

Abstract

Twenty-three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined in atmospheric particulate matter in 4 places of the Paris area at several times of the year. Fractionation was performed by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Determination was done by recording emission or excitation fluorescence spectra via a stopped-flow technique. Triphenylene was also extemporaneously determined by its phosphorescence spectrum at low temperature. Among the PAH determined dibenz(e,ghi)perylene has not been detected before in atmospheric particulate matter. The 10 more abundant PAH ranged from 0.1 to 40 ng/m3 of filtered air. Concentrations in August are from 14 to 250 times less than in January depending on the PAH. The reasons for this difference of behaviour among the PAH were investigated with regard to their photochemical and non-photochemical reactivity.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Intertidal Marine Bivalves of Sunderban Mangrove Wetland, India: An Approach to Bioindicator Species

“…Interestingly, maximum values of all the 16 congeners (except for naphthalene) were recorded in S. acuminata inhabiting close to pollution sources (e.g., Baumard et al 1999).The abundance of HMW PAHs in S. acuminata was also typically encountered in atmospheric particles and urban aerosols (Muel and Saguem 1985;Sicre et al 1987), due to their low water solubility, low microbial degradation rate (Readman et al 1982), and high particulate affinity, compared with LMW PAHs. However, it should be noted that naphthalene was the most abundant LMW PAH, followed by phenanthrene.…”

Contamination and Ecotoxicology risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Shantou Coastal Waters, China

“…The theory of this origin index was based on the fact that the petrogenic contamination was characterized by the predominance of the lower molecular weight PAHs (tri-and tetra-aromatics) (Neff 1979;Wise et al 1988;Berner et al 1990), while the higher molecular weight PAHs dominate in pyrolytic PAH contamination (Muel and Saguem 1985). Examination of Table 3, shows that the LMW/HMW are higher than 1 (between 9 and 77) indicating the influence of petrogenic contaminants.…”

Identification of the sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons based on molecular and isotopic characterization from the Yangtze estuarine and nearby coastal areas

“…Previous studies demonstrated that parent PAHs were primarily produced by uncompleted combustion of fossil fuels and plant materials or natural diagenesis (Laflamme et al, 1978;Lake et al, 1979;Yunker et al, 1996). Of the combustion-derived PAHs, LMW PAHs (178-202) are primarily produced at low to moderate temperatures (Lake et al, 1979;Yunker et al, 1996), while HMW PAHs (228-276) are generated at high temperatures (Muel et al, 1985). It should be noted that petroleum-derived residues also contain relatively high abundances of 2-ring and 3-ring PAHs (Tolosa et al, 1996;Mai et al, 2003).…”