Distribution behavior and carcinogenic level of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in roadside soil at major traffic intercepts within a developing city of India

Abstract

A study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in roadside soil was conducted at a developing city locations of Jalandhar (Punjab), India in winter season to ascertain the contamination levels and their distribution behavior in roadside soil. PAHs concentration level of ten locations was measured at 1, 2, and 3 m distances from roadside soil covering all the major traffic intercepts within a city. Samples were extracted in acetone and dichloromethane (1:1) using soxhlet extraction. The extracts were filtered on a silica gel micro column to remove impurities and eluate was subjected to GC-FID. The total average PAHs concentration (city average) was found to be 4.04 μg g(-1), whereas the concentration of 16 individual PAHs was found to vary between 0.008 and 28.4 μg g(-1). The average concentration of noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic PAHs in all the samples was 2.17 and 6.41 μg g(-1) (ratio 1:2.95). The concentration of five ringed PAHs was found to be 45% to 60%, whereas two ringed PAHs were found to be in the range from 0.28% to 0.56% in all most all locations. The average highest PAHs concentration for any individual location was found as 12.23 μg g(-1) at DAV Chowk at 1 m distance and minimum concentration was 0.98 μg g(-1) at Maqsuda Chowk at 1 m distance from roadside. DiB (ah) A was the individual PAHs found in highest concentration in all the intercepts ranging between 1.26 and 28 μg g(-1). At most of the city intercepts, total carcinogenic PAHs concentration was found to range from 60% to 80% in comparison to noncarcinogenic PAHs (20%-40%) at most of the intercepts. The pollution level our study was compared with other cities of India/worldwide.

Intra- and inter-site variability of soil contamination in road shoulders – Implications for maintenance operations

“…the data synthesized by Marusenko et al (2011). The influence of traffic density was also supported by the results of Kumar and Kothiyal (2012), and to a lesser extent Marusenko et al (2011); in the latter case, the most influent factor was found to be soil organic matter. Conversely, Agarwal (2009) noticed a lack of correlation between total PAH concentrations and the soil's organic carbon, and stated that the variations of concentrations could be explained in terms of vehicular composition (two-wheelers, cars, heavy-duty vehicles), as well as immediate surroundings of the road that modify atmospheric transport mechanisms.…”

“…Spatial patterns of PAHs, however, do not appear to be as systematic as for metals: while Yang et al (1991) observed a consistently decreasing trend with increasing distance from the road, in other studies, the highest PAH concentrations were not always measured close to the road edge (Dierkes and Geiger, 1999;Marusenko et al, 2011;Piguet et al, 2008). Kumar and Kothiyal (2012), who analyzed soil samples collected at 1, 2, and 3 m from various roads, even found different patterns depending on the considered compound. For both metals and PAHs, it appears necessary to better characterize the spatial distribution of soil contamination in the first 2-3 meters from the road, so as to identify, where applicable, the area subject to the highest accumulation.…”

Assessment of pollution in roadside soils by using multivariate statistical techniques and contamination indices

“…The total population of Jalandhar was 2,193,590 according to 2011 census and it was projected to be 2,383,415 by 1st of October 2018. The District is interconnected by roads and is known for agriculture, textile industry, wood products, and spare parts of automobiles [22]. The samples were collected close to the National Highways roads connecting Jalandhar with Jammu and Amritsar, and Amritsar.…”

Automotive Wastes

“…distribution behavior of PAH were investigated during winter in roadside soil at major traffic intercepts within a developing city of Punjab, India (Kumar and Kothiyal, 2012). Average concentrations of 16 PAHs decreased with distance from 1 to 3 m at high traffic density intersections.…”