PAHs in the urban air of Sarajevo: levels, sources, day/night variation, and human inhalation risk

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants derived from pyrolysis and pyrosynthesis processes. Industrial activity, motor vehicle emission, and domestic combustion are the main sources of PAHs in the urban atmosphere. In this work, samples collected during the day and night in the urban area of Sarajevo are analyzed separately for gaseous and particle-bound PAHs; the possible origin of PAHs at the receptor site was suggested using different methods applied to the solid phase and to the total PAHs (gaseous + particulate phase). Finally, the risk level in Sarajevo associated to the carcinogenic character of the studied PAHs has been assessed. The result of this study suggests that (a) the total PAH concentrations were higher than those reported in other European cities; (b) the PAH daytime concentrations are higher than nocturnal concentrations: the sum of the PAH day/night ratios is 1.52 (gas) and 1.45 (particle phase); (c) stationary combustion and traffic were suggested to be the main sources of PAHs; (d) the average particle-bound benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) concentration (5.4 ng/m(3)) is higher than EU target annual value (1 ng/m(3)); and (e) PAH cancer risk exceeds the carcinogenic benchmark level recommended by the EPA mainly due to BaP during both the day and night periods.

Summertime Day-Night Differences of PM2.5 Components (Inorganic Ions, OC, EC, WSOC, WSON, HULIS, and PAHs) in Changzhou, China

“…Table 3 shows that the nighttime ΣPAHs concentrations are higher (3.64 ng/m 3 vs. 2.34 ng/m 3 ) than those during daytime. This day-night difference is similar to that found in Xiamen [61] but opposite to that from Sarajevo (day/night = 1.45) [62]. Specifically, high molecular weight PAHs (5-6 rings) exhibit remarkably higher loadings during nighttime (average night/day ratio of 2.20), while the day-night differences are insignificant for low molecular weight PAHs (2-3 rings) (average night/day ratio of 0.99) and medium molecular weight PAHs (4-rings) (average night/day ratio of 1.21).…”

Sources and Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ambient Total Suspended Particles in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

“…This risk level was estimated by multiplying the slope factor (SF) by the life average daily dose for the carcinogenic substance (LADD); in turn, LADD is obtained by multiplying the concentration of a substance (CC) by the intake factor (IF). The equation used for the calculation of the risk level is as follows [30,34,35].…”

“…A Slope Factor (mg·kg −1 ·day −1 ) is an estimate of the probability of the response per unit chemical intake over a lifetime. It is used to estimate the probability of an individual developing cancer as a result of the lifetime exposure to a certain level of potential carcinogen [34,35]. The SF depends on the inhalation unit risk (IUR) and is the potency factor for inhalation exposure (Table 3).…”

“…A final health risk level is expressed as the sum of the individual risks of each compound. A significant total risk is found when the risk exceeds 1 × 10 −3 [32,35].…”

Air Quality Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…The environmental health and economic analysis relies on primary data and publications from the FBiH and RS (FHMI 2016(FHMI , 2017MAENR-RS 2016) as well as from various reports that summarize this information (BreatheLife 2030 3 ; EEA 2018; UN SDG 2018). The analysis also uses peer-reviewed publications on Western Balkans (Bartoš et al 2009;De Pieri et al 2014;HEAL 2016;Quartz 2018) Landrigan et al 2017). The economic costs of these health effects are assessed using standard valuation techniques that present the economic value of the attributable mortality in monetary terms (Lindhjem et al 2011;Narain and Sall 2016) Analysis of key sources of PM2.5 exposure.…”