Pollution levels and deposition processes of airborne organic pollutants over the central Adriatic area: Temporal variabilities and source identification

Carcinogenic Activity and Risk Assessment of PAHs in Ambient Air: PM10 Particle Fraction and Bulk Deposition

“…The detailed procedure for extraction and analysis of PAHs in bulk deposition samples was described in an earlier paper [ 17 , 18 ]. In brief, deposition samples were filtered using glass microfiber filters and extracted with n-hexane for 15 min in an ultrasonic bath.…”

“…Analysis was carried out by a gas chromatograph (Agilent Technologies 7890B, Santa Clara, CA, USA) coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies 7000C, Santa Clara, CA, USA). The conditions of gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer were described in a previous paper [ 17 , 18 ]. Quantification limits (QL) for PAHs in bulk deposition were 0.080–0.298 ng mL −1 .…”

“…Atmospheric deposition is one of the main removal mechanisms of toxic compounds from the atmosphere to aquatic and terrestrial systems [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Atmospheric deposition occurs as dry, wet and gas deposition.…”

“…The bulk deposition is an operational definition, described as the total deposition of material (wet and dry) to a continuously open collector [ 19 , 20 ]. Over the past several decades, interest for organic composition of atmospheric deposition has increased [ 18 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. PAHs in atmospheric deposition can affect human health directly by ingestion and dermal contact only in the areas where collected rainwater is used directly for washing or drinking.…”

“…Previous studies in Croatia were based mostly on the determination of PAH levels in particulate matter [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], and only a few studies have considered PAHs in deposition samples [ 17 , 18 ]. The carcinogenic activity of PAHs was estimated only for particulate matter at different locations in Croatia [ 36 , 38 ].…”