Seasonal Influence on Vapor-and Particle-Phase Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Concentrations in School Communities Located in Southern California

Abstract

The authors thank the respective school districts participating in the Children's Health Study (California Air Resources Board Contract A033-186) for their cooperation and use of facilities. We also thank Steven Barbosa and Pablo Cicero-Fernandez for helpful discussions and insights. This research was supported by the Southern California Particle Center and Supersite (US EPA Grants #R827352-01-0 and CR-82805901). Although the research described in this article has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it has not been subjected to the Agency's required peer and policy review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. Support was also provided by NIEHS Center Grant SP30ES07048-02.Address correspondence to Antonio H. Miguel, Southern California Particle Center and Supersite, Institute of the Environment, University of California, CHS 51.297, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA. E-mail: ahmiguel@ucla.eduThe presented data underscore the importance of seasonal variations on atmospheric PAH concentrations. These observations are relevant to future interpretation and analysis of community-scale human health effects research.

Redox and electrophilic properties of vapor- and particle-phase components of ambient aerosols

“…The DTT values averaged 0.14 (± 0.02 SEM) nmol/min/ m 3 , suggesting that ambient levels of chemical components contributing to the activity were very similar. This observation is consistent with previous studies which have shown that vapor-phase levels of quinones, the likely contributors to vapor-phase redox activity, do not significantly vary with season (Eiguren-Fernandez et al 2007; Eiguren-Fernandez et al 2004). …”

PAH and OPAH Flux during the Deepwater Horizon Incident

“…This observation lends support to the idea that elevated levels were due to a specific input(s) disrupting typical environmental conditions, and not simply a shift in partitioning between the vapor and aerosol phase. 56-58 A study performed in Oregon on the Willamette River in the Portland Harbor Superfund found dissolved OPAH concentrations in water ranging from 6 ng/L to 50 ng/L. 34 This observation by O'Connell et al .…”

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in primary school environments: Levels and potential risks

“…In addition, the available studies were conducted with different approaches, variation of the considered PAH congeners, and often PAHs analysed in different PM fractions (mainly in coarse fraction, or even unspecified); all of these further complicate the comparisons between the reported findings. As for data available for PM 2.5 -bound PAHs, Eiguren-Fernandez et al (2007) reported total concentrations of 15 compounds in a range of 0.4-1.8 ng m −3 in indoor air of schools in Southern California. Analyzing the same 15 PAHs, Krugly et al (2014) found much higher levels of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs (20.1-131 ng m −3 )in indoor air of schools in Lithuania.…”

“…Data available for primary schools (i.e. children 6-11yearsold)comefromafew European studies (Alves et al, 2014;Carpente and Bushkin-Bedient, 2013;Cirillo et al, 2006;Jovanović et al, 2014;Krugly et al, 2014;Moshammer and Neuberger, 2003;Romagnoli et al, 2014), Asia (Jyethi et al, 2014;Ruchirawat et al, 2006Ruchirawat et al, , 2007Tuntawiroon et al, 2007) and USA (Eiguren-Fernandez et al, 2007). However, the majority of those were typically conducted in a limited number of schools (typically 1-2 schools; only two known studies used a greater number of schools, namely 5 and 6; Krugly et al, 2014;Romagnoli et al, 2014), often situated just in one/same type of environment.…”