Seasonal Variation and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Indoor and Outdoor Air in a Semi Arid Tract of Northern India

To assess the effect of floor levels of high-rise apartment buildings on the accumulation of contaminants in indoor environment, residential air-conditioner filter dust (ACFD) samples from the 1 st , 10 th , 20 th and 30 th floors of a high-rise apartment building were collected for the determination of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results show that both n-alkanes and PAHs in the residential ACFD were ubiquitous but varied greatly in concentrations. The total concentrations of 27 n-alkanes (Σ 27 AK) and 16 PAHs (Σ 16 PAH) ranged from 1.35 to 9290 µg g -1 and 278-34200 ng g -1 , respectively. Source apportionment revealed that n-alkanes were from mixed sources combining fossil fuel combustion, natural emission and solid biomass burning, but PAHs were mainly from indoor sources. Furthermore, the diagnostic ratio of paired low weight molecular PAH species may change during transportation and accumulation. Significantly higher concentrations of Σ 27 AK and Σ 16 PAH were observed in the samples from low floor levels (the 1 st and 10 th floors) compared to those from high floor levels (the 20 th and 30 th floors). The results of classification and regression tree analysis clearly suggested floor level is the most important factor influencing the accumulation of Σ 27 AK and Σ 16 PAH in the ACFD. Our findings imply that people living on lower floor levels have greater exposure risks to PAHs associated with indoor dust.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Effects of Height on the Accumulation of n-Alkanes and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Air-Conditioning Filter Dust from High-Rise Apartments

Wang

Qian

Liu

et al. 2017

“…Numerous papers are found in the literature (Zhu et al, 2010;Masih et al, 2012;Zhu et al, 2012). In general, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter are called "fine particles" or PM 2.5 (PM with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 μm).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Indoor Aerosols in College Laboratories

Chen

Lin

Tsai

et al. 2013

This study was conducted in National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), in Taiwan. The main objective was to provide quantitative information on concentrations of the indoor and outdoor PMs, as well as watersoluble ions, at seven selected locations and the spatial variations in four different types of typical laboratories. They include Type I: General Chemistry Laboratories (GCL); Type II: WCLTP during a semester and a summer vacation in college; Type III: Environmental Research Laboratories; and Type IV: Soil Research Laboratories and Field in NPUST. In addition, this paper also investigates the characteristics of indoor aerosols in college laboratories. Indoor and outdoor particulate matters with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) and 10 μm (PM 10 ) were sampled from June to September in 2002. The acid and base gases in outdoor samples and the amount of eight particle-bound water-soluble ions (NO 3 -, SO 4 2-, Cl -, NH 4 + , Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ ) were also determined. The results for laboratories Types I and II revealed that the mean PM 2.5 concentrations indoors in GCL (during a semester) and WCLTP (during a summer vacation) exceeded the air quality guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) of 20 μg/m 3 for PM 2.5 . The results also showed that the indoor concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in GCL increased by 4.9 and 1.7 times, respectively, during a semester as compared to the indoor measured data during a summer vacation. Students' laboratory activities in colleges thus deserve more attention, because these cause significant increases in the PM emissions.

“…According to the aerodynamic diameter, particles can be classified as PM 10 (< 10 μm diameter) and PM 2.5 (< 2.5 μm). Respirable PM includes and adsorbs several organic and inorganic compounds; many of them are toxic and/or carcinogenic as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (Goyer 1986;Lighty et al, 2000;Huggins et al, 2004;Masih et al, 2012). Although PAHs contribute minimally to PM mass (less than 0.1%), they contribute predominantly to the toxicity of PM 10 in urban areas (Pozzoli et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate Matter Toxicity Evaluation Using Bioindicators and Comet Assay

Vernile

Tutino

Bari

et al. 2013

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) characterizes the atmospheric air quality. PM particles can adsorb and include several toxic air pollutants of urban areas. The current study aimed to develop an experimental procedure to assess the toxicity of the pollutants on PM 10 by means of the comet assay on earthworms directly exposed to PM 10 collecting filters. A particular focus was the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the filter, in spite of their very low concentration in PM, because of their strong mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. A quartz filter exposed to polluted air containing 24.9 mg/g of PM 10 and 14.1 μg/g of PAHs was characterized and mechanically reduced into a very fine powder by means of a planetary ball mill. This powder was combined with artificial soil samples allowing treatments at 15 μg/g of PM 10 (0.008 μg/g of PAHs), 22.5 μg/g of PM 10 (0.012 μg/g of PAHs), 30 μg/g of PM 10 (0.016 μg/g of PAHs). Earthworms were exposed to each treatment for seven days, including blank treatments with powdered clean quartz filter, such as phenanthrene (used as the standard), and an untreated soil. DNA damage was observed starting from 0.012 μg/g of PAHs in 22.5 μg/g of PM 10 . No single PAH was detected or quantified in the bodies of the earthworms after microwave assisted solvent extraction (MASE) and GC-MS analysis. The results demonstrate that even a very low amount of PM 10 absorbed by the earthworms had a toxic effect on their immune systems, which could also have been caused by other xenobiotics included into the filter.