scholarly journals Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Common Air Pollutants at Wajima, a Remote Background Site in Japan

Author(s):  
Xuan Zhang ◽  
Lulu Zhang ◽  
Lu Yang ◽  
Quanyu Zhou ◽  
Wanli Xing ◽  
...  

Background: Background sites are mainly affected by long-range-transported air pollutants, resulting in potential adverse effects on local atmospheric environments. A 4–5 year observational study was conducted to illustrate the air pollution profile at the Kanazawa University Wajima air monitoring station (KUWAMS), an ideal remote background site in Japan. Methods: Nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the particulate phase and various air pollutants were continuously monitored for 4–5 years. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs and back-trajectory analysis were applied to trace the possible sources of the air pollutants collected at the sampling site. Results: The atmospheric concentration of PAHs in the atmosphere at the site decreased from 2014 to 2019, benefit from the predominant air pollution control policy in China and Japan. Common air pollutants including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone, methane (CH4), and non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) were detected in low concentrations from 2016 to 2019, while ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM with a diameter less than 2.5 μm) were present in high levels that exceeded the Japanese standards. Most air pollutants peaked in spring and showed evident diurnal variations in spring and summer. Conclusions: This is the first study to clarify the atmospheric behaviors of multiple air pollutants at a background site in Japan. Significant external air pollutant impact and unneglectable air pollution were demonstrated at KUWAMS, indicating the importance of studying atmospheric pollution at remote sites.

Author(s):  
Takashi Kubo ◽  
Wenzhi Bai ◽  
Masaki Nagae ◽  
Yuji Takao

In order to clarify the level transboundary air pollution caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and genotoxic substances, aerosols were collected from forest and suburban sites in Nagasaki, west Japan, for 6 years. The PAH concentration was measured, and the genotoxicity of the substances were evaluated using the umu test. The results showed no notable trends in the concentration or toxicity of either sites throughout the study period. The suburban and forest sites shared similar seasonal fluctuation patterns and quantitative values, suggesting that the western end of Japan might be affected by long-range transported pollutants, especially in winter. PAH concentration and genotoxicity showed the same seasonal patterns of increased levels in winter and lower levels in summer. This suggests that PAHs and genotoxic substances were correlated and share common sources. Back trajectory and source analyses were conducted using the diagnostic ratios of PAHs. It was predicted that air pollution by PAHs at the forest site arise predominantly as a result of biomass or coal combustion in continental regions, such as northern parts of China and the Korean Peninsula. This is particularly expected in winter. Therefore, genotoxic substances would also be strongly influenced by transboundary pollution from the continental region. In addition, it was estimated that the contribution of transboundary PAH pollution could reach 70% at the suburban site in winter.


Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Rashid Mohammed ◽  
Zi-Feng Zhang ◽  
Chao Jiang ◽  
Ying-Hua Hu ◽  
Li-Yan Liu ◽  
...  

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 33 methylated PAHs (Me-PAHs), and 14 nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) were measured in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to study the removal efficiency of these compounds through the WWTPs, as well as their source appointment and potential risk in the effluent. The concentrations of ∑PAHs, ∑Me-PAHs, and ∑NPAHs were 2.01–8.91, 23.0–102, and 6.21–171 µg/L in the influent, and 0.17–1.37, 0.06–0.41 and 0.01–2.41 µg/L in the effluent, respectively. Simple Treat 4.0 and meta-regression methods were applied to calculate the removal efficiencies (REs) for the 63 PAHs and their derivatives in 10 WWTPs and the results were compared with the monitoring data. Overall, the ranges of REs were 55.3–95.4% predicated by the Simple Treat and 47.5–97.7% by the meta-regression. The results by diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis PCA showed that “mixed source” biomass, coal composition, and petroleum could be recognized to either petrogenic or pyrogenic sources. The risk assessment of the effluent was also evaluated, indicating that seven carcinogenic PAHs, Benzo[a]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene, and Benzo(a)anthracene were major contributors to the toxics equivalency concentrations (TEQs) in the effluent of WWTPs, to which attention should be paid.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Kukučka ◽  
Gerhard Lammel ◽  
Alice Dvorská ◽  
Jana Klánová ◽  
Andrea Möller ◽  
...  

Environmental context Is long-range transport from populated and industrialised areas to blame for pollution of remote regions? We report that, for the world's most remote region, Antarctica, and one prominent class of global pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, long-range transport from other continents has not contributed significantly to recent snow contamination. Rather, the major sources are regional scientific stations and ocean transport, mostly tourism. Abstract Firn samples attributed to the period between 2002 and 2005 were collected from a snow pit on the Ekström Shelf Ice in the Weddell Sea (70°43.8′S, 8°25.1′W). Low-volume meltwater samples (5 mL) were extracted by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The recovery of the analytical method for the 4–6 ring PAHs was low. PAH concentrations in snow were found within the range of 26–197 ng L–1. The most prevailing substances were determined to be naphthalene, 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene and phenanthrene, with naphthalene accounting for an overall mean of 82% of total PAH. Potential emission sources of PAHs in snow were studied using back-trajectory statistics and available emission data of combustion sources in and around Antarctica. The distance to the sources (ships and research stations) in this region was found to control the snow PAH concentrations. There was no indication for intercontinental transport or marine sources.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao Wang ◽  
Xiangzi Jin ◽  
Han Yeong Kaw ◽  
Zakia Fatima ◽  
Maurizio Quinto ◽  
...  

Abstract Due to their wide distribution and availability, plant leaves can be considered interesting candidates as biomonitoring substrates for the evaluation of atmospheric pollution. In addition, some species can also retain historical information, for example, related to environmental pollution, due to their leaf class age. In this study, the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Abies holophylla and Pinus tabuliformis needle samples in function of their class age has been investigated to obtain information regarding the degradation constant for each PAH under investigation (α values ranging from 0.173 to 1.870) and to evaluate the possibility to correlate the presence of PAHs in needles with some important pollution environmental factors. Considering air pollutant variables registered in Jilin Province, significant correlations (at 95% confidence level) have been found between coal consumption per year and anthracene contents in needles, while fluorene, phenanthrene, and anthracene resulted correlated with coal consumption. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the total PAH concentration in needles, for both species, increased with their age (from 804 to 3604 ng g− 1 dry weight), showing a general tendency to accumulate these substances through years. PAH degradation rates increased instead with molecular complexity. This study could be considered a first trial to obtain historical environmental information by pine needles biomonitoring.


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwubinuer Rekefu ◽  
Dilinuer Talifu ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
Yusan Turap ◽  
Mailikezhati Maihemuti ◽  
...  

PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 samples were simultaneously collected in Urumqi from January to December 2011, and 14 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined. The mean concentrations of total PAHs in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 were 20.90~844.22 ng m−3 and 19.65~176.5 ng m−3 respectively, with the highest in winter and the lowest in summer. Above 80% of PAHs were enriched in PM2.5, which showed remarkable seasonal variations compared to coarse particles. High molecular weight (HMW) PAHs were predominant in PM2.5 (46.61~85.13%), whereas the proportions of lower molecular weight (LMW) and HMW PAHs in PM2.5–10 showed a decreasing and an increasing trend, respectively, from spring to winter. The estimated concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene equivalent carcinogenic potency (BaPeq) in PM2.5 (10.49~84.52 ng m−3) were higher than that of in PM2.5–10 (1.15~13.33 ng m−3) except in summer. The estimated value of inhalation cancer risk in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 were 1.63 × 10−4~7.35 × 10−3 and 9.94 × 10−5~1.16 × 10−3, respectively, far exceeding the health-based guideline level of 10−4. Diagnostic ratios and positive matrix factorization results demonstrated that PAHs in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 were from similar sources, such as coal combustion, biomass burning, coking, and petroleum combustion, respectively. Coal combustion was the most important source for PAHs both in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10, accounting for 54.20% and 50.29%, respectively.


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