Characterization and health risk assessment of PM 2.5 -bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 5 urban cities of Zhejiang Province, China

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-12, Vol.9 (1), p.7296
• Main Authors: Mo, Zhe, Wang, Zhifang, Mao, Guangming, Pan, Xuejiao, Wu, Lizhi, Xu, Peiwei, Chen, Shuchang, Wang, Aihong, Zhang, Yongli, Luo, Jinbin, Ye, Xialiang, Wang, Xiaofeng, Chen, Zhijian, Lou, Xiaoming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43557-0

In 2015, we measured polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM ) collected from 5 cities in Zhejiang Province. The mean toxic equivalent quotient (TEQ) values of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) ranged between 1.2-3.1 ng/m . The BaP-TEQ displayed seasonal trends, such that winter > spring and autumn > summer. During the winter, the most abundant individual PAHs were 4-6ring PAHs (84.04-91.65%). The median daily intake of atmospheric PAHs ranged between 2.0-7.4 ng/day for all populations, with seasonal trends identical to that of BaP-TEQ. The 95 incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values induced by PM -bound PAHs were far lower than 10 for all populations. The data suggested that the pollution levels in the 5 Zhejiang Province cities were higher than the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In the future, relevant measures should be taken to control atmospheric PAHs, especially 4-6 ring PAHs. The data also revealed no obvious cancer risk for populations residing in these 5 cities of Zhejiang Province.