Abstract
Emerging pollutants, nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs), and halogenated PAHs (HPAHs), in atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in four cities (Taiyuan, Yangquan, Changzhi, and Jincheng) during the non-heating and heating periods of Shanxi province, China, in 2020, were monitored to investigate their pollution characteristics and potential health risk. The exposure levels of PM2.5-bound ∑16PAHs, ∑13NPAHs, ∑6ClPAHs, and ∑7BrPAHs during the heating period ascended compared to the non-heating period. 2N-Nap, 1N-Nap, 2N-Fle, and 9N-Phe were primary monomers in NPAHs with higher concentrations, while higher levels of 2Br-Fle, 2Cl-Ant, and 9Cl-Phe were in HPAHs. Toxic equivalency quotients (TEQs), incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), and loss of life expectancy (LLE) results suggested that PM2.5-bound PAHs during the heating periods posed a potential carcinogenic risk. The ILCR and loss of life expectancy (LLE) values of PM2.5-bound PAHs showed a similar decreasing trend with an order: adults (age 30–70) > toddler >adults (age 18–30) > teenagers > children >baby. The TEQ and ILCR values of ∑13NPAHs and ∑13HPAHs in PM2.5 were far below the safety threshold, indicating no obvious cancer risks. The pollution of PM2.5-bound PAHs, NPAHs, and HPAHs and potential health risks in Yangquan and Changzhi was more serious compared to Taiyuan and Jincheng.
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Data availability
The data presented in this study are available in the article’s accompanying Supplementary Materials.
Abbreviations
- HPAHs:
-
halogenated-PAHs
- LLE:
-
loss of life expectancy
- ILCR:
-
incremental lifetime cancer risk
- NPAHs:
-
nitro-PAHs
- 9-NAnt:
-
9-nitroanthracene
- 1-NFlu:
-
1-nitrofluoranthene
- 1N-Pyr:
-
1-nitropyrene
- 6N-Chr:
-
6-nitrochrysene
- 3-NPhe:
-
3-nitrophenanthrene
- PAHs:
-
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- PBDEs:
-
polybrominated diphenyl ethers
- PM2.5 :
-
fine particulate matter
- TEQ:
-
toxic equivalency quotient.
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Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22176116), the Project on Social Development by the Shanxi Science and Technology Department (201903D321079), and the Hundred Talents Program of Shanxi Province in China (2017-7).
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Zhiping Li: data obtaining and curation, component measurement, writing — original draft. Qianlong Hao: data analysis, writing — original draft. Jianwei Yue: particle sampling, component measurement. Jie Qin: data analysis. Chuan Dong: particle sampling. Yong Li: component measurement. Ken Kin Lam Yung: writing — reviewing, project administration. Ruijin Li: conceptualization, supervision, project administration.
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ESM 1
Fig. S1 Statistics of economic, energy, industrial and environmental indicators in typical areas of Shanxi province in 2019. Fig. S2 Spatial variation of PM2.5 concentration during the non-heating period in typical areas of Shanxi province. Fig. S3 Spatial variation of PM2.5 concentration during the heating period in typical areas of Shanxi province. Fig. S4 Ternary diagram of PAHs in PM2.5 during the non-heating period (left) and heating period (right) in typical areas of Shanxi province. Table S1 Pretreatment process for PM2.5 sampling membrane and PAHs, NPAHs, and HPAHs measurement. Table S2 Abbreviations and qualitative characteristic ions of PAHs, NPAHs, and HPAHs. Table S3 Analytical methods for PAHs, NPAHs, and HPAHs. Table S4 Recoveries of analysis methods for PAHs, NPAHs, and HPAHs. Table S5 PAHs and NPAHs characteristic ratio method indicates the source. Table S6 Parameters used in the TEQ calculation formula. Table S7 Parameters used in the ILCR calculation formula (DOCX 1444 kb)
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Li, Z., Hao, Q., Yue, J. et al. Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitro-PAHs, and halogenated-PAHs in Shanxi, China. Air Qual Atmos Health 17, 723–735 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-023-01475-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-023-01475-1