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Preliminary Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Air Particles (PM10) in Amritsar, India: Sources, Apportionment, and Possible Risk Implications to Humans

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Abstract

Preliminary analysis was performed to assess human health risks of exposure to 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by way of inhalation by children and adults living in urban area of Amritsar, Punjab, India. In particular, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) 16 priority PAH compounds were analyzed in air particulate matter (PM10) from different geographical locations by high-volume air sampler. Sum concentrations of PAHs (37–274 ng m−3) were comparable with those of other cities in India as well many cities on a global scale. Pyrene, naphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, fluoranthene, fluorene, and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene accounted for >80 % of ∑16PAH concentrations. Furthermore, the contribution of seven carcinogenic PAHs accounted for 12 % of ∑16PAHs. The estimated carcinogenicity of PAHs in terms of benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency (BaPTEQ) was assessed and confirmed that dibenzo(a,h)anthracene was the dominant PAH contributor (88.7 %) followed by benzo(a)pyrene (6.67 %). Homolog pattern and diagnostic ratios of PAHs suggested that mixed pyrogenic sources—including biomass burning, coal combustion, and petrogenic sources, such as vehicular emissions—are dominant PAH sources in Amritsar. Health risk of adults and children by way of PAHs was assessed by estimating the lifetime average daily dose (LADD) and corresponding incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) using USEPA guidelines. The assessed cancer risk (ILCR) was found to be within the acceptable range (10−6–10−4).

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the chairman and member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board for providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure at National Reference Trace Organics Laboratory. The authors are also thankful to Rajinder Singh, laboratory attendant, and other laboratory staff members of the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India, for help during sampling. Help from staff members of the National Reference Trace Organics Laboratory during sample processing and analysis is also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143005, Punjab, India

    Simerpreet Kaur & Jatinder Kaur Katnoria

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Savannah State University, Savannah, 31404, GA, USA

    Kurunthachalam Senthilkumar & C. S. Sharma

  3. National Reference Trace Organics Laboratory, Central Pollution Control Board, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi, 110032, India

    V. K. Verma, Bhupander Kumar & Sanjay Kumar

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  1. Simerpreet Kaur
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Kaur, S., Senthilkumar, K., Verma, V.K. et al. Preliminary Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Air Particles (PM10) in Amritsar, India: Sources, Apportionment, and Possible Risk Implications to Humans. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 65, 382–395 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9912-6

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