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Ambient distribution of particulate- and gas-phase n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Attention has been paid for the levels, sources and health risks of atmospheric aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (n-alkanes and PAHs) in remote areas, however, few studies have focused on those in the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, 18 pairs of atmospheric samples were obtained during the period from August 2006 to July 2007 in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Both gas-phase and particulate-phase n-alkanes and PAHs were measured. Concentrations of n-alkanes (gas + particulate phase, 99.1–480.9 ng/m3) and PAHs (gas + particulate phase, 11.4–72.5 ng/m3) in Lhasa are lower than those in many cities. The sources of n-alkanes related to biological and petroleum sources were 67 and 33%, respectively. According to the results of diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis, emission of traffic vehicles was one of the important PAH sources, and sources of benzo(a)pyrene was likely attributed to incense burning. Good simulations were obtained by traffic soot-based model for fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo(a)anthracene, while, wood soot-based model fitted the experimental results of benzo(a)pyrene better. This meant atmospheric fate of PAHs was mainly influenced by the adsorptive partitioning that occurred during traffic and incense burning procedures. In addition, the benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenic power (BaPE) in the present study (0.1–1.6 ng/m3) is lower than those in other cities and also the air quality standard of China, suggesting that atmospheric PAHs caused low health risks.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40501018 and 40871233) and Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-146).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China

    Ping Gong, Xiaoping Wang & Tandong Yao

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  1. Ping Gong
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  2. Xiaoping Wang
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  3. Tandong Yao
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Correspondence to Xiaoping Wang.

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Gong, P., Wang, X. & Yao, T. Ambient distribution of particulate- and gas-phase n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Tibetan Plateau. Environ Earth Sci 64, 1703–1711 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0974-3

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