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Fine particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vehicles in Rome, Italy

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Abstract

Urban commuters are exposed to elevated levels of air pollutants, especially in heavily polluted areas and traffic congested roads. In order to assess the contribution of commuting to citizens’ exposure, measurements of fine particulate (PM2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were carried out in cars, busses, and metro trains, within the LIFE+ EXPAH Project. Monitoring campaigns were performed in Rome, Italy, from April 2011 to August 2012. Inside the busses, the concentration of total PAHs ranged from 2.7 to 6.6 ng/m3 during the winter and from 0.34 to 1.51 ng/m3 in the summer. In cars, internal concentrations were in the range 2.2–7.3 and 0.46–0.82 ng/m3, respectively, in the 2-year time. Analogous differences between seasons were observed examining the benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenicity. In the metro trains, total PAHs ranged from 1.19 to 2.35 ng/m3 and PM2.5 ranged from 17 to 31 μg/m3. The PM2.5 concentration in all transport modes ranged from 10 to 160 μg/m3 during the cold season and 15–48 μg/m3 during the warm time. The average inside-to-outside ratio (R I/O) was found to exceed 1.0 for PM2.5 only in busses, probably due to dust re-suspension caused by crowding and passenger activity. The molecular PAH signature suggests that vehicle emissions and biomass combustion were the major sources of commuters’ exposure to these toxicants in Rome. According to linear regression analysis, the PAH concentrations inside the vehicles were linked to those detected outside. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the in-vehicle locations and the urban pollution network stations, with higher PAH values detected, on the average, in these latter.

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Abbreviations

(BaA):

Benz[a]anthracene

(BbjkF):

Benzo[bjk]fluoranthene

(BaP):

Benzo[a]pyrene

(IP):

Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene

(DBA):

Dibenz[ah]anthracene

(BPE):

Benzo[ghi]perylene

∑8PAHs:

Total PAH

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the EU LIFE+ instrument, which has supported the EXPAH project. Dr. Giuliano Fontinovo for processing map and Dr. Luca Tofful for excellent technical assistance in sampling operations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Via Salaria km 29.3, Monterotondo, P.O. Box 10, 00015, Rome, Italy

    Paola Romagnoli, Catia Balducci & Angelo Cecinato

  2. Department of Occupational Hygiene, INAIL, Via F. Candida, Monte Porzio Catone, 00040, Rome, Italy

    Nunziata L’Episcopo, Claudio Gariazzo, Maria Pia Gatto, Andrea Gordiani & Monica Gherardi

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  1. Paola Romagnoli
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  2. Catia Balducci
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  3. Angelo Cecinato
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  4. Nunziata L’Episcopo
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  5. Claudio Gariazzo
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  6. Maria Pia Gatto
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  8. Monica Gherardi
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Correspondence to Paola Romagnoli.

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Responsible editor: Constantini Samara.

Highlights

• The commuters’ exposure to particle-bound PAHs in Rome, Italy, was evaluated.

• Commuters’ exposure could exceeded the annual mean European target value for BaP (1.0 ng/m3) in winter.

• Change associated with commuting by busses, cars, and metro trains was examined.

• The indoor/outdoor ratio of PAHs was close to one for busses and slightly lower for cars.

• The in-vehicle exposure to PM2.5 was statistically higher than the urban background.

Electronic supplementary material

Table S1

Validation parameters of the GC/MS method (EURACHEM 1998) (limit of definition (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), number of replicates (n). (DOCX 12 kb)

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Romagnoli, P., Balducci, C., Cecinato, A. et al. Fine particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vehicles in Rome, Italy. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 3493–3505 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8098-7

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