Abstract
Coal spontaneous combustion is known to emit a variety of organic carcinogenic pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the most prominent. The Wuda coalfield is a coal fire-prone region in northern China. Coal fire sponges (CFS), a sponge-like contaminated soil protrusion, occur widely in the Suhaitu mining area. PAHs concentrations in CFS were measured via GC × GC-TOFMS. The average total PAHs concentration in the central annulus (A) was 17,416 μg kg−1 and ranged from 292 to 218,251 μg kg−1. Moreover, the study exhibited a heavily contaminated level (1000 μg kg−1). Low molecular weight PAHs were dominant, accounting for more than 50% of the total PAHs. Among them, naphthalene (Nap) and phenanthrene (Phe) were the most prominent, and the correlation between Phe and Nap + Phe was highly significant (R2 > 0.9). Our findings indicated that Nap and Phe contents may constitute a novel indicator to identify coal fire emission sources. Cancer risk calculations indicated that all annulus is already at a potential risk stage (10−6–10−4) for child or adults. CFS is not only a coal fire-associated PAH sink but also an atmospheric PAH emission source and, therefore, warrants the attention of local authorities.
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We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled.
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This research is supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (41772157) and Independent research project of the State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining (SKLCRSM19ZZ03).
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ML involved in conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, and writing—review and editing. HL involved in funding acquisition, formal analysis, and writing—review and editing. PG involved in methodology and data curation. ZR involved in formal analysis and investigation. YL involved in conceptualization, supervision, and writing—review and editing.
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Liang, M., Liang, H., Gao, P. et al. Characterization and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions by coal fire in northern China. Environ Geochem Health 44, 933–942 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01009-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01009-7