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Effects of urbanization on gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in a coastal city, China: levels, sources, and health risks

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Abstract

Gas/particle distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in Xiamen from May 2009 to March 2010 to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on the fate of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmospheric environment. In a newly developing area (NDA), the concentrations of 16 PAHs (gas + particle) were significantly higher than that a historically urbanized area (HUA) (p value <0.05), while the trend of 28 PCBs was reversed. Diagnostic ratios and principle component analysis (PCA) implied that atmospheric PAHs in the NDA were mainly derived from petrogenic combustion, including mixed sources of vehicle emissions, biomass burning and oil combustion, while pyrogenic combustion (e.g., traffic and coal combustion) was considered the major source of PAHs in the HUA. Atmospheric PCBs in both HUA and NDA were dominated by TriCBs and PeCBs related to the use of commercial mixtures (Aroclors 1242 and 1254). Based on the toxicological equivalent factor (TEF) approach, total benzo[a]pyrene equivalent values in the HUA and NDA were 1.12 and 2.02 ng m−3, respectively, exceeding the standard threshold values (1.0 ng m−3) of China and WHO. Average daily intake of dioxin-like compounds was 0.2 pg kg−1 day−1 in the HUA, which are below the WHO tolerable daily intake level. The results showed that the contribution to the toxic equivalency (TEQ) was dominated by PCB169, PCB105, and PCB81.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo City, China (no. 2014A610100 & 2014A610103), the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. KJZDEW-TZ-G06-02), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1405235, no.41303072 and 21207126), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (no. 2011J05033 and 2013J05063), and the State Scholarships Foundation (no.201304910080). We gratefully thank Dr. Nathan Dodder from Southern California Coastal Water Research Project for his comments and English polishing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China

    Youwei Hong, Jinsheng Chen, Han Zhang, Lingling Xu, Liqian Yin & Yanting Chen

  2. Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315800, People’s Republic of China

    Youwei Hong, Jinsheng Chen, Han Zhang, Lingling Xu, Liqian Yin & Yanting Chen

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Youwei Hong

  4. Environmental Monitoring Center of Fujian, Fuzhou, 350003, China

    Fuwang Zhang

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  1. Youwei Hong
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Correspondence to Jinsheng Chen or Han Zhang.

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Hong, Y., Chen, J., Zhang, F. et al. Effects of urbanization on gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in a coastal city, China: levels, sources, and health risks. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 14919–14931 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4616-2

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