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Spatial Characteristics and Major Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Soil and Respirable Particulate Matter in a Mega-City, China

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Abstract

As one of China’s great metropolises, Taiyuan is generally recognized to be one of the most polluted cities from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the world. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine a total of 16 PAH concentrations in various environmental media in Taiyuan. The total PAHs concentration ranged from 1.0 to 26 μg g−1 in soil, 1.2 × 102 to 1.4 × 103 ng m−3 in PM 2.5 and 76 to 1.1 × 103 ng m−3 in PM 10, respectively. Furthermore, the primary source of PAHs was coal combustion, but the samples were also affected to varying degrees by traffic emissions.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. 2007BAC27B01) and the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (No. 20707031). We thank the research staff in Inst. Geochem. Geophys. Exploration. especially Prof. Cheng and Prof. Liu for sample collection and technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Post Office Box 2871, 18 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100085, People’s Republic of China

    Shan Fu, Zhong-Zhi Yang, Ke Li & Xiao-Bai Xu

  2. Department of Public Health, Xinxiang Medical College, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Zhi Yang

Authors
  1. Shan Fu
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  2. Zhong-Zhi Yang
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  3. Ke Li
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  4. Xiao-Bai Xu
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Correspondence to Shan Fu.

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Fu, S., Yang, ZZ., Li, K. et al. Spatial Characteristics and Major Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Soil and Respirable Particulate Matter in a Mega-City, China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 85, 15–21 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-010-0026-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-010-0026-9

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