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Modelling benzo[a]pyrene in air and vegetation for different land uses and assessment of increased health risk in the Iberian Peninsula

  • Biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution: possibilities and future challenges
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Abstract

The ability of the modelling system WRF + CHIMERE implemented with high spatial and temporal resolution over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) to represent the levels of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in air and vegetation was tested in areas where different land uses are observed. Biomonitoring data available on the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pine needles from the IP were used to estimate the atmospheric concentrations of BaP and, at the same time, fuelled the comparison of the vegetation representations given by the model. A total of 70 sites were sampled, including urban, industrial, rural and remote locations, which revealed different performances of the method for air and vegetation concentrations of BaP. The validation of this chemistry transport model (CTM) was complemented with the data available from the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) air sampling network. This, in association with a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) method, allowed the estimation of the increased risk of lung cancer due to exposure to BaPs in the IP for three target values set by the European Union.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been partially funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme-Marie Curie COFUND (FP7/2007–2013) under UMU Incoming Mobility Programme ACTion (U-IMPACT) Grant Agreement 267143. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the “Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional” (FEDER) are acknowledged for their partial funding (projects CGL2013-48491-R and CGL2014-59677-R). Nuno Ratola thanks the “Programa Jiménez de la Espada” (ref. 19641/IV/14) from Fundación Séneca—Science and Technology Agency in the Region of Murcia and Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero acknowledges the Ramón y Cajal programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics of the Earth, Regional Campus of International Excellence “Campus Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, Edificio CIOyN, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Nuno Ratola & Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero

  2. LEPABE-DEQ, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Nuno Ratola

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  1. Nuno Ratola
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Correspondence to Nuno Ratola.

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Ratola, N., Jiménez-Guerrero, P. Modelling benzo[a]pyrene in air and vegetation for different land uses and assessment of increased health risk in the Iberian Peninsula. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 11901–11910 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5394-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5394-6

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