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Characteristics, sources, and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban surface dust: a case study of the city of Xi’an in Northwest China

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Urban surface dust is an important carrier of PAHs. To investigate the characteristics, sources, and health risk of PAHs in urban surface dust, this study collected urban surface dust samples from Xi’an, the largest city in Northwest China and one of the cities with severe smog occurrences in China. The total concentration of 16 US EPA priority PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 5.0 to 48 mg/kg, with an average of 14 mg/kg. The seven carcinogenic PAHs accounted for 21 to 65 % of the ∑16PAHs. Higher levels of PAHs were found in its industrial, traffic, and mixed commercial and traffic districts. The PAHs were dominated by four-ring PAHs, and the predominant components were Fla, Phe, Chy, and Pyr. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that the PAHs originated mainly from the combustion of fossil fuel as well as coal and wood, and petroleum emission. The toxic equivalency quantities (TEQs) of urban surface dustborne PAHs ranged from 0.25 to 8.3 mg/kg, with a mean of 1.8 mg/kg. The 95 % upper confidence limit of incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) due to human exposure to urban surface dustborne PAHs was 8.2 × 10−5 for children and 7.3 × 10−5 for adults.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grant 41271510, the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province through Grant 2014JM5208, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University through Grants GK201302032 and GK201402032.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, China

    Lijun Wang, Li Wang, Xingmin Shi & Xinwei Lu

  2. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, 1 Forestry Dr., Syracuse, NY, 13201, USA

    Wendong Tao & Richard C. Smardon

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  1. Lijun Wang
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  2. Li Wang
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Correspondence to Lijun Wang.

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Wang, L., Wang, L., Tao, W. et al. Characteristics, sources, and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban surface dust: a case study of the city of Xi’an in Northwest China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 13389–13402 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6528-1

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