JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

Dust deposited on the leaves of trees can be effectively used as the monitors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The dust deposited on the leaves can be used as an appropriate index for evaluating PAHs in the atmosphere. This research was conducted to determine the origin and health risk assessment of PAHs accumulated on the leaves of trees in the city of Ahvaz. For this purpose, samples were taken at leaves on 10 points with different land uses including industrial, recreational, high-traffic and residential ones. After preparation, to determine the type and concentration of PAHs, the compounds were analyzed by GC-MS. The results showed that 15 types of PAHs had been identified from 16 important compounds identified by EPA in the dust samples. The concentration of compounds was the range of 3.3-110 microgram per kilogram. The maximum and minimum of PAHs carcinogenic in particles trapped on leaves were in the Kut-Abdolah with 530 ppb and Shahrvand Park Station with 5.13 ppb, respectively. Also, the average relative of LMW/HMW in the aromatics contained in the deposition of particles on trees was 0.5; further the analysis of the main components of aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) showed that there was  no specific source for these compounds in Ahvaz, and these compounds could be from fossil fuels, urban traffic, natural gas,   generally showing a pyrogenic origin.

Individuals spend a lot of time indoors, thus they can generally be exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as a teratogen, mutagen, and carcinogen pollutants with the potential for environmental and also human health risks. Therefore, the current study was performed to analyze PAHs in household dust samples of the city of Khorramabad, Iran in 2019. A total of 50 indoor dust samples were collected from 10 sampling sites. After the extraction of analytes, the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was used to determine PAHs in the studied samples. All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS software. The results showed that 16 priority PAHs were detected in the samples with the minimum, maximum, and mean values of 14.0, 23.3, and 19.2 µg/kg. Also, based on the results the mean contents of detected PAHs were lower than the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) established by MHWS and Iran DOE. In conclusion, due to exposure risks of PAHs, regular and periodic analysis of these pollutants in different environmental samples including soil, sediment, dust, particulate matter, air, water, and tissues of living organisms for environmental and human health maintenance is recommended.