Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Toxic Equivalency Factor and Related Carcinogenic Potencies in Roadside Soil within a Developing City of Northern India

Abstract

Preliminary analysis was performed to assess contamination levels in roadside soils, distribution behavior and human exposure with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) during summer, winter, rainy, and autumn during 2013 in one of the developing cities of northern India. The concentration of PAHs was measured at ten different locations (at 1, 2, and 3 m) from roadside soil. Recovery range was 30% and 80% with lower value corresponding to the lower molecular weight PAHs compound. Identification and quantification of PAHs was done by GC-FID. Average PAHs concentration (city average) was found to be 16.53, 4.04, 17.49, and 7.82 μg g⁻¹, during summer, winter, autumn, and the rainy seasons, respectively. Average concentration of low and high carcinogenic PAHs during summer, winter, autumn, and rainy was 5.1 and 31.29, 2.1 and 6.4, 4.74 and 35.08, 3.97 and 12.77μg g⁻¹_, respectively. The average ratio of low and high carcinogenic PAHs was found to be 1:6, 1:3, 1:7.6, and 1:3.21 during summer, winter, autumn, and the rainy seasons at most intercepts. Dib(ah)A and B(a)P were the two individual PAHs found in highest concentration during summer, winter, and the rainy seasons, whereas B(a)P and IP were individual PAHs found in highest concentration during autumn. It was also analyzed that high carcinogenic PAHs concentration was quite higher (around 85%) in comparison to low carcinogenic PAHs (around 15%) at most intercepts. This article also deals with the behavior of PAHs at places of average/high population and traffic density intercepts. Five-ringed PAHs were in highest concentration at all intercepts and seasons. Two-tailed T test was applied for authenticity of the data and results. Toxic equivalency factor of B(a)P and Dib(ah)A was maximum as compared to other PAHs.

Key Words:

• concentration
• gas chromatography
• pollutants
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• season

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors are grateful to authorities Dr. BR Ambedkar and National Institute of Technology Jalandhar for providing necessary laboratory facilities and infrastructure to carry out the present research work.

FUNDING

Vaneet Kumar is thankful to Ministry of Human Resource Development New Delhi for providing fellowship (No. F. 9-2/2007 TS.I).