Investigation of Ambient Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Populated Middle Eastern City

Abstract

Characteristics, sources and health risks of atmospheric PM₁₀-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on residents living in different regions of Ahvaz, Southwest Iran were investigated during 2016–2017. 84 samples were taken from the different regions: (S1) industrial; (S2) high traffic and (S3) residential sites in Ahvaz metropolitan. Urinary samples were collected from people who came to the east health center of Ahvaz. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and PAHs levels were analyzed by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Exposure and risk assessment (Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR), Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD) and hazard index (HI)) of these pollutants were estimated, using USEPA’s exposure parameters. Results of this study showed that in the air of residential and industrial areas observed the lowest and the highest level of PAHs, respectively. High molecular weight compounds (2–4rings), contributed to 85% of ∑PAHs mass in the atmospheric PM₁₀-bound samples. Industrial processing and petroleum refining, were identified to be major outdoor resources of PAHs. Based on the result of this study, the highest and the lowest concentration of PAHs metabolites were observed in the industrial and residential areas. Average urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels of S1, S2 and S3 regions were 0.4735; 1.311 and 1.4942 ng/dL, respectively. The values of ILCR in cold (0.06913) and warm (0.052854) seasons were higher than EPA which, was significantly correlated with the concentration of PAHs. In conclusion, increasing exposure concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons would have a significant potential for increased ILCR and risk of health endpoint. ILCR in different areas was significantly higher than standard. Our results show that the air quality of Ahvaz city was in an unfavorable condition and increasing exposure concentration of PAHs would have a significant potential for increased ILCR and risk of diseases.

Keywords:

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• health risks
• urinary biomarker
• 1-hydroxypyrene
• Iran

Acknowledgment

This work was part of a funded PhD thesis of Mohammad Javad Mohammadi, a student at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS), and the financial support of this study (U-95094) was provided by AJUMS.

Disclosure statement

E. Idani has held several government positions in the Ministry of Health and National Medical Council, and was the Governmental University Chancellor of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, which provided financial support for the study. The authors confirm that these roles and any other governmental positions or membership of relevant committees, did not influence the outcomes of the research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was part of a funded PhD thesis of Mohammad Javad Mohammadi, a student at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS), and the financial support of this study (U-95094) was provided by AJUMS.