Environmental Impact of 2A 2B Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Industrial Soil: status, Profile, Concentration, and Assessment to Humans Health Risks

Abstract

Due to the negative effects on people’s health and the environment caused by the amount of soil pollutants caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from various sources, especially in industrial areas, and the spread of pollutants in nearby neighborhoods, as well as the extent to which children and adults, especially young people, are affected by soil intake, direct skin contact with the soil, or inhalation of contaminated soil dust due to their behavior. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which industrial areas, particularly the auto industry in the city of Riyadh, are impacted by pollution brought on by PAHs (2 A and 2B), which are known to cause cancer. Naseem Industrial (NAI), Old Industrial (OLI), Gulf Industrial (GUI), Al-Shifa Industrial (SHI), and Umm Al-Hamam Industrial (UMH). Surface soil from the industrial districts, ranging in depth from 0 to 10 cm, as well as from the neighborhoods close by. The percentage of pollution by PHAs according to the Agency for Research on Cancer classified BaP, DBA, and BaA as probable human carcinogens (2 A) while BbF, BkF, and IND as possible human carcinogens (2B). IARC has evaluated Nap and CRY and classed them as potentially carcinogenic for humans. The extraction method is swift, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) for the ∑8 PAHs and GC-MS used to estimate the results in the extracted samples. The sole risk identified as having potential for both adults and children was exposure to BaP and DBA in street dust in different land areas in Riyadh. Mean ILCR_ing and ILCR_der values ​​and cancer risk based on mean total concentrations of PAHBaP_equi for children and adults exposed to PAHs in street dust in different regions of Riyadh were found between 10⁻⁹ and 10⁻⁴, indicating a potential risk.

Keywords:

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAs)
• soil industrial pollution
• carcinogenic
• humans health risks

Author contributions

All authors participated actively in conducting analyses, editing, and approving the final, submitted version. MHEL-S: conceptualization; methodology and software. MHEL-S and DMA‑T: validation, formal analysis, and investigation. AGA and MHEL-S: resources. MHEL-S, DMA‑T, and AGA: data curation, writing an original draft and writing review and editing preparation. MHEL-S: visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [grant number RGP-1440-050].