Atmospheric Concentrations and Deposition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons to the Mid-Atlantic East Coast Region

Abstract

Atmospheric concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured at urban/industrial, suburban, coastal, and rural areas in New Jersey as part of the New Jersey Atmospheric Deposition Network. Concentrations of 36 PAH compounds were measured in the gas and particle phases in air and in precipitation at nine sites at regular intervals from October 1997 through May 2001. Gas-phase and particle-phase sigma36PAH concentrations ranged from 0.45 to 118 ng m(-3) and from 0.046 to 172 ng m(-3), respectively, and precipitation concentrations ranged from 11 to 16200 ng L(-1). PAH concentrations vary spatially across the region, with the highest concentrations occurring at the most heavily urban and industrial locations. Average gas absorption deposition ranged from 0.004 (naphthacene) to 5040 (methylphenanthrenes) ng m(-2) d(-1), and dry particle deposition PAH fluxes ranged from 0.11 (naphthacene) to 300 (benzo[b+k]fluoranthene) ng m(-2) d(-1) at the nine sites. Average atmospheric wet deposition PAH fluxes at the seven sites ranged from 0.40 (cyclopenta[cd]pyrene) to 140 (methylphenanthrenes) ng m(-2) d(-1). These represent the first comprehensive estimates of PAH deposition to New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic East Coast.

Significance of wet deposition to removal of atmospheric particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A case study in Guangzhou, China

“…Calculated CR PAHs values were quite different based on previously reported data from different regions (Table S9) (Golomb et al, 2001;Bodnár and Hlavay, 2005;Gigliotti et al, 2005). Two factors possibly contributed to these differences.…”

“…The second factor in the likelihood that variable dry deposition fluxes in different regions may also have influences on CR values, even if the regions share similar precipitation amounts and wet deposition fluxes. For example, due to different dry deposition fluxes (430, 220, and 38 mg m À2 yr À1 for Jersey City, New Brunswick, and Tuckerton, respectively), higher CR PAHs value occurred in Tuckerton (0.69), but lower values appeared in Jersey City (0.27) and New Brunswick (0.26), although these three areas had similar wet deposition fluxes (76, 160 and 84 mg m À2 yr À1 ) for Jersey City, New Brunswick and Tuckerton (Gigliotti et al, 2005). Golomb et al (2001) showed that different dry deposition fluxes of PAHs among different regions were mainly associated with different types of source inputs and emission amounts, e.g., the much higher F dry value in Nahant than that in Wolfs Neck (Table S9) was likely due to higher emissions of PAHs from civil aircraft and automobile exhausts (Golomb et al, 2001).…”

“…The first factor is the disparity in the annual precipitation amounts, and consequently wet deposition fluxes, e.g., 2100 mm in Guangzhou and 1180 mm in Jersey City (Table S10). Thus CR PAHs of Guangzhou (0.57) and Jersey City (0.27) differed substantially although both regions had similar annual combined wet and dry deposition fluxes, i.e., 600 and 590 mg m À2 yr À1 for Guangzhou and Jersey City (Gigliotti et al, 2005), respectively. The second factor in the likelihood that variable dry deposition fluxes in different regions may also have influences on CR values, even if the regions share similar precipitation amounts and wet deposition fluxes.…”

Persistent organic pollutants in tropical coastal and offshore environment: part A—atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

“…S2). These compounds suggest emission sources of uncombusted petroleum, natural gas combustion, oil combustion, and gasoline vehicle emission (Gigliotti et al 2005). Considering that the GRE site is close to a petrochemical industrial park, it is reasonable to identify the main source of PAHs at this site to be a stationary source from the industrial park and vehicle emissions.…”

Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Air and Soil of Subtropical Terrestrial Environment in the Pearl River Delta, South China: Distribution, Composition, Atmospheric Deposition Fluxes, and Environmental Fate

“…Emissions through gaseous diffusion are considered to be the most important pathway for the transfer of SOCs from soil to atmosphere, 21 while atmospheric deposition is an important input for delivering both gaseous and particle bound SOCs to terrestrial ecosystems. 22 Meanwhile, atmospheric transport is said to be the major pathway for SOCs transport to rural areas. 23 Despite increasing attention over CPs over the past decade, there is still lack of insight on the environmental partition and fate of CPs in different matrixes, especially in the developing countries like China, 13,15,23,24 where the largest production and export of CPs in the world takes place without restriction.…”