Indoor and Outdoor Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Residences Surrounding a Söderberg Aluminum Smelter in Canada

Abstract

Ambient air in 18 residences surrounding an aluminum smelter were sampled to study the relationship between indoor and outdoor polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Objectives of the study were to quantify the indoor distribution of PAHs, indoor/outdoor (I/O) concentration ratios, and the relationship among PAH compounds. Correlation coefficients inside residences suggested an indoor source of 2-3 ring PAHs and an external source of 4-6 ring PAHs. The I/O ratios of 4-6 ring PAHs for homes without any substantial indoor sources were below unity, indicating that the presence of these PAHs was attributable to the aluminum smelter. Least squares linear regression of the coupled measurements without indoor sources of 5-6 ring PAHs resulted in average infiltration efficiencies (P(PAH)) of 0.49, 0.20, and 0.47 for benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and benzo[g,h,i]perylene, respectively. These P(PAH) values suggest that simultaneous measurements of indoor and outdoor concentrations of PAHs > 4 rings predominantly associated with the fine fraction of particulate matter could provide useful estimates of particle infiltration efficiency. Overall, study results indicate that when an industrial facility is the main source of outdoor 4-6 ring PAHs, the contribution of facility emissions may greatly exceed indoor sources in nonsmoking residences.

Source identification and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with electronic dismantling in Guiyu town, South China

“…As for the reference or control site (RA), the concentration was lower than any of the workshops in the present study, however the concentrations were much higher than that in previous report from urban area [15,16,18,26] and in indoor environment [27]. In general, the concentrations of PAHs in RA, OEW, IEW and PW were higher at night, especially in the comparison site RA, where the concentration at night (291.68 ng m −3 ) was almost 6 times higher than that in the daytime (50.13 ng m −3 ) ( Table 2).…”

Contribution of traffic and tobacco smoke in the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on outdoor and indoor PM2.5

“…This observation confirmed the absence of significant indoor PAH sources and suggests that PAH concentrations in indoor non smoking air were dominated by outdoor sources, previously justified by natural ventilation (the selected homes were 1 km far from the outdoor traffic site).These results were consistent with the data reported by other authors (Sanderson and Farant, 2004).…”

“…Concerning the influence of outdoor air on indoor air quality, studies revealed that the presence of potentially carcinogenic PAHs (4-6 rings) in indoor air can be strongly associated with infiltration of PAHs from outdoor air originated mainly by vehicle emissions (Fischer et al, 2000;Sanderson and Farant, 2004). Diffusion of pollutants from outdoor air to indoor air is influenced by several factors such as geographic location, concentration of pollutants in outdoor air, type of residence and type of ventilation.…”

Plants and Atmospheric Aerosols

“…Some organic compounds are directly phytotoxic, some are likely genotoxic, and others pose a danger when bioaccumulated and passed through trophic levels into the food chain. Woodburning for domestic heat and land clearing, wildfire, and industrial and vehicle emissions are common sources (Sanderson and Farant 2004). Most of the atmospheric burden is in the fine fraction which dominates surface area for adsorption, but most of the dry deposition occurs in the coarse fraction (>80%; Kaupp and McLachlan 1999), which dominates sedimentation.…”