Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in settled dust particles in selected Ghanaian environments: Levels, source characterization, and assessment of inhalational health risks

Abstract

Deposited total particulate matter samples were collected from 10 indoor sites within the Cape Coast and Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Municipalities of Ghana and analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a Varian Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) system with 8400 auto-sampler. Quality control analysis using National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material 1941B gave the PAH recoveries of 80.5% or better. The concentrations of the various individual PAHs in the particulate matter ranged from below detection limits to 3240 mg/ kg. The results compared well with a similar study carried out in Palermo, Italy, which had concentrations between 0.01 and 25838.0 mg/kg. Assessment of their sources showed the emission of PAHs was from both combustion and petroleum sources. The cancer risk level for the various sites ranged between 2.6 Â 10 -7 and 3.6 Â 10 -4 with the upper limit being higher than the acceptable level of 10 -5 . The mutagenic risk levels of the PAHs in the air particulate matter collected from various sites also ranged from 2.0 Â 10 À6 to 3.3 Â 10 À4 , showing certain levels of health risks. This study suggests that indoor air pollution, which has been relegated in most developing countries, should be taken seriously.

The Effects of Height on the Accumulation of n-Alkanes and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Air-Conditioning Filter Dust from High-Rise Apartments

“…Thus numerous studies applied PAHs as model pollutants to assess the health risks (Bhargava et al, 2004;Zhou and Zhao, 2012;Kavouras et al, 2015;Lee et al, 2016;Mohammed et al, 2016). Due to the importance of indoor exposure, PAHs in indoor air (including gas phase and particle) and floor dust are commonly investigated to elucidate potential health risks (Essumang et al, 2015;Tiwari et al, 2015). However, most of these sampling strategies demand specialized equipment and are time-consuming and noise nuisance.…”

Health risk assessment of heavy metals and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons in particulate matter adsorbed by indoor air purifiers

“…59 Due to the different toxicity of PAHs with different numbers of rings, the toxicity equivalent factor (TEF) of BaP is usually used as a reference to calculate the TEF of other PAHs and calculate the total toxicity equivalents (TEQs) relative to BAP. The calculation is given by equation (7) as follows 60,61 where TEQs is the total toxicity equivalent, μg/kg; C i is the concentration of PAHs, μg/kg; and TEFi is the toxicity equivalent factor of PAHs.…”

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in dust from rural communities around gas flaring points in the Niger Delta of Nigeria: an exploration of spatial patterns, sources and possible risk

“…There are dozens of reports concerning the distribution of PAHs in indoor and outdoor dust. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] In Nigeria, like other regions, most of the studies were focused on urban areas with high vehicular emissions, and intense commercial and industrial activities. 6,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Most considered outdoor or indoor dust and only a few explored their relationship.…”