Abstract
ABSTRACTBulk atmospheric deposition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Guwahati city of the Brahmaputra Valley have been characterised for a period of one year. The ∑PAHs (USEPA’s priority 16) and benzo(s)pyrene (BaP) concentrations in the collected bulk deposit ranged between 2.2 and 1035 ng mL–1, and BDL and 5.6 ng mL–1 respectively. Greater deposition of PAHs was observed during the dry season and the deposition of low molecular weight PAHs (LMWPAHs) were particularly high. The study revealed explicit effect of the prevailing meteorology on the bulk atmospheric deposition characteristics of PAHs. Greater number of inversion days and lowering of inversion height during the dry season were found to enhance deposition of PAHs. Diagnostic ratios indicated pyrogenic origin of the PAHs derived from combustion of diesel, coal and wood combustion. The deposition of LMWPAHs was greatly influenced by temperature. The diurnal variation of relative humidity, and wind pattern were found to affect deposition of PAHs
Highlights
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) make a group of ubiquitous pollutants of the atmosphere, especially in the urban/industrial regions due to their intense source strengths (Brown et al, 1996; Nielsen et al, 1996; Coleman et al, 1997; Simcik et al, 1997; Lim et al, 1999; Birgül et al, 2011)
The deposition of low molecular weight PAHs (LMWPAHs) was greatly influenced by temperature
The study revealed that considerable volume of PAHs gets deposited over the city under study
Summary
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) make a group of ubiquitous pollutants of the atmosphere, especially in the urban/industrial regions due to their intense source strengths (Brown et al, 1996; Nielsen et al, 1996; Coleman et al, 1997; Simcik et al, 1997; Lim et al, 1999; Birgül et al, 2011). Higher health risk associated with the non-dietary PAHs exposure via dust (Wang et al, 2013) and due to their multiple sources unlike other persistent organic pollutants, they cannot be curbed by introducing substitute chemicals (Jang et al, 2013). We made an attempt to understand the influence of the prevailing meteorology on the bulk attributes of the PAHs in the atmospheric process of bulk deposition
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