Abstract
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected in the summer and winter of 2015 and 2017 in Xinxiang, China. Nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and three nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) in PM2.5 were detected via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The PAHs concentration in summer and winter decreased from 6.37 ± 1.30 ng/m3 and 96.9 ± 69.9 ng/m3 to 4.89 ± 2.67 ng/m3 and 49.8 ± 43.4 ng/m3 from 2015 to 2017. NPAHs decreased in winter (from 1707 ± 708 pg/m3 to 1192 ± 1113 pg/m3), but increased in summer from 2015 (336 ± 77.2 pg/m3) to 2017 (456 ± 312 pg/m3). Diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicated that petroleum combustion was the main emission source in summer, and pollutants originating from the combustion of petroleum, coal and biomass dominated in winter. The 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NFR)/2-nitropyrene (2-NP) ratio in this study demonstrated that the OH radical pathway was the main pathway for the formation of 2-NP and 2-NFR. The mean total benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent concentrations (BaPeq) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values decreased from 2013 to 2017. The high value of total BaPeq in the winter of 2017 in Xinxiang revealed that a high-risk of cancer remained for residents. The results of this study demonstrate that the decreases in PAHs and NPAHS concentrations from 2015 to 2017. Combined with reducing gaseous pollutants concentration, the reduction in this study might be attributable to emissions reductions by implementing the air pollution control regulations in Xinxiang city in 2016.
Highlights
Temperature inversion likely occurs in the boundary layer, which increases the concentrations of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and NPAHs [27]
Increasing the sampling periods and the collection and analysis, including gaseous PAHs, will enhance the reliability of the results obtained in this research, this study has basically proved through the data of PAHs, NPAHs and the gaseous pollutants that the air pollution in Xinxiang has been improved a certain extent after the 2016 environmental protection policy
To evaluate the implementation effects of policies in Xinxiang, PAH and NPAH, data were collected in the summer and winter of 2015 and 2017
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilLicensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).As one of the major problems affecting human health, air pollution, such as that related to particulate matter (PM), has received increasing attention [1]. Prolonged exposure to PM has been linked to a risk of both acute and chronic effects, including lung cancer, heart attack, chronic respiratory disease, chronic bronchitis in adults and respiratory infections in children [2,3,4]. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are some of the most harmful components in PM and are mainly formed via the incomplete combustion of fossil fuelsInt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 3017. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063017 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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