Abstract
Studies about pollution by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tropical soils and Brazil are scarce. A study was performed to examine the PAHs composition, concentrations and sources in red-yellow Oxisols of remnant Atlantic Forest of the São Paulo State. Sampling areas were located in an urban site (PEFI) and in a natural one (CUNHA).The granulometric composition, pH, organic matter content and mineralogical composition were determined in samples of superficial soils. The sum of PAHs (ΣHPAs) was 4.5 times higher in the urban area than in the natural one. Acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene and fluoranthene have been detected in the soils of both areas and presented similar concentrations. Acenaphthene and fluorene were the most abundant compounds. Pyrene was twice more abundant in the soils of natural area (15 µg.kg-1) than of the urban area and fluoranthene was the dominant compound (203 µg.kg-1) in urban area (6.8 times higher than in the natural area). Some compounds of higher molecular weight, which are tracers of vehicular emissions showed significant concentrations in urban soils. Pyrene represented 79% of ΣPAHs whereas it has not been detected in natural soils. The results showed that forest soils in urban area are characterized by the accumulation of high molecular weight compounds of industrial and vehicular origin.
Highlights
The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals with carcinogenic and mutagenic potential and are mainly derived from incomplete combustion processes of stationary as well as mobile sources
The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP) with an approximate area of 8,000 km2 is located in the southeastern part of Brazil (23◦S and 46◦W), has about 17 millions inhabitants distributed over an urbanized area of about 1,747 km2 and is the third largest urban agglomeration in the world
The results showed that the soil of the São Paulo urban area (PEFI) are greatly submitted to anthropogenic emissions and suffer the impact of the city
Summary
The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals with carcinogenic and mutagenic potential and are mainly derived from incomplete combustion processes of stationary (industries, incineration, heating) as well as mobile sources (vehicular emissions). The high demand for fossil fuels and its combustion as a consequence of the high urbanization rate with the industrial development and the increase in the population and vehicular fleet during the last decades caused a rise in the emission of PAHs to the atmosphere. These compounds, as well as many other contaminants, are emitted directly into the atmosphere, and submitted to wet and dry deposition. Soils are a primary sink for contaminants due to their capacity to retain hydrophobic chemicals (Wild and Jones 1995) Their accumulation in urban soils degrades the soil quality and represents a risk for humans and ecosystems. Little is known about the sources and fate of PAHs in tropical environments”
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