Concentration levels of anthropogenic organic compounds in suspended particulates matter and indoor settled from Algiers, Algeria

Abstract

Total suspended particles (TSP) and indoor settled dust (ISD) were collected at an annual religious event in November 2019. Fifteen outdoor TSP and forty-one ISD samples (at two hospitals, university laboratories, and research centers) were collected in two Algerian urban areas. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to look for solvent-extractable organic chemicals comprising alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalate esters, and other polar organic compounds (OPOC). The origin of pollution was investigated, and source apportionment was performed. Phthalates were predominant in soot (the most abundant, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, varying between 11.5 and 106.3 ng m−3), followed by alkanes (with hentriacontane ranging between 3.9 and 6.1 ng m−3 and accounting for 39.5%), OPOCs (the most abundant, caffeine, ranging 2.7–182 ng m−3), and PAHs (the predominant, phenanthrene, ranging 29.8–130.6 ng m−3). Mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) reached ∼5 and ∼21 ng m−3, respectively, on weekends and working days in TSP, exceeding the WHO recommendation range of 1 ng m−3. Meanwhile, BaP ranged from 0.01 to 1.02 ng m−2 in ISD. Nicotine, cotinine and caffeine, were detected in different amounts in TSP (2.1–3.5, 0.0 to 3.3, and 2.7–182 ng m−3, respectively). In ISD, nicotine and caffeine occurred in all samples, while cotinine was present in ∼82% of samples and ranged from 0.0 to 3798 ng m−2. Traces of N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide DEET (5.2 ng m−3 on average in soot and up to 168 ng m−2 in dust) and methyl dihydrojasmonate MDHJ (up to 124 ng m−2 in dust and ≈0.26 ng m−3 in soot) were found at all sites. This study provided new information about organic contaminants of environmental concern in Algiers, which would be useful in assessing the chemistry of interiors and exposure to toxicants. It also highlighted the impact of special events on environmental quality in terms of increased toxicant loads in ambient air. The findings thoroughly assess Algeria’s atmospheric particulate matter endocrine-disrupting chemicals when combined with earlier studies.