Abstract
Investigation has been carried out in the vicinity of an aluminum smelter located in the industrialized town of Konin. Concentrations of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in grass, spruce needles, and soil collected in the period of the smelter operation and several years after its closing. Significant changes in the quantity of PAHs and their profiles observed in the two measuring periods, stressing the importance of aluminum production with regard to PAH emission. It was confirmed by very high values of the carcinogenic potential (CP) found for PAHs accumulated in grass and soil when compared to the values found in urban and remote sites. PAH ratio rates used as a tool for identifying emission sources showed a pyrogenic origin of PAHs in both periods; the ratios in the period of the smelter running activity were similar to those found in other studies carried out near aluminum smelters. Grass turned out to be a good biomonitor of PAHs similarly to commonly used leaves of various tree species. The use of four age classes of spruce needles, some of which were subjected to emission from the smelter, showed that such approach could serve as an analysis tool for describing retrospective pollution.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in the environment can be of anthropogenic or natural origin (Stogiannidis and Laane 2015)
In the period of the aluminum smelter operation, the accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in grass decreased along with the distance from the emitter and the profile of accumulated PAHs was similar to that found in the air near other aluminum smelters
The profile of PAHs accumulated in grass changed distinctly and was close to the one found in the air sampled in the urban environment
Summary
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in the environment can be of anthropogenic or natural origin (Stogiannidis and Laane 2015). It was estimated that the total anthropogenic atmospheric emission of 16 PAHs over the world in 2004 was 520 (Gg·year−1) with biofuel (56.7%), wildfire (17.0%), and consumer product usage (6.9%) as the major sources, which far exceeded natural sources (Zhang and Tao 2009). According to Poland’s Informative Report 2017 (Dębski et al 2017), in this country, the main source of PAH emission (87%) are Bnon-industrial combustion plants^. Due to their volatility and association with fine and ultrafine particulates, PAHs may be transported far away from their original source and reach various environmental compartments. PAHs are deposited on plant surface, on inorganic fraction of soils or in sediments (Stogiannidis and Laane 2015)
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