Health risk assessment and source apportionment of PAHs in industrial and bitumen contaminated soils of Kermanshah province; NW Iran

Abstract

A comprehensive study conducted for investigating the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bitumen contaminated (BC) and industrial contaminated (IC) soils of Kermanshah province to evaluate their sources and health risk assessment. Forty-two surface soil (0-30 cm) samples were collected and analyzed for 16 PAHs. The total PAHs concentrations, show a mean value of 31.33 mg/kg and 56.31 mg/kg, ranging from 7.35 to 291.38 mg/kg and 6.59 to 662.83 mg/kg in BC and IC soil samples respectively. Positive matrix factorization model (PMF) was used to investigate the source apportionment of PAHs. PMF analysis identified four sources of PAHs as; fossil fuel combustion and unburned petroleum (28.76%), biomass/coal burning (23.55%), vehicular emissions (23.67%) and creosotes (24.01 %) in BC soils and biomass combustion (44.11%), unburned petroleum and coal combustion (17.54%), fossil fuel combustion (19.02%) and creosotes (19.32 %) in IC soils. Ecological risk assessment of PAHs showed that all of the PAHs levels are higher than the effects range low (ERL) values, except for benzo( a)anthracene. Three rings and fluoranthene of the PAHs in IC soils and Nap, Acy, Ace, Phe, Ant, Flt and DBA in BC soil samples reveal higher concentrations than the effects range median (ERM) values. Benzo( a)pyrene equation (BaPeq) values indicate that the carcinogenic potency of PAHs should be given more awareness due to impending environmental risk in the study area. The total incremental life time cancer risk (ILCR) of exposure to PAHs is 9.21×10-3 for adult and 9.54×10-3 for children in BC soil samples and 1.13×10-2 for adult and 1.17×10-2 for children in IC soil samples. Estimated results of ILCR indicate that soil samples are potentially exposed to high cancer risk via both ingestion and dermal contact.