Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in particular benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), are priority organic pollutants coming from various anthropogenic sources. The levels of accumulation and the spatial distribution of BaP in urban soils, road dust and their PM10 particles (with a diameter of less than 10 microns) were for the first time determined for various land use zones and roads of different size in the cities of Crimea—Alushta, Yalta and Sebastopol. The average content of BaP in soils and road dust in Alushta is 60 and 97 ng/g, in Yalta—139 and 64 ng/g, in Sebastopol—260 and 89 ng/g, respectively, which considerably exceeds the background level (1 ng/g). The BaP concentrations in PM10 particles of soils and dust are up to 11 and four times higher, respectively, than the total contents; they concentrate 35–70% of amount of the pollutant. The accumulation of BaP in soils and dust depends on the type of land use and size of roads. The exceedance of BaP standards in soils and road dust indicates a hazardous environmental situation in three cities of Crimea. The most dangerous are PM10 particles, which form anomalies with extreme levels of BaP contamination.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of widespread organic compounds containing two or more benzene rings; many of them are considered toxic environmental pollutants [1,2]
Anthropogenic PAHs are formed during the production of asphalt, energy production, incomplete combustion of fuel, wood or waste [5,6,7]
The obtained value is several times lower than in the background soils of Norway [60], developed under pastures (3.0 ng/g) and coniferous forests (9.3 ng/g), as well as in Albic Luvisol in Meshchera near Moscow (4.9 ng/g) [44] and Luvic Phaeozem under fallow lands in the south of Western Siberia (6.0 ng/g) [43]. This could be explained by the higher rate of biological decomposition and degradation of PAHs in subtropical regions, more sunny days, and higher air temperatures [4]
Summary
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of widespread organic compounds containing two or more benzene rings; many of them are considered toxic environmental pollutants [1,2]. PAHs can enter the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources. Anthropogenic PAHs are formed during the production of asphalt, energy production, incomplete combustion of fuel, wood or waste [5,6,7]. PAHs with 2–3 rings, belong to low molecular weight compounds and come mainly from petrogenic sources, i.e., from rocks and oils. High-molecular PAHs have 4–6 benzene rings and are more persistent toxic pollutants coming from pyrogenic sources or generated by the combustion of various organic materials [8,9,10]
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