Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): contamination level and risk assessment in urban areas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

AbstractWe are reporting the distribution of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in roadside soils and road dusts of five industrial areas around Kuala Lumpur city, namely Chan Saw Lin, Kuchai, Segambut, Kepong-1, and Kepong-2 using GC-MS and assessing their toxicological risk. The total PAH concentrations of PAHs in roadside soils of the industrial areas ranged from 2804 ± 2645 μg/kg (Kepong-2) to 18384 ± 12324 μg/kg (Chan Saw Lin), while for the road dusts, it ranged from 3056 ± 1929 μg/kg (Kepong-2) to 13581 ± 5295 μg/kg (Segambut). High molecular weight PAHs dominated the distribution of PAHs in all sampling locations for roadside soils and in road dust except for road dust of the Segambut industrial areas. Result of isomeric pair ratios and PCA used for the identification of the PAHs sources, suggested that the contribution of petrogenic sources is greater than the pyrogenic sources in almost all studied locations. Total B[a]Peq for roadside soils and road dusts of studied areas, recorded high...