Health Risks of Ambient Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Based on the Prediction of Their Gas-phase Concentrations in the Central Yangtze River Delta, China: Regional and Time-resolved Variability

Abstract

The health risks of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have widely been assessed using their particulate data, while PAHs in the gas phase have rarely been considered due to their lack of availability. In this study, an equilibrium model for gas-particle partitioning, including both absorption and adsorption mechanisms, was parameterized to predict PAHs in the gas phase from particle data. This model was validated using measured PAHs in the gas and particle phase (G + P) from northern Nanjing, China. It was found that the benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (BaPeq) of total G + P PAHs were well reproduced. After predicting gaseous PAHs for integrated PM_2.5 samples from five central cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China and time-resolved PM_2.5 samples from northern Nanjing, BaPeq of G + P PAHs showed high regional homogeneity in fall and winter, and gaseous PAHs contributed 43.6% of the BaPeq and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of G + P PAHs at noon in summer when the temperature was the highest. The regional variability and diurnal patterns of ambient PAHs and associated health risks presented in this study are important for an accurate assessment of personal inhalation exposure in the YRD region.