Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminations along shipping lanes and implications of seafarer exposure: Based on PAHs in ship surface films and a film-air-water fugacity model

Penghao Su; Weiwei Zhang; Yuejiao Hao; Gregg T Tomy; Fang Yin; Lisu Chen; Yongsheng Ding; Yifan Li; Daolun Feng

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138943

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminations along shipping lanes and implications of seafarer exposure: Based on PAHs in ship surface films and a film-air-water fugacity model

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Aug 20:731:138943. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138943. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Authors

Penghao Su¹, Weiwei Zhang², Yuejiao Hao², Gregg T Tomy³, Fang Yin², Lisu Chen², Yongsheng Ding², Yifan Li⁴, Daolun Feng⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China; International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China. Electronic address: phsu@shmtu.edu.cn.
² Department of Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China; International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
⁴ IJRC-PTS-NA, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X9, Canada.
⁵ Department of Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China; International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135, PR China. Electronic address: dlfeng@shmtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 32388158
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138943

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the most toxic compounds in ship tailpipe exhausts. The long-term contamination of PAHs along shipping lanes and ports is difficult to assess using conventional methods such as AIS-EFs-data based (AIS, Automatic identification system; EFs, emission factors) or field sampling methods. To address this, we collected the organic films on ship surfaces and used a modified film-air-water fugacity model to convert the film-bound concentrations to the airborne (gaseous plus particulate) concentrations. Not surprisingly, concentrations of PAHs on organic films on ship surfaces were greater than those measured on films on residential buildings. The airborne total PAH concentrations along shipping lanes in Yangtze River Delta area ranged from 63.3-325 ng m^-3, which were in the same order of magnitude to those in Beijing during haze days. The incremental lifetime cancer risks by exposure to PAHs in ship indoor air were higher than the US EPA lower guideline, indicating considerable carcinogenic risks to seafarers. Our study proposes an alternative method to estimate the long-term contaminations of PAHs along shipping lanes and highlights a notable health risk to seafarers.

Keywords: Health risk of seafarer; Organic film; PAHs; Shipping lane; Specified fugacity model.