On the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with sporting walkways dust: Concentrations, sources and relative health risk

Mansour A Alghamdi; Salwa K Hassan; Marwan Y Al Sharif; Mamdouh I Khoder; Roy M Harrison

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146540

On the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with sporting walkways dust: Concentrations, sources and relative health risk

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Aug 10:781:146540. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146540. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Authors

Mansour A Alghamdi¹, Salwa K Hassan², Marwan Y Al Sharif¹, Mamdouh I Khoder², Roy M Harrison³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80208, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
² Air Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, El Behooth Str., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt.
³ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80208, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; Division of Environmental Health & Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: r.m.harrison@bham.ac.uk.

PMID: 33794462
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146540

Abstract

Sporting walkways (SW) are a new innovation which may prove popular in many cities. As there is currently no information on possible health risks associated with their use, concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with deposited dust sampled on SW in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have been measured and interpreted in relation to sources and cancer risk. The average ∑PAHs (16 compounds) ranged between 1357 ng/g in residential areas and 3764 ng/g in central urban areas, with suburban areas between. The congener profile and diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicate a predominant source associated with petroleum combustion (pyrogenic source), most probably vehicular emissions. Carcinogenic potential is estimated from the sum of carcinogenic compound concentrations weighted by their individual potency relative to benzo(a)pyrene, and is found to be similar to household dust sampled in the same city, and lower than many other indoor and outdoor (road) dusts sampled across the world.

Keywords: Cancer risk; Carcinogenic compounds; Deposited dust; PAHs; Source identification; Sporting walkways.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Cities
Dust / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Saudi Arabia

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dust
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons