Concentration and atmospheric transport of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at Mount Tai, China

Zhongxiu Zhen; Yan Yin; Kui Chen; Xiaolong Zhen; Xin Zhang; Hui Jiang; Honglei Wang; Xiang Kuang; Yi Cui; Mingming Dai; Chuan He; Ankang Liu; Feihong Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147513

Concentration and atmospheric transport of PM_2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at Mount Tai, China

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Sep 10:786:147513. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147513. Epub 2021 May 5.

Authors

Zhongxiu Zhen¹, Yan Yin², Kui Chen³, Xiaolong Zhen⁴, Xin Zhang¹, Hui Jiang¹, Honglei Wang¹, Xiang Kuang¹, Yi Cui⁵, Mingming Dai¹, Chuan He¹, Ankang Liu¹, Feihong Zhou¹

Affiliations

¹ Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Electronic address: 2408902311@qq.com.
³ Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Electronic address: ch_k@163.com.
⁴ Huhhot Shouchuang Chunhua Sewage Dissposal Co., Ltd., Huhhot 010050, China.
⁵ Weather Modification Office of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 051430, China.

PMID: 33984695
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147513

Abstract

Atmospheric PM_2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose a major threat to human health. At present, studies on PAHs in the atmosphere have mostly focused on their concentration levels and source apportionment, whereas studies on the vertical transport of PAHs in the atmosphere are limited. However, the vertical transport of PAHs is important for their diffusion near the ground and their long-range transport at higher altitude. In this study, PM_2.5 samples were collected simultaneously at the summit and foot of Mount Tai (MT_summit and MT_foot, respectively) from May to June 2017, and the concentrations of 18 PAHs in the samples were determined. The total concentration of PAHs at MT_summit was 2.406 ng m^-3, which was well below the pollution levels of domestic cities, whereas that at MT_foot was as high as 9.068 ng m^-3, which was within the range of pollution levels in domestic cities. The total carcinogenic risk for both MT_summit and MT_foot was within the potential risk range. Given the source of PAHs and the diurnal variation of the planetary boundary layer, the PAHs showed opposite diurnal trends at MT_summit and MT_foot. Vertical transport was an important source of daytime PAHs at MT_summit, and the vertical transport efficiency of PAHs decreased with an increasing ring number; this may be due to the combined effects of gas-particle partitioning and chemical reactions. Furthermore, PAHs originating in the surrounding high-emission provinces can affect the Mount Tai area via atmospheric trans-regional transport, and the BaP/BeP ratio is a useful indicator of the transport distance of PAHs.

Keywords: Concentration; Mount Tai; North China Plain; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Transport.