Toxicity source apportionment of fugitive dust PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using multilayer perceptron neural network analysis in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China

Qian Zhang; Ziyi Zhao; Zhichun Wu; Xinyi Niu; Yuhang Zhang; Qiyuan Wang; Steven Sai Hang Ho; Zhihua Li; Zhenxing Shen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133773

Toxicity source apportionment of fugitive dust PM_2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using multilayer perceptron neural network analysis in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Apr 15:468:133773. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133773. Epub 2024 Feb 12.

Authors

Qian Zhang¹, Ziyi Zhao², Zhichun Wu², Xinyi Niu³, Yuhang Zhang², Qiyuan Wang⁴, Steven Sai Hang Ho⁵, Zhihua Li², Zhenxing Shen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Northwest Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China; Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China. Electronic address: zhangqian2018@xauat.edu.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Northwest Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China.
³ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
⁴ Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China.
⁵ Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno NV89512, United States.
⁶ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China. Electronic address: zxshen@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38382337
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133773

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban fugitive dust, known for their toxicity and ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), are a major public health concern. This study assessed the spatial distribution and health risks of 15 PAHs in construction dust (CD) and road dust (RD) samples collected from June to November 2021 over the cities of Tongchuan (TC), Baoji (BJ), Xianyang (XY), and Xi'an (XA) in the Guanzhong Plain, China. The average concentration of ΣPAHs in RD was 39.5 ± 20.0 μg g^-1, approximately twice as much as in CD. Four-ring PAHs from fossil fuels combustion accounted for the highest proportion of ΣPAHs in fugitive dust over all four cities. Health-related indicators including benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency factors (BAP_TEQ), oxidative potential (OP), and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) all presented higher risk in RD than those in CD. The multilayer perceptron neural network algorithm quantified that vehicular and industrial emissions contributed 86 % and 61 % to RD and CD BAP_TEQ, respectively. For OP, the sources of biomass and coal combustion were the key generator which accounted for 31-54 %. These findings provide scientific evidence for the direct efforts toward decreasing the health risks of fugitive dust in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China.

Keywords: Artificial neural network; Health risk assessment; Oxidative potential; Source apportionment; Urban dust PM(2.5).

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollutants* / toxicity
China
Cities
Dust / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Neural Networks, Computer
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / toxicity
Risk Assessment

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Dust
Air Pollutants