Passive air sampling of halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the largest industrial city in Korea: spatial distributions and source identification

Abstract

Halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Halo-PAHs) are a new toxic group of PAH derivatives. In this study, passive air samplers equipped with polyurethane foam disks were used to monitor the pollution of Halo- PAHs and PAHs at 20 sampling sites in Ulsan. The target compounds were 24 chlorinated PAHs (ClPAHs), 11 brominated PAHs (BrPAHs), and 13 US-EPA priority PAHs. The total mean concentrations of gaseous ClPAHs, BrPAHs, and PAHs were 192 pg/m3, 659 pg/m3, and 32 ng/m3, respectively. The light melocular weight Halo-PAHs with one halogen atom and their parent PAHs were the most abundant. The industrial zones showed the highest concentrations and toxic equivalent values of Halo-PAHs and PAHs and were characterized by different profiles. ClPAHs were more affected by parent PAHs than BrPAHs. PAHs might be mainly from fossil fuel combustion. This study is so far the first one reporting the atmospheric levels of Hao-PAHs in South Korea.