PAHs distribution in precipitation at Mount Taishan: China. Identification of sources and meteorological influences

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in precipitation samples collected at Mount Taishan were determined by HPLC, to evaluate their concentrations and variations. Individual precipitation events were sampled for 2 years from Sep. 2005 to Aug. 2007. Low concentrations of PAHs were found at the site. Phenanthrene was the most abundant compound with a volume-weighted mean concentration of 33.31 ng/L. The next most abundant compound was fluorene, with a concentration of 16.61 ng/L. Other individual PAHs occurred at concentrations lower than 10 ng/L. The volume-weighted mean concentration of the total PAHs in winter precipitation was much higher than in summer, showing a seasonal variation. Most of the individual PAHs compounds have strong correlations with rainfall amount. Pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene all had strong correlations with Na+ and Cl−. Diagnostic ratio analysis and factor analysis indicated that the sources of PAHs are mainly from fossil fuel combustion, especially coal.