Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons study in Taichung, Taiwan, during 2002–2003

The concentrations of ambient air polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured simultaneously from August 2002 to July 2003 in an industrial area (Taichung Industrial Park) and a suburban area (Tunghai University) in central Taiwan. Particle-bound PAH were collected on quartz filters and gas-phase PAH on glass cartridges using polyurethane foam sampler. Both types of samples used soxhlet analytical method and were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis. Diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis were also used to characterize and identify PAH emission source in this study.