Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere of Xiamen, China Original Research Article

An intensive sampling program was conducted from October 2008 to September 2009 at the five different environmental sites in Xiamen, Fujian Province, to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the gaseous and particulate phase, respectively. The PAHs concentrations at different sites were quite distinct during four seasons. The average concentrations of PAHs in winter were about 8.4 times higher than those in spring, and the concentrations of background were 0.56 times lower than those of industrial area. In addition, the higher temperature in summer affected the particle/gas partitioning of PAHs and led to the higher concentrations of gaseous PAHs. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs, which were employed to indicate the primary sources of PAHs in Xiamen, showed that the traffic vehicle exhaust was the largest contributor and the primary source for PAHs in Xiamen, especially in urban area; while the stationary combustion processes, such as petrochemical factories and power plants, were mainly responsible for PAHs sources in the industrial areas. The health risk of PAHs in the particulate phase was higher than those of the gaseous phase at the five sampling sites. The average toxic equivalent (BaPeq) of the benzo[a]pyrene values for PAHs were 0.14, 0.32, 1.38 and 3.59 ng m− 3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Furthermore, the results of average BaPeq in all four seasons indicated that the health risks of particulate PAHs were higher than those of the gaseous PAHs at different sampling sites.