The Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 12 No 2 (2008): 357 – 366

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HEALTH RISKS OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHs) IN SMOKE AEROSOLS FROM BURNING OF SELECTED GARDEN WASTES

 

Tay Joo Hui¹, Tan Hock Seng¹, Mhd Radzi Abas² and Norhayati Mohd Tahir^*1

 

¹Environmental Research Group (ERG), Department of Chemical Sciences,

 Faculty of Science and Technology

Universiti Terengganu Malaysia, Mengabang Telipot, 21030 Kuala Terengganu

²Chemistry Department, University Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur

 

*Corresponding author: hayati@umt.edu.my

 

Abstract

A study has been carried out to characterize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emitted from the burning of five types of typical garden wastes viz, Bachang, Mango, Jackfruit, Jambu Air litter fall and a type of Grass.  The samples were burned to the ember and respective smoke aerosols emitted during the burning period were sampled using high volume filtration on a pre-cleaned glass fibre filters.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were extracted using dichloromethane-methanol (3:1) as solvent and the extracts fractionated on silica-alumina column.  Detection and quantification of PAHs compounds were carried out using GC-MS.  Results indicated that burning resulted in the formation of significant amount of PAHs compounds in all samples; total PAHs compounds emitted were in the range of 0.41 to 42.2 µg/m³.  The major PAHs compound exhibited in all smoke samples were three to four rings PAHs (e.g. fluoranthene and pyrene) with lesser amount of five to six rings (e.g. benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(g,h,i) perylene) and two rings PAHs (e.g. acenaphthylene).  The BaP equivalency results showed that the potential health risk from these garden wastes smoke were very significant; total BaP equivalency values were in the range of 5.60 E+04 pg/m³ – 4.98 E+06 pg/m³ with Jambu Air smoke exhibited the highest potential health risk.

 

Keywords: smoke aerosols, biomass burning, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, environmental health risks, toxic equivalency factors.

 

References

1.       Simoneit, B.R.T. & Elias, V.O. 2001. Detecting organic tracers from biomass burning in the atmosphere. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 42:805-810.

2.       Abas, M.R., Rahman, N.A., Omar, N.Y.M.J., Maah, M.J., Samah, A.A., Oros, D.R., Otto, A. & Simoneit, B.R.T. 2004a. Organic composition of aerosol particulate matter during a haze episode in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Atmos. Environ., 38: 4223-4241.

3.       Simoneit, B.R.T., Oros, D.R. and Elias, V.O. 2000a. Molecular tracers for smoke from charring/burning of chitin biopolymer. Chemosphere: Global Change Science, 2:101-105.

4.       Simoneit, B.R.T., Rogge, W.F., Lang, Q. & Jaffe, R. 2000b. Molecular characterization of smoke from campfire burning of pine wood (Pinus elliottii). Chemosphere: Global Change Science, 2: 107-122.

5.       Santos, C.Y.M.D., Azevedo, D.D.A. & Neto, F.R.D.A. 2002. Selected organic compounds from biomass burning found in the atmospheric particulate matter over sugarcane plantation areas. Atmospheric Environment, 36: 3009-3019.

6.       Abas, M.R., Oros, D.R. & Simoneit, B.R.T. 2004b. Biomass burning as the main source of organic aerosol particulate matter in Malaysia during haze episodes. Chemosphere, 55: 1089-1095.

7.       Office of Environmental Health Hazard-Assessment (OEHHA). 1994. Benzo[a]pyrene as a toxic air contaminant in Executive Summary Report of California Air Resources Board. Health and Safety Code, sections 39650-39662.

8.       United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Toxicological Review of Naphthalene, CAS no 90-20-3. Washington DC, 1998.

9.       Nisbet, C. and Lagoy, P. 1992. Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol., 16: 290-300.

10.    Petry, T., Schmid, P. and Schlatter, C. 1996. The use of toxic equivalency factors in assessing occupational and environmental health risk associated with exposure to airborne mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Chemosphere, 31(4):639-648.

11.    Finlayson-Pitts, B.J. & Pitts, J.N. 1986. Atmospheric chemistry: Fundamentals and experimental techniques. Atmos. Environ. 33: 877-895.

12.    Zou, L.Y., Zhang, W. and Atkiston, S. 2003. The characterisation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emissions from burning of different firewood species in Australia. Environmental Pollution, 124:283-89.

13.    Grimmer, G. 1983. Environmental Carcinogens: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.

14.    Jauhiainen, J., Martin-Gullon, I, Conesa, J.A. and Font, R. (2005). Emissions from pyrolysis and combustion of olive oil solid waste. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis, 74: 512-517

15.    Yunker, M.B., Backus, S.M., Pannatier, E.G., Jefferies, D.S. & Macdonald, R.W. 2002a. Sources and significance of alkane and PAH hydrocarbons in Canadian Arctic Rivers. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 55: 1-31.

16.    Yunker, M.B., Macdonald, R.W., Vingarzan, R., Mitchell, R.H., Goyette, D. & Sylvestre, S. 2002b. PAHs in the Fraser River basin: a critical appraisal of PAH ratios as indicators of PAH source and composition. Organic Geochemistry, 33: 489-515.

17.    Soclo, H.H., Garriguesà, P.H. & Ewaldà, M. 2000. Origin of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Coastal Marine Sediments: Case Studies in Cotonou (Benin) and Aquitaine (France) Areas. Marine Pollution Bulletin,  40 (5): 387-396.

18.    Kot-Wasik, A., Dąbrowska, D. & Namieśnik, J. 2004. Photodegradation and biodegradation study of benzo[a]pyrene in different liquid media. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 168: 109-115.

19.    Omar, N.Y.M.J., Tan, C.M., Noorsaadah, A.R. and Abas, M.R. 2006. Distribution and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric aerosols of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Science of Total Environment, 369: 76-81.

20.    Castellano, A.V., López Cancio, J., Santana Aléman, P. and Santana Rodriquez. 2003. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air particles in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Environ. Int, 29: 475-480.

21.    National Center of Environmental Assessment (NCEA). 1997. Inhalation route in Exposure Factor Handbook. Pg. 22. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).