Distribution characteristics of and personal exposure with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and particulate matter in indoor and outdoor air of rural households in Northern China. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, JiaoDi; Liu, WeiJian; Xu, YunSong; Cai, ChuanYang; Liu, Yang; Tao, Shu; Liu, WenXin
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 255(2019)Part 1
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: Household air pollution -- Size distribution of PAHs and PM -- Influencing factors -- Personal exposure risk -- Rural areas in north of China; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113176
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and size-segregated particulate matter (PM) in indoor air and outdoor air, along with personal exposure, were monitored in rural households of Northern China. The daily average concentrations of 28 species were 1310 ± 811, 738 ± 321, 465 ± 247, and 655 ± 250 ng/m 3 in kitchen air, bedroom air, and outdoor air, and for personal exposure, respectively. PAHs tended to occur in the particulate phase with increasing molecular weight. Absorption by particulate organic carbon was dominant in the gas-particle partitioning process. The daily averaged concentrations of PM2.5 and PM1.0 were 104 ± 39.5 and 88.4 ± 39.3 μg/m 3 in kitchen air, 79.0 ± 63.2 and 65.7 ± 57.5 μg/m 3 in bedroom air, 52.9 ± 16.5 and 41.5 ± 12.5 μg/m 3 in outdoor air, and 71.7 ± 30.8 and 61.5 ± 28.4 μg/m 3 for personal exposure, respectively. The non-priority components contributed 5.5 ± 2.8% to the total PAHs, while their fraction of carcinogenic risk reached 85.6 ± 6.9%. The mean cancer risk posed to rural residents via inhalation exposure to PAHs exceeded the current acceptable threshold of 1.0 × 10 −6 and the national average estimated in China. The personal exposure levels of PAHs and PM in households using clean energy were lower than those in households using traditional biomass by 30.0%, 29.4%, and 38.5% for PAH28, PM2.5, and PM1.0, respectively. However, the cancer risk of personal inhalation exposure to PAH28 from using liquid petroleum gas (LPG) was higher than that from using firewood, implying the adoption of LPG may not effectively reduce the cancer risk despite the decreasing exposure levels of PAH28 and PM with respect to the use of firewood. Cooking individuals suffered higher exposure levels of PAH28 and PM1.0 compared with non-cooking individuals, and the cancer risk of personal inhalation exposure to PAH28 for cooking individuals was 1.7 times that for non-cooking individuals. Cooking was a critical factor that affected the personal exposure levels of the local male and female residents. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: PAHs, especially HMW species, were associated with fine particles. Fine particles dominated the size distribution of PM. Cooking and fuel type affected personal exposure to PAHs and PM. Non-priority PAHs with low levels greatly contributed to the carcinogenic risk. Adoption of LPG may not alleviate the cancer risk, despite the reduced exposure level. Abstract : Indoor (especially kitchen) air concentrations of PAHs and fine PM were much higher than those in outdoor air, and the use of clean energy in rural households evidently reduced the individual exposure to PAHs and fine PM.