Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coarse particles (PM10) over the coastal urban region in Poland: Distribution, source analysis and human health risk implications

In this study, the results of PM10-bound PAH measurements were subjected to positive matrix factorization (PMF) approach and diagnostic ratios to investigate their levels, seasonal variability, impact of primary anthropogenic sources, and human health risk via the inhalation route. Daily ground-based observations were carried out at a representative coastal site in Gdynia (northern Poland), from April to December 2019. The concentrations of Sigma 13PAHs in PM10 varied between 0.45 ng m- 3 and 54.02 ng m- 3, with a mean of 5.22 +/- 8.67 ng m- 3. A clear seasonality and distribution profiles of PM10-bound PAHs were observed as a result of local/remote sources and meteorological conditions. The highest Sigma 13PAH concentration was found in December (18.56 +/- 16.45 ng m-3) and the lowest values were observed between June and September (3.89 +/- 0.52 ng m-3). The PMF-based analysis revealed five factors, suggesting the importance of primary anthropogenic sources of PAHs, i.e. coal combustion, biomass burning, gasoline/diesel vehicles, industrial and shipping activities as well as natural gas combustion. In summer, PAH levels were mostly controlled by local shipping emissions as well as traffic-related and non-combustion sources such as photochemical decomposition. The winter PAH maxima were attributed to a strong increase in residential coal combustion. A Spearman's rank correlation and multilinear regression analysis showed that ambient temperature and NOx had a significant impact on intra-annual variability in PM10-bound PAH transformation in this region. PAH congeners in coarse-size fraction were positively correlated with SO2, indicating their shared anthropogenic sources. The annual mean of epidemiologically based ILCR value was 6.6 R 10-5. This work indicates a potential carcinogenic risk for the local population and a significant difference in BaPeq levels between the individual seasons in this region.