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Concentrations, Source Identification, and Lung Cancer Risk Associated with Springtime PM2.5-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Nanjing, China

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Abstract

This study concentrated on the pollution level, sources, and lung cancer risk of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in spring in Nanjing, China. The PM2.5 samples were collected in spring of the year 2016 in Nanjing. Sixteen United States Environmental Protection Agency priority PAHs were extracted and analyzed after sampling. The mean concentrations of PAHs and BaPeq were 3.98 ± 1.01 and 0.29 ± 0.08 ng/m3, respectively, which is a low level among results from regions worldwide. The diurnal variations of PAHs and BaPeq concentrations showed a relatively high level in the early morning, at the morning rush time of work and traffic transportation, and in the evening traffic peak hours. According to the results of diagnostic ratios, PAHs originated mainly from traffic exhaust, especially diesel vehicle emissions. In a single day, the highest inhalation exposure level was focused between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., whereas the time between 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. in a day had the lowest exposure dose. Due to the inhalation exposure, the median values of incremental lung cancer risk in spring were estimated to be 7.08 × 10−9, 5.29 × 10−9, 3.53 × 10−8, 5.21 × 10−9, 7.21 × 10−9, 5.24 × 10−9, 3.01 × 10−8, and 5.40 × 10−9 for boys, male adolescents, male adults, male seniors, girls, female adolescents, female adults, and female seniors, respectively, indicating low potential lung cancer risk.

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Acknowledgements

This study was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41001344 and 41673108), National Program on Key Basic Research Project (2014CB953802), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project (2013M541696), Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds (1301040C), Program of Natural Science Research of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (13KJB610008 and 15KJD610004), Program of State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (SKLECRA2013OFP07), China Scholarship Council (201606865021), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (164320H116).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials Cycling and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Chong Chen, Zhonghuan Xia, Minmin Wu, Qianqian Zhang, Tao Wang & Liping Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Chong Chen, Zhonghuan Xia, Minmin Wu, Qianqian Zhang, Tao Wang, Liping Wang & Hao Yang

  3. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Zhonghuan Xia & Hao Yang

  4. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographical Environment Evolution (Jiangsu Province), Nanjing, 210023, China

    Zhonghuan Xia & Hao Yang

Authors
  1. Chong Chen
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  2. Zhonghuan Xia
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  3. Minmin Wu
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  4. Qianqian Zhang
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  5. Tao Wang
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  7. Hao Yang
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Correspondence to Zhonghuan Xia.

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Chen, C., Xia, Z., Wu, M. et al. Concentrations, Source Identification, and Lung Cancer Risk Associated with Springtime PM2.5-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Nanjing, China. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 73, 391–400 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-017-0435-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-017-0435-4

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