Toxicity evaluation and source apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at three stations in Istanbul, Turkey

Asude Hanedar*, Kadir Alp, Burçak Kaynak, Edip Avşar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

103 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the toxicity evaluation and source apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in three monitoring stations in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 326 airborne samples were collected and analyzed for 16 PAHs and Total Suspended Particles (TSP) for the period of September 2006-December 2007. The total average PAH concentrations were 100.7±61.3, 84.6±46.7 and 25.1±13.3ngm-3 and the TSP concentrations were 101.2±53.2, 152.3±99.1, 49.8±18.6μgm-3 for URB1, URB2 and RUR stations, respectively. Benzo(a)Pyren (BaP) toxic equivalency factors to PAH concentration values were calculated indicating that the health risk of BaP and DiBenz(a,h)Anthracene (markers of traffic emissions) have the highest contribution compared to all of the other species measured at the sampling sites. In order to determine PAH sources, two different source apportionment techniques were applied to the measurements; diagnostic ratios (DR) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). The results of the two applications were compatible indicating the vehicle emissions - especially diesel engines - as the major source for urban stations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)437-446
Number of pages10
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume488-489
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2014

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for financially supporting our study with Project No 1 04Y194 and we also thank the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

FundersFunder number
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
TUBITAK1 04Y194
Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu

    Keywords

    • Diagnostic ratios
    • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
    • Positive matrix factorization
    • Toxic equivalency factors
    • Urban air

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