Ivana Lulić Jakovljević, Anica Šišović, Gordana Pehnec, Ranka

No. A-116
ABSTRACT
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely distributed atmospheric
pollutants produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and other organic
materials. Their sources include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, motor
exhausts, industrial processes, heating, wood industry, tobacco smoke, and
many other. The aim of this study was to compare PAH concentrations in PM10
particles between Zagreb (A), the Croatian capital, and a rural place (B) in the
hills of Gorski Kotar. The measuring site A was located in the center of Zagreb
with high population and traffic density. Population at the rural site (B) is
scarce, but houses use wood for heating and there is a developed wood
industry. PAH concentrations were measured in the winter when air PAH
concentrations are expected to be much higher than in the summer because of
heating. We measured the concentrations of fluoranthene, pyrene,
benzo(a)anthracene, chrisene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene,
benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(ah)anthracene, benzo(ghi)perilene, and indeno(1,2,3,cd)pyrene using a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) and a
fluorescence detector with changeable excitation and emission wavelength.
The results show that concentrations of some PAHs were higher at site B than
site A, or were comparable.
PAH CONCENTRATIONS IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB AND IN
A RURAL PLACE WITH WOOD HEATING
Ivana Lulić Jakovljević, Anica Šišović, Gordana Pehnec, Ranka Godec, Vladimira Vađić
ilulic@imi.hr
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
These preliminary measurements have been conducted within the following
projects: IAEA TC RER/2/005 "Characterizing Seasonal Variations in Elemental
Particulate Matter Concentrations in European Urban and Rural Areas under
Different Climatic Conditions“ and MSES, Croatia "Spatiotemporal distribution
and origin of aerosols in urban surroundings" (022-0222882-2271).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In the winter, twenty-four hour samples of PM10 particles were collected at two
places. The measuring site A was located in the centre of Zagreb, Croatian
capital, near a crossroads with high traffic density. Site B was located in a
mountainous area of Gorski Kotar (see figure 1) with wood industry and
residences heated by wood.
Samples were collected on quartz fibre filters and kept frozen at -18 °C in
aluminium foil until analysis. PAHs were extracted with cyclohexane and
toluene in an ultrasonic bath for one hour, separated from undissolved parts by
centrifugation and evaporated to dryness in a mild stream of nitrogen at 30 °C.
They were then redissolved in acetonitrile. For the analysis we used a Varian
Pro Star high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) and a fluorescence
detector with changeable excitation and emission wavelength in order to
optimise the selectivity and sensitivity for individual PAH species.
Table 1. PAH concentrations in ng/m3 measured in the centre of Zagreb and in Gorski Kotar
Measuring site A
PAH
Flu
Pyr
BaA
Ch
BbF
BkF
BaP
BghiP
Ind(1,2,3-cd)pyr
N
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
N – number of samples
Cmin – minimum value
Cmax – maximum value
Cmax
11.495
9.776
7.756
9.946
6.872
4.114
7.744
11.168
6.122
Cmin
0.097
0.181
0.169
0.399
0.302
0.206
0.278
0.411
0.338
C
2.323
2.158
1.604
2.675
2.033
1.284
1.989
3.187
1.744
CONCLUSIONS
Measuring site B
STD
2.342
2.069
1.556
2.111
1.500
0.911
1.640
2.628
1.253
Cmax
103.425
133.734
35.516
38.859
22.252
16.278
35.187
17.100
25.869
C – arithmetic mean
STD – standard deviation
Cmin
0.078
0.022
0.044
0.078
0.067
0.078
0.089
0.109
0.133
C
7.550
9.379
5.722
5.720
3.629
3.185
5.466
2.934
4.783
STD
17.334
22.564
7.165
7.482
4.419
3.238
6.891
3.282
5.069
This study has shown the differences between the two measuring sites over the winter and will
continue in the summer. At the measuring site A the highest average value had BghiP 3.187 ng/m3,
while lowest average value of mass concentration had Flu 0.097 ng/m3. The range of concentrations
of BaP varied from 0.278 to 7.744 ng/m3 at the site A. The highest average value mass
concentration at the measuring site B had pyrene 9.379 ng/m3. Lowest average value had BghiP
2.934 ng/m3. The range of mass concentrations of BaP at the site B varied from 0.089 to 35.187
ng/m3 which is much higher than at the site A. At the beginnings of measuring mass concentrations
were higher and they are slowly decreasing.