Many studies have focused on aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs and PAHs) in different environmental compartments, especially atmospheric particles (aerosols), due to their adverse effects on the environment and human health. However, much less information is currently available on the content of AHs and PAHs in the atmospheric gas phase, which is a major reservoir of volatile and photoreactive compounds. Here, for the first time, we assessed the levels, gas-particle partitioning, human health risks and seasonal variations of AHs and PAHs in the atmospheric gas-phase of Bizerte city (Tunisia, North Africa) over a one-year period (March 2015-January 2016). ΣPAH concentration in the gas phase over the period ranged from 6.7 to 90.6 ng m and on average was 2.5 times higher in the cold season than in the warm season. ΣAH concentration in the gas phase over the period ranged from 14.0 to 35.9 ng m, with no clear seasonal variations. In the gas phase, hydrocarbons were dominated by low-molecular-weight (LMW) compounds, i.e. 3- and 4-ring for PAHs and < n-C for AHs. Gas-phase concentrations of PAHs and AHs accounted for up to 80 % of the total (gas + particle phases) atmospheric concentrations of PAHs and AHs. Further analysis of gas-particle partitioning showed that LMW hydrocarbons preferential accumulated in the gas phase, and that gas-particle partitioning was not in equilibrium but dominated by absorption processes into the aerosol organic matter. Benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalency quotient (BaP-TEQ) in the gas phase represented on average 37 % of the total atmospheric BaP-TEQ concentration, which was always higher in the cold season. Atmospheric gas is a significant factor in the risks of cancer associated with inhalation of ambient air. The Monte Carlo simulation-based exposure assessment model predicted that outdoor air exposure to PAHs does not pose a cancer risk to infants, but the children, adolescent, and adult populations may face a lower cancer risk during the warm season and a higher risk in the cold season.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162986 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Establishing an animal model for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation following fractional CO laser application.
Lasers Med Sci
January 2025
Hangzhou Third People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
Background: Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is a common cosmetic concern, often leading to significant psychological distress for the patients. With the widespread application of lasers including ablative fractional resurfacing (AFR) with a 10,600 nm CO laser, PIH caused by lasers is becoming increasingly common. But due to the absence of an appropriate animal research model, our understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms and preventive strategies for PIH remains limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitigating matrix effects in oil and gas wastewater analysis: LC-MS/MS method for ethanolamines.
Environ Sci Process Impacts
January 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Parsons Laboratory, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
The high salinity and organic content in oil and gas wastewaters can cause ion suppression during liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis, diminishing the sensitivity and accuracy of measurements in available methods. This suppression is severe for low molecular weight organic compounds such as ethanolamines (, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), -methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and ,-ethyldiethanolamine (EDEA)). Here, we deployed solid phase extraction (SPE), mixed-mode LC, triple quadrupole MS with positive electrospray ionization (ESI), and a suite of stable isotope standards (, one per target compound) to correct for ion suppression by salts and organic matter, SPE losses, and instrument variability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoring interactions with bio-relevant molecule: A quantum chemical approach to C and BN systems.
J Mol Graph Model
January 2025
Department of Physics, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Electronic address:
This study investigates the interaction of a synthetic bio-relevant molecule with C and BN nanorings, exploring their potential applications in sensing and drug delivery. Employing Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the ωB97XD level with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set, we computed the adsorption and electronic properties of the resulting nanocomplexes. A total of ten distinct configurations were identified for the interactions, with adsorption energies ranging from -6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnraveling the Meaning of Effective Uptake Coefficients in Multiphase and Aerosol Chemistry.
Acc Chem Res
January 2025
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
ConspectusReactions of gas phase molecules with surfaces play key roles in atmospheric and environmental chemistry. Reactive uptake coefficients (γ), the fraction of gas-surface collisions that yield a reaction, are used to quantify the kinetics in these heterogeneous and multiphase systems. Unlike rate coefficients for homogeneous gas- or liquid-phase reactions, uptake coefficients are system- and observation-dependent quantities that depend upon a multitude of underlying elementary steps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImproved Description of Environment and Vibronic Effects with Electrostatically Embedded ML Potentials.
J Phys Chem Lett
January 2025
Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica, i Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Incorporation of environment and vibronic effects in simulations of optical spectra and excited state dynamics is commonly done by combining molecular dynamics with excited state calculations, which allows to estimate the spectral density describing the frequency-dependent system-bath coupling strength. The need for efficient sampling, however, usually leads to the adoption of classical force fields despite well-known inaccuracies due to the mismatch with the excited state method. Here, we present a multiscale strategy that overcomes this limitation by combining EMLE simulations based on electrostatically embedded ML potentials with the QM/MMPol polarizable embedding model to compute the excited states and spectral density of 3-methyl-indole, the chromophoric moiety of tryptophan that mediates a variety of important biological functions, in the gas phase, in water solution, and in the human serum albumin protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!