Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug;44(8):2595-2613.
doi: 10.1007/s10653-021-01052-4. Epub 2021 Aug 5.

Influence of the products of biomass combustion processes on air quality and cancer risk assessment in rural environmental (Spain)

David Galán-Madruga  1 , Regina M Ubeda  2 , June M Terroba  2 , Saúl G Dos Santos  2 , Jesús P García-Cambero  3
Affiliations

Influence of the products of biomass combustion processes on air quality and cancer risk assessment in rural environmental (Spain)

David Galán-Madruga et al. Environ Geochem Health. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with atmospheric particles represent a significant risk to human health. This issue is even more relevant in environments where biomass combustion processes are considered as the major potential emission sources, such as the rural ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the levels of PM10-bound PAHs in several rural locations, their distribution along a year and how weather variables could influence them. Also, we focused on the emission sources and the comparison of the PAH mixtures to assess similitude among the sampling points. PM10-bound PAHs levels were monitored at three rural locations (north, center, and south) of Spain between April 2017 and February 2018. The study revealed that there were substantial differences regarding the levels of ΣPAHs, being higher in the central zone (IS; 65.4 mg/m3), then in the south (VA; 35.8 ng/m3) and finally in the north (NA; 20.9 ng/m3). IS and VA showed a similar distribution of emission sources, and temperature and wind speed seemed to influence negatively over the levels of PAHs likely. At both locations, PAH levels ran parallel throughout the year, with maximum levels during cold seasons and a greater presence of high molecular weight PAHs; however, the levels of PAHs and the most representative PAHs differed. On the other hand, NA was characterized for having another distribution of emission sources, which determined other representative PAHs, higher levels during spring, and a similar presence of high/medium/low molecular weight. Finally, the levels of ambient air PAHs represented an acceptable risk to people.

Keywords: Biomass; Cancer risk; PM10-bound PAHs; Rural environment; Sources apportionment.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Agudelo-Castañeda, D. M., Teixeira, E. C., Schneider, I. L., Lara, S. R., & Silva, L. F. O. (2017). Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric PM1.0 of urban environments: carcinogenic and mutagenic respiratory health risk by age groups. Environmental Pollution, 224, 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.075 - DOI
    1. Arhami, M., Hosseini, V., Zare, S. M., Bigdeli, M., Lai, A., et al. (2017). Seasonal trends, chemical speciation and source apportionment of fine PM in Tehran. Atmospheric Environment, 153, 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.12.046 - DOI
    1. Arruti, A., Fernández-Olmo, I., & Irabien, Á. (2012). Evaluation of the urban/rural particle-bound PAH and PCB levels in the northern Spain (Cantabria region). Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 184, 6513–6526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2437-4 - DOI
    1. Bari, Md. A., Baumbach, G., Kuch, B., & Scheffknech, G. (2010). Particle-phase concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air of rural residential areas in southern Germany. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 3, 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-009-0057-8 - DOI
    1. Callén, M. S., López, J. M., & Mastral, A. M. (2010). Seasonal variation of benzo(a)pyrene in the Spanish airborne PM10. Multivariate linear regression model applied to estimate BaP concentrations. Journal of Hazardous Material, 180, 648–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.04.085 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources