POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN AMBIENT AIR FOLLOWING THE BURNINGOF KUWAITI OIL-WELLS

The concentrations of oil hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of two cities in Saudi Arabia following the burning of the Kuwaiti oil fields were monitored over a period of three months from April to June 1991. Sampl es of inhalable air particulates (PM-10) and total suspended particula tes (TSP) were collected from the cities of Dhahran and Khafji and ana lyzed for the presence of oil hydrocarbons, especially the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the aliphatic hydrocarbons. The resul ts of the study have shown that these samples were contaminated with a liphatic hydrocarbons and PAHs. Twenty two PAHs were identified by GC/ MS in air particulate samples. The concentration levels of PAHs found in the inhalable (PM-10) air particulate samples collected from Dhahra n and Khafji were comparable and ranged between 0.07 to 2.2 ng/m3. The concentrations of the n-alkanes in Dhahran and Khafji ranged between 7.0 to 89.4 ng/m3 and 3.7 to 80.1 ng/m3, respectively. The concentrati on levels of these pollutants vary from day to day. The highest concen trations of these compounds were measured during very smoky days. Anal ysis of total suspended particulate (TSP) samples collected from Dhahr an and Khafji showed that the mean concentrations of n-alkanes and PAH s in the TSP samples collected from Khafji were about four folds highe r than those collected from Dhahran. The concentrations of benzo(a)pyr ene and other PAHs in PM-10 samples were lower than the proposed limit s set by international organizations and compared favorably with level s found in urban areas in several parts of the world.