Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the New Jersey coastal atmosphere

Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) we re measured in the coastal New Jersey atmosphere as part of the New Jersey Atmospheric De position Network (NJADN). PAH results from the first year of atmospheric sa mpling (Oct 1997-Oct 1998) at a suburban site near New Brunswick, NJ and a coastal site at Sandy Hook, NJ are presented. PAHs (36) were analyzed at bo th sites including phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene whose concentrations ran ged from 0.74 to 20.9 ng/m(3) and 0.0020 to 0.62 ng/m(3), respectively. PAH concentrations at the suburban site were 2x higher than concentrations mea sured at the coastal site, consistent with the closer proximity of NE to ur ban/industrial regions than SH. The seasonal trends of particulate PAH conc entrations indicate that PAH sources such as fuel consumption for domestic heating and vehicular traffic drive their seasonal occurrence. While gaseou s concentrations of methylated phenanthrenes and pyrene were higher during the winter and similar to high molecular weight PAHs, phenanthrene and fluo ranthene show the opposite seasonal trend with concentrations peaking in th e summer months. Because temperature accounted for less than 25% of the var iability in atmospheric concentrations, seasonal variability could not be a ttributed to temperature-controlled air-surface exchange. PAH concentration s in the New Jersey coastal atmosphere indicate the importance of local and regional sources originating from urban/industrial areas to the N, NE, and to the SW.