Mobile sources of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a roadway tunnel

Amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated polycycli c aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) in samples collected from the air, from the dust on a guardrail, and from the soils on a tunnel roadway at five sam pling sites in a regular roadway tunnel were chemically analyzed in order t o determine their sources. Among the 23 PAHs found in the air samples, pyre ne was found in the highest concentration (43 +/- 7.2 ng/m(3)), followed by fluoranthene (26 +/- 4.3 ng/m(3)). Among 20 oxy-PAHs found in the air samp les, anthraquinone was found in the greatest amount (56 +/- 3.9ng/m(3)). Th e average concentration of the major PAHs found in the guardrail dust sampl es were 6.9 +/- 0.77 mug/g for pyrene, 5.5 +/- 0.76 mug/g for fluoranthene, and 2.6 +/- 0.30 mug/g for phenanthrene. The average concentration of the major oxy-PAHs found in the guardrail dust samples were 9.2 +/- 3.5 mug/g f or anthraquinone and 1.4 +/- 0.50 mug/g for 2-methylanthraquinone. The aver age concentration of the major PAHs found in the soil samples were 1.1 +/- 0.31 mug/g for fluoranthene, 0.92 +/- 0.21 mug/g for pyrene, and 0.72 +/- 0 .16 mug/g for phenanthrene. The average concentration of the major oxy-PAHs found in the soil samples were 1.2 +/- 0.88 mug/g for anthraquinone, 0.18 +/- 0.04 mug/g for 4-biphenylcarboxaldehyde, and 0.13 +/- 0.08 mug/g for 2- methylanthraquinone. The BeP ratios calculated from the results suggest tha t most PAHs found in the samples collected from the roadway tunnel were fro m automobile exhaust gases. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.