Impact of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) of Falling Dust in Urban Area Settings: Status, Chemical Composition, Sources and Potential Human Health Risks

Mohamed Hamza EL-Saeid (), Abdulaziz G. Alghamdi and Abdulhakim Jari Alzahrani
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Mohamed Hamza EL-Saeid: Department of Soil Sciences, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz G. Alghamdi: Department of Soil Sciences, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdulhakim Jari Alzahrani: Department of Soil Sciences, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: The present work is considered to investigate the sources, concentration, and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and associated health risk assessment of road dust in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. The study region included an urban area, strongly affected by traffic, a bare and an industrial area. A total of 50 locations were selected for sampling and 16 different PAHs were determined. The concentration of PAHs in road dust and their estimated lifetime average daily dose (LADD) for adults (human) ranged from 0.01 to 126 ng g −1 and 1950 to 16,010 mg kg −1 day −1 , respectively. The ADDing was calculated separately for children (>6), teenagers (6–12), and adults (>12) for all PAHs with each collected sample. Moreover, the average daily exposure dose by ingestion (ADDing) and average daily exposure dose by dermal absorption (ADDder) were more in children (<6 years) as compared to teenagers (6–12 years) and adults (>12 years). Likewise, total equivalency factor based on BaP (TEQBaP) calculations pointed out that PAHs having more benzene rings or having high molecular weight showed high TEQBaP as compared to low molecular weight PAHs. The data revealed that the children population is at high risk for asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and immunity suppression as compared to adults in the particular area of investigated region. These outcomes of this study can be used to deliver significant policy guidelines concerning habitants of the area for possible measures for controlling PAHs contamination in Riyadh City to protect human health and to ensure environmental sustainability.

Keywords: human health index; organic pollutant; PAHs; road dust; public health; cancer risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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