title: Distributions and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric aerosols of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
abstract: The concentrations and distributions of particle bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) collected over a 10 month period in ambient environment, at street levels as well as during a hazy episode are reported. Ambient and street level distributions of PAHs were similar and their occurrence was attributed to vehicular emissions. However, in haze particles, a different pattern of PAHs was observed, characterized by relatively low levels of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and high levels of benzofluoranthenes (BFs). The BaP equivalency results showed that the potential health risk associated with haze smoke particles was 4 times higher than that of street level particles whereas the lowest health risk was associated with ambient atmospheric particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nasr Yousef M J
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.forename: Tan Chin
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Mon
authors.forename: Noorsaadah A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: M Radzi Bin
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Abas
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D001335:Vehicle Emissions