title: Characterization and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban atmospheric Particulate of Tehran, Iran.
abstract: In this study, atmospheric concentrations of particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Tehran megacity were determined to investigate the concentration, distribution, and sources of PAHs in PM10. The health risk from exposure to airborne BaPeq through inhalation pathway was also assessed. Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) approach was used for quantitative risk estimate, and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) was calculated. PM10 samples were collected at ten sampling locations during the summer 2013 and winter 2014 by using two independent methods of field sampling. The PM10 concentration in winter (89.55 ± 15.56 μg m(-3)) was 1.19 times higher than that in summer (75.42 ± 14.93 μg m(-3)). Sixteen PAHs were measured with the total average concentrations of PAHs ranged from 56.98 ± 15.91 to 110.35 ± 57.31 ng m(-3) in summer and from 125.87 ± 79.02 to 171.25 ± 73.94 ng m(-3) in winter which were much higher than concentrations measured in most similar studies conducted around the world. Molecular diagnostic ratios were used to identify PAH emission sources. The results indicated that gasoline-driven vehicles are the major sources of PAHs in the study area. Risk analysis showed that the mean and 90 % probability estimated inhalation ILCRs were 7.85 × 10(-6) and 16.78 × 10(-6), respectively. Results of a sensitivity analysis indicated that BaP concentration and cancer slope factor (CSF) contributed most to effect on ILCR mean.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. m_hoseini2174@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. yunesion@tums.ac.ir.|Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. yunesion@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Masud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yunesian
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. rnabizadeh@tums.ac.ir.|Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. rnabizadeh@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nabizadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. kyaghmaeian@gmail.com.|Center for Water Quality Research, Institute of Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. kyaghmaeian@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kamyar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaghmaeian
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Ecology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. r-ahmadkhaniha@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahmadkhaniha
authors.affiliation: Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. n.rastkari@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Noushin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rastkari
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. s.parmy@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parmy
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. sasanfaridi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faridi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. a.rafei121@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rafiee
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. knadafi@tums.ac.ir.|Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. knadafi@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naddafi
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D002947:Cities; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Air pollution; Health risk assessment; Monte Carlo simulation; PAHs; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Sensitivity analysis