Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor dust samples from Cities of Jeddah and Kuwait: Levels, sources and non-dietary human exposure.
This study reports levels and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in dust samples collected from three different microenvironments (cars, air conditioner (AC) filters and household floor dust) of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Kuwait. To the best of our knowledge, this is first study reporting PAHs in indoor microenvironments of KSA, which makes these findings important. Benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), phenanthrene (Phe), and pyrene (Pyr) were found to be the major chemicals in dust samples from all selected microenvironments. ΣPAHs occurred at median concentrations (ng/g) of 3450, 2200, and 2650 in Saudi AC filter, car and household floor dust, respectively. The median levels (ng/g) of ΣPAHs in Kuwaiti car (950) and household floor (1675) dust samples were lower than Saudi dust. The PAHs profile in Saudi dust was dominated by high molecular weight (HMW) (4-5 ring) PAHs while in Kuwaiti dust 3 ring PAHs have marked contribution. BaP equivalent, a marker for carcinogenic PAHs, was high in Saudi household floor and AC filter dust with median levels (ng/g) of 370 and 455, respectively. Different exposure scenarios, using 5th percentile, median, mean, and 95th percentile levels, were estimated for adults and toddlers. For Saudi and Kuwaiti toddlers worst exposure scenario of ΣPAHs was calculated at 175 and 85ng/kg body weight/day (ng/kgbw/d), respectively. For Saudi toddlers, the calculated worst exposure scenarios for carcinogenic BaP (27.7) and BbF (29.3ng/kgbw/d) was 2-4 times higher than Kuwaiti toddlers. This study is based on small number of samples which necessitate more detailed studies for better understanding of dynamics of PAHs in the indoor environments of this region. Nevertheless, our finding supports the ongoing exposure of organic pollutants to population that accumulates indoor.
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nbahadar@kau.edu.sa.
Nadeem
N
Ali
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.
Iqbal Mohammad Ibrahim
IMI
Ismail
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mamdouh
M
Khoder
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Magdy
M
Shamy
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mansour
M
Alghamdi
Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, Tuxedo, NY, USA.
Max
M
Costa
Environmental Sciences Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait.
Lulwa Naseer
LN
Ali
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA.
Wei
W
Wang
Public health and Environment Division, Department of Biosciences, COMSAT Institute of Information & Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Syed Ali Musstjab Akber Shah
SAMAS
Eqani
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002947:Cities; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007730:Kuwait; D008875:Middle Aged; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D055815:Young Adult
D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Human exposure; Indoor dust; Kuwait; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Saudi Arabia