Compound Specific Radiocarbon Analysis (CSRA) Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons(PAHs) in Fine Organic Aerosols From Residential Area Of Suburb Tokyo

Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) originate mostly from incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. Amongst atmospheric contaminants, PAHs account for most (35-82 percent) of the total mutagenic activity of ambient aerosols. Hence, reduction of air pollution by PAHs is essential for an effective air quality control, which requires reliable source apportionment. Recently developed preparative capillary GC system and microscale 14C analysis made CSRA applicable to environmental samples. The 5730 yr half-life of 14C makes it an ideal tracer for identifying combustion products derived from fossil fuels (14C-free) vs. those from modern biomass (contemporary 14C). In the present study we performed radiocarbon analysis of PAHs in fine particulate aerosols (PM10 and PM1.1) from a residential area in suburb Tokyo, to apportion their origin between fossil and biomass combustion. Acquisition of source information for size segregated aerosols (i.e., PM1.1) from 14C measurement was of special interest as particles with diameter of 1μm or less are known to be able to remain suspended in air for weeks and penetrate into the deepest part of the respiratory system. Total PAHs concentrations (sum of 38 compounds with 3-6 aromatic rings) ranged 0.94-3.25 ng/m3 for PM10 and 0.69-2.68 ng/m3 for PM1.1 samples. Observation of relatively small amount of retene (0.2-0.4 percent of total PAHs) indicates some contribution from wood (Gymnosperm) combustion. Diagnostic isomer pair ratios of PAHs (i.e., 1,7-/2,6-dimethylphenanthrene, fluoranthene/pyrene and indeno [1,2,3-cd]pyrene/benzo[ghi]perylene) indicated mixed contributions both from petroleum and wood/coal combustion sources. Also the ratios implied that the latter source become relatively important in winter than the rest of the year for both PM10 and PM1.1 samples, which coincides with seasonal trend of retene proportion. The source information obtained from 14C analyses will be compared and discussed against that from diagnostic isomer pair ratios.