PM2.5-Bound PAHs in Indoor and Outdoor of Hotels in Urban and Suburban of Jinan, China: Concentrations, Sources, and Health Risk Impacts

ABSTRACT

The relationships between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM_2.5 in outdoor and indoor environments of hotels were examined in Jinan, China from January 6, 2016 to January 29, 2016. The mean concentrations of ∑PAHs for all sampling sites showed the following ascending order: suburban indoor (SUI, 39.58 ng m^–3), first urban indoor near a busy traffic road (URI¹; 3 m, 63.26 ng m^–3), suburban outdoor (SUO, 67.96 ng m^–3), urban outdoor (URO, 105.30 ng m^–3), and second urban indoor far away from the traffic roads (URI² > 320 m, 115.63 ng m^–3). The indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios of URI¹ and SUI were all less than 1, indicating that the PAHs were mainly infiltrated from the outdoor environment. At URI², 2-ring and some 3- and 4-ring PAHs were mainly produced indoors due to cooking, whereas the 5–7-ring PAHs were mainly infiltrated from the outdoor environment. The diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis indicated that emissions from combustion of coal, biomass, diesel fuel and gasoline were the main sources of PAHs in the study area. The impacts of health risk assessment of PAHs suggested that the health risks in the outdoor environment were more severe than those in the indoor environment and the health risks in urban area were significantly higher than those in the suburban area in Jinan.