Articles | Volume 20, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14581-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14581-2020
Research article
 | 
01 Dec 2020
Research article |  | 01 Dec 2020

Nationwide increase of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ultrafine particles during winter over China revealed by size-segregated measurements

Qingqing Yu, Xiang Ding, Quanfu He, Weiqiang Yang, Ming Zhu, Sheng Li, Runqi Zhang, Ruqin Shen, Yanli Zhang, Xinhui Bi, Yuesi Wang, Ping'an Peng, and Xinming Wang

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Cited articles

Aceves, M. and Grimalt, J. O.: Seasonally dependent size distributions of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban aerosols from densely populated areas, Environ. Sci. Technol., 27, 2896–2908, https://doi.org/10.1021/Es00049a033, 1993. 
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Bi, X. H., Sheng, G. Y., Peng, P. A., Chen, Y. J., Zhang, Z. Q., and Fu, J. M.: Distribution of particulate- and vapor-phase n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban atmosphere of Guangzhou, China, Atmos. Environ., 37, 289–298, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00832-4, 2003. 
Brown, A. S., Brown, R. J. C., Coleman, P. J., Conolly, C., Sweetman, A. J., Jones, K. C., Butterfield, D. M., Sarantaridis, D., Donovan, B. J., and Roberts, I.: Twenty years of measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in UK ambient air by nationwide air quality networks, Environ. Sci.-Proc. Imp., 15, 1199–1215, https://doi.org/10.1039/c3em00126a, 2013. 
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We carried out a 1-year PM concurrent observation at 12 sites across six regions of China, and size-segregated PAHs were measured. We found both PAHs and BaPeq were concentrated in PM1.1, and northern China had higher PAHs' pollution and inhalation cancer risk than southern China. Nationwide increases in both PAH levels and inhalation cancer risk occurred in winter. We suggest reducing coal and biofuel consumption in the residential sector is an important option to mitigate PAHs' health risks.
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