Seasonal Variability, Sources and Markers of the Impact of PAH-Bonded PM10 on Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Krakow

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the seasonal variability of PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), their sources, and analyse their health impacts We confirmduring the COVID-19 pandemic period. The chemical composition of PM10 in terms of PAH content was carried out using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. PM10 samples were collected in Krakow from 2020 to 2021. A total of 92 samples of particulate matter (PM10 fraction) were analysed. The analyses contained 16 basic PAHs identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) as the most harmful. The information obtained on the concentrations of PAHs was used to determine the profiles of pollution sources, exposure profiles, and the values of toxic equivalency factors recommended by the EPA: mutagenic equivalent to B[a]P (ang. mutagenic equivalent, MEQ), toxic equivalent to B[a]P (ang. toxic equivalent, TEQ), and carcinogenic equivalent to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (ang. carcinogenic equivalent, CEQ). In Kraków, heavy PAHs accounted for over 90% of the total PAHs detected in the PM10 samples. In addition, air trajectory frequency analysis was performed to obtain information on the possibility of transporting pollutants from selected areas in the vicinity of the studied site. Interpreting the trajectory results provided information on the nature of air pollution sources. Analysis of Kraków’s air mass trajectory showed that the highest daily concentration of PM10 in the air flow was from the southwest and east for days.