A wintertime study of PAHs in fine and coarse aerosols in Sao Paulo city, Brazil

The Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene) concentrations in fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) atmospheric particulate matter were measured at Sao Paulo city, Brazil. The dominant PAH compounds were indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(b)fluoranthene for both the fractions. The calculated ratios of some specific PAHs were in close agreement with those attributed to direct emissions of car exhaust. The factor analysis for PM2.5 produced four factors: Factor I was attributed to diesel emissions, Factor 2 was attributed to stationary combustion source, Factor 3 was attributed to vehicular emissions and Factor 4 to natural gas combustion and biomass burning. For PM2.5-10, Factor 1 was attributed to vehicular emissions and Factor 2 was attributed to a mixture of combustion sources such as natural gas combustion, incineration emissions and oil combustion. Also, vehicular emissions were assumed to be the major source of PAHs in the Sao Paulo city atmosphere. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.