Abstract for presentation at 14th IUAPPA World Congress

Atmospheric particulate matter from four different areas within Agra city (a semi-arid region) were collected using respirable dust samplers during the 2006 summer season and were then extracted with dichloromethane using an automated Soxhlet Extraction System (SoxthermŽ). The extracts were analyzed for 17 target Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The total PAH (TPAH) concentrations were 76.6, 27.9, 23.7 and 6.5 nanograms per cubic meter (ng m-3), respectively, at the industrial, residential, roadside and agricultural sites. The combined mean concentration of TPAH was 33.9 ng m-3 for all sites. The industrial site had the highest TPAH concentration followed in order by the residential, roadside and agricultural sites. Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene and benzo(b)fluoranthene were the predominant compounds found in the samples collected from all of the sites. The average B(a)P-equivalent exposure, calculated by using toxic equivalent factors (TEFs) derived from literature and the USEPA. Factor analysis suggests that the combination of PAH compounds found in all site samples indicate a mixture of vehicular and combustion activities.