PM10and particulate PAHs composition in ambient air in the vicinity of industrial and rural area

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM10) is a primary air pollutant that is possibly attached to toxic substances like organic compounds, namely Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. The highly urbanized area with concentrated traffic was among the most significant sources of particulate PAHs. This study aims to identify PM10 and characterize PAHs in the air samples collected near the industrial area and compare them with concentration found in a rural area. The sampling campaign was conducted for three consecutive days in Balok Baru (urban) and Jeli (rural) at different monsoon seasons: northeast (NE) and southeast (SE) monsoon. The air samples extracted through ultrasonication continued with solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure before being analyzed using GC-MS. Results found that the average concentration of PM10 in Balok Baru was higher (89.120 μg/m3) than in Jeli (17.361 μg/m3). The result suggested that higher molecular weight was the most prominent PAHs species measured in industrial air samples. The meteorological and anthropogenic activity might contribute to a higher concentration of PM10, and PAHs compound detected in Balok Baru.