Fate of PAHs in the vicinity of aluminum smelter

Abstract

Investigation has been carried out in the vicinity of an aluminum smelter located in the industrialized town of Konin. Concentrations of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in grass, spruce needles, and soil collected in the period of the smelter operation and several years after its closing. Significant changes in the quantity of PAHs and their profiles observed in the two measuring periods, stressing the importance of aluminum production with regard to PAH emission. It was confirmed by very high values of the carcinogenic potential (CP) found for PAHs accumulated in grass and soil when compared to the values found in urban and remote sites. PAH ratio rates used as a tool for identifying emission sources showed a pyrogenic origin of PAHs in both periods; the ratios in the period of the smelter running activity were similar to those found in other studies carried out near aluminum smelters. Grass turned out to be a good biomonitor of PAHs similarly to commonly used leaves of various tree species. The use of four age classes of spruce needles, some of which were subjected to emission from the smelter, showed that such approach could serve as an analysis tool for describing retrospective pollution.