A simple instrument for in-situ, time-resolved speciated measurement of the 16-EPA priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

PROJECT SUMMARY People are exposed to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) regularly. PAHs are ubiquitous in our environments, and long-term exposure can lead to many adverse health diseases, including cognitive and neural development delay in infants (prenatal exposure), atherosclerosis, liver problems and cancer. Developing a simple instrument capable of providing semi-continuous levels of ambient PAH will fill the gap of temporal variability data in exposure assessment studies and could provide accurate information to increase our understanding of the effect of PAHs in adverse health outcomes.PROJECT NARRATIVE People are exposed to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) constantly. PAHs are ubiquitous in our environments, and long-term exposure can lead to many adverse health diseases, including cognitive and neural development delay in infants (prenatal exposure), atherosclerosis, liver problems and cancer. Monitoring ambient PAH levels with enough time resolution for more detailed exposure assessment could provide accurate information to increase our understanding of adverse health outcomes. In this project we propose a simple and robust approach to simultaneously identify and quantify all 16-PAHs listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous substances. The proposed system combines a new collection cell consisting of a metal mesh and sorbent tube for particles and vapors, respectively, a mini gas chromatograph for compound separation and a photoionization detector capable of quantifying individual PAHs at ambient levels. This unique instrument, robust and fully portable, provides in-situ, time-resolved measurement of PAH levels independently of their phase partitioning (vapor or particle). Field deployments of this instrument could make available a more complete data base of PAH levels for accurate assessment of human exposure to these highly toxic compounds.