Atmospheric Concentrations of PAHs in the Vapor and Particulate Phases in Chongju

Four intensive seasonal sampling campaigns between October 1998 and October 1999 were undertaken at an urban site of Chongju, in which polyurethane foam (PUF) sampler was used to collect particulate- and vapor-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The contribution to total (particulate+vapor) PAH concentration by the vapor phase component exceeded the particulate phase contribution by factor of ~2.6. Summed concentrations of phenanthrene (30.9%), pyrene (16.6%), naphthalene (11.3%) and fluoranthene (11.0%) account for significant amounts of the vapor-phase, while chrysene (12.5%), benzo[b]fluoranthene (11.6%), indeno[123-cd]pyrene (9.9%), benzo[ghi]perylene (9.5%), benzo[k]fluoranthene (9.4%), pyrene (8.9%), and benzo[a]pyrene (8.3%) are found to be the most common PAH compounds in the particulate phase. The results from application of principal component analysis to particulate-phase PAH data demonstrate that a combination of PAH and PM 2.5 inorganic data is a more powerful tracer of emission sources than PAH species data alone. Particulate-phase PAH species were found to be associated predominantly with emissions from diesel engine vehicles and incineration.