Contamination of Soil by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) in Some Urban Areas

The contamination by sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface soils sampled at a 0-5 cm depth in the urban areas of Tallinn, Helsinki, Vilnius, Chicago, London (the population of about 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 7.0, 8.0 millions, respectively) is reported. The median concentrations (μg/kg) were found 117, 539, 127, 3263, 1728 for pyrene (Pyr); 62, 236, 43, 1634, 1652 for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP); 86, 304, 92, 2295, 2068 for BaP toxic equivalents, calculated using the BaP toxic equivalency factors; 467, 1471, 392, 8981, 6837 for total seven probable human carcinogenic PAHs benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, BaP, dibenz(ah)anthracene, indeno(123-cd)pyrene; 911, 2941, 672, 16183, 13718 for total 16 PAHs naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, Pyr, benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, BaP, dibenz(ah)anthracene, benzo(ghi)perylene, indeno(123-cd)pyrene in Tallinn (n=3), Helsinki (n=3), Vilnius (n=15), Chicago (n=4), London (n=3), respectively. The population is a statistically significant factor in urban soil contamination by PAHs.