Measurements of semivolatile and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a bus station and an urban tunnel in Salvador, Brazil

Abstract

Motor vehicles constitute a significant source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions to the atmosphere. Particle-phase priority pollutant PAH concentrations and total suspended particle mass (TSP) were measured in the Lapa bus station and the Americo Simas Tunnel, located in the city of Salvador, Brazil. Separate samples were collected at the bus station at different times of the day, including rush- and non-rush-hour periods. The highest concentrations for nearly all 16 priority PAHs measured at the bus station were observed at 18:30 h, with chrysene showing the highest mean value (26.6 ng m−3). The highest average PAH concentrations measured in the tunnel were observed for pyrene (79.4 ± 11.5 ng m−3) followed by fluoranthene (39.0 ± 5.2 ng m−3) and chrysene (28.0 ± 4.17 ng m−3). TSP levels reached 423 µg m−3 in the bus station, and values as high as 2 mg m−3 in the tunnel. The measured Salvador tunnel PAH profiles are very similar to the Salvador bus station profiles, and are similar to PAH profiles reported for the Kojouike Tunnel, located in Kurashiki City, Japan, and the Caldecott Tunnel, located in Berkeley, California.