Source apportionment of atmospheric PAHs in the western balkans by natural abundance radiocarbon analysis

Progress in source apportionment of priority combus tion-derived atmospheric pollutants can be made by an inverse approach to inventory emissions, namely, receptor-based compound class-specific radiocarbon analysis (CCSRA) of target pollutants. In the present study, CCSRA of the combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the atmosphere of the countries of the former republic of Yugoslavia was performed. The carbon stable isotope composition (delta C-13) of PAHs varied between -27.68 and -27.19%, whereas Delta C-14 values ranged from -568% for PAHs sampled in Kosovo to -288% for PAHs sampled in the Sarajevo area. The application of an isotopic mass balance model to these Delta C-14 data revealed a significant contribution (35-65%) from the combustion of non-fossil material to the atmospheric PAH pollution, even in urban and industrialized areas. Furthermore, consistency was observed between the isotopic composition of PAHs obtained by high-volume sampling and those collected by passive sampling. This encourages the use of passive samplers for CCSRA applications. This marks the first time that a CCSRA investigation could be executed on a geographically wide scale, providing a quantitative field-based source apportionment, which points out that also non-fossil combustion processes should be targeted for remedial action.