Mutagenic and Cancer Risk Estimation of Particulate Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from the Emission of Different Biomass Fuels

Smoke samples from combustion of different biomass fuels were analyzed for the particulate bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic nature. Out of 16 priority PAHs, 11 PAHs were detected in the emission of fuels, while the remaining 5 PAHs (chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, and benzo[g,h,i]perylene) were below the detection limit. The highest emission factor for the sum of all the PAHs was found for coal (353.08 mg kg(-1)), charcoal (27.28 mg kg(-1)), and the various wood types. Emission rates of total PAHs ranged from 0.37 to 5.15 mg h(-1) with the highest value for bituminous coal (5.15 mg h(-1)) and lowest for Polyalthia longifolia (0.37 mg h(-1)). A cancer risk assessment was done for infants, children, and adults using the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact pathway. The ILCR values ranged from 10(-11) to 10(-6), and a higher cancer risk was observed for children and adults in comparison to infants. PAH concentrations emitted from biomass emissions shows a direct correlation with mutagenesis to humans, indicating a higher potential for the frameshift mutation as compared to base-pair mutation for dung, bituminous coal, charcoal, Dalbergia sissoo, Psidium guajava, Ziziphus mauritana, Polyalthia longifolia, and Ailanthus trithesa.

Automated summary

The study showed that combustion of different biomass fuels results in emission of PAHs, which have carcinogenic and mutagenic effects on human health. Coal, charcoal, and various wood types were found to emit the highest levels of PAHs, while Polyalthia longifolia emitted the least.