The Presence of Ultra-Traces of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Heavy Metals in Some Areas of Molise: The Importance of a Blank in Public Health Studies

The emission of chemicals into the environment has increased in a not negligible way as a result of the phenomenon of globalization and industrialization, potentially also affecting areas always considered as uncontaminated. In this paper, five uncontaminated areas were analyzed in terms of the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs), comparing them with an environmental blank. Chemical analyses were carried out using standardized protocols. The 'environmental blank' results revealed the presence of Cu (<64.9 mu g g(-1)), Ni (<37.2 mu g g(-1)), and Zn (<52.6 mu g g(-1)) as HMs and fluorene (<17.0 ng g(-1)) and phenanthrene (<11.5 ng g(-1)) as PAHs. However, regarding the results of the pollution status of the areas under study, fluorene (#S1, 0.34 ng g(-1); #S2, 4.3 ng g(-1); #S3, 5.1 ng g(-1); #S4, 3.4 ng g(-1); #S5, 0.7 ng g(-1)) and phenanthrene (#S1, 0. 24 ng g(-1); #S2, 3.1 ng g(-1); #S3, 3.2 ng g(-1); #S4, 3.3 ng g(-1); #S5, 0.5 ng g(-1)) were found in all areas, while the other PAHs investigated were detected at a concentration averaging less than 3.3 ng g(-1). HMs were found in all of the investigated areas. In particular, Cd was detected in all areas with an average concentration of less than 0.036 mu g g(-1), while Pb was absent in area #S5, but present in the other areas with an average concentration of less than 0.018 mu g g(-1).

Automated summary

The paper analyzes the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs) in five uncontaminated areas, comparing them with an environmental blank. The results show the presence of certain HMs and PAHs in the environmental blank, but the pollution status of the areas under study indicate the presence of fluorene and phenanthrene in all areas, while other PAHs were detected at lower concentrations. HMs were found in all areas, with cadmium (Cd) being present in all areas and lead (Pb) absent in one area.