Atmospheric chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in East Asia

This study estimates atmospheric concentrations of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (CIP-AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in East Asia using a Gas Chromatograph with High Resolution Mass Spectrometer (GC-HRMS). CIPAHs are ubiquitously generated from PAHs through substitution, and some CIPAHs show higher aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated activities than their parent PAHs. Atmospheric particles were collected using a high-volume air sampler equipped with a quartz-fiber filter. We determined the CIPAH concentrations of atmospheric particles collected in Japan (Sapporo, Sagamihara, Kanazawa, and Kitakyushu), Korea (Busan), and China (Beijing). The concentrations of CIPAHs were highest in the winter Beijing sample, where the total mean concentration was approximately 15-70 times higher than in the winter samples from Japan and Korea. The concentrations of Sigma 19CIPAHs and Sigma 9PAHs were significantly correlated in the Kanazawa and the Busan samples. This indicates that within those cities CIPAHs and PAHs share the same origin, implying direct chlorination of parent PAHs. Toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQs) of the total CIPAHs and PAHs were lowest in Kanazawa in the summer, reaching 1.18 and 2610 fg-TEQ m(-3) respectively, and highest in Beijing in the winter, reaching 627 and 4240000 fg-TEQ m(-3) respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.