IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p10265-d891382.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Farmland Soils near Highways: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaorong Zhang

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Weiqing Lu

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Linyu Xu

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Wenhao Wu

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Bowen Sun

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Wenfeng Fan

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Hanzhong Zheng

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Jingjing Huang

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

Recently, the rapid growth in vehicle activity in rapidly urbanized areas has led to the discharge of large amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into roadside soils and these compounds have gradually accumulated in the soil, which poses a serious threat to national food security and public health. However, previous studies did not clearly investigate the seasonal differences in PAH pollution of roadside soil by different highways. Therefore, based on field investigations, this study collected 84 soil surface samples to compare the pollution characteristics of 16 PAHs in farmland soils located near different roads in different seasons in Guangzhou, China. The results showed that the concentration of Σ16PAHs in farmland soils in spring (with a mean value of 258.604 μg/kg) was much higher than that in autumn (with a mean value of 157.531 μg/kg). There are differences in the PAH compositions in spring (4 ring > 3 ring > 5 ring > 6 ring) and autumn (4 ring > 5 ring > 6 ring > 3 ring). The proportion of 4–6 ring PAHs was much higher than 2–3 ring PAHs in both seasons. The spatial differences were significant. The sampling areas with higher concentrations of 16 PAHs were Tanbu Town, Huadu District (TB), Shitan Town, Zengcheng District (ST), and Huashan Town, Huadu District (HS), while the lowest concentration was in Lanhe Town, Nansha District (LH). The results of the diagnostic ratios showed that the main source of soil PAHs consists of a mixed source from petroleum and biomass combustion. The results from the total pollution assessment method and Nemerow index method indicated that the pollution levels of PAHs in the farmland soils indicated weak contamination. Our study provides a scientific basis for the prevention and control of soil pollution in farmlands near highways.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaorong Zhang & Weiqing Lu & Linyu Xu & Wenhao Wu & Bowen Sun & Wenfeng Fan & Hanzhong Zheng & Jingjing Huang, 2022. "Environmental Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Farmland Soils near Highways: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10265-:d:891382
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10265/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10265/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10265-:d:891382. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.