Airborne particles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in industrial, background and urban atmosphere environments were investigated using toxic equivalent factors (TEFs) in central Taiwan during the period of August -December 2002. Concentrations of airborne particles were 93.4, 81.3 and 102.4 mg/m3 for industrial, background and urban sites, respectively. Concentrations of 21 gaseous PAHs were 1530, 759 and 1030 ng/m3 for industrial, background and urban sites, respectively; for carcinogenic activity of gaseous PAHs, the benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) equivalent concentrations were 17.0, 7.29 and 12.6 ng/m3 for industrial, background and urban sites, respectively. Twenty-one particle-bound PAHs were only 10% of the 21 gaseous PAHs. Dibenzo(a, h)anthracene (DBA) serves as a surrogate to explain the carcinogenic activity of PAH mixtures in central Taiwan because its carcinogenicity is a high percentage of the total carcinogenic activity. During the sampling period, temperature inversion from a cold front from China occurred, leading to average daily temperatures of 168C. These cold fronts caused atmospheric particles and pollutants to accumulate in the troposphere, leading to extremely high concentrations of airborne particles and both gaseous and particle-bound PAHs in central Taiwan.
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