Air Quality Processes Research Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Ontario, M3H 5T4, Canada.
Metabolomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand; Siriraj Metabolomics and Phenomics Center, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Oct 1;286:117513. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117513. Epub 2021 Jun 6.
Mining-related activities in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) are known to emit polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and related compounds to ambient air. This is a concern due to the toxicity of PAHs, including their transformation products such as nitrated (NPAHs) and oxygenated (OPAHs) PAHs. This is the first study that provided a more extensive outlook into the sources, occurrence in air, and spatial and seasonal patterns of NPAHs and OPAHs in the AOSR by using passive air sampling. A sampling campaign from 2013 to 2016 revealed concentrations of NPAHs that were much lower than those of OPAHs. The highest concentrations of NPAHs were concentrated in the region associated with extensive mining activities, with ∑NPAH concentrations ranging from 20 to 250 pg/m. Within the oil sands (OS) mineable area, NPAHs associated with primary release appear more commonly, while NPAHs produced via oxidative transformation are predominant outside of this area. The concentrations of ∑OPAH ranged from 400 to 2400 pg/m, with the highest air concentrations in the region located south of the main OS activity zone, with peak concentrations attributed to a 2016 forest fire event. Uptake of PAHs from ambient air and their subsequent conversion to generate OPAHs is believed to play an important role in wildfire emissions of OPAHs. The seasonal trend investigation was inconclusive, with NPAHs slightly higher during the winter, while OPAHs were slightly elevated during summer. A preliminary comparison of ambient concentrations of OPAHs and NPAHs in the AOSR to measurements in the Greater Toronto Area revealed a similar range of concentrations, but also a unique presence of certain NPAHs such as 4-nitrobiphenyl, 2-nitrodibenzothiophene, 2,8-dinitrodibenzothiophene and 6-nitrobenzo-(a)-pyrene. This indicates that AOSR might have its own NPAH profile - creating the need to better understand associated NPAH toxicity and propensity for long range transport.
阿尔伯塔油砂地区（AOSR）的采矿相关活动已知会向环境空气中排放多环芳烃（PAHs）和相关化合物。由于 PAHs 的毒性，包括其转化产物如硝基（NPAHs）和含氧（OPAHs）PAHs，这引起了人们的关注。这是第一项通过被动空气采样更广泛地研究 AOSR 中 NPAHs 和 OPAHs 的来源、在空气中的存在以及空间和季节性模式的研究。2013 年至 2016 年的一项采样活动显示，NPAHs 的浓度远低于 OPAHs。NPAHs 的最高浓度集中在与广泛采矿活动相关的地区，∑NPAH 浓度范围为 20 至 250 pg/m。在油砂（OS）可开采区域内，与初次释放相关的 NPAHs 更为常见，而在该区域之外，通过氧化转化产生的 NPAHs 则占主导地位。∑OPAH 的浓度范围为 400 至 2400 pg/m，空气中浓度最高的地区位于主要 OS 活动区以南，浓度峰值归因于 2016 年的森林火灾事件。人们认为，从环境空气中摄取 PAHs 并随后转化生成 OPAHs，在野火排放 OPAHs 中起着重要作用。对 NPAHs 的季节性趋势进行的调查没有定论，冬季 NPAHs 略高，而夏季 OPAHs 略高。对 AOSR 中 OPAHs 和 NPAHs 的环境浓度与大多伦多地区的测量结果进行初步比较显示，浓度范围相似，但也存在某些独特的 NPAHs，如 4-硝基联苯、2-硝基二苯并噻吩、2,8-二硝基二苯并噻吩和 6-硝基苯并（a）蒽。这表明 AOSR 可能有其自己的 NPAH 特征——这就需要更好地了解相关的 NPAH 毒性和长距离传输的倾向。
